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The previous two times I spoke about those who advocated that the whole church would be raptured before the tribulation. I mentioned how unsound their reasoning was and how excessive their assertions were. Tonight I am going to speak on another matter: does the Bible ever say that the saints will pass through the tribulation?
In the Bible there are many proofs that the saints will pass through the tribulation. Today I will only mention three. We can read the following verses.
Second Thessalonians 2:1-3 says, "Now we ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you be not quickly shaken in mind nor alarmed, neither by a spirit nor by word nor by a letter as if by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition."
We must read this passage of the Bible carefully, because this passage has a great deal to do with the subject we are studying. What is the subject of this passage? It not only speaks of the coming of Christ, nor does it only speak of our gathering together to Him. Rather, it speaks of the coming of Christ and our gathering together to Him. This passage of the Bible puts the coming of Christ and the rapture of the saints together. It is neither His coming to the earth, nor our going to the heavens. Rather, He is coming while we are going.
Since this passage talks about the coming of Christ and the rapture of the saints, are there any clues that show us whether the rapture of the saints is before or after the tribulation? I claim that in this passage there are clues.
Verse 2 says, "That you be not quickly shaken in mind nor alarmed, neither by a spirit nor by word nor by a letter as if by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come." There is a big question here. What does "the day of the Lord" mean? Our friends say that the day of the Lord refers to the great tribulation. Why do they say that? They have their reason. They believe that the whole church will be raptured before the tribulation. This is how their reasoning goes. How could there be the great tribulation if we have not been raptured?
It is true that in the Old Testament there are places where the phrase "the day of the Lord" includes the great tribulation. This is a fact. However, not all of the references to "the day of the Lord" in the Bible refer to the great tribulation. When the Old Testament speaks of the day of the Lord, for the most part it refers to the special judgment of God at the end of the great tribulation (Joel). Therefore, it is definitely wrong to say that "the day of the Lord" always refers to the great tribulation. Let us read 2 Peter 3:10: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements, burning with intense heat, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up." What does this refer to? It refers to the destruction of the old heavens and the old earth by God after the great tribulation. Such a day is also referred to as the day of the Lord. In most cases in the Old Testament, "the day of the Lord" refers to the great tribulation. But we cannot say that in every case it refers to the great tribulation. Second Peter 3:10 is such an example. Not only does 2 Peter 3:10 prove this, but also the whole context of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 proves this. There, in the first verse, the subject is "with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him." Verse 2 mentions "the day of the Lord." The day of the Lord mentioned there must naturally refer to the day of the coming of Christ and our gathering together to Him, which was described in verse 1.
At that time, the Thessalonians had a problem. Some were saying that the day of the Lord had already come. Paul's intention was to persuade them not to be shaken by this kind of word. He wanted them to realize that the intent of those who spoke to them in this way was to tempt them.
How can one know if the day of the Lord has come? Let us see verse 3: "Because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition." "The day" here is just the day in verse 1. In order to know whether or not the day of the Lord has come, you only need to consider two things: there must be an apostasy, and the man of lawlessness must be revealed. If these have happened, Christ will come soon. There must first be the apostasy and the revelation of the man of lawlessness before the rapture of the saints will occur. We have to hold fast to the fact that before the rapture of the saints, there must be first the revelation of the man of lawlessness. This is what Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2. The rapture of the saints occurs after the revelation of the man of lawlessness.
Who is this man of lawlessness? He is none other than Antichrist. The rapture of the saints takes place after Antichrist has been revealed. When is Antichrist revealed? Everyone who studies the Bible knows that it occurs in the great tribulation. This is commonly acknowledged by all the Bible students in the whole world. This proves that the rapture occurs after the great tribulation.
From 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, we can see that the rapture follows after the revelation of the Antichrist, or the great tribulation. Here we see that there is at least a group, or at the very least an individual, who is raptured after the great tribulation. Those who advocate the pre-tribulation rapture of the whole church say that the day of the Lord mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 is equivalent to the great tribulation. What is their proof? In reading the Scriptures, we cannot ignore the whole context. Here "the day of the Lord" clearly refers to the day of the Lord's coming and our rapture. If they want to refer to the Old Testament, they also must not discard 2 Peter 3:10. There it proves that the day of the Lord is not the great tribulation.
First Corinthians 15:51-52 says, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed."
First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "Because the Lord Himself, with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are living, who are left remaining, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will be always with the Lord."
Each of these two passages of the Bible has its own emphasis. First Thessalonians 4 emphasizes the rapture and resurrection, whereas 1 Corinthians 15 emphasizes resurrection and transfiguration. First Corinthians 15 does not explicitly mention the rapture. However, everyone admits that both 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 will take place at the same time. Not only do all the Bible readers admit this, but I myself acknowledge this also. This being the case, let us see if there is any clue concerning the timing of the rapture in these two passages. Yes, there is. "The trumpet of God" is a good clue. There are many trumpets of God. Of these trumpets which is the last trumpet? At what time does it sound?
The "last" trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15 can also be translated as the "ending" trumpet. First Corinthians 15 tells us that the trumpet mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4 is the last trumpet. Therefore, we have a very clear clue regarding the timing of the rapture of the Christians. First Corinthians 15 says, "At the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound." When does the last trumpet sound? Our friends say that the last trumpet sounds before the tribulation, because 1 Corinthians says that the church will be raptured at the sounding of the last trumpet. Since they advocate that the whole church will be raptured before the great tribulation, they have to conclude that the last trumpet will be sounded before the great tribulation. However, no matter how one studies the Bible, forwards or backwards, one can never find a proof for this kind of saying. They say this just because they want to say it.
The Bible never says that the last trumpet sounds before the great tribulation; on the contrary, there is a clue which shows us that it sounds after the great tribulation. The book of Revelation speaks of three sevens in regard to the tribulation: seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. Revelation says that at the time of the great tribulation seven trumpets will be sounded. According to our friends, the last trumpet will have been sounded before the great tribulation. How can seven more trumpets be sounded? This is like someone saying, "This is my last dollar, but I still have seven more dollars in my pocket." Does it sound logical? Does it make any sense?
What kind of trumpet is this last trumpet? According to the Bible, the most natural and fair conclusion is that it corresponds to the seventh trumpet in Revelation. I believe that every fair reader would admit this. Our friends would say that perhaps this last trumpet is not the seventh trumpet because the seventh trumpet is sounded during the great tribulation. They say that this last trumpet is the last trumpet of the church. Then I would ask, when did the church sound its first trumpet? Did the church ever sound a first trumpet? I have read through the New Testament a number of times, and I have never seen any trumpet of the church. There is not a first trumpet, so how could there be a last trumpet?
There was a brother who admitted the deficiency of this kind of interpretation. He said that at the time of the Roman Empire, troops started marching at the sound of the last trumpet. Can we then say that the last trumpet here is the last trumpet for the Roman troops? The Bible says that it is the trumpet of God, not the trumpet of Rome. If we are going to say that it is the trumpet of Rome, then can we not say that it is the trumpet of China? First Corinthians 15, which says the last trumpet, is parallel to 1 Thessalonians 4, which says the trumpet of God. It is clearly not the trumpet of Rome; even the more, it is not the trumpet of China. Regarding this trumpet, they have two interpretations: the trumpet of the church and the trumpet of Rome. However, 1 Thessalonians 4 says that it is neither the trumpet of the church, nor the trumpet of Rome, but the trumpet of God. Only Revelation has the trumpet of God.
Now let us see whether or not this last trumpet matches the seventh trumpet in Revelation. If they do not match, we will have nothing to say. But if they do, then we have to admit that they are the same thing.
Revelation 10:7 says, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he is about to trumpet, then the mystery of God is finished, as He has announced the good news to His own slaves the prophets." This verse tells us one thing. When the seventh angel sounds the trumpet, the mystery of God is finished. We would like to ask one question. What is the mystery of God?
Please remember that in the Bible there are different ages. From Moses to Christ, everything was revealed. Nothing was a mystery; everything was manifested. It will be the same way in the coming millennium. In the future the communion between God and man will be face to face, visible. It is only in this age that the communion between God and man is neither like that in the past nor like that in the future. Today we are in between the two. We cannot see God with our physical eyes, nor can we see Christ or the Holy Spirit. This age is the age of the mystery of God. Actually, this age began with Christ. First Timothy 3:16 says, "And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh." From Matthew 13 onward, everything is a mystery. Previously it was open and uncovered, but now it is no longer so. The church is also a mystery. How the Gentiles are blessed by God is a mystery. Christ in us is also a mystery.
When does the Bible say that the mystery ceases? It ceases at the seventh trumpet, not before the tribulation. If the whole church is raptured before the tribulation, then the mystery would be finished before the great tribulation begins. But the Bible says that the mystery is finished at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Therefore, the church must remain on the earth and not be raptured until the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
Romans 16:25-26 says, "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages but has now been manifested, and through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith." If we compare what is spoken here with Revelation 10:7, we can identify places where they match. First, the subject of Romans is the mystery of God; the subject of Revelation is also the mystery of God. Second, in Romans it says that God preaches through the prophets; in Revelation it also says the same thing. Third, in Romans it mentions the gospel; in Revelation it also mentions the good news. The original Greek word in these two places is the same. Therefore, we can definitely conclude that the mystery of God in Romans and the mystery of God in Revelation are the same thing. They are of the same nature. If we take a blank sheet of paper and write Romans 16:25-26 on one half and Revelation 10:7 on the other half, and compare them, we would have to admit that they are talking about the same thing. The only difference is that Romans tells us the beginning of the mystery, whereas Revelation tells us the end of the mystery. According to Revelation, when will this mystery cease? It ceases at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. There is no question about this point.
Resurrection and transfiguration are also a mystery. First Corinthians 15:51 says, "Behold, I tell you a mystery." Our friends think that this mystery ceases before the tribulation. But the Bible says that it does not cease until the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Not only does the Bible say this; it continues on to give us even more proofs.
Revelation 11:15-18 says, "And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders who sit before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, We thank You, Lord God the Almighty, He who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have reigned. And the nations became angry, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give the reward to Your slaves the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." This passage shows us further that both the rapture and resurrection have to wait until the seventh trumpet. Here is something quite particular. When the seventh trumpet sounded, the twenty-four elders fell on their faces and worshipped God and uttered those words of worship. The sounding of the seventh trumpet especially indicates that God has won the victory. Therefore, this trumpet is unique because of its importance.
"And the time came for the dead to be judged." Many of the dead will be resurrected after the millennium and judged at the white throne. However, the judgment of the dead here comes right before the receiving of the reward. So the judgment of the dead here is to determine who deserves the first resurrection and who deserves the second. Therefore, the judgment of the dead here is the time of the resurrection of the dead and the transfiguration of the living mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. God judges to determine who is deserving and who is not deserving. This will happen at the sounding of the last trumpet. Revelation, on the other hand, says that such a thing will happen at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. From this we can see that these two passages correspond to each other.
"And the time to give the reward...to the small and to the great." This happens at the judgment seat. It shows us clearly that the sounding of the seventh trumpet is at the end of the tribulation. Once the seventh trumpet is sounded, the millennial kingdom will be in sight.
The preceding two proofs have shown us that the rapture of the saints occurs at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. In the following section, I am going to combine several small points as a further proof that there are saints who will pass through the tribulation before they will be raptured.
Matthew 28:20 says, "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age." Please note that it is the end of the age, not the end of the world. The Lord said, "I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age." Let me ask you. If the whole church is raptured before the tribulation, then would the length of the time for the Lord to be with the church be at least three and a half years shorter? Of course, I am not saying that this is a big proof, but I am saying that this is a small proof.
Acts 2:34-35 says, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I set Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet." The Lord will wait until the foes of Christ become the footstool of Christ. We know that this is at the end of the great tribulation. God will destroy those Gentiles who have destroyed the world and will give the authority to Christ. Then the enemies will become Christ's footstool. God says, "Until I set Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet." But our friends say that Christ has left the Father's throne even before God has made His enemies His footstool. It seems as if they are saying that Christ cannot wait. This point is also a small clue.
Furthermore, no one who studies Revelation carefully can ever say that Christ would leave the throne and come to the air before the tribulation. There is no such record in Revelation. I have never seen it. If indeed Christ comes to the air before the tribulation, how could Revelation forget to record this matter which is the center of the prophecy? Revelation 14:1-5 speaks of the firstfruits. Verses 6 through 13 speak of the tribulation. Verses 14 through 15 speak of Christ's coming to the air. In other words, Christ's coming to the air to receive the saints takes place after Revelation 6—12. From this we can see that the rapture of the saints occurs after the great tribulation.
Does this mean that the entire church will pass through the tribulation? According to the Bible, there is no mention that the entire church will be raptured before the tribulation. One brother received a letter from a friend which said that whoever believes that the entire church will be raptured before the tribulation has someone else reading the Bible for him. This means that he believes whatever others say without investigating it. The Bible does not say that the entire church will be raptured before the tribulation. Does the Bible say that the entire church will be raptured after the tribulation? No, it does not say that either. The Bible does say that among the ones who have been saved and born again, a small number will be raptured before the tribulation, whereas the majority will be raptured after the tribulation.
Those who say that the entire church will be raptured after the tribulation have the following fundamental errors.
Those who hold the concept that the entire church will pass through the tribulation cannot watch and be prepared for the Lord Jesus. Since they know that before the rapture there must be three and a half years of tribulation, there is no need for them to be prepared or to be watchful. Furthermore, since they know they have to wait three and a half years before Christ would come, it is not too late to delay watching until even three or five months before the end of the three and a half years. But the Bible tells us to watch always, to pray unceasingly, and to be ready for the Lord's coming back. If the entire church will pass through the tribulation, one could begin to get ready a few days before the end of the three and a half years.
If the entire church passes through the tribulation, our living on the earth will not be filled with waiting for Christ but for Antichrist. Daily we will only need to look and see if Antichrist has come. Thus, our eyes will be on the surroundings instead of looking above. This is contrary to the teaching of the Bible, for the Bible does not tell us to wait for Antichrist, but to wait for the Lord.
If the entire church passes through the tribulation, all that the church can look forward to is the tribulation and suffering. Thus, it will be without hope. Where then is the blessed hope of the church? Will not the phrase in Titus 2:13, "Awaiting the blessed hope," become meaningless? If the entire church passes through the tribulation, it will not be awaiting the blessed hope, but will be looking forward to the tribulation. This is contrary to the principle and spirit of the Bible. This kind of concept is too much.
Those who believe the entire church will pass through the tribulation have the following additional errors in their interpretation of the Bible:
(1) They only acknowledge the open rapture. But the Lord said, "I come as a thief" (Rev. 16:15). When a thief comes, does he come with great announcement or with great ceremony? A thief comes unnoticed. Furthermore, he comes to steal valuable and precious things. The Lord will come to take what is precious to Him. But unlike the thief, who takes things that belong to others, the Lord takes only what belongs to Him.
(2) They greatly undervalue the position of the Jews. These friends who believe the entire church will be raptured before the tribulation say all the disciples at the Lord's time were Jews (positionally speaking) and none of them were Christians. This is too much. Those friends who believe that the entire church passes through the tribulation say that all the disciples were Christians; none of them were Jews. This is too short. We know that the disciples at that time carried two statuses. On the one hand, they were the remnant of Israel, and on the other hand, they were the initiators of the church. We cannot say that they were all Jews. Neither can we say that they were all the church. Those who advocate the entire church's being raptured before the tribulation negate everything; they say that no disciple was a Christian, and that all of them were Jews. Those who advocate the entire church passing through the tribulation apparently admit everything; they say that all the disciples were Christians, and none of them were Jews. But the Bible tells us they were Jews as well as Christians. If all the disciples were Christians, while none of them were Jews, we would have problems with several verses. For example, Matthew 10:5-6 says, "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This is a clear reference to their Jewish background. They were men in the transition period. We cannot dogmatically cut them apart and say that at a certain point they were no longer Jews. Another example is Matthew 23:2: "Seated themselves in Moses' seat." Is this verse for the Christian? Of course not. It is for the Jews. In the four Gospels, the Lord was, on the one hand, full of grace, but was, on the other hand, a Jew. Therefore, we cannot say that the disciples were all Jews. Neither can we say that all the disciples were not Jews.
(3) Those who hold the concept that the entire church will be raptured say that the whole of Matthew 24:23-31 is speaking to the Christians. But we ought to know that Matthew 24 is a continuation of chapter twenty-three, which says that the descendants of the Jews should all bear the responsibility of shedding the blood of the prophets. The Lord said, "Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city" (Matt. 23:34). It is evident that in the future there will still be men sent by the Lord in the land of Judea. During the great tribulation there will be prophets witnessing among the Jews. These people are Christians, yet they are also Jews; they are Jews, and yet they are also Christians. Our friends say there is only the church of Christ. They do not admit that there is a place for the Jews in Matthew 24. But in this chapter many verses refer to the Jewish believers during the tribulation, for many of them will be saved during the great tribulation.
(4) They make little distinction between the matter of Christ taking the saints and the matter of Christ coming with the saints. To them the phrase, "The Lord comes for the saints," is the same as, "The Lord comes with the saints." They say that the rapture is an open matter and not a secret. But Jude 14 says, "And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied also of these, saying, Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints." This refers to the Lord setting foot on the Mount of Olives. In Revelation 1:7 it says "Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him." This too refers to the time of His setting foot on the Mount of Olives. They do not distinguish between these matters. This, again, is their mistake.
(5) Most of them belong to the historical school of interpretation of the book of Revelation. In the interpretation of the book of Revelation, there are two major schools, the historical school and the futuristic school. Since they are mostly of the historical school, they say that most of Revelation 4—9 has been fulfilled. The futuristic school says that nothing after chapter four has been fulfilled. Although this theory has its deficiency, in general it is correct. According to the Bible, the concept of the historical school is unacceptable because they make inferences about many of the symbols in Revelation. Many interpretations of historical fulfillments are too far-fetched. The church has a history of two thousand years, but Revelation 2—3 has already covered two thousand years. If the book of Revelation is all history, then it can only be for doctors and scholars; you and I would not be able to understand it. They treat nearly every literal record as a symbol. The blood should just be the blood; the fire should just be the fire. But they say that the blood signifies one thing, and the fire signifies another. In addition, they say that the 1,260 days signifies one thing, and "a time and times and half a time" signifies another. They say the sun, the moon, and the stars also refer to something. In this way of thinking, nearly everything becomes a symbol. We would ask one question, does the New Testament fulfill the Old Testament symbolically or literally? We know it fulfills the Old Testament literally. Bethlehem is Bethlehem, and a virgin is a virgin. For example, "Behold, your King is coming to you...mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, a foal of a beast of burden" are all matters fulfilled literally. Their teachings of the symbols are utterly illusory. Because they follow the historical school, they treat the entire book of Revelation in the way of symbols. This also is a big mistake.
I have mentioned just a few examples. I hope we will all see that the Bible says that the church will pass through the tribulation. The Bible, however, does not say that the entire church will pass through the tribulation. If we say that the entire church will pass through the tribulation, we do not have enough evidence from the Bible to back this up. We should remember clearly that the Bible does not say that the entire church will not pass through the tribulation; neither does the Bible say that the entire church will pass through the tribulation. These are all men's erroneous interpretations and not what the Bible says.
