Why Knowing The Rapture's Timing Matters
I believe knowing the rapture's timing matters because Jesus said it's possible for those who believe to subsequently "be offended" by tribulation and fall away:
"The same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended" (Matthew 13:20-21).
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:9-12).
"They, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation [peirasmos] fall away" (Luke 8:13).
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try [peirasmos] you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13).
I don't believe someone necessarily will fall away because they believe in a pre-trib rapture, or won't fall away because they believe in a post-trib rapture, but true believers -- whether pre-trib or post-trib -- can fall away in tribulation.
And I believe Jesus told us everything we'd have to face beforehand for a good reason, so that we'd be less likely to be offended and fall away: "Take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Mark 13:23). "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). To be forewarned is to be forearmed: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (and possibly even physically, if the Lord so leads).
I believe the pre-trib doctrine may be setting up many in the church for great disappointment and confusion and the falling away from the faith: "The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith" (1 Timothy 4:1), and this departure from the faith will happen before Jesus comes to rapture us: "We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him... Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3); "Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:10-12); compare "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (John [b]6:66[/b]).
I expect Satan will use the failure of a pre-trib rapture to happen as a great weapon against Christians who believed with all their heart that Jesus had promised them a pre-trib rapture. He could say something like: "Jesus promised you that he would whisk you away before the tribulation started, but did he keep his word? No. Just like he kicked your parents Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden to keep them from eating from the tree of life and living forever, as it says in Genesis 3:22-23, so even now he doesn't want the best for you; he just wants you and your baby there to suffer and starve to death for his amusement! You don't believe me? Read it for yourself in Job 9:22-23 and Proverbs 1:26. But look here, I'm not laughing at you, I'm offering you and your baby food to eat. Why? Because unlike him I care about what happens to you. All you need to do is take this little mark on your hand or forehead and worship me and my man here for a little bit and we'll take perfect care of you; and once we're all united we'll storm heaven together and I'll let you eat of the tree of life and live forever and do as you please."
I believe it's possible that some Christians, desperate in their suffering and the suffering of their little ones, could fall for this deception, for haven't many already fallen for a false gospel which says Jesus saved them from the tribulation?
"They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness" (Isaiah 8:21-22).
Or, when a pre-trib rapture doesn't happen, instead of presenting it as evidence to the world that Jesus is a hateful liar, Satan could use it as evidence that Jesus is not as powerful as he is. He could say something like this to unbelievers: "Jesus promised his followers that he would rapture them into heaven before this tribulation started, but did he keep his word? No. Why? Because his power and that of his followers is failing and my power and that of you my followers has greatly increased. Why? Because I, Lucifer the light-bringer, have brought mankind into the light of truth regarding the oppressor, who would have you tortured for eternity in the lake of fire for his amusement! In our newly found spiritual unity we now have the spiritual power to thwart every work of Jesus on the earth and accomplish anything that we please. Isn't this what Jesus has been afraid of from the beginning? Read it for yourself in Genesis 11:6-8. He knows that all of us together can defeat him, and so we have begun our victory by preventing his promised pre-trib rapture from happening. Now let us make short work of any of his deluded followers who refuse to join us in the coming battle. If we let them live they will only hinder mankind's attainment of immortality. We need perfect unity before we can attack heaven and capture the tree of life, that tree which I, in my care for you, intended to let you eat from in the beginning, but the oppressor would not have it. Read it for yourself in Genesis 3:4-5, 22-24."
Could even some bewildered believers fall for this deception when the pre-trib rapture they were certain their godly pastor had said Jesus had promised them fails to happen?
*******
Fear
I believe we all -- whether we are pre-trib or post-trib -- must in these days begin to face and get free of any fear of tribulation and any fear of death, as Christians have always been exhorted to:
"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:7-8).
"Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:15).
"Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do" (Luke 12:4).
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better" (Philippians 1:21-23).
*******
Itching Ears
I believe some teachers may unwittingly be giving the people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4), instead of what they need to hear (Mark 13:23), just as happened in the days of old (Jeremiah 14:13-15, Ezekiel 13:2-16).
*******
Preaching The Gospel
I've heard the gospel preached in this manner: "Get saved now or you'll have to go through the great tribulation. God has promised all believers a rapture before the tribulation." What could happen to the faith of some of those saved on this basis, if there's no rapture before the tribulation? Could some begin to think they were sold a bill of goods, that the gospel is a sham?
I believe the gospel we preach must include everything that Jesus taught (Matthew 28:20), including what we must face before he comes to gather us together (Matthew 24:3-31).
I believe the gospel message taught by pre-trib doctrine saves people just as that taught by any other Christian eschatology. However, I believe what pre-trib doctrine teaches is incomplete insofar as I understand Matthew 28:20 to be referring to everything Jesus taught, including what we must face before he comes to gather us together (Matthew 24:3-31). I also believe pre-trib doctrine adds a promise that wasn't something Jesus taught.
*******
Heresy?
I personally don't believe eschatology itself can be heretical because a heretic can't be saved (Galatians 5:20-21), and we aren't saved by our eschatology (Romans 10:9-10).
But I do believe that a wrong eschatology can lead to the changing or the inventing of other doctrines in order to conform to our eschatology. Pre-trib doctrine changes the definition of salvation to include being saved from the tribulation. When it's pointed out that a "great multitude" of saved Christians will be in the great tribulation (Revelation 7:9, 14), pre-trib doctrine must then change the definition of the church to include only those saved before a pre-trib rapture, and it must invent a new class of believers it calls "tribulation saints." But then we're left with the problem of a great multitude of Christians saved after the cross and after Pentecost (i.e. not OT) who are outside of the church, when Paul said there was only one faith and one body (Ephesians 4:4-6).
I don't believe that any of the doctrinal changes and inventions of the pre-trib view are necessarily heretical in themselves, as none of them affect the core beliefs by which we are saved: the atoning death and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Some believe the pre-trib view is heretical as it teaches falsely about the timing of the resurrection. But even though, like Hymenaeus and Philetus, the pre-trib view does change the timing of the resurrection of the church, I think the case with Hymenaeus and Philetus, who claimed that the resurrection of the church was already past (2 Timothy 2:17-18), may have been different in that their doctrine may not have been invented simply to support their eschatology but instead their eschatology may have been the outgrowth of a basically heretical Gnostic-type gospel which may have "blasphemously" (1 Timothy 1:20) denied the physical incarnation and resurrection of Christ himself, and so had to spiritualize the resurrection of the church to the point where they taught that no physical resurrection of the church would ever occur: those in the church had already been resurrected spiritually the moment they were saved. But this is conjecture on my part as we don't know enough about Hymenaeus' and Philetus' core beliefs regarding the incarnation, atoning death, and resurrection of Christ.
*******
Apostasy?
I don't believe eschatology itself can be apostate because an apostate can't be saved (Hebrews 6:4-6), and we aren't saved by our eschatology (Romans 10:9-10).
*******
Faith In Jesus Himself
Some say pre-tribbers won't lose faith in the tribulation because their faith is in Jesus, not rapture timing. But if we believe scripture is the word of Jesus himself, then doesn't what we believe scripture promises necessarily relate to our faith in Jesus himself?
Some rightly say that knowing Jesus is the only thing that matters. But sometimes I hear pre-tribbers saying things like "The Jesus I know would never let believers go through the tribulation." This makes me wonder who it is they think they "know" in light of verses like Revelation 2:10, 13:10, 14:12-13, etc.
*******
Division
Some argue that the different rapture-timing beliefs only divide the church, so we should stop discussing them altogether. But why should eschatology divide us? Are there really any churches that say "you can't come into our worship or prayer service or bible study today because you don't believe pre-trib (or post-trib or pre-wrath) like we do?"
*******
Strife
Note that my intention is not to cause strife, but only to share what I believe the Bible says and doesn't say. I believe that it's possible for all of us to share our diverse views of scripture without fighting one another personally, that it's possible "to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men" (Titus 3:2).
My hope is that we can avoid all ad hominem and discuss what the scriptures themselves say.
*******
"Anti-Pretrib"
I 'm sorry that some choose to call post-tribbers "anti-pretrib" just as I'm sorry some choose to call pro-lifers "anti-choice."
*******
Doctrine Matters
Some say we should just let people believe what they want without ever trying to change their views. But isn't this the opposite of what the Bible says (2 Timothy 4:2-4; 1 Timothy 4:13, 16; 1 Timothy 1:3)?
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Timothy 4:2-4).
"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine... Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee" (1 Timothy 4:13, 16).
"Charge some that they teach no other doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:3).
*******
Who Cares About Eschatology?
Jesus cares that we know everything that must come before he comes:
"Take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Mark 13:23);
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand" (Revelation 1:1-3).
*******
Plain & Simple?
I believe that Jesus did lay it out plain and simple for us believers that we must go through the coming tribulation (Revelation 13:7-10, 14:12-13), that he will come to gather us together "immediately after the tribulation" (Matthew 24:29-31), and that his coming to gather us together must "destroy" the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8); "Take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Mark 13:23).
TOO COMPLEX?
Some say we make salvation "too complex" by talking about the rapture and the tribulation. But the Bible teaches those of us who have been saved of the tribulation and the rapture for a purpose, or they would not be in the Bible: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:6-7).
REMAIN AS CHILDREN?
"Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). In Matthew 18:3, I don't believe Jesus meant that we are to be like little children in our understanding of what must come, for note that elsewhere it says: "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men" (1 Corinthians 14:20); "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe" (Hebrews 5:12-13).
*******
Take No Thought For The Morrow?
Note that in Matthew 6:31-34 the Greek word for "thought" means to be anxious. We aren't to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6), but I believe we are to take heed to Christ's warnings about what is coming (Mark 13:5-23), just as we would if we heard a hurricane was coming our way.
*******
Hindering The Church?
Some accuse post-tribbers of "trying to prevent others from filling their lamps." But isn't, in fact, the opposite the case, that post-tribbers are warning the church to also take an extra flask of oil (Matthew 25:4-9) to get them through the long night of the tribulation?
*******
Wasting Time That Could Be Spent Evangelizing?
I believe we all should share Christ with the lost, but should we all be full-time evangelists, never doing anything but evangelism? Should the body of Christ have only one part (1 Corinthians 12:17-30)? Must every pastor abandon his flock, every teacher abandon his Sunday school class, and all go and speak full-time only to the lost?
Must every teaching be addressed only to those who know nothing of Christ or his word? Must we then even condemn all of the epistles in the New Testament because they wasted so much of their time addressing those who already believed in and knew Jesus, and discussed issues that no unbeliever would understand?
Where does the perfecting of the saints and the edifying of the body of Christ enter in (Ephesians 4:11-12)? Are we Christians never to go beyond the principles of first repentance and faith in Christ (Hebrews 5:12)? Are we never to give heed to all that Christ taught in his many teachings for those already repentant and faithful (Mark 13:23)?
Isn't this one of the problems with many churches today, that the pastors keep their flocks as babes, sucking at the pap of the pablum of men, and spoon-feeding them false hopes and false gospels of pre-trib raptures and pain-free, mammon-worshipping lives (James 5:1-3, Revelation 3:17)?
Make no mistake, all of this will come to an end within this generation. We will see the end of every false gospel, the winds of tribulation will sweep them all away (Isaiah 28:17, Ezekiel 13:15-16), leaving untouched the bedrock of the patience and the faith of the saints of Jesus Christ (Revelation 13:10, 14:12).
*******
Ministering
Some say we should all be doing our individual ministries and not wasting time discussing the rapture's timing. But what if our individual ministry is to warn the church that it will go through the tribulation? Jesus said we're to occupy until he comes (Luke 19:13) in whatever particular work he's given to us individually to do (Mark 13:34). There are many parts to the body (1 Corinthians 12:6-31), many different works to be done, so that the body might edify itself in truth and in love (Ephesians 4:15-16).
"Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings" (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20).
*******
Feeding The Hungry
Some say we should quit discussing the rapture scriptures and go out and feed the poor and widowed. But are these things mutually exclusive? And don't people also need to be fed spiritually with the scriptures (Matthew 4:4)?
*******
Deceived By Antichrist?
I believe almost all pre-tribbers will know when they're in the tribulation and will recognize the Antichrist as the Antichrist when he sits in the temple and says he's God, but some may not be prepared psychologically for the fact that they're really in the trib, the trib they'd believed their whole life that Jesus had promised them they'd never be in, and that they're actually going to have to go through it to the very end or until a probably-unpeaceful death.
I don't think many pre-tribbers will think the Antichrist is Jesus, but some, in their possible anger at God for letting them down and making them go through the tribulation after all, may possibly begin to listen to what the Antichrist starts saying about God's injustice and cruelty to man.
*******
Faith That Cannot Be Tested
There's one pre-tribber I've spoken with whose motto is "Faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted." I think this is actually a great post-trib motto. No one should lose faith when there's no rapture before the testing of the tribulation (compare Revelation 2:10), for Jesus never promised us one.
*******
Why Knowing The Rapture's Timing Isn't All That Matters
In the coming tribulation, I expect some who believed in a pre-tribulation rapture and were strongly rooted in the Lord will put to shame some of us who believed in a post-tribulation rapture but were not strongly rooted in the Lord. They might say to those of us wavering in the tribulation, "Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled" (Job 4:3-5).
Both those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture and those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture can have great knowledge of the word and take great delight in it, but I expect there will be some of both camps who nevertheless, for whatever reason, might not be able to handle the suffering of the tribulation: "He that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended" (Matthew 13:20-21).
I think even we who believe in a post-tribulation rapture need to honestly consider how we might react when the tribulation actually begins, for head knowledge of the word is one thing, endurance to the end another. I believe some of us who believe in a post-tribulation rapture could be among those of whom it is said: "They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness" (Isaiah 8:21-22). I include myself in all of these possibilities: for can I really say how I will react to starvation or torture until it actually happens?