Why the Post-Tribulation View of the Rapture Doesn’t Make Sense

By Helena Lehman, Author and Publisher of the 
Language of God Book Series and the Minister 
Operating the Pillar of Enoch Ministry
at: http://pillar-of-enoch.com

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NOTE: This article was also published on my POEM Web Site here:
http://www.pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Post-Trib_View_of_Rapture_Nonsense.html

The PDF of This Article is Also Available for Download There:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Post-Trib_View_of_Rapture_Nonsense.pdf

Shalom and Greetings to All My Fellow Believers in Yahshua,

As a Watchman on the Wall that is anxiously awaiting our Messiah’s glorious return, I want to commend all who are attempting to discern when Yahshua will return to rescue all those who are born-again by His Spirit and living under His Grace from total destruction. Among those of you doing so, there are many that hold to varying views of when the Rapture or catching up of God's elect saints into everlasting life and resurrection will take place.

Based on my understanding of the Scriptures relating to the Rapture that were subjected to detailed study and prayer in my article “Come Up Here and Come Away”, I personally believe that the Rapture of the Church is meant to protect and preserve God’s people from having to experience the worst of God’s Wrath that will be poured out during the Great Tribulation. Ever since openly voicing my view that the Rapture must take place before the Great Tribulation that will begin when the Sixth Seal is opened, however, I have endured near constant attacks from people with a Pre-Tribulation and Post-Tribulation view of the Rapture and Second Coming. These attacks have mostly been relentless and cruel, going against all the gifts of the Ruach Ha Kodesh or Holy Spirit such as love, forgiveness, kindness and compassion. Nonetheless, I did my best to display the gifts of the Ruach when debating my differing views of the Rapture with them.

Unfortunately, my scriptural arguments for believing that the First Rapture (See My Article: “Come Up Here and Come Away”) will be a Mid-Tribulation, Pre-Trumpets or Pre-Wrath Rapture as outlined below were ignored for the most part by those favoring a Pre-Tribulation and Post-Tribulation view of the Rapture. Furthermore, since their arguments against my views did nothing to address the teachings of the Scriptures that I shared with them, I was not convinced that my views were wrong in any way. In addition, I was encouraged by their lack of knowledge of these Scriptures to attempt to explain here why I still hold fast to a Pre-Wrath or Mid-Tribulation Rapture view that pinpoints the Rapture to just before the Great Tribulation, which begins when Yahshua or Jesus opens the Sixth Seal.

Part of my reason is based on my Spirit-led understanding of the type and extant of the tribulation or persecution that Yahshua mentions in Matthew Chapter 24, verses 9, 21 and 29. From my study of these and many other Scriptures, it can be shown that Yahshua was in no way referring to the Great Tribulation spoken of in the Book of Revelation, Chapters 8 through 19. In fact, when all the Scriptures pertaining to the time of Jacob’s Trouble are studied carefully, two things become clear: First, that this tribulation spoken of in Matthew Chapter 24 has already begun and is ongoing, and second, that the Rapture can in no way be at the time of the Battle of Armageddon because no peace or calm will precede that great End Time battle, but only death, destruction and chaos.

All one has to do to refute the Post-Tribulation view is to know the history of the last two centuries. First, one needs to be aware of the hundreds of false prophets that arose in the 19th and 20th centuries and are arising even now that tout the joys of Atheism, Deism, and the Hinduistic, Atheistic, and Humanistic New Age Religions like Theosophy, Freemasonry, Universalism, and Rosicrucianism.

Then one needs to obtain a thorough knowledge of the horrendous events of World War II when all of Western Civilization was threatened with destruction. In view of these facts, there is every indication that the distress, persecution or tribulation of believers that Yahshua was referring to in Matthew Chapter 24 began with the imprisonment, torture and eventual slaughter of at least 8 million Jews and over 30 million Christians that perished in Europe, Russia, and Asia because of their religious beliefs and resistance to the dominant secular humanistic (and communistic) culture of their home countries.

The persecution of Christians did not end there, however. It has continued virtually unabated in places such as Africa and Asia, where Muslim terrorists have moved into many once Christianized nations or Pagan and Muslim nations with significant minorities of Christians and slaughtered, raped, impoverished, and brutalized many more millions of believers in Yahshua. But the sad truth is that most of the people in the West are oblivious or unconcerned about of the plight of millions upon millions of true believers in Christ that are suffering persecution and the thousands that are being martyred every single day for living by and preaching about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

With this in view, the “tribulation of those days” that Yahshua spoke of in Matthew 24:29 can only be referring to the 19th and 20th Century events that led to World War I and World War II, as well as to the early 21st Century. In any case, when the Book of Revelation is compared to Matthew Chapter 24, it can be shown that a far worse tribulation is discussed in the Book of Revelation than the one defined in Matthew Chapter 24. As proof that the Great Tribulation is not meant in Matthew Chapter 24, verses 9, 21 and 29, one must carefully read what Yahshua said in these passages and compare it to the Book of Revelation’s Tribulation plagues. The following passage indicates the scope of environmental destruction that will accompany the first tribulation mentioned in Matthew Chapter 24:

Matthew 24:7-8 - “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

In this passage, though Yahshua mentioned an increase in earthquakes, famines (ostensibly caused by droughts and floods that cause crops to fail), and pestilences as the birth pains of the Tribulation, He nowhere mentions the NEAR TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH that will take place in the Tribulation period that is graphically depicted in the Book of Revelation, Chapters 6 through 16.

In fact, by using the phrase “in various places” in Matthew 24:7, Yahshua was indicating that there would only be isolated pockets of destruction during the Tribulation discussed in the first half of Matthew Chapter 24, as was completely the case in the last century. However, in Revelation Chapter 16 (which I quote at the end of this article), a nearly global destruction of the Earth is indicated. In addition, by referring to the relative peace and calm that will be part of the human condition prior to His return, Yahshua makes it clear that the Rapture stage of His Second Coming is being spoken of in most of Matthew Chapter 24 and not the Armageddon stage of His return that will follow the Great Tribulation or Wrath of God detailed in the Book of Revelation. He does so by explaining that the rescue of His saints will come long before most of the plagues poured out on the wicked in the Book of Revelation. This is made clear in the following Scriptures:

Matthew 24:38-41 - “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.” 

Luke 17:26-30 - “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

There is no way around it: one has to read Matthew Chapter 24 in light of the Book of Revelation to avoid misinterpreting what Yahshua said. These Scriptures make it clear that, when Yahshua returns for His elect saints, the world will be in a state of relative quiet and calm such as those preceding violent storms or that can be found under the eye of a hurricane. Furthermore, THIS STATE OF PEACE AND CALM WILL BE ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE AFTER THE SEVENTH TRUMPET AND SEVEN BOWLS OF GOD’S WRATH ARE POURED OUT ON THE EARTH!

Another thing most people seem to miss is that the writer of Matthew 24 is clearly giving information about two DIFFERENT Tribulation periods that will come upon the world. As already stated, the First Tribulation period is being discussed throughout most of the chapter. But there is also a brief discussion of the second GREAT Tribulation period that is described in the Book of Revelation. It appears in the middle of Matthew Chapter 24, from verse 15 through 28, which is why the entire chapter is somewhat confusing to read.

The tip off that Yahshua is referring to the earlier Tribulation being spoken about in the chapter appears after this section about the Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:29, which opens with the phrase “Immediately after the tribulation of those days”. I’ve written a separate article dealing with these two tribulation periods in relation to the Sign of the Son of Man and the Rapture of the Church that is linked to below:

The Rapture Connection To

The Sign of the Son of Man

https://www.pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Sign-of-Son-of-Man.html

Now, returning to our study, it is clear that Matthew Chapter 24 is talking about two distinct Tribulation periods. Furthermore, no one except those who deny that the Book of Revelation speaks of yet future events can read of the cataclysmic events in Chapter 16 of the Book of Revelation (which I have reproduced below) and think that there will be peace and calm immediately before or after the Battle of Armageddon. Please read it for yourself before continuing with my article:

~*~ Revelation 16:1-21 - NKJV ~*~ THE BOWLS OF GOD'S WRATH ARE POURED OUT - “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due. And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. 

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. 

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.” 

~*~ End of Revelation Chapter 16 ~*~

After reading Revelation 16, it should be clear that the writer is describing the near total destruction of the entire Earth. For example, Revelation Chapter 8, Verse 7 says that, at the time of the First Trumpet plague: “a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” But Revelation Chapter 16 vamps up this destruction, telling us that “every living creature in the sea died”, the rivers and springs of water “became blood”, and “men were scorched with great heat”. This will be a scorching so great it will cause the Euphrates river to completely dry up and most of the remaining trees and shrubs on the Earth to die. In addition to this, “a great and terrible earthquake” that will be far worse than any in recorded history will shake the earth so “the cities of the nations” will fall and “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”

With no clean water to drink or to irrigate crops and a severe drought that will scorch the entire world, the Earth will be laid waste by the Bowls of God’s Wrath. Virtually no trees will be left standing, including those once standing in all of the ruined cities of mankind that will be reduced to rubble around the world. Furthermore, not one blade of grass will be left alive - but will be burnt to ashes - and not one fish will be left alive in the lakes, streams or oceans that will have all been turned to blood by this time!

Based on the total destruction of the Earth that is outlined as part of the GREAT Tribulation in Revelation Chapter 16, there is simply NO WAY that people will be calmly doing business, tending fields or getting married in expectation of raising a family at the end of this time period. Instead, chaos and destruction  will be found all over the Earth and no place will be untouched from this devastation - except perhaps for Israel and any cities of refuge that God may supply to protect the saints that will live through this terrible time after the Rapture.

Now, concerning the Rapture, the following Scriptures plainly state that it will be entirely possible for true believers in the Church of “Philadelphia” or “Brotherly Love” to escape all the plagues and pestilences of the Great Tribulation, which will begin when the wrath of God is being poured out on the wicked after the Sixth Seal is opened (as shown in the last Scripture in the list below):

Luke 21:36 - “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 - “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:9 - “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Revelation 3:10 - “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” 

Revelation 6:12-17 - The Wrath of God is Unleashed - “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

In light of these Scriptures, it is important to remember that 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 clearly states that we are not appointed to suffer God’s Wrath. However, the Apostle Paul also emphatically told us that we should patiently endure tribulation in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5. In fact, Paul was simply reiterating what our beloved Messiah Yahshua or Jesus taught His disciples.

For example, within His vision given to the Apostle John in Revelation Chapter 3 directed to the Church of Philadelphia, Yahshua promised to spare those in that Church because they still love Him and one another. Even though they are poor, they are patiently enduring “the tribulation of those days” spoken of in Matthew 24:4-14 and Matthew 24:29-44, and they will be saved from the coming pouring out of God’s Wrath in the Great Tribulation spoken of in Matthew 24:20-22.

This can be seen by the fact that Yahshua refers to the Great Tribulation in Revelation 3:10-11, where it is called the “Hour of Trial”. This deliverance must be understood as occurring AFTER the tribulation before that - also known as “the tribulation of those days” that Yahshua told believers they would suffer in Revelation 2:10 for “ten days”. These ten days may be referring to a ten year period before the Great Tribulation occurs.

Based on my study of the Hallel Psalms, the Signs in the Heavens, and the dates I found in the Antechamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt that corresponds to the Tribulation Period before Yahshua’s Second Coming, I believe this ten year period may be referring to the years 2010 through 2018. This is partly because the Hallel Psalms 110 through 118, which serve as a prophetic snapshot into the events of the Tribulation, are spiritually tied to the years 2010 through 2018. But this is only a theory, and many of my theories have not proven to be true. So it is best not to set any dates.

This time period figures into the end date tied to the Antechamber exit leading into the King’s Chamber, which signifies the coming of the Millennial Rule of Christ. That exit-way is directly tied to June 1st, 2016, which is exactly ten days before the Jewish version of Pentecost called the Feast of Shavuot. Incidentally, Yahshua ascended to heaven exactly 10 days before Pentecost (See Acts 1:3), and since we are told He would return “in like manner” in Acts 1:11, it may also mean Yahshua will appear in the skies surrounding our Earth ten days before Shavuot or Pentecost, when He will come to collect His beloved saints before the Wrath of God is poured out. Of course, Yahshua could come at any time before God's Wrath is unleashed, so it could be at any time of the year. We don't know when, and that is why Yahshua told us to watch for His return,

Uncannily, in John’s vision warning of coming persecution in Revelation 2:10, Yahshua appears to have been mirroring His warning in Matthew 24:9-10, which I believe occurs before the Rapture - when the Fifth Seal is opened - and I have shown that there is substantial evidence  that the Fifth Seal has indeed already been opened (To see it, CLICK HERE). The Rapture is described as coming AFTER “the tribulation of those days” that will occur during the opening of the first Five Seal Judgments, but before the Great Tribulation or Hour of Trial that will begin when the Sixth Seal is opened. Yahshua also told us all to rejoice when we suffer persecution for His name’s sake in Matthew 5:10-12 - persecution that would come long before the Rapture, and would continue until the Rapture.

The First Rapture is described as the gathering of Christ’s elect in Matthew 24:31, where it says: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Although traditional Prophecy Teachers identify this passage as an event at Yahshua’s Second Coming, I believe that Matthew 24:31 is directly connected to the events described in Revelation Chapter 7, which occur AFTER the first Six Seals are opened, but BEFORE the Seventh Seal is opened and the Trumpet Judgments occur in Revelation Chapter 8.

Based on this Scriptural study of Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation, the Post-Tribulation view of the Rapture is a scripturally unsound position at best, and an outright deception at its worst. In addition, based on my findings in this study, the Pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture is also scripturally unsound. In fact, I truly believe that it should be abandoned for the Pre-Wrath view of the Rapture instead, for it has led many believers in the West to become soft in erroneously thinking that they are promised divine favor and blessing at all times, deserve and should expect wealth and prosperity, and that they will never have to suffer true persecution - or even outright martyrdom - for upholding their faith in Christ before the Rapture.

Sadly, those who believe this false “Health and Wealth Gospel” are to be numbered among those in the Laodicean Church, which is described in Revelation 3:14-19. There, we are told that Yahshua will spit those who are neither hot nor cold in their faith out of His mouth in disgust for their lukewarm view of the Gospel that He taught, which promised true believers spiritual blessings, but also much persecution and tribulation for their faith in this fallen world.

NOTE: Important extensions to the study begun in this article 
can be found in the following articles at my POEM Web Site:

“The Rapture Connection to the Sign of the Son of Man”

Web: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Sign-of-Son-of-Man.html,

PDF: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Sign-of-Son-of-Man.pdf

And: “A Gathering of Eagles - A Hidden Parable”

Web: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/A-Gathering-of-Eagles.html,

PDF: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/A-Gathering-of-Eagles.pdf

“Come Up Here and Come Away”

http://www.pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Come_Up_Here.html

This Fascinating Article Explores the Idea of Two Raptures,

One That’s Pre-Trumpets, and One That’s Pre-Bowls

Please READ these articles if you need further instruction in 
order to understand what I am teaching in this article better.

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IMPORTANT: This ministry teaching is COPYRIGHTED By Helena Lehman. However, permission has been given so that this article may be distributed free of charge - provided that it is NOT sold or altered, and author Helena Lehman and her Pillar of Enoch Ministry web site at http://pillar-of-enoch.com are cited. The Author and Web site from which it was taken MUST BE CITED when this article is quoted from or published - in whole or in part - in any free printed, electronic or digital publication. For those who wish to include this material in a paid publication, permission must be requested from the author. Click HERE for informationon how to contact Helena Lehman on the Pillar of Enoch Ministry web site