Truth or Deception

Before I begin, I want to say that I am writing this not to incite fear. We know that God is in charge. He is our provider. He has promised us His peace. He is our shield and our fortress. He will give us what we need when we need it if we trust in Him and submit to His will. Saying that, it is important that we know the truth and recognize the time in which we are living.

We live in an interesting time, prophetically spoken of throughout the Bible. From the prophets of the Old Testament to the Revelation of Jesus given to the apostle John, over and over, we are warned that this time will be full of deception. We who? God’s children. Those of us who trust in the Word of God. It doesn’t do much good to warn those who believe the Bible is a fairy tale. Those who believe as such are already deceived and therefore cannot be warned against deception. It does no good to warn someone of a riptide if they are already stuck in a riptide. First, they must be rescued FROM the riptide. Once saved, they can be warned of future riptides. I make this point because the remainder of this post will center around end times prophecy, specifically the rapture, and I have often heard churchgoers argue that we should not focus on this subject because it is better to have unity in the body of Christ rather than discuss topics on which we disagree. However, God deems this subject to be so important that He began foretelling the events of this time thousands of years ago. As we rapidly approach the return of our Lord and Savior, the time in which we live demands that we take a closer look at this subject to ensure that we have not been deceived.

Jesus was asked by his disciples what signs would accompany His return and signal the end of the world. His answer is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. I am going to walk through the passage in Matthew 24, starting on verse 4. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying , I am Christ: and shall deceive many” Who is Jesus talking to? He is talking to His disciples, those who believe in Him. He is warning us not to be deceived and tells us the coming deception will fool many.

Jesus continues in verse 6 by saying “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” I recently had a friend tell me it is arrogant to think that we are the generation that will see His return and that the hardships of our day are those that have been prophesied for thousands of years. She told me that many who lived through World War I and World War II thought that the events of their day must be the end and that they were wrong. However, Jesus was clear that wars will come, but that they do NOT signal the end. If we instead turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:3, we read the end will come when the world proclaims “Peace and safety.”

If we return to Matthew, verses 7-8 tell us, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” We have always had famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and political and civil unrest in our world. But the past year has brought wave after wave of disaster. 2020 was marked by wildfires, famines, swarms of locusts, political unrest around the globe, riots, race wars, a worldwide pandemic, an economic depression, and 30 named storms in the Atlantic. 2021 appears to be following suit. We are experiencing the beginning of sorrows.

Jesus goes on to tell us that we as believers will be hated and killed for Christ’s sake. We are warned that many false prophets will come and that they WILL be believed. Verses 12-13 tell us, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Many will harden their hearts and walk away from their faith because of the wickedness around them. Jesus tells us the one who endures until the end will be saved. Whether you live until the end of this age or you go home early is irrelevant. To be saved we must endure until the end of our days here on earth.

Jesus continues in verse 14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” When you see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place. Who is Jesus talking to? Is He talking to the world who rejects Him? No, He is talking to His followers. He is talking to us. When we see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place. Now, some say that this portion of the prophecy was specifically for the Jews and that it was fulfilled when the second temple was destroyed. However, Jesus continues in verse 21 with, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The event of the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place will be accompanied by the worst tribulation the world has ever, or will ever, see. This is not speaking of an event that has already occurred.

At this point, many stop to say that we don’t need to concern ourselves with these things because we won’t be here to see them, even though the words Jesus spoke were when YOU see the abomination stand in the holy place. They believe we will have been raptured by this point and jump down to verse 30 to back that claim. But if we continue reading, verse 22 goes on to say, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” For who’s sake? The elect’s sake. The elect are us, God’s people who follow Christ and recognize Him as messiah. Christ’s followers are subsequently referred to as the elect in both Romans 8:33 and Titus 1:1.

Continuing on in this passage, Jesus again warns us against deceit. He tells us that many will come saying that they are Him. However, His coming will be obvious and seen by all. Verse 27, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” If every eye sees His return, the rapture can’t happen in secret without the world knowing it has occurred.

Now we come to the verses that make the timing of His coming clear. Verses 29-31, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Immediately AFTER…

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, not before, He will come in the clouds to gather His elect at the sound of a trumpet, the same elect that the days of tribulation were shortened for. This aligns with Revelation 14:14 where we are told of Jesus coming on a cloud to reap the harvest of the earth; “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” We know this passage refers to Jesus because we read in Daniel 7:13, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” God does not give an everlasting dominion that will not pass away to anyone other than Jesus. Therefore, Jesus is on the cloud in Revelation. After Jesus reaps the earth, an angel who also carries a sickle reaps the remainder of the inhabitants of the earth and casts them into the winepress of God’s wrath.

In Mark 13:24-27 we read “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” Although it is worded differently, Jesus still tells us in this passage that He will return after the tribulation. Immediately preceding this statement, in verses 22-23 Jesus says, “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” False prophets have come and are already among us. They have fed us seductive lies. However, Jesus told us everything that would happen. All we need to do is trust in what He has told us and we will not be deceived.

The Gospel of Luke also records Jesus telling us of His return. In Luke 21:25-27, we read “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Again, we see Jesus coming in a cloud after the tribulation. We are told to look up after these things have begun to happen because we will soon be raptured. A rapture that occurs soon after these things begin cannot happen before they begin.

In Daniel 7:19-28, Daniel received the interpretation of a vision he saw pertaining to the end times. In the vision, Daniel saw a beast with 10 horns. The horns are kings. One horn was stronger than the rest and has eyes and a mouth. In verses 21 and 25, we learn that this horn, or king, will make war with the saints and that he will overcome them. We read the same thing in Revelation 13:7, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” How can the saints be overcome if they are no longer on the earth.

1 Thessalonians 4:5-17 tells us, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 we read, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” These two passages show us that those of us who are alive when Jesus returns will be raptured AFTER the dead in Christ are risen and that this will take place at the sound of the last trumpet. In Revelation 8:2, we are told of seven angels that are given seven trumpets. They sound their trumpets throughout the tribulation period. The seventh angel sounds the seventh trumpet after plagues are released on the earth, the beast rises to power, the anti-christ is revealed, and after the two witnesses have completed their assignment. If we are raptured at the sound of the last trumpet, angels one through six must sound their trumpets before we are taken from the earth.

Here is why this matters. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 we read, “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day (the day of Christ) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” Many Christians believe that we will be raptured before the tribulation. I have heard some say that it is futile to even study end times prophecy since we will not be around to see it come about. But what if we are here? What if the rapture comes after the tribulation? Will Christians recognize an anti-christ that they don’t expect to be on earth to see? Will they recognize the mark of the beast for what it is? If they do, will they refuse the mark if it means starving? What if it means their children will starve? Jesus will return after there is a great falling away in the church. But why will many fall away? Perhaps they fall away out of anger when they are faced with hardships they did not expect and were not prepared for. Or perhaps they will justify taking the mark and obeying the beast by telling themselves that God wouldn’t want them to suffer. God would want them to provide for their families. He understands our frailty and loves us no matter what we do. After all, we are covered in the blood of the Lamb and our sins will not be remembered. But to obey is to worship. We read in Revelation 13:4, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” When we picture worship, we picture a people bowing down and praising. Romans 12:1 tells us that offering our life as a living sacrifice is true worship. When we die to self, when we submit our will to God, we worship Him. So when we read of the world worshiping the beast and the dragon, the picture in our mind should be of a people acting in submission to the beast and obeying the ordinances that the beast puts forth.

Again, I say all these things not so that you will be frightened, but so that you will know the truth and seek God for guidance in the days ahead.

Before I close, I would like to address two more scriptures. They are the main scriptures that I have heard used to justify a pre-tribulation rapture. The first is 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” In the NIV it is worded this way, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” Many say the one who holds back, or he who restrains, is the church. Others say the restrainer is the Holy Spirit. They say this scripture proves that the church must be raptured in order for the anti-christ to be revealed. However, they then say that people will come to Christ during the tribulation period. We read in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of their sin leading them to repent and turn to Christ. If the Holy Spirit is removed, He cannot fulfill this role. And nowhere in this passage of scripture are we told that the restrainer is the church. We are not given the identity of the restrainer. But we are told a few scriptures before this that Jesus will not come and we will not be gathered to him until after the man of lawlessness is revealed. Verses 1-3, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us-whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter-asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” The day of the Lord mentioned in verse 2 is described in verse 1 as the day Jesus comes and gathers the apostles to Him.

The second verse is Revelation 3:10, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” In John 17:15, Jesus prays, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Take and keep do not mean the same thing. They are not interchangeable. The children’s prayer goes as such, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to KEEP. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to TAKE.” We put things in a refrigerator so that they will be preserved, or so that they will keep. Jesus promises that He will keep those who keep the word of His patience. He does not say that He will take us out of the world before the days of tribulation.

While preparing to write this, I made a post on Facebook asking my friends who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture to help me understand why by sending me scriptures that back up their belief. I only had one person reach out to me. I truly appreciate her willingness to not only share her reasoning and thought process with me, but to also allow me the opportunity to explain why I believe in a post-tribulation rapture. However, she was not able to give me scriptural backing for a pre-tribulation rapture. So I will pose the same question to you. If you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, a rapture that happens almost in secret that is explained away by world leaders using science, what are the scriptures you turn to to support your belief?