Foundations of Faith
THE END TIMES (III)
Scriptures That Support a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. One of the most frequently used verses in support of a pre-tribulation rapture is found in the letter to the church in Philadelphia:“Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you [out of] the hour of temptation [or testing] that shall come upon all the world, to try those who dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). Temptations and testings are an expected and normal part of every Christian’s life (Acts 20:19; 1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 2:18; 4:15; Jas. 1:2,3). But this verse in Revelation refers to “the hour,” that is, a prescribed period of time rather than an open-ended lifetime of testing. This verse also says that this time of testing “shall come upon all the world.” Even World War II (which many people thought to be the great tribulation) did not come upon all the world. So this verse seems to be referring to the seven-year period of tribulation in the last days. Being kept out of this period of tribulation fits better with a pre-tribulation than a mid- or post-tribulation rapture.
In Revelation 4 and 5 we find two word pictures of heaven. Seated around the heavenly throne are 24 elders with “crowns of gold” on their heads (Rev. 4:4). These elders (1) “cast their crowns before the throne” (4:10); (2) worship the Lord as the Creator of all things (4:11); (3) sing to the Lamb who had redeemed them by His blood (5:9); (4) fall down and worship the Lamb (5:14; 11:16; 19:4); and (5) ask about those “who came out of great tribulation” (7:13,14). The crowns in 4:4 and 4:11 are not the kingly crowns (or diadems) worn by the dragon (12:3), the beast (13:1), and the Lord when coming as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (19:12,16). Rather they correspond to the crowns of life, righteousness, and glory (1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10; 3:11) given by God to His people in recognition of their faithfulness to the Lord.
What does this have to do with the timing of the rapture? Just this:When Isaiah and Ezekiel received visions of heaven, there was no mention of 24 elders. When the apostle John had a vision of the Son of Man in Revelation 1, there was no mention of 24 elders. But after reading the letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2 and 3) and before reading about the series of judgments to be sent by the Lord upon the earth during the tribulation period (Rev. 6-18), we begin reading about 24 elders gathered around the Lamb singing songs of redemption. Who else could these elders be but the redeemed saints, no doubt including those saved in Old Testament times as well as those of the New Testament Church? The entire picture provides a very strong inference that these saints were raptured prior to the seven-year period of tribulation. In agreement with this picture, there is no mention of the Church on earth in Rev. 6-18 concerning the tribulation period.
Let us now examine an Old Testament passage that gives strong evidence of a pre-tribulation rapture:“Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city. … From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and 62 weeks:the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after 62 weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself:and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 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 over-spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan. 9:24-27).
This is a prophecy concerning Jerusalem, “your holy city.” It concerns a period of 70 weeks, or literally 70 periods seven units long. Usually in Scripture these are periods of seven days or one week, but in Daniel’s prophecy it fits best to make these periods of seven years. So the prophecy has to do with 70×7=490 years. The 490 years are divided into periods of 7×7=49 years, 62×7= 434 years, and 1×7=7 years. The period of 490 years begins with “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Neh. 2:8). After 49 years, “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” This corresponds to the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 3-4).
After another 434 years, the Messiah–the Lord Jesus Christ–shall be “cut off” or rejected by His people. After this, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,” referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70.
A Bible scholar, Sir Robert Anderson, performed detailed calculations of the 69 weeks and determined that the 69 weeks (or 483 years) ended on the very day of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, five days before His death (Luke 19:28-40). (See Assignment 7)
This leaves one final week of seven years. The coming prince “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.” In Matt. 24:15-21 this prophecy is linked with “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be”; this final week has not yet happened.
We shall see in the next issue that the end of the great tribulation will usher in a brand new beginning for the nation of Israel, with the Messiah coming to reign over the Earth.
Why is there a gap of nearly 2,000 years or perhaps more between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy? Because this defines the period of the Church as God’s chosen people (Eph. 1:4). Israel as a nation is, for a time, set aside in God’s purposes while the gospel of salvation is going out to Gentiles and Jews alike throughout the entire world. The fact that the 70th week marks a return to God’s dealings with the nation of Israel strongly suggests that the intervening Church period has come to a close. This would signify a pre-tribulation rapture.
Running the Race
Assignment 7: Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is often spoken of as a “triumphal entry.’ Write out a verse in Matthew 21 that shows it was triumphal and another verse or two that reveal rejection by His people.