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The King Comes! A study in the book of Revelation by Dr. Richard W. Fry Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1982-2001 by Dr. Richard W. Fry. Published by Promise of Life Ministries, San Diego, CA 92117-3915. Printed in the United States Of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or database, or translated into any human or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, photocopying, recording, manual, or otherwise, or disclosed to third parties without the express written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Making copies of any part of this publication for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. CHAPTER 4 V. 1 THE RAPTURE EVENT HISTORICAL ARGUMENT One of the more common reasons for opposing pretribulationism is that it is a new doctrine, beginning no earlier than J.N. Darby, author of Notes On The Apocalypse, who lived in the 1800's. What Post tribulationists do not seem to realize, or choose to overlook, is that the detailed arguments for posttribulationism, as they are now taught, are even more recent than Darby. So if newness is an argument against pretribulationism, it is also an argument against posttribulationism. The fact is that the development of most important doctrines took centuries. Should we be surprised that even in the 20th century new light is cast on the understanding of scripture?
It is not to be wondered at that details of eschatology (the doctrine of last things, the branch of theology that deals with death, judgment, and the future state of the soul), which are always difficult, should unfold slowly. (John Walvort, The Rapture Question) THE NATURE OF THE TRIBULATION Most of the debate as to whether or not the church will go through the tribulation is over a difference of opinion as to the nature of the tribulation itself. George H. Fromow, a supporter of posttribulationism, states plainly: The church is already passing through The Great Tribulation", according to the sense of Revelation 7:13-14. . .Revelation 7 is the only passage where we find the tribulation called Great. Fromow is guilty of an oversight. Matthew 24:21; Jeremiah 30:4- 11; Daniel 12:1. The scriptures teach in many passages that the church may expect tribulation. 1. John 16:33; 15:20; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3; 8:35; 12:12; 14:22; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 7:4; Ephesians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; Revelation 1:9; 2:9-10
The scriptures also teach, very plainly, that there is a period of future, unprecedented tribulation, that will overshadow all previous times of trouble. This future time of trouble, according to scripture, will concern three classes of people:
Pretribulationism maintains the scriptural distinction between the Great Tribulation and tribulation in general that precedes it. We must understand that all scriptures describing the peoples involved in this future tribulation period refer to Israelites as Israelites, Gentiles as Gentiles, and Saints as Saints without ever once using any of the distinctive, distinguishing terms that apply to believers of this present age. The Great Tribulation, as related by scripture, serves two purposes:
The purpose of the tribulation, therefore, is NOT to purge the church, to prepare the church for glory, or to discipline believers. None of the Old Testament passages on the tribulation mention the church.
None of the New Testament passages on the tribulation mention the church.
The tribulation concerns Israel, not the church. The church is promised deliverance from the tribulation. Not only is there no mention of the church in any passage of scripture describing the future tribulation, but also specific promises are given to the church for deliverance from that period. These are assurances for the believer of this present age. (Luke 21:36; Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 5;9; 2 Peter 2:6-9; Revelation 3:10) Revelation 6:17 The judgments that fall will affect everyone! The only way one could be kept from that day of wrath would be to be delivered beforehand. 2 Thessalonians 2:3ff Schuyler English observes that here the word rebellion or revolt is derived from the Greek verb Aphistemi, used 15 times in the New Testament with only 3 of the references relating to religious departure. In twelve of the instances, including this one, the word depart is a good translation. English suggests the possibility of rendering 2 Thessalonians 2:3ff to the effect that the DEPARTURE must come first. If this translation is admitted, it would become a direct statement that the rapture of the church occurs before the tribulation. Taken as a whole, the study of the tribulation as described in scripture does not support a post tribulational rapture of the saints. A PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING The unity of Daniel's 70th week is maintained by Pre tribulationists, whereas Post tribulationists destroy the unity of Daniel's 70th week, and confuse Israel's program with that of the church. 2 Corinthians 5:10 All believers of this present age must appear before Christ in heaven for judgment. This is never mentioned in detailed accounts of the second coming of Christ. The 24 elders of Revelation 4:1, etc., are representative of the church, so it is obvious the rapture of the church is before tribulation. The coming of Christ for his bride must take place before his second coming and the wedding feast (Revelation 19:7-10). Formal weddings were in three separate and distinct stages:
Tribulation saints are not raptured at the second coming of Christ, but carry on ordinary occupations like farming and building homes; they also bear children. (Isaiah 65:20-25) This would not be possible if all saints were raptured at the second coming of Christ. The judgment of the Gentiles following the second coming (Matthew 25:31-46) indicates that both saved and unsaved are still in their natural bodies. This would not be possible if rapture had happened at the second coming.
If rapture occurred at the time of the second coming, there would be no need of separating the sheep from the goats because the separation would have occurred in the very act of the rapture. (Matthew 25:31) The judgment of the Israel (Ezekiel 20:34-38) which occurs after the second coming, indicates the necessity of regathering Israel. The separation of the saved (sheep) from the lost (goats) in this judgment obviously happens sometime after the second coming, and would be totally unnecessary if the saved had already been separated by the rapture event. The resurrection mentioned in Revelation 20:4-5 probably occurs days after the second coming of Christ. The resurrection is limited to those who died during the tribulation, obviously supporting the idea that the righteous dead had been raised earlier, at the time of the rapture. Also, there is no mention of any translation or rapture of living saints in any of the details given in Revelation 19-20. V. 2 V. 3 V. 4 V. 5 V. 6 V. 7 V. 9 V. 10 |
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