“Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy. ―Isaiah 66:7
Who’s ever heard of a woman giving birth before she’s in labor?
In 2019, I had a dream: There was an eerie, shadow figure with a person standing next to him. The shadow figure had a magic wand. He pointed it at the person standing next to him and said, “Harpazo!” The person disappeared.
The pretribulation rapture teaches that Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. It says that Christ gathers us before the antichrist comes, hence the name pretribulation. We hear things like, “I’m not waiting for the antichrist, I’m waiting for Christ.” Let’s listen to the apostle John:
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)
The apostle John doesn’t say Jesus Christ is coming first, he says the antichrist is coming. John then mentions Jesus’s coming in verse 28.
In the following quote, Irenaeus is writing in the context of 666 and the antichrist:
But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes, we may avoid him, being aware who he is: —Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 30, paragraph 4)
Why would Irenaeus say this unless we might be here for the coming of the antichrist? Section 16 of the Didache also gives us the sequence of events.
The pretribulation teaching says the rapture is not only imminent, but it happens before the antichrist comes, and that Jesus’s coming in the 6th seal is for so-called “tribulation saints”. The truth is, we get caught up to Jesus at his coming. Let’s look at the sequence of events from 1 Corinthians 16:
But each in his own turn: Christ the first fruits; then at his coming, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. (1 Corinthians 15:23-24)
In the book of Revelation, we have 7 seals. The antichrist is the 1st seal. He must be revealed before Jesus appears in the 6th seal. The 2nd seal is a great war, possibly nuclear war. The 3rd seal is famine. Death, the 4th seal, is given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, famine, plague, and by the beasts of the earth. There are 2 billion professing believers on the earth. This is a fourth of the earth. We know from the 5th seal that there will be great persecution among believers before the day of the Lord in the 6th seal. During this time of great tribulation among believers, Jesus Christ appears on day of the Lord:
For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Revelation 6:17)
Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming—cruel, with fury and burning anger—to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it. (Isaiah 13:9)
On this day, Jesus appears, the rapture happens, and then God’s wrath, the hour of trial, begins on the world. There are no scriptures in the book of Revelation that says Jesus appears and gathers us before the 6th seal. If the pretribulation rapture belief is true, it will have to be in Scripture. But it’s not in Scripture, so it’s not true.
One of the problems is that pretribulation teachers confuse the words tribulation and wrath. They believe the great tribulation, which happens during the reign of the antichrist, will be part of God’s wrath. In truth, the final seven years of human history can be divided into two different Greek words: thlipseos (tribulation) and orge (wrath). We’re not appointed to God’s wrath, which begins in the 7th seal (Revelation 8). All of Revelation 7 explains the rapture, and this happens in the 6th seal.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:13-14)
Let’s go back to verse 9 to see what happens immediately after the rapture:
After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)
In this scripture, we see people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, and they’ve come “out of” the great tribulation immediately after or simultaneously to the appearing of Jesus in 6:16-17. The text needs space to write out the twelve tribes of Israel in 7:4-8, and then we see the multitude in heaven as we just read in verse 9. Pretribulation people say this is not the church but tribulation saints. If these people are tribulation saints, then that’s us. If these people are not us, then there must be a scripture that says where we are. But there’s no such scripture, and there’s nothing hidden between the lines. If something is a mystery, the Bible will say it’s a mystery. The rapture is not a mystery. It’s doctrine, and it happens in the 6th seal on the day of the Lord. The 7 seals are chronological and fit with 2 Thessalonians 2:3:
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed. (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
The apostle Paul says the day of the Lord won’t come until the man of lawlessness is revealed. The event that happens after the antichrist is “revealed” in verse 3, which is the day of the Lord, is the same event that happens after the antichrist is “revealed” in verse 8, which is the day of the Lord. These aren’t two different events. The antichrist won’t be revealed two different times, once in verse 3 and again in verse 8. So, the antichrist must be revealed in order to be killed by Jesus Christ at “his coming”:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
Is Jesus going to come and gather us before the antichrist and then wait around until he’s revealed so he can kill him? No, he isn’t. The antichrist will sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; —Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 30, paragraph 4)
When the antichrist comes, he will perform great signs and wonders. The false teaching of the pretribulation rapture is dangerous because new believers and those with little faith might mistake the antichrist for Christ, or they might simply let themselves be deceived. They might say, “The pretribulation teachers told us the rapture was going to happen before the antichrist, so maybe all this Jesus stuff is a lie.” They will no longer believe and fall away. Other pretribulation people say, “I’m so depressed. When is Jesus coming?” If they’re depressed now, what will they do when the antichrist comes with Christian persecution?
The pretribulation belief is almost like a cult. This is because if we don’t believe what they do, even though they’re fellow Christians, they might exclude and accuse us by saying we’re trying to take away their blessed hope.
as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)
Everyone’s blessed hope is the appearing of Jesus Christ, because when he comes, the rapture happens. Some pretribulation teachers make the joke, “You’re going to go through unspeakable horror, therefore comfort one another with these words.” Then the congregation laughs. They’re referring to this scripture:
Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
We comfort one another with the words that we who are alive who are left until the coming of the Lord will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, thus we’ll always be with the Lord. We comfort one another with those words, no matter what we may have to endure. We know we’re not destined for the wrath of God:
and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
The wrath of God is not great tribulation from the world reign of the antichrist. These are two separate events.
Pretribulation people use the following scripture to try and prove a pretribulation rapture:
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)
The hour of trial (or testing) is talking about God’s wrath, which we’re not appointed to. We know this scripture is talking about the wrath of God because it says this hour is coming on “the whole world.” God will not be putting his people through tribulation, the antichrist will be. Jesus appears and delivers us from this tribulation, and then God’s wrath begins on an evil world.
We have to listen to the truth of God’s word whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. We have to prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually. We look forward to the age to come, eternal life, no matter what happens in this futile world. Here’s the apostle Paul:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:35)
Some of the most successful ministries in the world today are those who teach the pretribulation rapture. They include Amir Tsarfati, Jan Markell, Jack Hibbs, Mondo Gonzales, Tom Hughes, David Jeremiah, John Macarthur, Robert Breaker, Lee Brainard, Brandon Holthaus, John Barnett, Bill Salus, Greg Laurie, Chad Thomas, Gene Kim, Charles Lawson, Andy Woods, Mark Henry, Barry Stagner, Ron Rhodes, Mark Hitchcock, Billy Crone, Jimmy Evans, JD Farag, Don Stewart, David Reagan, and there are many others. These people are, by definition, False Teachers: Greek – pseudodidaskaloi; definition – Propagators of erroneous Christian doctrine.
Some pretribulation teachers have a vested interest:
a personal stake or involvement in an undertaking or state of affairs, especially one with an expectation of financial gain.
Even if some who teach this error found out the pretribulation rapture isn’t in the Bible, they probably wouldn’t change their position because this teaching may have brought them financial gain and success. They’ll simply tell people what they want to hear.
3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So, they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Saying that the rapture happens before the antichrist or that the rapture is imminent is unbiblical and is adding to the scriptures, unintentionally or intentionally. Nonetheless, we’re warned in Revelation 22 not to add to or take away from the word of God:
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)
The apostle Paul tells us not to go beyond what’s written:
Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. (1 Corinthians 4:6)
This scripture can tell us that if people are going beyond what’s written, they may take pride in one person over another.
Let’s read this quote from Jan Markell, the matriarch of the pretribulation rapture: But then they’re being taught that they’re going to meet the antichrist, which is a terrible false assumption—not happening, ever.
This is a terrible false assumption by Jan Markell. The pretribulation rapture belief is an end-times set-up by Satan designed to get those with little faith or new believers to fall away. So, when the antichrist comes, people shouldn’t think they’ve been left behind. We shouldn’t lose faith in Jesus Christ no matter what happens here.
The pretribulation rapture is a lie, even if we’re unaware of it. “Thou shall not lie.” Being unaware is unintentional sin, but still sin. So, saying, “I didn’t know” is no excuse. As we know from Numbers 15, God forgives error. But we must see our guilt and repent or else we will bear the punishment:
If someone sins and violates any of the LORD’s commandments even though he was unaware, he is guilty and shall bear his punishment. (Leviticus 5:17)
God will hold false teachers accountable for the blood of anyone who goes to destruction because of the false teaching of the pretribulation rapture. Those who can be corrected will be corrected. Peace to all, stay sober, and let’s not go beyond what’s written.
Futile World 