SEVEN REASONS WHY THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW CANNOT POSSIBLY BE RIGHT

They say that facts are stubborn. And there is no place where they are more so than in Christian eschatology, where - despite the plain reading of scripture and long-held beliefs - people are apt to distort the word of God for their own gains. Nonetheless, there are seven facts that present an insurmountable challenge to the doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture. In case you've never heard about it, the pre-tribulation rapture is a relatively new "christian" doctrine that teaches that Jesus Christ will come in two phases in the end times. The first of those appearances is called "the rapture of the church" where Christians will be caught up in the air to meet Jesus in and accompany Him to Heaven. The second one, it is said, is the proper "second coming" where Jesus Christ comes to establish his reign on earth for a thousand years. It is a very popular doctrine, I must admit, not least because of the amount of publicity it has been accorded by the "Left Behind" movie series and books by Hal Lindsey and Tim Lahoya, and the push by practically all popular televangelists from the late Chuck Smith, John Haggee, Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Joyce Meyer, Steven Furtick, Creflo Dollar, Hall Lindsey, John Curson and Dave Hunt.

Unfortunately, most Christians today learn their doctrines through televangelists and almost all the popular televangelists preach this demonstrably false doctrine. I used to believe this doctrine myself until I begun to question its origin, coherency with the Bible and secret motives. Growing up in rural Kenya in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I always knew that Jesus would come again a second time to take us home/Heaven. I never heard about the rapture until, as an adult, I started listening to televangelists like John Haggee and Chuck Smith. They were so convincing and, without any alternative views on the subject in sight, I believed them. That, is until I started reading the scriptures and learning about the subject for myself. One of the facts I first learnt is that there is no single Bible verse that speaks exclusively of the Pre-tribulation rapture. For a doctrine that's apparently so central to its adherents' world view, this was very disturbing. To navigate this difficulty, the adherents to this doctrine would read a verse stop midway and say "that's the rapture" and then read a few more words of the same verse and say "and that's the second coming; you see, they're separate." I always wondered why they never come to the realization that "the rapture" and "the second coming" are really just one event and any attempt to separate them is foreign to the Bible.

In this article we have compiled a list of some of the facts that all but disprove the pre-tribulation rapture hypothesis.

1. The Resurrection of the Dead cannot happen until the Last Day.

Jesus clearly says that the dead believers will be raised up on the last day or the end of the age (Mathew 24:31, John 6:39-40, John 6:44) or at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 2 Peter 3:10). This presents an insurmountable challenge to the pre-tribulation rapture view because they say the dead will be raised during the rapture which they place seven years before the end of the age. The stance that the dead in Christ will be raised seven years before the end is not backed up by any scripture (can you quote any?). The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine maintains that the rapture takes place first, followed by seven years of tribulation and then the second coming takes place after the tribulation. There's no single un-ambigous Biblical verse that supports this view. In fact, the idea of a rapture - or the appearing of our Lord - seven years before the end of the world is completely foreign to the Bible. 
Since the resurrection of the dead is on the last day as we have already established, then we can conclude that Jesus cannot come until that very day and the rapture (the gathering of Christians to meet him) also cannot happen until that day. In other words, the resurrection of the dead, and the "gathering of Christians to meet Jesus" cannot happen  until the day Jesus comes. The Jews of Jesus' time understood this quite well. When Jesus went to raise Lazarus from the dead, Martha said, "I know that he will rise again at the Resurrection on the Last Day" (John 11:24). It couldn't be clearer than that. Jesus himself made reference of this fact several times (John 6:40, John 6:44, John 6:54). It is dishonest, therefore, to claim that the rapture and resurrection of dead saints will happen seven years before the second coming. This fact alone is enough to knock down the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine but there's more...

2. There are only two resurrections!

One way in which the adherents to the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine respond to the objection raised above is to claim that the dead in Christ will be resurrected on two different occasions: firstly at the rapture and secondly at the second coming, seven years later. But this idea is not only foreign to the Bible, it directly contradicts Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 20:4-6 which clearly teach that all the dead in Christ will be resurrected at the second coming. The Bible only presents us with two resurrections: the resurrection of the righteous to eternal life and the resurrection of the lost to eternal damnation. The two resurrections  are contrasted in various verses in the Bible. Daniel 12:2 and revelation 20:4-6 are examples. Daniel 12:2 says, “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt.” The two resurrections are separated by 1000 years or millennial reign of Christ.

Let’s look at the two resurrections in some detail: The first is the resurrection of the Righteous. This happens at the last day of this age at the second coming of our Lord. This resurrection is also called the first resurrection in Revelation 20:4. It is called the first resurrection because it is the first to happen between the two. Those involved are called “blessed and holy” (Mathew 24:31, John 6:39-40, John 6:44, Luke 14:14) and they reign with Christ 1000 years (Revelation 20:4-6). The second death has no power over them, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
The second is The resurrection of the wicked (Revelation 20:12-13). This is the resurrection of the unbelievers for judgment before the great white throne, prior to  being cast in the lake of fire. Those who participate in this resurrection also participate in the second death. ( Revelation 20:4-5, John 5:29, Jude 23). This resurrection takes place after the millennial reign of Christ.

This alone disproves the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine. This is how: The per-tribulation rapture presupposes three resurrections in total (two resurrections of the righteous and one for the wicked). And this is how: The pre-tribulation rapture says the righteous  dead will rise at the rapture, and also at the second coming. Add to this, the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the one thousand year reign (Revelations 20:12-13) and we have three resurrections! This is a wide departure from all known canonical scriptures.

3. The pre-tribulation rapture gives the sinner a false second chance.

If there is one obvious flaw in this doctrine that belies it's deceptive and satanic motive then it must be this. According to the scriptures, the same day the Christians (saints) are taken to safety of Heaven is the same day the wicked are destroyed (2 Thessalonians 1:7). This is indeed the case in all the Old Testament parallels that Jesus quotes in the gospels (Genesis 19:23, Luke 17:29, Mathew 24:37-41):

• On the same day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and swept the wicked away (Genesis 7:13-23, Mathew 24:37-41).
• The same day lot and his family left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone on the wicked ( Genesis 19:23-24). 
• The same day the children of Israel crossed the red sea, the sea swallowed the Egyptians.

The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine  ignores all these and seems to tell the world, “Do not worry about being ready, you’ll have seven years after the rapture to get serious and be saved.” What's the purpose of being and staying ready when you'll have 7 years after the rapture to repent and get right with God? There are many sincere Christians who are waiting for the rapture, based on this premise, as a sign to get serious with God and avoid condemnation thinking that they'll have seven more years after the rapture to sort themselves out. This is exactly what the devil would have you believe! 

Don't be deceived, there will be no second chance after Christ appears. That will be it. The scripture tells us so. The Bible clearly teaches that the wicked are destroyed (forget about any second chance) at the second coming. See 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 and 2^nd Peter 3:10). In fact, the wicked are destroyed first even before the righteous are gathered. For more on this see point 7.

4. There is only one second coming of Christ, not two.  

This is rather straight forward. Jesus will come on the last day with power and great glory  according to Mathew 24:30, Mark 13:26, Luke 21:27. During the trial of Jesus he made reference to his second coming, he said,.."You'll see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven". There's nowhere in the Bible where it is even suggested that Jesus will come two times in the last days. Do you know any? 
The two-phased coming of Christ in the end times is purely an invention of men with no scriptural backing at all. The doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture maintains that Jesus will come two times or in two phases: first is called the rapture (secret, stealthy appearance of Christ) and the other called the second coming at the end of the age but no verse support this view. (See point number 1 and 2 for more on this.)

The pre-tribulation doctrine separates the rapture from the second coming of Christ while the scriptures clearly teaches that these are really one event. Everywhere in scripture where we find the rapture of the church, there we find the second coming of Jesus also. Why is this? Because they're one and the same event! In other words, Christians will be raptured at the second coming of Christ. Separating these two by seven years is like saying that Moses parting the Red Sea and the Israelites going through it are two events separated by seven years.

5. The coming of Christ and the Rapture will not be a secret.

Another claim that the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine makes is that of a secret, stealthy return of Christ where those left behind have no idea that the rapture is happening. All that is left are clothes without bodies, planes without pilots, buildings without occupants and cars without drivers. Unfortunately, no scripture supports this view.

The coming of Christ may catch many by surprise but it will by no means be a secret. Everyone will know that Christ has returned. “Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him ( Revelation 1:7).” This precludes the element of secrecy where those left behind wonder where the believers disappeared to, as popularized by the "Left Behind Movie series".

According to the Bible, the rapture will be accompanied by sounds of the trumpet, lightning and signs which no one can fail to notice. Luke 17:24 puts it this way, "because the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning that flashes and light up the sky from one horizon to the other..(CJB) ". 1st Thessalonians 4:16 says "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and with with the trumpet of God". 2nd Peter 3:30 says "the Heavens shall pass away with great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat". Revelation 1:7 says "every eye shall see Him". Mathew 24:30 says "and then shall all the tribes of the earth morn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven". See also John 1:15.

Whenever this point is made, most pre-tribulation rapture adherents simply reply, "those verses refer to the second coming, not the rapture". Fair point. But when you ask them to provide any verses in any book of the Bible that talk of the rapture, these are the same verses they go to. The fact of the matter is that the Bible doesn't present us with any version of a rapture without the noise, the mourning, the great noises and trumpets that we find in these verses. The rapture and the second coming are one and same event: I can't emphasize it enough.

6. The wicked are destroyed first not seven years later

The angels (as reapers) are clearly shown to come during the last days of this age (Revelation 14:14-20). The phrase “Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them” in Mathew 13:30. This shows that the tares are bound before the wheat and so the wicked are bound before the harvest of the just. This being so, how can there be a pre-tribulation rapture which would be equivalent of harvesting the wheat before the tares?

7. The Questionable Origin of the Doctrine

If there was one reason why we should all reject the doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture and seven year tribulation period then it has to do with the origin of these doctrines. Many people who believe these doctrines do not realize their origin and motive. The fact that these doctrines were developed by the catholic church Jesuit order to counter the reformation movement is unquestionable and undeniable. You see, all the reformist movement leaders such as Luther, Calvin, and Knox identified the papacy as the office and seat of the antichrist and the Catholic Church obviously did not like this. 

At the core of its Counter Reformation efforts, the Jesuit Order was established by the Catholic Church to nullify the influence of the reformists by masses by murder, misinformation and propaganda and any means necessary. It is from these efforts that the doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture, seven year tribulation, the "stop of the prophetic clock", futurism and Preterism all trace their origin. You don't have to take my word for it, you can research this for yourself.

 The Adventtruth.org who have done an outstanding research on this, write "Two outstanding Jesuit scholars were charged with negating the charge of the Reformers that the papacy is the anti-Christ power of Bible prophecy. One of them, Louis de Alcazar, developed the doctrine of Preterism, suggesting that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, which undeniably identifies the Roman Papacy as the anti-Christ power of Bible prophecy, was relegated to the first century of the Christian era. The other Jesuit scholar, Francisco Ribera, generated the concept of Futurism, an idea placing the coming of the anti-Christ sometime in the distant, unknown future. Together, Preterism and Futurism, in the minds of their adherents, shielded the papacy from the clear revelation of God’s word relative to its position in salvation history."

After reading this piece, one must ask themselves "Is the Pre-tribulation rapture doctrine really scriptural?" If you find yourself still holding on to this doctrine after reading this article, the least you owe yourself is to challenge yourself to prove it Biblically. Do no take my word or the word of televangelist for it. Read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and ask yourself "It is possible from the reading of the Bible alone to come to the understanding espoused by the pre-tribulation rapture view or is this a something that someone must be guided into?"