The Rapture - A Doctrine of Danger
Zechariah, John the Baptist, Stephen, James, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Andrew, Peter and Jesus – all people of important note – and all have what in common? You guessed it – they were all martyred for the crime of being faithful. God could have protected them but did not. Have you ever wondered why?
Who Wants to be Hurt?
Jesus prayed, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Mt 26:39)
I don’t, I doubt any of the Apostles did, Isaiah unsuccessfully hid, Jesus tried to escape. So I don’t blame those who desire safety – those who want to be whisked away from the great tribulation, though understandable, a great big rapture for the saints is not in God’s plan.
Two Tribulations
"pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth" (Rev 16:1)
The daily headlines and scripture constantly remind us of many terrible things to come. But keep in the back of your mind that there are two tribulations ahead of us. One is by man, the beast power (perhaps future Muslim powers) and the other from the Almighty. The scenario is simple –if you are of God then you are a target for the Muslims. And if you are of the devil then then prepare to meet the wrath of God.
Escaping the Wrath of Man
"Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer."(Rev 2:10).
The rapture is a dangerous doctrine because it can lead to false ideas and hopes. Let’s say that the tribulation is happening and you are in it – yet your false teacher said you would be whisked away but somehow that didn’t happen – so maybe you think you should temporarily pretend you’re a Muslim – after all God is supposed to protect - right. Well maybe not always…."But if not [God does not protect], be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods" (Dan 3:18)
Scriptural Facts
"they...searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11)
Matthew Chapter 24 is often quoted in support of the rapture, allegedly because some people are taken – but that’s it – no deep dive – no serious study of what it really says. So what are the facts? Well in Matthew 24 Jesus talks about His return, He talks about how “they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you”. He talks about the great tribulation coming upon mankind and it is within the confines of this great tribulation that some will be taken and some will be left. The disciples listening to Him wanted to know where those ‘taken’ would be took. So He answered them saying it would be like during the time of Noah’s flood when many were taken (swept away - drowned) and just to cement what He was speaking about He said in the parallel chapter of Luke 17, “Wherever the [dead] body is, there the eagles [vultures] will be gathered together”. In other words – you don’t want to be taken because that would mean you would be a dead evil person.
Revelation Chapter 7 tells that some of the elect – God’s chosen people will be in the tribulation. This is because you cannot COME OUT of something that you were not in. For example, you cannot come out of a room that you were never in.
“Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from… So he said to me, “These are the ones who COME OUT of the great tribulation” (Rev 7:13-15)
Speaking of being made white, in Daniel Chapter 11 the Bible teaches that one way in which the elect are made white (perfected), is through death.
“the people who understand … shall fall by sword and flame [be killed]… those of understanding shall fall [die], to refine them, purify them, and make them white” (Dan 11:33-35)
Daniel 11 teaches us that falling equals death, 2 Thessalonians tells us that “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” will not occur until “the falling away comes first” (2 Thess 2:1-3) , which means many of God’s people will be murdered. So this clearly indicates that God’s elect will be killed during the time that the “man of sin” is revealed which is just before the return of Christ. These people are made white through death which makes sense since Revelation 7 says they came “OUT OF” the great tribulation. This means they were IN IT and they were killed IN IT. They came out of it in a new body – a spiritual body which is the only kind of body that a resurrected saint comes in.
After reading this you may begin to understand that one reason that the rapture is dangerous is because escapism may deny you the great opportunity (use proper context) to die for your faith. Though I’m not pushing for this, one could say that this final purification just about guarantees you a place with Christ provided you did not deny Him by also keeping His law as it says in Rev 12:17 & “He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1Jn 2:4.)
The escapism of the Rapture is dangerous because it teaches a type of preservation that tends to rub opposite what Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Mt 16:25)
And Opposite of the World
"the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1Jn 5:19)
If you believe that God’s word is the truth and that Jesus is the truth and the way, then sometimes you can look for people and entities that oppose Him and find truth by reversing their teachings. What do I mean? Muslims hate and oppose Christianity. They approve of lying to advance their cause and for this very fact alone one must always assume that when speaking to a Muslim concerning their cause that they speak lies. In their own Quran and Hadiths we read: “Allah is the best of schemers.[LIARS]” (Qur'an 3:54) or “I may say things just to cheat my enemy” (Bukhari 84:64) or “Allah has already ordained for you [Muslims] the dissolution [breaking] of your oaths.” (Qur'an 66:2)
And what do they teach? Well to "Make war upon such of those to whom … believe not in God, …do battle with them…make it victorious over every other religion…” (Qur'an 9:29-33) because “To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah,- whether he is slain or gets victory - Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value).” (Qur'an 4:74)
This is opposite of the Bible. God show that the slain saints receive a reward, not the demonically backed slayers.
Protection
"I also will keep you from the hour of trial" (Rev 3:10)
Those who use this scripture as proof of the rapture have gone out of their way to take severe liberty by inserting all manner of doctrines into it which it does not say. All it says is, "I also will keep you from the hour of trial". So we need to ask questions like what trial? Is this man’s trial of the great tribulation or is it the wrath of the Almighty? Both are indeed trials, but we shouldn't be so fast to jump to conclusions. Nonetheless let’s say we are talking about keeping you out from the great tribulation of man (even though Revelation 7 shows some of the elect coming out of it). Does it say how you will be protected? No it does not. One way would be if you died before the tribulation. If you were hidden in a secret cave with food then you certainly would not be in it. So why assume a whisking away? Well I think in part because of the scripture which says, "we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." (1 Thess 4:17). But as we will see those who believe in the rapture have somehow pasted these scripture together with some funny glue. For one, the timing is wrong because the previous verse says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven" (1 Thess 4:16). And when does Jesus descend? Matthew says, "after the tribulation of those days [the appearing of the man of sin - the great tribulation previous verses 15 and 20]...Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ...and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."(Mt 24:29-30). The elect can only be on these clouds after the great tribulation which means those on the clouds were IN the great tribulation.
But let’s take a further look at being kept "from the hour of trial". If we back up just 7 verses we read for, "you will not know what HOUR I will come upon you." (Rev 3:3) So this could just as well be the trial – the wrath of God – His hour of trial which is not man’s great tribulation under the beast power. This would make sense. Because if you belong to God then why would He punish you with the worst of His wrath if He considers you His? Why would His anger upon the wicked include His own chosen? The answer is it would not. In Revelation 7, just before the elect come out of the great tribulation, God does something special to protect those who are His which is just prior to His vexation. It reads, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads" (Rev 7:3). This (not a rapture) is their protection.
So the moral of the story is that God has put many to the death test. It will occur again in the future. Revelation says, "the beast should both speak and cause as many…to be killed." (Rev 13:15) and "those who had been slain for the word of God...cried ...How long…until You judge and avenge our blood ...and it was said to them … until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed." (Rev 6:9-12)
