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Preface
The purpose of this book is to help shed light on the controversial subject regarding the timing of the rapture and the coming great tribulation spoken of in the book of Revelation. There are many excellent Christians, both theologians and laymen alike, that share at least three different viewpoints on this subject (pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation). Each one believes they are correct; however, two of the three teachings are not correct. Foremost, Christians should be able to discuss this important subject matter without argument. As with all biblical studies, everything you are taught should be weighed heavily against the scriptures. Always seek the truth, not tradition, and use a lot of prayer. The Bible is 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time; however, the interpretations of scripture by people are not always correct, regardless of how well intentioned they are.
In 1993, during a time of great study, prayer, and fasting, God opened a revelation to me on the timing of the rapture that did not correspond with what I had been taught. In our church, like many other churches, we had always been taught that we would be “raptured” to heaven before the great tribulation began. There was no need to worry about the tribulation because we were not going to be here…but woe to those who were left behind. The revelation that I received from God was quite the opposite of that popular teaching—Christians would still be here.
Surely I must have been mistaken because first of all, it would mean we would be here during the tribulation. Secondly, it would mean many great preachers and teachers of the word were mistaken about this teaching. And finally, who was I to tell them even if it were true? Therefore, since that day in 1993, I have tried to disprove the revelation God gave me. It is not that I did not believe God; it is that I wanted to be very sure that it was not merely me and my thoughts.
It is now fifteen years later, and to the date of this writing, I have not been able to disprove what God revealed. In fact, after all of these years of serious, dedicated study to this matter, I am now thoroughly convinced that my viewpoint is not of my own accord, but is the truth revealed by the Lord, and is accurate according to the scriptures.
God is not afraid to have his word examined. To the contrary, examining it is actually encouraged in the bible. Scripture states in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Therefore, this subject, or any other subject of the Bible, should not be a cause for confusion or argument, but for humble, serious study. Some people may wonder why it is important to know when and if the rapture is going to occur. First of all, let me state that everything in the Bible is of the utmost importance; however, a subject that is taught in churches from the pulpit on a constant basis needs to be very thoroughly examined. If Christians are being incorrectly taught and promised they will be raptured from the coming tribulation, and then they are not raptured, it will no doubt cause a great falling away from the faith. Additionally, people may not be prepared to stand for their faith in the face of persecution.
Contrary to popular thinking, persecution is not just a thing of the past or future, but is something that occurs every day throughout the world right now. People are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ as you read this book. You and I are not above the Christians of the past, the Christians of the present (in other parts of the world), or the Christians of the future. If you discovered today that you and your loved ones were not going to be raptured out prior to the great tribulation and that you may very well have to endure the worst times ever known to man, could you possibly make better plans to face the future? Perhaps you would spend more time studying God’s word about the upcoming tribulation and be better prepared to understand our times now and what is occurring at this very moment leading toward that most horrific time in history. Also, perhaps you would learn more about the antichrist, the mark of the beast, and be able to warn your family (both saved and unsaved) not to take the mark under any circumstances, even unto death.
We live in a “feel-good” society, and we do not like to hear things that are not comforting to us; however, know this—there is a chosen generation that will witness all these things that are written in the book of Revelation. You and I may very well be that generation, and if the evidence I present to you in this book proves to be true, you will be glad that you were forewarned and as well prepared as you can be for such an event. This book is not intended to scare you, because fear is not of the Lord, and he is more than able to keep you in times of trouble. It is also not intended to prove other great Christian leaders wrong, and neither should you use it in that manner. Always share everything you learn in love. The truth is that the Bible is infallible, but again, the interpretations by people are not.
The fact is that no human being has every single scripture correctly interpreted, including me. That is why it is important that you study the Bible yourself, with much prayer, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what is written. Since I have given this particular subject immense study, I present this book to you as evidence for you to consider yourself against the written word of God.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. (Mark 13:28-30).
A Review on Prophecy
Before you can begin to understand any of this writing, you must first have at least a basic knowledge of prophecy. Simply put, prophecy is speaking something that will occur in the future before it happens, but it is not to be confused with fortune telling. Fortune telling is not a gift from God and is actually in direct opposition to God’s word. Because it is not from God, it is most often found to be incorrect. Prophecy is a gift from God, it will always align with scripture, and it is always 100% accurate. In a sense, the entire Bible is a book of prophecy. Dr. Chuck Missler gave the best explanation when he stated, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah (Jesus), and the New Testament is the fulfillment of those prophecies through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled 100% accurate concerning his first coming, including everything from his birth down to the very last detail of his death on the cross. Neither his own people nor the religious leaders in his day recognized the timing of his first coming even though they had studied the scriptures all of their lives. Believe it or not, there are more prophecies in the Bible regarding his second coming than there are of his first coming. Unfortunately, it appears that many will also not recognize the timing of his second coming either.
Prophecy in the Bible deals with past, present, and future events. There is prophecy that has already been written in the Bible, which is the main subject matter of this book. There is also a gift of prophecy where God can speak new words to us today; however, no prophecy that is true will ever be found in contradiction to the written word of God. Also, it is extremely important to note that if it does not line up with what is written in the Bible, then you should automatically dismiss it as false prophecy.
Prophecy is a gift from God and Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” However, operating in this gift should be done with the utmost prayer and fear of the Lord. Under Old Testament law, if a prophet gave one false prophecy, the person would be stoned to death because it was that serious of an offense. Thank God we are no longer under the law because there would be many people being stoned today. False religious prophets are much worse than fortune tellers and are in a league of their own. They are people who usually pretend to be great Christians but are actually great deceivers who manipulate people with their false prophecies. People who try to gain money, attention, or control of people through false prophecies should be trembling in fear.
There are many false prophets that claim to be Christian. They seem quite nice and can quote scripture left and right, but remember the devil himself quoted scripture to Jesus. Since cult activity seems to be reaching an all time high, if you have any doubt about whether someone is a true Christian, ask them point blank, “Is Jesus God?” This will require a simple yes or no answer. If they do not immediately answer yes, they are denying the Deity of Jesus Christ which is the very foundational core belief of a true Christian and is in the doctrine of every true Christian church.
John 1:1, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us
A false prophet will try to dance around the question by making other true statements from the bible to throw you off track, rather than just stating yes, they believe Jesus is God. If they will not simply answer yes to the question—then RUN the other way as fast as you can! It does not matter how many other true statements they make or believe from the Bible; if they do not have that one right first, do not listen to them any further. Also, a true prophet of God speaks only what God gives him to say and nothing more. If you are given a prophecy by someone regarding your life, I would strongly advise you to do as the Bible teaches and test the spirit before proceeding with any advice given because Satan has a counterfeit for every gift that God gives to us. That is why the Bible tells us to test everything against the word of God.
If someone tells you they have a word from the Lord, or if you ever believe you hear God speaking to you, do not be afraid to test the spirit. If that person or spirit ignores your prompting for the test or tries to make you feel guilty for doing so, it is going against the word of God, and any spirit from God, including the Holy Spirit, would never do that. So you say, “What is the test?” The word tells us that any spirit that is from God will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and any spirit that is not of him is unable to do this. When the following scripture refers to Jesus coming in the flesh it is addressing the creator of the universe, God himself coming in the flesh of a man, not that Jesus was just a man. He is fully man and fully God at the same time.
1 John 4:1-3 (King James Version):
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
If you are the one receiving a word of prophecy for someone else, you should go to the pastor and the elders of the church to pray over the matter to be very sure that it is from God. Do not think there is something wrong with you if it is discovered that Satan has tried to use you in the wrong way. This could simply mean that he sees you as a threat in the future and wants to try to destroy you now by getting you to never trust the gifts of God operating in your life. We are all human and capable of mistakes, which is why it is so important to affirm the word you received is truly a word from the Lord before sharing it with someone whose life it could affect. Personally, I would be a little leery of someone that has a word for every person in the room. God can and does use people to give a word, but everyone involved from receiving to sharing should use extreme caution and test against scripture. We always want to be found in our best obedience to him and his word.
Now let’s go back to the prophecy that is already written in the Bible which is the subject at hand. These are prophecies that were given by God through his prophets regarding future events that will definitely take place. They are all written in the word of God (the Holy Bible) now. God will give revelation about these prophecies to people, but those who receive the revelation should do so with fear and trembling. They should also examine the explanations against the whole word of God, not just segments taken out of context…or worse yet, just something they have heard repeated by someone else and have never studied for themselves.
Again, good people that are dedicated and educated Christians have come to different conclusions regarding the timing of the rapture; however, what you believe about this or any other subject should be from your own firsthand knowledge through the Bible itself. Hopefully this book will encourage you to study in order to find out what you believe because it could be very important for you to know in regards to your future.
While I wish that this was not a controversial subject, the fact is, it is. It would be great to go along to get along, but sometimes there must be controversy for people to search for truth. Controversy does not have to be an ugly word as long as it is not dealing with a matter of salvation. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word controversy as, “a discussion marked especially by the expression of opposing views.”
Controversial teachings about the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the rapture/resurrection of the saints have been around long before Jesus was crucified. The only subject matter that should never be open for debate among Christians is the deity of Jesus Christ, salvation through Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ being crucified for the remission of our sins. It took God himself, made flesh among us, to live a sinless life to be worthy to pay the price for our sins. He was crucified, buried in a tomb for three days, and resurrected in a new glorified body. Then he went to be with his father, the Godhead, to await his return to deliver his children for all eternity. Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven, and this trust in him alone will be enough to make us stand out in the last days.
All three positions of the rapture/tribulation can be debated, and all three positions can be successfully debated with individual scriptures. It is very easy to read a string of scriptures built around whatever our viewpoint is on a particular subject, especially if it is one we want to hear. However, it is a little more time consuming and harder to study the whole matter, but 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Although this is not a subject matter regarding the most important subject, which is your salvation, but it is a very important matter if you are the one that will have to go through any part of the tribulation period. Let me state up front that I do believe there is a rapture; I just do not find any evidence in God’s word that it will occur prior to the tribulation, although that would be really nice. Rather, I do find evidence that the rapture will occur towards the end of the seven-year tribulation, but before God’s full-blown wrath upon the earth. This rapture can also be interchangeably called the resurrection. “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
