Recently, while surfing on
YouTube I came across a video from a well-known scholar and theologian calling
for the end of “the Left Behind Rapture Theology.” He cited that the doctrine
of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture was unbiblical, guilty of scripture twisting,
too new to be true and therefore should be “left behind.” (click here to view) Then I read about a
2016 survey done by Lifeway research among
evangelical pastors which reported that only about one-third of pastors held to
a Pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture.[i]
It seems that the doctrine
of the Pre-Trib Rapture has fallen on hard times. As I began to ponder this, the
trend began to make sense considering the Reformed resurgence that has taken
place in the church over the past decade. Most Reformed theologians adhere to an
A-millennial eschatology which denies the Pre-Trib Rapture.
So what about the Rapture?
Is it actually taught in the Scriptures? Will the church be taken out of this
world before God’s wrath is poured out? Here are a few facts that I have found
to be convincing.
First, the Tribulation
period is not intended for the church, instead it is meant to punish the unbelieving
world of sinners and most importantly to purify Israel. Jeremiah 30:7 describes
this future period of judgment as “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” meaning that
it’s for Jacob’s descendants, which is the Jewish people. Zechariah 13:8 says
that two-thirds of the Jews will perish during this time of wrath. In Matthew
24 Jesus described to his Jewish audience what life would be like for them
during the Tribulation saying, “15 So when you see the abomination of
desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the
reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains”
(Mat. 24:15-16). The Tribulation is intended to turn the hardened hearts of the
Jewish people back to the Lord so that they will finally call out to their
Messiah, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mat. 23:39; Lk.
13:35). In short, this means that the church does not fit into the Tribulation
scenario, as God will be dealing with Israel and the unbelieving world at this
time.
Second, the church is conspicuously
absent from the Earth when the Tribulation is described. It’s interesting that
the word “church” (eklessia) is found
19 times in the first three chapters of Revelation. In fact, Revelation 2-3 is
where we find Jesus’ report cards to the 7 churches. But from Rev. 6 through
19, which describes the Tribulation in detail, there is no reference to the
church on Earth. Then in Revelation chapters 21-22, which is about eternity in
the New Heavens and New Earth, we find the church appearing again. What this entails
is that the church is not present on the earth during the Tribulation because she
has been taken out beforehand.
Third, the NT is replete
with promises from the Lord that the church will be protected from the wrath of
God. In Revelation 3:10 we find Jesus’ promise to the church at Philadelphia,
“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from
the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who
live on the earth.” Notice that in this verse Jesus didn’t say He would keep
the church “through” the hour of trial, but “from” the hour of trial. Paul
states in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” He also
states in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but
to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Keep in mind that the
return of Christ is to be a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) and a source of encouragement
for the church (1 Thess. 4:18). There would be no comfort whatsoever in the
return of Christ if the church was not to be removed until after it had endured
the misery of the Tribulation.
Fourth, over and over
again we are told that the return of the Lord cannot be predicted. Jesus stated
in Matthew 24:42,44 to “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what
day your Lord will come . . . So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man
will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Paul indicated that the Day
of the Lord would come as “a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:1). In other words,
Paul was saying that you cannot know when the Lord will return any more than
you can know when a thief is planning to rob you blind. These verses support
the idea that Rapture will be a sign-less event that will occur as a great
shock to the world.
However, the Second Coming
of Christ is preceded by numerous signs which Jesus clearly laid out in Matthew
24 including—wars, pestilence, the rise of an Antichrist, the rebuilding of the
Jewish Temple and cosmic calamities. This means that the pre-trib Rapture and
the Second Coming must be two separate events or else we could simply look at
the signs and be able to predict when Jesus would return. Especially,
Antichrist’s covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27), which formally begins the
Tribulation period. From the making of the covenant, all we must do is count
seven years forward and know the time for the Return of Christ. Therefore, the
only way we can preserve the immanent and unpredictable nature of Christ’s
return is to posit a Pre-Trib Rapture event, which removes the church from the
earth before God’s wrath is poured out.
It’s for these reasons
that I think the pre-tib Rapture is not only biblical, but it makes the most
sense of the prophetic timeline. Hopefully, this article has confirmed or
challenged some of your eschatological ideas. -DM
[i]
Bob Smietana, “Only One-Third of Pastors Share 'Left Behind' End Times Theology,”
Christianity Today, 26 April 2016
<https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2016/april/sorry-left-behind-pastors-end-times-rapture-antichrist.html>
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