Going, Going, Gone. Three Theories About The Rapture Part 3

Scripture Reading: John 14:1-3

Our final look at our last theory Postribulationism. Let’s refresh our memories almost every Christian agrees with:
1) There is coming a time of great tribulation such as the world has never seen
2) After the tribulation, Christ will return to establish His kingdom on earth
3) There will be a rapture from mortality to immortality for believers (John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The only question is the timing of the rapture: when will it occur in relation to the tribulation and the second coming?

Postrbibulationism:

Posttribulationism teaches that the rapture occurs at the end, or near the end, of the tribulation. At that time, the church will meet Christ in the air and then return to earth for the commencement of Christ’s Kingdom on earth. In other words, the rapture and Christ’s second coming (to set up His Kingdom) happen almost simultaneously. According to this view, the church goes through the entire seven-year tribulation. Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, and many Protestant denominations teach a posttribulational view.

Scriptural Strengths:

When Jesus speaks of the end times He says He will return after a “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21, 29) 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.”
29 “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:”
Notice the difference in the NIV and KJV versions. The word Great tribulation is absent from the NIV.

The book of Revelation mentions only one coming of the Lord. That occurs after the tribulation (Revelation 19-20) Passages such as Revelation 13:7 “He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.”

and Revelation 20:9 “They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” These verses give support to posttribulationism in that there will obviously be saints in the tribulation.

To the posttribulationist the resurrection of the dead in Revelation 20:5 “(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.” … is called “the first resurrection.” They believe that since this “first” resurrection takes place after the tribulation, the resurrection associated with the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “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.” cannot occur until then.

Historically, God’s people have experienced times of intense persecution and trial. Therefore, Postribulationist's say, it should not be surprising that the church also experiences the great tribulation of the end times.

In relation to this, the posttribulational view distinguishes “Satan’s wrath” (or “man’s wrath”) from “God’s wrath” in the book of Revelation.
1) Satan’s wrath is directed against the saints, and God allows it as a means of purifying His faithful.
2) God’s wrath is poured out on the Antichrist and his godless kingdom, and God will protect His people from that punishment.

Weaknesses:

The clear teaching that those who are in Christ are not under condemnation and will never experience the wrath of God (Romans 8:1) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
While some judgments during the tribulation specifically target the unsaved, many other judgments, such as the earthquakes, falling stars, and famines, will affect the saved and unsaved equally. Thus, if believers go through the tribulation, they will experience the wrath of God, in contradiction of Romans 8:1.

It must, to some extent, allegorize the tribulation. Many posttribulationists teach that we are living in the tribulation now; in fact, some say the tribulation began immediately after Pentecost in Acts 2. Such teaching ignores the singular nature of the tribulation as presented in Scripture (Matthew 24:21) “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again.” i.e., that it will be a time of distress unparalleled in the history of the world.

Another difficulty is in explaining the absence of the word “church” in all biblical passages related to the tribulation. Even in Revelation 4–21, the word "church" never appears. Posttribulationists assume that the word “saints” in Revelation 4–21 means the church, although a different Greek word is used.

In closing, a final weakness of the posttribulational view is shared by the other two theories:
1) The Bible does not give an explicit time line concerning future events
2) Scripture does not expressly teach one view over another

Three theories. All having scriptural evidence. All having scriptural disproof. Who is correct? Does it matter? Remember, keep your eyes focused on Jesus and continue to keep that personal relationship with Him. This series was put together to give you all three theories not to convince you of any particular view. We know for certain that Jesus is returning so let us concentrate on expanding the Kingdom of Heaven by spreading His good news.