At the end of this page, is a collection of videos on the Last Days from a Pre-Wrath-tribulation view, the rapture and a chronological look at eschatological history.
What is the Pre-Wrath (Tribulation) Rapture?
The Pre-wrath-tribulation Rapture is the clearest explanation, by Jesus, of the coming Day of the Lord and the rapture. The Bible says, in plain language, that the rapture will occur after or during the 6th tribulation seal. This view holds that the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) or a Great Distress (Luke21:23) begins during the 6th seal, being Daniel’s 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This is not a “mid-tribulation view” because it occurs after or during the 6th Seal, but, well before the three and one-half year mark of the Great Tribulation. Again, this period is defined, in the Bible, as the Great Tribulation or the time of Great Distress as opposed to “the tribulation”.
References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence of the coming of Christ to “deliver the righteous” by means of the rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after or during the breaking of the Sixth Seal when the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood.
By this point – the breaking of the 6th Seal – many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the Antichrist, with many more to come.
After the rapture, God’s wrath of trumpets and bowls will come. The Day of the Lord’s wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of seven years (the 6th and 7th Seal, the 7 Trumpet judgments and the 7 Bowl judgments).
Here are 4 important differences:
(1) The Pre-tribulation view says the final 7 years of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks will commence with the breaking of the first Seal of the Tribulation and will conclude 7 years later with the pouring out of the 7th and final Bowl of God’s Wrath.
But, the Bible clearly teaches that the final 7 years of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks will commence with the breaking of the Sixth Seal of the Tribulation. The first Seal of the Tribulation was broken in or around AD 1 as confirmed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:14-21 , and the successive Seals 2 through 5 have been opened at various times over the last 2,019 years, with the 5th Seal being the most recent. The Day of the Lord is near, very near.
(2) The Pre-tribulation view is leading many people to believe that Jesus will come and “gather His elect”, then re-return to rapture His Church in secret.
But, the Bible is clear, Jesus will come and gather His elect in plain view, in the heavens, and continue to defeat the armies of antichrist.
(3) Theologians and Bible teachers who hold the Pre-tribulation view argue that some will be saved during the tribulation period. This may be so, but, none will be saved after the Sixth Trumpet Judgment.
Revelation 9:20-21, says “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
Revelation 16:8-9, also says, “The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent to give Him glory.”
And, Revelation16:10 says, “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.”
This dispute arises from the problem with timing of the Pre-tribulation view. Although no one know the day or the hour, we are told we can know the seasons. It is true that there will be those who are saved during the seasons of the first 6 Seals of the tribulation – because the Rapture will not have occurred and will not occur until the after or during the breaking of the 6th Seal.
Again, after the Sixth Trumpet Judgment, during this outpouring of The Wrath of the Lamb, none will be saved. (see Revelation 9:20-21 and Revelation 16:9-11 )
Why does it matter “when” the tribulation starts or “when” Christians are to be raptured into heaven?
- It matters because being ready for His Return is proof of True Christianity, and only a True Believer in Christ will be guaranteed to join Christ at the sound of His Great Trumpet call and escape the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.
- It matters because being ready requires believing and doing what He has instructed us to do in preparation for His return.
- It matters because He has warned that “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
- It matters because many Christians are sitting idly waiting for an event that has already begun, and they are not DOING what He told them to do and therefore are in grave danger.
- It matters because some of our family, friends and neighbors are completely unaware or just don’t believe that Christ will return and God’s final judgments will sentence them to outer darkness.
- It matters because, as Christians, our faith, our convictions and our behavior are speaking louder than our words.
This is important to know because: (#1), you, as a Disciple of Jesus, need to know where you are on God’s Timeline, (#2), what it means to you, (#3) what is required for you to be ready, and, (#4) what it means to be ready for what is at hand and (#5), how to prepare.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young.
The Zion’s Hope videos are in a series, with more to come. (The date of this posting is 10/29/2021).
You can view all of Zion’s Hope’s material, teachings and videos at Zion’s Hope‘s website.
Following this video are a series of videos of greater detail on these matters:
You can view all the Fuel Project‘s videos at their website.
May God give you wisdom and understanding on these matters as we prepare for His Return and the consummation of the age.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Pastor-Teacher John Piper’s views on the placement of the “Last Days”
This full-length feature can also be viewed at “7 Pre-trib Problems”
(PS: The Pre-Wrath-Tribulation view says that (#1). The first tribulation judgement seals were broken (opened) at or just after the birth of Jesus, and (#2). Tribulation seals ONE through FIVE have been opened sequentially, progressively, overlapping, and the effects have been intensifying to this date.
The SIXTH tribulation seal is still a future event, at which time and Matthew 24, verse 29 “immediately after the tribulation of the previous days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Verse 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Verse 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [c] elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Whitestone Fellowship 