The pre-tribulation rapture theory that the majority of Christian churches around the world promote is very clearly false. Unfortunately, its popularity has helped to maintain the belief despite knowledge being increased and truth becoming more apparent.
Our Lord said that we are not appointed to wrath. This is one of the most common points of evidence that pre-tribulation rapture preachers use when promoting the concept that the church will be taken away before the Great Tribulation. One must understand the difference between tribulation and wrath in order to fully grasp why believers in Jesus Christ will not face wrath but will face tribulation.
That is a study in itself that I will tackle in the future. For now, I would like to focus on one key point that scares me as much as anything else when it comes to the deception of a pre-tribulation rapture. I was listening to a noted Bible scholar, one who speaks at various conferences and has a popular website. He reaches tens of thousands of believers and those seeking truth every month.
He was discussing a separate topic in an interview when it shifted to his opinion of the rapture. He said that he believed in the rapture because if it wasn’t true, then most of the teaching that he had heard and the teachers he had followed would be incorrect if there was no pre-tribulation rapture. It struck me because he was knowledgeable enough to call it into question but hesitant because of his history as a Christian.
This is dangerous. We cannot allow teachings, however prevalent in the modern church, to guide us in the wrong direction if the Bible states otherwise. I am not going to use this article to try to convince you about the truth regarding the rapture. Instead, I simply want to point out things that you should know in your heart so that you may decide to search the scriptures and research the history of the rapture on your own. I’ll cover it in more detail in the future, but for now, all I want you to do is open your mind to the possibilities that many of your church leaders have been deceived and therefore you have been deceived.
- Satan’s Goal: There is nothing that the adversary can do to you if you wear the full Armor of God. His only method for stealing away as many souls as possible is to make them believe that they do not need to wear their armor. A pre-tribulation rapture theory can convince people that they are not going to face the great trials that are coming, so when they do come, their armor is absent.
- Flintstones Vitamin Preaching: A friend who tried to hire me to promote Son of God told me that the world was not ready for three-inch needle of Biblical doctrine plunged into their body to deliver the Word of God. He said we needed to ease the world into believing by giving them movies like Son of God that acted like Flintstones Vitamins to get them heading in the right direction. It was a long debate and obviously I passed on the lucrative project, but it points to the concept that many hold: if you give the people some Biblical truth that they can stomach, they’re more likely to come for more. This concept is what makes many preachers who are aware of the pre-tribulation deception to continue the preaching in hopes that they can eventually dive deeper into less popular doctrines.
- The Cool Kids Club: Privately, I was told that if you’re a Bible scholar with ambitions of speaking at conferences and selling books, that you had to promote a pre-tribulation rapture. Those who do not embrace the teaching will not be allowed into the club. As much as we’d all like to believe that the truth should always guide us, I’ve seen very intelligent and moving preachers embrace the doctrine in order to keep their club membership and continue to be invited to these conferences. Similar to Flintstones vitamins, they feel that anything they can do to get people to believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior is fine as long as it does not blaspheme Him. This is dangerous, of course, because when people are left unaware, they are unprepared.
- Satan’s Tool: The scariest part about the pre-tribulation rapture is that it promotes the concept that people will be given a second chance to repent and make things right in their lives. They are told that the righteous will be taken away and that they will then have seven years to find their faith and redeem their soul. I admit that when I believed in a pre-tribulation rapture, this concept had me practically wishing that I wasn’t rapture so I could be a “warrior of faith” during the tribulation itself, earning my redemption. This concept is going to leave many people confused and force them to believe other deceptions when the tribulation starts without a rapture.
But there’s one important caveat that must be added to this teaching. We cannot know what the Great Tribulation will bring in our lives and therefore we shouldn’t wait for tribulation to start before getting our spiritual house in order. If use the rapture as a sign to “do good now” is a huge danger for Christians, an equally dangerous notion is waiting for tribulation to start before we get our act together. One look at the extreme turmoil in the Middle East and the persecutions faced by Christians around the world can be enough to make some believe the tribulation has already started. Perhaps it has. Regardless of when it starts or if it’s started already, we must be firm in our belief and continue to live as if the day of judgment can meet us at any moment. God forbid you might be hit by a truck tomorrow if your soul is not saved by Grace yet.
If you understand the reasons why a pre-tribulation rapture is preached, you can research it yourself to discover the truth that the Bible teaches.
We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.
[gravityform id=”2″ title=”true” description=”false”]
