Why Do I Believe In A Pre-Trib Rapture?

Have you ever noticed just how many teachings there are out there concerning the Rapture of the Church?

Sure, the Bible makes it crystal clear that one day Jesus will return and gather up all those who are saved and take them to Heaven to live with Him forever. But, the when and the where and how’s of it all… so many different and even conflicting views. Which are fact, and which are merely opinion?

During these times of confusion and indecision, sometimes you just have to get away, take a walk, and spend some time thinking it through.

For me, after long study, I’ve come to believe in what’s called the Pre-Tribulation Rapture view, meaning this “gathering up” of Christians will occur before God’s judgment falls upon the world in, according to the Prophet Daniel, a 7-year time period known as the Tribulation. But…

Why do I believe in a Pre-Trib Rapture?

I have my reasons, 10 to be exact. All are founded on the conviction that the Bible is the very Word of God, that it should always be interpreted literally, and firmly rooted in Jesus’ ironclad promise that He will indeed return. All preclude a spiritualized interpretation of the Scriptures. Doing so merely results in imaginative nonsense. Let’s talk through these reasons and see if they help provide clarity.

1) The Rapture and Second Coming are different events.

Some claim the Rapture and Second Coming are the exact same event occurring at the very end of the Tribulation, the Post-Tribulation Rapture view. And yet, read all the verses which cover Christ’s return and you’ll encounter two very different scenarios. The verses actually describe Christ’s return happening in two stages — the Rapture and later the Second Coming — separated by a period of time.

2) The Rapture can occur at any time without warning.

Jesus stated in Matthew 24 to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come,” indicating Jesus will arrive when nobody’s expecting. Not expecting? How can that be when the Second Coming is preceded by exactly seven years to the day worth of events such as the rise of the Antichrist, plagues, wars, and earthquakes which destroy most of the world? The Rapture happens imminently and without warning, while the Second Coming has to be preceded by many years’ worth of signs. The two then cannot possibly be the same event.

3) The Rapture removes the Restrainer.

Second Thessalonians teaches that God’s restraining influence will be taken away when the Antichrist rises to power. Christ restrains the evil of this world today through the Church. Therefore, the Church will need to be removed — raptured — before the Antichrist’s seven year reign can even begin.

4) The Tribulation is for Israel’s redemption.

Jeremiah 30 describes the Tribulation as the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” Revelation 12 portrays Israel fleeing from the Antichrist’s persecutions. And, the Battle of Armageddon pits all the nations of the world against Israel. Israel is repeatedly the focal point of the Tribulation and the center of God’s work of redemption, not the Church.

5) The Church is missing on earth during the Tribulation.

Like the Flood was, the Tribulation stands apart as God’s second great judgment upon a rebellious world. It’s the very wrath of God. True, believers have endured suffering all throughout history, but never actually from God’s wrath. Revelation 3 confirms that Christians are promised never to have to endure the Tribulation, proven in the fact that there’s no mention whatsoever of the Church throughout Revelation chapters 6-18 which describe the events of the Tribulation.

6) The Church is busy in Heaven during the Tribulation.

While the earth faces God’s judgments, the Bible reveals the Church will be quite busy up in Heaven engaged in three events: a judgment for rewards, a celebratory Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and preparing to return to earth with Jesus. None of these three have anything do with living on a world that’s being destroyed.

7) The Millennial Kingdom needs to be repopulated.

If all the Tribulation believers are raptured up to Heaven at the Second Coming and given glorified bodies, bodies which cannot reproduce, then who is left to repopulate the following Millennial Kingdom? The Rapture cannot possibly happen Post-Tribulation then, for no more children would be born.

8) God’s wrath lasts the entire seven years.

There are those who claim God’s wrath is poured out over just a few of the seven years of the Tribulation, so the Rapture must occur 3 and a half or even 5-plus years into the Tribulation. But, these Mid-Trib and Pre-Wrath Rapture views tend to forget that Jesus Himself breaks the seals which launch all 21 of Revelation’s judgments. The final Seven Bowl Judgments are said to finish the wrath of God, not begin His wrath. Because all these judgments are initiated by Jesus Himself, God’s wrath lasts the entire seven years, wrath the Church is promised not to have to endure.

9) Faithful examples removed from God’s wrath.

Enoch was raptured before the Flood. Noah and his family were removed from the Flood waters. Lot and his family were made to leave Sodom and Gomorrah before God incinerated these towns. Rahab and family were set apart when Joshua’s army invaded Jericho. Again and again, the biblical examples show God removes believers from His wrath, instead of making them suffer through His wrath.

10) The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is not new.

Some will argue that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is just “too new” to be true, crediting it to John Darby some 200 years ago. But, is that assessment historically accurate? Not at all! The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is a reawakening of the long ignored teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.

Invitation

Feeling better? More clear? Hopefully our walk has confirmed or challenged some of your beliefs in the Rapture. Bear in mind, though, that one’s end-time views have no bearing on the doctrine of salvation. What is to be celebrated is that our salvation will one day lead us upwards to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever and ever.

Have you grabbed hold of that salvation? Will you then be part of the Rapture? Or, have you rejected Jesus and so will be left behind to endure the Tribulation? Jesus leaves the choice to you.

Why Study Bible Prophecy?

There are six very good reasons why you should study Bible prophecy.

Nearly a Third of the Bible is Prophecy

Some 31% of the Bible is God letting mankind know what the future holds. And I’m not just talking about the writings of the Major and Minor Prophets and the book of Revelation.

If you don’t want to read prophecy, then you also have to skip the Psalms, Jesus’ own teachings in the Gospels, and pretty much all the books by Peter, Paul, Jude and John. The Apostle Paul warned Christians, “Do not despise prophecies.” He even confirmed that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” and so that must also include the prophetic writings.

And, even Jesus throughout the Gospels and Revelation, recited prophecies from the Old Testament and taught new ones. To top it all off, Jesus promised a blessing for those who read and obey the prophecies in the book of Revelation.

So, if prophecy is so important to Jesus, then shouldn’t it be important to Christians as well?

The Focus of Prophecy is Jesus Christ

Bible prophecy is in the end all about Jesus. Jesus declared He must fulfill prophecy so that “…all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

The angel of Revelation 19 even equated the testimony of Jesus with prophecy, declaring “…Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” If Jesus did not fulfill even one of the 109 distinct First Coming prophecies about the Messiah, then He couldn’t be who He claimed to be — the Savior.

Fulfilled prophecy validates Jesus’ claim to divinity and being our Savior.

Fulfilled Prophecies Prove the Bible is Truly God’s Word

The Bible is unique in being prophetic. There is no religious book, not by Buddha or Krishna or Mohammed or anyone else, ever written which contains so much prophecy. And, I’m not talking about general prophecies about the future, but super specific prophecies such as the Messiah would descend from the line of David, be born in Bethlehem, be killed by crucifixion, and be raised from the dead three days later.

The actual fulfillment of all these prophecies and over a hundred more proves the Bible truly is the Word of God, and so we can put our faith in what it teaches.

Bible Prophecy Motivates One to Holy Living

The Prophets and Apostles didn’t just relay God’s messages about the future, but they also gave powerful messages concerning living morally. For example, Romans 13 encourages, “…the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

When the people obeyed prophetic teachings, they grew spiritually. 1 John 3 declares, “…when He [Jesus] is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

They became better people, being less self-centered and more God-centered. 1 Peter 4 admonishes, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers… have fervent love for one another… minister to one another, be good stewards…”

When a person is more heavenly minded they’ll be more generous because they’re investing in eternity. 2 Peter 3 advises, “But the day of the Lord will come… Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…”

And, the people became much better at discerning truth from falsehoods. Luke 21 warns, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly…”

Bible Prophecy Energizes Christians to Evangelize

Knowing that we’re quickly running out of time before Jesus returns, Christians when they study Bible prophecy become motivated to get out there and tell people about the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Fulfilled Bible prophecies actually are an excellent apologetics tool for defending the faith. And, the Gospel is very attractive to people wanting to know what the future holds.

Bible Prophecy Provides Hope for the Future

When the world seems to be careening into chaos and you wonder if God’s still around, Bible prophecy tells us God certainly is still in control. In the light of Bible prophecy, these crazy current events finally make sense.

They’re all leading up to one big thing — Jesus Christ’s return. And when Jesus returns, He wins! And when Jesus wins, believers in Christ, well, we win as well! So, when you live a life of anticipating victory, you too can have hope for the future.

Summary

So in summary, to reject Bible prophecy means skipping almost a third of the Bible. The focus of prophecy is Jesus Christ. Fulfilled prophecies prove the Bible is truly God’s Word. Prophecy motivates Christians to holy living, to evangelism, and to have hope about the future.

The Apostle Peter warned, “that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?'” Will that be you? No! Or, will you embrace the wonder that Is Jesus Christ, the focus and fulfillment of Bible prophecy?

Should Christians Really Support Israel?

God is fulfilling promises today that were made to the Jewish people thousands of years ago. These promises rest on a series of legal agreements, called covenants, made between God and the Jewish people, that center on the land of Israel.

The cornerstone covenant — the Abrahamic Covenant — grants the title deed to the land of Israel to the descendants of the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This unconditional, irrevocable, and everlasting promise was literally sealed in blood (Genesis 12:1-7; 13:14-18; 17:7; 1 Chronicles 16:17-18; Psalm 105:8-11; Romans 9:4)!

God’s Land Covenant promised that Israel will one day become the prime nation of the world, that is, as long as the Jewish people remain obedient to God (Deuteronomy 28:1,13).

The Davidic Covenant promises an eternal King who will descend from the line of King David. One day this Messiah will rule over the entire world from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7:10-16).

For hundreds of years, Christians have believed that because God said so, we should naturally support the nation of Israel. Seems pretty self-explanatory, wouldn’t you say?

Well, not so, says a particular group of Christians, Christians who meet at conferences with names like Christ at the Checkpoint. They question, “Should Christians really support Israel?”

Let’s debunk seven of their most popular myths for why Christians should not support the nation of Israel.

Myth #1: “The Jews killed Jesus!”

Those who accuse the Jews of killing Jesus seem to have purposefully forgotten that the Bible says, “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:27-28).

So, not only did both Jews and Gentiles participate in murdering Jesus, but in truth, we are all sinners, and therefore all of us are responsible for Jesus dying on the cross. But, reality check, Jesus Himself clearly stated that He alone laid down His life, and that no one took it from Him (John 10:15-18).

Myth #2: “The Jews have been disinherited because of their unbelief.”

The Jews may have been evicted from their land — twice — due to their rebellion against God. But, as Psalm 105 explains, God guaranteed in His Abrahamic Covenant that the land of Israel unconditionally and forever belongs to the children of Jacob. And, as the Apostle Paul argued in Romans 9-11, “Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself… Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!”

And so, no, God has neither disinherited the Jewish people nor revoked His land covenants.

Myth #3: “The Church has replaced Israel and now receives her inheritance.”

Not according to the Apostle Paul! He tells the story of an olive tree whose branches were pruned off due to unbelief, and wild vines grafted on (Romans 11). But, when the natural branches began believing again, they would be grafted back on the tree. Salvation may have come to the wild olive vines — the Church — but God still has salvation planned for the natural branches — a believing Israel who will call Jesus Savior.

Myth #4: “The Jews regathering back to the land of Israel can’t be from God because they haven’t repented and accepted Jesus as their Messiah.”

The Jews returning to Israel in unbelief is exactly what God foretold would happen. Isaiah prophesied the Jews would be regathered a second time from the nations of the world, and Ezekiel made it clear that the Jews would regather in unbelief in order for God Himself to give them a new heart towards Him (Isaiah 11:10-12; Ezekiel 36:22-28).

It’s no accident of history that a people dispossessed from their country for 1,900 years could ever have kept their ethnic identity and rebirthed their nation two millennia later. Such a thing has never happened! And this is the nation of the Bible we’re talking about. Therefore, the regathering of the Jews can only be a miracle from God.

Myth #5: “To support Israel is to support every action of the Israeli government.”

Nobody supports every action of any government, even their own. Supporting Israel is to support the redemptive work God is doing in bringing a remnant of their people to salvation in Christ and ultimately into the fulfilment of His covenants.

Myth #6: “The Jews stole the Palestinians’ land and live there illegally.”

First off, the Abrahamic Covenant grants the Jews the eternal deed to the land of Israel. Second, when the Jews began returning in the early 20th Century, there was no such thing as a Palestinian. The handful of Arabs living in that wasteland sold the land back to the Jews at exorbitant prices.

And third, Israel was created legally in response to a United Nations declaration passed in November 1947, which authorized the establishment of a Jewish state in the land the Romans had renamed Palestine. You can’t steal land that’s already legally yours!

Myth #7: “To support Israel is to hate the Palestinian people.”

Contrary to Arab propaganda, those who call themselves Palestinians enjoy more freedoms and rights in Israel than if they lived in any Muslim nation. For it’s not the Jews who hate and abuse the Palestinians, but their own terrorist leaders who steal billions of their foreign aid and deny refugees access back to their own home countries of Syria and Jordan.

Why, the Palestinians have been afforded several opportunities since 1948 to create another Palestinian state besides Jordan, but each time they have rejected those offers and instead responded with violence. Why? Because their ultimate goal is the annihilation of Israel. So, who exactly is hating who here?

With those myths busted, let’s look at some of the reasons why Christians should support Israel:

1. Democracy

The nation of Israel is the only Western-style democracy in a sea of Islamic tyranny. Supporting Israel is to support the only nation in the Middle East which offers religious freedom and human rights to women.

2. Defense

Israel protects the West and Christianity by standing as the first line of defense against violent, radical Islam.

3. Economics

Israel contributes to the world a mind-boggling amount of food, medicines, and cutting-edge technologies that raise the standard of living throughout the world.

4. Blessing

When it comes to supporting the nation of Israel, God promised in Genesis 12, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” Supporting Israel incurs God’s blessing.

5. Biblical

It rather goes without saying that it is biblically correct for Christians to support God. Since God loves the Jewish people and wants them to return to Him, then shouldn’t Christians want this as well? Loving Israel expresses our love for God.

6. Prophetic

And finally, whether you love or hate the nation of Israel, or even the Jewish people, regardless of what we mere mortals think — Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. God’s will will be done, and there’s just no stopping it. After all, who could ever stand against the Living God and expect to win (Psalm 76:7; Hebrews 10:31)?

So, in conclusion, it’s not “Should Christians really support Israel?” but rather — Christians must support Israel!

The Obama Legacy: A Nation Rebels

In 2008, while running for the presidency, Barack Obama promised change. After he was elected, he delivered on that promise big time, and in fact, far beyond anything most people could have imagined. President Obama left a legacy, one that can be evaluated from a biblical perspective.

Were his changes for the good of the nation?

This question was asked of Bill Koenig on our television program Christ in Prophecy. Bill has been a White House Correspondent for the last fifteen years. He is president of a news website called World Watch Daily, and he publishes a weekly report called “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House.” Bill is also the author of a telling book titled Revealed: Obama’s Legacy.

(Note: Bill’s answer below has been edited slightly for grammar and clarity).

A Nation Rebels

Bill Koenig: No doubt about it. Every area of our lives that has mattered to us, especially as Evangelical Christians, has been negatively impacted. Even with Obama out of office, we are continuing to see his impact on a daily basis.

I think the number one way Obama has changed our nation concerns morality. Ever since the day Obama was sworn in — January 20, 2009 — and at the very moment he was being sworn in, his White House staff was busy putting up the LGBT agenda on the White House website under the Civil Rights category.

I remember when I read the website I just couldn’t believe it. On the very same day as Obama’s inauguration, the nation plunged towards a totally immoral cultural upheaval. The White House website from day one announced to the effect a declaration of war against biblical morality.

In my book Revealed: Obama’s Legacy, I made this statement: “Barack Obama has done more to promote immorality and perverse sexuality than any man in American history.” Though I hated to ever have had to put it that way, that’s what happened.

The nation continues to deal with battles over the “rights” of sexual perversion on a daily basis. Now eight years later, just think what it has become like for Christians in the workplace. Just think what it has been like for Christians in Obama’s military.

Look how difficult life has been for chaplains in order to just perform their service. In every area of our lives, Christianity has been treated as the enemy. Christians are considered the problem. Christians are considered the bigots.

Who would have ever imagined the day would come, and it did on June 26th, when the White House would be lit up with the colors of the moral perversion movement? Or, that there’d be a huge fight to allow transgender men to freely enter women’s bathrooms?

Even the sports leagues fought to make that happen. Almost overnight the country turned in favor of transgenderism when just a few years earlier we were very reserved about the topic.

Certainly, there’s no doubt about it. The downward slide towards our nation embracing homosexuality occurred during President Bill Clinton’s eight years in office. He made the last Sunday in June Gay Pride Day.

President George W. Bush had nothing like that in June. When President Obama took over, the entire month of June was designated the LGBT Pride Month. A “Q” was later added in case a person didn’t know what they were.

The nation’s celebration of sexual sin just keeps getting worse and worse. Unfortunately, in my chapter “LGBT- He Owns It,” I point out that no leader in the world has had a greater influence in the spreading of LGBT and same-sex marriage around the world as Barack Obama.

Here in the US, we fight for morality in an already pretty substantial Christian population. But, what about the little countries around the world that hardly have any Christians?

The celebration of sexual perversion just came right into those countries so quickly because there was no Christianity to restrain immorality.

Every time Obama visited an African country he felt compelled to unload on them the need for homosexual acceptance, and he even used federal funds to enforce his position.

Obama would use our taxpayer funding to tell other nations to get in line with the LGBT agenda or lose foreign aid from our country.

Just think about this. There’s a terrible civil war going on in Syria. Iran threatens the world with potential nuclear weapons development. North Korea is led by a crazy man who actually has nuclear weapons.

We have all these economic problems in America, but instead of dealing with any of these threats, Obama was totally obsessed with focusing on whether or not a man can go into a woman’s bathroom.

What has happened is the LGBT activists have worked their way into guest relations. They’re in charge of who gets picked to be a guest on the major TV networks. They’ve worked their way into positions of influence in corporate America, such as the sports leagues.

Look at what happened in North Carolina concerning the Bathroom Bill. The city of Charlotte declared the town needed to open up its bathrooms to whatever gender a person felt led to at that moment.

The governor countered with a state-wide bill limiting a person to their gender at birth, but the sports leagues and other corporations boycotted the state. A new governor was eventually elected and the Bathroom Bill revoked.

How true what the Word of God says! If a nation rebels against God, He will take a step back and lower His hedge of protection, allowing the consequences of sin to multiply.

Romans 1 actually states that three times. And the last time God steps back, Romans says He will deliver the nation over to a depraved mind. I think that’s where we are now as a nation.

A Detrimental Legacy

Here are a couple of examples of Barack Obama’s legacy’s detrimental effect on the United States. For one, Secretary Gates in the Pentagon said that President Obama showed hardly, if any, emotion at all concerning the plight of the underfunded military.

When it came to necessities in terms of our military readiness, preparation, and our budgets, Obama showed zero interest. But, he was very involved with getting rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Then there is Islam. No doubt Barack Obama is a Muslim apologist. He shows no emotion about the plight of Christians being persecuted and slaughtered for their faith in the Middle East. But, he demonstrates a lot of emotion over bringing Islamic refugees from the Middle East and Northern Africa into America.

Obama initiated and enforced people in public service and the military having to go into gay sensitivity programming. I have a friend whose son graduated from the Naval Academy and is stationed in South Korea right now.

He said one of the reasons he would like to leave the military is because he’s tired of all these homosexual and transgender sensitivity programs they now have to go through as part of serving in the military.

Sensitivity training has little difference from what the Chinese Communists have historically done with people who disagree with their position. They place objectors into a group, totally surround them, and then bombard the objectors with propaganda in order to intimidate the dissenters into changing their way of thinking.

Sensitivity training has made its way past government employment into the private sector. I have a friend that works for a Fortune 100 company. The company’s employees are required to go once, if not twice a year, through sensitivity programming about LGBT and transgenderism.

During Obama’s years in office, the country has gone from basically accepting homosexuality to requiring a person to openly endorse it. Tolerance now doesn’t mean to just accept something, that something also has to be publicly endorsed. Tolerance is a one-way street for homosexual activists. They’ve no tolerance for opposing views.

The Frayed Moral Fabric

Bill Koenig: My book Revealed: Obama’s Legacy identifies the following ways President Obama has fundamentally changed the moral fabric of the United States.

For one, Barack Obama is a Muslim apologist who has helped obfuscate the nation from understanding Islam’s hostile intentions. Number two, he has openly supported Islam in the Middle East and turned our citizens against our allies, such as Israel.

Number three, look at what has happened to our US military under an Obama presidency. Number four, when it comes to LGBT power, he owns it. Number five, President Obama’s “Christian” faith is a faith based on his terms and not those of the Bible.

So, will America ever recover from eight years of President Barack Obama? I believe there’s always the chance for both Obama and our nation to repent, which I address personally in my final chapter.

My book provides the background to get a better idea of what influenced Barack Obama to the lengths that he went to fundamentally transform American society. Actually, writing the book was kind of a catharsis for me as I saw these devastating advances in moral perversion going on for eight years.

Even as a White House correspondent, I couldn’t get actively involved in the press briefings to the extent that I wished because I would be shouted down… shouting down might be too strong a term, but the White House certainly didn’t appreciate any questions contrary to Obama’s view of morality, or as I call it, his immoral agenda.

Over eight years of the Barack Obama presidency, a lot of misdeeds were taking place that needed to be documented. I use Obama’s own words in the documentation. The Lord put it in my heart to use Obama’s own words and not report using second-hand information.

We as believers in Christ have a respectful fear of our Lord, and so once a believer reads these reports and sees what has happened to our nation, they’ll recognize President Obama for what he really is.

Most people I’ve encountered who read the book remain in complete awe of what has taken place to fundamentally erode the moral fabric of our nation.