The Pre-Wrath Rapture: Objections to the Concept
By Dr. David R. Reagan
Are there any objections to the Pre-Wrath Rapture concept?
I have a number of objections to the Pre-Wrath Rapture concept of the Rapture's timing.
1) The Name — I object to the name given the viewpoint by its proponents. The name is both confusing and vague. It is confusing because both the Pre-Trib and Mid-Trib views are "Pre- Wrath." The Pre-Trib view argues that the entire 7 years of the Tribulation (Daniel's 70th Week of Years) constitutes a pouring out of the wrath of God. The Mid-Trib view takes the position that only the second half of the Tribulation is the period of God's wrath. So, Rosenthal's name for his viewpoint does not distinguish it from the Pre-Trib and Mid-Trib views. All three are prewrath views.
The "Pre-Wrath" name is also vague because it does not give a clue as to when the Rapture occurs in relation to the Tribulation. The name of the Pre-Trib view signifies a belief that the Rapture will occur before (pre) the Tribulation begins. The name of the Mid-Trib view clearly indicates a belief that the Rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation. The name of the Post-Trib view puts the Rapture after (post) the Tribulation. But the name, "Pre-Wrath" gives no indication of when the Rapture will occur with relation to the Tribulation.
For that reason, I have decided to call the "Pre-Wrath" view the Three-Quarters Tribulation Rapture viewpoint. And I will be abbreviating it throughout the rest of this article as the "3/4 Trib Rapture." I have given it that name because its proponents believe the Rapture will occur about three-quarters of the way through the Tribulation, or shortly thereafter.
My Comment on section 1) While I didn't coin the term I also can see why the use of it even though technically the pre-trib and mid-trig could be considered PreWrath. Given though the main thrust of the Rapture timing position I feel that it is a very accurate portrayal in that the teaching is that the Rapture occurs immediately before God's Wrath is released upon Earth. Contrary to the author's assertion I think calling it 3/4 Trib is far more confusing and is more defining a time point whereas the PreWrath experts and advocates don't focus on calculating a time although certain guesses or suggestions can be made once the 7 year agreement is signed between Antichrist and Israel. That is using Scripture itself and times given by the Scriptures to form estimates.
2) The Chronology — I object to the 3/4 Trib Rapture because it violates the chronology of the book of Revelation. The sequence of events that is pictured in the book of Revelation clearly places both the Seal Judgments and the Trumpet Judgments in the first half of the 70th Week of Daniel. And the Bowl Judgments are clearly contained within Daniel's 70th Week, near its end. The 3/4 Trib view scrambles all this.
As you can see in the diagram above, the Seal Judgments are continued over into the second half of the 7 year period, the Trumpet Judgments are moved from the first half to the end of the second half, and the Bowl Judgments are appended to a 30 day period after the close of Daniel's 70th Week!
It is not surprising that Mr. Reagan believes as he does for he has already, like Bill, become rigid in his position and thus defines others based upon not Scripture but upon his own understanding or that's the way I see it. As for the Chronology of the Book of Revelation the Pre-Wrath Rapture proponents take scripture literally where it should be taken literally and in sequential order. Nothing in the PreWrath positions statements contradict the timing as laid out in Revelation. As the Seals unfold a timeline is laid out and described. Not until the 7th Seal does the Wrath of God get revealed. The first Six seals clearly are parallel to Matthew 24:4-31 and also are in sequence, perfect sequence even as described in Daniel.
3) Imminence — One of my strongest objections to the 3/4 Trib view is its destruction of the imminence of the Lord's return. The Bible emphasizes that the Lord could return at any moment and that we should live looking for His return (
I have put the verses listed for this argument in list order so that I can comment to each. With reference to imminence, which I do not believe is Scriptural based on several scriptures such as 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (New Century Version)
3 Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from God happens and the Man of Evil, who is on his way to hell, appears.
4 He will be against and put himself above anything called God or anything that people worship. And that Man of Evil will even go into God’s Temple and sit there and say that he is God.
Clearly this passage tells the Thessalonians, who thought the rapture already happened, that there are things that must precede the rapture/Day of the Lord. ( I put both back to back because it appears that Paul also felt that the two were one after the other from the way he describes it)
Matthew 24:44, Matthew 24:44 (New Century Version) So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him. No argument from me here as this statement applies regardless of which view you have. Remember that this was written from the words of Christ to those who ask about the end times. Note that at the time the statement was issued there was no way immanence was a factor as there was very much that had to happen including Israel being disbanded and then brought back together as a nation and the temple being torn down. So using this verse for Imminence today is just attempting to make scripture apply to a very narrow view of the person that states it rather than viewing it as Christ meant it to the whole Church generation as well as the generation of people that find themselves in the day when all the events that Christ foretold (earlier in Chapter 24) happen.
1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:7 (New Century Version)
so you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again.
Again here we have a scripture Paul gave to the Corinthians in his first letter to them. His acknowledgement that they have every (spiritual) gift while they wait for Jesus to come again. Again there is no application of this verse in the context of Imminence and to infer that Imminence is the thrust of this verse is wrong and deceitful. The whole Church from the ascending of Christ into Heaven unto now has waited for His Return even before the temple had been destroyed in AD 70 and before Israel became a nation again in 1949 events that surely had to happen before Christ return. Again impossible to accurately use for an Imminence argument.
Philippians 3:20, Philippians 3:20 (New Century Version)
But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. True the Church and Christians from the ascending of Christ into heaven unto today wait for Christ to come back, from Heaven, in the Clouds but again there is no justification to use this verse to support imminence. The thrust and context of this verse is to keep our mind on heavenly things and look for the Return of Christ. At the time this was written, again, there was much prophecy that had to be fulfilled before Christ return.
Philippians 4:5, Philippians 4:5 (New Century Version)
Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. Really? I agree again but totally disagree in using this for Imminence for that is not warranted. The context is simply not there to back it up.
Colossians 3: 4, Colossians 3:4 (New Century Version)
Christ is our life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory. This is a verse with promise about sharing in Christ Glory when he comes again but NO WHERE is there any statement regarding timeliness of His coming or saying that it can be at any moment which imminence teaches.
1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (New Century Version)
And you wait for God’s Son, whom God raised from the dead, to come from heaven. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is sure to come. The promise of coming Judgement and the fact that Jesus, salvation in Jesus, saves us from that Judgement. That's what PreWrath teaches .. rapture/escape BEFORE God's Judgment. 2:
1 Thessalonians 5:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (New Century Version)
So we should not be like other people who are sleeping, but we should be alert and have self-control.
Here we have a verse that is in the context of Christ coming back but right above it in verse 4 a reassurance that we can know as the day approaches. Not the date but the "season" that it approaches. Like the parable of Christ in Matthew 24 and the Signs that Christ gave throughout Matthew 24 as how to recognize the day's approach. Imminence is not in the picture here in fact verse 4 above this 1 Thessalonians 5:4 (New Century Version)
But you, brothers and sisters, are not living in darkness, and so that day will not surprise you like a thief. gives assurance that we "brothers", saved of God, can know as it approaches and not be in darkness and have it come as a total surprise.
Titus 2:13, Titus 2:13 (New Century Version)
We should live like that while we wait for our great hope and the coming of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. The return of Christ to Rapture us is the Great Hope of the Church but interesting that with pre-trib there is no scriptures that can be shown where Christ, Himself, spoke about a pre-trib rapture. This is a mindset we are to have from the early church to today up to the actual last generation before Christ comes. No statement or inference about imminence though.
and Revelation 16:15). Revelation 16:15 (New Century Version)
“Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy are those who stay awake and keep their clothes on so that they will not walk around naked and have people see their shame.“ The context and placement of this verse surely points to Christ coming at Armageddon. This verse might be used by someone for a Post-Tribulation viewpoint but it's making an application for the Rapture from a contextual second coming and final battle at Armageddon.
100% of the verses used to support Imminence have nothing to do with it and are used by the author incorrectly. HE is attempting to grab verses here and there and make them apply to something they clearly don't. At best that's disingenuous at worst deceitful manipulating scripture. Again for those approaching the last days Christ own words and teachings from Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 as well as Pauls teaching/writing in the letter of 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 clearly states that certain things have to happen prior to the return of Christ for the Rapture and our gathering together with him in the air. That's not Imminence.
The 3/4 Trib view says the Lord cannot return until after the Antichrist appears (NO it is Scripture 2 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (New Century Version)
3 Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from God happens and the Man of Evil, who is on his way to hell, appears.
4 He will be against and put himself above anything called God or anything that people worship. And that Man of Evil will even go into God’s Temple and sit there and say that he is God. , that states it) the Jewish Temple has been rebuilt and the world has suffered through about 5 years of the wrath of Man and Satan. Thus, according to the 3/4 Trib view, we should be living looking for the Antichrist and not Jesus Christ. It is Christ words that indicate that we should observe the signs to know the times as they approach.
Matthew 24:29-31 (New Century Version)
29 “Soonafter the trouble of those days, ’the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
30 “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory.
31 He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.
Matthew 24:32-33 (New Century Version)
32 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near.
33 In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come.
The whole point of Matthew 24's dialog, from Christ, is to answer the disciple's question from verse 3
Matthew 24:3 (New Century Version)
Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?“
They ask Christ what will be the SIGN of his coming again, how could they recognize that it's that time and actually close to it and that it's near? Christ did nothing but answer their question.
Rosenthal asserts that the Bible never says that any prophesied end time events could not occur before the Rapture. He is correct. The re-establishment of Israel is an example. The war of Gog & Magog could prove to be another example. Imminency does not preclude the fulfillment of some end time prophecies before the Rapture. Rather, it asserts that none have to happen before the Rapture can occur.
4) The Wrath of God — Another strong objection I have to the 3/4 Trib Rapture view is its mistaken concept of the sovereignty of God. The view attempts to distinguish the wrath of Man and Satan from the wrath of God. Both Man and Satan operate under the sovereignty of God. That's why Psalm 2 pictures God sitting in Heaven laughing at the evil plots of the world's political leaders. His laughing is not motivated by a lack of concern. He laughs because He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Man and Satan to the triumph of His Son. This is crazy to say that God would sponsor evil. Satan rebells against God, wars against God and God is not responsible for acts of Satan or even Antichrist for it is Satan that directs Antichrist not God. God in control and has supreme power and authority and this is why Satin's ultimate fate is set. To say that God directs the evil events though is dangerously wrong. God restrains Satan and Antichrist with Michael and the Holy Spirit protects His saints from Satan's demons and Satan's power. It is an attempt to say that Revelation 6:1-11 were God's Wrath and there is nothing to support that. Rev 6:12-14 are signs brought about by God's power and Will but do not consist of His Wrath that is brought about by His agents, Angels to start in Revelation 8 when God's agents began to dispense God's Wrath. Angels aren't doing that in Revelation 6.
Further, the Bible portrays God pouring out His wrath both directly (Sodom and Gomorrah) and indirectly (the destruction of both Israel and Judah). God poured out His wrath upon the rebellious northern nation of Israel by allowing the Assyrians to conquer it. He even referred to the Assyrians as "the rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5) and "My war-club" (Jeremiah 51:20).
When the prophet Habak*** complained about God doing nothing about the evil of the southern nation of Judah, the Lord revealed that He was going to pour out His wrath on that nation through Babylon (Habak*** 1:6). And when the Lord was finished with Babylon, He raised up the Medes and Persians to conquer the Babylonian Empire, referring to the conquering army as "My consecrated ones" (Isaiah 13:3). There is great distinction between the way God interacts with His People and Earth between Covenants, Old and New. With the New Covenant God is in mankind that accepts Him through Christ via His Holy Spirit as a sign that the person is converted as a guarantee of the Christian's salvation. God's wrath is withheld at this time until it is released in the End days upon Earth. Taking the Wrath of God in the Old Testament and attempting to apply it to the New has no Justification for everything changed with Christ Jesus including how God deals with humanity.
During Daniel's 70 Weeks of Years, much of the wrath of God will be executed through the Antichrist, but it is still the wrath of God. OH .. Where is this? Again this is treading on dangerous ground attributing evil and acts of the Antichrist unto God. I totally disagree and hold to the fact that Satan is the influence behind Antichrist, NOT GOD.
5) The Tribulation — I object to the way in which the 3/4 Trib Rapture view denies that the first half of Daniel's 70th Week is part of the Tribulation. The fact of the matter is that both halves of Daniel's 70th Week are referred to in the Scriptures as a time of tribulation. Matthew 24:9 refers to the first half as "tribulation," and Matthew 24:21 classifies the second half as "great tribulation." Incidentally, Jesus' reference to the second half as the "great tribulation" does not mean it will be worse than the first half. Rather, Jesus called it that because He was speaking to a Jewish audience, and the second half of the Tribulation will be when the Antichrist will try to annihilate the Jews. The reference to Tribulation has to do with what happens to Israel and God's people, and Christians (the Church). There is no where in the Bible that Christians or Saints of God are promised protection from tribulation in the world and to state so is wrong. WE are promised protection from God's coming Wrath but NOT Tribulation. On the contrary we are told that as Christians we will encounter and have Tribulation in our lives, John 16:33
John 16:33 (New Century Version)
“I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world.“
6) The Purpose of Daniel's 70th Week — I object to the way in which the 3/4 Trib Rapture view distorts the purpose of Daniel's 70th Week. Daniel 9:24-27 makes it clear that the purpose of Daniel's 70 Weeks of Years is to accomplish six things among the Jewish people:
- To finish transgression
- To make an end of sin
- To make atonement for iniquity
- To bring in everlasting righteousness
- To seal up vision and prophecy
- To anoint the most Holy Place
Just as the first 69 weeks of years (483 years) of the prophecy had nothing to do with the Church, neither does the final week of years. The last seven year period of Daniel's prophecy is about the accomplishment of the purposes listed above among the Jewish people. Accordingly, the entire period of Daniel's 70th Week is referred to in Jeremiah 30:7 as "the time of Jacob's trouble." There is no purpose for the Church during Daniel's 70th Week.
In the third and last part of this look at the Pre-Wrath Rapture view, we'll consider more objections to the viewpoint
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