"PRE-TRIB. OR PRE-WRATH?" Study Seven
Matt. 24:1-51
"LO! IS THAT A TRUMPET I HEAR?
The blowing of the seventh trumpet in the book of the Revelation and the second
coming of Christ and the resurrection of the saved are all so closely related that I
personally can’t understand how a person can read the Bible without seeing their
connection and interrelationship.
What happens when the Seventh Angel with the Seventh trumpet sounds? Well, we
are told in Revelation 10:7 that the mystery of God will be finished. The word "finished"
as used here is the same word our Lord used on the cross when he cried, "It is finished".
It means to bring something to it’s absolute consummation.
In Revelation 11:15-18, the Word of God gives us the exact chain of events that takes
place at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. (Remember that Revelation 10:7 says that
the mystery is completed when the trumpet begins to sound: thus, indicating that there
will be other events following the completion of the mystery of God.)
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, we give thee thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come; and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shoudest give reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great: and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Rev.ll:15-18)
What are the events that will take place at the blowing of the seventh trumpet?
(1) The kingdom (should be in the singular) of this world has become the
kingdom (should be in the singular) of our Lord and of his Christ.
(2) The Wrath of God comes.
(3) The time of judging the dead.
(4) The time for rewarding:
(a) the prophets
(b) the saints
(c) them that fear God’s name.
(5) God will destroy them that destroyed the earth.
Let it be noted that in a previous section of this book I took the position that I was
not a "Pre-Tribber" but a "Pre-Wrather". The rapture of the church will take place
before the wrath of God. For those who say that they can’t believe that God would pour
His wrath out on his church (His beloved bride); it is true that He won’t. But the Wrath
of God does not come until the blowing of the seventh trumpet. This is not my idea, this
is the clear teaching of Scripture.
Now I want to clearly admit that I believe that I Thessalonians 5:13-18 is a mammoth
passage of Scripture concerning the prophecy and teaching of the rapture or the
resurrection of the saved. It is probably the single most important prophecy on the page
of Scripture concerning this subject. If a person will analyze that passage of Scripture you will find that there is no place in that passage that tells us "When" the Lord is coming. There is not a "time" word used. Please note what this passage does say:
1. We are told that the Lord, himself shall descend from heaven. V-16
2. We are told He will come with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. V-16
3. We are told it will be with the sound of a trumpet (not "The trumpet" no
Greek manuscript has the definite article with the word trumpet) V-16
4. The dead in Christ will rise first. V-16
5. Those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
6. We are to comfort one another with these words.
Did you see any place in this passage where there was a time mentioned? I didn’t. Therefore, there must be someplace else in God’s Word where this event is spoken of and we are told when it will happen.
In Matthew 24:29-31, (at lease in this writer’s understanding) we have an exact
parallel to I Thessalonians 4:13-18, "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: 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. 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 the heaven to the other."
Now what do we have in this passage? We have Jesus coming in the air. We have
an angel with the sound of a trumpet gathering the saved together to meet the Lord in the
air. Please tell me where I have violated the rules of interpretation by saying that this is
exactly the same scene in First Thessalonians the forth chapter? If Matthew 24:20-31 is
not the same incident that First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is describing, then where is the
time of First Thessalonians chapter four explained? Here again, there is not one verse of
Scripture that teaches a Pre-tribulation rapture.
NOW WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST RESURRECTION?
The resurrection of the dead is taught in the Word of God. This is stated without any
hope of being contradicted. It should also be noted that the resurrection of the saved, the
rapture of the saints, and the second coming of Jesus are so closely related that they are
inseparable. Passages such as First Corinthians 15; First Thessalonians 4: Second
Thessalonians 1&2; John 14; Revelation 19&20; in the Old Testament such passages as
Daniel 12; Isaiah 26 and many more, makes it impossible to say, "The Bible does not
teach a resurrection." A person may say, "I do not believe in the resurrection from the
dead", but no honest person can say, "The Bible does not teach a resurrection from the
dead "
In fact, it is plain from some of the above mentioned text that there are at least two resurrections: (1) the resurrection of the just, that will issue in life, and (2) the
resurrection of those who are evil, that will result in judgment and the second death. It is the resurrection of the just to which we are particularly interested. It is not those who have died in their sins but those who have died "in Christ" who will be raised and caught up with living believers when the trumpet sounds.
The Bible teaches that there is an order to the resurrection. Again, in 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18, we are told that the dead in Christ will rise first. According to the teaching of
Scripture the "Dead not in Christ" will not be resurrected until 1,000 years later. The
dead in Christ will be resurrected at His coming. It is according to this preacher’s
understanding that the first resurrection will only take place at one time. In a moment
and in the twinkling of an eye as the Bible puts it. I don’t see a season of resurrections; a
split rapture.
When will the first resurrection take place? The Bible give us the specific answer to
that question. In Revelation 20:4-6, we read: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand year! But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priest of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4-6)
This is the only place in the entire Bible that the phrase "The first resurrection is
found. Where is the first resurrection placed in the Bible chronologically? It is placed at
the end of the Tribulation. I have heard more than one preacher say of Revelation 20:4-6, "Now, this is the second part of the first resurrection." That may sound good but
I would like to see on the page of Scripture where the Bible teaches that there is a "first
part" of the first resurrection or a "second part" of the first resurrection. Does all this
sound confusing? I think when you try to prove a point that is foreign to Scripture, the
more you take it the more absurd it becomes. Hear again, (without trying to sound
ugly), the Bible is clear that the first resurrection is at the close of the tribulation. It is
speculation to suggest that there is a first and second part of the first resurrection.
However, if the first resurrection comes in parts, the burden of proof is on the one
claiming such a teaching. The Bible well documents where the first resurrection takes
place.
Now I have a question to ask. Is the resurrection that is taught in 1 Corinthians
15:51-57 the first resurrection? I don’t know any fundamental Bible believer that does
not believe this to be the first resurrection. When will it take place? Well, the Apostle
Paul said that this resurrection will take place AT THE LAST TRUMP. I didn’t say that, that is what Paul said.
Now I know that someone will say, "that didn’t say that it was the seventh trumpet of the Revelation (see Rev. 11:15). That is true but it does say that it will be the last trump. If you read the book of Revelation, you will never find another trumpet sounding after the seventh trumpet sounds. When a person puts this truth with the fact that "the mystery of God (the church) will be completed as the seventh trumpet begins to sound (Rev. 10:7); and we see Jesus coming and setting up His kingdom when the seventh trumpet sounds (Rev.11:15-18); and we are told that there will be a trumpet sound at the return of the Lord in First Thessalonians 4:13-18; and, Jesus told the church there would be a sound of a trumpet at his coming in Matthew 24:31 (and He says this will be "after the tribulation"); it seems like more than a coincidence that this is the same trumpet.
If this is not the trumpet of which Paul was speaking in I Corinthians 15, show me
where the Bible teaches of another?
"COMING AS A THIEF?"
You have heard the analogy used of the "Thief Coming" of Jesus. It goes something
like this. While the world is asleep in sin and not watching, the blessed Son of God will
sneak in like a thief in the night and catch away his faithful bride to take back to heaven
with him. It is kind of like a romantic elopement where the bridegroom comes with his
ladder and gently tap at his lover window so as not to wake the rest of the house and they
climb down the ladder and speed away in the night to a Justice of the Peace where a marriage is consummated.
Sounds like a fairy tale doesn’t it? My friend, it is not any more a fairy tale than to teach that Jesus is coming in this manner after his church. It is true that the Bible teaches that Jesus will come as a thief in the night. However, as a child of God, I most certainly don’t want Him to come to me as a thief in the night. In fact, every warning of the Bible teaches that we should guard against being caught by Jesus as a thief in the night.
What does the Bible teach about the "Thief Coming"?
The first mention of the "Thief coming" is in Matthew 24:42-44, "Watch therefore:
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of
the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and
would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in
such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. "
If a person will only read this section of Scripture in context, there is no possible way to make this "thief coming" prior to the tribulation. For example in Matthew 24:29 it says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days": Clearly not a pre-tribulation event.
The entire admonition here is not that Jesus will sneak in and catch away his bride
unaware to the rest of the world but rather that His church should stay faithful so they will not be caught as someone who is taken unaware by a thief.
Again in Luke 12:39,40, ’’And this know, that if the good man of the house had known
what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house
to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour
when ye think not."
This is an admonition not to be caught in the thief coming. It is the unfaithful, not
the faithful servant who is caught in the "thief coming". However, the most convincing passage about the "thief coming" is in I Thessalonians 5:1-11. Actually this teaching goes from 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 through 5:11 (Please read these verses very carefully).
Now, we are told in 5:2 that the Lord will indeed come as a thief in the night. However, in 5:3 we are told that it will be a time of sudden destruction upon those who are caught unaware in this coming. Then, in 5:4 the Apostle Paul says, "But you,. brethren are not in darkness. that day should overtake you as a thief. " So my friend, I am most definitely not wanting to be caught in the thief coming of the Lord. This is not a picture of Jesus catching away his church but it is a picture of Jesus coming to a wicked world not prepared for his coming and to Christians who have not been faithful or have not prepared for his coming.
In conclusion. let me say that I have prayed that I would not come over as a "know-it-all". I have tried not to be arrogant or over bearing. I have tried to get the reader to think about "Thus sayeth the Word of God" for nothing else really matters. It doesn’t matter what I believe or what you believe or what the majority of people believe, it
only matters that we are true to the teaching of God’s Word. Let me once again quote a
very wise man who said, "Truth is not determined by how many people believe it."
I believe what I believe because I am convinced that it is indeed the teaching of God’s
Holy Word. I can be wrong and have been so many times but judge me wrong using as
the standard of measurement the Word of God.
If you have read all the sections on this study, I would say that you are far above the average student of the Word of God. Most people will read until they see something with which that don’t agree and shut it down. I assume that you have at least considered the
possibility that the church might go into the tribulation. If there is only the slightest
chance that the church will go into the terrible time of trouble, then we need to take very
seriously the responsibility that we have in preaching and teaching the people of God. If
you tell someone that they don’t have a thing to worry about; that no one who is saved
today will enter into this time of great trouble and then they do, will they be prepared?
Will a person be an easy mark for the Antichrist who has been taught that he or she can
not be here while that Devil controlled system is set up.
We are living in those days. We need to be sure. God’s people are depending on us to
preach the truth.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU IN YOUR QUEST TO SEEK THE TRUTH OF HIS WORD.
Note: I would welcome any thoughts the readers have on this subject. I will promise that I will read them carefully and prayerfully.
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CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: Larry Jacobs
email: LarryJ713@aol.com
Web Site: cbcbedford.com
