Irrefutable Evidence for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

Irrefutable Evidence

For A Pre-Tribulation Rapture

By Dennis J. McLelland

Smashwords Edition Copyright © 2013 by Dennis McLelland.

All Rights Reserved.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: No Condemnation for the Children of God

CHAPTER 2: Rise and Shine! You’re Going Home!

CHAPTER 3: The Apostle Paul - the Tiger of the Tribe of Benjamin

CHAPTER 4: Daniel’s Seventieth Week - The Calendar of Reckoning

CHAPTER 5: The Entrails of Satan’s Lies

CHAPTER 6: Paul - the Master Builder of Perfection

CHAPTER 7: The Jerusalem Hit Man

CHAPTER 8: Abiding Under the Shadow of the Almighty

CHAPTER 9: Behold - I Show You a Mystery

CHAPTER 10: That the Blind May Receive Their Sight

CHAPTER 11: Jesus Christ - Not John Darby

CHAPTER 12: Look Up! For Your Redemption Draweth Nigh.

CHAPTER 13: The Unsearchable Riches of God

CHAPTER 14: The Perfection and Sovereignty of God

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SCRIPTUREOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 1

No Condemnation for the Children of God

You have been drawn to this book because there is something within your spirit that you need to be made aware of. This is a Christian book, so it is obvious that you are seeking to find answers to questions with which you are struggling at this very moment. I believe that there are no coincidences when a person is sincere in his or her desire to find God in their lives. The reader may not understand what he or she is going through at the moment, but God will help you to look only towards Him in absolute trust, as He works things out for you in your life.

My advice to you, at this very moment, is simple - relax and rest in the promises of God. The Bible is God’s true word. All true Christians are God’s children. We are saved! There is no condemnation reserved for us. The purpose of the tribulation is for judgment. Our sins have already been judged at the Cross; and we have all been found innocent because Christ Jesus paid for our sins COMPLETELY with His death and resurrection. Rejoice, and give God the praise and glory that He deserves!

The Rapture of the Church is the final event in God’s timetable before the much-misunderstood seven-year tribulation begins. There are no specific prophecies, which need to be fulfilled in order for the Lord to call us home to the Father’s house in Heaven. One cannot miss the fact that the world is exploding in violence and gross sin. God is about to step into history again, in an event that most Christians know as the second coming. However, Jesus is not returning as a Lamb, as He did during His first advent.

Jesus is returning as a Lion. We all know the character of a lion, and the power they possess. Christ Jesus is coming to judge all people on earth who have not accepted Him as Savior. However, He will return only when His children are safe and out of the way, via the Rapture. He will then release His angels to initiate the terrors of the end-times judgment upon the nation of Israel, and the unsaved earth dwellers, of the world.

Why Should I Care When the Tribulation Will Begin?

Many Christians know nothing of the Rapture and the second coming of Christ Jesus. They have no idea that these are separate events, occurring at least seven years apart. Many Christians think that the Rapture is too preposterous an idea to be actualized. Many others familiar with the Biblical doctrine of the Rapture, and the tribulation, simply do not care.

That is their right. However, many of these Christians live their lives in a state of flux. They have no idea if they are going to enter the horrors of the seven-year tribulation. They do not bother to study what the Bible has to say about the body of Christ’s exclusion from the tribulation.

The Purpose of the Rapture

Let us examine the number one reason why the Rapture must take place. The purpose of the Rapture is to remove the Church, the body of Christ, from planet earth in order for God to complete His Old Testament plan of saving Israel. It would later follow that the Kingdom of Heaven would spread from Israel into every corner of the world.

Where is the Kingdom of Heaven now? In heaven! The Kingdom of Heaven is wherever Christ is. Right now, He is in Heaven. When He returns in the second coming, the Kingdom of Heaven will be transferred to earth. He will establish Himself as King and will rule and reign on earth forever.

When the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah, God put Israel on hold. He switched His attention to the Gentiles, or non-Jews, and began a program to provide salvation to anyone who would accept Jesus as Messiah. God used the apostle Paul to reach into the Gentile world to begin His campaign to save the non-Jews in countries outside of Israel.

During Christ’s three-year earthly ministry, His goal was to establish the kingdom of heaven, with the nation of Israel. If all of Israel had accepted Jesus as their promised Messiah, then Jesus would have established heaven to earth, with Jesus as the anointed King of all nations and peoples. However, since Israel rejected Him, He returned to heaven shortly after His death and resurrection and the entire program of the kingdom of heaven was "put on hold.

When He returns to earth at His second coming, then the kingdom of heaven will finally be established.

To sum up, in order for a kingdom to exist, there must be a King. Therefore, at the second coming, Christ will return as King, judge the world, and take His rightful place upon David’s throne. He will usher in a one-thousand year millennial rule, where those believers who survived the tribulation will be allowed to enter the millennium and live under the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Grace vs. the Gospel of the Kingdom

Right now, there are millions of true Christians living in every country of the world. These Christians have accepted, and believed, the saving knowledge provided by the Gospel of Grace. Simply stated, the Gospel of Grace is the belief that Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead. If one simply believes this Gospel, their sins have been forgiven and they are granted eternal life. Praise God!

However, there would be a major problem if both the Gospel of Grace and the Gospel of the Kingdom co-existed during the tribulation. God cannot usher in the kingdom of the earthly heaven as long as the Gospel of Grace is still being preached.

Matthew 24:14 clearly states which Gospel will be active during the tribulation: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

What happened to the Gospel of Grace?

At the very moment when the Rapture takes place, the Gospel of Grace ends. It rises upward with the saints of God to meet Christ in the air. God has withdrawn His patience and mercy. Oh yes, millions of people will still be saved during the tribulation, but millions will die as martyrs under the sword of the antichrist and his henchmen.

To repeat, God will not permit both the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the Gospel of Grace to function together in the end times. There would be an immediate conflict if both Gospels were left to fight it out amongst the people of the world. Ultimately, God will switch His attention to His beloved Israel when the body of Christ is raptured. Recall that the Gospel of the Kingdom is the same gospel, which Jesus and His disciples preached during, and after, Christ’s earthly ministry. What is that Gospel? Acts 2:38 tells us: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. However, we Christians are not under the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. Christians today are under the Gospel of Grace, which is based upon three simple words: faith plus nothing. We are simply to accept, by faith that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead."

God is Not a Man That He Should Lie

In the Old Testament, the Bible starkly reminds us of the character of God. Numbers 23:19 lets us forcefully know that God is not a man, that he should lie. The Bible is God’s word. The Holy Spirit personally delivered every word to each of the forty-four writers of the Old and New Testaments.

Let’s bottom line this very important point. Are we to believe the words Gods wrote in the Bible? Alternatively, are we to insert our own frames of reference, and claim that God didn’t actually mean what He said when He whispered 31,240 verses, and 807,361 words, to his servants?

Does the reader believe that God’s prophecies about the coming end-times events are based solely upon one’s own method of interpretation of scripture? Are we to ignore 2 Peter 1: 20 when it says but know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation?

We know that many sincere Christians believe that the timing of the Rapture is irrelevant. They contend that as long as I know Christ Jesus is coming for me, that is enough! Well, it certainly is! There is no more incredible prospect that that! Yet many other Christians truly desire to know if they will be subject to the horrific reign of the anti-christ during the tribulation.

There are many different views and theories about the inclusion of Christians in the upcoming worldwide tribulation. The reader will be able to read about these diverse viewpoints later in this book. However, for the time being, we are going to focus upon, and listen to, what God says is going to happen.

This Book Takes God at His Word – Literally.

This book is taking a literal view of the Bible. If God said it, let’s believe it! That is good enough for us. There are so many verses and concepts found in the Bible, which provide the reader with absolute proof that the body of Christ, the Church, will NOT be present during any part of the tribulation. We must remember that the purpose of the tribulation is manifold, which we will see in a moment.

Before we continue, permit me to define what the Rapture is according to the Bible. The author views the Rapture as being pre-tribulation, or, occurring before the tribulation. This is what the Bible teaches. The Rapture is the vehicle by which the true body of Christ, i.e., every child of God, will, by God’s resurrection and translation powers, be removed from the earth, before anti-christ has signed the peace covenant with the nation of Israel.

The church was not revealed in the Old Testament. It was a hidden mystery, only to be unveiled during Christ’s earthly ministry, and extending into the ministry of Paul - the apostle to the Gentiles. The Old Testament clearly tells us that Israel was waiting for its Messiah, as recorded by the many prophecies found in the Old Testament. They knew nothing of the Rapture. They expected their Messiah to free them from the troubles of this earth, and release them from oppression. They most certainly expected that their Messiah would come to earth and then set up His eternal kingdom.

The Character of the Seven-Year Tribulation

I would like the reader to absorb what the Bible tells us about the true nature of the tribulation. The tribulation is a time of judgment reserved for the nation of Israel. Need Proof? Here it is. Jeremiah 30:7 tells us specifically that the tribulation is called the time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble. Nowhere is it found that it is "the time of the Church’s trouble." Added to the mix will be the unsaved peoples of the earth who must also face God’s judgment and wrath. These are the unbelieving billions upon planet earth. True born-again Christians are exempt from the tribulation because they are not the subjects of wrath, judgment, indignation, punishment, trials, destruction, and darkness.

Christians make up the body of Christ! Does it make sense to the reader that members of Christ’s body must have their heads sliced off during the reign of the antichrist? Does it make sense that Christ Jesus would passively sit on His Father’s throne in heaven and watch His future bride being slaughtered? Think on these things, you Christians, who are sitting on the fence, uncertain about your roles in the upcoming tribulation.

Take out your Bibles and search out the following scriptures. You will quickly determine that the tribulation does not include true Christians. Christ died for all of our sins. Where is the condemnation and judgment?

Take a few moments now, to search out all of the relevant scriptures, which clearly disallow the Christian’s participation in the tribulation:

Wrath

Revelation 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:19: 15:1,7; 16:1, 19; 1 Thess 1:9-10; 5:9; Zep. 1:15, 18.

Judgment

Revelation 14:7; 15:4; 16:5-7; 19:2.

Indignation

Isa. 26:20—21; 34:1-3

Punishment

Isa. 24:20-21

Hour of Trial

Rev. 3:10

Hour of trouble

Jer. 30:7

Destruction

Joel 1:15

Darkness

Joel 2:2; Zeph. 1:14-18; Amos 5:18 (Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, 1958, pgs. 194-195)

An Important Question

Question: For those who tell Christians they must go through the tribulation, do the above descriptors reflect the fact that because Christ Jesus died for every born-again Christian, everyone in the body of Christ must face God’s wrath?

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

Fact: The Bible tells us specifically that the tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week) is primarily for the nation of Israel. (Daniel 9:23-27)

I hope that the reader is beginning to understand the true nature of the tribulation, and to whom it is directed.

Many people argue that the first three and a half years of the seven-year tribulation are uneventful. This is a mistake in thinking, and a failure to understand the book of Revelation.

The rapture of the Church occurs in Revelation 4:1. Two chapters later, in Revelation 6, Christ Jesus has in His possession a scroll bearing seven seals. He is about to open the seals which releases the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The first seal represents antichrist. He is sitting on a white horse, an obvious counterfeit of the white horse Jesus will ride in Chapter 19 when He returns to earth in His second coming. This figure is carrying a bow, but no arrow. This lets us know that antichrist is coming in peace, posing no immediate threat to the world.

The rider on the second horse, red in color (war), will orchestrate the death of many on earth. Revelation 6:4 shows us how this will be accomplished. The verse states that people will kill one another. The Bible does not tell us how this slaughter will be accomplished, but we are to trust that the Bible says what it means. It has not been wrong, yet.

The rider on the third horse, black in color, (famine, etc.), will be the mechanism by which many will die of starvation, and suffer from the demonically-inspired control of buying and selling orchestrated by the antichrist and his government.

However, it is the rider on the fourth horse, pale in color (death), which ushers in the death of one-fourth of the population of the earth: And when He had opened the fourth seal, I (John) heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth, (Revelation 6:7-8)

A sobering warning to all readers

The tribulation is going to happen. All prophecies written in the Bible have never failed to become actualized. God is not a man that He should lie. If the reader is a true Christian, that is, believes that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, there is no tribulation in your future. However, if the reader is yet in disbelief, or believes that the entire concept of a worldwide program of terror and death is simply a fable, then your inclusion into the tribulation is guaranteed.

Let us all pray for all the lost of the earth. Let us pray that God will remove the scales from their eyes and hearts so that they can receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins. Let us make that our prayer as we read this book.

…to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

(1 Thessalonians. 1:10)

CHAPTER 2

RISE AND SHINE! YOU’RE GOING HOME!

God’s Guarantee That He Will Keep You Out of the Tribulation

Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)

…Behold, the Lord cometh (to earth) with ten thousands of his saints (us!), to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14b-15)

Our Lord Jesus Christ has just given you promises that Christians will not experience a moment of the tribulation. He that hath an ear let him here. Can God’s word get any plainer than what He wrote in Revelation 3:10 and Jude 14-15? Do you believe what God’s word says? Either you do or you don’t. Do you remain uncertain? Read the scriptures again. God is going to keep his Church out of the tribulation! The key word in God’s magnificent promise in Revelation 3: 10 is the word from. The original Greek transliteration is ek. Its Greek definition translates to English as the words from, or, from out of. The reference is found in Strong’s Concordance # 1537. This is the key word that tells you that Jesus will keep you out of the tribulation.

If our Lord Jesus Christ wanted His beloved, blood bought, perfect Bride to go through the tribulation, He would have instructed His angel Gabriel to tell John to use the Greek word dia (Strong’s Concordance # 1223) which means through the hour of testing in the English language. Instead, John used the Greek word ek – from, out of.

God’s unambiguous words referenced above in Jude 14b-15 should make it quite clear that only the