As I begin
this post I would like to once more post the words of Jesus concerning the Noah
and the flood.
Matthew 24:37–39 “But as the days of
Noe were, so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all
away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
The Lord is
making the point that the flood didn’t come until Noah and his family were shut
safely in the ark. I am also reminded
that God didn’t allow judgment to fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot and
his family were safely out of harm’s way.
Paul told the Thessalonians that believers are not to experience the
wrath of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 “For God hath
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with
him.”
Jesus
declared in his letter to the churches that was specifically addressed to
Philadelphia that they would be kept “from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10)
So, does the scripture
tell us when the wrath of God begins?
Revelation 6:12 & 17 “And I beheld
when he had opened the sixth seal…. For the great day of his wrath is come….”
Both with Noah and with
Lot scripture records that judgment fell quickly once they were in safety. Personally, I have come to believe that the
rapture happens closely connected to the opening of the sixth seal, but I still
count myself a pretribulationist—not prewrath.
So, let me backtrack a bit.
Most pretribulationist
prophecy teachers assert that the rapture is pictured when John is called up to
heaven at the beginning of Revelation 4.
For a long time I just accepted what they taught, but it always bothered
me that Jesus was nowhere in sight. He
clearly told His disciples that when He came to take them to His Father’s
house, they would be with Him forever.
We are also told in scripture that when Jesus ascended to heaven He was
seated on His throne at the right hand of God the Father awaiting His glorious
return.
Hebrews 10:10–13 “By the which will we
are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”
This clearly
did not describe the scene that greeted John upon his arrival in heaven in
Revelation 4. Traditional prophecy
teachers posit that the 24 elders seated around the throne represent the
raptured church. Others teach that they
are prophets from the Old Testament and the disciples from the New Testament. Again, this didn’t make sense to me; John
didn’t recognize any of them.
Also, John
was openly grieved when no man was found worthy to take the scroll and open the
seals. Then suddenly appeared “a Lamb
as it had been slain” before the throne and “He” takes the book out of the right
hand of God the Father on the throne.
John is obviously seeing Jesus returning to heaven after having
suffered the death of the cross and emerging victorious through the resurrection. Chapters 4-5 in Revelation are similar to
other chapters in the book that provide historical background or spiritual
insight to events being recorded, e.g. Revelation 12.
No student of scripture
can study the first five seals of Revelation and not notice the similarity to
the signs of the times mentioned in Matthew 24.
I am continually coming back to these sections of scripture and seeking
a better understanding.
Currently, I understand
that the first five seals have been opened.
I think the Lord must have started opening those seals shortly after
returning to heaven because I truly believe that the souls under the altar are
all the martyrs of the church age. Real
persecution in the tribulation period doesn’t start until the second half after the implementation of the "mark of the beast." Because Jesus described the signs in Matthew
24 as birth pains, it follows that these events would be a part of the world
scene with increasing frequency and intensity as the time for His return
nears.
So what about the rider
on the white horse? I think the rider on
the white horse represents Satan and/or his man of sin appearing as an angel of
light. He doesn’t know the time of the
Lord’s return any more than we do and has had to be ever ready with his man of
sin, his peacemaker, in every generation since the resurrection.
2 Corinthians 11:13–15 “For such are
false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of
Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
I think it is important
to note that the time of God’s wrath against His enemies and the 70th
week 7-year tribulation period are two distinct events that happen basically
concurrently. The time of God’s wrath is
the time of His vengeance against His enemies, the wicked, prophesied by so many of the Old Testament
prophets. The tribulation period is
intended as a purifying fire to produce a believing remnant in the nation of
Israel also foretold by the prophets of old.
I think that the rapture
and the recognition of the onset of the day of God’s wrath in connection with
the sixth seal set the stage for the Antichrist to establish his 7-year
covenant. The world will be desperate
for a leader who can instill confidence.
Remember, he will be a man of supernatural ability and will make use of
lying wonders in this time of chaos and destruction.
2 Thessalonians 2:8–10 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
I think it will also serve to open the eyes
of spiritual understanding of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses who will be sealed
as God witnesses on earth during the first half of the tribulation.
It is only after this
that John sees a great multitude of people from every nation, kindred and
tongue standing before the throne and the Lamb clothed in white and praising
God for their salvation.
Revelation 7:9–10 “After this I
beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb.”
It seems as plain as day
to me that this multitude represents the raptured body of believers.
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