Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
7 15 2024
The Rapture – Do we go before or after the Tribulation?
Whatever your theological persuasion. There are various views about the rapture.
But the mechanics of the rapture. The promise. Where is it and what will it be like has always been confusing to me. What’s remarkable, it’s a new testament doctrine that is a mystery. From Rev 3: 10 to Philippians he says because you kept your faith,
I will keep you from fire that will come across the whole world.
The Rapture is that moment…that promise. That is the hour that a group will be exempt from these horrific times but not the rest of the world. To the church at Philadelphia, that dovetails with the passage Jesus spoke in 1 John 14 1- 3 “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also”.
A deliverance during an hour of a global catastrophe. Rev 4: 1 says “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” So, whatever is about to happen, cannot happen until John’s vantage point from heaven happens.
So let’s assemble Rev 3: 10 – John 14:1 -3 and Rev 4: 1-11.
So from Rev 4: 1 we see the church is never again seen in heaven, or mentioned with all that is poured out on the earth. The church is not there. The church never meets the antichrist because there is a 7 year tribulation period that is commenced by a signing of a peace treaty,
Daniel says in chapter 9 vs 24 – 27 that’s right in the middle of the Olivet discourse that Jesus gave to his disciples concerning the last days. Jesus said this, and if you’re not careful you’ll miss it. In Luke 21, speaking to the Jewish people and the believers about the tribulation period… not the church.
| These events are also mirrored in Matt 24 and Matt 25 and Marks gospel.
Jesus says in Luke 21:34 to be careful, that you are not weighed down with anxieties of life.
Throughout the NT there are warnings of – be ready. 1 Thess and 2 is all about that challenge.
So in verse 35 in Luke 21 he says, “for it will come upon all those who live on the face of the Earth!” Wow, whatever is coming, is going to affect everybody on the earth.
It doesn’t appear anybody will be exempt from that.
Verse 36 says “be always on the watch and pray that you may escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the son of man in the midst of all of the foreboding horrific things that are going to come upon the Earth dwellers during the seven year tribulation period.
There is a parenthetical insert by Jesus himself saying… I’m paraphrasing right now… hey you guys… what I said in Luke 21: 36 “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”. and didn’t I say it in John 14 verses 1-3. that you’re gonna get out of here before the entire world is engulfed in my coming Judgment, in my coming Wrath upon the Earth during the tribulation.
Titus 2: 13. is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. We are there, admonished to be looking for the Blessed hope and the Glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Notice, you’re supposed to be looking for the coming of the Messiah, not the anti-messiah…For Jesus Christ not the Antichrist. We believers… today… right now …are to be looking for the coming of Jesus.
We see global happenings all around us; in currency, government, a coming one world religion, the system of 666, all recorded and sent to the world. But they don’t see it and we can’t miss it.
The rapture could happen today! Many of us have preloaded denominational backgrounds that don’t allow us to hear different views. Let’s NOT let that divide us. Let the bible say what it is. You decide for yourself. Let me break that down for you with the help of Jack Hibbs a CA pastor.
Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10 says, wait for his son from Heaven whom he raised from the dead even Jesus who delivers us from the Wrath to come.” boom that’s Awesome… the Wrath to come does not mean hell …the Wrath to come is God’s Wrath on Earth. His Vengeance, his indignation, the holy, pure, White Hot , Fire of God’s Wrath is going to be poured out upon the Earth, and by the way, it is starting with the seven year tribulation. At its commencement, at the signing of the peace treaty it begins and the first three and a half years is God’s Wrath being poured out in the area of… How? listen …
the Antichrist is deceiving the world with peace and prosperity… that’s how it starts… with deception!
God gives them over to what the people wanted. The Rapture starts as what looks like the good stuff. But all 7 yrs is the wrath of god.
1st Thessalonians chapter 2 and each of the five chapters is a promise. Verse 19. Says, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy”. That is us the church!
1st Thessalonians 3:13 says this… “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in Holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints.” some might say, that’s the second coming and that’s the post-tribulation view…. I don’t believe it is!. Listen I’m going to prove it to you in the next section of scriptures when Jesus comes back to pick up his church. He appears in the atmosphere but he brings with him those who died in Jesus. That’s why it says when he comes back to get the church. 1st Thessalonians provides Christians with the clearest biblical passage on the coming rapture of believers, an event that will inaugurate the seven-year tribulation. At the rapture, Christ will return for His people. The dead in Christ shall rise first, while those still living will follow close behind.
First Thessalonians 3 says, he brings the saints that died in the church age with him in that second before we go up, their bodies come out of the grave glorified. So here we go. In 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who sleep or died in Jesus.”
That is John 14… that’s everything we’ve been talking about .1 Thess 4:15 says “ 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.” isn’t that amazing… Paul thought that there was the great chance of him being Raptured too. But he says, by no means that those still alive will precede those who died in Jesus, for the Lord himself would descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together … that’s the word….rapture .
“then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. that’s 1 thess 4:17 John 14 vs 1 2 and 3
Again, first Thessalonians 4 16-18 says, “And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words”. Therefore Comfort one another with these words… meaning we shouldn’t get in a fight about it… shouldn’t get in an argument about it. we may have different views and that’s okay but just know this… It’s to be a comfort. .. theRapture should be a great great comfort .
1st Thessalonians chapter five is said to be the final exhortation regarding the pre-tribulation. 5;9 says :For God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” You and I will not see the wrath of God that is going to be coming upon the Earth! This is awesome. The pre-tribulation Rapture view is the only Rapture view that takes the word of God literally and in totality.
Those that are post-tribulationist must jumble up Israel and the church together and you’ve got the church experiencing the wrath of God. But scripture says, we will be sheltered from the wrath of God, because just like God kept Noah through the flood, he’s going to keep the church through the tribulation…
The church is not in the seven year tribulation period … it doesn’t fit. I don’t believe it applies because there’s no reason for it. It’s for God dealing with an unbelieving world. He will purge Israel from the unbelieving Israel and out of it will be the remnant and the remnant will die for their faith in Christ but before they do that Remnant will preach the gospel
to the ends of the Earth and tons of Gentiles will be saved.
I should say, that event better fits the remnant of Israel in the tribulation period than it does the church . The pre-tribulation Rapture view is not a fairy tale. it’s not an Escape
. All I can say is don’t listen to man. Dig into the Gospel. Dissect the opposing views. Dig Deeper and the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you. That being said, I am open to correction and or a discussion regarding opposing views. I never want to stop learning.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus lauren daigle
