The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Defended

As I said when we discussed the timing of the Rapture, there are differing views concerning the Rapture, and whatever you view is should be shaped by Scripture and not a personal opinion.

To that point, all Christians are called to be defense attorneys. We are to defend what we know to be true. Philippians 1:15-17, 1 Peter 3:15.

Philippians 1:15–17 “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.”

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

We are not to offer our thoughts. We are to defend what we know to be true by using God’s Word, but we must remember this. 2 Peter 1:20-21.

2 Peter 1:20–21 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

All Scripture will be revealed or illuminated to you by the Holy Spirit. If you do not understand a passage of Scripture, do not try to explain it. Wait on the Lord to clarify the meaning for you.

Can I be a prosecuting attorney for just a minute? Do you know God’s Word well enough to defend it?

Unfortunately, many of us would have to plead the 5th Amendment on that one because we would self-incriminate ourselves if we were to try to explain something in the Bible because all we know is what the preacher says, what the Sunday School teacher says, what the internet says, or what grandma says.

Luckily, we do not have to interpret any Scripture privately because the Holy Spirit does that for us, and the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say from God’s Word, so we can offer up a defense.

Luke 12:11–12 “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”

When defending God’s Word, let God’s Word speak for itself. Do not stretch God’s Word to the point that it becomes paper thin.

I have said that I believe the Bible teaches a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. There are arguments against what I believe, and I should be able to defend my position scripturally. Remember, however, that people have different ideas on the timing of the Rapture.

When CHRISTIANS have honest discussions about scriptural differences, those discussions are never to devolve into Monday nights at the Mid-South Coliseum. AMEN!!!!

Whether Christ comes for His church before the Tribulation, during the Tribulation, or after the Tribulation, the most important thing to know is whether or not you are going with Him. If you do not know that, it does not matter if you know the Bible from cover to cover in every known language. That will not keep you out of Hell.

Let me give you two examples of how to defend, scripturally, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

1. Defending the Pre-Tribulation Rapture from Scriptural Attacks.

For teaching purposes and discussion purposes, I am going to examine two attacks of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and I am going to show you how to defend those Scripture based attacks using God’s Word.

A. 2 Thessalonians 2: The Go-To Chapter for those who deny the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Post-Trib and Mid-Trib supporters believe that 2 Thessalonians 2 shows that the Rapture will not happen until the Antichrist has been revealed and until the Antichrist has desecrated the rebuilt Temple.

Before we look at the verses, you must understand what was happening at the Church at Thessalonica.

The Thessalonian Christians were terrified that they had missed the Rapture. They were scared that the 2nd Coming of Christ was at hand with all of its destruction, darkness, and judgments.

They were so terrified because they were being persecuted greatly and because they had fallen prey to a false teacher that was teaching them something that was contrary to what Paul had taught them. Read Acts 17 to get an idea of the type of persecution the church faced, and see who spear-headed those persecutions.

Let’s look at the grammar of the passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “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.”

The passage begins with this: “We beseech you, brethren,”. Who is the “we”?

The “we” is referring to Paul speaking in the complete authority of Jesus Christ. 1 Thess. 4:15a

1 Thessalonians 4:15 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,...”

I said when we first began our discussion of the Rapture that the phrase found in 1 Thess. 4:15 is incredibly important. Paul was not speaking on his behalf but in Christ’s authority. In other words, his teaching was coming straight from God’s Word, and that is from where anything we teach should come.

What does beseech mean? Beseech in the Bible means to call upon, to beg, or to appeal to. It means to consider urgently what you know.

What did the Thessalonians already know? 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 “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 them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

Paul was begging them to urgently consider what he had taught them.

“We beseech you, brethren,” Paul is identifying to whom he is writing. He is writing unto the true Christians in the Thessalonian church.

Dear friend, prophecy concerns the Christian and not the lost.

The lost person has absolutely no grasp on prophecy. It is like many lost people who are Creastors. They come to church twice a year, Christmas and Easter, to celebrate what’s leading to their demise.

Now, what is Paul beseeching the brothers and sisters of the Thessalonian Church to consider?

“by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him”

Paul is clearly talking about the Rapture.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 “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.”

If we were writing 2 Thessalonians 2:1 today, we would say it like this:

“We beg you by the authority of God’s Word to confirm what you know the Bible says regarding the Rapture.”

Now, notice the punctuation that ends verse 1. It ends with a comma, meaning the thought from verse 1 is incomplete.

“by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him” does not complete the thought of verse 1, so let’s look to verse 2.

2 Thessalonians 2:2 “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

Verse 2 completes verse 1. This is how you can read it after subtracting the insubordinate clause by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him.

This is what Paul is saying.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

Paul is saying whatever the false teacher said regarding the Rapture already taking place was clearly not true. Do not worry one minute over it. The Rapture had not happened. God’s wrath was not on the horizon. The thought is completed by the phrase “as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

What is Paul saying? He is reassuring the Thessalonians that the Tribulation, God’s wrath, was not at hand because the church was still on earth.

He then begins to explain it in more detail.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “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 Thessalonians 2:5–6 “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.”

“Let no man deceive you by any means” is referring back to verse 2 and the deception of the false teacher.

Paul spoke from God’s authority, and he was very blunt concerning the gospel truth that he taught. Gal. 1:7-9.

Galatians 1:7–9 “Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

Paul is saying in 2 Thess 2:3 that the Tribulation was not at hand, and if a spirit, a word, or a letter signed Paul said so do not worry about it or believe it.

If you think about it logically, you will see what Paul is saying. The Tribulation was not going to happen as long as the Church is still on earth. Do not forget the two purposes of the Tribulation.

To save a remnant of Israel

To punish Gentile governance

Neither of those purposes has anything to do with the Church.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:5, Paul appeals to their reasoning regarding what he had already taught them.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

What things is Paul talking about? “For that day shall not come.”

That day is referring to the Tribulation. It is the period of time that the Thessalonians thought they were in because of all the persecution they were facing and because of a false teacher.

Look at the last part of verse 3 including the punctuation.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “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;”

What day shall not come? The Tribulation, not the Rapture.

What is except there be a falling away first? That is the Rapture. The falling away is a reference to the false church that will be left on earth when the true church is snatched out of here.

Many in the church are falling away today, but that falling away will be completed by the Rapture. After the falling away, the Antichrist will be revealed.

Verse 4 describes the Antichrist. We will save that discussion for another time, but I want you to consider the question Paul asks in verse 5.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

What things had Paul explained to the Thessalonians? 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11.

The first few verses of 2 Thessalonians 2 are not describing a Mid or Post Tribulation Rapture. Those verses are stressing what Paul had already taught the Thessalonians. You cannot take 2 Thessalonians 2 and make it stand alone. You must link it with 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5. If you do, you clearly see the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

B. Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:30–31 “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

There are many things I could show you to prove it, but for time sake, let me just tell you this. Matthew 24 is not talking about the Rapture. It is talking about the 2nd Coming.

What are the two things we must be able to separate in the Scripture concerning prophecy? The things pertaining to the Church, and the things pertaining to Israel.

Which group requires a sign? The Jews.

The Book of Matthew was written by a Jew intended for a Jewish audience. Think of the layout of the Book of Matthew.

In Chapter 1, we see the lineage of Christ revealed to show the Jews who Jesus was.By the way, the Book of Matthew is the only gospel that reveals the lineage of Christ. Why? Because it was the gospel that written specifically to the Jews.

In Chapter 2, we see the sign in heaven, the Shekinah glory of God, the Star of Bethlehem.

In Chapter 27, the dead believers who had placed their faith in God were seen walking the streets.

In Chapter 24, Jesus gives His disciples the signs that would accompany the end of the age and not the Rapture.

In verse 31, Jesus Christ mentions the elect. We know the Christians of the Church Age is elected or chosen, but that is not the elect to whom Jesus is talking.

The elect in verse 31 is referring to Israel, the remnant of which will get saved during the Tribulation. Christ is saying that if the days of Tribulation were not shortened, even those Jews selected for salvation would not be saved.

The words Jesus used in our Matthew passage were the same words He used in the Book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 45:4 “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”

Notice what else Jesus says: “They shall gather His elect from the four winds, and from one end of Heaven to the other.”

I have not said this in a long time, but remember, when prophecy concerning Israel is given in the New Testament, you are going to find a corresponding verse in the New Testament.

Isaiah 27:12–13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, And ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, That the great trumpet shall be blown, And they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, And the outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

The Church is not going to be regathered on earth, but Israel is. Israel will be regathered from all over the globe to worship in Jerusalem.

This is a critical point if you want to understand the Rapture. You have to keep Israel and the church somewhat separated. How did this conversation about the end of the age begin? Matt. 24:3, 1 Cor. 1:22.

Matthew 24:3 “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?”

1 Corinthians 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”

The end of the world and the Rapture are two separate events separated by at least 7 years.

Why do I say at least 7 years? Because it is not the Rapture of the Church that starts the clock ticking down on the 7 years of Tribulation. It is the signing of the covenant between Israel and the Antichrist. Dan. 9:27.

Daniel 9:27 “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.”

Ezekiel 39 gives us a hint to when the Tribulation begins when in the Book of Ezekiel, it takes 7 months to bury all the dead from the Russian-led invasion of Israel. I believe when the burying of the dead is completed, Israel and Antichrist will sign this treaty, and Israel will begin rebuilding the Temple thinking the AC is the Messiah.

Israel is looking for signs, you and I are to be looking for Christ.

Now, I know what you are thinking?

“I have heard preachers use Matt. 24 as their Scripture when talking about the Rapture.” You have, and I and they were wrong to do so.

Matthew 24:37–39 “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.”

Matthew 24:40–41 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Think about the Flood. What happened to everyone but Noah and his family?

They were swept away to judgment by the Flood. Noah emerged from that cataclysmic event with a new beginning.

Since Matthew is describing the end of the world, what does Jesus mean in verses 37-41?

He is talking about those who will be swept away by judgment as He returns to earth. Nahum 1:8, Rev. 12:15-16.

Nahum 1:8 “But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, And darkness shall pursue his enemies.”

Revelation 12:15–16 “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”

We know this is not talking about a literal Flood, don’t we? What did God promise Noah?

When Jesus Christ returns to earth with His army of saints, those who have rejected Christ will all be swept away as a great flood, but those who are saved, including that remnant of Israel, will be preserved and ushered into the Millennium.

Matthew 24 is not discussing the Rapture. It is describing the visible 2nd Coming, judgment, and the Millennial Kingdom.

I could give you much more Scriptural ammunition to you so you can defend the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, including verses about the Resurrection and the last day, but time will not let me.

Study God’s Word. Discover what it has to say. Remember. God does not want you to be ignorant concerning prophecy. He wants to comfort you so you can comfort other believers.