The Messiah's Return Relative to the Tribulation
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:
INDEX:
INTRODUCTION:
This page lists key Scripture references which seem to disprove a pre-tribulation rapture theory. From my perspective, the first three verses quoting the Messiah seem pretty conclusive.
I am also collecting other verses that I have heard used to justify a pre or mid tribulation rapture of YHWH's chosen people.
And finally, I am listing Scripture references for the 1st and 2nd resurrections.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
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:'
30'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.'
31'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.'
24'But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,'
25'And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.'
26'And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.'
27'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.'
25'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;'
26'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.'
28'And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.'
CHRISTIAN ALLEGED PRE-TRIBULATION REFERENCES:
36'Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. ' (KJV)
I have heard it said that YAHUSHUA would not have made this statement if he was not going to give us a way out of the tribulation. This seems like a pretty weak argument to me but I don't have Scripture to disprove this logic at this time.
16'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:' (KJV)
According to the author, Christ's return will not be a quiet event.
I need to research this.
My understanding, according to Revelations Chapter ?, is that Christ will come again, reign on earth for 1,000 years, Satan will finally be defeated and THEN the dead will rise and the book of life will be opened.
AFTER the messiah returns, 'we will be caught up together with them in the clouds'. Is this the Rapture? If so, it is still AFTER the return of the Messiah and therefore (according to Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-28) AFTER the tribulation.
7'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.' (KJV)
This doesn't say sinners OR saints but rather 'EVERY EYE' will see HIM coming.
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. ' (KJV)
Then fowls of the air will feast on the flesh of the dead bodies of men.
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.' (KJV)
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.' (KJV)
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.' (KJV)
Then fowls of the air will feast on the flesh of the dead bodies of men.
MULTIPLE RESURRECTION REFERENCES:
1'And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.' (KJV)
2'And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,' (KJV)
Satan is only bound in chains after the 1st resurrection. He is NOT cast into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophet... yet.
3'And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.' (KJV)
Satan is bound and sealed for 1,000 years.
4'And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.' (KJV)
5'But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.' (KJV)
6'Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.' (KJV)
7'And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,' (KJV)
8'And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.' (KJV)
9'And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.' (KJV)
10'And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.' (KJV)
11'And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.' (KJV)
12'And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.' (KJV)
13'And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.' (KJV)
14'And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.' (KJV)
15'And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.' (KJV)
REFERENCE LINKS:
- Question: "What is the five (5) fold ministry?" (WWW.GOTQUESTIONS.ORG) (2012/1210)
- The Purpose of the 5-Fold Ministry (WWW.LIFESTREAMTEACHING.COM) (2012/1210)