Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13) ...a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days. (Revelation 12:6)
Pre-Tribulation or Post-Tribulation Rapture
The Tribulation Period This study started when I had a conversation with a friend who said that he wasn't sure what the Bible taught concerning the chronology of the Tribulation period and the Rapture of the church. Theologians call the seven-year period before the Second Advent of Christ the "Tribulation period" because this seven-year period brings the terrible period taught in much of the book of Revelation, with one global catastrophe after another. I have learned from the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation that the Tribulation period actually has at least a twofold purpose in God's economy. The many calamities happening to planet earth during this seven-year period are undoubtedly first to purge planet earth from the thousands of years effect of the curse found in the book of Genesis chapter three. In fact, the book of Romans tells us:
We also understand from the book of Revelation, that God's plan during this period is to save 144 thousand of each of the tribes of Israel, and use them as "evangelists" during this period to spread the Gospel to the "multitudes of many kindreds and tongues" that John sees directly after he is allowed to see the resurrection of the 144 thousand Jews. The book of Revelation concerning the 144 thousand who were sealed:
7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and
there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes
of the children of
Directly after this, John was allowed to see:
7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Now, who were these people - first there were 144 thousandfrom each of the tribes of
Without getting into the catastrophes of the Tribulation period, we need to get right into the reason for this study, answering the question, "Does the Rapture of the church body on earth, and the resurrection of the "dead in Christ" happen before the Tribulation period, or after the seven year Tribulation period?
Pre-Trib and Post-Trib Controversy
The difference between the pre-tribulationists and the post-tribulationists is really only seven years - but what a seven years! While talking about the last part of the Tribulation period, Jesus Himself called it worse than anything ever on earth.
24:21 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 biggest question that I have for the Post-Tribulationist is the following:
"Can believers living during the 7 year Tribulation know the day that Christ will return?"
We must think about this very seriously. If the Tribulation is seven years long, then why couldn't the believer alive on earth count the seven year period and know the time of the Second Advent? Wouldn't this contradict the Scripture in Matthew 25:13 which states:
25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Maybe this would contradict, maybe not. Let's examine all the evidence before we jump to any conclusions. In fact, would it surprise you if I told you that there are other verses that state that Tribulation saints will be able to know the day that Christ will return? First, let's look at the book of Daniel:
9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The main part of this portion of Scripture that we need to look at is "In the midst of the week". We will need to define some of the termsused in this passage. The term "week" comes from the Hebrew word, Shabuwa:
07620
ewbv shabuwa‘ shaw-boo’-ah or
ebv shabua‘ shaw-boo’-ah
also (fem.)
hebv sh@bu‘ah sheb-oo-aw’
properly, pass part of 07650 as a denom. of 07651; TWOT-2318d; n m
AV-week 19, seven 1; 20
1) seven, period
of seven (days or years), heptad, week
1a) period of seven days, a week 1a1) Feast of Weeks
1b) heptad, seven (of years)
1a1) Feast of Weeks
1b) heptad, seven (of years)
We know that while shabuwa means simply "seven", in this part of Daniel it means "week of years" rather than "week of days". I can't get into all the reasons in this study,
but we can go to the book of
Genesis where we are able to see the same Hebrew word used obviously as a
"week of seven years" as Jacob worked a shabuwa
for Rachael. Likewise, in Daniel
24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
The Apostle Paul gives a fuller account of this event in future history:
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
According to these Passages, the "Abomination of Desolation" involves a
desecration of the temple by the man of sin. At this time, the Jews have no
abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Now we must notice that the Abomination of Desolation splits the seven year period in half. In other words, it happens at the three and one-half year point in those terrible seven years. This also makes it exactly three and one-half years exactly before Christ returns to earth. What would prevent a Tribulation saint - one saved and alive during the Tribulation period to count the days from the Abomination of Desolation to the Second Advent, thus knowing the time of Christ's return? Now some might say something to the effect, "Well, three and one-half years is only approximate, and the Tribulation saint still would not know the exact day". Let's go to the Scripture again and see again the harmony in the Bible. In the book of Revelation we read:
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months. 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them
that dwell in heaven.
Forty-two months - how long is that? Exactly three and one-half years! Now, some might say that forty-two months still doesn't give the exact time of Christ's return because some months have thirty days, some thirty-one, and one has 28 days. Let's look at the book of Revelation again:
12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
I always have to marvel at the harmony and beauty of God's Word. How long is a thousand two hundred and threescore days? Exactly 42 months (at 30 days apiece) or three and one-half years! In the Bible the month is exactly thirty days. (you can look in Genesis 7:11 and Genesis 8:3-4, and find where 150 days are five months) Now if God continues to repeat this amount of time, He must want us to know something about it. But could these verses be pulled out of context? Am I pretending harmony when there really isn't any?
When we study the time periods, we discover that they all refer to the last three and one-half years before Christ returns. Going back to Daniel:
12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these [things] shall be finished.
What does the Bible mean by "A time, times, and a half"? The Bible itself gives us the correct interpretation. It comes to light in the book of Revelation chapter 12:
12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
AND
12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
From these two verses, it is easy to see that "a time,
times, and a half" equals a thousand two hundred and three score days, or
forty-two months, or three and one-half years.
Daniel placed the time much more obscurely than did John in the book of
Revelation. The reason for this fact is
simple when we find out that the book of Daniel was temporarily sealed (Daniel
12:4), but the
book of Revelation is unsealed
(Revelation
We before mentioned the man of sin who will desecrate the temple with the Abomination of Desolation". This character is called by several names in Scripture like "antichrist" and "beast". No matter what you want to call him, the important question that has to be answered is,
The Bible clearly states in the book of Revelation that the antichrist will be destroyed at the coming of Christ:
19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone.
19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all
the fowls were filled with their flesh.
And in the book of II Thessalonians:
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Now we need to use some simple logic. If the beast has power for forty-two months, and if the beast is destroyed at Christ's coming, then this forty-two month period has to be the last forty-two months before Christ's return to earth. When Does the Countdown Begin?
From the information gathered so far, we can easily see that the three and one-half years, the forty-two months, and the one thousand two hundred and three score days all refer to the same time period - the period just before the Second Advent of Christ. It seems like with this information that the Tribulation saints can calculate the exact day of Christ's return- but when do they start counting? When is the first day of the one thousand two hundred and three score days? Let's go back to Daniel:
9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The answer is very simple: The Abomination of Desolation!
At this event it appears that Tribulation saints will be able to start counting 1260 years and know the very day of Christ's return. I do not want this to be resting on only
one verse, so let's go to the book of Revelation:
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months.
13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Now this portion of Scripture does not give us the beginning of the forty-two month countdown, but it does reveal something else very important to this issue. It reveals something about the powers that God will allow the beast to have during this period. The two important powers from this passage are (1) Power to speak great things against God, and (2) Power to war against the saints. Now if we turn to II Thessalonians again we can all see the point that I am trying to make:
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
This passage connects it with the Abomination of Desolation.While this also answers our original question, that the Day of the Lord is at hand when the man of sin is revealed. One more question might plague the reader concerning this last half of the Tribulation period. The question might be, "How is the tribulation saint going to be able to tell when the man of sin is revealed? Looking back at the passage in Daniel, we find out that everyone will know when he sits in the temple boasting to be God. This is the sign that the Apostle Paul is giving in this passage, and without it, we would have no way of knowing the exact day that this countdown begins.
So far we have seen that it is the Abomination of Desolation that begins the three and one-half years, and it is the Abomination of Desolation that begins the forty-two months. What about the one thousand two hundred and three scoredays? Does the Abomination of Desolation begin this time period also? We can find this out also with two Scriptures.
First let's look back at the book of Revelation:
12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
While Revelation 12:6 does not reveal the occasion that the woman went "fleeing for safety", but the book of Matthew clears up the situation:
24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
24:16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
Isn't this amazing? Jesus gives us the exact moment of fleeing for safety as the Abomination of Desolation.
When is the Wedding?
I think that everyone would agree that the heavenly wedding happens at Christ's return. In fact the Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians:
11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.
According to the apostle, we are now "espoused" which means that we are engaged and not yet married. As long as we are in the church age, we are in the engagement period not the marriage period. From this we can conclude that the wedding can not take place until the Rapture of the church. Now let's look at another Passage that for me sews up the Pre-Tribulation-Post-Tribulation controversy in a neat package confirming the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. Turning to the book of Luke we read:
12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
In this verse we have to notice the phrase, "return from the wedding". The fact is if the wedding occurred before the return, then the Rapture also occurred before the this return. One possible objection that a Post-Tribulationist might have with this verse is the fact that the Post-Tribulation Rapture is the wedding. In other words, this might be explained something like, "As we go up we are married, and as we come down moments later, this is His return from the wedding." While we cannot object to the Rapture being the wedding, I still have a problem with this statement. One question still is plaguing me about this, the simple question is,
"Who is Waiting?"
This verse says to be like men who wait for their Lord's return from the wedding, but if all are raptured at the same time, there is no one waiting for His return, so that the Rapture does not fit Scripture at the end of the Tribulation period. Only a Parable?
Another objection might be that this passage is only a parable. Jesus used parables many times to give an earthly explanation for a heavenly story. When we examine the context of this parable, we find that it is used to explain the heavenly wedding. Just look at the following verse for proof:
12:37 Blessed [are] those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
And in verse 39 and 40
12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
12:40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
The strength of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is that it has no problem accepting the chronology given to us by Christ Himself in the book of Luke. The Post-Tribulationist will have definite problems with this chronology.
Another Verse to Confirm the Parable
While any doctrine can not be based soley upon a parable, we can go back to the book of Revelation to confirm this doctrine:
19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
This Passage also sets up a chronology, identically the same chronology as in Luke the twelfth chapter. Notice "His wife hath made herself ready" [Use of the past tense] and "And to her was granted" [again the past tense use]. Now if the wife is robed and readied, then she must have also been raptured. The scenario fits perfectly. There is no way for her to be robed and readied unless she were in heaven, and there is no way for all believers who make up the wife to be in heaven without the rapture happening previously.
Just in case some of you might be asking the question,
(Especially when mention is made of it in Revelation 3:4?)
3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
This reference is, of course, a spiritual reference to garments. The Lord was not speaking of their physical clothes, but the fact that their were a few righteous in Sardis. In fact, just look at the next verse for confirmation that the white garments are in the future.
3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Another example of this fact can be found in Revelation 6 concerning the souls under the altar seen by John:
6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.
These souls were faithful unto death on earth, yet still their robes were not given to them on earth, but rather after they were raptured into heaven. The only exception to this really proves the rule of not having a white robe until reaching heaven. This exception is Christ Himself seen in white on the mount found in Mark 9:1-3. At that time, however, Christ was pictured in a heavenly transfigured state. We will not be robed in white until we reach heaven, which implies a prior rapture into heaven. My intentions by writing this is not to add to the arguments between Pre-Tribulationists and PostTribulationists, but rather to demonstrate the unity and harmony in God's holy Word. There is obviously two more comings of the Lord. The first one, no one but God knows when it will come. At that time, Christ will not step His foot on the earth, but the church dead first, and then those that are alive will meet Him in the air. Praise God! The Second Advent, however, the Tribulation saints, the people who are saved during the Tribulation period, will know the exact day of Christ's return, because it is 1260 days after the antichrist exalts himself as God in the temple to be built by Isreal in Jerusalem. Our commandment hasn't changed since God commanded Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply". We need to, and especially in these last days, bring as many people into God's Kingdom which is surely coming on earth, as is possible. Once a person leaves his body, it is too late to accept the eternal life that God has so graciously
offered. If the person is caught in the Tribulation period because he was not ready for the Rapture, will face the most improbable situations to live for God. It is our job to comfort the saint (because they do not have to go through the Tribulation period), and appeal to the sinner to get ready for the Rapture of the church which will usher in the seven year Tribulation period.