Rapture; Who's Right?

“If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth...” Sherlock Holmes

There are many end times theories floating around out there; pretribulation, midtribulation, prewrath, posttribulation, etc. How do you know which theory to believe? The advocates of these various theories all seem to have scriptures to back up the theory they feel is right. So which one is right? The simple answer is; the theory that agrees with ALL of God's holy Word the Bible is right. If any theory fails to agree with all of scripture then that theory cannot be correct.

So all we need to do to find out which theory is correct is to compare all of the theories with all of scripture to see if that theory contradicts scripture. If it does then that theory would be false.

To begin we will list several end times truths that are clearly taught in scripture and then compare each theory with all of these truths to see if it contradicts any of them.

End Times Scriptural Truths

1. A Christian will not be subject to God’s wrath. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9

2. No one knows the day of Christ’s return. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Mt 25:13

3. The rapture occurs at the Day of the Lord after the moon is turned to blood after the sixth seal is opened. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 2 Thes 2:1,2. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come Acts 2:20. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood Rev 6:12.

4. The rapture occurs after the antichrist is revealed and performs the Abomination of Desolation. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4

5. The rapture is not imminent until all the prerequisites are fulfilled. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. 2 Thes 2:1-3

6. Christians will be subject to sorrows and tribulations. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. Mk 13:18

7. Jews and Christians are persecuted by the antichrist. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. Rev 11:7 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev 12:17

8. Christians are removed/rescued out of the midst of the great tribulation. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Rev 3:10

9. Jesus will return to the clouds at the rapture. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thes 4:17

So here are 9 scriptural truths regarding the end times. We will now compare each theory against each scriptural truth to see if it agrees with it. If a theory contradicts any of the truths then that theory cannot be correct.

The pretrib theory contradicts #3,4,5,6,7, and 8. The pretrib theory contradicts #3 in that it asserts that the rapture occurs before seal 1 not after the moon is turned to blood at seal 6. It contradicts #4 because it asserts that the rapture is before the A of D, not after it. It contradicts #5 because it asserts that the rapture could occur at any time. It contradicts #6 because it asserts that Christians will not be subject to the sorrows and tribulations of the first 5 seals. It contradicts #7 because it asserts that only those saved after the rapture will be persecuted by the antichrist. It contradicts #8 because it asserts we will be removed before the great tribulation not out of the midst of it.

The midtrib theory contradicts #2,3,7, and 8. The midtrib theory contradicts #2 because after the start of the 70th week you would know a day for the rapture and no one knows the day or hour. It contradicts #3 because it asserts that the rapture is at the beginning of the great tribulation. It contradicts #7 because it asserts that we will be raptured at the beginning of the reign of the antichrist. It contradicts #8 because it asserts that we will be raptured before the great tribulation and not out of the midst of it.

The posttrib theory contradicts #1,2,8, and 9. The posttrib theory contradicts #1 because it asserts that a Christian will live through the period when God's wrath is poured out. It contradicts #2 because after the start of the 70th week you would know a day for the rapture and no one knows the day or hour. It contradicts #8 because it asserts that we will be raptured after the great tribulation is over. It contradicts #9 because it asserts that Christians will not be raptured until Jesus returns to the earth.

Here is a chart summarizing this information.





The prewrath theory agrees with all of the scriptural truths and disagrees with none. The prewrath theory asserts that a Christian will be raptured before God's wrath is poured out and that the rapture is at an undisclosed time between the abomination of desolation and Armageddon. It asserts the rapture occurs at the beginning of the Day of the Lord after the sixth seal is opened and the moon is turned to blood. It asserts that the rapture occurs sometime after the antichrist performs the abomination of desolation. It asserts that the rapture is not imminent until after the prerequisites are fulfilled. It asserts that Christians will be subject to the sorrows and tribulations of the first 5 seals. It asserts that Christians will be persecuted by the antichrist. It asserts that Christians will be rescued out of the midst of the great tribulation. It asserts that Jesus will return to the clouds at the rapture.

If you agree with the 9 scriptural end times principals listed above then there is only one theory that agrees with them all and that is the prewrath theory.

“If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth...” Sherlock Holmes.

Think about it. The time is very short. You need to prepare. "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." Luke 21:34.

Note: there is another theory gaining prominence which states that the rapture occurs at the sixth seal but that it starts the 70th week. This theory contradicts #4,7, and 8. It contradicts #4 because it asserts that the rapture occurs before the revealing of the antichrist and the abomination of desolation. It contradicts #7 because it does not assert that Christians are persecuted by the antichrist. It contradicts #8 because it asserts that Christians are raptured before the great tribulation and not rescued out of the midst of it. I am not going to even discuss the various other theories because they are based on symbolic interpretations and not literal interpretations of scripture. For once you turn the Bible into a symbolic message you can make it say whatever you want.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Who’s Right?

“Hopefully we will be raptured before . . . “ Have you ever heard anyone talk that way? Back in college, I remember we used to wish the rapture would come so we would not have to take our finals. Many people are looking for and believe that the Lord will return and that the rapture will occur before the tribulation, or 70th Week of Daniel. This is commonly known as the “pre-trib rapture” theory. This theory teaches that the rapture could occur at any moment—imminence—which will be followed by the revealing of the antichrist, signing of the peace treaty, and the other events of the seven-year, so-called “tribulation period.” In the last chapter, we showed why the rapture will not occur until after the sixth seal is opened. In this chapter, we will show why the pre-trib rapture belief cannot be correct.

One of the main arguments cited in defense of the pre-trib view reasons that since God has promised to not allow the Christian to be subject to His wrath; and since His wrath starts at the first seal, thus Christians will be removed before the 70th Week begins. It is true that God will not allow the righteous to be subject to His wrath. Verses that clearly bring out this principle are 1 Thessalonians 1:10: “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come”; and 1 Thessalonians 5:9: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” We also see it in Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

The reasoning that God will not allow a Christian or any righteous person to be subject to His wrath is correct. This principle is illustrated in God’s actions with Noah, Lot, the Israelites in Egypt, and others, and applies to Christians alive today. However, this does not mean that Christians will not go through trials and sorrows like those that occur during the first part of the 70th Week. The wrath of God does not start until the Day of the Lord, which occurs after the opening of the sixth seal. We have already defined the Day of the Lord as a time of wrath (Amos 1:14–15, Rev. 6:16–17). Therefore, the period before the Day of the Lord precedes God’s wrath. Jesus Himself only called the first part of the 70th Week “sorrows” (Matt. 24:8).

We have already listed what will most likely occur during the first five seals:

First seal (white horse): Establishment of a world religion and or government through deception.

Second seal (red horse): War and/or anarchy on the earth.

Third seal (black horse): Famine due to crop failures and/or a worldwide economic collapse.

Fourth seal (pale horse): Death of one-quarter of world’s population by various means, possibly culminating from the first four seals.

Fifth seal: Persecution and martyrdom of saints.

If you consider these events, you will realize that there have been localized instances of these things occurring throughout history. There have been conquering powers, famines, pestilence, persecution, financial collapse, and martyrdom. And yes, some Christians and saints of God have gone through all of them, and some are going through them now. Since these sorrows are not part of God’s wrath and since God’s people have gone through these types of sorrows before, why shouldn’t they go through them during the 70th Week? Even the Israelites were subject to the first three plagues in Egypt. They were only protected from the last seven.
From the sixth seal on, after the Christians are raptured, only then is God’s wrath poured out. The first five seals are not described as being God’s Wrath, just as sorrows.

When Is God’s Wrath?
Some disagree, believing that the first six seals are part of God’s wrath. However, this is impossible because we know that God’s wrath does not include persecution and martyrdom of Christians. Martyrdom and persecution is an action of satan and men. God allows it, but it is an action of satan, not God. The story of Job is a clear example. The persecution, sorrows, and tribulations that Job experienced were allowed by God, but were caused by satan. When Saul was persecuting the early church, God allowed it, but satan was behind it. It would make no sense for Jesus to appear to Saul and ask why Saul was persecuting Him if God was the one responsible for it. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:4–5).

How does this principle that persecution and martyrdom of believers is an action of satan and not of God apply to the 70th Week? The fifth seal is the persecution and martyrdom of believers:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev. 6:9–11).

Jesus also spoke about this persecution, as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Mark: Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matt. 24:9–10).

But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost” (Mark 13:9–11).

Since the fifth seal is the persecution and martyrdom of believers, it cannot be part of God’s wrath. God’s wrath starts during the Day of the Lord, which starts with the rapture after the sixth seal is opened. That is why men cry out and say, “hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne,” because the rapture has just occurred and men have seen Christ and go into hiding. That is also why they say, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” It is at this time that God’s wrath has begun.

This verse tells us precisely that God’s wrath does not start until after the sixth seal is opened and the rapture occurs. To say that the wrath of God starts at the first seal would require God to be the one persecuting and martyring Christians, which is impossible. God would never pour out His wrath on His children. Therefore, we must conclude that God’s wrath—at the very least—cannot start until after the fifth seal, and that is exactly what we see. It starts at the sixth seal after the rapture. Thus scripture confirms that the Christian will be subject to the sorrows and tribulations of the first five seals and be raptured out of the great tribulation before God’s wrath is poured out.

The belief that Christians will not be subject to God’s wrath in no way necessitates a “pre-trib” rapture, because the seals are not part of God’s wrath. It does, however necessitate the rapture occurring before the wrath of God is poured out, which occurs after the start of the sixth seal.

What About Revelation 3:10?
Some pre-trib adherents make further claims, citing Revelation 3:10 as evidence that God will not only keep the Christian from His wrath, but will also keep them from the hour of temptation—that is, the entire 70th Week: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” However, a careful examination of the Greek used in this passage actually shows that the passage supports the view that believes that the rapture will occur at the sixth seal.

Robert Van Kampen, in The Rapture Question Answered Plain & Simple, has made a thorough analysis of this verse. Let us examine a few excerpts from that section.

When the underlying Greek text is studied carefully, comparing Scripture with Scripture, we will discover that the “hour of testing” refers specifically to that time associated with antichrist’s persecution. . . . More importantly we will see that the Greek words underlying our English translations argue that this terrible time of testing cannot be the wrath of God, but must be the wrath of satan. . . . If the Greek word peirasmos, as used in the Revelation 3:10 passage, is compared to its use in other New Testament passages, we will see that the “hour of testing” cannot refer to the wrath of God but, quite the opposite, to the wrath of satan. . . . They all say the same thing: satan is the source of all peirazo, not God. Like the logical argument, the biblical argument from scripture demonstrates that the “hour of testing” in Rev. 3:10 cannot refer to the wrath of God but, by definition, must be the wrath of satan.[1]

Another phrase in Revelation 3:10 that we need to consider is “will keep thee from.” The Greek phrase used here is tereo ek. Van Kampen has this to say about that phrase:

Tereo ek, is used in conjunction, can only refer to guarding or protecting those who persevere while they are within the sphere of danger, and then bringing them safely out from the midst of that danger. Thus the meaning of the text is clear. Tereo ek should be translated, “a watchful protection within the sphere of danger, with a safe deliverance out from the midst of it.[2]

Combining the analysis of the Greek into a translation of Revelation 3:10 yields a rendering that shows that the Christian will not be spared from the great tribulation, but will be rescued out of it:

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will rescue you out of the midst of the hour of satan’s temptation, the great tribulation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

So the analysis of the Greek in Revelation 3:10 does not support a pre-trib view, but supports a pre-wrath view of the rapture.

Revealing of the antichrist
Another argument presented by pre-trib adherents against the rapture occurring during the 70th Week is that they assert that the rapture occurs at the same time or immediately following the revealing of the antichrist. They reason further that since the antichrist is revealed at the signing of the peace treaty (the event that starts the 70th Week), the rapture must occur at the beginning of the 70th Week.

Proponents of the pre-trib rapture formulate this belief from two passages:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. (2 Thess. 2:3)

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Dan. 9:27)

2 Thessalonians 2:3 does, indeed, tell us that the antichrist is revealed before the rapture will take place, but Daniel 9:27 does not necessitate that the antichrist be involved in the initial signing of the peace treaty. When you examine the Hebrew, the true meaning becomes clearly evident. Roy Reinhold, author of The Day of the Lord and an expert in Hebrew, has this to say about the verse:

The “he” is the same person throughout the verse. Higbir is a hifil 3ms perfect verb, and the Qal root verb is gavar meaning “to be strong, to conquer.” A Hifil is “causative,” and so in this case the usage is “and he caused to be made strong” a covenant for the many for one period of seven. In no way does this imply that the “he” the antichrist originates the peace treaty. What it clearly shows is that the antichrist comes along after the peace treaty is in effect and he agrees with it and enforces its provisions.[3]

So an analysis of the Hebrew brings out the fact that, when the antichrist is revealed and comes to power in the midst of the 70th Week, the peace treaty will already be in effect and “he,” the antichrist, will merely confirm and or strengthen it. Thus, a more accurate translation of the verse would read: “And he will strengthen the covenant that was made with many for a week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”

So if the antichrist will not be the one to make the peace treaty, who is? The Hebrew rendering of this verse tells us the peace treaty will be made with “the many.” This suggests that the treaty will probably be the result of an effort by many nations—like we see now with the “Road Map”—to bring peace to the tumultuous Middle East situation.

Scripture tells us that the antichrist does not come to power and reign until the last 3.5 years of the 70th Week of Daniel after the Abomination of Desolation has occurred. In reference to the antichrist, Revelation 13:5 says, “and there was given unto him a mouth speaking great blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” His reign starts shortly after the occurrence of the Abomination of Desolation in which he deceives the world into thinking that he is God and his reign continues until he is thrown in the lake of fire at the conclusion to the battle of Armageddon.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 confirms when the revealing takes place:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

That verse tells us that the man of sin will not be revealed until he sets himself up as God, and he does that at the Abomination of Desolation: “and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition . . . so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” The verse further tells us “that day shall not come,” in reference to the Day of the Lord and the rapture, until after the antichrist sets himself up as God. As we have just pointed out, that does not happen until after the Abomination of Desolation.

Daniel 7:24 further confirms that the antichrist does not arise until after the peace treaty is signed, showing us that the antichrist (little horn) comes after the New World Order (NWO)—the “ten horns”—is established. “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.” The establishment of the NWO does not begin until after the first seal is opened, which we will discuss in detail in another chapter. Thus, Daniel 7:24 confirms that the antichrist arises after the establishment of the NWO, which comes after the peace treaty is signed.

Therefore, to say that the antichrist will be revealed before the rapture is correct, but to say that he will be revealed before the 70th Week, or that the rapture occurs before or at the same time that he is revealed, has no scriptural support. In fact, the scriptures make it clear that the Day of Christ will not come until after he is revealed at the Abomination of Desolation.

‘No One Knows the Day or the Hour’
Another argument pre-trib adherents put forth to support their view is that they say if the rapture does not occur before the 70th Week of Daniel, then you will know the time of Christ’s return, and as Jesus said, “no one knows the day or hour.” Believing that the rapture occurs during the 70th Week after the opening of the sixth seal does not mean that one knows the “day and hour” of His return. Even though I know that the rapture will not take place until after the sixth seal is opened, I still do not know the “day or hour” because I do not know exactly when the sixth seal will be opened and I do not know how long after the opening of the sixth seal that the rapture will occur. We know the name of that day as the Day of the Lord, but no one can give you an exact date for when that will occur. We only know that it will begin sometime between the Abomination of Desolation and Armageddon, but that’s a very broad period of time.

Only after the 70th Week starts and we see the signs will those who have not been deceived by the devil be able to recognize and believe that the day is iminent—but they will still not know the exact time. Christians are to watch for that day and should be able to sense that the day is near so that the day will not overtake them as a thief:

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (1 Thess. 5:2–4)

Thus, the Day of the Lord will only overcome the unbelieving as a thief, not the saved. Christians who know their scriptures will be able to recognize the signs and realize that it is very near. So the argument that “if the rapture does not occur before the 70th Week of Daniel, you will know the time of the rapture” is invalid.

What About Imminence?
Yet another argument put forth by pre-trib adherents is their belief in the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ. They reason that since the apostles were awaiting the return of Christ with great expectancy—and that they may even have believed that Christ could return and the rapture could occur at any time—that nothing has to occur prophetically before the rapture can take place. This includes the peace treaty or any parts of the 70th Week of Daniel.

This is a doctrine that was shown to be false by the apostle Paul himself. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3, Paul had to address the Thessalonians concerning a doctrinal problem they had regarding the timing of the Second Coming:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

The Thessalonians falsely believed that the Day of the Lord and the rapture were ready to occur (or had already occurred) and that they missed it and were in the Day of the Lord period. Paul told them that they did not miss it. He also told them about two signs that must occur beforehand, namely the great falling away and the revealing of the antichrist.[4] We have also elaborated on three other signs that need to occur before the Day of the Lord or the Day of Christ: the moon being turned to blood, the sun being darkened, and the prophet Elijah returning to earth. Therefore, since God has made it clear that certain things must occur before the rapture occurs at the Day of the Lord, and since those things have not happened yet, there can be no doctrine of imminence. Christ’s return will not be imminent until the signs mentioned above have first occurred. Van Kampen elaborates on this point:

The return of Christ has never been truly imminent and will never be imminent until the great tribulation of antichrist begins and the surrounding Gentile nations come together against Jerusalem in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Only then are the elect of God told to look for the sign of Christ’s coming which will be seen in the heavens, but only after the earth is first plunged into darkness by the sign of the end of the age.[5]

So while the first-century church, as recorded in the New Testament writings, showed a great expectation and anticipation of the return of Christ, the scriptures themselves tell us that the rapture cannot occur at any time, but only after the signs are fulfilled.

Identifying the Restrainer
Yet another argument put forth by pre-trib adherents is that they say that the Holy Spirit is removed before the antichrist is revealed; and since the Holy Spirit indwells Christians, they will be removed also. They draw this conclusion from 2 Thessalonians 2:6­–7: “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” They have made the assumption that it is the Holy Spirit who is the restrainer and that when He is removed—and Christians with Him—the antichrist will be revealed.

This is an incorrect assumption, for the Holy Spirit is recorded as still being on the earth indwelling believers during the last days of the 70th Week. This is clearly evident in Joel 2:

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:28–31)

To those of you that think the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, I would like for you to ponder a couple of questions. How can the Holy Spirit still be on earth during the 70th Week if the verse says the restrainer (Holy Spirit) is removed? And if He is removed, will He leave and come back? One individual told me that the Holy Spirit is not really removed, but just His restraining power; and after His restraining power is removed, that is when the rapture occurs and the Holy Spirit reverts back to His Old Testament mode. In responding to this, I would like to call your attention to Acts 2:16–21:

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

After Pentecost, the apostles were indwelt with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in foreign languages. Peter likened this to what the prophet Joel said would happen during the 70th Week. Therefore, Peter establishes the fact that believers will be indwelt with the Holy Spirit during the 70th Week in the same way that they were after Pentecost. Thus, we can conclude that the Holy Spirit will be on the earth during the 70th Week and will indwell believers in the same way that the apostles were indwelt. In fact, the scripture passages above indicate that not only will the Holy Spirit be here and indwell believers, but He will manifest His power in a greater way than He is being manifested today, working signs, wonders, and miracles through believers.

So who is the restrainer that is removed before the antichrist is revealed? I suggest that the restrainer is the Archangel Michael. Consider these two passages:

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. (Rev. 12:7–14)

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. (Dan. 12:1)

After the war in heaven, satan will be thrown down to earth and will indwell the antichrist and begin persecuting the saints during the great tribulation. This is when the restraining power of Michael the archangel will be removed. Marvin Rosenthal describes it like this:

Speaking of the one who will hinder the antichrist, Paul said, “only he who now hindereth will continue to hinder until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7). The word hindereth means to hold down, and the phrase taken out of the way means to step aside. Therefore, the one who had the job of hindering the antichrist will step aside; that is, he will no longer be a restraint between the antichrist and those the antichrist is persecuting.

. . . Further, Daniel has already said that Michael will stand up during “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” The unprecedented time of trouble can only refer to the Great Tribulation. Since Daniel is told that this great trouble relates to his people—and his people are the Jews—this can only be “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30:7), which is a synonym for the Great Tribulation. It is at that time that the archangel Michael will stand up.

But what does the Hebrew word for stand up (amad) mean? Rashi, one of Israel’s greatest scholars . . . understood stand up to literally mean [to] stand still. The meaning, according to one of Israel’s greatest scholars, would be to stand aside or be inactive. Michael, the guardian of Israel, had earlier fought for her (Dan. 10:13, 21), but now this one “who standeth for the children of thy people” would stand still or stand aside. He would not help; he would not restrain; he would not hold down.

The Midrash, commenting on this verse, says, “The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, ‘You are silent? You do not defend my children.’”[6]

So when “the restrainer” Michael removes his restraining power, then the antichrist will be revealed and the great tribulation will begin. The great tribulation and rule of the antichrist begins after the Abomination of Desolation. Thus, 2 Thessalonians 2:6–7 does not support a pre-trib rapture, but shows that the rapture will occur after the great tribulation.

Rapture in Revelation 4?

Finally, another very weak argument put forth by pre-trib adherents is that they say that the raptured saints are clearly seen in Revelation 4 and 5: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11). The scene depicted in Revelation 4 and 5 occurs before the seals are opened. Therefore, they conclude, the rapture occurs before the 70th Week.

They also claim that Revelation 4:1 is the trumpet that sounds at the rapture and John who went up to heaven at the time is symbolic of the rapture: “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Scripture does not support these assertions. First, scripture tells us that the voice only sounds like a trumpet, not that a trumpet is sounding. If it were a trumpet sounding, scripture would have said that. Secondly, nowhere does it mention any saints in this scene besides the 24 elders. All listed as being present in this scene are angels, beasts, and the 24 elders. That is it. One cannot assume that the 100 trillion are made up of raptured saints. God tells us who is present, and to conclude otherwise is an assumption that is not supported by the text. Therefore, scripture in no way supports the notion that raptured saints are present in Revelation 4 and 5.

The raptured saints do, however, appear in scripture in Revelation 7:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands . . . And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. (Rev. 7:9–15) [italics mine]

These are the raptured saints, not the elders, beasts, and angels of Revelation 4 and 5.

Where Is the Church?
Another argument used by pre-trib adherents is that they say that the word “church” is not used in any of the passages in Revelation after the first seal is opened because the church has been raptured. I admit that the word “church” is not mentioned in any of the Revelation passages after the first seal is opened. But one cannot assume that because the word “church” is not mentioned that it has been raptured. 2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude all do not use the word “church.” But clearly, all those books were written to people who were part of the church and were not raptured. Revelation contains several references to Christians being present during the 70th Week: Rev. 8:3; 13:7,10; 14:12; 17:6; 18:24. So just because the word “church” is not used in Revelation after the opening of the first seal, you cannot assume that it is because the church has been raptured.

In fact, I believe that there is a reason that the word “church” is not used; it is because the church age has ended and the 70th Week has begun. This is the same reason that gatherings of believers were not called a “church” during the 69 weeks. During the time of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, a called-out assembly of believers followed Him. What did He call this group of believers? Did He call them or refer to them as a church? No, He called them “disciples” or “saints.” Why did He not refer to them as a church? The answer is simple: because the historical church period had not yet begun. The called-out assembly of believers was not called a church until after Pentecost.

Jesus did use the word “church” in two instances: Matthew 16:18 and 18:17; but it was in reference to the church that was soon to be. So I contend that the reason Jesus did not refer to the called-out assembly of believers that followed Him as “church” is because they were in the 69th week—the historical church period had not begun. I also contend that the reason that believers are not referred to as “church” in Revelation is because the historical church period has ended and the 70th Week has begun.

Too Many Scriptural Contradictions
A pretribulation rapture view requires that the return of Christ is imminent. As we have shown certain signs must occur before the Day of the Lord and the rapture occurs. Some of those signs will not occur until after the sixth seal has been opened during the 70th Week of Daniel; therefore, the rapture will not occur before that time and cannot occur until the signs are fulfilled during the 70th Week. Thus there is no doctrine of immanency. Since the pre-trib rapture view contradicts this scriptural fact, it cannot be correct.

The pre-trib rapture belief necessitates that the wrath of God begins with the first seal. Scripture is clear that the wrath of God does not start until after the sixth seal is opened. Again the pre-trib rapture belief contradicts this fact. An exegesis of Revelation 3:10 shows that the Christian will be rescued out of the midst of the great tribulation. The pre-trib view says that the Christian will be rescued before the 70th Week starts. Again the pre-trib view contradicts scripture.

Many of the other tenents that the pre-trib rapture view stands on such as; the antichrist will be revealed before the rapture, no one knows the day or hour, etc. do not necessitate a pre-trib view. For instance pre-trib adherents state that the rapture occurs before the antichrist is revealed. An examination of the essential scripture passages shows that the antichrist is indeed revealed before the rapture but that the rapture occurs after the Abomination of Desolation. Again, this scriptural fact does not necessitate a pre-trib rapture. Pre-trib adherents state that if the rapture does not occur before the 70th Week, then you will know the “day and hour” of Christ’s return. However, Christ can return to rapture his bride after the opening of the sixth seal during the 70th Week and you will still not know the “day and hour” of His return. Thus, in light of the discussions above, the pre-trib rapture is not necessitated by scripture, and, furthermore, contradicts some scriptures and thus cannot be correct.

The next time you hear someone say, “Hopefully we will be raptured before . . . ,” realize that the rapture cannot occur until after the sixth seal is opened and that the pre-trib view is therefore not correct. I pray that all of God’s children would be awakened to these facts.

[1] Robert Van Kampen, The Rapture Question Answered Plain & Simple, (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Revell, 2002), 173–174.
[2] Ibid., 177.
[3] Unpublished personal correspondence.
[4] Some, in their attempts to bolster the pre-trib position, have claimed that the phrase “falling away” comes from the Greek word rapturem and is better translated “rapture.” Thus, they argue that the verse says that the rapture must precede the coming of the antichrist. In my opinion, this is nothing more than an attempt to make the Word of God say something that it does not. The word used in the Greek New Testament is apostasia, or “falling away,” from which the English term “apostasy” is derived. “Falling away” means to backslide. Backslide from what? From the truth.[4] Thus, the phrase “falling away” means just that—a falling away from the truth; and the verse tells us that this must take place before the rapture and the Day of the Lord.
[5] Robert Van Kampen, The Sign (Wheaton, Il.: Crossway Books, 1992), 315.

[6] Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 257–258.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
The Beginning of the Day of the Lord

“Gentlemen start your engines” is a sign that the Indy 500 is about to begin. Then with the waving of the green flag the race begins. Just as in many things in everyday life there is an event that starts a certain period of time so there is an event that starts the time period of the Day of the Lord. What will be the event that starts this great period of time? That is a question of utmost importance that we will address in this chapter.

Not only is it a question of great importance but it is also a very easy question to answer, especially if you keep in mind what signs must occur before this Day takes place. As we have discussed, two of the signs that will occur—which will be easily recognized—are that the moon must be turned to blood and the sun will be darkened.

When is the moon turned to blood and the sun darkened? Look at what Revelation 6:12–14 says:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

The passage from Revelation above tells us that the moon is turned to blood and the sun is darkened after the sixth seal is opened. Thus scripture plainly tells us that the Day of the Lord occurs after the sixth seal is opened. Notice also at this time that the stars fall as figs after being shaken of a mighty wind; and every island and mountain is moved as a result of the whole earth being shaken.

So if the sixth seal must be opened before the Day of the Lord, that means that the first five seals must also be opened before the Day of the Lord. Before we get back to our discussion of what event starts the Day of the Lord we will consider these events, which precede the Day of the Lord.

The Events Preceding the Day of the Lord
“The four horsemen of the apocalypse,” as detailed in Revelation 6, symbolically represent the first four seals. It is hard to know for certain what exactly these seals entail because their descriptions are partially in symbolic language. However, a careful examination of Revelation 6 leads to the probable scenarios listed below. I would also like to add that the scriptures indicate that the start of each seal occurs in chronological order. They may overlap in duration or effect, but they occur chronologically.

1. First seal

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (Rev. 6:1–2)

The first seal is represented by a conquering warrior riding a white horse. Notice that the warrior has a bow, but the text does not mention that he has any arrows. This leads me to believe that possibly this conquering force will accomplish the takeover without war and will be of a political and or religious nature, and most likely involve deception. I also believe that this takeover is global, rather than regional as some have suggested, because the symbolism does not specify a place. Thus, by implication, we can assume this involves the entire world. Several commentaries agree with this analysis.

Overall, the white horse and its rider are vivid representations of a powerful, aggressive, victorious force running unrestrained over mankind. Like a knight in armor or a soldier in full dress uniform, the first horseman appears to the eye as glorious and noble, but its intent is to kill, destroy, and subdue its enemies. Its white façade is deceptive, concealing a deadly, unholy purpose.[1]

Thus, the white horse and his rider symbolize the spirit of conquest and militarism. . . . Economic power, propaganda, the use of religion, diplomacy and political shrewdness are also part of successful conquest.[2]

Scripture makes it clear that, during the end times, there will be a world religion and government. I believe this conquering warrior most likely represents the takeover of the world by these entities, undoubtedly involving deception. Look at what one “New Age” pastor said about the coming religious deceptive takeover of the world:

The twenty-first century is the final stretch of the history of mankind. Not much time remains before the Second Coming. During this short period of time, God will bring into fulfillment all of the promises that have yet to come to pass. One of the most important of these is the New World Order under the banner of righteousness.[3]

Some think the rider of the white horse is the antichrist. I disagree with this assessment, for the antichrist is only allotted 3.5 years to reign at the end of the 70th Week, not at the beginning. The antichrist will, however, eventually rule the world through the New World Order system. We will discuss this in detail later in the book. The takeover of the world religiously and or politically by the New World Order, represented by the white horse and rider of the first seal, are the antithesis of the true and righteous world religion and government that will be started after the Lord Jesus Christ rides the white horse out of heaven when He establishes the millennial kingdom.

2. Second seal

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (Rev. 6:3–4)

A fiery red horse represents the second seal. The rider of the red horse is given power to remove peace from the entire earth. The result is that people will kill one another on a scale never previously seen. This seal undoubtedly involves war and could be the infamous WWIII, and or it could involve total anarchy within countries where gangs, thieves and hoodlums would rule the streets. The great sword probably represents the fact that many will be killed during this time. The red color of the horse most likely represents the blood that will be spilled as a result. While it is true that we are experiencing wars and riots in various places throughout the world now, the distinguishing factor in this event is that peace will be taken from the entire world, and thus death will spread to the entire planet. In fact (as we will see in the fourth seal), up to one-quarter of the earth’s inhabitants will be killed as a result of famine, war, and disease. This has never happened before in the history of the world.

3. Third seal

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (Rev. 6:5–6)

The black horse represents the third seal. The rider of this horse has a pair of balances in his hand. One of the ancient (and even modern) uses of balances is to measure out food. The phrase, “a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny,” indicates that grains and possibly other foods will become very expensive. This could be caused by food shortages due to crop failures and/or a worldwide economic crisis. The average worker in the apostle John’s day made about a penny a day. Thus, these verses indicate that one measure of wheat will cost a whole day’s wages. Normally a penny would buy from sixteen to twenty measures of wheat. By today’s standards, figuring the average worker in the United States earns $8 per hour, a half-loaf of bread would cost $64. The second part of the phrase, “see thou hurt not the oil and the wine,” indicates that this affliction will not affect beverages made from grapes and oil, probably olive oil. Thus, if this affliction only affects some food items and not others, this would indicate that the most probable cause would be crop failures from drought, floods, and/or disease. The word used for the color black is mevla: “Of clothing used in mourning . . . as the color of evil.”[4] Here the color black speaks of death from this worldwide famine.

4. Fourth seal

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Rev. 6:7–8)

A pale horse represents the fourth seal. The word translated “pale” has an explicit meaning in Greek and can be best described by the color gangrenous green—like a corpse in an advanced state of decay. This is a fitting color for the horse that depicts death. One fourth of the world’s population will suffer death by the sword, hunger, plagues, and even attacks by wild animals or diseases spread by them. This extraordinary death count may be the culmination or result of all the first four seals put together, or it may represent the number who die from this seal alone.

5. Fifth seal

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Rev. 6:9–11)

The fifth seal gives a clear picture of what it entails. Those holding the testimony of Jesus during this time will be persecuted and martyred for the cause of Christ.

In summary, to the best of my knowledge, based on the language employed in the passages above, the first six seals will most likely entail the following:

First seal (white horse): Establishment of a world religion and or government through deception.

Second seal (red horse): War and/or anarchy on the earth.

Third seal (black horse): Famine due to crop failures and/or a worldwide economic collapse.

Fourth seal (pale horse): Death of one-quarter of the world’s population by various means, possibly culminating from the first four seals.

Fifth seal: Persecution and martyrdom of saints.

Sixth seal: Great earthquake, sun darkened, moon turned to blood, stars fall, heaven departs as a scroll, and every island and mountain moved.

As already stated, since the moon is turned to blood before the Day of the Lord, and the moon is turned to blood during the sixth seal event, then the events associated with the first six seals as listed above will also occur before the Day of the Lord.

Now that we have established that the Day of the Lord will occur after the sixth seal is opened, and we have examined the events and signs that will occur before the Day of the Lord, we will come back to our original question posed in the beginning of this chapter—What will be the event that starts this great period of time? It is a very important event, but I am not going to tell you what it is outright. First, I am going to see if you can discover it for yourself.

The Answer
The Day of the Lord and its alternative term, the Day of Christ, are both listed in Thessalonians and reveal to us what will occur in connection with the beginning of the Day of the Lord. Read carefully the next two passages and answer the question: What event is associated with the Day of the Lord or the Day of Christ?

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (1 Thess. 4:15–5:2)

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (2 Thess. 2:1–2)

What event is Paul referring to in these verses that he says will happen at the Day of the Lord—the Day of Christ? What event comes as a thief in the night? “And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Lk. 12:39–40). What event were the Thessalonians afraid that they had missed because they thought they were now living in the Day of the Lord period? In both passages Paul is referring to the rapture; and it is clear from these passages that the event that is associated with the Day of the Lord is the rapture! 1 Thessalonians 4:15–5:2 describes the rapture and then goes on to make the association of the rapture with the Day of the Lord.

Let me put the two parts of 1 Thess. 4:15–5:2 together so you can see this more clearly:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. . . . For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

This passage indicates that the rapture occurs at the Day of the Lord event. In 2 Thessalonians, the rapture is again described, but here it is called the Day of Christ: “By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him . . . the day of Christ.” Here, clearly the rapture is called the Day of Christ. The phrase “the Day of Christ” is synonymous with the phrase “the Day of the Lord.” Many church fathers agree.

It should be said that the formula, “The day of Christ,” occurs in our translation in 2 Thess. 2:2, but that all the church fathers who quote the text have, “day of the Lord.” The same is all but universally true of all the manuscripts. Thus the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the latter reading, and we may add, the internal evidence apparently requires this reading.[5]

Both of these passages in Thessalonians tell us that the rapture will occur in the time period known as the Day of the Lord. Thus, it stands to reason that since the Day of the Lord, or the Day of Christ, occurs after the opening of the sixth seal, and the rapture occurs as part of the Day of the Lord, then the rapture must also occur after the opening of the sixth seal!

Let me now present a formal proof of this fact. For purposes of our proof, we will use the following symbols and meanings.

Using those symbols, we can then create the following logic statements and proof:



This logically proves that the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened.
Unless you are familiar with logic proofs, you probably did not understand the statements and conclusion. So let me explain it more fully:


Statements 1, 2, and 3 are scriptural facts. In Statement 1, if you replace the D with the R, and the B with the S, which you can do by the mathematical law of substitution— because D & R and B & S happen at the same time—then you arrive at Statement 4, which says that R > S—the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened. Thus, the three scriptural truths (the rapture occurs during the Day of the Lord, the moon is turned to blood after the sixth seal is opened, and the Day of the Lord occurs after the moon is turned to blood) logically lead us to conclude that the rapture occurs after the moon is turned to blood. Let me put the logic into symbols.

6 - M - D

The above symbols illustrate the scriptural facts that after the sixth seal is opened, represented by the 6, the moon is turned to blood, represented by the M, and after the moon is turned to blood the Day of the Lord occurs, represented by the D. Realizing that scripture tells us that the rapture occurs at the Day of the Lord, represented by the arrow below, we can then create the following illustration;

6 - M - D - Rapture

This simple illustration puts all the facts together and clearly shows that the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened. Deductive reasoning has now formally proved this fact.

Deductive reasoning is an argument to establish that a statement is absolutely certain. An argument is valid if the reasoning proceeds logically from the premises to the conclusion. An argument is sound if it is valid and the premises are true. [6]

We have used deductive reasoning to prove that the statement “the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened” is absolutely certain. This argument is valid because it proceeds logically, as shown above, from the premises to the conclusion. The argument is sound because it is valid, and the premises (that the rapture occurs during the Day of the Lord, the moon is turned to blood after the sixth seal is opened, and the Day of the Lord occurs after the moon is turned to blood) are true. There is no way around it. The rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened. Thus, scripture clearly tells us that the rapture will not occur before the start of the last seven years—the 70th Week—or what is commonly called “the tribulation.” The rapture will, however, occur during the 70th Week, after the sixth seal is opened and simultaneous with the beginning of Day of the Lord.[7] Let’s state it one more time:

The Day of the Lord occurs after the moon is turned to blood.
The rapture occurs during the Day of the Lord.
The moon is turned to blood after the sixth seal is opened.
Therefore the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened.

Some object to this reasoning, saying that the rapture does not occur after the moon is turned to blood because there are two Days of the Lord yet to come. One occurs at the rapture before the 70th Week, and one at Armageddon. They then conclude that Acts 2:20 and Joel 2:31 are in reference to the Day of the Lord that will occur at Armageddon. This reasoning is in error because, if you remember our discussion about the essence of the Day of the Lord, we established the fact that there is only one Day of the Lord yet to come: “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven” (Heb. 12:26). The Day of the Lord is when the earth will be shaken, “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth (Is 2:19),” and there is only one Day of the Lord yet to occur.

Still others object to this reasoning, saying that the rapture is not part of the Day of the Lord, but happens before the Day of the Lord and not during it. However that is not what scripture indicates in Thessalonians and many stanch pre-trib commentators believe that the rapture is part of the Day of the Lord:[8]

He must explain what he means by “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him” or else the solution to the problem cannot be grasped. Episynagoges (“being gathered”) defines what part of the parousias (“coming”) Paul has in mind. This is the great event he has described more fully in 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17—i.e., the gathering of those in Christ to meet him in the air enroute to the Father in heaven. This begins the day of the Lord. . . . He had told them that the coming of the Lord to gather his saints into heaven would initiate both the tribulation and the day of the Lord. They were promised immediate “rest” (1:7) and glorification with Christ (1:10), not increased persecution. . . . Despite their “persecutions and trials” (1:4) these Thessalonian Christians were not living in the day of the Lord as they had been erroneously told. A right understanding of “being gathered to him” reveals that they could not be so enmeshed, because for them Christ’s parousia will antedate the awful period to come. In fact, their “being gathered to him” will be the event that signals the day’s beginning.[9]

Also, as discussed earlier, and expounded upon by Mr. Keathley—a pre-trib author—2 Thessalonians 2:2 clearly tells us that the rapture is part of the Day of the Lord and is the event that starts it, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, “the day of Christ.” Therefore, in reference to the logic proof: If the premises are valid and the argument is sound, then the proof stands—the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened. In fact, many other scriptures confirm this.

But before we examine this fact, let me discuss an emotional aspect of this discussion. The realization that the rapture will not occur until after the sixth seal is opened will probably scare you; that is a natural reaction that is to be expected. Let me state, however, that it is neither God’s nor my intention to scare you. God does not want you to be afraid, and neither do I. Remember, He loves you more than you can imagine. He will take care of you better than any loving father takes care of his children. Even though these things may be scary to you, you must know the truth, for “the truth will set you free” (John 14:6). Would you rather know a hurricane was coming your way so you could prepare, or would you rather have it come upon you unawares? In the same way, God wants you to know what will transpire so you can prepare and not be caught unawares. We will devote a couple of chapters to these issues later in the book. But for now let’s continue our discussion and confirm the fact that the rapture will not occur until after the sixth seal is opened.

Confirmation
You can find confirmation of the fact that the rapture will not occur until after the sixth seal is opened in many places in scripture. Look, for example, at Rev. 6:12–17:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? [italics mine]

Take note of the italicized portion and ask yourself why the people cry, “Hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne?” Simply, the text tells us that they want to hide because they have seen the face of God. They want to hide because Jesus has come to the clouds and is visible for all to see, and the rapture has occurred; and men are scared to death because the Day of the Lord—the great day of His wrath—has come upon them.

In other words, they had an epiphany! Yes, when Christ comes to the clouds for his bride, He will be visible for all to see just as He foretold “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Mt 26:64). And upon seeing Christ, those who are not raptured will experience an epiphany. That is, they will have “a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.” They will realize that Jesus is God and they have been wrong in following the antichrist. As a result, they will cry out; “hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”

This passage confirms that Christ will come after the opening of the sixth seal and will rapture His church. Then the wrath of God will be poured out upon mankind. Remember our definition of the Day of the Lord? It is primarily a day of wrath. After the rapture, the wrath of God will begin. The use of the aorist tense in the phrase “For the great day of his wrath is come” confirms that the great Day of His wrath—the Day of the Lord—has started after the opening of this seal and the occurrence of the rapture, and also confirms that the Day of the Lord/Christ referred to by Paul was in reference to the rapture.[10]

This scenario is clearly seen in other parts of scripture, too. Another passage that clearly confirms this fact is Matthew 24:29–31:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The first thing I would like to bring out about this passage is that it begins by saying “after the tribulation of those days.” Thus, the events talked about in the passage all occur after the “tribulation period” during the 70th Week of Daniel. The “tribulation period” entails the first six seals, which includes the sorrows of the first four seals, plus the great tribulation, which begins at the fifth seal. It does not refer to the entire 70th Week; we will discuss this more in detail later in this book.

The passage also says that, after this time of tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. From our previous discussions, we know that these signs in the sun, moon, and stars occur before the Day of the Lord. We have also determined that these signs will occur after the opening of the sixth seal. The passage goes on to indicate that after these signs, “then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” This is a description of the rapture when Jesus comes through the clouds and all the Christians are gathered together and caught up with the Lord, and all the earth sees Him and mourns.

This passage again confirms and summarizes that the Day of the Lord and the rapture occur during the 70th Week of Daniel, after the tribulations of the first five seals, and after the occurrence of the signs in the sun, moon and stars, which Revelation 6 says will occur after the opening of the sixth seal.

Some erroneously believe that because this event occurs at the sound of the trumpet, this event occurs at the last of the seven trumpet judgments. That is not correct. The triple sign of sun, moon, and stars clearly places the event described in the passage—the Day of the Lord—at the sixth seal. By the way, the trumpet referred to above is most probably in reference to the trumpet blown during the feast of Rosh Hashanah, which we will discuss in more detail later.

These scripture passages clearly confirm that the beginning event of the Day of the Lord is the rapture of the church, which occurs after the opening of the sixth seal. Just in case you are not convinced, here are more scriptures that confirm this. Look at how beautifully this passage from Mark 13 mirrors the exact chronology of events that we have been talking about thus far:

And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations . . . And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. But when ye shall see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains . . . for in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days . . . But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (Mark 13:5–26)

Notice in the above passage, the sequence of events aligns exactly with the prophetic timeline that has been presented thus far. In the beginning of the passage, we see wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and troubles that align with the first four seals. Then we see the persecution that will take place during the fifth seal. After the persecution we see a description of the Abomination of Desolation and associated events. Then, in the last part of the passage we see the sixth seal events and the rapture.

Take notice that, like Matthew 24, this passage places the rapture after the Abomination of Desolation. The abomination occurs near the middle of the 70th Week. Thus, this passage firmly places the rapture as occurring after the middle of the 70th Week and after the first six seals.
We also see this timing reflected in the Old Testament in a passage in Isa. 26:19–21, which talks about the rapture:[11]

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. [The resurrection of the dead at the rapture] Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity [The Day of the Lord]: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

This passage places the resurrection of the dead, which occurs at the rapture before the outpouring of God’s wrath, at the Day of the Lord.

And yet another Old Testament passage brings out this timing:

And he [antichrist] shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain [performs Abomination of Desolation and rules the world from Jerusalem]; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble [the great tribulation], such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [rapture and resurrection of the dead] (Dan. 11:45–12:2)

This passage clearly shows that the Abomination of Desolation will be followed by a period of great tribulation, then the resurrection and rapture. Taken together, these passages further substantiate that the persecution of saints by the antichrist during the great tribulation will be followed by the resurrection of the saints at the rapture when the Day of the Lord begins.

Here is another scripture passage that confirms this scenario:

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Rev. 7:1–4)

In Revelation 7:1–4, notice the phrase “after these things.” This indicates that this event chronologically follows the sixth seal events in Revelation 6. In this passage, we see two groups of people. One group is the 144,000 Israelites who are sealed to be God’s ambassadors on earth after the saints have been raptured. The passage also says, “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” This indicates that the 144,000 will be sealed before the wrath of God is poured out during the trumpet and bowl judgments, which will severely “hurt” the earth and those who live on it. In the second part of the chapter, we see a group of people in heaven with white robes.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands . . . And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. [italics mine]

In verse 13, the elder asks John who these people are. John did not know, so the elder gives him the answer. They are those who came out of great tribulation. They are the raptured saints of God, raptured out of the great tribulation, which starts after the opening of the sixth seal.

70th Week, Three Time Periods
As already mentioned there are three distinct periods of difficulty during the 70th Week of Daniel: 1) sorrows or tribulations, 2) the great tribulation, and 3) the Day of the Lord. The first four seals constitute sorrows:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matt. 24:4–8) [italics mine]

The great tribulation starts when the antichrist comes to power. It will include the fifth seal and the beginning part of the sixth seal.

When ye therefore shall see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:). Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. (Matt. 24:15–22) [italics mine]

As already discussed, the rapture occurs at the beginning of the Day of the Lord. So the fact that there are saints in heaven who came out of the great tribulation, as told to us by Rev 7:13, supports the fact that the rapture occurs after the opening of the sixth seal, at the end of the great tribulation. It is comforting to note that the passage above says that the Lord will shorten the days of the great tribulation for the elect’s sake. God will cut the time of the great tribulation short for the sake of His people who are living during this terrible time. See the chart entitled “The Afflictions of the 70th Week” for a pictorial representation of these facts.

Luke 17 also brings out very clearly the timing of the rapture. It irrefutably places it after the Abomination of Desolation.

In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (Luke 17:31–36) [italics mine]

Here we notice the phrase “in that day” and “in that night.” These phrases are referring to a period of time, namely the great tribulation. It starts with the Abomination of Desolation—at which time Israel is told to flee to the wilderness—and ends with the rapture. The Abomination of Desolation is referred to as happening in “the day,” and then the rapture “at night.” No matter how you look at it, the use of these chronological phrases, “in that day” and “in that night,” irrefutably places the rapture after the Abomination of Desolation.

The Harmony of Scripture
Look at how beautifully scripture harmonizes to show and confirm the scriptural truths we have been talking about: (Sorry these did not reproduce well here, they are better in the book.)







In Summary
In summary, scripture clearly and undeniably shows us that the Day of the Lord is a period of time in which God’s wrath is poured out upon mankind. There are several signs that precede this event to let us know that the time is approaching. Those signs, which must occur before the Day of the Lord, combined with the teaching in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, which equates the rapture with the Day of the Lord, irrefutably place the rapture as occurring after the start of the sixth seal. As we have seen there are many scriptures that confirm this chronology. Thus, scripture clearly indicates that the rapture occurs simultaneously with the beginning of the Day of the Lord after the opening of the sixth seal.

[1] http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.show/CT/PW/k/909
[2] http://www.wcg.org/lit/bible/Rev/sixseals.htm
[3]http://www.ngteam.org/TextEn.htm
[4] Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 499.
[5] J. B. Smith, A Revelation of Jesus Christ (Scottdale, Penn.: Mennonite Publishing House, 1961), 321.
[6] Ron Tagliapietra and Kathy Pilger, Geometry for Christian Schools. (Greenville, S. C: BJU Press, 2000), 182–183.
[7] Many post-trib adherents agree with the logic and conclusion that the rapture occurs after the sixth seal is opened. However, they place the occurrence of the sixth seal at the end of the 70th Week by claiming that the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments overlap. This notion is easily shown to be false by realizing that scripture presents the seal, bowl, and trumpet judgments as proceeding chronologically. Also, Rev. 7:2–3: “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads”—tells us that the earth and sea cannot be hurt (which happens in the trumpet and bowl judgments) until after the sealing of the 144,000. The sealing of the 144,000 happens after the rapture and the sixth seal. Therefore the trumpet and bowl judgments cannot occur until after the sixth seal is opened. Thus the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments cannot overlap. There are some pre-trib adherents that also agree that the rapture occurs at the sixth seal but place the sixth seal at the start of the 70th Week. This notion is also shown to be false by realizing that one of the signs that must occur before the Day of the Lord—as previously discussed—is that the antichrist must set himself up as god, which occurs at the Abomination of Desolation, which happens near the midpoint of the 70th Week. Thus the opening of the sixth seal and the Day of the Lord must occur after the midpoint of the 70th Week. Joel 1:15,16 supports this fact and clearly shows that the Day of the Lord occurs after the sacrifices are stopped at the abomination of desolation. “Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?”
[8] Many pre-trib commentators agree that the rapture is part of the Day of the Lord: Coffman, Matthew Henry, La Haye, to name a few.
[9] J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M., Correction Concerning the Day of the Lord, Part 1.http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1696#P336_80025
[10] http://spiritandtruth.org/teaching/Book_of_Revelation/commentary/htm/030617.htm
[11] Technically, the rapture itself is not referenced in the Old Testament. Paul clearly tells us that the rapture was a mystery only revealed to him (1 Cor. 15:51). However, we know from other passages, such as 1 Thess. 4:16–17, 5:2 and Matt. 24:30–31, that the rapture occurs at the same time as the resurrection. Therefore, because the resurrection is mentioned in the Old Testament, by inference, we can place the rapture there.