Why I Know A PreWrath Rapture Is Wrong

by David J. Stewart | December 2019

Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

       There is a popular heresy today known as a “PreWrath Rapture.” This false teaching is very easy to expose as false, simply by examining the Scriptures closely. What is meant by a “PreWrath Rapture”? This is the teaching that Jesus will return for the Church (the saints) in the middle of the Tribulation period, just prior to God unleashing His wrath upon the earth (i.e., the worst parts of Revelation). Folks, our text passage of Scripture says to LOOK FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE!!! That “BLESSED HOPE” is the appearing of the precious Lord Jesus Christ at the RAPTURE...

1st John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

Our great HOPE of the Christian faith is the GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST!!! Only a PreTribulation Rapture position upholds THAT BLESSED HOPE! If you believe in a PreWrath (i.e., MidTribulation) return of Christ, then you are LOOKING FOR THE MAN OF SIN, ANTICHRIST, because you think he must appear first! Bless God, I'm not looking for the MAN OF SIN, I am looking for the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!! I'm not looking for the UNDERTAKER, I'm looking for the UPPERTAKER!!!

Matthew 24:29-30 Clearly CANNOT Refer to the Rapture - Biblically, it is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that follows the time of Great Tribulation (not the Rapture). I encourage you to carefully consider Matthew 24:29-30, “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.” Proponents of a PreWrath doctrinal position claim that the preceding Scripture passage is referring to the Rapture! Think about that.

If the PreWrath crowd are correct, then the saints cannot be removed from the world until the sun and moon no longer shine radiantly (darkened), and the stars fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens are shaken. That sounds like the end of the world to me! Folks, the preceding Scripture passage describes the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, not the Rapture!

Verse 30 totally dispels a PreWrath Rapture theory. Verse 30 plainly teaches that the entire world will see Jesus Christ come with POWER and GREAT GLORY! All of EARTH'S TRIBES WILL MOURN. My friend, this absolutely cannot be the Rapture!!! I have listed at 32 differences (contrasts) between the Rapture and Christ's Second Coming, please view them. At the Rapture, only the saved will be CAUGHT UP into the air to meet the Lord in the clouds (1st Thessalonians 4:17). The world will not see Jesus Christ at this time.

Pastor Jack Hyles Preaches Against “Mid Tribulation Rapture Garbage”!

Matthew 24:29-30 is Jesus Second Coming to the earth!!! Please carefully read the following Bible verses. Look at it carefully and you will plainly see that THIS IS NOT THE RAPTURE!!!:

Matthew 24:29-30, “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.”

Folks, the whole earth sees the Lord Jesus Christ at this time, and they mourn. This same event is recorded in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” This is Christ's Second Coming TO THE EARTH. In sharp contrast, the saints are privately caught up into the clouds at the Rapture, to meet the Lord in the air, and Jesus DOES NOT set foot upon the earth at that time. The unsaved world does not witness the Rapture of the Church. Revelation 1:7 says EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM!!! This is NOT the Rapture!

Let me ask you a question: Will the whole world see Jesus at BOTH the Rapture and the Second Coming? If you know anything about the Bible, then you know that the answer is a resounding, “NO!” When Jesus raised up from the dead about 2,000 years ago, He was seen by over 500 brethren at once. 1st Corinthians 15:6, “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.” No unsaved people saw Him. Likewise, at the Rapture, only the saints will see Him.

Respectfully, Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, sarcastically refutes the idea of “a secret Rapture.” If he is correct, then ALL OF THE WORLD will behold Christ at both events of the Rapture and the Second Coming. One thing I've noticed is that Brother Anderson majors on a PreWrath Rapture, but he minors on Christ's Second Coming, because in his mind he confuses the two. Having said that, I love Brother Anderson and support his ministry, family and him. I love the guy, but I think he is very wrong on this doctrine! I love a guy who has fire in his soul while preaching! Brother Hyles used to say: I'd rather see a guy with wild fire than no fire! Amen!

If you'll simply think about what I am saying, examining Matthew 24:29-30, you will conclude as I do that this cannot be the Rapture. The sun and moon will be darkened. The stars will fall. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Folks, none of this describes the Rapture! And if it does, then prey tell me, when will the Second Coming happen, and what will it be like? What is left to happen...lol? I mean, if the stars are falling, and the moon and sun are darkened, then what will Christ's Second coming be like? Truly, the whole concept of a PreWrath Rapture doesn't make sense!

We read a parallel passage of Scripture in Revelation 8:12 of Matthew 24:29-30...

Revelation 8:11-12, “And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”

So we learn from the preceding Scripture that it was an angel who smote the sun, moon and stars, so that one-third of them were darkened. Dear reader, it should be obvious to you that THIS IS THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Pastor Anderson teaches that “AFTER THE TRIBULATION” (i.e., after these apocalyptic events) the Rapture happens! We've got a big doctrinal problem here, because Revelation 8:1-12 is describing THE GREAT TRIBULATION!!! Well, if this is already THE GREAT TRIBULATION, then how can Jesus come AFTER this. Kindly, this Biblically disproves the PreWrath Rapture garbage! Revelation 8:7 says hail and fire mingled with blood rained upon the earth, burning up one-third of all green grass and trees. Revelation 8:8-9 says the oceans have turned to blood, from a great burning mountain cast into the sea, killing one third of all sea creatures. Revelation 8:10-11 says a meteorite just struck the earth, poisoning the waters, killing many men. Folks, THIS IS THE GREAT TRIBULATION, so how could the Rapture happen AFTER THE TRIBULATION on Matthew 24:29-30, which is THE SAME event?

There are a couple dozen Biblical reasons why the only logical conclusion is a PreTribulation Rapture. That is, Jesus will return “FOR” His saints (the Church) BEFORE the 7 year Tribulation period begins. Only then can the Antichrist appear (2nd Thessalonians 2:4). AFTER the 7 year Tribulation period, then Jesus Christ will return in power and glory at His SECOND COMING “WITH” the saints! Only born-again believers will see Jesus at the Rapture (1st Thessalonians 4:17), but the whole world will see Him at His Second Coming (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).

The timing of the Rapture does NOT affect one's salvation. Albeit, there is an entirely different proper MINDSET that the PreTrib Christian has, than someone who errantly thinks Christ couldn't possibly return at any time. I actually feel sorry for those believers who don't have “THAT BLESSED HOPE”! Respectfully, Pastor Anderson does not have THAT BLESSED HOPE! Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” The PreWrath crowd are instead looking for the Antichrist, literally. Since they don't believe Jesus can return until the Man of Sin first comes, why would they LOOK FOR THE APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST? This one point alone refutes that PreWrath Rapture GARBAGE!!!

Again, I love Brother Anderson (I sincerely hate refuting his teaching), and I fully respect our right to disagree; but I think the whole idea of a PreWrath Rapture is GARBAGE THEOLOGY!!!

Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

If you believe in a PREWRATH Rapture, you are LOOKING FOR THE ANTICHRIST!

END OF ARTICLE

The Dechristianization Of Our Nation (by Pastor Steven Anderson)

The Sins Of Christian America | The Destruction Of Jerusalem
(very needful MP3 sermons by Pastor Chuck Baldwin)

Psalms 3:5-6, “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will
not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”

“Most of our unhappiness is caused by the distance between our wants and our haves! ...If we can somehow reconcile our wants with our haves, we can be happy!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a helpful quote from the sermon: “The Expectation Is From Him” (1983)

“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51”

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

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