In Part 1, we explained how the pretribulational rapture emphasis on imminence– that Jesus can come at any moment – sets up the Church to be caught off guard and spiritually ambushed by the Antichrist. The pretribulational teaching that the Church can be raptured at any moment is a false hope. In truth, the Scriptures clearly teach the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation will precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. There will be one generation of believers who will enter Daniel’s 70th Week and encounter the Antichrist.
We also discussed how this is not some recent interpretation, but is the very position held by the Church fathers dating back almost 2,000 years.
In Part 2 of this study, we will look at the clear teaching of the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus himself.
We also discussed how this is not some recent interpretation, but is the very position held by the Church fathers dating back almost 2,000 years.
In Part 2 of this study, we will look at the clear teaching of the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus himself.
The Teaching of the Apostle Paul
During his second missionary journey the apostle Paul established a church in Thessalonica. He was in the city for only a short period of time and then had to leave because of persecution. While there, he taught that Jesus is coming again and believers will experience the blessed hope. However, shortly after Paul left, some of the believers died and their loved ones thought they had missed out on the blessed hope. As a consequence, they were sorrowing like the unsaved who have no hope (the blessed hope).
Because they were thinking wrongly about the status of their deceased loved ones, Paul had to correct their view on this crucial issue. He wrote: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [have died], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Whenever Paul wrote, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,” those to whom he was writing were “ignorant.” That is, they were thinking wrongly about the subject under discussion.
Paul wrote to the church at Rome: “Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you” (Romans 1:13). They were thinking wrongly regarding why Paul had not yet visited Rome, and he had to correct their thinking.
Again he wrote to Rome: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). They were thinking wrongly concerning the blindness of Israel, and he had to correct their thinking. Israel’s blindness is “in part,” and it has a specific termination point.
The Thessalonians were thinking wrongly concerning the dead in Christ, and Paul had to correct them. He taught that at Christ’s coming the dead in Christ would be resurrected and then living believers would be raptured (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Those loved ones who had died in Christ had not missed out on the blessed hope. They were to comfort one another with that truth (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
The apostle continued his discussion of the second coming by writing: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (1 Thessalonians 5:1). He informs that concerning the “times and seasons” (the chronology of the great epic events of history and specifically the future Day of the Lord) there is no need that he write to them. He then cites the reason he does not have to write to them: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
The deliberate contrast by Paul is striking. They were “ignorant” concerning the status of the dead in Christ, so he had to write and correct them. Conversely, they “knew perfectly” that the Day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night, so there was no need that he write to them concerning the issue.
Pretribulation rapturists have picked up on the statement, “as a thief in the night” and have said: “See, the Lord’s coming is signless, any-moment, like ‘a thief in the night.’” Imminence – a signless “thief-in-the-night” coming – is at the very heart of pretribulation rapturism.
It saturates their writing. But is it what the apostle Paul teaches?
He continues: “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” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The pro-nouns here, “they,” “them,” and “they,” are most important. In each case they are referring to the unsaved. Paul wrote, “For when they [the unsaved] shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them [the unsaved], as travail upon a woman with child; and they [the unsaved] shall not escape.” With dramatic contrast, Paul continues: “But ye, brethren [believers], are not in darkness that that day [the Day of the Lord] should overtake you [believers] as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
Paul then explains why the Day of the Lord will not overtake believers as “a thief in the night.” “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6). Believers are “day” people. Morally and spiritually we are “children of light.” We are not of the night, nor of darkness. And the Day of the Lord is night and darkness (Amos 5:18-20).
Paul admonishes believers to stay awake, watch, and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Nothing could be more futile than to watch for something that is any-moment and signless and which will occur “as a thief in the night.”
For the unsaved, the Lord’s coming will be as a thief in the night. For the believers, His coming will not be as a thief in the night, precisely because clear and specific events will precede His coming.
During his second missionary journey the apostle Paul established a church in Thessalonica. He was in the city for only a short period of time and then had to leave because of persecution. While there, he taught that Jesus is coming again and believers will experience the blessed hope. However, shortly after Paul left, some of the believers died and their loved ones thought they had missed out on the blessed hope. As a consequence, they were sorrowing like the unsaved who have no hope (the blessed hope).
Because they were thinking wrongly about the status of their deceased loved ones, Paul had to correct their view on this crucial issue. He wrote: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [have died], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Whenever Paul wrote, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,” those to whom he was writing were “ignorant.” That is, they were thinking wrongly about the subject under discussion.
Paul wrote to the church at Rome: “Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you” (Romans 1:13). They were thinking wrongly regarding why Paul had not yet visited Rome, and he had to correct their thinking.
Again he wrote to Rome: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). They were thinking wrongly concerning the blindness of Israel, and he had to correct their thinking. Israel’s blindness is “in part,” and it has a specific termination point.
The Thessalonians were thinking wrongly concerning the dead in Christ, and Paul had to correct them. He taught that at Christ’s coming the dead in Christ would be resurrected and then living believers would be raptured (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Those loved ones who had died in Christ had not missed out on the blessed hope. They were to comfort one another with that truth (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
The apostle continued his discussion of the second coming by writing: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (1 Thessalonians 5:1). He informs that concerning the “times and seasons” (the chronology of the great epic events of history and specifically the future Day of the Lord) there is no need that he write to them. He then cites the reason he does not have to write to them: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
The deliberate contrast by Paul is striking. They were “ignorant” concerning the status of the dead in Christ, so he had to write and correct them. Conversely, they “knew perfectly” that the Day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night, so there was no need that he write to them concerning the issue.
Pretribulation rapturists have picked up on the statement, “as a thief in the night” and have said: “See, the Lord’s coming is signless, any-moment, like ‘a thief in the night.’” Imminence – a signless “thief-in-the-night” coming – is at the very heart of pretribulation rapturism.
It saturates their writing. But is it what the apostle Paul teaches?
He continues: “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” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The pro-nouns here, “they,” “them,” and “they,” are most important. In each case they are referring to the unsaved. Paul wrote, “For when they [the unsaved] shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them [the unsaved], as travail upon a woman with child; and they [the unsaved] shall not escape.” With dramatic contrast, Paul continues: “But ye, brethren [believers], are not in darkness that that day [the Day of the Lord] should overtake you [believers] as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
Paul then explains why the Day of the Lord will not overtake believers as “a thief in the night.” “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6). Believers are “day” people. Morally and spiritually we are “children of light.” We are not of the night, nor of darkness. And the Day of the Lord is night and darkness (Amos 5:18-20).
Paul admonishes believers to stay awake, watch, and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Nothing could be more futile than to watch for something that is any-moment and signless and which will occur “as a thief in the night.”
For the unsaved, the Lord’s coming will be as a thief in the night. For the believers, His coming will not be as a thief in the night, precisely because clear and specific events will precede His coming.
The Teaching of the Lord Jesus
The prophetic teaching of the Lord Jesus in the Olivet Discourse was in response to the disciples’ inquiry. They asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?” (Matthew 24:3). In verses 4-31, Jesus fully answers their questions. Then, master teacher that He is, He instructs His disciples on two crucial truths related to His coming. The first is taught by parable with the use of a fig tree. The second is taught by use of the Noahic flood:
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Matthew 24:32-36).
In the first century, the fig tree was both cultivated and grew wild in the Holy Land. It was a familiar sight on the landscape. When its branches became tender and put forth its leaves, all knew summer was getting close.
The fig tree was a sign of approximation. It indicated summer was getting close, but did not reveal the “day or hour” of the coming of summer.
Using certain attributes of the fig tree, the Lord taught a spiritual principle: “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [My coming] is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). The “things” to which the Lord is referring are the events associated with the
“abomination of desolation” described in the immediate preceding context (Matthew 24:15-31).
When certain things happened to the fig tree, men knew summer was getting close. When the events of the Great Tribulation (which surround the activities of the Antichrist) begin to come to pass, the generation then living will know the Lord’s return is getting close. The events, when they occur, like the fig tree, will be a sign of approximation. Believers, by the fulfillment of certain prophecies, will know that the Lord is coming very soon.
And then the Lord Jesus used the events surrounding the Noahic flood to teach a second important truth:
But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:37-39).
In the day immediately preceding the Noahic flood men were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. There was nothing sinful in these activities.
They are the most normal and natural of activities. The problem, however, was that Noah, a preacher of righteousness, warned that judgment was coming – that men should get into the ark. Instead of heeding his message, they continued along their way, eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. The point is, they were oblivious to impending, divine judgment until it overtook them. In the words of the Lord, “[They] knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” They were caught off guard and unprepared for the flood. And then the Lord makes the application, “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:39).
Don’t Be Caught Off Guard
In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus taught that prophetic events will indicate to His disciples that His coming is very near. The specific indicators will be the emergence of the Antichrist and the “abomination of desolation” at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week. The Lord’s coming for the Church will not be signless or as a thief in the night.
In the account of the Noahic flood, Jesus taught that just as the flood caught the unbelieving world totally by surprise, so, too, the unbelieving world will be caught by surprise at His second coming. For the unsaved, the Lord’s coming will be as a thief in the night.
The teaching of the Church fathers for 300 years, the apostle Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5, and the Lord’s teaching in the Olivet Discourse all converge at the same point with a sense of warning.
For the unsaved, the Son of God will come as a thief in the night. For the believer who is not of the night, events associated with the Antichrist will indicate the Lord’s soon coming.
The acute danger of pretribulationalism is that it teaches the Church won’t be here when the indicators of the Lord’s Second Coming occur. As a consequence, those who believe in Pretribulation Rapture will be caught off guard when the Antichrist soon steps onto the stage of history.
I have not written to discredit others. I have not written to win theological debates. I have not written because I have a penchant to be different. I have written out of love for the Lord and His Church.
There are many things I am not dogmatic about concerning end-time events, and when I’ve touched on those matters, I’ve offered my best opinion. But this I strongly believe in the deepest recesses of my soul: One generation of believers will be on the earth to encounter the Antichrist and to experience the shortened Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22) before they are delivered by rapture.You could be that generation. If the Church understands this fact, she will not be blindsided and caught off guard. If she doesn’t understand this fact, it will be as I have written elsewhere – a spiritual Pearl Harbor. I have labored, as the Lord permitted me, to warn those who choose to listen.
The prophetic teaching of the Lord Jesus in the Olivet Discourse was in response to the disciples’ inquiry. They asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?” (Matthew 24:3). In verses 4-31, Jesus fully answers their questions. Then, master teacher that He is, He instructs His disciples on two crucial truths related to His coming. The first is taught by parable with the use of a fig tree. The second is taught by use of the Noahic flood:
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Matthew 24:32-36).
In the first century, the fig tree was both cultivated and grew wild in the Holy Land. It was a familiar sight on the landscape. When its branches became tender and put forth its leaves, all knew summer was getting close.
The fig tree was a sign of approximation. It indicated summer was getting close, but did not reveal the “day or hour” of the coming of summer.
Using certain attributes of the fig tree, the Lord taught a spiritual principle: “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [My coming] is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). The “things” to which the Lord is referring are the events associated with the
“abomination of desolation” described in the immediate preceding context (Matthew 24:15-31).
When certain things happened to the fig tree, men knew summer was getting close. When the events of the Great Tribulation (which surround the activities of the Antichrist) begin to come to pass, the generation then living will know the Lord’s return is getting close. The events, when they occur, like the fig tree, will be a sign of approximation. Believers, by the fulfillment of certain prophecies, will know that the Lord is coming very soon.
And then the Lord Jesus used the events surrounding the Noahic flood to teach a second important truth:
But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:37-39).
In the day immediately preceding the Noahic flood men were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. There was nothing sinful in these activities.
They are the most normal and natural of activities. The problem, however, was that Noah, a preacher of righteousness, warned that judgment was coming – that men should get into the ark. Instead of heeding his message, they continued along their way, eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. The point is, they were oblivious to impending, divine judgment until it overtook them. In the words of the Lord, “[They] knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” They were caught off guard and unprepared for the flood. And then the Lord makes the application, “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:39).
Don’t Be Caught Off Guard
In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus taught that prophetic events will indicate to His disciples that His coming is very near. The specific indicators will be the emergence of the Antichrist and the “abomination of desolation” at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week. The Lord’s coming for the Church will not be signless or as a thief in the night.
In the account of the Noahic flood, Jesus taught that just as the flood caught the unbelieving world totally by surprise, so, too, the unbelieving world will be caught by surprise at His second coming. For the unsaved, the Lord’s coming will be as a thief in the night.
The teaching of the Church fathers for 300 years, the apostle Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5, and the Lord’s teaching in the Olivet Discourse all converge at the same point with a sense of warning.
For the unsaved, the Son of God will come as a thief in the night. For the believer who is not of the night, events associated with the Antichrist will indicate the Lord’s soon coming.
The acute danger of pretribulationalism is that it teaches the Church won’t be here when the indicators of the Lord’s Second Coming occur. As a consequence, those who believe in Pretribulation Rapture will be caught off guard when the Antichrist soon steps onto the stage of history.
I have not written to discredit others. I have not written to win theological debates. I have not written because I have a penchant to be different. I have written out of love for the Lord and His Church.
There are many things I am not dogmatic about concerning end-time events, and when I’ve touched on those matters, I’ve offered my best opinion. But this I strongly believe in the deepest recesses of my soul: One generation of believers will be on the earth to encounter the Antichrist and to experience the shortened Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22) before they are delivered by rapture.You could be that generation. If the Church understands this fact, she will not be blindsided and caught off guard. If she doesn’t understand this fact, it will be as I have written elsewhere – a spiritual Pearl Harbor. I have labored, as the Lord permitted me, to warn those who choose to listen.
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