The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

By Ashley R. Clarkson
1 January, 2004

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The Rapture is one of, if not the most debated event in the tribulation. The Lord will come down and collect us to be with him for all eternity. There are all sorts of viewpoints on when it will happen. I believe in the pre-trib rapture, and the following is why.

Why Pre-Trib Rapture?

The Time Is Unknown

Jesus stated that the time of his return would be unknown. For Example: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." - Matthew 4:36,42-44

If the rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation (post-trib), then how can the time be unknown? All one would have to do is count 2520 days (that's 7 Jewish years, the length of the tribulation) until the rapture. It is the same with the last trumpet judgement. Not hard to know exactly when it's going to happen, just keep your bible nearby, and you'll know to be ready after the sixth trumpet (actually, just because it says last trump it doesn't mean that it is the last trumpet judgement, but I'll cover that later).

The Ten Virgins

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." - Matthew 25:1-13

This sounds like a prophecy of the rapture to me. Some of us will not be ready, and will be left behind. They will cry out to Jesus to let him in to where he lives, which is of course, heaven. Now if the rapture were at the end of the tribulation, they would not cry out to him because in a flash he'd be back, ready for war. So it can't be any other possibility in this case than a pre-trib rapture.

Church Who?

For the first three chapters of revelation the church is the focus. After Revelation 4:1 when Jesus shouts "Come Up Hither!" the focus switches to the Jewish people, with only occasional mention to Tribulation Saints (those who are saved during the tribulation). The absence of a church has to have something to do with this, why would we undergo a name change like a company? We always have been the church, and up until the rapture, so shall we be.

Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." - Luke 12:35-40

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." - Revelation 19:7-8.

Jesus speaks of coming back with his bride. This bride is the church. when a man wanted a bride, he first offered a sum of money to the father (this is a dowry, and is in this case Jesus' life). Then the husband would go away and build a house for himself and his wife ("Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." - John 14:1-2), which after it's completion would be inspected by the bride's father (to make sure it was worthy of his daughter). The groom would then secretly arrive at the bride's house and carry her to his fathers house, where there would be a marriage supper before the bride and groom disappear to their new house for 7 days (there is that magical number again). Finally the bride and groom would appear to the world as husband and wife. I think this is an exact parallel of the pre-trib belief. It certainly doesn't fit the post-trib belief.

We Are Not Appointed To Face His Wrath

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Quite simply a good definition of the tribulation would be "the wrath of God, and his last attempt to appeal to the masses". If we are not appointed to suffer wrath then we must be taken out of the way. The Antichrist clearly has power over the saints to overcome them ("And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." - Revelation 13:7). In other words he can kill, torture and do what ever else he so wishes to them. So the church could not be protected during this time, as this is in absolute opposition to Revelation 13:7. That means that the post-trib belief that we will be supernaturally protected during the tribulation is not supported in the Bible.

As It Was In The Days Of Noah

If I recall correctly from my years of learning at Sunday School and my reading of the appropriate scriptures, things were pretty bad in the times of Noah. Much like they are today and will be even more so during the tribulation. Another event like this that comes to mind is that of Sodom and Gomorrah (anyone see where I'm going yet?). Now what is the relation between these two events and the rapture. Well, in a rather rare and strange moment of enlightenment, I realised that in these two events the righteous were removed (and protected) from the judgement. Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives (and a whole load of animals) were all safe aboard an ark while God unleashed a catastrophic flood upon the Earth (so radical, it changed the Earth from a super-continent, probably the famous 'Gondwanaland' or something extremely similar into the Earth we live in today!). There they stayed for a year, to then repopulate the Earth. While Lot, his wife, and two daughters were ushered out of Sodom, and thus removed from God's wrath (or the place receiving it). So how does this tie in with the church today? well, the pre-trib rapture is the removal of the righteous from the Earth, so the wrath of God can be unleashed. Now in this case (as in the flood of Noah) the whole of the Earth is affected. Right now I'm sure some of you are thinking "why doesn't he just say God is going to put us on an ark in the middle of the ocean?" Well, my answer would be this. No, because - a)he would need one awfully large ark to fit us all on (I mean come on, up to possibly half a billion on a ship? Imagine the size!) and b)we'd still be in trouble when the nukes start flying. So how about the moon? well, can you breathe on the moon? no, that's just plain stupid. Stacked up against those two possibilities, is a pre-trib rapture not so hard to believe in after all?

Boo Boo! Hiss Hiss!

No, that's not the sort of reception I get, it's the sort of thing I figure any Christian would be saying if there was no pre-trib rapture and the Antichrist came to power. It is said in the Bible that his lies will be so potent, that it would be believed by the elect, if that were possible ("And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" - 2 Thessalonians 2:11, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." - Matthew 24:24). Notice the 'if'. That means it's not, and if there's no pre-trib rapture, when the Antichrist is revealed, I think that Christians will realise just who he is, and I'm sure, declare him that. And when half a billion people say something, people listen! Besides, what's to stop them from praying for him to slip on a banana peel and break his back, or for God to rain fire down on his head? Remember, if two people on Earth agree on it, it happens ("Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 18:19). I don't know about you, but if there were no pre-trib rapture, I certainly hope I don't lie over and play dead. And I'm sure many wouldn't if that were the case.

The One Who Holds Him Back

We are told that the Man of Lawlessness aka Man of Sin aka Son of Perdition aka Antichrist is being held back by something. If you search persistently (or read on, your choice) you will find this verse - "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." - 2 Thessalonians 2:7. It is commonly interpreted that the one who is holding back the man of lawlessness is the Holy Spirit. Now here is where non pre-trib rapture beliefs hit rough and rocky water. The church was promised the Holy Spirit, it was also promised that the Holy Spirit would never leave the church ("But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." - John 14:26). So for the Antichrist to be revealed the Holy Spirit has to be taken out of the way, which means that the church will have to be removed. Of course, it will still be possible for the Holy Spirit to be at work during the tribulation, but it would have a significantly reduced influence, because the church will no longer be upon the Earth.

Daniel's Hills

Daniel was given a prophecy which outlined 70 'sevens'. After 69 of these sevens (which is 483 Jewish years) the messiah would be killed. There is still a missing 'seven' which has yet to be fulfilled. That 'seven' is the tribulation.

Assume what Daniel saw was a road that went up a peak, down the other side, and up a second peak. You are standing at the beginning of the road. You can see the road up the first peak, and the road up the second peak. It looks like the road hits the first peak and starts climbing the second. You can't however, see the road between the two peaks. The first peak is the first 483 years allotted. the second peak is the last 7 years allotted (the tribulation). The road that goes down the first peak and up to the point on the second peak where you can see the road again is the church age. When the rapture happens, and the 7 year peace treaty is signed, the point will be on the seeable part of the second peak. We are nearly there, it is not much farther.

What Will Happen When The Rapture Happens?

Chaos Will Be Afoot

Millions of people have just vanished into thin air. And not just a select age group or race either. Anyone, rich or poor, Asian or European, young or not so young (well you've gotta be careful these days) will have vanished. It is likely that the only group where everyone is taken will be young children and babies (we don't know for certain, but since they can't make a decision to follow Jesus or not, we assume that all under the age of accountability will be taken). Where someone stood one moment, only his clothes will remain. People will vanish from groups ("Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." - Matthew 24:40,41).

There will be immense confusion (and why not?). It will not be just in a few cities, or a couple of nations, it will be worldwide. No doubt nations will be blaming each other for using some secret weapon, forgetting that that country has suffered the same decimation. Some will point towards natural causes, others to aliens. And into this will step a man of utter incredulity. He will be from Europe, he will have answers, and he will bring about something that hasn't happened for 2,000 years - a superstate in Europe. That man will sign a peace treaty with Israel, signalling the last 7 years of gentile domination. He is the Antichrist, and he will be the major player during the tribulation...