When Will The Tribulation Begin?

 

So, how can we tell if

“The Tribulation”

Has begun?

(The very short version).

The most popular and widely accepted doctrine on the tribulation is that all Christians will be ‘Raptured’ off the earth and into heaven, BEFORE the tribulation starts. Once the Rapture has occurred, the tribulation will then begin.

I accepted the pre-tribulation-rapture-view without much thought. It was what I was told would happen and as a new Christian, I never questioned it.

Many years later, a friend and co-teacher, asked me to join him in teaching a Church class on a book about the Rapture and the Tribulation. My assignment was PRE-tribulation Rapture, and he would present and discuss the mid-tribulation rapture view.

It took me almost a year to prepare, and that study and preparation raised questions I could not ignore. For example:

1. Why was Jesus warning His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Words in the Bible) about coming events if they would not experience those events, if they would be raptured before the tribulation?

2. How can we tell WHICH ‘wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes’ were the result of breaking of the first seal of the tribulation, because there have been thousands of them since Jesus said these words.

3. Was Jesus wanting to ‘scare’ listeners into believing by warning them ahead of time? (I think not. Trickery just doesn’t fit Jesus Character, and He tells us “do not be frightened” by these things.)

4. Jesus tells His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Word in the bible), in Matthew 24:6, that “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”

Verse 7.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

Verse 8. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

And a few verses later, Matthew 24:13 says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Why is Jesus telling us that we should not be frightened by the WARS, RUMORS OF WARS, NATIONS RISING AGAINST NATIONS, FAMINES, EARTHQUAKES, and that we must ENDURE TO THE END TO BE SAVED if we will have been raptured and out of harms way?

5. When you compare Jesus’ Words in the book of Matthew with the words of John the Revelator in the Book of the Revelation, why do you get the very real sense that something about evangelical or reformed doctrines of the end times and the dispensational pre-tribulation rapture don’t line up with or doesn’t fit with what you literally read IN THE BIBLE?

(There are other daunting questions I had, but this is enough for this article)

I’m no scholar. But, that year of study changed my views, slowly at first.  Now, after fifteen years of continued, diligent study and review, my mind is changed, permanently.

And, I am not alone.  Well known and respected men and women like Pastor and teacher John Piper and missionary Corrie Ten Boom have come to this realization.  Bible teacher and author and Biblical pioneer, Marvin Rosenthal, founder of Zion’s Hope Ministries, authored “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church” revealing and promoting sound Biblical evidence overlooked by the bias of religious denominationalism.

WARNING: Proceed with Caution…

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(Click here to go to Page 2)

Here are 5 excellent videos on the Pre-Wrath Rapture.  Just click on this text).

Pre-Wrath Rapture

 

When is the Rapture, the tribulation, the return of Jesus – and why does it matter?

You might say these things are in God’s Hands, I am saved, so what does it matter. I think I am ready, I cannot change these things, so why worry?

Well, if you say that, then you are partially right. You should not worry. However, it does matter. It matters a great deal.

1.  It matters because God’s Words tells us of the things to come and warns us to be ready and to be found doing the things He has told us to do.

Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
“For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?

“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

“Truly, I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, “and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Another parable tell of the waiting virgins who were not prepared, and the Lord says to them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”

Yet another parable warns us that the worthless slave who is not faithful to be found doing as his Master instructed will be “Thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

2.  It matters because your families and others are watching. You are to be an example for them, and you are to help them be prepared.

Watch each of the 5 videos on this page, which explain the Pre-Wrath Rapture and teaching commentary on this subject by Pastor John Piper. Please watch, listen, pray and think.

THIS IS IMPORTANT.

The term, Rapture, refers to the idea that a day will come when Jesus will appear in the heavens, at which time the dead in Christ will be resurrected to meet Him in the air and to receive their glorified bodies. Living believers will be taken up also and will be translated en route from mortal to immortal. Both the resurrected believers and the living ones will then return to Heaven with Jesus. This event is viewed by most as being separate and apart from the Second Coming of Jesus, when He will return to earth to reign for a thousand years.

The word, Rapture, does not appear in English language Bibles, but it can be found in the Latin Vulgate translation of Jerome, which served as the basic Bible of the Western world for over 1200 years, from 400AD to 1611 when the King James Version was published. The word appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  In English versions, it is expressed as “caught up.” The concept of the Rapture can be found in many other places in the New Testament — for example, in John 14:1-4 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

The Question of Timing

Among those who believe in a Rapture of the Church, there is disagreement as to the timing of the event. Until recent years, there were three concepts of the Rapture’s timing:

  1. The Pre-Tribulation View — This is the idea that the Rapture will take place before the Tribulation begins.
  2. The Mid-Tribulation View — This viewpoint places the Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation.
  3. The Post-Tribulation View — According to this view, the Rapture and the Second Coming are all one event that takes place at the end of the Tribulation.
  4. The “Pre-Wrath-Tribulation” View In 1990 Marvin Rosenthal presented a fourth viewpoint in his book, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church. Rosenthal was not the originator of this new viewpoint. Rather, he was the one who popularized it with his book. The person who conceived the “Pre-Wrath” view of the Rapture was a man named Robert Van Kampen (1938-1999).

The most popular and widely accepted doctrine on the tribulation is the pre-tribulation rapture. It says that all Christians will be ‘raptured’ off the earth and into heaven, BEFORE any of the tribulation starts (i.e., before any of the tribulation judgment seals are broken or opened)0. Once the rapture has occurred, the 7-year-tribulation will then begin- or so it says.

I accepted the “pre-tribulation-rapture-view” without much thought. It was what I was told would happen and as a new Christian, I never questioned it.

Many years later, a friend and co-teacher, asked me to join him in teaching a Church class on a book about the Rapture and the Tribulation. My assignment was PRE-tribulation Rapture, and he would present and discuss the mid-tribulation rapture view.

It took me almost a year to prepare, and that study and preparation raised questions I could not ignore. I have spent 10 years searching scriptures and studying this matter. For example:

1. Why was Jesus warning His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Words in the Bible) about coming events it they would not experience those events, if they would be raptured before the tribulation?

2. How can we tell WHICH ‘wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes’ were the result of breaking of the first seal of the tribulation, because there have been thousands of them since Jesus said these words.

3. Was Jesus wanting to ‘scare’ listeners into believing by warning them ahead of time? (I think not. Trickery just doesn’t fit Jesus Character, and He tells us “do not be frightened” by these things.)

4. Jesus tells His disciples (and subsequent disciples or anyone who would eventually read His Word in the bible), in Matthew 24:6 that “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. Verse 7:  “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. Verse 8:  “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

And a few verses later, Matthew 24:13 says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Why is Jesus telling us that we should not be frightened by the WARS, RUMORS OF WARS, NATIONS RISING AGAINST NATIONS, FAMINES, EARTHQUAKES, and that we must ENDURE TO THE END TO BE SAVED if we have been “Raptured” and out of harms way?

5. When you compare Jesus’ Words in the book of Matthew with John the Revelator’s account of the ‘End of Days’ in Revelation, why do you get the very real sense that something about pre-tribulation evangelical or reformed doctrines of the end times don’t line up with or doesn’t fit with what you read IN THE BIBLE.

(There are other daunting questions, but this is enough for this article)

I’m no scholar. But, that year of study changed my views, slowly at first, then after over twelve years of study and review, my mind is changed, permanently.

Here’s a quick scan of time and history. See what you think.

The breaking of the 1st Seal in the Book of Revelation says we will hear of WARS and rumors of war and that we will hear of nation rising against nation (Click here to link to the Rest of The Story – Page 3)

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(PS: The Pre-Wrath-Tribulation view says that (#1). The first tribulation judgment 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.”

THE RAPTURE REVEALED

(You can listen to this audio while you read along, then, you can stop the audio to follow a link, then, resume the audio when you are ready)

There is a lot of interest and conversation and controversy about an event called “The Rapture”, both inside and outside Christian Circles.  Scores of books, articles and movies have been written and produced on the subject, so many in fact, that one internet search returned over 1,500,000 hits on the subject.

The “Rapture”, as it is called, is an eschatological (study on matters of end times) theological position held by some Christians, of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”[1] The idea of a rapture as it is currently defined is not found in historic Christianity, and the term “rapture” is not found in the Bible.

The doctrine of a rapture is a relatively recent idea of Evangelical Protestantism, introduce by John Nelson Darby, a British pastor, writer and educator in the mid 1800s .  Darby formulated the idea of the rapture from the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4:13-17, specifically from verse 17,Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 

The words “caught up” translate from the Greek verb “harpazō”.  The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek as “rapiemur” meaning “we are caught up” or “we are taken away” from the Latin verb rapio, where we get the English word, rapture.

This ministry’s position is a definitive “Pre-Wrath Rapture“.  The foregoing link will take you to an explanation and three videos produced by Zion’s Hope (also shown on this page) ministries and one video by The Fuel Project on this matter.

For the sake of brevity on this posting, I will leave you with this PDF presentation comparing the Words of Jesus in the Book of Matthew, chapter 24 and the book of the Revelation, taken from chapters six and seven. (click on the image or the text below here).

THE RAPTURE REVEALED 

More videos on the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church:

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?  PART 2 B – A SCROLL”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT? PART 2 A – THE 7 SEALS”

“THE FUEL PROJECT GUIDE TO THE 6TH TRIBULATION SEAL”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

More material on the Tribulation and The Rapture by The Whitestone Fellowship:

Am I Really Seeing what I Think I am Seeing?

When do the 7 Years of Tribulation Begin?

The 5th Tribulation Seal.

The 6th Tribulation Seal.

AMERICAN UNDER SIEGE

THE LAST DAYS – Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Are we living in the LAST DAYS?

I have been writing on this matter for about 13 years.  I am amazed at how times have ‘suddenly changed’ from speculative to appearing alarmingly realistic as the LAST DAYS.

I have been saying, for over 13 years now, that scriptures clearly tell us that the LAST DAYS began in or around AD 1, and that the DAYS OF DISTRESS, also known by names such as the tribulation, end of days, times of trouble.  

I have been saying, for 13 years now, that over these past 2,000 years we have seen and are seeing the progressive opening / breaking of the first 5 Tribulation Seals.

The Last Days

When do the final 7 years begin?

There are others saying these things, but they are the minority – until now. Now we are seeing more clearly.

One substantial example of this ‘awakening’ can be found on a video sermon / teaching by pastor John Piper.

(John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He has served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, for more than thirty years. He is author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org.)



Piper begins his teaching on the subject of “How to Live in History’s Last Days” taken from 1 Peter 4:7 – 9, Reading verse, 1 Peter4:7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”, Piper asks, “What does that mean? “The end of all things is at hand.” That was 2,000 years ago.

“The end of all things, (as found) in the New Testament, (is) the period of time that begins with the coming of the Messiah (His birth) and ends at the second coming (Matthew 24:29-31) .”

(John Piper video sermon on: “How We Should Live In These Last Days”:  Below)

      • 1 Peter 1:20 “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.”
      • Acts 2:16-17. “but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
         ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
                    AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
                    AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
                    AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.
      • Hebrews 1:1-2. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, v2 in these last days has spoken to us [b]in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
      • Hebrews 9:26, “Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
      • 2 Peter 3:3, “Know this, first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”
      • The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:11, tells us, “Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

2.  How Should We Live in These Last Days?

Should we hunker down? Dig in? Hide away? Run to a mountain retreat with stockpile of food, water and weapons?


1 Peter 4:7-9 The end of all things is near; therefore,

      • be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of [b]prayer.
      • Verse 8. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
      • Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
      • Verse 10. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
      • Verse 11. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God;
      • whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

 

3.  What should we expect in these Last Days?

      • 1 Peter 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled or the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

      • Verse 15. “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

      • Verse 17. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God;”

The LAST DAYS began with the birth of Christ. The 5th Seal is being broken / has been broken. The final Seal (The 6th Seal, The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord) will happen next.

In order to ‘be saved’, you and I must “endure to the end” and we shall overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony!

So, fear not! It is written in His Blood and by His Breath and cannot be amended. Now, let’s get this thing finished and be ready to meet Him in the air!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Other important pre-tribulation Pre-Wrath sources:

THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN

There is a convergence of events and prophecies as never before.  Alarming events have, from time to time, caused people to wonder if the End of Days as spoken of in the Bible had arrived.  But, never, have events coincided with prophetic fulfillment as we now see.

David Rosenthal, of Zion’s Hope ministries, explains the crucial significance of the new Abraham Accord recently signed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Unlike the peace treaties signed by Israel with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, this new peace accord is intended to normalize relations between the two countries in ways never before thought possible.  And more Arab nations are coming to the Accord!

Following this video are a series of videos of greater detail on these matters:

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

For a full description of the Abraham Accord and a description of the 70th Week of Daniel  President Trump’s Peace Plan.