Perfecting the Pre-Trib Rapture
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Perfecting the Pre-Trib Rapture
By Peter D. Goodgame
Editor's Note: As part of The Alpha-Omega Report's efforts to present various viewpoints on the subject of the Rapture, we are presenting a slightly different view than our own position on the subject of the timing of the Rapture. At A-O, we hold to a Pre-Tribulation rapture, but we do not hold an absolute 100% dogmatic approach to that view nor do we believe any timing theory on the Rapture should ever be held to a 100% dogmatic view. There are enough flaws in each timing theory for everyone to pause and consider that their position could be incorrect. Nothing in scripture gives us an absolute 100% proof positive for the timing of the Rapture within the overall prophetic timelines. Therefore, we believe it is helpful for each of us to be aware of alternate timing theories and examine them for their validity and evaluate them accordingly.
We are pleased to present an article by our friend Peter Goodgame, with whom we agree on many things. Peter is the author of the book: "RED MOON RISING" which presents an intriguing approach to the subject of the Rapture. We find his research to be intriguing and scholarly, but we're not totally convinced of his arguments yet we felt it important that his research and thoughts be presented here at A-O for all of our readers to evaluate and think about. Peter's view is an alternate view or theory of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Peter thinks that the first 5 seals occur before the Tribulation period and he presents a view that the first five seals have already occurred, yet in his analysis, we're still NOT in the Tribulation period, which is unlike the standard "Pre-wrath" view. He may indeed be right and we may be wrong, but we should also note that he may well be very wrong also. I personally find his work and research to be very intriguing and certainly thought-provoking at the very least. With that in mind, we present Peter's latest thinking on the issue of the Rapture of the Church and its timing. You can find more intriguing information from Peter at his website: www.redmoonrising.com
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Introduction
Since the publication of Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth" in 1970 the Pre-Tribulation Rapture has emerged as a popular template for understanding the timeline of apocalyptic events that will take place prior to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah. These days not all "Christians" truly believe that Jesus will literally return to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth, and not all "Christians" look to the book of Revelation as a literal description of the awaited event, but among faithful believers who maintain such beliefs the Pre-Trib Rapture does a good job of explaining the sequence of prophetic events in a logical manner.
Yet the Pre-Trib Rapture, as logical as it may appear to be, is certainly not without its flaws. The very first comprehensive examination of end-times events that I read as a young man was Arnold Fruchtenbaum's . Fruchtenbaum is a staunch Pre-Trib advocate and his book taught me a great deal and gave me a solid foundation for embarking upon my study of end-times prophecy. However, despite my high regard for his study I noticed explanations here and there that didn't seem to add up. For instance, how could the resurrection and rapture precede the seven Trumpets of Revelation yet also take place, as 1 Corinthians 15:52 tells us, at the sound of "the last trumpet"? And also, how is it that the resurrection and rapture is taught to take place near the beginning of the book of Revelation in chapter 4, yet a reference to a "first resurrection" can be found at the end of Revelation in chapter 20? [1]
With these issues in mind, as well as a few others, I continued to study the Bible to find reasonable explanations for what I perceived to be minor yet aggravating Pre-Trib flaws. Inevitably, I was drawn to study radically different prophetic models such as the Post-Tribulation Rapture and even the Preterist viewpoint, yet with these interpretations I found that the answers they provided were superficial and came packaged with a host of new problems of their own.
It was around this time, sometime in the mid-1990s, that I came across a new perspective on prophetic events that was known as the Pre-Wrath Rapture, as promoted by Bible scholars Marvin Rosenthal and Robert Van Kampen. While I did not agree with the primary conclusions of this new prophetic model I did believe that it presented a number of new ideas that were worth considering. Unfortunately, as I witnessed the way in which these new ideas were received, it seemed to me that too many Bible scholars were more interested in defending their reputations and their long-held positions than in studying diligently to uncover the truth about what the Bible predicts. Very quickly the tone between the established Pre-Trib camp and the upstart Pre-Wrath camp degenerated to the point of being completely unproductive, with both sides emphasizing the other's flaws, while ignoring or minimizing their own. From my point of view the Pre-Wrath prophetic model was a "one step forward, two steps back" phenomenon. Sure there were inescapable errors in its proposed chronology, but there were also a number of good points that were raised. At that point I thought to myself, why not take that single step forward and see where it leads?
The first stop on that journey came in late 2001 when I published a lengthy study entitled "A Blood Red Moon and the End of Days" on my website at www.redmoonrising.com. This online study received enthusiastic support from readers as well as a great deal of critical yet constructive feedback. From the many positive responses that I received over the next few years I finally became motivated to edit and re-organize the study and turn it into a book. The end result was the publication of which appeared in early 2005. I believe that it delivers a new and improved approach to understanding the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. Read on to discover how this new approach makes sense and why it is especially needed today as the old understanding continues to come under attack.
What's Wrong With the Pre-Trib Rapture?
The prophecies of the Bible are like the pieces of a big puzzle. As Bible scholars we do our best to put them together and the picture that comes out is our best guess at understanding the exact sequence of end-times events. In this puzzle there are small pieces and there are big pieces. One of the biggest pieces is the future 70th Week of Daniel, which is also referred to as the "Seven Year Tribulation." Another large section of the puzzle is the sequence of judgments found in the book of Revelation that appear as the seven Seals, seven Trumpets, and seven Bowls. One of the main tasks for Bible scholars is to figure out how the 70th Week fits with the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls. Once these pieces are fitted together the rest of the puzzle becomes easier to complete.
The current understanding of the Pre-Trib Rapture places the beginning of the 70th Week at the opening of the first Seal and the end of the 70th Week after the pouring out of the seventh Bowl. This is convenient and it seems like a natural fit to have the 70th Week of Daniel begin and end in perfect parallel with the "judgments" of Revelation. Within this framework the first Seal is then explained to represent many things: it represents the appearance of the Antichrist, it represents the beginning of the 70th Week, and it represents the beginning of the "Day of the Lord."
Scripture is clear that the Church is to be protected from the wrath of God that is poured out during the "Day of the Lord." With this fact in mind the Pre-Trib position teaches that the Church is shown in heaven prior to the opening of the first Seal and is represented as the 24 Elders that are first described in Revelation chapter 4. This is a very deeply-held conviction among Pre-Trib scholars and among millions of Christians who hold on to the hope that Jesus will come and save us from the Antichrist and from the terrible events of the Apocalypse. I too have such a hope, and I believe it is a firm hope based on Scripture, but I don't believe that it depends upon identifying the 24 Elders as the Church.
There are several reasons why I cannot agree with the Pre-Trib teaching that the 24 Elders represent the resurrected and raptured Church. The rapture was described by Jesus and by the Apostle Paul, and their descriptions do not agree with the description of the 24 Elders:
Jesus: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
Paul: “According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
In the quote from Jesus believers are told about the coming of the Day of the Lord and then they are promised that they will escape from the terrible events of "that day" if they watch and pray and remain alert. Their escape will then allow them to "stand before the Son of Man," which will be fulfilled when the raptured Church enters into heaven. In the quote from Paul we are told that raptured believers will meet the Lord Jesus in the air, after which "we will be with the Lord forever."
These descriptions of the rapture contradict the description of the 24 Elders in two ways: first, the 24 Elders are initially described as sitting on thrones, and not "standing" (perhaps a minor point), and secondly, when the 24 Elders are first mentioned they are shown in heaven apart from the presence of Jesus. They are not "standing" and they are not "before the Son of Man" in any way whatsoever. Indeed, from Revelation 4:4 to 5:5 the 24 Elders are shown in heaven apart from the presence of Jesus. How then can this group "represent" the Church that Paul said would be "with the Lord forever" after the rapture? Furthermore, Paul says in Romans 8:34 and in Ephesians 1:20 that after Jesus was resurrected He ascended to heaven and took His place at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus Himself, in Luke 20:43, quoted from Psalm 110 and predicted that the Son of Man would remain at the right hand of God the Father until His enemies are made His footstool.
What possible explanation can there be for the "missing Jesus" in the early scenes of Revelation prior to the opening of the first Seal? I think there can only be one answer, and it is that the Apostle John, prior to receiving his vision of what would happen at the end of the age, was first taken back in time so that He could witness Jesus appearing in heaven after ascending from the earth in Acts 1:9. Revelation 5 describes a time when no one is found who is worthy to open the scroll, and since Jesus became worthy the moment that He gave up His life on that cross, we can only conclude that John's vision began at a moment in time prior to the death of Jesus. If this is indeed the case then the 24 Elders cannot represent the Church, and must instead be a group of select members of the House of Israel, pre-Israel saints, or even pre-Flood Patriarchs. Their exact identities are unclear but we can eliminate the possibility that they might represent the Church.
The next major shortcoming of the Pre-Trib Rapture concerns its teaching regarding the period known as the "Day of the Lord." The common teaching is that this "Day" begins with the opening of the first Seal and encompasses the entire 70th Week and all of the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls. Through my study of the Pre-Wrath Rapture I found that this Pre-Trib teaching is completely unsupported by Scripture. In fact, it is by highlighting and capitalizing upon this significant Pre-Trib error that the Pre-Wrath view has been able to gain, as well as maintain, its current level of support among a large number of lay people. Unfortunately Rosenthal and Van Kampen just took their arguments too far.
The Pre-Wrath Rapture takes a step in the right direction when it focuses on the sixth Seal to determine the beginning of the Day of the Lord. The first Seal has nothing to do with it, and everything we know about the Day of the Lord points to the sixth Seal, as the following texts show:
Prediction: "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (Joel 2:31)
Fulfillment: "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind... " (Revelation 6:12-13)
The prediction given by the Old Testament prophet Joel is clearly fulfilled after the opening of the sixth Seal. The important point to note is that the sign of a darkened sun and blood red moon is said to occur before the coming of the Day of the Lord. Obviously this must mean that the red moon of the sixth Seal either precedes or at least announces the beginning of the Day of the Lord. Therefore the Day of the Lord cannot have begun with the first Seal or with any of the other earlier Seals. The prophet Isaiah helps to pinpoint exactly when the Day of the Lord does begin:
Prediction: "Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty! The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low... The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted... Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth... They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth." (Isaiah 2:10-21)
Fulfillment: "[sixth Seal]...The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains." (Revelation 6:14-15)
The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Day of the Lord will begin when God "rises to shake the earth." He also tells us that mankind will respond to God's actions by fleeing in terror and hiding in caves and holes. The sixth Seal brings about five events, which may occur sequentially or may in fact happen simultaneously: 1) an earthquake, 2) a darkened sun, 3) a blood red moon, 4) a shower of falling stars, and 5) the shaking of the earth. The second and third events fulfill the words of Joel regarding the signs that must precede, or announce the beginning of, the Day of the Lord, and then it is the fifth event that fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of the Day of the Lord. This "shaking of the earth" is described by John when he writes that "the sky receded like a scroll and every mountain and island was removed from its place."
In the book of Revelation mankind reacts to the shaking of the earth in the exact manner predicted by the prophet Isaiah—by fleeing in terror to hide in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. However, the verbal response described by John that is heard from mankind gives us the final proof that the shaking of the earth represents the beginning of the Day of the Lord, and the moment at which God's wrath will be felt on a global scale:
"They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?' " (Revelation 6:16-17)
Isaiah spoke about how the Lord Almighty "has a day in store for all the proud and lofty," and after the sixth Seal is opened and the earth is shaken the "proud and lofty" (kings, princes, generals, etc.) then proclaim that this "great day" has come! From all of this evidence I believe that it is a virtually irrefutable Biblical fact that the Day of the Lord begins within the sixth Seal of Revelation.
My study of the Pre-Wrath Rapture helped lead me to these conclusions, yet I am far from agreeing with the Pre-Wrath view overall. Actually, the Pre-Wrath view states that the Day of the Lord begins not within the sixth Seal, but with the opening of the seventh Seal. They are forced into this conclusion because they try to equate the sixth Seal with Matthew 24:29, and they try to equate the rapture of the Church with Matthew 24:31, both of which are serious mistakes. In any case, the Pre-Wrath view deserves credit for focusing on the sixth Seal even if they didn't get everything right.
We have now pinpointed the beginning of the Day of the Lord within the sequence of Seals, Trumpets and Bowls, and soon our task will be to figure out how the sixth Seal and the beginning of the Day of the Lord relates to the timeline of the 70th Week of Daniel. But before we do that, as long as we are on the subject of the Day of the Lord we might as well try to look around for evidence of the resurrection and rapture of the Church. If the Church is not represented by the 24 Elders then where else might we find it?
The Red Moon Rapture of the Church
There are several important New Testament passages that connect the rapture of the Church with the Day of the Lord. We are already familiar with the statement given by Jesus:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
In this passage Jesus describes the rapture as an escape from the terrible events of "that day" which can only refer to the Day of the Lord. In Paul's explanation of the rapture and the Day of the Lord it seems that he was intimately familiar with the teachings of Jesus on the same subject:
"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-9)
Jesus taught that the Day of the Lord would come "unexpectedly like a trap," and He warned to avoid drunkenness and to always be on watch. Paul also emphasizes the sudden onset of the Day of the Lord, he mentions drunkenness, and he explains that faithful Christians are "sons of the light and sons of the day" who, figuratively speaking, are always on watch and never fall asleep. While Jesus said that faithful believers will "escape all that is about to happen," Paul speaks of unbelievers saying "they will not escape."
In 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Paul refers to Jesus as the One who "rescues us from the coming wrath." The purpose of the rapture is to protect the Church and to be the avenue of escape from the wrath that will fall upon the world during the Day of the Lord. With this relationship between the Church and the Day of the Lord in mind, it should be clear that there will hardly be any amount of time between the rapture and the onset of the Day of the Lord. The rapture comes first and then once the Church is protected the wrath of God will fall. After the rapture there will be no reason for a delay and Paul and Jesus both teach that judgment will come swiftly and suddenly.
The question now arises, if the Day of the Lord begins within the sixth Seal, and if the Church is rescued away from the Day of the Lord's wrath in the nick of time, then shouldn't we be able to find evidence of the rapture in connection with the sixth Seal? We can even go one step further. We can use our own God-given common sense and combine it with our Biblical knowledge to come up with a hypothetical description of what it might look like in heaven immediately after the resurrection and rapture. Here is how I think it might look like:
I think the focus will be on Jesus Christ, first and foremost. He is the foundation of the Church and His unselfish sacrifice is what makes eternal life for all humanity possible. I can't imagine a post-rapture scene without Him in it. Surrounding Jesus will be a huge throng of people, an unimaginable number, from every racial stock and nationality, and from every generation from the past two thousand years. This is what the eye might be expected to behold after the rapture, and the ear will probably be hearing things that are just as fantastic. I can only imagine that the triumphant Church will be praising and worshiping Jesus, and doing the same for God the Father. There will be joy to such a great degree that it brings tears to my eyes just trying to imagine it.
Now I hate to burst a major bubble, but I know that it must be done. This scene does not occur anywhere in the book of Revelation prior to the sixth Seal. The Pre-Trib conclusion is that the heavenly post-rapture scene is unreported in Revelation, and we must assume that it takes place sometime prior to Revelation 4, after which the 24 Elders "represent" the Church in heaven, with Jesus gone missing and causing poor John a long moment of unnecessary and unexplained distress! This simply can't be the truth. The truth is that the post-rapture scene in heaven is described in Revelation and the description, as brief as it is, matches up perfectly with our expectations. Here is how that description begins:
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' " (Revelation 7:9-10)
This is the group that Jesus said would "escape" the Day of the Lord to "stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36), and this is the group that Paul said would be "rescued" by Jesus from "the coming wrath" (1 Thessalonians 1:10) that would then "be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is the raptured and resurrected Church from all places and times from throughout the two thousand years of the Church Age.
If the Day of the Lord begins within the sixth Seal, as we have determined, and if the rapture precedes the Day of the Lord, then we must conclude that the rapture of living believers from off of the face of the earth must take place either at the same time as or just before the initial sixth Seal events. My belief is that after Jesus breaks open the sixth Seal He will instantly enter into the earth's atmosphere and call up the saints, first the dead and then the living, and then we will meet the Lord in the air, just as Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18. The sign of the blood red moon is a unique sign found only once in Revelation, and I imagine that the rapture will probably take place at the same time as, or just before, the blood red moon becomes visible. Hence the designation of this particular rapture scenario as the "Red Moon Rapture" to distinguish it from the commonly taught Pre-Trib model as well as the Pre-Wrath and Post-Trib scenarios. It is a Sixth Seal Rapture, yet it is also a Pre-Trib Rapture model, which will be explained when we move forward into the timeline issues. For now we must still examine more of the evidence that supports a Sixth Seal Rapture.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Paul is clear that the resurrection of the dead will precede the rapture of the living. We find evidence for just such a resurrection, or at least evidence of preparation for a resurrection, at the very end of the fifth Seal (Revelation 6:11) when the martyred souls are given a gift of white robes. From the beginning of the fifth Seal to the situation after the sixth Seal we see that a change takes place to believers in heaven. In chapter five of my online study I write, "Certainly the change from existing under the altar to standing in front of the throne, and from at first not possessing white robes to finally wearing white robes, is evidence of a profound transition, a transition that can only be explained as the rapture and resurrection."
Further evidence for a Sixth Seal Rapture comes from the descriptions of the aftermath of the shaking of the earth. From what Revelation describes it seems that every single person on the face of the earth reacts in fear and terror to the onset of the Day of the Lord. The point is that when the Day of the Lord begins there are are no believers present on the earth. This observation is supported by the subsequent saving and sealing of 144,000 men from the twelve tribes of Israel. In Revelation 14:4 this group is described as "firstfruits" who were "purchased from among men." Characterizing them as "firstfruits" makes sense only if they are the very first human beings led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during that brief window in time immediately after the rapture when the world is populated entirely with unbelievers. This new emphasis on Israel that comes on the heals of the sixth Seal also makes sense if the Church Age has just been completed with the rapture and resurrection of the Church.
Viewing the rapture as occurring within the sixth Seal helps to clarify the relationship between the Church (in heaven) and Israel (on earth), and it also perfectly highlights the profound difference between believers and unbelievers and the different fates that each group can expect as a result of the Day of the Lord. Recall that Jesus said that faithful believers will "escape" the terrible events of "that day," while Paul says that unbelievers who are unprepared for the Day of the Lord "will not escape." Paul continues in this line of thinking by saying, "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Paul implies that the Day of the Lord will bring wrath to unbelievers, but true believers will receive salvation, so that "whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him" (5:10). In other words, whether believers are dead or alive we will all be taken up into heaven to be with the Lord.
The warning from Paul is that unbelievers will "not escape" and the implication is that they will "suffer wrath," while the promise to believers is that they will "receive salvation." Now read again the different statements made by each of these two groups in the aftermath of the shaking of the earth that marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord:
"Wrath" for the unbelieving world: “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:15-17)
"Salvation" for believers in heaven: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count... And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' " (Revelation 7:9-10)
The Great Earthquake Resurrection
On pages 128-129 of my book Red Moon Rising I make a passing reference to an apparent connection between earthquakes and resurrections, offering it as possible evidence that the initial "earthquake" of the sixth Seal referred to in Revelation 6:12 might be related to the resurrection of the "dead in Christ" that precedes the rapture of the living. Then on page 197 near the end of my book I mention once again the shaking of the earth that marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord:
"Perhaps the global shaking of the earth signifies the global resurrection of dead believers from 'every nation, tribe, people and language.' "
This idea that the shaking of the earth that marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord might be intimately related to the resurrection of the dead in Christ has since been elaborated upon by author and Bible scholar David W. Lowe in his book Earthquake Resurrection - Supernatural Catalyst for the Coming Global Catastrophe, which became available in September of 2005.
David Lowe points out that there are twelve Biblical accounts of resurrections from the dead. Of these twelve, nine of them were simply resurrections back into mortal bodies, while three of these accounts describe resurrections into immortal bodies. In other words, the majority of those who were resurrected subsequently lived out a normal life to face an inevitable death from natural causes, while on the other hand those raised to immortality took glorified bodies to live without fear of ever facing death again.
Lowe points out that these three Biblical accounts of resurrection to immortality are all accompanied by an earthquake: The resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:2-7), the resurrection of the "many saints" that appeared after Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 27:51-53), and the resurrection of the Two Witnesses of Revelation (Revelation 11:11-13). If earthquakes are indeed somehow directly and supernaturally connected to the phenomenon of resurrection to immortality, then what does that mean for this world when the dead in Christ are raised to immortal bodies at that profound moment prior to the onset of the Day of the Lord? David Lowe comments on this possibility:
"If the resurrection power to raise Jesus Christ, the "many saints", and the two witnesses caused the earthquakes that were associated with each of their resurrections, then what about the future resurrection of the dead in Christ?
Consider the explosive magnitude of an exponentially larger resurrection of the dead in Christ in the future. Many millions of those who have died in covenant with Jesus Christ throughout history will be instantaneously and simultaneously resurrected from the dead and transformed to immortality with the same dynamic power described in the resurrections of Jesus Christ, the "many saints", and the two witnesses.
With all this supernatural activity happening in a moment's time, might it be possible that severe geological activity will result, causing a magnetic disturbance and changes to the structure of earth's surface? If this magnitude of energy is unleashed worldwide at the resurrection event, when the Lord's shout of command and the trumpet sound of God's voice awakens the dead in Christ, then a global shaking would certainly result." [2]
I believe that David Lowe is absolutely correct in his belief that the resurrection of the dead in Christ is directly connected with the shaking of the earth that marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord. In addition to providing evidence for the ultimate "Earthquake Resurrection" Lowe's book is also one of the best in-depth Biblical examinations of the phenomenon of resurrection in general, and he also makes a comprehensive Biblical analysis of the mysterious "catching up" of living believers that we call the "rapture."
David Lowe believes in a Sixth Seal resurrection and rapture of the Church, and by viewing the first five Seals as having already been opened he also believes that the Sixth Seal Rapture is in fact a Pre-Trib Rapture. Like myself he is doing his best to perfect the Pre-Trib Rapture.
The Forerunner of the Antichrist
This brings us directly to the subject of the first Seal of Revelation. It may be convenient to view the first Seal as marking the starting point of the 70th Week and the beginning of the Day of the Lord, but through my studies I have become convinced that both of these usual Pre-Trib designations are inaccurate. In fact, I don't even believe that the first Seal represents the Antichrist.
In Revelation 12:3 Satan is introduced as a great red dragon with seven heads. In Revelation 13 and 17 we find that these heads are then shown as part of the Beast of Revelation. An angel promptly explains to John that there is a double meaning for these seven heads:
"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he comes, he must remain a little while." (Revelation 17:9-10)
The first meaning explains how the seven heads relate to the woman that represents end-times Babylon. The Greek word hora is translated as "mountain," but it can also mean large land areas or continents. (If the seven "hills" of Rome were meant then the Greek word bounos would have been used.) I believe this first explanation of the seven heads simply reinforces the idea that end-times Babylon, prior to the rise of the Antichrist, will be in a dominant position over the entire world.
The second meaning explains how the seven heads relate to the Antichrist. The explanation is simple and clear, yet for some reason it is misunderstood by 99% of prophecy scholars. The angel tells John that the seven heads are seven kings. In other words, the seven heads are individuals, and not kingdoms as so many of the experts say. The angel goes on to explain that five of these individuals have fallen, one is, and the seventh has not yet come. This means that in the first century AD, at the time of John's vision, five of these kings had already passed away, one of them was currently alive, and the seventh was still in the future. On pages 174-175 of my book I offer my best guess for the identities of these Satanic kings:
1. Nimrod.
2. Pharoah of Egypt who perished in the Red Sea during the Exodus.
3. The king of Tyre who is described in Ezekiel 28, a description that seamlessly transitions into a description of Satan himself in verses 12-19. This transition occurs simply because the king of Tyre was possessed by Satan.
4. King Sennacherib of Assyria who conquered Babylon. He is described in Isaiah 14 as the king of Babylon, and there is another seamless transition into a description of Satan in verses 12-14.
5. Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He is described in Daniel 8:9-14, 8:23-26 and 11:21-45. As with the previous two kings, the descriptions of Antiochus transition into descriptions that could not apply to a mere man. In the case of Antiochus they transition into descriptions of the Antichrist himself (11:36-45).
6. Nero Caesar
7. Adolf Hitler
8. The Antichrist who "once was, now is not, and yet shall be..."
The sixth king must be identified as either the Roman Emperor Nero, or Emperor Domitian, depending on whether Revelation was written early or late. He is the one who was alive at the time of the writing of Revelation. Regarding the seventh king, the angel says "the other has not yet come; but when he comes, he must remain a little while." The Antichrist himself is referred to as a king who existed in the past, but who currently does not exist. He is referred to as "of the seven," who "is himself also an eighth." He will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. I investigate the identity of the Antichrist in my online study "The Giza Discovery," while the following words about the seventh king are taken from my book:
"The seventh king, who would precede the Antichrist and “remain for a little while,” must certainly be Adolf Hitler. He is the same king that is introduced at the opening of the first Seal who “rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”
It cannot be argued that Adolf Hitler took power in Germany with a boldly aggressive foreign policy agenda. In other words, he took power for the purpose of conquest. Other facts about Hitler that in hindsight cannot be argued are the facts that he was steeped in the occult and probably possessed by Satan, that he hated genuine Christianity, and that he also passionately hated God’s unique people, the Jews, and worked for their complete eradication. A final fact that reinforces our identification of Hitler as Satan’s seventh king, is the fact that his career was, thankfully, rather brief. He ruled only 'for a little while.' " [3]
If this interpretation of the meaning of the seven heads is correct then the Bible predicts a unique forerunner to the Antichrist. If this is the case then it should not be unexpected to find this forerunner elsewhere in the book of Revelation, and I think he is shown at the opening of the first Seal. It is then not a stretch at all to conclude that Adolf Hitler fulfilled this role as the forerunner of the Antichrist. A few months after publishing my book I came across further evidence that seemed to confirm that my thinking regarding Hitler was on the right track:
According to Revelation 2:13, Satan's throne once stood in the Ionian city of Pergamum:
"I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives."
In 1875 a wealthy German railroad worker named Carl Humann found the scattered remnants of "Satan's throne" while working in Turkey. What he found was remnants of a huge altar dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, whom the Church Father Justin Martyr directly equated with Satan. In my online study on the intersection between pagan mythology and spiritual warfare I describe this ancient structure:
"This great altar, called by historians “the finest altar ever built,” was completed in about 180 BC. The structure stood forty feet high, measured over one hundred feet long, and the stairs that ascended to the upper level were sixty-five feet wide. The most impressive aspect of the altar, however, was its intricate imagery sculpted into the frieze-work that surrounded the lower level of the altar. Altogether there were almost four hundred feet of this frieze-work that some experts say marked the climax of classical Greek sculpture.
The sculptures depicted the defeat of the Titans by Zeus, Hercules and Athena, and the founding of Pergamum by the son of Hercules. The magnificent frieze-work is known as “the first known instance of continuous narrative in sculpture” and contained representations of 34 goddesses, 20 gods, 59 giants and 28 animals." [4]
The respected magazine Biblical Archaeology Review recently ran a front page story on the subject of "Satan's Throne" that appeared in the May/June 2006 issue. The author Adela Yarbro Collins offers convincing proof that connects "Satan's Throne" with the ancient Greek structure, and she draws the following conclusion:
"John's imagery in Revelation is more than symbolic, however. The very explicit association the author makes between the "throne of Satan" and the city of Pergamon suggests that something visible in the city inspired the phrase. Taken together, the archaeological and textual evidence points to the same candidate: the Great Altar of Pergamon, one of the most significant (and stunning) monuments to survive from the Greco-Roman world. To John of Revelation, it is the 'throne of Satan.' " [5]
In the German national elections in September of 1930 the Nazi Party made its single biggest surge in popularity, going from holding only 12 parliamentary seats to controlling 107. A couple of weeks later, on October 1-2, 1930, the permanent Pergamon Museum built to house the rebuilt pagan altar was "elaborately inaugurated" in Berlin, Germany.[6] Yes, "Satan's Throne" was rebuilt and reinstalled in the capital of Germany just in time to witness the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. I find it hard to view this fact as insignificant or as a mere coincidence.
If Adolf Hitler was represented by the first Seal then it is only natural to view the second Seal as representative of World War II. Recall that Jesus in His Olivet Discourse referred to just such a conflict of "nation against nation" and "kingdom against kingdom" (Matthew 24:7-8) as the very first visible "birthpang" that was to be understood as a valid sign foreshadowing the approach of the end of the age.
The third Seal, if my analysis is correct, might then correlate with the economic situation of Globalization that has been set up by the Anglo-American world order after World War II. The trend has been to erode the sovereignty of nations in the name of free trade, which has steadily lowered the living standards of people in less developed areas of the world. Oil has been the engine of economic progress for the rich, yet the poor and middle classes have found that their labor has become worth less and less in relative terms to the cost of the major necessities of life.
The fourth Seal is related to these trends by the fact that as the upper classes get richer the poorest quarter of the world suffers more and more. Jesus mentioned "famines and pestilences" as birthpangs of the end, and for the world's poor these threats have become more and more severe each passing year.
Viewing the first four Seals of Revelation as the "birthpangs" of the Day of the Lord is an understanding that I gained through my study of the Pre-Wrath Rapture. The only difference is that the Pre-Wrath view teaches that these "birthpangs" are fulfilled in the first half of the 70th Week of Daniel, whereas I am convinced that they are fulfilled before the 70th Week even begins.
In his book Earthquake Resurrection David Lowe gives an alternative explanation for the first four Seals. He views them as having a general fulfillment throughout the Church Age, beginning with the rise of religious domination and violence in the name of Christ as the early Church gained political power. Lowe's arguments are well thought out and may even have more merit than my own particular view. But regardless of the exact intended meaning of the Four Horsemen the point on which David Lowe and I agree is that these signs should be understood as having already been fulfilled. They are the precursors or "birthpangs" of the Apocalypse and their thundering footsteps have already been heard. Today heaven only waits for the breaking of the fifth Seal which will prepare the souls of the saints for the great Earthquake Resurrection of the sixth Seal.
When God's Silence Is Broken: Gog and Magog
So far we have shown that the Day of the Lord begins within the sixth Seal and that it involves the resurrection and rapture of the Church which marks the transition from the Church Age to a Divine focus on Israel. But the question remains, why does God suddenly intervene in human affairs? What actually prompts Him to rescue the Church so that He can shake the earth in His wrath?
This crucial question is definitively answered in the new book The Silence Is Broken! God Hooks Ezekiel's Gog and Magog, published in July of 2006 by Douglas Berner. What Berner reveals is that the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel was given his own vision of the beginning of the Day of the Lord, and Ezekiel's descriptions match very well with those found in Revelation and those given by Jesus and Paul. What Berner shows is that Israel is the final piece of the puzzle that, once added to the picture, greatly increases our understanding of the prophetic timeline and brings the entire picture into a much clearer focus. Here is what he writes,
"The invasion of Gog and Magog will be the reason for God's breaking His silence and intervening, not because Israel has earned His intervention, but because the limits of God's restraint have been reached and it is time for Him to take another stand on behalf of His own name and His own reputation. God will snatch a seemingly certain victory from the jaws of the Russian and Persian Bears by turning Gog's overwhelming military advantage into leaderless chaos. God will use the total reversal of Gog's certain victory into total destruction and defeat as an object example to the world that God is a righteous and holy God and that God does have a covenant relationship with Israel as My people and My land.
Gog's humiliation at the hand of God will serve as the mechanism for God to sanctify His holy name and to reveal His presence to the world as the God of Israel. Not only will God make Himself known to the nations of the world, He will specifically make Himself known as a holy God to the people of Israel. One of God's primary objectives through the destruction of Gog's alliance is to restore Israel to a position within an active covenant relationship through which God can judge and refine Israel. God's purpose is to purify Israel. God will subject Israel to His Day of the Lord judgments and to the Great Tribulation in order to purge Israel of its rebellion and blindness – so that the veil that blocks Israel from the truth of God's Messiah can be burned away and Israel fully restored to its original intended status as God's holy nation." [7]
The prophet Ezekiel gave a detailed prophecy of the regathering of the Jews into their own land and the rebirth of Israel as a nation. Throughout the process God is shown working subtly and silently to bring about His plan but, in chapters 38-39, Ezekiel describes the moment when God chooses to break His silence and reveal His power to Israel and to all the nations of the world. From the moment of Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, she has been surrounded by enemies that have continuously sought to destroy her. In Ezekiel 38-39 the prophet describes the formation of an alliance of Israel's enemies that will be the greatest threat that the nation has ever faced. This group of nations is led by a figure named Gog, of the land of Magog, which Berner identifies as Russia. Ezekiel tells us that this leader will plot to attack Israel, in league with Iran and probably Turkey, and then at a time of God's own choosing God will draw the alliance into committing the attack. God's response to this attack should be familiar by now because it takes the form of a massive shaking of the entire earth, as Ezekiel describes:
"This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground." (Ezekiel 38:18-20)
The shaking of the earth begins in Israel, yet it increases to involve the entire earth, just as the sixth Seal begins with what appears to be a local earthquake and finishes with the entire earth being shaken. Ezekiel's description of the beginning of the Day of the Lord also matches up perfectly with the description given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3,
"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Ezekiel refers to Israel as "living in safety" (38:8) and as a "peaceful and unsuspecting people" (38:11) prior to the shaking of the earth, and he refers to the people of the "coastlands" who also "live in safety" (39:6). This general condition of "peace and safety" is then followed by God's sudden and unexpected act of global destruction that takes the form of a shaking of the entire earth that reverberates outward from Israel. The shaking of the entire earth is the first salvo of God's "Day of the Lord" judgments and it focuses on the earth as a whole. However, the destruction of the invading Magog alliance itself is not completed until the second salvo of judgments which take the form of fiery destruction raining down from the sky:
"'I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains,' declares the Sovereign LORD. 'Every man's sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations... I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken,' declares the Sovereign LORD. 'I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.' " (Ezekiel 38:21-39:6)
The parallel to Ezekiel's account can be found in Revelation's description of the first Trumpet judgment that comes shortly after the shaking of the earth at the sixth Seal:
"The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up." (Revelation 8:7)
Ezekiel and Revelation both describe blood or bloodshed, hail or hailstones and fire or burning sulfur, which is poured down or hurled down upon the earth. The scope of devastation described in Ezekiel is unclear, but because it involves Russia, Iran, and the Middle East perhaps including Turkey, as well as the enigmatic and undefined "coastlands," it is conceivable that it affects fully one-third of the earth's land surface, just as the book of Revelation predicts.
Douglas Berner postulates that what is described could be a judgment from God that takes the form of meteorites from heaven, but he also considers the possibility that what is shown in both Ezekiel and Revelation could in fact be an account of nuclear warfare between the U.S., Russia, China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, and/or Israel. Berner shows that the first four Trumpet judgments are referred to in Revelation 7:2 as "the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea," and should therefore be viewed as being closely related. In his book he explains that the descriptions of these judgments, including a darkened atmosphere and polluted water, line up with scientific expectations of a "nuclear winter" scenario that would follow a global nuclear missile exchange.
This brings us finally to the all-important issue of the prophetic timeline, and to the task of connecting the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel, also known as the Seven Year Tribulation, with the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Revelation. Currently all major prophetic models, whether they are Pre-Trib, Pre-Wrath or Post-Trib, connect the beginning of the 70th Week with the opening of the first Seal. I believe that the most important step that can be taken towards perfecting the Pre-Trib Rapture is to realize that this designation is simply wrong.
In Ezekiel 39:9 there is a reference to a specific period of seven years that comes in the aftermath of the Magog invasion. Berner argues convincingly, with support from other well-respected Bible scholars such as Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Chuck Missler, Randall Price, Grant Jeffrey, and Chuck Smith, to name only a few, that this seven-year period must end at least before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore the 70th Week of Daniel, itself a specific seven-year period, cannot begin until the Magog invasion is over. Berner concludes, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the 70th Week of Daniel will probably not even begin until after the fourth Trumpet judgment of Revelation.
Out of Great Tribulation
Perhaps the biggest roadblock that stands in the way of Bible scholars accepting the idea that the Sixth Seal Rapture of the Great Multitude of Revelation could in fact be a Pre-Trib Rapture is the following description of the Great Multitude found in Revelation 7:13-14,
"Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' "
In their ongoing back-and-forth dispute Pre-Trib and Pre-Wrath scholars have put forth opposing ideas regarding the identity of the Great Multitude. The Pre-Wrath view is that they are the Church that has been raptured during the second half of the 70th Week. The Pre-Wrath view crumbles in the face of Revelation 11:14, which clearly places the midpoint of the 70th Week three-and-a-half days prior to the end of the sixth Trumpet judgment. The clear layout of the book of Revelation also assures us that the midpoint of the 70th Week cannot come before the sixth Trumpet judgment, because the mid-Trib events of the death of the Two Witnesses, the flight of the Jews from Israel, and the brief triumph of the Antichrist all occur after the sixth Trumpet is described in chapter nine, and before the seven Bowls are described in chapter sixteen. The Pre-Wrath identification of the Great Multitude as the Church is correct, but their entire timeline in which they place the rapture is a house of cards. For that reason we will instead turn to a dissection of the Pre-Trib view.
The well-entrenched Pre-Trib view is that the Great Multitude is a group of deceased souls who were killed during the first half of the 70th Week of Daniel. John the Revelator is a member of the Church Age, and so his inability to immediately identify the Great Multitude as "Church saints" is offered as evidence that the Great Multitude must be "tribulation martyrs" from the 70th Week of Daniel. For many students of Bible prophecy this explanation is accepted; however, if critically examined this argument actually works against the Pre-Trib conclusion.
Let's go back to the fifth Seal. After it is opened John immediately states (6:9): "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained." The Pre-Trib view is that these are also "tribulation martyrs" from the first half of the 70th Week. Notice that John has no problem identifying them whatsoever. Then, in response to a question from the martyrs John discovers that he should expect more martyrs to be killed in the future (6:11): "Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."
It does not make sense that John is able to identify the first group of alleged "tribulation martyrs," be warned of future "tribulation martyrs," and then subsequently fail to identify the alleged "tribulation martyrs" of the Great Multitude. If anything, John's inability to identify the Great Multitude is proof that they cannot be tribulation martyrs! However, before this point can be driven home, what should be made of the fact that the Great Multitude is clearly described as "they who have come out of the great tribulation"?
This brings us to problems of definition. The Pre-Trib view maintains that the Day of the Lord and the 70th Week are synonymous terms for identical periods of time that last from the first Seal to the seventh Bowl. The very term "Pre-Trib" is in fact a misnomer because there are a number of clear passages from the New Testament that promise that good Christians will experience "tribulation" for maintaining and proclaiming their faith in Christ.[8] Because of this fact many Pre-Trib scholars believe that a more proper term for the end-times tribulation is "Great Tribulation." This idea seems to be reinforced by Revelation 2:20-22,
"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."
This short passage is a message to believers in the first century church at Thyatira, yet many scholars believe that we can draw a contemporary application from it. The point to be taken is that, in distinction to the many statements warning the Church to expect "tribulation," here we have an implied promise that faithful and repentant believers will not experience "great tribulation." So with this in mind perhaps a more accurate name for the Pre-Trib Rapture is "Pre-Great Trib Rapture." [9]
In any case, we must get back to the problem raised by the description of the Great Multitude which is, "they who have come out of the great tribulation." Did this group experience "great tribulation?" Before we answer this, and because the definition of "great tribulation," based on only three appearances of the term throughout Scripture, is far from conclusive, we should first ask two questions that are easier to answer.
First, did the the Great Multitude experience any of the Day of the Lord? From what we have learned above regarding the sixth Seal, the beginning of the Day of the Lord, and the words of Jesus and Paul, I am convinced that the answer is a firm "No!" They did not experience any of the Day of the Lord, but were rescued away from it right as it began.
Secondly, did the Great Multitude experience any of the 70th Week of Daniel? Based on our analysis of how and why the Day of the Lord begins, and where the 70th Week fits within the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls, I think we can again answer with a firm "No!"
So if the Great Multitude does experience anything that can be characterized as "great tribulation" then it must fall outside of the Day of the Lord's wrath and outside of the 70th Week of Daniel. This is how David Lowe approaches the problem, and this is an approach favored by several other friends of mine who I respect as very knowledgeable Bible scholars. If this is the case then "great tribulation" could refer to the "birthpangs" that precede the Day of the Lord mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:7-14, or it could refer to the "anxieties of life" mentioned by Jesus in Luke 21:34.
When we look around the world today things are certainly not getting easier for true born-again Christians to fulfill their responsibilities as messengers of the Gospel. Things are easy in the West, but times are hard for Christians in places like China, Africa, India, and in the Muslim world that has a population of close to a billion people. Many Christians are experiencing "tribulation" today, and it would not be a stretch to go ahead and apply the adjective "great" to their situation. Even in the United States it seems that the government is taking a greater interest in Church affairs, and the time may not be far off when pastors who fail to follow government rules mandating "tolerance" and outlawing "hate speech" find that they are persecuted for speaking out against sin and for simply presenting the Gospel. Of course for those Christians who fear such a day this type of persecution can easily be avoided, as demonstrated by the character and actions displayed by the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. In any case, if the true and faithful Church is destined to experience "great tribulation" then this is how it may play out in the years leading up to the rapture and the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
However, there is another way to approach the relationship between the Great Multitude and the "great tribulation." I happen to be more convinced of the idea that the term "great" is used in conjunction with "tribulation" to distinguish the end-times tribulation from the everyday tribulation that Christians are repeatedly warned that they will face. I believe that the reference to "great tribulation" in Revelation 2:22 supports this conclusion, which implies that the Church will not experience "great tribulation." (This one verse is a major blow to the Pre-Wrath view which argues that the Church is meant to experience most of the 70th Week and a portion of the "great tribulation" before being raptured prior to the Day of the Lord.)
I think that the problem can be solved by looking at the phrase in the original Greek and comparing it with other passages where the same words are used. The Great Multitude is described as they "who have come .... out of .... the great tribulation." The first part of the description, which is the phrase "who have come" (oi erxomenoi), is explained by Dr. Robert H. Mounce: "The participle should be understood in a general sense to mean ‘such as come’ or perhaps as a more vivid way of saying ‘they that have just come.’"[10] In other words, this group arrived into heaven all at once, rather than one by one or in separate groups as would be expected if they were "tribulation martyrs."
The second part of the description is "out of" which is simply the Greek participle ek. According to Strong’s Concordance this word is primarily interpreted as "out of," "from," "by," or "away from." With these possible interpretations in mind we find that oi erxomenoi ek might just as easily be translated within Revelation 7:14 as, "These are they that have just come away from the great tribulation." With this translation it seems that the Great Multitude, rather than experiencing any of the great tribulation, is actually described as having been rescued away from it just as it began. A promise from the message to the church at Philadelphia helps to confirm this conclusion, because it also uses the Greek participle ek,
"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." (Revelation 3:10)
The phrase "keep you from" is tereo ek. Here the Church is promised to be "kept away from" the "hour of trial," and I believe that the Great Multitude, which is pictured as having "come away from the great tribulation," is the fulfillment of this promise.
Another example of the use of the Greek participle ek can be found in the Greek Septuagint translation of the book of Genesis within the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Luke 17:28-30 Jesus seems to compare the rescue of Lot and his family with the rescue that will take place at the rapture. In Genesis 19:29 we read that God "sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow..." In the Septuagint translation the Greek word ek is again used for "out of." In the English translation of the passage readers may come away with the false impression that Lot experienced the overthrow of Sodom, yet we know that Lot escaped away from it in the nick of time. I believe that the very same idea is meant to be conveyed when the Great Multitude in Revelation 7:14 is described as those who have "come away from the great tribulation." They escaped it and they did not experience it.
In summary, I would conclude that the term "great tribulation" is simply another name for the "Day of the Lord." However, unlike the common Pre-Trib view, I do not believe that these references are synonymous with the 70th Week of Daniel. My belief is that the one-two punch of, first, the shaking of the earth, and second, the first four Trumpets, will precede the start of the 70th Week by probably a few months, and not much more, so I think that the so-called "Seven Year Tribulation" is actually a little bit longer than seven years. On the other hand, Douglas Berner concludes that the beginning of the Day of the Lord will probably precede the 70th Week by a number of years, and he maintains a belief in an approximate "Ten Year Tribulation." Whatever the case may be, we both agree that the Great Multitude appears in heaven prior to the 70th Week of Daniel, and we both agree that the 70th Week will not begin until after the fourth Trumpet.
One day soon we, the members of that mystical body of believers known as the Church, the Bride of Christ that has been made perfect through the blood of Jesus Christ, will appear in heaven as live actors in the scene described in the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation. As Jesus Himself says, "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Conclusion
The title of this essay is "Perfecting the Pre-Trib Rapture." By giving it this title I don't mean to claim that the end-times models proposed by myself, David Lowe, or Douglas Berner are perfect. Actually all three of us disagree on many details, and we are not unanimous in our interpretation of the Four Horsemen, the placement of the Magog invasion within Revelation, or the identification of the Church in Revelation. Yet we all agree that the beginning of the 70th Week needs to be moved away from the first Seal and into the Trumpet judgments. For all of us the "perfecting" of the Pre-Trib Rapture has been, and will continue to be, an ongoing process. This process was greatly aided by the development of pre-millennial dispensationalism in the first place so many years ago, and since then it has been greatly pushed forward by dedicated scholars such as John Walvoord, Hal Lindsey, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, and many others. Although these folks may not like to admit it, I believe that the process was also pushed forward by advocates of the Pre-Wrath view such as Marvin Rosenthal and Robert Van Kampen. Now it is time to move the process forward once again. We haven't achieved a perfect model that synchronizes all of the Bible's predictions into a complete and consistent whole just yet, but as the years go by students of the Bible will keep getting closer and closer to that ultimate goal. Peace be to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter Goodgame
August 19, 2006
www.redmoonrising.com
End Notes
1. The meaning of the "last trumpet" has been definitively answered by David Lowe at . The Pre-Trib problem of the "first resurrection" is tackled in an article located at http://www.gotquestions.org/resurrection-first-second.html.
2. Earthquake Resurrection - Supernatural Catalyst for the Coming Global Catastrophe, David Lowe, 2005, p.99
3. , Peter Goodgame, 2005, pp.175-176
4. "Against World Powers - IV. Pagan Domination", subsection: Greek Religion
5. Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2006, "Satan's Throne: Revelations from Revelation" by Adela Yarbro Collins, pp.28-29
6. , Renee Dreyfus and Ellen Schraudolph, 1996, p.29
7. The Silence Is Broken! God Hooks Ezekiel's Gog and Magog, Douglas Berner, 2006, pp.217-218
8. Passages which warn Christians that they should expect "tribulation" include Acts 14:22, Romans 5:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 3:4, 2 Thessalonians 1:4, and Revelation 1:9. (See pp.138-139 of )
9. Some Bible scholars argue that Matthew 24:21 teaches that the "great tribulation" refers only to the second half of the 70th Week. Actually Matthew 24:21 refers to the second half as the "greatest tribulation." The term "great tribulation" should be understood as synonymous with the entire Day of the Lord, because clearly Revelation 7:14 uses the term in reference to a time before the midpoint of the 70th Week.