Introduction to Pre-Tribulation/ Pre-Millennial Rapture

Consider This...

Theological Thoughts to Encourage the Heart & Stir the Mind ___________________________________________________

Volume I                  June 2011                  Issue 23

Regarding the subject of eschatology, the doctrinal statement of our Church and national Fellowship (GARBC) reads as follows…

            We believe in the Pre-tribulational rapture of the church, an event that can occur at any moment, and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seven years of the Tribulation.1Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54; Philippians 3:20, 21; Revelation 3:10

            We believe that the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture of the Church, will be culminated by the Pre-millennial return of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of David and to establish His kingdom upon this earth. Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29, 30; Revelation 20:1-4, 6

This month we will consider the events leading up to and corresponding with these two doctrinal positions. This article will introduce our arguments for and defense of the Pre-tribulational / Pre-millennial stand. So keep reading and… Consider This.

As stated earlier, we believe that Christ will come before the seven year tribulation period to catch away His church. This is referred to as the Pre-tribulational rapture.

Why Hold to a Pre-Tribulational Position?

1. The word church, mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation, does not appear again until the final chapter (22:6).

2. The Church as a corporate body is not seen until the marriage of the Lamb to His wife (19:7).

3. The Church has been rewarded in Heaven before Christ actually returns to earth (19:7-16).

4. The phrase “unto the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22) is absent in a similar admonition in 13:9 (The reason for this omission is the fact that the Church is not on earth to receive it).

           

5. Christ is seen in Heaven in Revelation 4-19, whereas earlier He was on earth within the churches.

6. The elders, representing the church (4:4; 5:8-10), are already in Heaven before the great tribulation begins.

7. In the description of Christ’s return to earth after the tribulation, there is no mention of the translation of the living redeemed into His presence (19:11-16). (If the post-tribulational position were correct, then the rapture should have been declared at this point.)

It is clear that the Rapture is indeed pictured and stated in the book of Revelation and that church-age believers will be removed from the judgments of the great Tribulation upon the earth!

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The second position, Pre-millennialism, holds that the second advent of Christ will take place seven years after the coming of Christ in the air. At that time, He came for the believers. When He returns in glory, we, as believers, will return with Him!

Why Hold to a Pre-Millennial Position?

In an article on this topic, Dr. Thomas Ice, Executive Director of The Pre-Trib Research Center at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia presents a biblical basis for Pre-millennialism.

He writes…

            Even though the strongest support for Pre-millennialism is found in the clear statement of Revelation 20:1-7, where six times Christ's kingdom is said to last 1,000 years, the Old Testament and the rest of the New Testament also support a Pre-millennial understanding of God's plan for history. Jeffrey Townsend has given an excellent summary of the biblical evidence for Pre-millennialism in the following material:

Developed from the Old Testament

            "The OT covenants with Abraham and David established unconditional promises of an Israelite kingdom in the ancient land ruled by the ultimate Son of David. The OT prophets, from the earliest to the latest, looked forward to the establishment of this             kingdom. Its principle features will include: regathering of the Jews from the nations to the ancient land, mass spiritual regeneration of the Jewish people, restoration of Jerusalem as the principal city and her Temple as the spiritual center of the world, the reign of David's ultimate Son over the twelve reunited tribes dwelling securely in the land as the pre-eminent nation of the world. Based on OT Scripture, a this-earthly, spiritual-geopolitical fulfillment of these promises is expected.

Developed from the New Testament

            The NT writers do not reinterpret the OT kingdom promises and apply them to the church. Instead the church participates now in the universal, spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants without negating the ultimate fulfillment of the       covenant promises to Israel. The NT authors affirm rather than deny the ancient kingdom hope of Israel. Matthew, Luke, and Paul all teach a future for national Israel. Specifically, Acts 1 with Acts 3 establishes that the restoration of the kingdom to Israel takes place at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Romans 11 confirms that at the time of the second advent, Israel will have all her unconditional covenants fulfilled to her. First Corinthians 15 speaks of an interim kingdom following Christ's return but prior to the eternal kingdom of God during which Christ will rule and vanquish all His enemies. Finally, Revelation 20 gives the chronology of events and length of Christ's kingdom on this earth prior to the eternal state.

            In sum, the case for Pre-millennialism rests on the fact that the OT promises of an earthly kingdom are not denied or redefined but confirmed by the NT. The basis of Pre-millennialism is not the reference to the thousand years in Revelation 20. That is merely a             detail, albeit an important one, in the broad pattern of Scripture. The basis of Pre-millennialism is the covenant-keeping nature of our God, affirmed over and over again in the pages of Scripture. God will do what He has said He will do, for His own glory among the nations. And what He has said He will do is fulfill the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants to a regathered, regenerated, restored nation of Israel at the second coming of Jesus Christ, and for a thousand years thereafter, prior to the eternal kingdom of God."

Conclusion

Pre-millennialism is merely the result of interpreting the whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation, in the most natural way -- literally. Many of the critics admit that if the literal approach is applied consistently to the whole of Scripture, then Pre-millennialism is the natural result. If the Old Testament promises are ever going to be fulfilled literally for Israel as a nation, then they are yet in the future. This is also supportive of Pre-millennialism. Pre-millennialism also provides a satisfactory and victorious end to history in time as man, through Christ, satisfactorily fulfills his creation mandate to rule over the world.