Why don't you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture?

Bible prophecies are designed to prepare us for events that will happen in the future. In order to see the full revelation of the end-times, we cannot color the Bible with our prejudices, belief systems, or denominational positions. Jesus never tried to be optimistic or pessimistic; He always presented generic truth without thought for His emotions or what He personally may have wanted to believe. We must follow the pattern of Jesus and the prophets by viewing prophecy from the most abandoned arena of our time – realism. To be an effective witness for God, you cannot be controlled by your emotions. You must remain committed to being crucified to serve as a conduit for God, so that His will is accomplished, as He is able to express Himself through you.

Closely examine the analysis of the following passage of Scripture to see if the pre-tribulation rapture theory holds water. If a pre-tribulation rapture is unscriptural, then belief in this theory is extremely dangerous because it leaves millions of Christians completely unprepared for the persecution that will be unleashed upon the Church in times ahead. Many will, therefore, be unable to stand during the severe pressure because they have been lulled to sleep by a self-serving, worldly perversion of the Gospel. My friend, you can be absolutely sure of one thing; you will suffer if Christ has genuinely saved you. Let’s review Matthew 10:16-25 together:

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?"

Remember, he that endures to the end shall be saved. You and I have to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. We will come under severe persecution in the last days from religious leaders who have not been converted and filled with the Holy Ghost. The saints of God will come under severe persecution from family members and friends who don’t want to serve Jesus themselves. We will also come under severe persecution from government and economic systems that view us as a threat to their New World Order. We will be seen as the problem on earth (not the solution) when we refuse to compromise the Word of God in support of the one-world systems led by the false prophet, who cause all men to worship and glorify the beast.

It is time for denominationally bound traditionalists to repent and receive a mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost. There is no other way that we can be made ready to wage a spiritual battle against the adversary of God. Listen carefully; the Bible exhorts us to pray that we are accounted worthy to escape all these things coming on the earth. Many theologians like to quote I Thessalonians 5:9, which states that God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. This Scripture is absolutely true, but there is a difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of the devil.

The first three and one-half years of the tribulation period is void of God’s wrath. During this time, Satan is allowed to build his empire and sign a peace treaty with Israel in preparation for the end-time sequences to begin. However, he will be angry because the saints (you and I) are busy preaching the gospel with powerful signs, wonders, and gifts of the Holy Ghost to confirm what is preached. This will warn the nations that Satan is a counterfeit and that he is raising up a false god.

The wrath of Satan is not to be feared, but confronted with power and authority, while draped in the protective armor of God’s Word. Just like the apostles, the prophets, and all the New Testament saints who have gone before us, we will be under persecution for a season. As we witness to the truth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost will come through us like a mighty rushing wind to refresh the nations and bring deliverance to those who have been bound by satanic influence.

The rapture is not an escape from the devil’s wrath, but a complete removal of the Bride of Christ before the 16th chapter of Revelation takes place. Read it for yourself,

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto 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 come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Verse one plainly states that the vials represent the pouring out of God’s wrath. This passage refers to the judgment of God upon a rebellious world that refuses to repent; even after the end-time church has preached the Gospel of the Kingdom with an uncompromising witness. “Then the end shall come” the Bible reveals.

Do not fall prey to end-time delusions, but prepare yourself to stand in trying times. End-time prophecy conferences, books, tapes, and videos are big business now and have been used to fuel an industry that is making many preachers rich. If you want to clearly see, then come out from amongst them and touch not the unclean thing so that God can receive you to Himself! Only then can you be an effective and powerful witness for the Lord.

Remember, the Greek word for witness is martus, the root for the English word martyr. You and I should not be doing our own thing, but following the leading of the Holy Ghost as He crucifies the old Adamic nature and resurrects the nature of Christ (that is in the Body of Christ) to qualify us for this promised departure.

I believe the “catching away” of the Body of Christ parallels the ministry of the head of the body, Jesus. He was born of the Virgin Mary, raised as a Jewish carpenter and taught in the synagogue. When He was thirty years old He was led to the Jordan River and baptized in water. At that point the Holy Ghost came upon Him to fill Him with the power necessary to demonstrate who He was. The Bible says that Jesus was revealed with many signs, wonders, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. For three and one-half years, He lived, walked, and worked amongst the people teaching and preaching the Kingdom of God. After those three and one-half years, He sent the Holy Ghost to His disciples to do the same work He did.

I believe that we will have the same three and one-half years into the seven year tribulation to demonstrate the power of God to a sin-filled, God-forsaking world. Then we will be caught up to escape the wrath of God poured out on rebels who refused to heed our warning.

Friends, do not be deceived into believing a pre-tribulation rapture theory. In order to arrive at that conclusion, the Bible has to be grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted. It is time to gird up our loins with truth and stand in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation so that we may proclaim the truth of God’s Word without fear. Do not let your mind be twisted into falling away under the sway of soft-spoken words by a false prophetic voice. The Church is prepared to carry this message to the nations and see a generation dramatically saved and ushered into the Kingdom of God.

You can sit and read a multitude of fairy tales about the end-times or you can strategically prepare for them. The tragedy is that this pre-tribulation rapture lie is so ingrained in the religious mind that it will take a tremendous shaking to awake people from this lethargic state. Movies and books like Left Behind are making millions of individuals believe that they will be taken away from the earth, even while they sit in a rebellious, religious state totally separated from the Spirit of God.