So, just as the two kingdoms are not the same, neither is the Day of Christ (for the Church) and the Day of the Lord (for Israel) the same. When you understand that both DAYS overlap each other at the Rapture of the Church, the degree of difficulty in understanding the differences rises dramatically. Fortunately, by following the apostle Paul’s command to “rightly divide” the scripture, the answers we seek can readily be obtained.
3 Reasons Why The Rapture Of The Church Must Take Place Before The Start Of The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble.
Luke gives us further proof that when the King arrives on the earth at the Second Coming, He is already married, and that could only have taken place in Heaven beforehand.
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Revelation 4:1 (KJV)
When you learn how to rightly divide the Bible as Paul commands us to do, one thing among many becomes crystal-clear really fast. That the Rapture of the Church must take place before the start of the time of Jacob’s trouble. All you non-dividers are right now copying and pasting “..after the tribulation of those days” to blast out the comments section, but it is to no avail. The Bible will not allow any other scenario for the Church in the end times but a pretribulation rapture.
I will try to make it easier to understand.
THE POST TRIBULATION RAPTURE IN MATTHEW 24: Let’s start with the elephant in the room first.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:” Matthew 24:29 (KJV)
Non-dividers read this verse and immediately think they have “solved” the problem, but they have not. Yes, they have found a rapture, but not the Rapture of the Church. There are multiple raptures in the Bible, starting with Enoch, Elijah, then Jesus in Acts 1, the Church, the 144,000, the Two Witnesses, Moses. See what I mean? The rapture in Matthew 24 is not the rapture of the Church that Paul calls the Blessed Hope. For starters, these tribulation saints are gathered by angels, but the Church is taken up to be with Jesus directly.
Secondly, the saints in Matthew 24 hear a trumpet, but the Church hears a voice like a trumpet. Lastly, when you read the verses in Matthew 24:29 that immediately precedes it, verses 26-28, what part of Revelation does that match up with? Why, Revelation 19, of course. Where does that put you? At the Second Coming. The non-dividers fail to see this because, well, they are non-dividers.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE CHURCH AFTER REVELATION 3: Read the first chapter of Revelation sometime, and pay careful attention to the number 7. It shows up exactly 12 times, and every mention is a reference to the church. In chapters 2 and 3, a message is given to each one of these 7 churches and everyone ends with “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;…” ever wonder about that? Revelation 3:22 is the last time the word “churches” is mentioned. Flash-forward to Revelation 13 and you see this rather interesting warning.
“If any man have an ear, let him hear.” Revelation 13:9 (KJV)
Hmm, that sounds just like the 7 warnings in chapters 2 and 3 except it’s not directed at the church. Where did the church go? Glad you asked, right here. Back to Revelation 4, and we read this:
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Revelation 4:1 (KJV)
The “after this” that John is referring to is “after the Church Age” ends. Verse 4 John sees the end of the Church Age, the “open door” that is Jesus Christ, and he walks through that door in the rapture. Where else have we seen language like this? Right here.
“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:2-4,9 (KJV)
Now isn’t that an amazing thing? How many times have you read John 10 and never seen the Pre Tribulation Rapture in there? Now you have. The whole chapter compares and contrast of Jesus Christ with Antichrist. The good shepherd versus the idol shepherd of Zechariah 11:17. The Pretribulation Rapture is also found in John 14. Revelation 4:1 starts with “after this” and ends with “which must be hereafter”. Clearly, the time of Jacob’s trouble is after the end of the Church Age.
THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB IMMEDIATELY PRECEDES THE SECOND COMING: Starting in Revelation 19:11, we see the gathering together of the Lord’s Army mounting up on white horses and getting ready to return with Him at the Second Coming. Who are the soldiers in this army?
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:3,4 (KJV)
The born again redeemed Church is made up of soldiers, at the Second Coming we will be literal soldiers riding into battle. But starting in verse 7 of Revelation 19, we see that the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife is ready and waiting for the ceremony to commence. As we have seen in previous studies, it is the Church that is the Bride of Christ. Not only that, we are wearing fine, white linen because we have been born again. You will notice that we are in Heaven, and ready to get married. We are not on the earth, running from Antichrist!
So, the marriage takes place in Heaven just prior to the Second Coming, and the honeymoon takes place on earth. Remember those virgins in Matthew 25, the ones who are invited to a reception? That’s who is waiting for the King to return with His Bride, the Church.
Finally, Luke gives us further proof that when the King arrives on the earth, He is already married, and that could only have taken place in Heaven.
“And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” Luke 12:36 (KJV)
I have only mentioned 3 points today, but if you will take the time and run all the references and study them in context, you will find them to be quite meaty indeed. Every wonder why your bible studies may not have brought you to the same conclusion as mine have? Perhaps that’s because you are not dividing, and if you are, it might not be rightly divided as Paul commands. Things that are different are not the same. A voice ‘as it were of a trumpet’ is not the same as a trumpet being blown by an angel. In fact, it’s the opposite. Rightly dividing makes that clear.
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