Pakistani Christian Awaits Fate

Asia Bibi, a Christian in Pakistan accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, recently stood before a judge in Sheikhupura. She is being charged under the Pakistani Criminal Code 295-C, which says, “Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of the Holy Prophet. Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.” All this because Bibi was accused of allegedly saying, “Jesus is alive. Mohammed is dead.” Those are two very true sentences.

http://www.persecutionblog.com/2009/10/crackdown-on-christianity-ramping-up.html

Is the Rapture Pre-Tribulation?

I had an interesting conversation with another believer in Christ over the last few days regarding the timing of the rapture.  While the belief in the rapture and its timing is insignificant for salvation, the exchange was certainly an inspiration for this week’s commentary.

There are four major camps when it comes to the timing of the rapture, or the event when Christians will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air as described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  The post-tribulation rapture, the mid-tribulation rapture, the pre-wrath rapture and, finally, the pre-tribulation rapture.

To better understand the rapture, you have to realize that the second coming of Christ is not the rapture.  How do we know the difference?  There are two main differences between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Christ.

First, the location is different.  In the rapture, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Christians ascend from the ground and meet the Lord in the air.  During the second coming, those who have been with the Lord in heaven descend with Him to earth for the battle of armageddon and Jesus sets foot on the Mount of Olives, which subsequently splits in two from east to west and creates a very large valley (Zechariah 14:4).

Second, the reason is different.  The rapture is an event used to raise the bodies of believers from their graves as well as those who are alive on Earth and give them incorruptible bodies.  In Paul’s first letter to those in Corinth, he said “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John gives us a very clear indication that the second coming of Christ will not be about meeting us the clouds and providing us with imperishable bodies:  ”And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.  He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and HIs name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”  (Revelation 19:11-16)

As you can see, the rapture is Jesus taking the faithful back to heaven with Him.  The second coming is Jesus returning to Earth to wage war on the nations that oppose Him.

While I believe scripture provides evidence of a pre-tribulation rapture, let me give a brief synopsis of the other popular scenarios.

The post-tribulation belief espouses that Christians who have managed to survive all seven years of the tribulation will be taken into the air to meet Jesus along with the dead in Christ.  The problem with this theory is that it doesn’t conform with Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 24:42, “Therefore be on alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”  If the post-tribulation rapture were true, we could know the exact day in which our Lord is coming.  The Old Testament prophet Daniel wrote about the Anti-Christ:  ”And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”  (Daniel 9:27).  One week in Daniel is representative of one week of years, so “one week” means “seven years”.  From the day the Anti-Christ makes a firm covenant with the many, there are seven years left before Christ returns.  After the first 3 1/2 years of the Anti-Christ’s reign, he will enter the Temple of God and declare himself God, also known as the abomination of desolation.  In Daniel 12:11, we learn that, after asking how long will it be until the end of these wonders, “From the time that the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.”  If the rapture was post-tribulation, we could calculate the exact date of Christ’s return.  But there’s one more problem with a post-tribulation rapture.  Paul tells us not once, but twice that Jesus will not put us through wrath.  In 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Paul wrote, “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”  In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Paul wrote, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  I think the argument is pretty convincing that the rapture will not take place after the tribulation.

The mid-tribulation belief espouses that Christians who have managed to survive the first half of the tribulation will be taken into the air to meet Jesus along with the dead in Christ.  The mid-tribulation rapture theory doesn’t compute either, if, for no other reason, the exact date can be known.  The last seven years of the world as we know it begins when the Anti-Christ confirms a covenant with many for seven years.  If the rapture were to happen at the mid-point of the tribulation, we would know with excited anticipation of the day of the Lord’s return.  This, much like the post-tribulation rapture position, goes against the word given to us by Jesus in Matthew 24:42.  The other problem with a mid-tribulation rapture is that Christians will have to undergo the wrath of God, which begins soon after the Anti-Christ confirms the seven-year covenant.  Revelation 13:5 gives us more insight into when the abomination of desolation will take place:  ”There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.  And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His image and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”  When the abomination of desolation takes place with 42 months remaining for him to rule, that means 42 months have already passed.  In other words, half of the tribulation is over.  Christians would be able to know the day of the Lord’s return just by counting the days since the covenant was signed and the mid-point of the tribulation.  But wrath has already been brought upon the earth in the first 42 months of the tribulation including death, which killed one-quarter of the earth, famine, war, hail and fire and locusts.  Christians are not destined for wrath, according to Paul’s writing to those in Thessalonica.

The pre-wrath belief espouses that Christians who have managed to survive some of the events foretold in the book of Revelation will be taken into the air to meet Jesus along with the dead in Christ.  The pre-wrath rapture theory doesn’t work, either, because we Christians will have already recognized the Anti-Christ from his signing of the seven-year covenant and will be able to follow the order of the seals as they are opened in heaven by Jesus.  We’ll certainly not be surprised by His coming in the clouds to gather His own, even though Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3), tells us, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”  The pre-wrath scenario has the church being raptured after the opening of the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12.  But, when looking back at Paul’s writing to those in Thessalonica, will everyone be saying “peace and safety” when the sixth seal is opened?  I doubt it.  By the time the sixth seal is opened, the red horse has been released and, according to Revelation 6:4, “and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him”  The third seal will bring severe economic inflation.  The fourth seal will bring about an ashen horse, who was given to it to kill a fourth of the earth by sword, famine, pestilences and wild beasts of the earth.  Is this a time of peace and safety?  If the second seal took peace from the earth, how will anyone be saying “peace and safety”?  While some pre-wrath proponents argue that the seals don’t constitute judgements from God but rather actions of men, one must remember that God is ultimately in control and, besides, the pre-wrath argument about these being actions of men rather than God don’t account for the fourth seal, which causes the deaths of one-quarter of the earth’s population though famine, pestilence, war and wild beasts of the earth.  Three of those death-inducing items are hardly under the control of man.

The pre-tribulation rapture is the only scenario that makes sense.  Christians are not appointed to wrath, so they will not undergo any of the seals, bowls or trumpets described in the book of Revelation.  Christ will return like a thief in the night for His people.  A pre-tribulation rapture means Jesus’ words remain true as it is imminent and no one knows the day or the hour.  Two other bits of scripture make the pre-tribulation rapture scenario a slam-dunk.  First, the church isn’t mentioned anywhere in the book of Revelation between chapter four and chapter 22, which is before the tribulation events begin and after Jesus has returned to Earth to wage war against the nations that oppose Him.  Second, the restrainer is still present on Earth.  2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 tells us, “And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revelaed.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.  Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;”  I believe that which restrains him now is the Holy Spirit and the church.  Once Christians are taken from Earth, the restrainer has been removed and the Anti-Christ can reveal himself.  Why do I think the Holy Spirit is the restrainer?  When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Gospel of Mark, Mark 1:9-10 reads, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.”  If the Holy Spirit dwells in those that have accepted Christ as their savior, will the Holy Spirit be present in anyone on earth after all believers are taken in the rapture?  After all, if someone is indwelled with the Holy Spirit, they will be taken in the rapture.  If the Holy Spirit is no longer indwelled in anyone on earth, what restrains evil besides God the Father and His Son Jesus, who dwell in heaven?

As I mentioned in the paragraph above, the rapture of the church is an imminent event.  There is no other prophetic items that must take place prior to the rapture.  To escape the wrath to come to those on Earth after the rapture, you have to believe that Jesus died for your sins and is your Savior.  Ask Jesus to come into your heart, repent of your past transgressions, and turn away from your sins.  In the blinking of an eye, we Christians will immediately be in the presence of the Lord and will spend an eternity with Him in complete joy.  Give your life to Jesus today.  Remember, no man knows the hour or the day.  This could be the day and this could be the final hour.