Even in the very first chapter of Revelation we see Christ, not as the Gentle Savior of the Gospels, but as the Judge, with eyes of blazing fire, glowing bronze feet, a voice that sounds like rushing waters, a sword coming out of his mouth, and a face glowing like the sun in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:13-18)
In Revelation 3:10 the Church at Philadelphia was given the promise that they would be kept "from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." The implication is clear that God's wrath would be poured out on the whole evil world as He had done at the time of the flood.
In Chapters 4 and 5, future events are seen as emanating from God's sovereign throne. Jesus Christ, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Lamb who was slain, is the only one worthy to open the seals of the scroll. Starting with chapter 6, Jesus opens the seals, one at a time, and each time, events transpire which represent God's wrath and judgment, usually on the whole earth.
In chapter 7 God holds back the strong angels who have power to harm the earth until the 144,000 can be sealed.
In chapter 12, as mentioned before, Satan's wrath is displayed, but it is the result of God's wrath leveled against him.
At the midpoint of the Tribulation, when people must decide whether or not to receive the "mark of the beast," it is said that God's judgment has come.
Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth-- to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." Revelation 14:6-11
3A -The Rapture Takes Place When Christ Returns in Great Glory.
1B - Failure to distinguish between the
Rapture and The Glorious Return of Christ.
The key passage for the prewrath view is the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and 25). There is only one return of Christ in view there, and that is at the end of the sequence of events describing the Great Tribulation. Matthew 24:30 states that, "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." Van Kampen says this is the Rapture. However, there are many differences between the Rapture and the Glorious Return of Christ. Here are some of these differences:
| Christ comes for His own 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 |
Christ returns with His own Revelation 19:14 |
| Believers taken to Father's House John 14:3 |
Believers come to Earth Matthew 24:30 |
| Seen only by believers 1 Corinthians 15:52 | Every eye will see Him Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16; Matthew 24:30 |
| No reference to Satan | Satan bound Revelation 20:1-3 |
| Earth not judged | Earth judged Revelation 20:4-5 |
| A Mystery 1 Corinthians 15:51 |
Foretold in Old Testament Dan. 12:1-3; Zech. 12:10; 14:4 |
2B - Who is Left to Populate the Millennial Kingdom?
If the Rapture were to take place just before the battle of Armageddon, and all the believers were taken just before the final events of the Tribulation, what people would become believers at the very last moments so that there would be godly people to populate the Millennial Kingdom? Van Kampen's thought is that this is where the 144,000 come in. (Rapture, pp. 53-54).
We agree that there will be many Jewish people who believe at the end when they see the Lord whom they have pierced and mourn for Him. (Zechariah 12:10).
However, according to Revelation 7:3 , the 144,000 are sealed before any destruction occurs:
3B - The Judgment of the Sheep and Goats
Van Kampen offers a very unorthodox explanation of this dilemma. Since it is obvious that these Gentile survivors have not yet accepted Christ (or they would have gone up at the Rapture shortly before this time), he says that they will have trusted Christ when they saw Him face to face "when the Son of Man comes in His glory." (Matthew 23:31) (Sign, pp.
403-405)
I didn't notice any mention of this theory in his later book, probably because of difficulties in supporting this view.
4B - The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
"'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
This parable make good sense from a pretribulation point of view because it is similar to the Judgment of Sheep and Goats. In both cases, there are many believers and many non-believers. This takes place at "the end of the age" and the agents are angels. It is difficult for the prewrath position because that view does not allow for a large number of believers at the end of the age.
Again, I did not notice the use of this parable in Van Kampen's later book, The Rapture Question Answered, but is used repeatedly in The Sign. This passage is listed at least 15 times in the Scripture Index of that book. In The Sign, the author usually listed this passage as a proof for the Rapture, saying, for instance,
As we continue, we will see that when believers are received by Christ in the clouds at the Rapture of the church, it will be the angels of God who "gather the wheat into My barn" (Matt. 13:30) and who "gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other" (Matt. 24:31), and that "we who are alive and remain shall be caught up [by God's angels] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:17) (Sign, p. 296)
Notice the mixing of expressions from this parable with the classic passage about the Rapture. This passage simply can not refer to the Rapture, because it is stated that it takes place "at the end of the age," and even more importantly, the weeds, or tares, are collected FIRST, bundled for burning (presumably at a later time - The White Throne Judgment), and THEN the wheat is gathered into the barns.
Conclusion
Another possible reason for the wide-spread interest in the prewrath theory comes from the fact that most pastors are really not up to speed in eschatology. They realize that nearly one third of the Bible is prophecy, but they have not invested the time to know it well. Van Kampen himself says that he spent nine thousand hours of Bible study and research during
eight years to develop his eschatology. Every
serious prophecy teacher has invested many years in concentrated study. What he did though that gives a huge boost to his teaching, is to give free copies of his large and colorful book to pastors. Hopefully, most of them will continue to read other works to balance their knowledge.
What difference does it make whether we accept the pretribulation or the prewrath viewpoint? To Van Kampen, the stakes are great. He says, "your
view of end times may determine whether you, your children, or your grandchildren survive the onslaught of Antichrist or die at his hands."I>Rapture,
p. 131) Just like the postribulation view, the bottom line for the prewrath folks is survival.
By contrast, the bottom line for the pretribulation view is evangelism and holy living. But let's admit that godly prewrath believers can be just as evangelistic as their pretribulation brothers and sisters. And shouldn't we all be wise enough to prepare for the future? In any case, Jesus expects
us to love one another.
According to Matthew 25:31-46, there will be a judgment of "sheep" and "goats" based on how people treated Israel. In the pretribulation view, surviving believers of the Tribulation period will qualify as the "sheep." In the prewrath view, all believers would have been taken at the Rapture and only a remnant from Israel itself would become believers at the very end. It is difficult to imagine that these new converts could be the "sheep" who acted kindly toward Israel.
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares also refers to the separation of believers from non-believers at the end of this age.
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
I have noticed that a surprising number of young pastors have adopted
the prewrath position. One possible reason for this is the normal desire
of each generation to "go beyond" the previous one. It is actually
a good thing for young scholars to test what they have been taught, and
especially to compare it to the Scripture.
