At this point I have to address the mid- and post-tribulation and pre-wrath Rapture views. In my opinion and based on the information that God has provided us in his Word, I think these views are very dangerous, as they assign attributes to our God which He has clearly shown us, is not part of his character. God has also said to his bride that He has not appointed her to wrath, but to salvation:
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
If we look at the description given to us of the situation on earth when Yeshuah is opening the seals of earth’s title deed, we see that those who oppose God, at this point know whose wrath is being poured out against them. This is long before the 7th trumpet is blown.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
We also know clearly from God’s Word that God, through his prophets, said that his wrath is meant for Israel, during Jacob’s Trouble and to those who choose this world above God and follow Satan:
Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Yeshuah himself also clearly states that there will be those who will escape all the things that He prophesied on – notice that Yeshuah specifically says “ALL” these things – that literally means not experiencing ANY of it:
Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape ALL these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee FROM the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
We should also consider God’s pattern that He provided to us and that was discussed earlier, of his relationship towards those that He considers righteous. God is very meticulous in conveying that He does not pour out his wrath over those that He considers to be righteous. Remember that God said that we would have persecution in this world, but the source of this persecution is not God. Persecution comes as a result of Satan’s war against those that belong to Yeshuah. God is allowing this in the lives of people that willingly give Satan a legal opportunity to attack them, but God is definitely not the one that is persecuting those that love him. He has made a full payment for our sins on the cross and has done everything needed to redeem us completely – we are made new creations when his Holy Spirit comes and live within us and there is no longer anything that can separate us from the love of God. When God’s wrath is poured out as described in Revelation, it is poured out against Satan and those that sided with him as well as Israel for refusing to recognize their Messiah. There is a significant difference between believers’ persecution by Satan and God’s wrath poured out over those who find themselves in the Great Tribulation. God has specifically stated that He will not pour out his wrath over those that are righteous. He specifically stated to Lot through the angels that assisted in getting them out of Sodom and Gomorrah:
Gen 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
God does not change and is always the same. It is a fact and a very specific characteristic of our God that He does not pour out his wrath over those that have been made righteous through faith in Yeshuah. Paul goes as far as saying that those who are in Christ have been made the righteousness of God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
These patterns have clearly been established in how Noah and Lot were treated when God poured out his wrath over the unrighteous. Everything that is described in Revelation 6 up to Revelation 19 has to do with God’s wrath and judgment over the world and its sin. It is also glaringly obvious that the Church (the “Ecclesia”) never features in the narrative where God’s seal, trumpet and bowl judgments are described. Some argue that the fact that the “elect” and the “saints” are mentioned in this section of Revelation, points to the fact that the Church will be present on earth during this time period. This is however not a valid assumption to make. The word that is used for church is “ecclesia”. It appears 20 times in the book of Revelation, but it is not mentioned once during the narrative when God’s judgment over the world is described. There is a reason for this – the Church will be attending the wedding in heaven during this time.
Keeping in mind the authority that Jesus assigned to the Church in Matthew 16:18 as previously discussed it is clear that any viewpoint other than that of the Church being removed before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble would make a liar out of God and would also go against the following passages:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
We know there is only one father of the lie and that is Satan.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it
Satan is the deceiver; he is the one that would have God’s people assign attributes to our Heavenly Father that do not belong to him. He is the one that would convince a portion God’s Bride to believe that God is a wife-beater, so that they can be found without the “oil of gladness” in their lamps when the Bridegroom returns. Our God’s Word is Truth; He does not contradict Himself and can be relied upon with 100% confidence.
At two occasions as shown above, Yeshuah stated that we should watch and pray so that we can escape the things that are coming over this world and that God will keep those from the hour of temptation; those who keep his Word and do not twist the meaning so that they end up with contradictions.
If one then adopts a view that God will pour out any of his wrath over his Bride before she is taken away from the earth, one would assign the attributes of a wife-beater to God. God is not a wife-beater, but a loving father full of mercy and grace and will not let his Bride suffer any of his wrath, according to his own words! I believe this is also why the parable of the 10 virgins was given to show the two camps of believers on earth at the time of Yeshuah’s return. God’s view of his Bride is found in the passage below. How would it be possible for the Bride of Christ to suffer his wrath which starts out by opening the first seal, if the passage below is true?
Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
Remember that in the passage above, God is dictating the words that Moses is writing down. God is clearly showing us his heart towards them that He loves. Yeshuah also paid a very dear price to impute God’s righteousness to those that would accept his gift of salvation by becoming sin on their behalf:
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
I believe that if a person believes that as a child of God they would have to suffer any of God’s wrath, after receiving the promises from God’s Word, they will be found without oil in their lamps when He returns for his Church. They have not come to know their Lord intimately and do not understand his character and God expects us to be in a relationship with him where we would know who He is and what characteristics define him. These believers, even though they are expecting his return, may see him enter into the wedding ceremony, being left outside, as they did not know their Bridegroom well enough to accompany him. These believers may have to hear the soul destroying words of Yeshuah below, because they were not ready at the time that He comes to fetch his bride:
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
The only view of the timing of the Rapture of the Church that would not violate God’s character that He has clearly given us in several instances, would be that of a pre-tribulation Rapture. Please study these aspects for yourself and ensure that you know your Saviour and his character, before He arrives, if you feel that you disagree.
So to summarize the patterns that are evident between the two sets of Feasts:
