Lies and deceptions, both blatant and subtle, regarding the Rapture and the end times are bursting forth from the pits of hell. Particularly susceptible to these lies are spiritually immature Christians. Paul the Apostle tells us in 1Timothy 4: 1 what satan is throwing at Christians:
“Now the Spirit (Holy Spirit) speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
These teachings include the lie that the true Church will have to go through the seven-year tribulation, or at least the first three and one half years. Several sincere, well-meaning preachers and evangelists truly believe that the beloved Bride of Christ will indeed face the impending earthly horror. It is obvious they have a lack of understanding about end time events.
Part of the tragedy about their false teachings is that they are accountable to Jesus for their deceptions and must answer for them if they make it to the Judgment Seat of Christ. However, it remains obvious that they need to properly study the scriptures.
The Apostle Peter preached that in the end times, expected during his own lifetime, many would deny and dishonor the word of God:
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying where is the promise of his coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
(2 Peter 3: 3-4)
There are false teachers who spew their doctrines of devils in our churches, television 84
programs, books, DVDs, etc., manifesting the spirit of antichrist. These seducing spirits easily confuse many Christians who are not grounded in the word of God. The Body of Christ must study the word of God in order to stand firm as the end of day’s approaches.
The following scripture found in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 provides a clear understanding of what many Christians unfamiliar with the Bible face, unbeknownst to them, as they sit in their Church pews:
"But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds."
Friends, the only way to understand what is going on in the spiritual realm of warfare between satan and we Christians is to know your Bible and pray. We must study, study, study.
As the end times rapidly approach, there will be more and more deception. Satan will try to deceive us into removing our attention away from God.
Our only defense is the Holy Spirit, coupled with a Biblical awareness of the snares and tricks that satan sets. Pray for guidance and direction. Surround yourselves with strong, Spirit filled Christians who can teach and support you. The Holy Spirit will begin to help you understand the Bible and how to protect yourself and your loved ones from satan’s attacks.
We will take a look at several false teachings regarding the Rapture that clearly deny God’s 85
guarantee that the Bride of Christ will not go through the tribulation.
Many of these deceptive systems have been reduced in popularity, but there remain followers who stoke their coals of hell as they manipulate weak Christians with their mixing of God’s word with their own demonic rattling.
Preterist View
This particular viewpoint believes that the prophecies in the book of Revelation have already been fulfilled when the Roman General Titus destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The Preterist view is growing rapidly and aggressively, seducing unsuspecting, naïve Christians into its demonic apostasy.
Their unscriptural “model” assumes a post-tribulation approach, which posits that Christians are awaiting the second coming of Christ - not the Rapture. They do, however, believe that the final three chapters of Revelation have not yet been fulfilled. They expect Jesus to return - but not via the Rapture.
A Summary of Some of Their Beliefs:
1). All the scriptures about the imminent return of Jesus focus on the judgment of Israel for rejecting their Messiah, not the Rapture.
2). When they refer to the term “last days,” they twist it to mean the termination of the nation of Israel’s Covenant with God.
3). Similarly, they postulate that when the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., God’s eternal promise to Israel about their covenant relationship was abolished.
4). They profess to be awaiting the second coming of Jesus, skipping the imminent return of Jesus in the Rapture.
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5). Believers in this theory claim that the millennium is “non-literal,” but nevertheless feel that Jesus will return at the end of their non-literal millennium, which they believe began with the destruction of and fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
6). They claim that Christians are to remain holy and righteous and remain spiritually upbeat without the need to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ imminent return.
7). Preterists feel that the book of Revelation was written before the Roman General Titus destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. (Most Bible scholars put it at the mid-90’s. J.Walvrood, C. Ryrie, John MacArthur, Believers Study Bible). It remains a focus of controversy.
8). They believe that the “beast” of Revelation is the Roman Empire and the “False Prophet”
is sinful Israel. In truth, the Bible tells us that the first beast is antichrist, as revealed in Revelation 13: 1-10. The second beast, known as the false prophet, is found in Revelation 13:11-18. The antichrist is a flesh and blood man, but indwelt by Satan. Satan appears after ascending out of the bottomless pit (Revelation 17: 8).
9). The Preterists believes that the Roman emperor Nero was the “beast.”
The Tribulation Is Completely In God’s Control
Remember that it is Jesus Christ who is “in charge” of all the events of the seventieth week of Daniel. The antichrist, the beast and the false prophet, are nothing but tools in the hands of Jesus. Nothing satan does during the tribulation takes God by surprise. Satan fails in all his attempts to usurp God’s authority.
The book of Revelation is replete with the reality that it is God who permits satan to accomplish what he does. Satan is nothing but a pawn. His failure is already guaranteed.
Following are some very clear evidences of how God controls satan. Notice that it is God 87
who “gives” satan permission to proceed with his destruction:
Revelation 6: 2: “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he (antichrist) that sat on him had a bow; (no arrows - indicating he comes in “peace”) and a crown was given him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”
Revelation 6: 4, “…and there was given him a great sword.”
Revelation 6: 8, “And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword…”
Revelation 9: 3, “…and unto them (hellish locust demons) was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”
Revelation 9: 5, “And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months.”
Revelation 13: 5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.”
Revelation 13: 7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints (saved in tribulation), and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Do you clearly see who is in charge of the seventieth week? The name of Jesus Christ is mentioned fifty-five times in Revelation. The antichrist is referenced only six times. Satan and his doomed demon army are on a leash, tightly wrapped around the hand of God. Nothing is accomplished by satan without the express permission of Jesus Christ The Preterists’ desire is the scare the hell “into” you. They manipulate weak and confused Christian leaders, and confound their thinking into believing that the tribulation is for the pure, 88
holy, Bride of Christ. Learn from all of this, my dear brother or sister. There is no need to ever be deceived.
God’s Angels Actually Manage the Tribulation!
If you have read and studied the book of Revelation, you may have noticed that God directs all events during the tribulation through His angels. They are the ones who coordinate and execute God’s plans. Talk about total control! Angels are mentioned forty-two times throughout the book of Revelation.
Angels are extremely powerful. In Revelation 20: 1, 2, one of God’s angels shows his incredible power and authority:
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent,
which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”
As powerful as satan is, God’s angel apparently has no trouble whatsoever with apprehending satan and dropping him into the bottomless pit. Many Christians think that satan is God’s
“equal,” and that he possesses great power like God.
Granted, satan is strong and highly intelligent, but it was God who created Him. Satan is fully controlled by God. Imagine the tremendous power of the angel who actually bound him with a spiritual chain (a physical chain cannot corral satan, for he is yet an angel) and threw him down into the bottomless pit for one thousand years. One angel!
Another example of God’s powerful angels is observed in Revelation 18: 21,
“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea…”
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Yes, my brothers and sisters, the tribulation’s focus is on Jesus Christ. The events of the tribulation have been known from before the foundation of the world, carefully orchestrated by God to fulfill His eternal plan for humanity. What a mighty God we serve.
Pre-wrath theory
According to this false doctrine, the seven “seal judgments” of Revelation 6 and Revelation 8
are what the Bride of Christ must confront. This conjecture completely ignores the Biblical doctrine of imminence inherent in the pre-tribulation Rapture. Imminence indicates that Jesus can indeed come at “any moment” for His Bride - praise our wonderful Lord!
This false pre-wrath premise supports the belief that after the final seventh seal judgment has run its course, then, according to the blasphemy of this theory, all true Christians are Raptured.
Following are the specific judgments that our Lord Jesus, according to this theory, would supposedly allow His Bride to endure “for our judgment and purification,” if this theory were true:
Revelation 6: 1, 2 - God permits the “son of perdition,” antichrist, to arise.
Revelation 6: 3, 4 - God allows the wars of the tribulation to begin Revelation 6: 5, 6 - God authorizes worldwide famine to spread.
Revelation 6: 7, 8 - God consents to the death of over one-fourth of the population.
Revelation 6: 9, 10 - God gives permission for tribulation saints to be martyred.
Revelation 6: 11, 12 - God unleashes massive earthquakes and cosmic horrors.
Revelation 8: 1-13 - God’s angels release power to create worldwide destruction.
We can most certainly observe Who is in control. We must remain cognizant that the one dominant personality in the book of Revelation is Jesus. Revelation 1: 1 states clearly, who is 90
in charge of the tribulation:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”
The book of Revelation’s focus is on our Lord Jesus Christ, not antichrist. Revelation 1:1
does not start with “The Revelation of antichrist…“ Jesus gave the apostle Paul the promise of the Rapture as the reader observed in earlier scriptures.
Our guarantee is given by our Lord Jesus Chris. It will not be found in the lies of satan and his deceived servants.
Jesus is, and forever will be, in control of all world events. It is apparent that the majority of Christians, both lay people and those in the ministry, little understand the book of Revelation.
I cannot begin to imagine how disappointed God is with our disobedience of not studying this very special book.
The incredible book of Revelation details the future of the world. It is the only book in the Bible that promises its readers and hearers a blessing. Revelation 1: 3 defines this guarantee:
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein…”
What a God we serve! He loves us enough to give us advance notice and a stark warning about the events that will soon flood the world with all manners of horrors. However, true born again Christians will be in heaven with Jesus during the seventieth week of Daniel. The judgments of God will decimate both the earth and the unsaved earth dwellers.
As expected, the pre-wrath hypothesis is found nowhere in our scriptures. Its principles 91
espouse that the Bride of Christ must face her Bridegroom’s wrath and destruction alongside those who are the unsaved followers of the antichrist. Do not entertain a moment of its deception.
Mid-tribulation theory
This scheme states that Christians will be Raptured after the completion of the first three and one half years of the seventieth week of Daniel. The advocates of this “theory” posit that the saints will get a break and miss the “super” wrath of God scheduled for the last half of the seventieth week.
Apparently, they view Revelation 6: 17 as a day in the park. However, they do not seem to realize what the verse says:
“For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
They feel that the wrath is only reserved for the final three and one half years. Clearly, Revelation 6: 17 states otherwise.
The wrath of the Lamb begins after the sixth seal has been opened, which manifests great earthquakes and cosmic disturbances. The four horsemen of the tribulation have already been allowed to initiate their horrors upon earth. Although this mid-tribulation lie is not widely embraced, there are still adherents who believe in this deception.
Apparently, the mid-tribbers believe the Bride of Christ is to Raptured during the period when the two witnesses of God rise from the dead and are resurrected, as seen in Revelation 11.
Where in the Bible is this travesty defined? You won’t find it because it is not what God has ordained. This misinformed claim denies the imminence of Jesus’ return, and is thereby deceptive and erroneous. To repeat; this claim is found nowhere in the scriptures.
Mid-tribbers believe that the true Church, who is not “now no condemnation,” must 92
undergo condemnation in order for it to be “cleansed” of whatever filth the mid-tribbers think the holy Bride of Christ possess.
They ignore verses like 1 John 1: 7 which state the following:
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Similarly, advocates of this mid-tribulation conjecture dismiss the promise that God made in 1 John 2: 2:
“And he (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
The Greek word for propitiation is hilasmos. It is found in Strong’s Concordance #
2434, and is defined as “a means whereby sin is covered and remitted.” Who was it that paid for our sins? Our Lord Jesus Christ.
It was earlier mentioned that mid-tribbers place the Bride of Christ in the first half of the seventieth week, although God stated in Daniel 9: 24 that “Seventy weeks are determined upon
thy ( Jews) people and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem)…” The Church is gone!
They disregard Revelation 4:1 where Jesus comes for His Bride in the Rapture. The text reads:
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
A glaring problem arises that the mid-tribbers cannot reconcile. If God saved and sealed the 144,000 Jewish male evangelists while the Church was still on earth, the 144,000 would 93
necessarily fall under the umbrella of the Body of Christ because they accepted Jesus as Messiah through His work on the Cross.
However, that is not the case. The 144,000 are clearly observed independent of the Church.
The Church is nowhere mentioned because it has been Raptured. These 144,000 Jewish evangelists are sent by Jesus to traverse the planet to preach and to bring salvation to millions of people, the results of which will lead many of the converted into martyrdom.
These Jewish evangelists will be protected from death by Jesus. However, it is probable that they will suffer the deprivations, hunger and hardships common to the rest of the world. Yet satan will not be permitted to take their lives. He remains a marionette in the hands of our Lord.
The power of the Holy Spirit indwells all true Christians. When the Church is Raptured, the powerful restraining influence of Christians will be removed from the earth. God plans for the 144,000 to take over worldwide evangelism from the departed Church. The Holy Spirit of God remains. He is omnipresent and will never depart from the earth.
The cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses believes that they are “special” because only 144,000 out of their 2,500,000 members are saved by God because of “good works.” The remainder of their cult members (1, 865,000) are told they have no chance of being “born again.“
According to these Witnesses, upon death, God turns the remainder of the unsaved Witnesses into “spirits” to live on earth. They also believe that the rest of the world’s population can receive salvation after death as a result of living good lives. How tragic it is that many fine people have become so spiritually blinded.
Post-tribulation theory
This theory similarly disregards the reality of Christ’s return and aligns itself with the 94
Preterist viewpoints. No trace of this deceptive treachery can be located in the scriptures. They reject the Christian doctrine of imminence, which is clearly found in 1 Corinthians 1:7; Philippians 3: 20-21; 1 Thessalonians 1: 9-10; 5: 5-9; Revelation 3: 10; 22: 17-22.
These post-tribulation believers conclude that we must go through the entire seventieth week of Daniel, after which the Church will rise from earth to meet Jesus when He makes His return to earth to set up His Kingdom on earth. No Judgment Seat of Christ; no Marriage of the Lamb; and no Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The following promises found in our scriptures are ignored by post-tribbers: Judgment Seat of Christ:
“For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
(2 Corinthians 5:10)
Marriage of the Lamb:
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
(Revelation 19: 7)
Marriage Supper of the Lamb :
“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb…”
(Revelation 19: 9)
Intermingled with this theory is the antagonistic growth of the Preterist movement, whereby 95
its proponents feel that all prophecy has been fulfilled. The Preterists also deny the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. They tend to “allegorize” much of prophecy, plainly rejecting the word of God, thus creating “another false gospel.”
This post-trib theory states that the beloved, battered and beaten Bride of Christ will indeed be Raptured at the exact moment of Jesus’ second coming. We will then meet Jesus in the air, make a sharp U-turn, and return to earth with Jesus. What of Christ’s guarantees that His Bride will not experience the tribulation and wrath of God?
Post-tribbers lump the timing of the Rapture with the second coming of Jesus to earth. These are two different events separated by at least seven years (the duration of Daniel’s seventieth week).
The Rapture occurs in earth’s atmosphere, as 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 states:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we (including an expectant Paul) which are alive and remain shall 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.”
The second coming of Jesus takes place seven years after the Rapture when Jesus’ feet touch down on the Mount of Olives:
“And his feet shall stand in that day (the second coming) upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east…”
(Zechariah 14: 4)
These two scriptures vividly display two separate events; yet post-tribbers merge both into the 96
same event. The Bible clearly states two different events. Study to find yourselves approved.
You will find great peace when you do so.
Another major error is that they do not see a distinction between the Nation of Israel and the Church. We will discuss this travesty in an upcoming chapter. After Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah, God temporarily shut down His plans for the earthly Kingdom of Israel. He moved on to Paul the Apostle and his ministry to the Gentiles.
With the Church Raptured, Daniel’s seventieth week is focused on the judgments of Israel and the unsaved earth dwellers. The post-tribulation advocates merge Israel and the Church together. That is an impossible scenario. Scriptures like Matthew 24: 9-11; Mark 13: 9-13; and Luke 23: 27-31, indicates that it is Israel who must face God’s judgment.
A final evaluation of this theory locates an absurd post-tribulation principle that claims that Daniel 9: 24-27 has already been fulfilled 1900 years ago! The verses in question contain scripture that cannot have possibly been fulfilled. Daniel 9:24 states that there was to be a,
“Finishing of transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to anoint the most Holy.”
Do current world events indicate an end of transgression? Is sin now non-existent? Are the radical Islamic murderers now enjoying everlasting righteousness? Has Jesus already been anointed King on earth? Clearly, the reader can determine how ludicrous are the
“beliefs” of the post-tribulation advocates.
Jesus Separates the Sheep from the Goats
I would like to provide you with another interesting quandary for which the post-97
tribulation followers have no answer. When Jesus returns to earth at His second coming, He is going to separate the living survivors of the tribulation into groups of either “sheep” or “goats.”
Goats are the unbelievers who somehow made it through the tribulation. Sheep are believers who accepted Jesus as Messiah via the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who spread throughout the earth. These sheep similarly survived the tribulation:
“And before him (Jesus) shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
(Matthew 25: 31-34) In contrast, Matthew 25: 41 tells of the judgment of the “goats:”