Eschatology Study

Pretribulation Premillennialism

Darrell Bock

Summary: Millennium after Jesus’ return, before 7 year tribulation; the key about millennium is what you do with Revelation 20; tribulation comes from 1 Thessalonians 4-5

Physical return of Jesus

Acts 1:4-11

Gift of Spirit = beginning of new age

Cross provides the cleansing that gives the Holy Spirit a cleansed vessel to inhabit

Disciples ask whether this is when Jesus will restore the kingdom to Israel

Nothing in Jesus’ answer indicates that this is a bad question

Jesus notes that it’s not for them to know

Jesus went up on a cloud, and the angels say he’ll come back in the same way, some day

Revelation 20:1-6

one thousand years mentioned 5x

Events come before, and events come after the one thousand years

God has a calendar

Pretribulational Rapture

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

v. 13 assures the Thessalonians that the dead will be resurrected

Those left alive will not precede those already asleep

Meet the Lord in the air, and there’s no mention of any return to the ground

This occurs before judgment (talked about in 1 Thessalonians 5)

1 Thessalonians 5:1-7

Judgment follows meeting in the air; there are hints that those who believe will not be subject to the judgment

Comes like a thief in the night, quickly in the midst of life

Destruction comes on them… labor pains on them

Believers are sons of day/light, so the darkness will not overtake/affect them

This is b/c they’re already been taken away

If rapture was post-tribulational, you’d know when the rapture was happening; you’d know that you were in the deep tribulation

Really? Only if you have to have literal fulfillment of everything

Jesus’ coming to earth to judge

It’s a figurative depiction, not amovie

Revelation 19:11-21

The white horse = victory and purity

Description is of a powerful king

Clothing in blood = cross and coming judgment

Armies in white = angels; heavenly army

Sharp sword = picture of judgment

Winepress = nations about to be judged

Eating the flesh is gruesome b/c judgment is serious business

Defeat for the antichrist and his right hand man

Judgment on the beast and antichrist

Thus the millennium begins only with those who believe and those who have been raised to share in the peaceful rule of Christ for 1000 years and beyond

Recap and defense

Rapture, judgment (Tribulation, 7 years), return of Jesus (Rev 19), Millennium, first resurrection, judgment, eternal state

More time, we’d look at Rev. 19 which describes return of Jesus

If the words “1000 years” is said several times in a few verses, it’s probably pretty important

Objection: Millennium is already happening, Satan is already bound

If that’s the case, Satan is on a pretty loose chain

Post-tribulation Premillennialism

Douglas Moo

Intro

Scripture suggests that there is going to be a pretty severe tribulation

Christians will go through tribulation

Tribulation and Rapture

Pretribulational rapture:

At very end of time, intense persecution (based on Daniel and Revelation)

Christians will be taken out before this begins

George Eldon Ladd, Robert H. Gundry

Posttribulational rapture view:

Rapture and resurrection occurs after 7-year great tribulation

(There is also a mid-tribulational view, often called the pre-wrath view)

(wrath is a two-part: persecution of believers, rapture, then God’s wrath)

No text of Scripture clearly states when the rapture will occur

Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25)

Esp. Matthew 24:4-31; parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21)

You see the beautiful temple? Not one stone will be left on top of another

Four parts

You’re gonna see a lot of things; don’t get excited, the end is not yet (Matthew 24:4-14)

When you see the abomination of desolation, then take action (Matthew 24:15-28)

There will be great tribulation, such as has never been seen before, and will never be seen after

After the distress of those days, you’ll see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:29-31)

Part 4?

If you think of this as the very end of history… (futurist)

Part 1 is the beginning of tribulation

Part 2 is when the antichrist comes (middle of tribulation)

This is the futurist view

If you think of this as taking place within the life of the apostles (preterist)

Before this generation passes away

These events surround the time when Rome put down the rebellion in Judea, and sack Jerusalem and the temple

This is Jesus “coming” but it’s not the ultimate coming at the end of history; it’s his coming in judgment on Jerusalem

Both the futurist and preterist views have to explain parts of the text in unlikely ways, so there’s a MEDIATING VIEW

Both about AD 70, and also about events at end of time

Disciples ask about temple, and Jesus explains when it’ll be destroyed

trials and difficulties (Jesus’ day to ~AD 70)

Then there’s the abomination of desolation = Romans entering temple precinct (AD 70) when temple was destroyed

Next there’s a “great tribulation”

There are a few times when “tribulation” might refer to ultimate tribulation

In NT, tribulation usually refers to the entire peirod of church history as the time of tribulation

great tribulation in Matthew 24 is period of time b/w first and second comings of Christ

whole period is a period of intense suffering for people of God

Culminates @ return of Christ in glory; Matthew 24 is a reference to the ultimate parousia

Gathering of believers might be indication of the rapture @ Christ’s return, @ end of tribulation (following Matthew’s ordering)

The Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Paul’s purpose is reassurance that those who died before will not be left out

2 things will take place

Dead in Christ will rise

Those still alive will be caught up with the in the clouds (Latin here is where we get rapture); there is a sense of ascending, so we often think of it geographically

There’s not actually a reference to rising to heaven, but to meeting Christ in the air

1 Corinthians 15 suggests that transformation is the most importnat thing

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God

Our earthly bodies must be transformed

This will happen in the rapture

Also no explicit reference to tribulation in this text (1 Thess)

Resurrection and rapture (at the same time) occur at the time of Christ’s return, which is post-tribulational

When Paul talks about parousia, we assume it’s HTE post-tribulationa coming we see elsewhere; at this point the rapture comes

Language associated with post trib coming of Christ

Shout of command

Trumpet call

Daniel 12:1-2 suggests resurrection of the righteous after period of tribulation

Paul uses απαντησαν(?) hints at meeting a dignitary outside town, then escorting him back into the city; when believers rise to meet him in the air, we’ll return to earth in association with the judgment he’s bringing

Pre-trib rapture requires that we divide Jesus’ coming into two stages

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Thessalonians seem to have thought that the DoL had already come

If it’s about Christ’s coming in glory, it’s hard to see how they were confused

Thessalonians were undergoing severe persecution, such that they were maybe already thinking they were expecting the parousia

Paul is calming the Thessalonians down a bit

They weren’t relating to each other in the proper way because of this fear

Rebellion must come

Man of lawlessness must come

The Greek is tough

What kind of rebellion?

Political, religious, apostasy? Probably a rebellion against God and Christ

Man of lawlessness?

Probably the last end-time anti-Christ

God is still at work through the restrainer; who is the restrainer?

The Holy Spirit indwelling the church?

Along these lines, it means there’s a rapture needed to remove the church

Then all the bad stuff of tribulation can happen

But if Paul meant the Spirit, why didn’t he just say so? There are also other options

Michael? Going back to Daniel (Moo favors)

We can’t build much on this

We can build on this: DoL after rebellion and man of lawlessness

Suggests that the Thessalonians will see these things

The Tribulation (Revelation 3:10)

Nothing very clear about the tribulation or its relationship to the rapture in Revelation

Timing of events is uncertain

But in letter to Philadelphia...

I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world

Often cited as proof-text for pre-trib rapture

But, 2 reasons Moo doubts this

First, Revelation doesn’t focus only on very end of history; it talks about the whole time of the church age leading up to the end of history; the culmination at Christ’s return is a key moment that we’re constantly pointed toward

It also wants to instruct us as Christians as to how we live in the meantime

Could be the entire church age

Second, let’s assume that it is a reference to the last great tribulation period

WDTM that Jesus will “keep you from that hour”

Remove believers before tribulation is possible

But keep (τηρεω) + from (εκ) most often means protection from something, not removing out of

God will protect the church during and through the trial so that we can bear up under it

So it more supports post-tribulational view: God promises that those who go through that trial, He will keep us from succumbing to the danger of renouncing Christ

Have to be careful due to the logic we use to support pre-trib rapture (e.g. God would never subject His church to the wrath)

Runs counter to the clear testimony that we will experience tribulation, persecution, etc.

Other views and Objections

2 more important points

Pre-trib and pre-wrath views say Christians will not be subject to wrath and tribulation

Clear NT teaching of imminency

Post-trib view allows us to calculate when exactly Christ will return, so imminency is out the window