TERMS
TO UNDERSTAND
· Tribulation affliction, trouble, pressure,
distress (John 16:33).
· The Tribulation the final seven years before
Christ returns to the earth. Also
referred to as Daniel's 70th week.
· The Great Tribulation the last 3Ω years before
Christ returns to the earth. This will
be the most intense and difficult time of trouble the world has ever known
(Matt. 24:21).
· The Day of the Lord A time when God directly
intervenes in the affairs of men especially by judgment but also by way of
blessing. It is often used in the Bible
to describe the judgment and wrath of God poured out upon the world during the
Tribulation period.
· Daniel's 70th Week based on Daniel 9:24-27. This refers to the final seven years before
Christ returns to the earth (the "week" being a period of seven
years, not seven days).
· The Rapture this term is derived from a
Latin verb which was used to translate the Greek verb harpaz
("caught up") found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. This Greek verb means to be snatched away,
taken away suddenly, quickly removed by force from one place to another, as
when Philip was caught away to another place (Acts 8:39) or when the Lord Jesus
was suddenly taken up to heaven at the time of the ascension (Rev. 12:5).
When Christ returns for His Church, believers will be "caught
up," and suddenly taken from earth to heaven (compare John 14:3).
· Pre-Tribulation Rapture the Church will be raptured
before the seven year Tribulation begins.
Thus the Church will pass through none of the Tribulation. This is the correct, Biblical view as will
be demonstrated in this paper.
· Mid-Tribulation Rapture the Church will be raptured at
the midway point of the Tribulation, 3Ω years before the Lord returns to
the earth. This view teaches that the
Church will pass through half of the Tribulation.
· Pre-Wrath Rapture the Church will be raptured
approximately midway through the second half of the Tribulation, or about
1Ω or 2 years before the Lord returns to the earth. This view teaches that the Church will pass
through three-quarters of the Tribulation.
· Post-Tribulation Rapture the Church will be raptured at
the end of the Tribulation period at the time when the Lord returns to the
earth. This view teaches that the
Church will pass through all of the Tribulation.
Shall We Have Tribulation?
In
answer to the question, "Will the Church go through Tribulation?" we
must answer "YES!" In answer to the question, "Will the Church
go through THE Tribulation?" the answer is "NO!"
The
following verses demonstrate that believers living in the Church Age must
go through tribulation:
· (John 16:33b) In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
· (Acts 14:22) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the
faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
· (Rom. 5:3) And not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience;
· (1 Thess. 1:6) And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction [tribulation], with joy of the Holy
Ghost.
· (1 Thess. 3:3-4) That no man should be moved by these
afflictions [tribulations]: for yourselves know that we are appointed
thereunto. (4) For verily, when we were with you,
we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass,
and ye know.
· (2 Tim. 3:12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
Believers
living in this Age are not exempt from times of trouble and distress and
intense pressure and persecution.
However, there is a specific time of trouble which Church Age believers
are exempt from: "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" (Rev. 3:10).
Believers
are appointed unto tribulations (1 Thess. 3:3), but believers are not appointed
unto wrath
(1 Thess. 5:9, "wrath" referring to a specific time when God will
pour out His wrath upon the earth).
Believers must pass through the fires of affliction, but we will not
pass through the specific fires of affliction that are reserved for Daniel's
70th week. TRIBULATION? Yes! THE
TRIBULATION? No!
The Amazing 2000 Year Gap
The
clearest and most complete chronological prophecy that God has given to us is
the 70 week prophecy in the book of Daniel (9:24-27). These 70 weeks involve 490 years of Jewish history (each
"week" equals 7 years). The
first 69 weeks (483) years have been fulfilled in history. The last week, known as Daniel's 70th week,
is a seven year period which has not yet taken place in history. This is also known as the seven year
Tribulation period.
After
the first 69 weeks the Messiah was cut off and the Church Age began just 53
short days after the Messiah was cut off and crucified. Daniel's 70th week will not begin until a
covenant or treaty is made between the Antichrist and Israel (Daniel 9:27).
The
Church Age began on the Day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2. The Church Age is thus nearly 2000 years in
duration. How then can we explain this
amazing "GAP" between the 69th week and the 70th week? It is as if
God's clock for Israel has stopped, waiting to start ticking again at some
future time. What has God been doing in
the meantime?
During
this 2000 year gap God has been:
1. Building
His Church (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 3:6-9; 12:18; Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Pet. 2:5).
2. Taking
out of the nations a people for His Name (Acts 15:14).
3. Bringing
in the fullness of the Gentiles (Rom.
11:25).
4. Placing
believers into a living organism (1 Cor.
12:13).
5. Saving
a "showcase" that will eternally display His matchless grace (Eph.
2:7).
6. Manifesting
Himself through His Body which is upon the earth (1 Tim. 3:15-16).
Just
as the Church had an abrupt beginning shortly after the conclusion of the 69th
week (the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost), so we should expect
the Church to have an abrupt removal shortly before the beginning of the 70th
week. The Pre-Tribulation model
harmonizes perfectly with Daniel's 70th week prophecy while at the same time
recognizing the parenthetical and mysterious nature of the Church Age
(mysterious in the sense that it was not revealed on the pages of the Old
Testament). The Pre-Tribulation model
best explains this 2000 year gap and also keeps us from mixing up the Church
Age with prophetic Jewish history.
Here
is the Pre-Tribulational model of the 70 week prophecy (Daniel 9) as it relates
to the Church Age. Notice that the
Church Age is completely distinct from Daniel's 70 weeks. The Church Age is found in the gap between
the 69th week and the 70th week:
Pre-Tribulation
View
Here
is the Post-Tribulational model of the 70 week prophecy (Daniel 9) as it
relates to the Church Age. Notice that
this model has the Church on earth during Daniel's 70th week (the seven year
Tribulation period)
Post-Tribulation
View
Here
is the Pre-Wrath model of the 70 week prophecy (Daniel 9) as it relates to the
Church Age. Notice that this model is
very similar to the Post-Tribulational model.
The only difference is that the Church is on earth during three quarters
of the Tribulation rather than during all of it.
Pre-Wrath
View (Rosenthal / Van Kampen view)
Which
model best fits the data? Which model best explains the 2000-year GAP? Which
model best distinguishes between dispensations? Which views erroneously mix the
Church Age with Jewish history? Which view is the least complicated?
A Comforting Hope!
Without
controversy the Scriptures present the Rapture of the Church as a comforting
and encouraging hope (John 14:1; 1 Thess. 4:18). The glorious reality awaiting those believers who are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord is that "we shall not... sleep"
(1 Cor. 15:51). If the Church were
destined to pass through the Tribulation, then these words would be of little
comfort. Tribulation saints do not have
the joyful expectancy of being alive unto the coming of the Lord and being
exempt from physical death. To stand
for Christ in that day will often mean martyrdom (Rev. 7:14; 13:15; 20:4).
This
does not mean that Tribulation saints are without comfort. The comforting promise that the Lord gives
to Tribulation believers is this: "Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord" (Rev. 14:13). Thus the
Tribulation saints are not without hope, and yet the comfort given to them by
the Lord is of a different nature than at present. In the Tribulation God will comfort those facing an imminent
death. Now He comforts those facing an
imminent Savior: "We shall not all sleep." "Wherefore
comfort one another with these words."
Populating the Millennium?
If
the Rapture does not take place until the end of the Tribulation, then we are
faced with the enormous problem of how the Millennial earth will be populated
with people in natural bodies. The
Scriptures teach that there will be people in the Millennial Kingdom in mortal
bodies. These people will grow old,
procreate, and give birth to children, many of whom will never get saved
(Isaiah 65:20; Rev. 20:7-10, etc.).
We
know according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 that when the Rapture takes place, all
the saved will be resurrected and will thus have resurrected, immortal
bodies. We also know that when Christ
comes to set up His Kingdom, He will judge all the ungodly, and all the unsaved
will be taken away in judgment (Matt. 13:40-43,49-51; 25:41-46). If the Rapture takes place at the end of the
Tribulation, then all the saved are in resurrection bodies and the unsaved are
removed from the earth. Who then will
be left to re-populate the Millennial earth? The Post-Tribulationists have no
satisfactory answer to this dilemma.
For
the Pre-Tribulationist this poses no problem because the Church is received up
into heaven seven years before Christ comes to set up His Kingdom. It is the surviving Tribulation saints, both
Jews and Gentiles, who will enter the Kingdom in natural bodies.
God's Purpose for the Tribulation
The
purpose of the seven year Tribulation period would favor a Pre-Tribulational
understanding for the timing of the Rapture.
Daniel's 70th week relates specifically to the nation Israel ("seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people" Daniel 9:24). The Lord will deal in a special way with His
chosen people so that they will be ready for the coming of the Messiah (Jer.
30:4-17). There is no reason why the
Church needs to be on earth during this special time in Jewish history. The Church does need to be on earth
until:
1. The
fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:25).
2. God
has finished calling out a people for His Name (Acts 15:14).
3. Christ
finishes building His Church and adding to it (1 Cor. 3:6-9; 12:18; Eph.
2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:5).
4. The
last believer has been placed into the Body of Christ, the Church (1 Cor. 12:13).
5. The
Church is received up into Glory (1 Thess. 4:13-18 and compare 1 Tim. 3:15-16).
There
is no reason why all these things could not be fulfilled prior to Daniel's 70th
week, and thus prior to the time of the seven year Tribulation period.
The Rapture is Imminent!
The
coming of the Lord Jesus for His Church is presented in the New Testament as an
imminent hope and expectancy. That the
coming of Christ is "imminent" simply means that our Lord may
come at any time. Nothing needs to
happen before He comes. No prophecy
needs to be fulfilled before He comes.
It may be today! Such an expectation is well supported by an abundance
of Scriptural testimony:
1.
(John
14:3) 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.
2.
(Rom.
13:11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed.
3.
(1
Cor. 1:7) So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
4.
(1
Cor. 11:26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do
show the Lord's death till He come.
5.
(1
Cor. 15:51-52) Behold, I show 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.
6.
(1
Cor. 16:22) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema
[.] Maranatha ["Our Lord cometh!"].
7.
(Phil.
3:20) For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
8.
(Phil.
4:5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
9.
(Col.
3:4) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with Him in glory.
10.
(1
Thess. 1:10) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the
dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
11.
(1
Thess. 4:17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord.
12.
(Titus
2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
13.
(Heb.
9:28) So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will
appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
14.
(Heb.
10:25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as
ye see the day approaching.
15.
(James
5:8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh.
16.
(1
John 2:28; 3:3) And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall
appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His
coming
.And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He
is pure.
17.
(Jude
21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
18.
(Rev.
22:20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (cf. Rev.
3:11; 22:7,12).
As
the above passages indicate, believers are to be constantly waiting for and
looking for and expecting His coming and His appearing. We are to look for and eagerly await the
glorious appearing of our Great God, even our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ
(Tit. 2:14). It is interesting that we
are not told to be looking for the man of sin (the Antichrist) to be
revealed. We are not told to be looking
for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed by God during the time of Daniel's 70th
week. We are not told to be looking for
"the abomination of desolation" to be set up in Jerusalem. We are told to be looking for Christ
Himself.
None
of the Tribulation events will take place prior to the removal of the Church;
otherwise the Rapture would not be imminent.
If the Rapture were not to take place until sometime during the last 3Ω
years (as the Pre-Wrath Rapture view teaches), then this would destroy the
doctrine of the imminent return of Christ.
We would know that before the Rapture could take place, the treaty
(covenant) would need to be made with Israel at the beginning of Daniel's 70th
week (Dan. 9:27) and "the abomination of desolation" would need to be
set up at the middle of Daniel's 70th week (Matt. 24:15). We would look for these events to happen
before we could even begin to expect Christ to come for His Church.
Was
Paul looking for the imminent return of Christ? Paul expected that Christ would
come for him because he considered himself part of the group that would be
alive on earth at the time of the Rapture.
Notice that Paul includes himself by using the personal pronoun WE
"WE which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are
asleep
. Then WE which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air
" (1 Thess. 4:15,17). Of course we now know that Paul was not part
of that group of believers living at the time of the Rapture. Instead he was part of the "dead in
Christ" group mentioned in verse 16 (also described as "them who are
asleep" verse 15). But because
of his belief in the imminent return of Christ, Paul believed he might be found
among the believers living on earth at the time of the Lord's coming for His
Church.
Notice
also Paul's use of the pronoun "we" in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold,
I show 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." Notice that Church Age believers are divided
into two groups: (1) the dead that shall be raised and (2) those alive at
Christ's coming who will not sleep (who will not die physically) but who will
be changed. Paul believed he might be
part of this second group, although we now know that Paul was actually part of
the first group. Paul, living in the
first century, expected that he might be among the generation of believers who
would not see physical death. How much
more ought we to have this blessed expectation!
Looking for the Kingdom?
John's
closing words in the book of Revelation were these: "Even so, come,
Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20). Why
did John close the book of Revelation with these words? John had been
privileged to catch a vision of the glorious Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Rev. 20).
Even during the Lord's earthly ministry John was one of the select few
who saw the Son of man coming in His Kingdom by means of the preview afforded
by the transfiguration (Matt. 16:28-17:1-6; 2 Peter 1:16-18). Since John knew so much of the glories of
the Kingdom, why did he not close his book with this prayer: "THY KINGDOM
COME! LET THY KINGDOM COME!" (compare Matt. 6:10)?
When
the Lord gave the model prayer of Matthew 6:10, the Kingdom was indeed imminent
(cf. Matt. 3:2; 4:17;10:7); and indeed, the prayer of the Tribulation saints
will certainly include this petition: "THY KINGDOM COME!" But the
aged Apostle John hoped that they might be alive and remaining unto the coming
of the Lord according to the Lord's promise in John 21:23-24: "What if he
(John) tarry till I come?" John was looking for Christ, not the
Kingdom. Rather than look for the
Kingdom, he was looking for the KING.
Even so, be coming, Lord Jesus! g
To
be continued in our next GFJ.
George
Zeller is serving the Lord as the Assistant Pastor of Middletown (CT.) Bible
Church, and has written numerous articles, pamphlets, and books.