Part 6
Are
You Pre, Mid, or Post Trib?
Are
you Pre, Mid, or Post? If you don’t know how to answer that question,
you’re probably a Catholic or Anglican. Most Fundamentalists and
Evangelicals know that these words are shorthand for faith in the
pre-Tribulation, or mid-Tribulation, or post-Tribulation Rapture. The terms
all refer to when the Rapture is supposed to occur.
You may be aware that there is a great dispute among believers concerning the timing of the Rapture. Though this is a secondary matter, I personally strongly believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture as being important information for the members of “the body of Christ,” that they "be not shaken (2Thes 2:2)."
Some
Christians misinterpret the Scripture and then go to great lengths to twist
the Scriptures so as to “prove their idea” of where the Rapture fits
into the timeline of then events to come. Some believe the Rapture will come
pre-Tribulation, some mid-Tribulation, still others say it’s
just before the 6th Seal is opened. Then others, such as
Roman Catholic Church see no Rapture at all (amillennialists) only
seeing a gathering to Him at Christ’s 2nd coming to earth.
Contrary to Scripture, they entirely reject the idea of a
“millennial reign of Christ,” which they call “millenarianism”
(see, Catechism of the Catholic
Church 676).
“As
far as the millennium goes, we (Catholics)
tend to agree with Augustine and, derivatively, with the amillennialists.
The Catholic position has thus
historically been "amillennial (no millennium)"… The Church
has rejected the premillennial
position, sometimes called "millenarianism" (see the Catechism
of the Catholic Church 676)…”
(http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-rapture)
“Catholics
believe that those Christians who are still living at the Second Coming
of Christ will be gathered together with those who have died in Christ to be
forever with the Lord. CATHOLICS
do not generally use the term Rapture,
NOR DO THEY BELIEVE in a RAPTURE THAT WILL TAKE PLACE SOME TIME BEFORE
THE SECOND COMING,
as do many Evangelicals.” (http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/do-catholics-believe-in-the-rapture)
1Thes
5:1-3 (below) is one particular section of Paul’s epistles that some misuse
in order to say the Rapture of the church comes at
or with the time of the 2nd coming. Paul wrote of the
coming “day
of the Lord,” then
bringing “sudden
destruction… coming
upon them (v3 below).”
I will here address 1Thes 5:1-3 in some detail.
To
this we might ask, “sudden
destruction… coming
upon” who? Is
this “day
of the Lord” and “sudden
destruction coming upon the “body
of Christ,” or is it upon the
lost of the world left behind to suffer the Tribulation judgments, after
the Rapture?
Will “the church, which is His
body” see the coming “sudden
destruction” of the Tribulation judgments?
That would conflict with Paul other words. “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 Thes 1:10)
You
will recall that we closed Part 4 discussing the proper method of Bible
interpretation that uses the plain
literal interpretation of Scripture, by contextual
study, that’s how we will answer these questions. We must take the
Bible for what it plainly says,
unless we are reading an obvious metaphor or allegory, such as with Gal
4:24. In such cases the Word explains itself to reveal the meaning, such as
with Jesus’ parables of the wheat
and tares, and the goats and
sheep that we will consider in coming installments.
Some mistakenly assume that, because 1Thess Chapter 5 follows Paul’s description of the Rapture in Chapter 4, Chapter 5 must be continuing the same thought of Chapter 4, as if “sudden destruction” must then apply to the “body of Christ” and the Rapture. This is ridiculous and certainly would not be the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of the Rapture that Paul said would “comfort” (1Thes 4:18) the believers. I will prove this erroneous idea.
Yes,
Paul in 1Thes. 5:1-3 is writing TO
his “brethren
(the grace believers)” (1Thes 5:1)
at the Thessalonian church, but it concerns the judgments that will come
upon those remaining upon the earth after
the Rapture by which nearly two-thirds of mankind will die…at
“the end” of
the Tribulation. In Chapter 5 Paul is writing to
the church, but he’s writing about
“them”
(1Thes 5:3, see above),
those upon whom judgment is coming.
Paul says, “THEY
(the non-believers) shall
not escape (v3).” Paul does NOT
say
“sudden destruction… is coming upon YOU,” upon the
Thessalonian believers to whom he is writing.
Some
mistakenly mingle Paul’s words with Jesus’ words seen in the four
Gospels, assuming they both are addressing the same events, as if applying
the “body of Christ.” Jesus,
as “minister of the circumcision”
(Rom 15:8), never spoke a word concerning “the
mystery” or the Rapture of the body of Christ.
Paul’s
words in 1Thes 5:1-3 do agree
with the Lord’s prophesies concerning judgments
coming upon the world and
“And
then shall appear the sign
of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall
see the SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and
great glory. 31 And he shall
send HIS ANGELS WITH A GREAT
SOUND OF A TRUMPET, and THEY SHALL
GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31)
Many
misapply Matt 24:30-31
(above) because these phrases, “he
shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and …
gather together his elect,” sound
similar to Paul’s words concerning the Rapture of the church in 1Thes
4:13-18. But actually Jesus and Paul refer to 2 different comings of
Christ. By looking closely at the
verses preceding Matt
24:30-31 in
context, we see that Jesus is clearly speaking of His 2nd
coming… in judgment.
Note
that Matt 24:13-21 (below) precedes and sets the context
for Matt 24:30-31. Note my
commentary on each verse (in
Arial print in the parenthesis)
and you will see that Jesus’ words obviously describe the Great
Tribulation toward “the
end (v13 below)” of
the Tribulation. These verses do not
apply to the “body of Christ,”
which is to be Raptured several years earlier.
“13But
HE THAT SHALL ENDURE unto THE END, the same SHALL BE
SAVED.
(This
indicates that this Scripture does not apply to the Christian believers
under “the dispensation of the grace
of God” (Eph 3:2). The
Grace believers are assured of their salvation “by grace through faith in
Christ alone”; they’re failure to endure does not negate their
salvation.)
14
And this GOSPEL OF
THE KINGDOM shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto
all nations; and THEN SHALL THE
END COME.
(Christians
are saved according to Paul’s “THE
GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD” (Act 20:24),
not according to “THE
GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM” that
Jesus gave the Twelve for
15
When YE THEREFORE
SHALL SEE THE ABOMINATION
OF DESOLATION, SPOKEN OF BY
DANIEL THE PROPHET, stand in the holy place (temple), (whoso readeth,
let him understand:) 16 Then
let them which be in
(Clearly,
according to Dan 12:11, “THE
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION”
occurs in the middle of the Tribulation, 3-1/2 years after the Rapture,
1260 days before “the end.”
17
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any
thing out of his house: 18 Neither
let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give
suck in those days! 20 But pray
ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21
For THEN shall be GREAT
TRIBULATION, such as was NOT
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.
(Matthew 24:13-21)
(The
“GREAT
TRIBULATION”
is such as we have never yet seen on earth. This has not yet occurred.)
“For
as the lightning (suddenly)
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN be. 28
For WHERESOEVER the
CARCASE is, there will the EAGLES BE GATHERED TOGETHER.
(These
gathered “eagles” will eat the carcasses of the dead of the Great
Tribulation. They are the “fowls” of Revelation 19:18. Consider
these other Biblical references to fowls, eagles, and ravens eating the dead
after judgments.
Jesus
also said these events will occur before He comes again. (This is not a
parable.)
“36Two
men shall be in the field;
the ONE SHALL BE TAKEN,
and the other LEFT. 37And
they (Jesus’ disciples) answered and said unto him, (Taken)
WHERE, LORD? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body
(the flesh body, the carcass)
is, thither will the EAGLES be gathered together.”
(Read Luke 17:33-37.)
The
“taken”
are not taken to a better place, NO! They are taken to death to judgment,
after which the “eagles”
(fowls) eat their flesh.
In
Revelation 19:18, John confirms the fact that “fowls”
will “eat
the flesh” of the
dead.
“And
I saw an angel standing
in the sun; and he cried with a loud
voice, saying to all THE
FOWLS that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may
EAT THE FLESH of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of
mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the
flesh of all men, both free
and bond, both small and great.
It’s commonly understood by those who think Jesus is referring to the Rapture in Matthew 24 that the “one taken” is Raptured and that those “left behind” will suffer the Tribulation, but this is exactly wrong.
1. First this will occur several years after the Rapture of “the body of Christ,” near the end of the Tribulation period. Then,
2. Those “taken” are taken in death by the judgments and their bodies are to be eaten by the fowls and,
3.
Those NOT “taken”
or left on earth alive are the believing Kingdom believers, permitting them
to go on into the
Note that Jesus continued in Mat 24 by saying “as the days of Noah were, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man” Matt 24:37). In Noah’s day the flood took the lost all away and only Noah and his family were left on THE EARTH to go on. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man when the lost are “taken and the believers are left on earth to go on.
Continuing
Matt 24: … 29 Immediately after
THE TRIBULATION of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven
(asteroids?), and THE “POWERS”
(the evil powers) OF THE
HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN
(toppled)” (Matt 24:27-29).
(Satan, Antichrist, the False
Prophet, and the fallen host of angels will be toppled
just prior to the 2nd coming of Christ with “power and glory”
(see v 30).
The
coming of “sudden”
and continuing judgments during the “Great
Tribulation” was NOT
the problem that troubled the Thessalonian believers. Having the eternal
security of the “blessed
hope,” the Thessalonian
believers were NOT concerned
with Antichrist or the Tribulation judgments. Their concern that Paul was
answering in 1Thes 4:13-18 was whether
their loved ones, who “sleep”
(had died in Christ), would
miss the Rapture. As noted
earlier, Paul’s answer is that the dead shall
“rise
first”
to join we “who
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord”
in “the air.” Hence,
concerning the Rapture, Paul says, “Wherefore
COMFORT ONE ANOTHER with these words” (1Thes 4:13-18).
Obviously, there would be no “comfort”
in the “sudden destruction”
by the judgments that are coming upon the lost of the world and upon
“For
this cause I PAUL, the prisoner of
Jesus Christ FOR YOU GENTILES,
2 If ye have heard of the DISPENSATION
OF THE GRACE OF GOD which is GIVEN
ME (Paul) TO YOU-WARD: 3
How that by
revelation he (Christ) made known unto me THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote
afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when
ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5
Which in other ages
was NOT made known unto the sons of men, as IT IS NOW REVEALED UNTO HIS
HOLY APOSTLES (Gk. apostollos, sent ones, i.e., Paul, Barnabas, Silas,
etc) and prophets (preachers,
i.e. Timothy, etc) by the Spirit;
(Ephesians 3:1-5)
Some Christians wrongly assume that because Paul wrote of the “sudden destruction” that, it will come upon the members of “the body of Christ.” Actually, Paul had taught the Thessalonian believers concerning the oft prophesied “times and the seasons” to come (1Thes 5:1, Eph 1:10, 1Tim 4:1, 2Tim 3:1). So they already knew full well what Paul was writing about in 1Thessalonians 5 was in contrast to their “blessed hope” of the Rapture of “the body of Christ” that he describes in detail in 1Thes 4:13-18.
All
believers to this day are to be
“looking for that BLESSED HOPE, and the GLORIOUS APPEARING of
the great God and our Saviour JESUS CHRIST” (Titus
2:13). The word “you”
(believers) in 1 Thes
5:1-3 is distinguished from “them”
and “they”
(the non-believers).
Paul doesn’t say “these things will come upon you
believers,” but that they will
come upon “THEM”
and “THEY
shall not escape” (1Thes 5:3).
So,
the first word, “But”
in 1Thes 5:1, marks a transition
to properly introduced and distinguish
it from the previous chapter of 1Thes 4:13-18. The Rapture of 1Thes 4, as a “comfort”
(v18), is quite distinguishable from that of 1Thes 5:1-3 with its “sudden
destruction… coming upon them”
who “will
not escape.”
In
summary we can consider these distinguishing facts.
1. Note that 1 Thes 4:15-18 has to do with “the Body of Christ,” while the latter, seen in 1Thes 5:1-3, is related to the Tribulation judgments before coming Theocratic Kingdom on earth. Paul often draws contrast to make his points clear.
2.
The closing verses of 1Thes. 4:15-18 deals with the
“mystery,” a
heretofore secret
(1Cor. 15:51) that was first
revealed through Paul. But the opening verses of 1Thes 5 deal with prophetic
truths which had been proclaimed for centuries. 1Thes. 5 contains three
familiar prophetic
phrases: “the times and the
seasons,” “the day of the Lord,” and “a thief in the
night,” meaning the “day
of the Lord” will come “unexpectedly”
for those to whom it applies.
3.
The former passage, 1Thes 4: 13-18, refers to the Rapture of
the members of “the body of
Christ,” while the latter, 1Thes 5:1-3, relates to the subsequent
times of the return of Christ to
earth to reign in His Theocratic Kingdom, nearly seven years later.
4.
Paul wrote 1Thes 4:13 because the Thessalonian believers
needed more light on the truth of the Rapture (1Thes 3:10; 4:13-18), so as
to have faith concerning their dead loved ones. They already
understood the truth about the
coming judgments of “the day of the
Lord,” so concerning that subject Paul wrote; “Ye have
no need that I write unto you” (1Thes 5:1).
5.
1 Thes. 4:13-18 concerns the
believers of “the body
of Christ” in this age, while 1 Thes. 5:1-3 concerns “them,”
the unbelievers whom
Christ will judge near the end of the Tribulation, just before He
returns to earth. In the former passage we find the word “we” four
times, and the “them” who are
“asleep” and will be raised
to join “we
who are alive and remain.” These are both
will be “caught
up together...
to meet
the Lord in the air”
(v17). But in 1Thes 5 “they”
and “them” is
the subject. “When THEY
shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon THEM
... and THEY
shall not escape”
(v3).
6.
While 1Thes 4:13-18 closes with an exhortation to “comfort
one another with these words,”
1Thes 5 should clearly strike fear
into the hearts of the unbelievers, to whom it applies.
7.
The former passage (1Thes
4:13-18) concerns believing saints of God and a sacred secret called “the
Mystery” that was first revealed through Paul, proclaiming their “hope”
of glorious deliverance from the time of God’s “wrath,”
affording them the most blessed “comfort.”
Paul tells the Thessalonians, you
“YOURSELVES
KNOW PERFECTLY” of that “coming
upon them” (the
unbelievers), that is upon those who will be left on earth after
the Rapture of the “body of
Christ.”
8.
Some ask why the Apostle Paul wrote to these believers with
regard to “the day of the Lord,” if
they already “know
perfectly.” The first word in 1Thes 5:1, “But,”
indicates Paul is indicating a
“contrast” between
that which was previously discussed, the
Rapture of 1Thes 4:13-18, and that of “the
day of the Lord” of 1Thes 5:1-3. Paul is simply emphasizing the dis-relation
between the Rapture and that of
the Judgments of the Tribulation to
occur just prior to the 2nd
coming of Christ to earth.
9.
The
latter passage (1Thes 5:1-3) deals
with “them,”
the Christ-rejecting world and the “sudden
destruction” that
will overtake “them.”
Inescapable vengeance will come on them “as
travail upon a woman with child.” A
baby’s birth comes in a sudden
moment even though it was preceded with inescapable signs
occurring over time, which we may liken to the 7-year Tribulation. The
many prophetic warnings of God’s wrath, so long unheeded by
So, the contrast between 1Thes 4:13-18 and 1Thes 5:1-3 is evident.
It’s a great error that some well-meaning preachers and teachers should confuse the joyous day of the Rapture with the calamitous judgments of “day of the Lord.”
Placing the Rapture at the time of or after the Great Tribulation is frightening to the very ones they should be “comforting.”