Scriptures against the false pre-tribulation rapture doctrine

[ZacharyB]

 

If you simply read the various prophetic verses about the return Christ, you will see …

the Bible clearly teaches that believers will be gathered at His second coming …

at the end of the tribulation … and NOT at some secret return before His second coming!

Unfortunately, it would take too many pages to fully quote all of the Scripture references.

 

Matthew 24:21-31 • Might as well get the most obvious proof out of the way first

Parallel passages are in Mark 13 and Luke 21.

 

There are only 2 Resurrections • But the pre-tribulation doctrine teaches

3 resurrections

John 5:28-29 … Luke 14:14 … Acts 24:15 … Daniel 12:2 ↓

•  These 4 passages clearly state that there are 2 resurrections, which are:

the resurrection of life for the good & just, and the resurrection of

condemnation for the evil & unjust.

Revelation 20:4-12 ↓

•  This passage clearly states that there are 2 resurrections separated by 1000 years.

The first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) is for Christians -- non-Christians are raised 1000 years later.

Now, exactly WHEN the resurrection of Christians occurs is shown below …

 

The Last Trumpet • The resurrection of ALL dead Christians is at the LAST trumpet

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 … 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ↓

•  These 2 passages describe the resurrection of ALL dead Christians. They also say Christians

who are alive on earth will be “changed” and will meet the resurrected ones “in the clouds”.

And 1 Corinthians 15:51 says this will happen at the LAST trumpet.

•  The pre-tribulation doctrine teaches that Christians living in the last generation

will be changed into an eternal state at the beginning of the tribulation period.

If the dead Christians are resurrected at the same time as the pre-tribulation rapture,

how can these so-called tribulation saints be resurrected at the end of the tribulation?

It’s impossible … because there are only 2 resurrections: 1 for Christians, and 1 for the lost.

However, pre-tribulation doctrine falsely teaches 3 resurrections: 2 for Christians, and 1 for the lost.

 

The firstfruits • Only Jesus is the firstfruits

1 Corinthians 15:23 ↓

•  This verse clearly states that Jesus is the “firstfruits” …

but the pre-tribulation doctrine teaches that the raptured saints are the firstfruits!

Also, “the dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) refers to the group of ALL the dead in Christ.

So, how could this main harvest be considered merely the “firstfruits”?

Jesus returns at His second coming at the end of the tribulation period.

There will be Christians alive at that time.

But, Scripture says ALL dead Christians will be resurrected from the dead, and then …

the Christians who are alive shall be caught up together with them (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

 

The Last Day • Raptured on the last day before the tribulation starts? … lol

John 6:39-54 ↓

•  4 times in these verses, Jesus clearly says the dead believers will be raised up on the LAST day!

How can the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine have the dead in Christ rising first (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

followed by a rapture … if this rapture occurs 7 years before the last day?

Just how many occurrences of “the last day” are there?

•  All 4 gospels have references to a trumpet, and all occur in connection with the end of the tribulation and the resurrection of believers!  This is especially obvious in Matthew 24.

In Revelation, there are 7 consecutive trumpets encompassing the entire tribulation period,

with the last trumpet obviously coming at the very end.

•  The pre-trib doctrine says the dead Christians meet the Lord in the air

(joined with the living Christians) before the tribulation period …

unsurmountable problems with the last day and the last trumpet.

 

The Elect • Please refer to Matthew 24:21-31 above

•  The pre-trib doctrine says “His elect” is some group of Jewish believers! 

But, this is absurd because:

-- Paul refers to the Jews as “Israel”, and the believers in Christ as “the elect” (Romans 11:7)

-- writing mostly to Greek believers, Paul refers to them as “the elect of God” (Colossians 3:12-13)

 

The Days of Noah • They were similar to the times we are in today

Matthew 24:37-44 … Luke 17:26-37 … Matthew 24:28 ↓

•  In Matthew 24:39, the flood “took” all of the non-believers away (destroying them) …

and in Luke 17:37, the disciples asked, “Where, Lord?” … Where were half of all these people “taken”?

They were not asking where half of these people were “left”.  His response was like:

“Where the dead bodies are is where the eagles (vultures) gather together.”

Those “taken” are taken to destruction, to the place where the eagles (vultures) circle overhead.

“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles (vultures) will be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:28)

•  Matthew 24:39 says that immediately preceding the flood, almost no one had any idea that

destruction was about to fall upon them … and “so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Most church people are not expecting danger; they are expecting to be raptured;

they are very similar to those who “did not know until the flood came and took them all away”.

As in the days of Noah, the ones who will be “taken” away … will be taken away to destruction!

But, some believers today are like Noah (and his family) who spent 120 years building the Ark.

Some today are getting prepared to “ride it out” during the coming persecution and great tribulation.

Some today who do “know”… will remain (be “left”), while the others are “taken” to be destroyed.

•  Yes, many believers do “not know” that they will NOT be evacuated before things get really rough

… because “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do NOT expect” (Matthew 24:44).

Noah was involved in heavy-duty preparations for the coming disaster, but many believers today

do “not know” that they will soon be facing incredible Christian persecution (even unto death).

Christians who refuse to take the mark of the beast will suffer: “no one may buy or sell” (Rev 13:17).

 

Coming upon you as a thief • This is strictly a negative event, not a positive one

Revelation 3:2-3 ↓

•  Jesus clearly warns that some believers will be IN ERROR about the timing of His return.

This group’s works are lacking … they need to repent and re-evaluate when Jesus will return.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 ↓

•  Paul is writing to those who KNOW the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.

This group is “all sons of light … not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

But, the other group who is of the night and darkness, exclaims: “Peace and safety!”,

and then sudden destruction will come upon them, and they shall not escape.

•  Many NT verses referring to Christ’s coming as a thief refer to His second coming at the

end of the tribulation period … because they talk about the last trumpet, the last day, etc.!

Matthew 24:43 … John 10:10 … 2 Peter 3:10 … 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3  ↓

•  We always see the thief being spoken of in a negative context, not a positive rescuing one.

Example: In 2 Peter 3:10, the Day of the Lord comes as a thief to destroy the heavens and the earth.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 ↓

•  The above clearly says Christians will be on the earth when “this Day” arrives!

And some of them will be prepared for “this Day” because they have been watching and waiting.

Some Spirit-filled teachers are saying today:  Only “the overcomers” / “the remnant” will escape

the terrible Day of the Lord (when Jesus returns) because they will be raptured just before it comes.

Revelation 16:15 ↓                                                                              

•  In this verse (and in Revelation 3:2-3) … believers are told to watch, and Christ is referred to as a thief. At this point, all 7 seal judgments have occurred, and all 7 trumpets have sounded, and at least 6 of the 7 vial judgments have been poured out.  Then, immediately preceding the battle of Armageddon, Christ says: “Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” (Revelation 3:3)

All of this is irrefutable Scriptural proof that the thief in the night comes AFTER the tribulation!

 

The Day of the Lord • The Day of God’s wrath is at Jesus’ second coming

                                    at the end of the tribulation!

1 Thessalonians 5:2 … 2 Peter 3:10 ↓

•  Here, both Paul and Peter connect the coming of the “thief in the night” with the Day of the Lord.

•  The Day of the Lord ALWAYS speaks of the 2nd coming of Christ at the very end of the tribulation.

•  All 23 references of the Day of the Lord refer to the destructive post-trib return of Jesus Christ.

2 great examples are Isaiah 13:6-9 and 2 Peter 3:10.

Matthew 24:29-31 ↓

•  The wrath of God comes on the day of the Lord at the very end of the tribulation.

However, some believe the Day of the Lord actually begins at some fictional pre-tribulation rapture!

2 Peter 3:10 ↓

•  There is no way this verse about the Day of the Lord can be turned into a blessed rapture of the saints!

 

SUMMARY FROM SCRIPTURE re: debunking the pre-tribulation rapture

•  Matthew 24 says the elect will be gathered AFTER the tribulation period

•  There are 2 resurrections: first the good and just, then (1000 years later) the evil and unjust

•  The resurrection of ALL dead Christians is at the LAST TRUMPET on the LAST DAY

•  Jesus coming as a thief in the night is strictly a NEGATIVE EVENT, not a positive one

•  The Day of the Lord is the Day of God’s wrath at Jesus’ second coming at the end of the tribulation

    Even though Scripture teaches otherwise … Satan’s relatively new and

    extremely dangerous pre-tribulation rapture theory remains popular!

 

The worst mistake anyone can make is to assume that the pre-tribulation rapture is correct.

This disastrous error can mean the loss of BOTH of one’s lives … physical and spiritual both.

Satan is the most incredible liar and deceiver, so trust in what the Scriptures clearly say.

A lot of money has been made by ticking the ears of unsuspecting believers in the church.

But, you are responsible before Almighty God to teach the Truth about this false doctrine.

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by ZacharyB
formatting

[Guest]

Oh please, give us a break! The Rapture doctrine is not Salvational, no matter when you believe it occurs. You have blatantly misinterpreted Scripture to align with your ideas. For example, Matt. 24 is not meant for the Church (about which Christ never taught) but for Israel during the tribulation.

[Ezra]

1 hour ago, ZacharyB said:

If you simply read the various prophetic verses about the return Christ, you will see …the Bible clearly teaches that believers will be gathered at His second coming …at the end of the tribulation … and NOT at some secret return before His second coming!

There have been several threads asserting that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is "false doctrine".  It is one thing to say "I disagree with this doctrine".  But it is quite another thing to say it is "false doctrine".  That is a serious accusation, and one which has no basis whatsoever. The fact that millions of sound, conservative Christians believe this (on the basis of rightly dividing the Word of Truth) is sufficient evidence that it is not "false doctrine".  In my estimation, it is the only way to understand the Rapture, and the Scriptures posted in the OP can be understood in that light.

Even a cursory reading of Scripture will show that at the Second Coming of Christ He comes WITH His saints and angels. 

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, ...and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zech 14:3-5).

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14,15)

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and theyalso which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7)

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Rev 19:14).

That  begs the question: "How can Christ come WITH His saints if they are on the earth at His Second coming, and when the Bible calls them the armies which were in Heaven?"  And the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the answer.

[missmuffet]

12 minutes ago, Ezra said:

There have been several threads asserting that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is "false doctrine".  It is one thing to say "I disagree with this doctrine".  But it is quite another thing to say it is "false doctrine".  That is a serious accusation, and one which has no basis whatsoever. The fact that millions of sound, conservative Christians believe this (on the basis of rightly dividing the Word of Truth) is sufficient evidence that it is not "false doctrine".  In my estimation, it is the only way to understand the Rapture, and the Scriptures posted in the OP can be understood in that light.

Even a cursory reading of Scripture will show that at the Second Coming of Christ He comes WITH His saints and angels. 

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, ...and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zech 14:3-5).

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14,15)

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and theyalso which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7)

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Rev 19:14).

That  begs the question: "How can Christ come WITH His saints if they are on the earth at His Second coming, and when the Bible calls them the armies which were in Heaven?"  And the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the answer.

I agree. We have seen a lot of false doctrine on here but it sure is not the pretrib rapture.

[Omegaman 3.0]

1 hour ago, bopeep1909 said:

I agree. We have seen a lot of false doctrine on here but it sure is not the pretrib rapture.

While there is some false doctrine, floating around on worthy, I am not willing to toss pre-trib rapturism into the pile. I think that eschatology, is about doctrines of the end time, so I would not say that pre-tribism is not a doctrine. I do believe it to be false, and at the very least, unscriptural, if not contradicted by scripture, it at least lacks much if any, scriptural support, at least by what I would consider to be sound, exegetical principles.

Since beleif in pre-trib eschatology, does not endanger anyone's souls, it is of secondary importance,and while the Bible exhorts us not to be deceived about things to come, the danger pales compared with being deceived about salvational issues. So, eschatology is important (as evidenced by it's prominence is scripture), it is not critical to salvation even remotely.

I suppose it could be argued that a beleiver who has been deceived and conditioned to expect a pre-trib rapture, could find themselves so dis-illustioned when they find themselves in great tribulation, that they could fall away from the faith, thinkking that the Bible was wrong to promise them deliverance from that.

As Corrie Tem Boon put it:

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days.  Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution.

In China, the Christians were told, "Don't worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated – raptured." Then came a terrible persecution.  Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly,

"We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution, rather than telling them Jesus would come first.
Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes, – to stand and not faint."
I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.

Perhaps what she said there, false teachers, therefore false teachings, might be better words than false doctrine. However, personally, I do not think believers, true believers, will fall away from the faith over persecution, true believers will rather die or suffer, than deny Christ and submit to anti-christ.

Now, apologetics, is really not about defending rapture positions, it is about giving answers for the hope that we have. The hope that we have, is not the rapture, it is the salvation that we have in Jesus - the Gospel message.

Therefore, I will be moving this thread to the eschatology section.

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

I suppose it could be argued that a beleiver who has been deceived and conditioned to expect a pre-trib rapture, could find themselves so dis-illustioned when they find themselves in great tribulation, that they could fall away from the faith, thinkking that the Bible was wrong to promise them deliverance from that.

You are wrong to intimate that a true believer could ever loose their salvation if they are truly saved. Scripture clearly states that one is indwelt with the Holy Spirit at the moment of Salvation and Christ clearly states that the Father will not allow Him (Christ) to loose even one of those He has been given and that "no one" can remove use from His hand. No one means not anybody, even ourselves. As a Servant, you should not be stating ideas that are not supported by scripture just because it is what you believe. Some people put extra weight upon what you say (even thought you may not want them to) so you should carefully consider what you preach.

[Guest shiloh357]

Quote

I suppose it could be argued that a beleiver who has been deceived and conditioned to expect a pre-trib rapture, could find themselves so dis-illustioned when they find themselves in great tribulation, that they could fall away from the faith, thinkking that the Bible was wrong to promise them deliverance from that.

that is a common value assigned to us, but none of us, at least none that I know or have read are so naïve as to think they could not be wrong about this.  Evrery pre-tribber I know is ready no matter what happens.  They believe in a pre-trib rapture scenario, but they are also aware that they might have to through part or all of it and they are ready to give their life for the Lord, or at least as ready as they can be. 

[Guest Robert]

3 hours ago, Ezra said:

There have been several threads asserting that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is "false doctrine".  It is one thing to say "I disagree with this doctrine".  But it is quite another thing to say it is "false doctrine".  That is a serious accusation, and one which has no basis whatsoever. The fact that millions of sound, conservative Christians believe this (on the basis of rightly dividing the Word of Truth) is sufficient evidence that it is not "false doctrine".  In my estimation, it is the only way to understand the Rapture, and the Scriptures posted in the OP can be understood in that light.

Even a cursory reading of Scripture will show that at the Second Coming of Christ He comes WITH His saints and angels. 

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, ...and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zech 14:3-5).

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14,15)

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and theyalso which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7)

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Rev 19:14).

That  begs the question: "How can Christ come WITH His saints if they are on the earth at His Second coming, and when the Bible calls them the armies which were in Heaven?"  And the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the answer.

Correct: it creates a paradox; we would be "coming and going" at the same time and would literally meet ourselves coming back if that were true. Not to mention that if God still has promises to keep to Israel, there would have to be a difference between Jew and Gentile in the Tribulation; whereas according to scripture, right now there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles who are in Jesus Christ. A third consideration is that if all the believers are raptured at the end of the Tribulation, and those resurrected cannot marry or have children (see Matthew 22:30 for details), there would be no one left in their natural bodies to have children. Where then would the army that encircles the "camp of the saints" in Revelation 20 come from? Isiah 11:8 describes that "The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den."  (Isaiah 11:8, NASB). Where would the children come from if not from being born during the Millennium?
 

[Omegaman 3.0]

32 minutes ago, bopeep1909 said:

I agree Rick

Do you also agree with the errors he made bo, that I pointed out in my reply to him?

[Omegaman 3.0]

23 minutes ago, RobertS said:

That  begs the question: "How can Christ come WITH His saints if they are on the earth at His Second coming, and when the Bible calls them the armies which were in Heaven?"  And the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the answer.

Actually, let me make something clear here lest there be a misunderstanding, it was Ezra that said that, shown is a quote of RobertS quoting Ezra.

The pre-tribulation rapture is AN answer, just one interpretation, not THE only possible answer.

If a person reads the Olivet discourse, some see it as description the Rapture, the catching  up of the  Church:

   29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31“And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

compare that with 1 Thess 4:

 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,

So, if the Lord comes after the tribulation as  Matt 24:29 says, and people are gathered to Him as Matt 24:31 and ! Thess 4:17 say,

why can't He return to earth with the  people gathered? To accept that, is just a simple, straight forward understanding and harmony, with out having to have two raptures. The pre-tri rapture, is never, ever, ever stated in scriptrue anywhere, why can't people deal with that?

Yet in 1 Thess 4, the most obvious rapture verse in the Bible, the very passage where we get the word rapture (in Latin), it says this happens at THE coming of the Lord, not one of two comings of the Lord.

Then Paul, in 2 Thess, addresses it again:

 1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,

again, THE coming and again our gathering to Him

3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

So, who is this man of lawlessness, who takes his seat in the temple, claiming to be God? If the coming of the Lord and out gathering does not take place until after this man shows up, where and when do you suppose that happens BEFORE the tribulation exactly? What verse do you have that shows it?

Try, actually try, to get your eschatology from the Bible, instead of making the Bible, fit your eschatology.