By: Ron Wallace
The pre-wrath rapture position, based on a more literally defined terminology, places the rapture of the church at the Day of the LORD which occurs after the man of lawlessness is revealed (2 Thes. 2:3) and after the tribulation of those days is inter-rupted and cut short by that Day of the LORD return of Jesus.
(Mt. 24:29)
The primary adjustments in terminology are as follows:
1. The tribulation is never defined in scripture as being 7 years long. Jesus defines it at Mt. 24:9-29 as a period of time, beginning at the mid-point of Daniel's 70th week, when man will oppress man. He further indicates that the time period will be cut short at some unknown day and hour before the end of the 70th week by His return in the clouds.
2. The tribulation is man's wrath and Satan's wrath poured out on the world. It is not God's wrath. God's wrath is poured out after the Day of the LORD arrives.
3. The seals are chronological except that numbers 3, 4 and 5 are concurrent during the oppression from the man of lawlessness.
4. The first seal corresponds with the little horn of Daniel 7:24, when he conguers the 10 nation European (Roman) confederacy by taking control of 3 of them.
5. The 7 year covenant of Dan. 9:27 will take place shortly after that and officially begin the 70th week of Daniel.
6. The second seal corresponds with the revelation of the man of lawlessness as he breaks the covenant and takes THE peace from the earth. This begins the tribulation of Mt. 24:9-29.
7. The third, fourth and fifth seals are concurrent during the great tribulation & are the results of man's oppression on man.
8. The sixth seal is the return of Jesus at the Day of the LORD and parallels Mt. 24:29-31 and Joel 2:30-31. It is the announcement of God's wrath which will come upon the world and is represented by the 7th seal from where come both the trumpets and bowls.
9. Rev. 7:9-17 sees the raptured church in heaven having been taken out of the great tribulation just as Jesus taught would happen at Mt. 24:22, 29-31.
10.The seventh trumpet occurs 3 1/2 days after the end of the 70th week of Daniel and announces the final outpouring of God's wrath via the seven bowls. Rev. 11:1-19
11.The seven bowls of God's final wrath will take place during the 30 days after the end of the 70th week culminating with the final battle at Armageddon. Dan. 12:11 with Rev. 11 & 16.
12.There will then be 45 days of preparation for the Messiah to begin His formal 1000 year reign upon the earth. Dan. 12:12.
13.Comments on the interpretive system applied to the book of the Revelation. Although there may be slight differences even among others who hold to a pre-wrath position, the operative
factor will be the Golden Rule of Interpretation, for knowledge of which I am indebted to D.L. Cooper.
When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.
Accordingly, I view the book of the Revelation to be chronological except in those places where it is clearly indicated to be retrospect.
The seals produce the trumpets and the trumpets the bowls. These do not overlap in the least but are chronological, beginning with the start of the 70th week (or slightly before it) and progressing through the 70th week and to the end of the 30 day period which follows the 70th week.
The book itself obviously begins with the church on the earth prior to the start of the 70th week and progresses through Messiah's 1000 year physical reign on the earth, to the last
judgment and into the eternal state. Throughout, there are chapters that give a retrospect for amplification and it is imperitive to recognize these as retrospects in order to retain the true focus and intent of the vision.
The pre-wrath rapture position, though recently so titled, was indeed the view of the early church and the Ante-Nicene Fathers (those Christian leaders from John until the Council of Nicea in 325 AD) who clearly believed in a "post-tribulation" rapture of the church. That is, a deliverance of the church which would follow the persecutions from the beast against the church. Although citations from these ancient witnesses will show us a few different theological viewpoints, yet they are in certain agreement that the church would experience the great tribulation.
What has been missed throughout history, is the precise definition of that tribulation period and the Day of the LORD. And it is that precision that the pre-wrath position seeks to restore.
In grace, Ron
This page created and mantained by Shawn Astels
©Copyright 1998 Shawn Astels
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