THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

Scriptural reasons for a pre-tribulation rapture

Reason One: The Church Is Not in the “Seventy Week” Prophecy of Daniel

The final period that we call the tribulation is a seven-year period connected to a previous series of seven-year periods. Confused yet? In Daniel 9:24–27, we read about the seventieth “week,” which logically comes after the preceding sixty-nine weeks. Here is the important thing to realize: The church did not exist during the sixty-nine weeks. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the church will have any part in the final seventieth week. The seventy weeks, in their entirety, pertain primarily to the nation of Israel.

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks … even in troublesome times (Daniel 9:24–25).

According to Sir Robert Anderson, Artaxerxes gave the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem on March 14, 445 BC. Beginning from the date that Nehemiah was given the command, 483 years later to the day, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was hailed as the King. That event brought the sixty-nine seven-year periods to an end. The prophetic clock, in a sense, was turned off, and the church was birthed. The seventieth week, or that final seven-year period, is yet future. But remember, this prophecy applies solely to Israel. It has nothing to do with the church whatsoever. Therefore, for the church to be referred to during the seventieth week, when it was not in the sixty-nine weeks, does not seem to be consistent.

Reason Two: The Tribulation Has No Relation to the Church

The Bible tells us that there is a twofold purpose to the great tribulation. The first purpose is to break the pride of Israel, to finally humble them, and bring them to faith. The Bible says, “When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7). The second purpose of the tribulation is to judge the wicked, which is clearly stated in Isaiah 13:9 and 11:

Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it … I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity.

Since these are the purposes of the tribulation, there is absolutely no reason for us as the church to go through the tribulation period.

Reason Three for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

Do you remember when the Lord was on His way to judge the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Abraham was concerned about his nephew, Lot, who lived there. He approached the Lord and said, “Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? … Far be it from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23, 25). Abraham understood it would not be consistent with the character of God to judge the righteous with the wicked.

If the Church is going to experience the Tribulation and suffer the wrath of God, then we have a problem because God would then be doing something that is totally inconsistent with His character, as seen throughout biblical history. Even when God judged Israel in ancient times, we find that God had mercy on the righteous, even during the time of judgment. Jeremiah prophesied to the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, and what happened when Nebuchadnezzar came? The wicked in the nation were judged, and the righteous were given grace. Jeremiah was taken and actually watched over by Nebuchadnezzar’s men. So, we see a pattern in history where God does not judge the righteous with the wicked. Therefore, there is no reason to think that His character has changed and that He would do something now that He has never done before.

The Tribulation Is the Judgment of God upon a Sinful World

The Tribulation is the judgment of God upon a sinful world. Some people point to the persecution of Christians as proof that we will indeed suffer through the Tribulation. They claim that if believers in times past were fed to the lions and burned at the stake, why should we expect to escape the same fate? But what they forget is that at the root of persecution is Satan himself. He is its source. But at the root of the Great Tribulation is God Himself. And since God is the source, we would expect Him to be consistent with what we have seen Him do historically.