WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE RAPTURE!

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE RAPTURE

The following are two tracts on the subject of the rapture of the Church. Chapter 1 deals with what exactly the Bible says about the rapture and Chapter 2 talks about why I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to earth soon and hopefully this literature will shed some light to those who have questions about the rapture, are confused about it, or have never heard about the rapture.

This information may be freely copied and distributed to BBS's or printed and distributed. However the text itself may not be changed with the exception of page breaks for a printer.

Alan Yusko

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* CHAPTER 1 *

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WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE RAPTURE..... by Alan Yusko

This tract may be freely copied/printed and distributed in any means possible. The only restriction is that it not be changed.

- WHAT IS THE RAPTURE?

A very common question. What exactly is the rapture and what does the Bible say about it?

Lets start by looking at some Scripture about the Rapture:

1 Thessalonians 4:13
13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 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:
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Corinthians 15:51
51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

What is the rapture? Well it is a description of an event that will occur when God removes His Church supernaturally from the earth. People will literally disappear as they are called up to the clouds to meed the Lord in the air. There will be one generation that will not know physical death but will be instantly translated into the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time each Christian will also be transformed and receive their resurrection body. Lets look a bit more closely at the Scriptures previously quoted.

1 Thess 4:
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

This verse is stating that there will be some alive when Jesus returns. He will be returning with the dead in Christ. That is good news because if you have lost loved ones through death there will be a happy reunion at the rapture.

16 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:

The Lord Jesus will come Himself and will give a shout (command: possibly 'come up hither'). Notice the dead will rise first. There will be a resurrection where we will be given our resurrection, heavenly bodies. The dead in Christ will be the first to receive their bodies.

17 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.

Those who are alive will be caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. What does 'caught up' mean. It literally means to be caught up, to snatch out, or to seize.

Those living at the time of the rapture will also be given their immortal, resurrected bodies. In the rapture the Jesus will not set foot on earth but will rather call us up to Himself in the clouds to meet Him there. This is contrasted with His second coming when He will set foot on earth at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem at the battle of Armageddon. At that time everyone saved and lost will see Him return. However at the rapture only blood bought Spirit reborn Christians will see the Lord Jesus Christ. We clearly have two separate events 1) The rapture when Jesus meets the Church in the air and takes them to heaven and 2) The Second Coming which occurs at the climax of the battle of Armageddon. Here The Lord Jesus comes back to earth at the mount of Olives in Jerusalem and sets up His Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15:51
51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

The rapture is a mystery that God through the Apostle Paul has revealed. The next question is: What is a mystery? Well a mystery is a new truth. Something not previously known.

- Could the mystery be the second coming of Jesus? No as the disciples & Christians already knew that Jesus would return again. Look at Acts 1:9-11 where Jesus is taken to heaven. He will return in like manner, bodily, physically. His Second coming is nothing new.

- Could the mystery be the general resurrection of all believers? Nope! God had already revealed that: See Daniel 12:2, Heb 11:17-19 Job 19:25-27. It was general knowledge that there would be a general resurrection of the righteous and the damned.

So then what is the mystery, the new truth that God through Paul is revealing? Verse 51 tells what the mystery is. 'We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed'.

1) We shall not all sleep. This means there is a generation of believers that will not die physically but will go straight to heaven. That is certainly new and unrevealed information!

- Here is an interesting aside..... What does sleep mean? Why did Jesus and His disciples use the term sleep as opposed to dead? Well the word sleep in their culture also included the fact that the dead person had a future. Death is not a final thing but there is a glorious future for the believer after physical death.

2) we shall all be changed. This literally means we shall be transformed. All born again, blood bought Christians will be given a new body. It will be a body of flesh and bones...a heavenly body just like the Lord Jesus had after His resurrection.

So to sum up verse 51....what is the mystery? The mystery is that there is one generation that will not all die but will rather be instantly transformed into their resurrection body as they meet the Lord in the clouds. This is the rapture! What a glorious way to go to heaven! If you had a choice, which way would you prefer to go to heaven?...by death or rapture? What a glorious new truth!

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

How long will the rapture take? Just a moment, a twinkling of an eye.... How long is a moment, a twinkling of an eye? It will be so quick that the time frame cannot be humanly divided. The rapture will be instant!

At that time we will be given our resurrection bodies as the Church is caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. At the exact same time every believer in the world will be transformed and removed!

What a joy it will be at the rapture! Christians will be given their immortal glorified body. There will be no more sickness, pain, or death. We will forever be with the Lord and our loved ones!

1 Corinthians 15
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Our new bodies will be eternal, incorruptible, and glorious!...and the rapture is going to occur soon!

- WHERE WILL WE GO AFTER THE RAPTURE?

To answer this question lets have a look inside the book of John:

John 14
1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 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.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

In the above verses you can see the following points:

1) In my fathers house are many mansions. Now where is His fathers house? In heaven of course. There are many mansions, dwellings there. What does that mean? Does it mean that some Christians will be very close to God and others will be 6 blocks down the street? No it doesn't. Picture in your mind the temple that once existed in Jerusalem. In the center was the glory of God and around that there were dwellings for the Levites, the priests of the temple. In heaven we will ALL dwell around the glory of God! We will be close and intimate with God as that is what He desires. We will literally be in the very house of God as close to Him as we can get! What a blessing awaits us over there!

2) I go to prepare a place for you. That is what the Lord Jesus said. One of the things that He is doing when He returned to heaven was to embark on a building project for His beloved Church.

3) I will come again. If an unbeliever ever asks you the question: Did Jesus ever say He would return, you can show him this verse. Jesus said 'I will come again'. Pretty clear isn't it?

4) And receive You. Now we are back to the rapture. The purpose is for the Lord Jesus to receive the Church unto Himself. This is another event from the battle of Armageddon which will occur at the end of the 70th week or the Tribulation period at Armageddon. Here we have the pre tribulation rapture as the Lord Jesus receives His Church unto Himself.

5) Unto myself, that where I am, [there] ye may be also. Now where are we Christians going when Jesus comes again? Are we going to make a U turn and come back to the battle of Armageddon like the post tribulation or amillenial people say? Nope, we are going to His fathers house in heaven....that is our destination and not earth. This will occur at the pre tribulation rapture!

We clearly have a distinction of two phases of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. First He comes for His Church, the rapture. Christians are transformed and taken to heaven (to His Father's house). Jesus does not return to earth but rather meets His Church in the clouds. Later on during another separate event the Lord Jesus will return to earth at the battle of Armageddon. At this time every eye will see him as His coming will not be secret like it was in the rapture.

- WHY MUST THE RAPTURE OCCUR?

There are two reasons why the rapture must occur.

1) With the Holy Spirit filled Church in the world God has a restrainer of evil and the evil one. The antichrist and the forces of darkness cannot take over and completely control the world with the Church of the Lord Jesus on earth. God is restraining evil by His Holy Spirit through the Church. God's Holy Spirit indwelt people are literally the 'salt' of the earth. What does salt do? It retards corruption and slows the process of decay. Yes today there is evil in the world but the 'salt' of the Church is a restraining influence on evil.

2 Thessalonians 2
3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

v. 3,4 are talking about the rise of the antichrist...that will occur in the last days. He will enter the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and there claim that he is God. Why can't he do that now? Read on because he is currently being restrained.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.

Evil and the evil one is being restrained and the antichrist cannot come to power until something is removed or taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit is an omnipresent being so He cannot be removed from the earth. However the Church was born on Pentecost just after the Lord Jesus returned to heaven. God is using the Church to restrain evil through the prayers & works of Holy Spirit indwelt men and women. Only when the Church is removed from the earth can the antichrist come to power. Keep in mind that when the Church is removed from the earth the Holy Spirit will still be present. However the restraining influence of God's Church will no longer be present so evil may go unchecked allowing the devil to mount his attack against God and bring his antichrist to power.

2) The second reason why the rapture must occur is that God still has to fulfill the 70th week of Daniels prophecy which was made specifically for the nation of Israel.

All the other false views on the timing of the rapture have one thing in common. They don't understand that God has a plan for the Church and God has a plan for Israel. The Church is a mystery, a called out people between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel's prophecy.

Daniel 9
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon THY PEOPLE and UPON THY HOLY CITY, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

**Note: notice that the 70 weeks are 'determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city'. This is the Jewish people of Israel and Jerusalem. We could stop right here as Daniel specifically says that the 70 weeks are for Israel and not the Church. The Church is a called out people between the 69th and 70th week. To put the Church on earth during the 70th week is to contradict Daniel above.

Notice that 70 Weeks of years (490 years) are determined upon the people of Israel to:

- finish the transgression
- to make an end of sins
- to make reconciliation for iniquity
- to bring in everlasting righteousness
- to seal up the vision and prophecy
- to anoint the most Holy (The Lord Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom)

All this has NOT yet been fulfilled. It will yet be fulfilled upon the nation of Israel just like Daniel was told. Lets continue on in the prophecy:

Daniel 9
25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

These verses are talking about the 7 weeks and 62 weeks of years which add up to 69 weeks. At the end of the 69th week the Messiah will be cut off. This happened at the cross of Calvary. So all that is left is that final week of 7 years. For a more detailed explanation get a good prophecy book that studies Daniel's 70 weeks. (Hal Lindsey, Grant Jeffery, M.R. Dehaan, Dwight Pentecost, J. Walvwood, Dave Hunt, Paul LaLonde etc...)

For a review: Daniel said there was appointed 70 weeks of years for Israel to bring in all righteousness and setup Messiah. When Jesus entered Jerusalem in His triumphal entry it marked the end of the 69 weeks. So we are waiting for the 70th week to be fulfilled. This 70th week begins when the anti-christ confirms a covenant with Israel for 7 years. In the middle of the week he will break his covenant and commit the abomination of desolation.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Now between the 69th and the 70th week there is a time gap...commonly referred to as the Church age.

Points to consider:

- The prophetic 70 weeks stopped at the rejection and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, The Messiah.
- That occurred after 69 weeks or 483 years.
- God has been using the Church (invisible body of Christ) during that time period as the salt of the earth and the restrainer of evil.
- After the rapture the restrainer of evil is removed and the antichrist rises to power and Israel enters their 70th week. This time is also referred to as the time of Jacobs trouble or the Tribulation period.

- WHO WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE RAPTURE?

The answer is simple. Only those who have trusted/accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour will be a part of the rapture. In this world there are only two types of people: SAVED & LOST. Which category do you fit in? Only the saved people will be going up in the rapture.

John 3:14
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

- WHEN WILL THE RAPTURE HAPPEN?

The rapture can happen at any time as there are no prophecies that must be fulfilled before the rapture. As soon as God brings in the last person by salvation into the Church the rapture will occur. After the rapture a person still may be saved in the 70th week or the 7 year Tribulation period. In fact God will use 144,000 Jews from the nation of Israel to win an 'innumerable' number of souls during that time.

All we know is that the rapture will happen before that 70th week. In light of that how much closer are we getting to the rapture when the events of that 70th week of Daniels prophecy are right now being setup in the world!

- CONCLUSION

2 Thessalonians 2:1
1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,

The above verse shows two things:

1) 'the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ'

This will occur at the battle of armageddon when the Lord Jesus will come back to earth to setup His 1000 year Kingdom

2) 'and [by] our gathering together unto him' This is referencing the rapture when all blood bought, Spirit reborn Christians are raptured to heaven. This will occur before the antichrist comes to power and the 70th week of Daniels prophecy begins.

The RAPTURE is the blessed hope for the Christian! It is GOOD NEWS as we live in these perilous days before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men's hearts will be failing as they see what is happening in the earth..but the Christian has HOPE!

Soon we will be in heaven and it is a blessed hope to know that the DAY is quickly approaching. Imagine a whole generation of Christians who will not die but rather be instantly transformed and taken to heaven!

Titus 2
13 Looking for that BLESSED HOPE, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

I hope this tract has been a blessing to you. Here are a few encouraging verses to think about at the end of this tract:

Luke 21
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Romans 5:9
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

1 Thessalonians 1:10
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

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

Revelation 3:10
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

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* CHAPTER 2 *

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WHY I BELIEVE THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

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by Alan Yusko

This tract may be freely copied/printed and distributed in any means possible. The only restriction is that it not be changed.

I wrote this tract in light of all the confusion concerning the timing of the rapture. I believe the Scriptures support the pre-tribulation rapture and this tract will outline some of the reasons why.

One thing that pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath, and post-trib rapture folks all have in common....they all believe that the Lord Jesus is coming back soon! However the 'blessed hope' is only for those who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. The other views unfortunately, are all waiting for the anti-christ and not the Lord Jesus Christ. They have lost their blessed hope! The other views are robbers to the Christian as they seek to steal from the believer the imminent, soon, unknown, time & hope of the rapture.

Another thing the other views have in common. They all viciously attack the pretribulation rapture. The goal is to disprove the pre-tribulation rapture at all costs. Each of the views contradict and disprove each other but they are all strangely united in their attack of the pre-tribulation rapture.

The attacks have confused many Christians and caused some to forsake all prophecy. What a sad thing to happen! Prophecy is a blessing and it should be studied as about 1/4 of the Bible deals with prophecy in some way. Jesus rebuked the people of His day for not recognizing what was written by the Old Testament Prophets. They should have recognized all the prophecies related to the Messiah. Today we are living in the days before the Second Coming of Jesus. How much more should we study and be encouraged by the sure Word of prophecy in these troublesome days.

In this tract I'll present several reasons why I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.

REASONS FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

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NUMBER 1 ... The 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy.

********* ...This is for Israel not the Church!

Daniel 9

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon THY PEOPLE and UPON THY HOLY CITY, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Notice that 70 Weeks of years (490 years) are determined upon the people of Israel to:

- finish the transgression

- to make an end of sins

- to make reconciliation for iniquity

- to bring in everlasting righteousness

- to seal up the vision and prophecy

- to anoint the most Holy (The Lord Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom)

All this has NOT yet been fulfilled. It will yet be fulfilled upon the nation of Israel just like Daniel was told. Lets continue on in the prophecy:

Daniel 9

25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

These verses are talking about the 7 weeks and 62 weeks of years which add up to 69 weeks. At the end of the 69th week the Messiah will be cut off. This happened at the cross of Calvary. So all that is left is that final week of 7 years. For a more detailed explanation get a good prophecy book that studies Daniel's 70 weeks. (Hal Lindsey, Grant Jeffery, M.R. Dehaan, Dwight Pentacost, J. Walvwood, Dave Hunt, Paul LaLonde etc...)

Now between the 69th and the 70th week there is a time gap...commonly referred to as the Church age.

Points to consider:

- The prophetic 70 weeks stopped at the rejection and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, The Messiah.

- That occurred after 69 weeks or 483 years.

- God has been using the Church (invisible body of Christ) during that time period.

QUESTION: What caused God's prophetic time-clock to stop ticking after 69 weeks and what will cause it to resume at the 70th Week?

Notice the following Scripture:

2 Thessalonians 2

3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

God is currently restraining the anti-christ by His Holy Spirit working in and through the Church (all the Spirit-reborn believers). When this restrainer (The Church) is removed, then and only then may the anti-christ be revealed so he can rise to power and confirm the covenant with Israel. As long as that restrainer is in the world the anti-christ cannot come to power...God's restrainer is preventing that. (2 Thess 2:7)

None of the other rapture positions can give any account for what is restraining the anti-christ. To clear up any misconceptions I'll say that the Holy Spirit will NOT be removed from the world. This is a common argument - based on lack of knowledge of the pre-trib rapture. It is usually given by those who say this 'proves' the pre-trib rapture is wrong. But the pre-tribulation rapture does NOT state that the Holy Spirit will be removed, but rather the Church will be removed. How can an omni-present being be removed from anywhere? It cannot be done. God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and will never cease to be anything less than that.

However in this Church age, God is restraining the Wicked One by His Holy Spirit through the Church. When the Church is removed the Holy Spirit will still be here....but the restrainer won't! At that point the anti-christ will be free to rise to power and confirm that covenant with Israel to start the 70th Week of Daniel.

To restate, the 70th week is a prophetic week for the Nation of Israel. The first 69 Weeks were for Israel and so it is with the 70th Week. During the 70th week God again deals with Israel and there is really no need for the Church to be present on earth.

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NUMBER 2... The Wrath of God is NOT to be poured out on His Church.

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Many scriptural promises of escape from the wrath of the Tribulation or the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy must be ignored by the other rapture positions.

Verses like:

Luke 21

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Romans 5:9

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Revelation 3:10

10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

THE ABOVE VERSES MUST BE IGNORED! It is amazing how the Second Coming will be like the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot. Notice that God did not pour out His wrath UNTIL He had safely removed both Noah and Lot to a safe place. The post tribbers ignore this and expect the Church, the Bride of Christ to endure the full impact of the Wrath of God....and the question is WHY? Why must the church endure the Wrath of God? It just doesn't make sense.

To teach that the Church will go through the 70th week just doesn't line up with the Bible. During the 70th week the book of Revelation will be fulfilled....with the seal judgments, trumpet judgments, and vial judgments. This is the WRATH of God and the Church has no part of it.

Why should the Church go through the 70th week of Daniels prophecy when that time is specifically for the nation of Israel and not the Church. God has made provision for Israel after the abomination of desolation. They are told to flee and there is a place prepared for them. There is no such provision for the Church...because the Church will not be here in the 70th week.

- God made provision for Noah and the flood.

- God made provision for Lot at Sodom

- God makes provision for Israel in the 70th week of Daniel.

- There has been no provision for the Church to go thru the 70th week. Why....no need as the Church will not be in the world at that time.

After the rapture at the beginning of the 70th week God will seal 144,000 Jews. The spotlight is again on the nation of Israel and these 144,000 will win an innumerable number of people to Christ. They will take over and do the Commission the Church has done for the last 2000 years. The Gospel will go world-wide and everyone on earth will hear it!

So why should the Church be in the 70th week? There is really no reason or purpose. Today we have Christians in every major city....during the wrath of God we will have pestilence, all the vegetation burned, all water polluted and some say that it will not affect the Church? Sorry I find that hard to believe.

A final point is that during the Church age the devil (gates of hell) will not overcome the Church. During the 70th week the devil WILL overcome the tribulation saints.

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NUMBER 3 ... The coming of Jesus is imminent! His coming will

********* ...be at an UNKNOWN time and a KNOWN time.

The other views destroys the doctrine of the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus is coming at an unknown time and believers are constantly being told to watch and be ready in Scriptures. All the other incorrect rapture views deny the imminent coming of Jesus.

These verses must be ignored - or destroyed by the other views. Notice that the command is to watch because the time of the coming of Christ cannot be known! That is called imminence!...as it could happen TODAY!

Matthew 24:36

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 WATCH THEREFORE: FOR YE KNOW NOT WHAT HOUR YOUR LORD DOTH COME.

43 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.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: FOR IN SUCH AN HOUR AS YE THINK NOT THE SON OF MAN COMETH.

Matthew 24:42

42 WATCH THEREFORE: FOR YE KNOW NOT WHAT HOUR YOUR LORD DOTH COME.

43 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.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: FOR IN SUCH AN HOUR AS YE THINK NOT THE SON OF MAN COMETH.

Matthew 25:13

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Mark 13

31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

32 But of THAT DAY AND [that] HOUR KNOWETH NO MAN, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33 Take ye heed, WATCH AND PRAY: for YE KNOW NOT WHEN THE TIME IS.

34 [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

35 Watch ye therefore: for YE KNOW NOT WHEN the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH.

Luke 12:36

36 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.

37 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.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find [them] so, blessed are those servants.

39 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.

40 BE YE THEREFORE READY ALSO: FOR THE SON OF MAN COMETH AT AN HOUR WHEN YE THINK NOT.

1 Thessalonians 5:1

1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

6. Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us WATCH AND BE SOBER.

1 Peter 4:7

7. BUT THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND: be ye therefore sober, and WATCH UNTO PRAYER.

Now as you have read the above verses...let me ask you a question. Can the time of the Second coming be known? Can we know the exact day? ...... According to these verses the answer is NO! We cannot know the exact day of the return of Christ. Jesus is coming at an UNKNOWN time!

The UNKNOWN DAY of Jesus' return:....the rapture: We will not know when the rapture will occur. It is an imminent event ... which means it could happen at any time. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before it happens.

In light of the UNKNOWN day there is also a KNOWN DAY of Jesus' return. Did you know that after certain prophetic events the exact day of Jesus's return can be marked on a calendar. Did you also know that you cannot have a KNOWN day of Jesus's coming and an UNKNOWN day of His coming...on the same day? The UNKNOWN day is the rapture and the KNOWN day will occur at the end of the 70th week where Jesus will setup His kingdom on earth. Read on for more information about the KNOWN day.

Daniel 9:27

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for ONE WEEK: and in the MIDST OF THE WEEK he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ONE WEEK = 7 YEARS

MIDST OF WEEK = 7 years divided by 2 = 3 1/2 years

Daniel 12:7

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a TIME, TIMES, AND A HALF; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these [things] shall be finished.

TIMES, TIMES, AND A HALF = 3 1/2 YEARS

Revelation 12:6

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.

AGAIN 3 1/2 YEARS

Revelation 12:14

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

AGAIN 3 1/2 YEARS

Revelation 13:5

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months.

AGAIN 3 1/2 YEARS

NOTE**(A prophetic year is 360 days)

The KNOWN day: Once the 70th week of Daniel, or the time of Jacobs trouble begins we can easily tell the exact day when Jesus will return. Once the antichrist and Israel sign the covenant we know that in exactly 7 years Christ will return. In the midst of the week (3 1/2 years) the antichrist commits the abomination of desolation. From that point in time we know there is: 3 1/2 years left, or 42 months left, or 1260 days left. At this point the coming of Christ is KNOWN. So what do we do with all the verses that say His coming is UNKNOWN? Throw them out? Of course not!

NOW in light of all this information about the KNOWN day and the UNKNOWN DAY we can think this through. Since the incorrect views put the rapture sometime after the 70th week begins, they have lost the unknown day. All the verses that say that the coming of Christ will occur at an unknown time must be thrown out. If I am here then when the antichrist signs the covenant with Israel then I know that in exactly 7 years Jesus will return. You can be assured that I will mark my calendar!...and count the days!

If by chance I miss the beginning of the 70th week, I won't miss the abomination of desolation in the middle of the 70th week. At that point I know that in exactly 1260 days Jesus will return. You see I've lost the unknown day because I can mark the day on my calendar. I may as well throw all those UNKNOWN coming verses out. There is no problem with the pre-tribulation view on the rapture. The rapture will occur at an unknown time sometime before Daniels 70th week begins. At that point the Church is taken to heaven and with the restrainer removed the antichrist may come to power. There an UNKNOWN day and a KNOWN day at the end of the 70th week. We have perfect harmonizing of Scripture with the Pre-tribulation rapture....the correct view. With the all the other incorrect rapture views we have to throw out the Scriptures related to the UNKNOWN day.

To repeat:

Since the false rapture views believes the rapture will occur sometime after the 70th week then why the command to WATCH and be READY? In the verses above the exhortation is to WATCH, WATCH, WATCH, and be ready! Why WATCH if the rapture will not occur until the end of the 70th week. Why bother watching for the coming of Jesus? Why not wait until you are in the 70th week to begin the watch. Human nature being what it is, that is what most people will do. So not only does the incorrect rapture views rob the Christian of the Blessed Hope of Christ coming to take him from the world before God judges it....he has no purifying incentive in lifestyle. Jesus cannot come today so why live in Holy expectation of His coming? However the pre-tribulation view has a great BLESSED HOPE looking for the coming of Jesus at an UNKNOWN time....that time could be today!!!!! Since the time is unknown and it COULD be today this is a purifying hope also....and encourages Holy living.

Titus 2:13

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

The post/mid/pre-wrath robs the believer of both the blessed imminent expectation of the believer and the purifying hope of Christ's return which could happen today! These views are a robber. Another way these incorrect rapture views robs from the blessed hope is... if the Church has to go through the 70th week it doesn't have much to look forward to. There will be 7 seal judgments, 7 trumpet judgments, and 7 bowl judgments. During that time all the vegetation will be burned up, all the water will be polluted and turned to blood, the sun will scorch men, there will be massive earthquakes that shake every city in the world, and 100 pound hailstones. Now for the average person looking forward to going through that....we don't have a hope but rather a dread and something to be feared. Then as a result of God judging the world there will be massive death and not many men will make it to the end...maybe only several million as opposed to 6+ billion currently living. What a 'hope' these views offers... almost certain death as God judges the world with His bride it it. Then they have the nerve to call those who believe in the Pre-tribulation rapture as an 'escape' theology. God has promised an escape from His Wrath and Judgment for His people and these false views make a mockery of that promise. This does not make sense to me!!...or to the intelligent person who thinks it through.

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NUMBER 4 ... Populating the Millennium: and Post-tribbers

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Lets draw the picture here. We are at the end of the Tribulation and Jesus is coming. At this point the post-trib wrath rapture happens and all Gods people are raptured and given new immortal bodies. The wicked are left to be judged by God... So we have all God's people removed from the earth...and all the wicked left. Now the question is: who will populate the nations of the millennium? The fatal error is that there is no one left to populate the nations of the millennium if the rapture happens at the Second Coming.

If the rapture occurs according to pre-wrath or post-trib we have a problem. Maybe you can answer that little problem....If all God's people are raptured at the end of the Tribulation at the 2nd coming of Jesus...then who will populate the millennium? Surely not the wicked.. You see the folks with the truth of the pre-tribulation rapture don't have any problem populating the millennium with mortals...but the post trib view does.

This is a nasty problem for the incorrect rapture views. You see if all of God's people are raptured at the very end when Jesus returns that leaves only the wicked left. The wicked will all be destroyed at the coming of Jesus...so you have a problem. Who will populate the millennium? If the rapture occurs at the 2nd Coming all of God's people will have their immortal bodies and they will not marry, have children etc...so they cannot be the ones who populate the millennium and have children etc. Some of course try to argue that the wicked will inherit the Kingdom of God. What foolishness to lower oneself in order to defend an incorrect doctrine.

2 Thessalonians 1

7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Notice that ALL those who are not saved will be destroyed. By that time men will have accepted or rejected Jesus. So I repeat at the second coming of Jesus...all the wicked (Christ rejectors) are destroyed and all Gods people are raptured (according to post) then there is no one left to populate the millennium.

Lets dig a bit deeper about the lost inheriting the Kingdom:

Will the Christ rejectors inherit the Kingdom...in other words the wicked. Sorry that will not happen. By the end of the 70th week all mankind will have chosen sides either for or against Christ.

Again no problem with the pre trib view as there will be tribulation saints that will survive to the very end of the 70th week. The survivors of the tribulation saints will go into the Kingdom and not the wicked who will be destroyed. These saints will have children who must choose to accept or reject Jesus. As in every dispensational age sinful man has failed and at the end there will be many who have rejected Christ.

However if the rapture happens when Jesus returns you have no one to populate the kingdom. Problem for post trib and pre-wrath...no problem for pre tribulation.

For those who are still not convinced and think the unsaved may inherit the kingdom of God....here are some verses that say it all:

Psalms 2:12

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.

Zephaniah 3:9

9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

Malachi 4:1

1. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Matthew 13:41

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Matthew 24:51

51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:12

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Matthew 25:30

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 17:29

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all.

Luke 17:27

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Luke 17:32

32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

1 Thessalonians 5:3

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

2 Thessalonians 1:7

7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

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NUMBER 5

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The other tribulation views allows no time for the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Marriage of the Lamb, and the Marriage Supper to occur.

The Judgment seat of Christ:

----------------------------

Romans 14:10

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.

1 Corinthians 3:9

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building.

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1 Corinthians 4:5

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

The Wedding and Marriage Supper of the Lamb follows the Judgment seat (Rev 19:7-9). This occurs BEFORE the second coming which is recorded in Rev 19:11-21.

Revelation 19:7

7 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.

8 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.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Only the Pre-Trib position allows sufficient time for these events to occur. You see believers will be in heaven at least 7 years before the second coming of Christ...lots of time for the Judgment seat, the Wedding, and Marriage Supper.

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NUMBER 6 .... 24 Elders: Representative of the GLORIFIED Church

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Here is a description of the 24 Elders:

Revelation 4:1

1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and [one] sat on the throne.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and [there was] a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4 And ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE [were] four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in WHITE RAIMENT; and they had on THEIR HEADS CROWNS OF GOLD.

- location is around the throne

- Wearing White Raiment which is a promise to the Church

- They had crowns of Gold on their heads indicating that the judgement seat of Christ has already occurred and His Church has been rewarded

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6 And before the throne [there was] a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, [were] four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

7 And the first beast [was] like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast [was] like a flying eagle.

8. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 5:8

8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

- They are kings and priests before God. Another promise to God's Church

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

- They have crowns on their heads. Only the Church will receive and wear crowns which they will then throw at the feet of the Lord Jesus in worship. The fact that they are wearing crowns indicate that the Judgment Seat of Christ has already occurred. This alone refutes the other incorrect views on the timing of the rapture and proves the pre-tribulation position as correct.

Some more points proving that the 24 elders represent the Church:

- They are numbered (24). On the other hand angels are never numbered

- Their position suggests that they represent the Church. They are seated on thrones surrounding the Throne of God. God gave the promise to His Church that she would reign with Him. Here are some promises the Lord Jesus gave to His people related to reigning with Him:

Revelation 3:21

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Matthew 19:28

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

- They have white raiment again suggesting the Church. The white raiment represents the righteousness that has been imputed to the believer as a result of what Jesus did on the cross.

Revelation 3

5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

- They have a priestly ministry: They have "harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints." (Rev 5:8)

This concludes this section. I think there is enough evidence to suggest that the 24 Elders represent the Church. The fact that they have crowns on their heads proves the Beama seat judgment has already occurred. Only the Church is promised crowns in Scripture and in Revelation Chapter 4 they are wearing those crowns! If that is true, which it is, then the rapture must have already happened!

OTHER POINTS

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Here are a few additional points to consider related to the timing of the rapture.

=========

POINT 1

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The other incorrect rapture views cannot explain why the church is so prominent in Revelation chapters 1-3, yet so totally absent during the wrath portion (Chapters 6-18)

The obvious reason is the Church is not on the earth.

Again the question arises? Why must the Church endure the wrath of God? The Seal, Trumpet, and Vial judgments will decimate the planet and there is no purpose at all for the Church to be here during that time. The 70th week, The Time of Jacobs Trouble is for the nation of Israel.

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POINT 2

========

Trumpet errors. The post/mid trib view tries to make the trumpet in 1Corthians & 1Thessalonians 4 the same as the trumpets in Revelation & matthew 24. They get really hung up on the trumpets trying to prove the last trumpet is all the same: in Matthew 24 & Revelation, and 1 Corinthians.

The trumpet error has lots of holes in it. For example the trumpet Paul is talking about in 1 Cor 15:52 is a trumpet of blessing directly blown for the church. It is associated with great blessing for the Church. Also in 1 Cor 15:51 Paul states that this is a mystery....something new...not revealed. At the trumpet in Matthew 24...men will hide and be fearful as Jesus is returning in judgment. The last trumpet in Revelation is a trumpet of judgement. Clearly different trumpets...unless you want to twist, twist, and bend the Scriptures a bit.

The incorrect assumption made is that there is only one kind of trumpet blast. This is a bad assumption. There are trumpets of judgment in Revelation. Who says the trumpet calls for Israel, The Church, and the judgments of Revelation are the same type and trumpet???? Only be streeeeeeeching the Scriptures can those trumpets be linked into the same trumpet blowing.

THE TRUMPET IN REVELATION IS NOT THE SAME AS THE ONE IN MATTHEW 24

In the book of Revelation the 7th angel sounds and the call is made that the kingdoms of this world become Christs'. BUT we still have the 7 bowl judgments to be poured out on the earth. This is also a proof that we have a different trumpet than the one in Corinthians and in Matthew. When the one in Matthew sounds, Jesus is seen by all on earth as He returns (Matt 24:30). Matthew 24 does not have the bowl judgments as they have already occurred...Jesus is returning to earth and everyone will see Him coming. But when the last trumpet sounds in Revelation, this signals the beginning of the bowl judgments. Clearly a different trumpet from the one in Matthew 24.

This is proof positive that the trumpets are DIFFERENT. All those who try to twist the trumpets into their incorrect views of the rapture are standing on very shaky ground. (earthquake!!)

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POINT 3... No resurrection in Matthew chapter 24

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RESURRECTION IN MATT 24??? When Jesus returns....Not in My Bible! But that is what I have been told by some followers of the incorrect views of the rapture.

Where is the resurrection in Matthew 24? There is clearly no resurrection in Matthew 24...in fact if you look at Matt 25 you will see a separation of Sheep and goats rather than a resurrection. Matthew chapter 25 follows right after Matthew 24 and should not be ignored OR 'ignored by spiritualization'.

Matthew 25

31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Notice that after Jesus returns in Matthew 24 there is a sheep and goat separation in Matthew 25. This is not necessary if the rapture happens according to the post trib view. The separation would have already occurred at the rapture. There is no problem with the pre-trib view as the rapture would have happened before Daniel's 70th week and the separation of the survivors of the Tribulation in Matt 25 makes perfect sense.

Another point is if the resurrection occurs in Matthew 24 they why bother separating the sheep from the goats in Matthew 25..the rapture would have done that? To have a resurrection in Matthew 24 just doesn't make sense or line up with the Bible OR Matthew 25.

Another thing I have been told is that the elect in Matthew 24 are the Church. Where does it say the elect He gathers are the Church in Matthew 24 and not tribulation saints or Israel? Some claim the term 'the elect' only refers to the Church. They are probably the same ones who claim all the last trumpets are the same. The elect can be Israel, or the tribulation saints, or the Church.

CONCLUSION:

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Many times when talking to the adherents of the incorrect rapture views I hear this death question.

CLASSIC STUPID QUESTION

=======================

>If a day comes in your lifetime when there is a mark given on the >right hand or on the forehead, without which you cannot buy or sell >anything, will you receive that mark?...or die?

This is a really stupid question ... a standard one given by the followers of the incorrect rapture view. This is not the first time I have heard it.

It shows the following:

- These people cannot tell the difference between the tribulation that the Church has experienced for the last 2000 years and the tribulation of the 70th week of Daniels prophecy for Israel. Try picking up and reading Foxes Book of Martyr's and read about some 'tribulation' that the church has experienced in days past. Do a few studies on the current persecution of the Church in China, Russia, Mexico and other places.

- It assumes a bloodbath in the 70th week for all believers. It is a death question...a what-if that will not happen to the Church because of the pre trib rapture. It will however happen to the tribulation saints. Why would God send His loved bride into the 70th week and into the bloodbath? There is no reason at all and certainly has no part of the 'blessed hope'. The blessed hope of these incorrect views is the bloodbath of the 70th week of Daniels prophecy which is...certain death.

- If these people have a martyr complex then why wait until the tribulation of the 70th week. Why not go to Saudi Arabia and preach the Gospel...or go to Tehran and hand out Gospel tracts? I guarantee you will get your desired results TODAY! Prove you do not wish to 'escape tribulation'.

For those reasons there is no reason to answer a question that is doctrinally incorrect....and just downright stupid.

To conclude:

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In this tract we have looked at the fact that the 70 weeks of Daniels prophecy is for Israel and not the Church. We saw that the wrath of God is not to be poured out on His beloved Church. Also, there is no reason for the Church to be on earth during Daniels 70th week. We showed that there was a KNOWN day of Christ's return and an UNKNOWN day which is the rapture. We looked at the problem of populating the millennium. This alone refutes the post tribulation view as they leave no one alive on earth but the wicked to populate the 1000 year reign of Christ. We also had a peek at the Judgment seat of Christ, the marriage, and the 24 elders in Revelation who are representative of the glorified & rewarded Church. We covered a few other points but surely enough evidence has been given to show that the pre-tribulation view is Scriptural and is the only view that harmonizes with the entire prophetic picture.

Why stop here? There are lots of good books that give Scriptural references to the pre-tribulation rapture. Authors like Dwight Pentecost, John Walvwood, Hal Lindsey, Grant Jefferies, and Dave Hunt Paul LaLonde give lots more reasons for the pre-tribulation rapture.

Here is some points to study or ponder in light of what you have read:

- What about the KNOWN day and the UNKNOWN day of Jesus' coming?

- Study Daniels prophecy about the 70 weeks to ISRAEL. The post trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath all make the same error. They cannot tell the difference between God's plan for Israel and the Church which is a mystery and a called out people between the 69th and 70th week.

- Have a look at the 24 elders in Revelation

- Notice they have crowns & sit on Thrones etc...

- Sounds like the Judgment seat of Christ has occurred.

- Who else but the Church will wear crowns? (no one)

- Think thru the 'who will populate the millennium' problem. The post trib leaves no saved mortals after the 'rapture' to inherit the Kingdom of God and populate the nations. The pre-trib leaves the saved, unresurrected Tribulation saints who will go into the millennium, have children etc.

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