"PRE-TRIB. OR PRE-WRATH?"
Section Two
Matt. 24:1-51
O.K. LET’S TALK A LITTLE GRAMMAR!
Let me pause and make a point which will help us to understand the 24th chapter of
Matthew. This may not be a great time for a grammar lesson but there is a grammar rule
that needs to be discussed before we study Matthew 24. It has to do with "pronouns". I
would like to discuss the "antecedent" to pronouns. You say, "That doesn’t sound like one
of the more interesting subjects to discuss". You are right but in the quest for truth it is
important to consider many different concepts.
In the "Plain English Handbook". page 22, under "PRONOUNS", there is this rule
given regarding "antecedents to pronouns" and I quote, "The antecedents of a pronoun is the word for which the pronoun stands". It then gives this example - "Mary brought a
book". It is her book. "Mary" is the antecedent of the pronoun "her" So, an antecedent is
the word that goes before the pronoun that tells you who or what it is. In fact, the
Webster’s Dictionary gives the etymology of the word "Antecedent" as meaning "going
before". The Plain English Handbook goes on to say, "An antecedent of a pronoun agrees
with its substantive in gender, person, and number (same page)." Before someone says,
"Ah yes! but the New Testament was written in Greek not English." The same rule applies to Greek grammar and is even more ridged (See Beginner’s Grammar of the Greek New Testament by Davis, page 67.)
Now, I know that someone is asking, "What does all this have to do with Matthew Chapter 24?" In Matthew 24, Jesus has come to the end of His earthly ministry. He is with His disciples in the city of Jerusalem. They have just come to the area of the temple and Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives. The disciples come to Him privately (24:3). Jesus tells them that the temple (at which they are looking) shall be destroyed and there shall not one stone be left upon another (24:2).
It is this preacher’s understanding that those disciples formed the first New Testament church which was personally called out and organized by the Lord Jesus. It was to this same group He gave the Lord’s Supper. It was to this same group He gave the great commission. So this group of disciples were the first century church to whom the promise was given, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of this age. (Matt. 24:20)."
Now, let’s look again at Matthew 24. "As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things
be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age?
Now, this is the question for which we have been waiting, or, should I say, it’s the answer
to the question that we desire.
Jesus takes the entire 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew to answer these questions.
I have searched these chapters very carefully and I can find nothing that even hints at a
pre-tribulation rapture. I do find where Jesus said that the rapture will take place after the
tribulation (24:29-31). I must say, if there is a pre-tribulation rapture I believe that Jesus should have at least mentioned it after the disciples had so directly asked Him the question.
Please notice what Jesus did say, ’’And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take
heed that no man deceive YOU" (V-4). Please tell me what the antecedent of the pronoun, "YOU" (the one capitalized in the Scripture just quoted)? I understand it to be the disciples or the church. If the church is not going to be here why should Jesus worry about them being deceived? In verse 6, what is the antecedent to the word "YE"? Why should Jesus worry about them being troubled if they are not going to be here? In verse 9, what is the antecedent to the word "YOU"? Why should our Lord warn them about being
delivered up to be afflicted and killed and hated if they are not going to be here? In verse
15, what is the antecedent to the word "YE"? This is the middle of the tribulation. Why
should the church be warned about the abomination of desolation if they will be gone? In
verse 23, what is the antecedent to the word "YOU"? In verse 25, what is the antecedent
to the word "YOU"? It does seem strange to me that Jesus is telling the church "when YE shall see all these thing, know that it is near, even at the door" (v-33). If the church is not going to be there, why is He warning them to watch for these signs? Now, if you are going to say that this is the nation of Israel, please show me where Jesus ever changed the
antecedent to the pronoun, and if you want to just throw out grammar rules, tell me by
what standard shall we judge the language? Let me say again, a doctrine as important as
the pre-tribulation rapture of the saints should have been taught at this point. The disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age?" Why didn’t our Lord say a word about a pre-tribulation rapture?
Jesus did say that there would be a rapture after the tribulation (V-29-31). Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Well, at lease we must agree (since we have come to the Bible with an open mind and have no preconceived ideas about His second coming) that at least to this point, we only know that there will be one at the end of the tribulation.
Now what about the other three Gospels? Maybe Jesus told of a pre-tribulation
rapture in one of them? Could it be in Mark’s gospel? Read all the way through and a
person will find not one word that speaks of a pre-tribulation rapture. Mark chapter 13 tell of the same incident that Matthew 24 does and here again we are told that the coming of Christ will be after the tribulation (Mark 13:24-27). Okay, how about Luke’s gospel?
Read all the way through, verse by verse, and show me one verse that teaches a
pre-tribulation rapture. There just isn’t any. However, in Luke 21, we are given the same
account of Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and again, we are told the coming of our Lord will be after the days of the tribulation (Luke 21:25-28). A person would have to get the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture from some place other than the four Gospels.
Obviously, this little study can’t go through each book of the Bible page by page,
but I would like to issue a challenge again at this point- Please find the passage that teaches that the church will be taken out of the world before the Tribulation. I am not
trying to be sarcastic but I honestly can’t find one verse of Scripture that teaches this
doctrine.
Before we leave Matthew 24, let us use the same grammar rule on another passage
found here. In Matthew 24:36-41, we have a flashing red light, a warning signal, a
piercing siren in the black night of sin warning of impending danger. We are told to watch for these signs of the "days of Noah". It says, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (24:37)."
(DON’T MISS THE PRONOUNS!) ’’For as in the days that were before the flood THEY
were eating and drinking, . . . etc."
Now let us examine the pronoun "THEY" just used in verse-38. Was the pronoun
"THEY" used in that verse speaking of the righteous or the wicked? I must draw the
conclusion that the pronoun is speaking of the wicked, not Noah and his group. In fact
Noah is referred to in the latter part of verse-38, and he is not included with the group
referred to as "THEY". Look at verse-39; "and knew not until the flood came, and took "THEM" all away, . . . (24:39).
Who was taken away in this verse? Was it the ones inside the ark or outside the ark
that the flood took away? It was the wicked not the righteous that was taken away in the
flood. The next verse (24:40 says, "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,
and the other left." Who is taken and who is left? Don’t change horses in the middle of
the stream. It is the wicked that is taken away not the righteous. In fact, you will see that
this harmonized with Matthew 13:36-43. There is no pre-tribulation rapture here. To
make this the rapture of the church is to violate grammar, truth of context, and simple
Bible rules of interpretation.
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CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: Larry Jacobs
email: LarryJ713@aol.com
Web Site: cbcbedford.com
