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Post-Trib vs. Pre-Trib: EVEN SATAN BELIEVES IN THE RAPTURE!
I have recently become personally aware as to how controversial end time scenarios are for certain Christians. Though I am a "pre-Tribber," (I believe in the imminency of the Lord's coming), I do not worship or fixate on a scenario- but rather lovingly fixate upon the Person of Jesus Himself. Having been attacked recently by an angry post-Tribulationist for my beliefs, the origin of this growing conflict has become clarified to me. The Bible says that we are to explain why we believe and what we believe. Dr. Grant Jeffrey is a well respected Bible prophecy expert and offers a marvelous response to the post-Tribulationist position. This ministry as well, does not condemn anyone for any reason, though we do judge behavior and doctrine and call those with unBiblical beliefs to repentance. There are some who seem to be fixated on going through the Tribulation and abhore those who believe in the Rapture. Raptureready.com calls these angry believers "Tribulation saint wannabes."
After listening to post-trib interpretations of scripture and how they cannot explain (or refuse to do so) large portions of scripture that refer to the coming of the Lord as a THIEF IN THE NIGHT... and as a Bridegroom who will come QUICKLY (without warning; a surprise as modeled in the ancient Jewish bridal custom where the groom leaves to PREPARE A HOME OR ROOM BUILT ONTO HIS FATHER'S HOUSE which sometimes meant that years after betrothal the groom SUDDENLY CAME TO ABDUCT [TAKE, KIDNAP, SNATCH, RAPTURE] his joyously waiting bride) to take the portion of the Bride that is lovingly waiting and watching for the Bridegroom. In Matthew 25 the Lord warns the church that 5 of 10 brides will not be ready to meet the Bridegroom when He comes. Perhaps when Jesus comes for His church, many will be fixated instead on the world around them and the rising flood of the impending Tribulation and how they will fight to survive it instead of fixing their attention and adoration on the Bridegroom. Many of these post-tribbers fixate almost romantically on all of the possible horrible aspects of the Tribulation and martyrdom and neglect being lovingly fixated on Jesus. During one such post-trib radio program I heard fearful references to computer chips and the mark of the beast dozens of times but hardly anything was said about the person of Jesus Christ. While they are warning people about the terrors of the Tribulation, we will continue to encourage believers to love and adore Jesus, and to be ready for His coming.
If the Lord is not coming until the end of the Tribulation as they claim, there would be plenty of time to get right with God (which obviously appeals to them) because they will know exactly when Jesus will come. They somehow believe that they will be supernaturally protected from the violent purges that will hunt down and exterminate Christians during the Tribulation. There is no expectancy or imminency of the Lord's coming in their end-time scenario even though it is thoroughly taught and encouraged in the scriptures. They abhor the exclusivity of a "secret" Rapture though it is indicated in Matthew 25 as the way that Jesus will come for His waiting Bride. Do post-tribbers fear that they will be "left-behind"? Perhaps they believe that they are not worthy to escape the hell of the Tribulation.
Belief in the return of our Lord is essential doctrine, and the pre, mid, and post-Tribulational end-time scenarios all fill that requirement. This ministry does not condemn or disrespect any believer for holding a post or mid-Trib doctrinal belief. Like-wise, those who condemn or judge unrighteously those who hold a pre-Trib belief, are acting ungodly. There is a myriad of Bible verses that indicate a pre-Trib Rapture but we also respect those that hold other views. Eschatology is not a subject worth dividing over as it is open to wide interpretation. The only completely unbiblical end-time scenario is held by those that deny that Jesus is coming again, such as the preterists and amillennialists who believe that all scripture has already been fulfilled concerning the Lord's coming. We must know and adhere to essential doctrine but we mustn't worship theology instead of Jesus. We can turn almost anything into an idol or source of division, though many have received great blessing and comfort in believing that Jesus will someday, without warning, snatch (Rapture) His church from out of this evil world. This Biblical belief offends and angers many post-Tribbers. I don't personally know of any pre-Tribbers that react in the same way to them. Some of these believe that pre-Tribbers are spreading false hope, and some even believe that pre-Tribbers are apostate. That is an awful, and unrighteous judgment. I would never call them "apostate" or "false prophets" because of this belief. However, I will graciously tell them why I believe that they are wrong, and why it matters.
Our Lord wants us to know that the time, the signs, the seasons, and the fulfillment of major prophecies, all point to His imminent return. Jesus wants us all to understand and discern the broader prophetic meaning found in His Word about these last days, which is only possible after weighing ALL of the scriptures that deal with the end-time. It is only by having our eyes opened by God's Spirit that we can more fully understand God's prophetic timeline for the church and the ungodly. One simple rule of thumb is that any end-time explanation or scenario that isn't Jesus centered, is undoubtedly wrong. The pre-Tribulational, pre-millennial explanation of prophecy focuses PRIMARILY upon the Person of Jesus Christ, whereas the other scenarios focus upon the coming persecution of the saints and the anticipated terror of the Tribulation.
The difference in orientation and focus between the two camps is enormous. The post-Tribbers (in my opinion) tend to focus almost entirely upon the great evil which is now coming upon the world. One such broadcast that I have been following for some time hardly ever mentions the blessed hope and glorious joy that we have in knowing Jesus. Instead, Irving Baxter focuses mostly on the evil that is rising in the world. The great opportunity that we have is that we can joyously proclaim that Jesus has already overcome great worldly wickedness and that when we focus on Him, and lovingly abandon ourselves to Him, we then rid ourselves of all fear, doom, and gloom. Yes, there are also pre-Tribbers who love to focus mostly on and over-hype the hair-raising details of what will happen during the Tribulation. Inciting fear of impending doom, is not the best way to win souls for Christ. We certainly must preach about the time in which we now live but there is a godly way, and an unsavory, ungodly way of merely profiteering from this end-time hoopla. Though I agree theologically with Tim Lahaye about what will PROBABLY soon happen, I am greived over the industry that has arisen from the Left Behind series. We shouldn't glorify or worship a scenario, we must only worship, and glorify Jesus and be focused upon Him!
That is why, I will not ever angrily defend "my" theology, though I will give scriptural reasons for my beliefs. My Faith is not in the Rapture or in any such scenario- my Faith rests completely IN the Person of Jesus my Savior and Lord.
With that in mind, I pray that Jesus leads me further in this examination. What is crystal clear to me is that the post-Trib preachers are extremely selective in what Bible verses they use to back-up their assertions. I have never heard brother Baxter talk about any of the numerous scriptures that infer the imminency of the Lord's coming. They simply ignore Paul's clear preaching about how the Lord will come "AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT." They don't seem to understand Paul's exhortation from his jail cell about the joy of having within us the "BLESSED HOPE OF HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING." Now, granted, those words could be in reference to the Lord's final coming at the end of the Tribulation (WITH HIS SAINTS). BUT, when I look at the totality of Paul's writings, there is no confusion as to what he was talking about. If the Lord is going to come for His church as a "THIEF IN THE NIGHT," how can anyone believe that it is a reference to His coming in glory to destroy the armies gathered against Israel (final coming)? Paul's epistles constantly exhort and encourage us to be gloriously preoccupied with Jesus and His coming for us. Matthew 25 absolutely clarifies that the Lord's coming for us will be sudden (like a thief) in which some brides will be ready to go and some will not be ready to go because they had no oil (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) in their vessels. Is it possible that there are many who now call themselves "Christian" but have never truly been born again? Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to fully understand the full meaning of God's Word. It is like trying to read in a dark room, or open a locked door without the key.
Many post-Tribbers get offended by the idea of this "secret Rapture" doctrine because they see it as a cop out- a fire escape from the persecution that they are looking forward to. But even the highest-ranking occultists that advise world leaders have been warning their ranks that right after their "messiah" (Antichrist) arises, Christians will mysteriously "dissappear." This "dissappearing is either acknowledging their plan to exterminate Christians, or is an admission that even the devil understands the doctrinal future event called the Rapture. It seems as though even the devil understands the scriptures, as even his belief is based on a literal interpretation of 2 Thess. 2:3:
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition 2 Thess. 2:3
Cutting Edge web site writer, David Bay, a former Army Intelligence officer, embedded himself into a House of Theosophy meeting in which this satanic "secret" was released:
"Beginning in 1987, 'Guiding Spirits' of key New World Order leaders began to inform these human leaders to start preparing their adherents for a spectacular global event, that would occur just after The New Age Christ [Antichrist] will make his appearance. What was this spectacular event to be? As these 'Guiding Spirits' explained, when The Christ appears, there will be many people throughout the world that could never accept his views or his teachings. These people would prove to be a great obstacle in the way the New Age Christ wanted to move the peoples of the world.
Therefore, the 'Masters of the Logos' had decided, these 'Guiding Spirits' said, to suddenly snap these people into another dimension, soon after The Christ arose. These recalcitrant people would be retrained in spirit, so that, when they reenter the 'Reincarnation Cycle', they will be fully persuaded as to the merits of the New World Order. Of course, when these people get back to earth in reincarnated bodies, the New World Order will have been in full swing for several hundred years, and everyone will know then how wonderful it is!" read entire Cutting Edge article
EVEN THE DEVIL BELIEVES IN THE RAPTURE AND HIS SERVANTS ARE ALREADY PREPARED TO EXPLAIN IT AWAY!
If you are living godly in Jesus now- you know all about persection, but what will be different about the Tribulation is that God Himself is going to pour out His wrath and anger upon ALL of the people of the world. God has PROMISED us that He WILL NEVER pour out His wrath upon His children, which means that ALL THOSE WHO ARE BORN-AGAIN PRIOR TO THE TRIBULATION, WILL NOT GO THROUGH IT!!! Though some will receive Jesus during the Tribulation, the pre-Tribulation church will be with Jesus in heaven! HALLELUJAH!
There will be no surprise for any Tribulation saint yet alive at that time as to when Jesus will come back to earth because there are two massive markers from which the exact day of His return can be determined. The first watershed moment is the signing of the peace treaty (imminent). The next marker is the desecration of the rebuilt temple by the Antichrist, which will happen EXACTLY 3.5 years into the Tribulation.
See our article about the Rapture for more details.
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