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Prophecy Series: "Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 2" - Prophecy in the News

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Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 2

By  on March 5, 2011

In the September, 2009, issue of this magazine, we began a study dealing with the question of the time interval between the departure of the church and the beginning of the Tribulation. We began on the basis that the Tribulation is initiated by the antichrist’s ratification of the seven-year covenant, not the rapture of the church.

The context of Daniel’s prophecy tells us that this covenant is made with the leaders of Israel. It apparently bequeaths upon Israel the right to maintain a working Temple, with its schedule of sacrifices, tithes and gifts. At the midpoint of the seven years, that right is abruptly withdrawn:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan. 9:27).

Based upon Daniel’s prophecy, as well as dozens of other prophecies, the Tribulation is directed toward the Jews and Israel. In the end, it judges the wicked, advances the cause of the righteous and brings national Israel to a state of brokenness, in preparation for Christ’s Second Coming.

For the Tribulation to be made manifest, certain requisite preconditions must be in place. First and foremost, national Israel must be present in the Holy Land. From A.D. 135 until 1948, this was not the case. For 18 centuries, Israel was dispersed throughout the world.

During that time, the prophecies pertaining to Israel’s rise among the nations were put on hold. The period also witnessed the phenomenon of the institutional church appropriating unto itself the prophetic blessings promised to Israel. For centuries, the ruling church taught that it would bring in the thousand-year Kingdom, welcoming Jesus as King in the Second Coming.

Along with the Jewish national hope of a Millennial Kingdom, it buried the idea of a Tribulation. It was obscured, either in a fog of allegory or presented as something in the past. State churches interpreted prophecy in such a way that the Tribulation became a first-century event, fulfilled when the Romans invaded Jerusalem. Of course, that is nonsense. Israel is once again a nation, and now yearns for the reinstitution of Temple worship, which prophecy connects with the coming antichrist. It is set for the fulfillment of latter-day prophecy.

To prepare the way for the realization of prophecies concerning the antichrist, there must also be a functioning Temple. As Daniel and Revelation tell us, his evil acts will be projected from this holy site. In John’s Gospel, Jesus also alludes to the wicked one, who seduces Israel into accepting him: “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43).

Jesus spoke these words to the ruling authorities of the Temple. To these men, He prophesied that something about the antichrist’s name, or his credentials, will persuade a future Israel to accept him as their messiah. The Apostle Paul clearly states that when the antichrist declares himself as a god, he will use the Temple as his podium:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”(2 Th. 2:3,4).

Daniel’s prophecy is perfectly aligned with this picture, as his prophecy shows that the antichrist makes this proclamation in the context of national Israel, presenting himself as the highest manifestation of God:

“Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all” (Dan. 11:37).

Daniel even gives the geographic location of the antichrist’s seat of power:

“And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Dan. 11:45).

This location, of course, is the Temple Mount, variously called Mount Zion or Mount Moriah. Today, it is highly contested by the forces of Islam, who insist that Mohammed once staked his claim there. It must always be remembered that even though the antichrist is a world ruler, his power base resides in Israel, just as Daniel writes.

Imminency

Having established this, we find a principle that is often overlooked. The church’s doctrine of Christ’s imminent return depends upon Israel’s presence in the Land. As we mentioned in Part One of this study, this doctrine completely disappeared during Israel’s diaspora. Only when Israel stirred from its long slumber in the nineteenth century did the rapture become a vibrant, living hope.

In a strange turn of history, that movement coincided with the rise of John Nelson Darby and a small congregation meeting in Plymouth, England. They began the movement that led to the systematic teaching of dispensationalism. This signal event directly led to the First Zionist Congress in 1897. In the very year of Darby’s death in 1882, the first small Jewish settlement, Rishon le-Zion (The First in Zion) was founded by a group of fourteen young Jews from the Russian city of Kharkov.

The great missionary movements of the nineteenth century, the Zionist cause, the Balfour Declaration and Dispensational teaching all coincided with Israel’s return. In a sense, God has chosen Israel to drive world history toward a goal. In the end, this world’s kingdoms will be overthrown in the very Tribulation that centers upon national Israel, its territory and its people.

The body of Christ – the church – has been promised deliverance from the horrors that will unfold during this catastrophic period. The idea of the “rapture of the church” is now thoroughly ingrained into virtually every stratum of society. Some smile at its seemingly naïve and quaint origins. Intellectuals make fun of it. Some ridicule it as “pie in the sky, by and by.” The institutional, postmillennial or amillennial church still believes that it is a grossly mistaken interpretation of Bible prophecy.

But to believers, it is still the “blessed hope,” just as it was in Paul’s day. Some think of it as a new doctrine. It is far from that – believed widely in the first century, then abandoned when Israel left the Land. But as we have seen, it was revived with Israel’s return.

At the turn of the twentieth century, dispensationalism was widely taught. It was formalized for the man on the street by C. I. Scofield, with the publication of his reference Bible in 1909. For the last hundred years, it has stood as a monument to the teaching of dispensationalism, the belief that God has redeemed man in seven distinct periods from Creation to Kingdom.

At the heart of pretribulationism is the teaching of imminency, the view that the Lord might come at any moment for His church, without any preceding sign or event. The doctrine of imminency is not a new teaching. As we have shown, it is simply the revival of an old, first-century Apostolic doctrine. Without arguing the case, Scripture plainly teaches that the Day of the Lord … the Time of Jacob’s Trouble … is, in fact, Jacob’s Trouble, not the church’s trouble. Jacob is simply another name for Israel.

When interpreted properly, the removal of the body of Christ from the earth at some time prior to this event is taught with crystal clarity. Furthermore, with Israel in place as a nation once again, the hope of the church for a rapture, assumed a new vitality and passion. For the past few years, particularly since Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War, pastors across America have been declaring, “Jesus is coming soon!”

Israel’s crucial presence in the Holy Land as a nation is the basis for the conviction and passion of modern dispensationalists. Many Jews in modern Israel have come to realize that their most powerful allies in the West are those Bible-believing Christians, who wish to be a blessing to regathered Israel. They are especially motivated to do so because of their firm belief that modern Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

The Disappearance

Soon, a day will dawn, when Israel will come to realize a horrifying truth: Their staunchest supporters are somehow missing. Faithful Christians, who are friends of Zion, will have disappeared! We don’t know just how it will appear to them, but the Bible has many strong suggestions that disruptions of various kinds will occur with rising intensity, as Jesus said when He used the phrase, “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matt. 24:7).

There is a prophecy in the little book of Micah that depicts this experience with emotional pathos and a sense of desperation. Written from Israel’s perspective, it was originally penned in the era of the Assyrian captivity in the eighth century, B.C. But as a metaphor, it reaches into the far future, and the days of Israel’s plight following the removal of the church, but before the beginning of the Tribulation.

It begins with a cry of dismay, and a sense that something has gone terribly wrong:

“Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.

“The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

“That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

“The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

“Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

“For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house” (Mic. 7:1-6).

The scene is the summer harvest, which Jesus later characterized as symbolic of the end of the age. In Revelation, the harvest of the grapes is symbolic of the Tribulation:

“And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe” (Rev. 14:18).

Speaking for Israel, Micah notes with dismay that the “good man has perished out of the earth.” Here, the Hebrew word translated “perish” is avad [sct], meaning “to disappear,” or more specifically, “to vanish.”

What a perfect description of the post-rapture world in which the “good man” – the pious or righteous man – is nowhere to be found. He has suddenly vanished! Devoid of Spirit-led morality and ethics, this age will be characterized by brutish and inhuman impulses.

Indeed, this is exactly what Micah has to say about that world, in which his contemporaries will be like briars and thorns. No one is to be trusted. Even the closest friend or relative is likely to sell you out for advantage. Families are internally at war; houses are wracked with strife.

Micah’s view of the post-rapture world is followed by imagery that is specifically Tribulational. In other words he, too, shows a schedule of events that begins prior to the rise of the antichrist, but then shifts to the Tribulation:

“According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

“The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

“They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. (Mic. 7:15-17).

The miracles of Egypt, the confounding of the nations and the spectacle of men living under the earth to escape the horrors of the Tribulation are all fully described in the book of Revelation.

Micah shows that the world before the Tribulation will be characterized by unbridled wickedness; the world after the signing of the seven-year covenant will be wracked by geophysical, political and military upheavals.

The Northern Invasion

Returning to Micah’s lament about the state of society, he does far more than paint a graphic picture of an atheist world gone mad. In the Israel of his day, morality had declined and society had become fat and lazy in an economy that had provided an opulent lifestyle. With sadness, he notes the decline of public morality and warns of coming judgment … both for his contemporaries and for the Israel of our day.

Perhaps his most telling phrase is, “the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh.” This speaks of judgment day, or the Tribulation, and the visitation of the nations who come to take the spoils of Israel. It is our belief that the day of the Lord opens in the wake of the combined invasion of the northern armies, spoken of in Ezekiel 38, as “Gog, the land of Magog.”

In carefully constructed language, Micah’s prophecy tells us that the disappearance of the righteous from the earth comes before this invasion, which is actually the first of many battles to be fought in the Tribulation period.

Israel has repeatedly suffered assaults of the northern invader. In Micah’s day, it was Assyria, the first major invasion from the north. A century later, Jeremiah spoke of the coming Babylonian invasion:

“Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction” (Jer. 4:6).

A bit later, speaking as a prophet of the Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel foretold another northern invasion, this one, from the well-known allied force of Gog:

“And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army”(Ezek. 38:15).

Another prophecy – this one from Isaiah – references the latter-day judgment of those who have tried to appropriate unto themselves the Land granted to Israel:

“Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times”(Is. 14:31).

The pattern is seen many times. Ancient Israel experienced a spiritual collapse, and the Assyrian enemy came. Later, the Jews fell into idolatry and the Babylonians came. In the modern era, spiritual apostasy and the rapture of the church will result in the final judgment, preceded by another northern invasion, this time from Gog.

First comes the disappearance of the righteous, followed by the degeneration of society, and finally, the northern invasion, just prior to the actual seven years of the Tribulation. After that, Micah ends on a note of hope. After defeat, Israel will experience final salvation:

“Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me” (Mic. 7:7,8).

Certainly, these words apply to the Israel of Micah’s own time. But they also reach forward into the days of the Apocalypse and Armageddon:

“According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

“The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf” (Mic. 7:15,16).

The final words of this prophecy are directed toward the nations of the latter days. As they gather from the north to conquer Jerusalem, they will be smashed into submission by an act of God, at Christ’s Second Coming.

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Rev. 16:16).

Paul’s View

In the New Testament, this is exactly the situation presented by Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians. He speaks of a restraining force that will one day be swept aside. Many commentators have agreed that this is a picture of the world after the rapture of God’s people, in which the world undergoes a radical shift in values.

In all its fury, wickedness and the Lawless One, himself, is released, resulting in a society out of control, just as in the picture given by Micah. It will be a world of compromised morals, degenerate ethics and collapsed systems of law and justice. Treachery and intrigue will rule and life will be cheap.

“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Th. 2:6-9).

In his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine comments upon the Greek word translated “withholdeth” and “letteth,” in the above passage. It comes from katecho, meaning “to hold fast or down.” He writes, “In ver. 6 lawlessness is spoken of as being restrained in its development; in ver. 7 ‘one that restraineth’ is lit., ‘the restrainer’ (the article with the present participle, ‘the restraining one’).” (p. 290)

This expression may apply to an individual, or to an individual leading a group, with a specific result. In short, Vine believes that the restraining influence is a person who acts as a guiding influence upon a group. In this case, the result is the preservation and purification of society. Paul’s intent is to describe the influence of the Holy Spirit and the church as the chief restrainer of lawlessness.

To the objective contemporary observer, it is obvious that for the last century or so, the despots and revolutionaries of this world have failed in their desire to achieve global rule precisely because of the spread of Christianity. The Germans, Italians, Japanese, Russians and Chinese did not commit their evil acts as acts of Christian charity. In fact, they were attempting to found various fascist and/or communist societies.

One can make a strong case that they were thwarted in their desires by the global foundation of Christianity, in its many forms and denominations. The missionary movements and revivals had created a Christian ethos that restrained the growth of atheistic and materialist philosophies, as they expressed themselves in fascist and communist governments. The various resistance movements, aid groups and medical missions around the world have most often been based upon Christianity.

One can only try to imagine the horrors of a world devoid of the example of Christ’s love, not as dead history, but as a living force in the various Christian charitable institutions moved by the Holy Spirit!

The Big Question

When Jesus spoke on the subject of the Tribulation, He clearly stated that there would be many disruptions on the face of the earth before the arrival of the Tribulation.

His famous discourse from the Mount of Olives is, no doubt, one of the most discussed of all prophecies. In it, He answers a question put to Him by the disciples. Basically, theirs is a question about the summation of prophetic events.

As we discuss the time interval between the rapture and the Tribulation, His dissertation to the His disciples gives us several critical pieces of information.

First, let us carefully analyze the context of the question they put to Him. It begins with His departure from the Temple Mount:

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

“And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt. 24:1-3).

In this important moment, Matthew is careful to set the scene before the disciples ask their question. In the preceding chapter, Jesus delivers an impassioned speech to the people. As he does so, he is standing somewhere on the Temple Mount, no doubt from a highly visible spot within its ramparts. His declaration is worded as a parting statement to national Israel.

In it, He delivers eight woes to the Pharisees, who constitute the ruling body of the nation, sitting in the seat of Moses, as He puts it. He presents them as the ultimate example of hypocrisy. They pretend to be righteous, when in fact, they represent the exact opposite.

He concludes by laying upon them the cumulative responsibility for many generations of sin, namely, the blood of the innocent:

“That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

“Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation” (Matt. 23:35,36).

After placing this heavy judgment upon Israel, Jesus mourned over the catastrophe that was about to befall His people and of Jerusalem, itself. It was a dark day when Jesus finally washed His hands of the sinful city.

“The End … Not Yet”

It was in this context that the disciples put the question to Him. No doubt, they had taken it to heart when He pronounced His departure. They had hoped to see Him rise to power as Messiah and King. Now, He had effectively closed that door. Still, they knew that He was destined to rule over His people.

There is a curious note about the disciples’ behavior after Jesus left the Temple Mount. In the verses above, we see that they wanted to show Him the buildings of the Temple compound. What were they showing Him? Indeed, what could they show Him that He hadn’t already seen a thousand times?

From the context, it would appear that they felt an urgency to point out to Him the importance of this edifice. Based upon the sheer magnificence of all the beautiful buildings, they must have been saying, “Look, everything is in place. Can’t you rise to power now?” In short, they must have been begging Him to change His mind.

He responded by telling them in no uncertain terms that all this magnificent architecture (one of the wonders of the ancient world) would soon be reduced to rubble. They must have been stunned. They reacted as any of us would. Since it was an article of faith that He would rise to power at some point, they now asked the natural question, “When will you come to take power and end the current world order?”

The disciples were all too aware that Rome was in control, and would be, until the arrival of the Messianic Kingdom. He answered their question about the “end of the world” as openly and honestly as possible, given their level of understanding. Note in these verses, the words “beginning” and “end:”

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

“All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:4-8).

They had asked Him about the end. He says it is “not yet.” In point of fact, He is saying that before the Tribulation (the end) comes, there will be a period of global wars, starvation, sickness and earthquakes. In a strong way, His answer correlates strongly with the testimonies of Joel, Zephaniah and Micah, all of whom describe upheavals prior to the seven years of Tribulation.

Then, as the Tribulation begins, Jesus says that “the end” is in sight.

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt 24:13).

Here, Jesus uses the words “the end” to describe the seven years of the Tribulation. Interpreted through other Scripture, we now know that He was referring to the seventh year of the Tribulation and His Second Coming.

Finally, He tells His disciples that the Gospel of the Kingdom will reach to the four corners of the earth … then “the end” will come. Unlike Jesus’ disciples at that time, we have the information given to us in the seventh chapter of Revelation. Through this, we know that twelve thousand from each of Israel’s twelve tribes will proclaim the gospel throughout the world, just as Jesus said:

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matt 24:14).

The disciples had asked Jesus a simple question about the timing of the end of the world system … Gentile world power. Jesus lays out the end times in three parts. First, He describes a series of pre-Tribulation upheavals. Next, the signing of the covenant by the antichrist initiates the opening days of the Tribulation, during which representatives of the Twelve Tribes preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom to the whole world. Finally, there is the Abomination of Desolation at the mid-point of the Tribulation, opening the horrors of the second half of that seven years and culminating in His Second Coming.

Times of the Gentiles

In one sense, we are now living in the period “before the Tribulation, and have been for the eighteen centuries, since the Jewish diaspora. In Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus spoke of His Second Coming, He foretold the upheavals of the end times, then He said this:

“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lk. 21:24).

Jesus gave His disciples a view of history centering upon the premise that the world system must rise to its full power before His visible return to earth.

Of course, we know that the times of the Gentiles will rise to its full height under the antichrist’s reign during the Tribulation. But apparently, the rise of global government will be accompanied by signs in the heavens that develop prior to the Tribulation.

Once again, we recall the words of Joel:

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31).

From the perspective of the church age, this makes Jesus’ words come alive. If we take these words literally, we can expect to see various astronomical instabilities that cause great fear in the world. Already, there is consternation among astronomers concerning the changes they see in the Sun. Instead of continuing in the regular sunspot cycle, it has mysteriously gone quiet, bringing a whole new set of parameters to befuddled solar astronomers. Recently, they have expressed anxiety about what comes next.

Jesus also foretold unusual turmoil (“the sea and the waves roaring”) in the oceans of the world. We have also seen a growing contemporary fear of hurricanes, typhoons and rogue weather systems of all sorts. Significantly, there have been a number of episodes when undersea earthquakes caused tsunamis … giant waves that sweep ashore, obliterating everything in their paths.

Just as Jesus said, these things have begun, in a very subtle way, to happen. And yes, we are watching for His return. Before all these catastrophes reach their prophesied ferocity, the church will be on its way home.

In the period just before the Tribulation, Scripture predicts that two conditions will persist. Israel will continue in a state of blindness. This condition allows the rise of Gentile world power that leads to its ultimate judgment.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

The Flood

In His answer to the disciples, Jesus also used the metaphor of the great flood of Noah. He says that when the flood (the Tribulation) comes, it will be sudden, without warning and without remedy.

In Noah’s world, civilization had been corrupted by fallen angels, who brought forbidden knowledge to mankind. Not only that, they had taken human women as wives, producing a hybrid offspring.

The result was an appalling destruction of civilization, which was finally turned over to utter degradation:

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).

The Bible is silent about the details of this period, but secular history records a rogues’ gallery of ancient sin. Gods, goddesses, demigods and idols abounded. Ancient mythology is a continual telling and retelling of narratives involving gods wickedly interacting with humans. Every sort of perversion was common.

Many imaginative narratives and movie scripts have attempted to retell the story of Noah and his sons building a huge ship in a land that had never known rain. They are always depicted as the object of ridicule and laughter.

Actually, Scripture says nothing at all about the reaction of Noah’s neighbors. It is as though they were totally unaware of what he was doing. He went about his business, and when it was time, the animals came aboard, two by two. Then came the flood.

The parallels with the latter days are obvious. Jesus, speaking of the Day of the Lord, says that like Noah’s neighbors, the people alive before the Tribulation will be taken completely by surprise.

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

“And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:36-39).

They should have known, but they were blind to the truth. Note that Jesus speaks of a period of time before the Tribulation. Those with spiritual eyes to see, like Noah and his family, will know that the flood is coming. Those blinded by the thought that this world is the measure of all things, will be swept away.

When the rain began, Noah and his family were already sealed in the ark by the Lord. The point is, before the judgment came, they had been effectively removed from the scene. Thank the Lord, we have the “blessed hope!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yes! Jesus is Coming!


Sunday, July 3, 2011

Prophecy Series: "Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 1" - Prophecy in the News

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Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 1

By Gary Stearman on March 5, 2011

Among dispensationalists, there is a tendency to think of the change from one dispensation to the next as a discrete point along a timeline. We’ve all seen the charts that mark the changes from Promise to Law to Grace to Kingdom. But each of these changes is much more than just a point along a line. Each one took years. Moses and the Egyptian experience took decades. From Jesus’ birth to the formation of the early church and the completion of the New Testament took about a century. And perhaps surprisingly, the Bible speaks of a long transition from the church age to the Tribulation and on into the Kingdom. One can make the case that we’re in that transition right now.

As we shall see, the Bible speaks of a more-or-less gradual shift from the Church Age to the seven-year Tribulation. This period is, itself, marked by various instabilities and calamities, though the magnitude of their convulsions will be far less than those bracketed within the actual seven years of the Tribulation.

Three times in the New Testament we find the term “great tribulation,” used to describe a period of time when the world will be judged in the most extreme and devastating way. As Jesus put it, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21). He spoke of this impending event as a greater upheaval than any that ever preceded it. Given earth’s long history of vulcanism, earthquakes, meteor strikes, tectonic plate shifts, floods, fires and the like … including the Great Flood of Noah … the Tribulation’s serial disasters are unimaginable.

As part of His message to the Church of Thyatira, Jesus refers to a woman called “Jezebel.” Because of her unrepentant attitude, He promises to hurl her into the vast arena of judgment:

“Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds” (Rev. 2:22).

A bit later in Revelation, the Apostle John is seen in heaven, as he views an immense number of people. One of the twenty-four elders stands nearby, and John asks him to identify this group. The elder’s answer specifically links them to this period of judgment:

“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14).

In this elder’s reply to John, New Testament Greek specifically calls the period, “The Tribulation, the Great One.” There is only one such period … greater than any catastrophe in the history of humanity … and it looms before us like an approaching storm.

We can see it coming. Israel is a reality. The prophesied Magog – Russia – is actively arming the nations of the Mideast. Persia (Iran) is rising as an armed force in league with Russia. In short, we see the cloudy outlines of prophecy rapidly congealing into the exact forms that we have come to expect that they would take.

It is absolutely certain that the time of tribulation is approaching. It is near. In Revelation, Chapter Six, the Bible states that the Tribulation will be initiated with a global holocaust … war, depression, famine and disease will sweep across the planet. Almost certainly, the war in question will begin in and around Israel, as her enemies sweep in for the “final solution.” In the aftermath of this war, a global economy will rule the subservient masses. Buying and selling will require subservience to the antichrist.

The prophet Daniel says that the period will be seven years in length. Its developmental complexity is perhaps unprecedented, dealing with geology, astronomy, politics, wars and human disasters of various kinds and durations.

Nevertheless, John’s report shows us that, despite its various cataslysms, it has a good side. Millions from every nation on earth will come to faith during this period. Israel will be cleansed and elevated into Kingdom status. And the saints of this era will be resurrected to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven, just as John witnessed.

Imminency and Israel

As Pretribulationists, we hold to the doctrine of imminency, the faith that the Lord might return at any moment, without any preceding hint or warning. But there is a condition that must be considered when thinking about the rapture. It is this: Prophecy is extremely explicit on the point that end-time events take place in conjunction with developments in national Israel.

When the Apostles wrote their letters, Israel was still in the Land. This was no longer true after the Romans crushed the bar Kochba uprising.

When Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude, and the writer to the Hebrews sent forth their missives, Herod’s Temple was still in full operation. Israel was a nation. Even when John wrote, following the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, Israel had not been completely scattered. Only after the last Jewish revolt under Simeon bar Kochba in A.D. 135, was Israel finally dispersed to the four corners of the world, more than three decades after the death of the Apostle John.

Therefore, in one sense, the Apostolic anticipation of Jesus’ return for the church was written within the context of Israel’s then-current presence within its own borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Following the diaspora came a long period of time when this was not the case. About 18 centuries (1,813 years) elapsed between Israel’s departure from the land after the final Jewish uprising, and their emergence as a state in 1948.

During this period, the institutional church dropped the doctrine of Christ’s imminent return. On several occasions, it set dates, but it was looking for the Second Coming, not the rapture. Over the centuries, state churches followed Augustine’s lead, and abandoned the prophetic position that the Jews would return one day to Israel, there to await their Messiah. They believed that under Christ’s rule, the church, not Israel, would preside over the Kingdom.

When Paul writes about the Rapture in Second Thessalonians, it is on the ground that the church will be caught up before the antichrist declares himself that he is God. This, he does in a Jewish Temple:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Th. 2:3,4).

Here, Paul links the rapture, which comes first, to the event in the Temple, which comes second. It was present in his day, and will be again during the Tribulation. Many believe that the term “falling away” is a reference to apostasy. Others think it refers to the rapture, as in “departure.” Either way, in order to fulfill this prophecy, it follows that Israel in the Tribulation must be present to build a Temple. In other words, Israel’s presence in the Land is a prerequisite to the fulfillment of prophecy specifically relating to the church.

Today, Israel is back in the Land. Since their return, they have been preoccupied with rebuilding the Temple. But since statehood, Arab and Islamic opposition have made that impossible. Christians have watched with great interest, as groups like the Temple Mount Faithful and Jerusalem Temple Institute prepare for a coming Temple.

Whether Paul’s “falling away” refers to a period of general apostasy, or the departure of the church, or both, makes no real difference in the understanding of this prophecy. In either case, the disappearance of the church from the world would, in itself, bring apostasy. And a dominant apostasy prior to the revelation of antichrist strongly indicates that the restraining action of the body of Christ has been removed. Paul says that only then will the “lawless one” be revealed.

Without a doubt, Paul is arguing for the catching-away of the Church, including its indwelling Holy Spirit, prior to the Tribulation. But he does so in the context of actions that require Israel to have a functioning Temple, either at the time of the Rapture, or shortly thereafter.

This simple condition has been true since the Apostles gave us the New Testament. In Romans, Paul wrote in expectant language, speaking not of the believer’s initial salvation, but of the wholesale, physical salvation of the church at the Rapture:

“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.

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light”(Ro. 13:11,12).

Early in his ministry (around A.D. 51), Paul wrote to the faithful of Thessalonica in words that could suggest that a certain number of his contemporaries would live until Christ’s return for the Church. Of course, from our present perspective, the “we” in the following verses refers to those alive today, and who will be alive in the future:

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Th. 4:15-17).

Toward the end of his life (around A.D. 66), Paul’s eagerness for the Lord’s return grew stronger than ever. He urged Titus to remember that an active hope for Christ’s imminent return was the focus of Christian life:

“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”(Titus 2:12,13).

Shortly after he wrote these words to Titus, he was executed by the Roman government. The important thing to remember is that he expected the Lord’s imminent return until the end of his life.

And still, toward the end of the first century, John encouraged his own flock to live within the sphere of Jesus’ return at any moment.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1Jn. 3:2,3).

During the lives of the Apostles, Israel was a present, living reality. And even though the Temple no longer existed as John wrote these words, antichrist could still have announced himself at any time.

But after John’s death, Israel was defeated and dispersed. For 18 centuries, the Jews were no longer present in the ancient Land. The expectancy for Christ’s imminent return died along with the belief that the House of David would inhabit the Holy Land once again. By extension, it follows logically, that the doctrine of imminency strongly depends upon Israel’s present existence as a nation.

To illustrate the point:

Suppose for a moment that next year, circumstances somehow force Israel to be dispersed throughout the world, just as they were in A.D. 135, when Hadrian’s armies destroyed Jerusalem once and for all, renaming it Aelia Capitolina. And suppose that the Arabs create a new Palestine, renaming Jerusalem, their new capital, as Al Quds. Under these circumstances, the possibility of a rebuilt Temple would become impossibly remote. Would Christians then be fervently awaiting the Rapture and Tribulation scenario that is now so common? Absolutely not! Prophetic fulfillment requires the presence of national Israel.

If, God forbid, such a thing happened, Christians would again be looking for Israel’s return, and re-capture of the Temple Mount, just as some of them were doing in the nineteenth century. If Israel is not in the Land, latter-day prophecy cannot be fulfilled.

A Strange Transition

Of course, Israel is now in the Land. Over a century ago, Jews and Christians worked together to bring the modern Zionist movement to life. Through two World Wars and a Holocaust, Israel persevered to become a state. Then, fighting for life through several more wars on her own ground, Israel rose to become a world power.

Following the 1967 Six-Day War, and Israel’s possession of the Temple Mount, millions of Christians were seized by the fervent belief that they were living in prophetic times. Think of the many prophetic books that were produced in the years just following that signal event.

There is now a sizeable faction of believers who are convinced that at some time prior to the Tribulation, the Lord will descend from the heavens and take them home in the Rapture.

But there is a valid question concerning the timing of the rapture. As we discuss what the Bible says about the transition from what we might call a “normal environment,” into the unfolding exigencies of the Tribulation, we shall examine the many passages of Scripture that speak of various terrors and volatile changes that take place before the seven-year Tribulation.

Of course, there have been many passionate discussions among Christians about the precise timing of the rapture, particularly with reference to the seven-year Tribulation. Usually, arguments range between Pre-, Mid-, and Post-Tribulational ideas. The 1970s also witnessed the development of a “Pre-wrath” rapture theory that places the departure of the church about three-quarters of the way through the Tribulation.

The firmness of the Pretribulational position, however, rests upon two basic premises. First of all, the Lord promises not to bring His wrath down upon his elect, those justified in Christ. Second, His wrath is precisely timed to a specific event in the life of national Israel, mentioned by Daniel the Prophet:

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan. 9:26, 27).

Many books have been written about these verses, but they boil down to one fact: In the future, a “prince” will come to Israel. We call him the antichrist; Israel will receive him as the actual Messiah. He will sign and strengthen a covenant with them for “one week,” a shavuah, or seven-year period.

Daniel writes that it is precisely his signature upon and ratification of the covenant – and nothing else – that initiates the seven-year Tribulation. In other words, to those present at the time, the beginning of the Tribulation can be precisely identified … right down to the time of day. From that moment, the 1,260 days of the Tribulation’s first half begin to elapse. Three and a half years fly by, during which the natural order of things is suspended.

Elijah Before the Tribulation

But this brings up a legitimate question. What events have led up to the covenant between Israel and the antichrist? It is certain that he does not do what he does out of a clear blue sky. There are significant events that lead up to the signing.

Make no mistake, it is absolutely necessary for the antichrist to begin his ascent to power before the Tribulation.

The sixth chapter of Revelation says that he initially emerges during a period of war, depression, famine and raging epidemics. These begin before the Tribulation, since his signing of the covenant initiates what his contemporaries believe to be a peace treaty.

Logic tells us that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride forth before he signs the covenant, i.e., before the seven-year Tribulation. Other things also happen before the Tribulation.

To name one, the prophet Elijah comes to his people. Elijah and the antichrist come to Israel at about the same time!

Apparently, the ancient prophet brings a curse upon the land, just as he did in the episode of his three-and-a-half-year suspension of rain in the days of King Ahab. In any event, judgment begins with the rise of the antichrist to power.

We have long taken the position that Elijah is one of the two witnesses who come to plague the antichrist’s reign:

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

“These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

“And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” (Rev. 11:3-6).

We know when the 1,260 days begin (the signing of the covenant), and we know that Elijah alters the weather in some way. He and his accompanying witness (whom we believe to be Moses) plague the waters – rivers, lakes, seas and cloud-forming atmospheric vapors.

Rapture Before Elijah’s Disclosure

Other events of the Tribulation and the period leading up to it are far less specific. There is a tendency to think that the instant that the church is caught up, the Tribulation begins. This is not, and cannot be true!

There is one great truth about the Rapture that is rarely discussed. It takes place at some unknown interval prior to the revealing of the antichrist, which will be recognizable to those then on earth as he confirms the seven-year covenant with Israel’s leaders. The prophecy that speaks of Elijah’s latter-day arrival also tells us that he appears before Israel at some time before the seven-year “Day of the Lord.”

Malachi plainly says this:

“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal. 4:4-6).

This, the fourth chapter of Malachi, is the last prophecy in the Old Testament. It speaks of the Tribulation and Second Coming of Christ. Furthermore, it mentions both Moses and Elijah. If, as we believe, they are the two witnesses, they represent the offices of the Law and the Prophets.

The latter, says Malachi, will appear to Israel “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

Thus, Scripture tells us that he discloses his identity to his people before the signing of the seven-year covenant.

This raises many questions. To whom will the prophet appear? If he came today, would he meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister? Or would he come to the Temple Institute, or Israel’s newly-refounded Sanhedrin? Perhaps he would meet with a convocation of Hasidic or Orthodox rabbis. But how would he bring these religious groups together in today’s religiously-divided Israel?

His very mission, as described by Malachi, is to bring fathers and children together. It is difficult to know precisely what this means, but it certainly sounds like he encourages reconciliation and spiritual unity in the House of David, something that hasn’t been seen in a real way since the initiation of Solomon’s Temple. To accomplish such a feat would require the presence of an incredible spiritual authority that simply does not exist today.

As we have often noted, Jews on a family-by-family basis watch during each Passover feast, for the coming of Elijah. They even set a place for him and pour the traditional cup of wine. Great expectancy is created when they send a member of the family to the door to see if he is standing outside.

Rabbi Abraham Twerski writes, “Whereas each participant in the Seder drinks from his own cup, the cup of Elijah is traditionally a large chalice, and many have the custom that it is shared by all.

“Once the cup of Elijah is filled to the brim, the door of the house is thrown open, perhaps to symbolize our inviting the spirit of the prophet who is to be the harbinger of the ultimate Redemption. Tradition has it that Elijah drinks from this cup. Whose contents is then distributed among all Seder participants” (Twerski, From Bondage to Freedom, (Brooklyn, Shaar Press) 1970, p. 170).

At the pouring of the fourth Passover cup, the Cup of Elijah is also poured. Then these words are recited: “Pour Your wrath upon the nations that do not recognize You and upon the kingdoms that do not invoke your Name. For they have devoured Yaakov [Jacob, or Israel] and destroyed His habitation. Pour Your anger upon them and let Your fiery wrath overtake them. Pursue them with wrath and annihilate them from beneath the heavens of HaShem [the Lord]” (ibid., p. 171).

There could not be a clearer description of Elijah’s pivotal role in the plan of God. For centuries, the annual Passover Seder has taught Jews that when Elijah comes, it will be at a time when the wrath of God is poured out during the Day of the Lord. But as Malachi says, the prophet’s role is centered upon bringing spiritual renewal and redemption to his people.

Scripture is quite explicit: Elijah comes visibly to the world before the Tribulation! He is the harbinger of God’s wrath, which is beginning to develop at that time! It becomes paramount to ask: What else is happening as he reveals himself? Will he remain hidden until the antichrist signs the covenant, then step forth with the power of judgment? Actually, the Bible tells us that at his coming, earth-shaking events will already have begun.

Joel’s Locust Plague

The more one looks at the transition period preceding the Tribulation, the more it appears that this time is marked by incredible change. Upheavals on a global scale become the order of the day. And apparently, they begin at some point before the Tribulation. This is illustrated in the prophecy of Joel, which speaks of amazing global upheavals that are specifically pretribulational:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

“And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:28-32).

Here, we find Joel’s evocative image of conditions, as they will manifest themselves during the Day of the Lord (the Tribulation). According to him, a new spiritual awakening will come upon his people … the nation Israel. They will be led by dreams and visions that will confirm to them that they are living in the latter days.

Also, there will come an outpouring of the Lord’s Holy Spirit. But most of all, we see in graphic terms, the presence of some sort of geophysical event.

Amazingly, Joel says that all this begins to happen before the Tribulation!

What would bring “blood and fire,” with “pillars of smoke” before the Tribulation? In the natural world, volcanoes would fit this description, filling the atmosphere with particulates and choking vapors that would obscure visibility, both day and night. This has happened before on several historical occasions.

The volcanoes of Santorini and Krakatoa darkened the skies for years. The Tribulation will be worse.

Another distinct possibility to explain this upheaval would be a general nuclear war. Since the twin explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many scientists have speculated that a nuclear war would litter the atmosphere with deadly fallout, plus a variety of contaminants that would float at high altitudes for months or years.

They have often referred to a “nuclear winter,” caused by the resulting blackout of the Sun. It is conceivable that this could also cause a “blood moon.” That is, a faint Moon, seen through dust and debris, would take on a reddish tinge.

Whatever the cause, this catastrophic event comes prior to the seven-year Tribulation. So now we see that there at least two things that are prophesied to come before the antichrist signs his deceitful covenant: Elijah, and some sort of global disturbance.

The Church’s First Sermon

The first sermon of the Church Age was given by Peter on Pentecost. He quotes Joel’s prophecy about the horrendous upheavals before the Day of the Lord. Many have wondered at Peter’s choice of Scripture. Why, it is asked, would he illustrate the birth of the church with a Tribulation prophecy? In light of what we now know about Israel’s residence in the Land, the answer is simple. Peter is bracketing the life of the church, from its beginning to its end.

Joel’s prophecy speaks of two things. First, he recalls Joel’s prophecy of a significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Second, he predicts the general idea of salvation, first in the sense of the new birth in Christ and second, in physical salvation from this world through the catching-away of the church:

“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

“And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:16-21).

Using Joel’s words, Peter here utters a prophecy about the beginning and end of the Church Age … before the Day of the Lord. He interprets the Old Testament prophet’s message in a way that speaks volumes to the church.

These words develop an unmistakable picture. At some time prior to the antichrist’s signing of the covenant, there will be a monumental disruption that shakes the entire globe. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus speaks of wars, famines, diseases, and massive earthquakes that characterize this period. He quickly adds, “… but the end is not yet” (Mt. 24:6). We might call it a “pretribulational upheaval, darkening even the Sun and the Moon.”

Remember, Elijah appears at this time, and something enables him to get the attention of Israel. Declaring a shutdown of the precipitation cycle would certainly accomplish this. To do this, the prophet would have to publicly display miraculous power, marking the transition into a new dispensation.

It is also the time when Paul says that a great “falling away” happens. Everything tells us that mass confusion reigns. Imagine that today’s world leaders suddenly find themselves helpless in the face of an increasing chaos. Knowing them as we do, they might resort to radical measures to retain their power.

Hidden by the Lord

An ancient biblical prophet was given a special name: Zephaniah. It means “Hidden by the Lord.” His entire prophecy is a warning to the Israel of the last days, and his name foreshadows the intent of his prophecy.

Something of a dark nature is coming, and it’s coming before the Tribulation. Look at Zephaniah’s warning to latter-day Israel:

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

“Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.

“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger” (Zeph. 2:1-3).

In the opening chapter of his prophecy, Zephaniah has warned of a horrendous judgment that will sweep across the entire world. It is perhaps the Bible’s most graphic description of the horrors inflicted during the Tribulation.

Then, in Chapter 2, he exhorts his people, as spiritually-blind outcasts and pariahs, to “gather” themselves … literally, to pull themselves together. He refers to a spiritual reconciliation and self-analysis that will lead to redemption. This prophecy is precisely aimed at today’s Israel, ripped into weakened factions by internal disagreements and external enemies. It is also Elijah’s mission to his people as given by Malachi. He comes to bring reconciliation to Israel’s disparate factions. Classic Dispensationalism would hold that when Elijah is revealed, the church will already have departed.

How will Israel know that it is time to “pull themselves together?” God will spiritually awaken them at the proper moment.

The “decree” mentioned above, is God’s final decision to unleash judgment. Other prophecies tell us that the final stroke in the judgment process will be the antichrist’s signing of the seven-year covenant.

Finally, we would note that Zephaniah’s warning applies to an Israel regathered and living in the transitional period just before the Tribulation. As we have seen, this is a time of chaos and spiritual darkness, when rampaging destruction is the order of the day. Israel is told to heed the warnings that God’s wrath is soon to be unleashed.

Imagine A Pre-Pretribulation Rapture

Looking at the prophecies above, one might respond with an obvious question: If global horrors break out before the Tribulation, won’t the church be around to experience them? The answer is: … not necessarily!

When does the day of wrath begin? It begins with the antichrist’s strengthening of the covenant, not with war, earthquakes or volcanic eruption. A war could … and most probably will … erupt long before he signs on the dotted line.

Imagine for a moment that a Mideast war breaks out, possibly with Iran. As tensions grow, Russia and her client states react by escalating their positions. At some point, Damascus and Egypt are wiped out. Prophecy is clear about this. Then, Gog, leading a vast northern alliance, marches upon Israel. All this seems to come just before the Tribulation.

If the war became nuclear, the atmosphere would be filled with particulate matter, darkening the Sun and Moon … before the Tribulation … just as Joel prophesied. At this time, under cover of the growing chaos, Elijah will come just as prophesied … before the Tribulation.

Ezekiel prophesied that Israel will be victorious in this huge battle, and will spend seven years burning the enemy weapons that litter the field of battle. Since Revelation tells us that Israel will become a fugitive from the forces of Satan after the middle of the Tribulation, they obviously can’t be burning weapons after that point. In the Olivet discourse, Jesus warns latter-day Israel to flee for their lives at the “abomination of desolation,” which comes at the mid-point of the Tribulation.

This would put the first wave of the war at least three-and-a-half years prior to the Tribulation, in order to give Israel a full seven years after their victory.

This scenario is borne out by Paul’s words in his first letter to the Thessalonian believers. Referring to the Rapture, he lays out a scenario that involves a future war that comes with lightning rapidity. By definition, it must come prior to the actions of the antichrist at the beginning of the Tribulation. The people of the world must sense that something is wrong, for they become preoccupied with peace and security. But their hopes are dashed when all turns to darkness … literal darkness, if Joel’s words about the Sun and Moon are taken literally:

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

“For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

“Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1Th. 5:1-11).

This is a letter to the church. Yet Paul’s warnings of war are given to Israel and the nations, not to the church. It is addressed to those “left behind,” to use the now-familiar phrase.

The Old Testament prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the Minor Prophets all speak of a transitional period before God’s Wrath is fully released. They repeatedly use the words “before,” or “at hand,” as a way of warning Israel to be especially watchful in the latter days.

When the signs of the end begin to multiply … even as they are now … look up. Moses, Elijah, and a world of troubles are soon to come, not to the church, but to Israel. The wrath of God is not our destiny.

Be very watchful. And comfort one another with the thought of a pre-pretribulation rapture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yes! Jesus is Coming!