This is where I lose some of my Christian friends…where people who were normally kind and loving become confrontational and angry at me and begin distancing themselves…it’s what caused one pastor to yell at me saying that I needed to “Shut up and learn from his wife” as he began to lose his Christian composure and say things I’m sure he regrets. It caused another elder in a different church to go from smiling to looking at me like I was disgusting. I’ve been told off, hated, ridiculed and called weird by my own Christian family. American Christians don’t want to hear what I have to say here… and they will go through great pains to make sure they don’t.
You’ve been warned.

This screenshot is from last night, I had already written this blog and was doing the edits… so I thought I would include it as an example of what happens when you confront false doctrine. Take note of what I asked this man to do and how he responded. You get this response when you refuse other doctrines and stick only to the word for your doctrine. He called me a Blind, Fool and Reprobate because I said, “Instead of sending people that false doctrine by Darby…. why don’t you prove to me there is a rapture before the tribulation using ONLY scripture with no explanation or outside teachings. All other doctrines are taught this way. Make sure the time of the events are indicated.”

This blog entery is dedicated to the exegesis of all the verses people uses as a foundation for the belief in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. I will also take the common arguments people give for this belief and compare it with what the word says.

One of the things people commonly say when the discussion starts to confront their belief in the Pre-Trib Rapture and test it for accuracy:
“It doesn’t matter anyway, as long as we both believe in Jesus…besides when the Rapture takes place none of this will matter.” The pastor I was talking about before finally said this when he was unable to prove his position.
It does matter, though.

The other position people take in the debate is to tell me that because I don’t believe in the rapture I’ll be left behind and won’t be raptured…or they take a position like my friend in the screens shot did and strip me of my salvation completely and call me a reprobate.

The belief in the pre-trib rapture causes:

• a misinterpretation of the eschatological bible verses.
• a false sense of security
• the preaching being ready for the rapture instead of taking up our Cross and following Jesus.
• spiritual laziness
• low motivation to build enduring faith
• a callousness towards others

If you approach eschatology with the starting point of the Pre-trib Rapture, the Church loses their true Biblical placement in the unfolding of events as they are laid out in the Bible. I’ve heard people say things like ,”After Revelation 4:1 the church isn’t mentioned because they’ve all been raptured and all mentions of saints after that are tribulation saints.” When you approach from this position, you disengage from the events that happen because you believe they don’t pertain to you. They are less important to you. I’ve even heard people say, “I don’t study Revelation because I won’t be here, and it’s too hard to understand.” More recently, I’ve been hearing that some parts of the Bible were only written for tribulation saints.

Eschatology (end time events) takes up 27 percent of the Bible, this represents 1,817 prophecies across 8,352 verses. That is a huge portion of scripture being dismissed or treated like it’s arbitrary. Would anyone buy a new car and agree to only receive 73% of it? Or make a recipe using only 73 % of the ingredients or build 73 % of a house… or pay for 100 % of your groceries and leave 27 % behind. And yet… people do this with the word because they don’t think it pertains to them. The worse part though, it does pertain to them. God gave us those scriptures for a reason.

Satan has worked overtime to get American Christians diverted away from understanding end time events… he tricked the American Christians into believing they were going to escape before things get bad… so they wouldn’t be ready spiritually. I said American Christians because the pre-tribulation rapture is NOT a part of other countries church doctrines unless they were started by American Evangelist.

There is a cold attitude that I see taking over the hearts of many who believe in the pre-trib Rapture. Coupled with this attitude is the unscriptural way they evangelize using the rapture as a selling point for salvation instead of preaching repentance and reconciliation to God through the blood of Jesus so you can have a relationship with God, they preach salvation so you aren’t here for the tribulation. Being raptured becomes the focus…so much so they lack insight into how callous they truly are towards others… especially fellow believers. Their love seems to already be growing cold. I’m on facebook from time to time and saw a video that featured a map of the world that changed colors in different places as these places were dealing with Christian persecution and martyrdom. The video went through the years and as the current time approached you could see large areas lit up where Christians persecution is the most severe. If a person had a correct knowledge of end times events from the Bible, this would have brought them into prayer for the people represented in the map… but in the comments I see, “PRAISE JESUS, He’s coming soon!!! ” This woman wasn’t in the least concerned for her fellow Christians in Nigeria, Iran or any of the other countries putting Christians to death by the thousands…. all she saw was her coming escape.
This is why this doctrine is important. It’s not just that this woman I was talking about can’t see how unchristlike she is, but because it didn’t bring her to prayer for others. She’s not the only one…she’s not even in the minority.

The Verses

1 Corinthians 15:51-54
⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

These verses are often attributed to the pre-tribulation Rapture. Before I even look at what the verses are saying I can say this does not prove a pre-tribulation rapture because there are no verses or textual clues that give the timing for the event. In order for this to be placed before the tribulation, there needs to be a scripural basis for that. There isn’t, it has relied on teachings outside of the scriptures to give this a timeline…namely the teachings of John Nelson Darby and his student C.I. Scofield, author of the Scofield reference Bible.
However, there are other verses in the Bible that prove this isn’t the pre-tribulation rapture.

Revelation 11:15 ¹⁵ And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

1 Corinthians 15:52 ⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The word LAST as in LAST TRUMPET in 1 Corinthians 15:52 has a meaning that indicates a time for this event. It happens at the LAST TRUMPET. The Bible is being specific here… it’s telling us that this will be the final trumpet blown in the plans that God has for this age. So
1 Corinthians 15:51-54 has been given a time placement with the last trumpet of the seven trumpets of Revelation. The seventh trumpet is the last one listed in the word of God and since there can only be one LAST TRUMPET… this is the Biblical placement of the events of 1 Corinthians 15:51-54.

Since the seventh trumpet comes towards the end of the Tribulation, we can conclude this verse is not about a pre-tribulation rapture and in fact proves that there is no pre-tribulation Rapture.

Revelation 11:15-19
¹⁵ And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
¹⁶ And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
¹⁹ And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Before I go into the next verse I want to point out something with these verses that also comes up.
Pre-tribulation rapture believers often say, “For we are not appointed unto wrath.” I Thessalonians 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,..
This does not mean we aren’t going into the Tribulation though. The false teachings that have been circulating for 300 years based on the Darby and Scofield teachings all claim the entire tribulation is the outpouring of the wrath of God… which the Bible does not teach either. The first part of the tribulation is God’s mercy, not his wrath.. He’s giving people a chance to repent by showing them what the end results of living a sinful life will bring on them. He allows these afflictions during the tribulation, but none of those things are his wrath. His wrath comes with his judgment.

Revelation 9:20 through 10:7
9²⁰ And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
²¹ Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
10 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
² And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
³ And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.|
 ⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
⁵ And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
⁶ And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
⁷ But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Verse 7… when the seventh angel sounds, the mystery of God is finished… when that happens the wrath of God falls… Revelation 11:15 …the final of the seven trumpets sound… then in verse ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, ….
We are now actually Raptured as of verse 11:15… what remains on the earth are those who reject God and are about to have his wrath rain down. Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
The 7 vial judgments are the wrath of God. My personal thoughts here are these will be poured out in rapid succession in a kind of ultimate shock and awe series.
So, the entire tribulation is NOT the wrath, as proven by the word of God.

1 Thessalonians 4
¹³ But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
¹⁵ 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.
¹⁶ 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:
¹⁷ 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.
¹⁸ Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

These verses are often used as proof of the pre-tribulation rapture, but again… there is no timeline for these events that place them before the tribulation. They align perfectly with1 Corintians 15… which was explained earlier as being at the end of the tribulation. ¹⁸ Wherefore comfort one another with these words. I’ve had a couple of people quote this verse and say “how is going through the tribulation comforting?” This is a great segway into the next part….

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Look at this!!!
Revelation 1:1-3
 ¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
² Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
³ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The revealing of Jesus Christ … if this doesn’t give you comfort it’s because you are focused on the waves like Peter was and not on the Savior Jesus. My husband and I were talking about this and he said that people go in to reading the book of Revelation and get all caught up in the event that happen with all the hardships and never focus on the end where Jesus comes back. He’s so wise.

When you read the book of Revelation read it with the understanding that first it will show you who the Lamb of Glory is and it ends with you in eternity with Jesus. Let this be your comfort… like Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:18… Paul didn’t tell anyone to make some escape your comfort.. why would dead people need to worry about going through the tribulation?

Matthew 24
I’m linking the chapter here —> Matthew 24
Things to note about Matthew… he is consistant… when he speaks of removing something or taking it away or any type of removal… it’s never a good removal for the thing or person being removed. He is consistant with this throughout Matthew… if something is taken, it’s to a bad place. It’s how Matthew thought and communcated so to understand what he is saying, you have to stay in the paremeters of his way of speaking. This is true with all the writers of the books of the Bible.

Matthew 24:1&2 are talking about the destruction of the Temple. This event occurred in 70 ad during the Siege of Jerusalem under Vespasian and Titus of Rome.
Matthew 24:3-28 talk about the tribulation events and warns believers about deception and the coming of Christian persecution.
Matthew 24: 29-31 talk about the events that happen after the tribulation.
Matthew 24:32-36 the parables of the fig tree
Matthew 24:37-39 Noah
Matthew 24:40-44 watching for the Lord and the taking away of some to judgment
Matthew 24:45-51 Parable of the servant

Noah
Noah and his family were not taken out of the flood, they were preserved through it because Noah obeyed God and prepared for it by building the ark God told him to build. God sealed him and his family in the ark. This is not an example of escaping, but enduring. It took Noah 100 plus years to build the ark…he had to gather the animals and the food…. and then once he was sealed in and the rains came… and for all those days he was floating in a huge ship with a bunch of smelly animals. People freaked out during covid because they couldn’t leave their homes when they wanted too… and here Noah was enduring…working, keeping the animals and his family safe.

People use Matthew 24:40-41 as proof of the pre-tribulation rapture. In their version the people taken from the field and the mill are taken off to be with Jesus. But this does not align with scripture. Here are the verses

³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
³⁸ For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
³⁹ And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
⁴⁰ Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
⁴¹ Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
⁴² Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

“And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Jesus talks about the floods coming and taking the people away. Who did they take away? The people who weren’t on the ark. Where did they go? They died and wait for judgment. He said the end times is going to be just like this. Then the very next verses….
⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
⁴¹ Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Taken from the field and from the mill. Where were they taken? To judgment.

So Matthew 24:40-41 are not the pre-tribulation rapture…it’s the exact opposite of what any Christian would want to happen to them.

The Bible tells us we will experince tribulation… for the most part these are trials that life throw at us. These are test of our beliefs. I personally believe that the place of peace and rest in the Lord is not by escaping and being spared all the bad things… but instead it comes from knowing deep down that your father has you… a dependance on the Sovereign God who loved me so much he sent his Son Jesus to die to make a relationship with him possible. I can truly rest in him… he’s got me… I know he wants what’s good for me…and if that leads me to a place where I will lay down my life for my faith… I pray he gives me the strength to hold fast to him even to death. Look at the grace God poured out over Stephan… the word says in Acts 6:15 if Stephan as he was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus..”And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” His contenence was so profound it was recorded in the word of God… and God has that same kind of grace for us too. And what was the result of Stephan’s death… and the testamony it gave to those who stood there watching and throwing stones?
13 Books of the new testament… and an Apostle to the gentiles, Paul. Paul held the coats of those who were stoning Stephan… his intentions were to go to Rome to get permission to kill Christians… but there was the beautiful angelic face of Stephan and his testamony… pricking at his heart and leading to his conversion.
So, when people get around to wondering how God is glorified by the death of his saints… this is one way.

Luke14:25-28
²⁵ And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

This is a segway into why using the pre-tribulation rapture as a reason to get saved isn’t right. The Lord told us what the cost would be in the verses above. If we aren’t willing to do these things we can’t be his disciples and these things do not guarantee and escape from trials and tribulation.

Christians in America and those started through American evangelism (basically any of them founded with the Scofield’s commentary on the pretribulation rapture) are the only ones in the world that teach the pre-tribulation rapture. You would think if the word actually taught this doctrine, other believers would have come up with the doctrine. This is why I always challenge people to prove to me there is a pre-tribulation rapture using ONLY the word of God (no external commentary or books)… all other doctrines can be taught this way… so this one shouldn’t be any different. Make sure your verses have time placement for the events indicated in the text. What this would look like is a page of scripture that anyone no matter what their spiritual age… could clearly see the time of the rapture as it relates to the tribulation events, and the rapture itself. Meaning it would show clearly when this event takes place in the timeline of events.

As for this statement “Why does it matter we are all going to be saved anyway?” There is coming a great falling away and it’s possible these who fall away are those who were waiting for a rapture and when it doesn’t happen, become disillusioned.
Because Christians who believe this false doctrine of the pretribulation rapture have not been getting ready spiritually to endure and to face the wickness to come, they will be unable to manage. Right now as things are around me… I have to stay in prayer and the word… all of us who are really dialed in are seeing things the pre-tri rapture folks are ignoring. Yes… pre-tribers will say they see it… but they aren’t concerning themselves because they’re thinking they’ll be leaving soon. Matthew 25 talks about the 10 virgins… 5 wise, 5 foolish. Virgins are symbolic of Christians. The 5 wise virgins brought oil because they EXPECTED the darkness… and 5 foolish virgins didn’t bring oil because they expected the bridegroom to come while it was still light.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Matthew 25:7-13
⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I hope if you are reading this you take heed to the warnings here… I write it knowing that I will lose friends over it… people will tell me off … call me evil… etc…but I just don’t want anyone to arrive at the most trying time in all of history with an empty lamp and a heart filled with sorrow, dismay, disappointment and shaken faith.