Church of God News

Preaching a pre-tribulation rapture weakens the church

Joseph Grant Swank, Jr., is a pastor at New Hope Church in Windham, Maine, and is the author of five books and thousands of articles that have appeared in various Protestant and Catholic publications. He has BA and MDiv degrees, with graduate work at Harvard Divinity School.

Mark it down as biblical truth: There is no pre-tribulation rapture. However, untold thousands believe in the “secret rapture of the church” prior to the tribulation period. This is because untold thousands don’t want to have to think of suffering through a tribulation time frame. The late Corrie ten Boom called this pre-trib rapture teaching the “American doctrine.” Go figure. The belief in a secret rapture of believers before the tribulation is also because of a best-seller, “The Late, Great Planet Earth,” by Hal Lindsey which was set loose in the l960s. It has been a paperback aggressively pushed by practically every evangelical / fundamentalist engine going. Theologians, videos, films and preachers bolster up this myth with their earnest preachings and teachings. Yet this is nothing but a myth, accented as much by certain theologically conservative Protestant segments similar unto the Roman Catholic underlining of the immaculate conception of Mary. Nevertheless, if there is no biblical support for such a Mariology teaching, it is bogus. Likewise, the pre-tribulation rapture teaching is bogus. The pre-trib rapture concept was manufactured in the 1800s in an 18 year old Plymouth Brethren girl’s dream, told to her Pastor, John Darby, and then relayed to C. I. Scofield who bought into the dream as revealed truth. Scofield placed this pre-tribulation rapture notion as a footnote in his popular Bible, hence the spread of the myth. However, just the opposite is biblical truth. In Matthew 24:29-3l, for instance, the rapture (“gathering together”) is placed in the same time frame as the open second coming of Jesus Christ. And all of this is “after the tribulation” (verse 29). That is it in a nutshell! Yet pre-tribulation rapturists sidestep this clear passage for more oblique passages. The latter are twisted and turned in order to fit into the “American doctrine.” Yet such twisting is not sound exegesis. And for biblically-riveted evangelicals and fundamentalists to commit this drastic error is bordering on the horrific. All other passages in Scripture relating to the “gathering together unto Him” must refer back to the literal time line provided by Jesus in Matthew 24. One must not use a symbolic passage in the Book of Revelation or any other symbolically-based section of the Bible by which to draw a pre-tribulation rapture doctrine. Further, one must not take words of the apostle Paul so as to insert them opportunistically into a conjured pre-tribulation string of Scripture references. Yet this has been done ad infinitum.

So, a Protestant minister and theologian has reported that the there is no pre-tribulation rapture, that this teaching is a myth, and that it hurts Protestants. He is correct on all of that.

The fruits of false doctrines are not good. In the case of the false pre-tribulation rapture, it gets people to think that they do not need to be concerned about prophecy, because God will pull them out before the Great Tribulation begins and place them in heaven. But this is false. Believing in the pre-tribulation rapture gets people to not take the steps in their lives to prepare for what is coming in this age nor the next. It gets people to accept false tradition over what the Bible actually teaches.

For additional proof of that, consider that in 2007, Dr. LaHaye told Glenn Beck that Christians do not need to look for any other sign of the end coming other than his rapture:

BECK: So give me time line. Do these things happen in time lines? What should we be watching for?

LAHAYE: Well, first of all, we should be watching for the rapture. We should be looking for Jesus — the Bible is very clear, that`s the purpose of prophecy. They get us anticipating his coming, because when he comes and all the Christians are gone — and, Glenn, can you imagine what this world will be like with 2 billion missing people, that are all snatched up at one time, and because of their mutual faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection?

Well, when that takes place, then this man of sin rises up…And he requires the mark of the beast and the chip that you talked about earlier …

The late Dr. Walvoord, also a “pre-tribulation rapturist,” perhaps more emphatically than Dr. LaHaye, wrote:

Therefore keep watch…to see the signs of the Second Coming indicating its approach, should be watching, how much more should those waiting for the Rapture, which has no signs, live in constant expectation of the imminent return of Jesus for His church.

…the Rapture of the church is always presented as the next event and, as such, is not dependent on immediate events… (Walvoord, John F. The Prophecy Handbook.  Victor Books, Wheaton (IL), 1990, pp. 384, 391)

Contrary to what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and elsewhere to look for, some Protestant leaders who believe in the “pre-tribulation rapture” are essentially telling people that they do not need to watch for anything other than the rapture as the rapture is the next prophetic event waiting to be fulfilled. It is also contrary to Revelation 11:15 which shows at the seventh trump, Christ will return: the fact of a seventh, presupposes that six transpired previously. There are definite signs before Christ’s return that have NOT yet transpired.

Another prophetic doctrine that Tim LaHaye was publicly misleading on had to do with the his view on a third temple. Dr. LaHaye, along with Jerry Jenkins, wrote::

All prophecy teachers who interpret the Scriptures literally agree that a Jewish temple in Israel will be rebuilt…

That there will be a third temple is predicted by the prophet Daniel, the apostles Paul and John, and none other than Jesus Himself.  They all taught that Israel’s third temple will be rebuilt either before the Tribulation begins or soon thereafter, for it is seen in complete operation by the middle of the Tribulation.  Obviously, since Israel does not now have a temple, a third temple must be rebuilt for such an event to occur.

…the Antichrist desolates it near the middle of the Tribulation. (Are We Living in the End Times?  Tyndale House, Wheaton (IL), 1999, pp.122, 126).

But that is not true. Neither Daniel, Paul, John, and Jesus specifically predict a third Jewish temple.

Details on that are in the article Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?

Yet, Dr. Lahaye’s position on this has sadly influenced many. Even many who claim to be in the Church of God agree with Dr. LaHaye’s Jewish temple position to a degree. Basically, those that hold to the view that a Jewish Temple is required in this age will NOT know when the Great Tribulation will begin until it is too late (see also The Laodicean Church Era).

Those who wish to know more about the truths these subjects and how God will protect the Philadelphia remnant of His church may wish to study the following:

There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. There is also a video on the subject: Might Petra be the Place of Safety? Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?

Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture? Did the Bible teach that Jesus raptures Christians prior to the start of the Great Tribulation? What did Jesus Himself teach? Do the scriptural passages that Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins point to prove their left behind pre-tribulation rapture assertions? Do all Christians get protected from the Great Tribulation? Who does the Bible teach will get protected? Is the Great Tribulation the ‘wrath to come’ that Christians are promised protection from? This is a video.

Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected? What does the Bible really teach? Does the Church flee or is it taken up just prior to the great tribulation? Who really is left behind?

Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them. Here is a related article in the Spanish language ¿Por qué estar preocupado acerca de falsos y heréticos líderes?

How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?

Laodicean Warning for God’s People Is there really a place of safety? Do God’s people need to be warned? Warned for what?

The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots.  Dozens of their prophetic errors are included in this article. Since they do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies, they will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.

When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2016, 2017, or 2018? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2016?