Understanding Daniel's 70th Week and the Rapture - Comparing Matthew 24 and Revelation 6

It's so simple when you stop listening to all the best-selling authors and just read the scriptures.  Suddenly, it all makes sense...

 

 

Revelation: The Fuel Project Guide (Part 34 - The Harvest of the Earth)

Revelation: The Fuel Project Guide (Part 32 - The Firstfruits Harvest)

Revelation: The Fuel Project Guide (Part 11 - Three Points)

One of the short answers to the problem mentioned here is to remember as Christians we are promised protection from the "wrath of God".  We are not promised deliverance from suffering for our faith or from the wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12).

In this part we clear up a few questions that may have arisen from the previous video.

Revelation: The Fuel Project Guide (Part 9: The 6th Seal - The Transition from Tribulation to Wrath)

The Return of the King Jesus Christ and the coming of the Wrath of the Lamb.  This would be the sign immediately preceding the rapture.

Jesus opens the sixth seal on the scroll and signs on the earth and in the sky announce that God's Day of Wrath is about to begin...

The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church Parts 4-7

Why this?  Because Christians need to know the truth.  And for those who aren't Christians?  They deserve to hear the truth, that they might be so moved to make the best possible decision for their eternal lives.

 

 

 

The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church - Part 1 - 3

 

The Pre-Trib Rapture Myth: The Redundancy Of Imminence

One of the philosophical claims of spiritual importance made by those supporting the Pre-Tribulation rapture view, is that it causes Christians to look at each moment as possibly their last.  Jesus Christ could return at any moment, so they claim.  Because of that, we should be living each moment for Christ.  While we should live each moment for Christ, the need for an imminent rapture has never been the reason.

One thing that has been evident to mankind since his creation is that life is fragile and fleeting.  Job, writing perhaps as early as 2000 B.C., penned that in the hand of the Lord is "the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind".  (Job 12:10)  This after watching his family killed in a day.  To our point, Jesus, in Luke 12:16-20.  "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I don't have room to store all of my harvest and goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.  But God said unto him, fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee:  then who shall all of your goods belong to after you are gone?"

Jesus was warning of the danger of taking comfort in wealth, but also warning that everyone's life in this world is one breath away from being over.  It is foolish to assume our future.  We don't need the false teaching that Jesus could return at any moment to warn us to hold life as the most precious gift of all.

James, the brother of the Lord tells us in James 4:13-14 again to take care and not assume tomorrow belongs to us.  "Go now, you that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas you know not what tomorrow holds.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, then vanishes away."  While James could be talking about any one of us and the way we tend to make plans without God, the warning is sobering.  This led to the habit of many in the early church of saying, "we will go there tomorrow, God willing", or "if God wills".  The Arabic people continue this custom today in many countries, although it's normally used by them as an excuse for being late, or not showing up at all.

The point is, the idea of an imminent rapture is theologically redundant.  The Lord may require our souls of us at any time, or our alotted time on this earth may simply be up.  There will come a day, not long after the unleashing of the fourth horsemen (Death and Hades), that we those believers still living will anxiously look for the return of our King.  However, until that time comes, I can confidently say, Jesus Christ is not coming back tonight, or tomorrow.  However, my soul might still be required by the Lord.  Until the next post, God willing....

The Pre-Trib Rapture Myth: It Tickles The Ears

The Crystal Cathedral

Another danger of the Pre-Tribulation view is that it plays neatly into the "health and wealth" gospel that is so popular in the U.S.A., and increasingly in Africa.  The health and wealth lie says that being a Christian means God blesses you in every way right now.  That sounds pretty good.  Except the Bible has all of these passages no one wants to consider.  Like, "If any will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:  and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."  (Matt. 16:24-25)  As I heard a very famous TV pastor say recently in a sermon, "if you are having trouble paying your bills, it's because you lack faith!"  Another lie of Satan meant to "tickle the ears".

1 Timothy 4:3-4 tells us that "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching (tickled) ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."  The Pre-Tribulation rapture view has as a central tenet that the rapture could occur at any moment, even as I'm writing this article.  This makes it "signless".  It also tickles the ear of those who believe the Lord will deliver them from the horrors or Daniels 70th week.  This despite the evidence of 2,000 years of suffering for those who "take up their cross".  In fact, Jesus told John in Revelation 12:11 that "they (believers, the faithful) overcame him (the Dragon) by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death."  This occurs during Daniels 70th week.  Christians will overcome by giving their lives, literally, for their Lord.

The Pre-Trib view can be traced back to 1820's and pastor John Darby, usually given the credit for being the "originator" of the idea.  The biggest boost for this belief came from it's inclusion in the 1909 Scofield Study Bible.  Other famous proponents inclued D.L. Moody, John Walvoord, Warren Wiersbe, and the most prolific writers on the idea, Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye.  I do not write this as a personal disagreement, but to state the obvious.  As outlined in my previous article, the rapture is not signless, that is, prophecies must be fulfilled before it occurs.  We know the signs that Paul mentions (2 Thes. 2:1-4) occur at the mid-point of the final seven years of this age (Dan. 9:27).  We also know that Christians have only been promised deliverance from God's wrath that will be unleashed on the Day of the Lord (Rev. 6:12-17, Matt. 24:29-31). 

If you have read the Rev. 6 passage, you know that the Day of the Lord coincides with the opening of the 6th seal.  The 5th seal, the one preceeding the 6th, simply shows an altar before the Lord in Heaven.  Underneath this altar are "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony they held."  (Rev. 6:9) This 5th seal event also follows the fourth seal opening, which unleashes "Death, and Hell followed with him."  (Rev. 6:8)   These two are given the power to kill one fourth of the inhabitants of planet Earth.  If that indeed happens soon, you are talking about the death of nearly 2 billion people.  And this occurs before the events of the fifth seal, that are clearly aimed at Christians.

 

The rapture will occur, but it will not deliver believers from suffering or from the Devil's wrath.  (Rev. 12:12)  All the promises of deliverance are for the escape from God's wrath.  Believers have never been exempt from suffering.  Blessings are promised to those who suffer in Jesus service, going back to the beginning of His earthly ministry.  (Matt. 5:11-12)  Suffering for Christians is not a possibility, it's a promise.  (Acts 9:16, Rom. 8:36, 1 Cor. 4:10, 2 Cor. 4:11, 2 Tim. 3:12)

The greatest danger of the Pre-Trib rapture is generations of Christians who are not prepared to suffer.  By suffering, I don't mean missing a meal or going to worship when you don't feel great.  By suffering I mean assault and insult because of Who we love.  I mean imprisonment for what we believe.  I mean likely death in the last days for all who hold fast to the name of the Lord.  As Paul said to the Ephesian church, "Awake thou that sleepest..." (Eph. 5:14).  It's time we awaken and prepare for the coming persecution.

   

The Rapture is Real: The Pre-Trib Rapture Is A Myth

The Rapture (Greek harpazo, meaning to seize, carry off by force, snatch away) is a very real event that has been demonstrated scripturally in times past.  (See Enoch, Gen. 5:22-24, Elijah 2 Ki. 2:11)  It's clearly written in prophecies that such an event is coming in the very near future.  (Matt. 24:31, 1 Th. 4:17, 2 Th. 2:1)  However it does not deliver believers from the suffering that is prophesied in the last days.

Let's first define the popularly taught pre-tribulation rapture view.  It states that a final 7 year period of history (Daniels 70th prophetic week, Dan. 9:24-27) is coming.  The rapture will occur before that week (7 year period) begins, saving believers from the horrors that will be unleashed on the earth.  This view defines the final 7 year period as the "Tribulation" (Matt. 24:21, in Greek thlipsis, meaning great crushing pressure) and that the rapture of the saints will take place at the beginning of that final 7 year period.  It also applies the biblical term "Day of the Lord" to this 7 year period. 

Sounds great for believers, doesn't it?  I grew up being taught this view.  Jesus might return at any moment.  He will take us straight to heaven to be with Him.  What could be better?  Leave church on Sunday afternoon, have a big lunch, watch some football, and just as you kick back to take a nap, WHOOOSH!  You are gone.  It does sound great.  Except it's not true.  The Bible says so.

The first problem with this view is that the Day of the Lord event, which is recorded in numerous locations, speaks of an event that happens in one day.  The term in Hebrew for day is yom, meaning a sunset to sunset, 24 hour day.  You can read more about what will happen during the Day of the Lord by checking out some of these passages.  (Is. 2:10-22, 13:6-9, 24:17-23, 34:2-15, Joel 1:15-20, 2:1-11, 3:9-17, Amos 5:18-20, 8:9-10, Zeph. 1:14-18,  Mal. 4:1, Matt. 24:29-31, Luke 21:25-26, Acts 2:19-20, Rev. 6:12-17.)  This is an abbreviated list.  There are plenty more where these came from.  By sheer volume it should be apparent how important this time period is going to be, and how much the Lord wanted His people to be prepared for it's coming.

The second problem lead me to make a bold but Bible backed statement.  Jesus Christ isn't coming back today.  That's because the Bible says certain prophetic events must occur before His return.  And His return is the Rapture.  It's at His return that believers will "meet Him in the air"  1 Th. 4:17.  So what prophecies must first be fulfilled? 

There are three major prophecies that must be fulfilled before the return of Jesus the King and the Rapture.  They are:

1)  The rebuilding of the Temple (or a temple that can be used to reinstitute the Old Covenants system of animal sacrifices) on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, currently home to the Muslim holy site, The Dome of the Rock.  (Dan. 9:27, Matt. 24:15)  This is necessary because the next prophecy needs the Temple in place for it to be fulfilled.

2)  The revealing of the Antichrist in the Temple in Jerusalem.  (2 Thes. 2:3-4)

3)  The Great Apostasy (falling away, from the Greek apostasia), meaning betrayal, defection from a former alliance, or in this case, many who claimed to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will "fall away" and depart the faith for the "power, signs and lying wonders" (2 Th. 2:9) that will be done by the Antichrist.

These three events must be accomplished before the Lord will return and the rapture will occur.  We know from the prophecy in Dan. 9:27 that the Antichrist will reveal himself from the Temple at the halfway mark of the final 7 year period of history.  That means that 3 1/2 years of suffering (at least) must occur first.  Even after these signs take place, we will only know the general time frame, "the season" of Jesus return, not the day or the hour.  And because this is during the Great Tribulation (Great Crushing Pressure), it would appear that Jesus was predicting that few would survive to His coming.  He said "when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)  We would do well to remember that He compared the time of His return to the "days of Noah".  (Matt. 24:37)  Out of all alive on the earth in Noah's day, only eight escaped alive on the ark.

So to clarify, the rapture is not imminent (it cannot occur at any moment), it is not signless, and therefore it lies somewhere in the near future.  In the second part of this article I will explain why believers should not count on the rapture as their hope.  Things are about to get very, very bad. 

The Rapture and The Great Apostasy

The rapture (harpazo in the Greek text) means "to seize, to carry off by force, to snatch away" is perhaps the most talked about of all Biblical prophecies today. The idea of large numbers of people being "snatched away", often portrayed as shooting up into the air, or simply vanishing, is an headline grabber for sure. However the scriptures seem to indicate that there won't be many who get to experience the harpazo/rapture, and a prime reason for that is the coming apostasia, or "falling away, defection". These two ideas are intimately linked in scripture, and that is what we will look at in this article.

While the timing of the rapture is assumed by many thanks to the monumental success of books and movies based on the "Left Behind" series of Tim LaHaye, or the earlier "Pre-tribulation" interpretations of the popular Christian writer Hal Lindsey, we will see in another article that they have assumed quite incorrectly that the rapture could happen at any moment. It cannot.

The purpose of prophecies is to prove the power and glory of God, usually by His predictions coming true under the most amazing and unlikely circumstances. God insists that all of His prophecies must be fulfilled, and some of these remain before the rapture can occur.

Let's look at two that are clearly defined by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. Here Paul is writing to the Thessalonian church, who he had only roughly three weeks to work with before he was chased out of town by the Jews who constantly seemed to pursue Paul. In these verses, Paul is telling the Thessalonian church that two things must occur before Jesus Christ will return and claim His rightful throne, the Throne of David, and rule over Jerusalem and the whole earth. (1Kings 2:45, 9:5, Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:32)

The two historical markers of the soon return of Jesus Christ is the revealing of the "man of sin" (the Antichrist) and the Great Apostasy. The first is clearly stated to happen midway through the final seven year period of this age. (Read Daniel 9:24-27.) The man of sin, we are told (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15), will reveal himself 3 and 1/2 years into the final seven year period of prophetic history. The Great Apostasy will also occur at this time. As you can see from the definition of this word (Taken from Strong's and Thayer's Greek definitions), this apostasy means a betrayal, a mass migration of those who called themselves Christians departing from the faith and following the false Christ.

Many struggle with this idea because of an extremely simplistic idea of "eternal salvation". I believer your salvation is secure if you are willing to live, suffer and die for the Lord Jesus Christ. However, many today who call themselves Christians will prove, when the intense persecution (tribulation) of the last days comes, that they are not willing to give their lives for the Savior. In Revelation 12:11 we are told that believer overcome the Antichrist through three things. The blood of the Lamb (AMEN), their testimony, and that they loved not their lives unto death. If anyone is not willing to die for Jesus Christ, I dare say they are not worthy of the Kingdom of God.

Just a side note on this. Do folks really think that everyone that attends their church is willing to die for their faith? It is something to consider.

If we read a bit further in 2 Thessalonians 2 we see that the Antichrist is aided in his short-lived charade by a power, signs, lying wonders, (vs. 9) deceivableness, unrighteousness, (vs. 10) and finally a strong delusion (vs. 11)". This supernatural revelation and power will aid the Antichrist in accomplishing the Apostasy, the turning away of many who formerly professed faith in Jesus Christ.

Daniel 9:27 points out that these two events happen three and one half years into the final seven year period of this age. Let me add here that the end of the age is NOT, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. It is the end of one period of history (rule of the Gentiles) and beginning of another (rule of Jesus Christ in His thousand year kingdom, the Millenial Kingdom, see Revelation 20:2-4).

The rapture/snatching away is accomplished by God's angels as stated in Matthew 24:31. They will come and gather all of the Lord's elect to Him. That is, those who survive the horrors that effect the whole world (the first six seals opened in Revelation 6) and the great persecution mentioned in Matthew 24:9-13, 21-22.

So, the rapture is a real event executed by God's angels (Psalm 50:5, Matthew 13:39, 24:31). It will occur sometime after the revelation of the Antichrist in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27) and the following Great Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). As we read in Matthew 24:29-31 it will occur in conjunction with the "Day of the Lord" wrath which will be released on the unrepentant who remain on earth.

Believers in Jesus Christ are promised deliverance from God's wrath on the unrepentant world (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and the rapture is that deliverance for those believers who remain alive before the return of Jesus Christ in all of His power and glory.