Back in the Future...The Great Escape (part 3)

Today’s entry is a continuation of the last 2 days entries in which I gave 3 of 8 reasons why I believe that the rapture of the church would occur before the tribulation. If you have not read the blog entries for Monday and Tuesday, you should do so before continuing with today’s entry.

A fourth reason for a pre-tribulational rapture is the description of the Restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8. In this passage we see a chronology of events taking place. Paul begins by telling us that the mystery of sin is currently at work in the world. It is obvious that sin is affecting our world and that it is growing worse as time marches on. However, Paul says that things aren’t as bad as they could be or will be. There is a restrainer at work in our world today that is keeping sin from its full force. This restrainer is keeping the mystery of sin in check so that it does not currently act in its fullness. But the day is coming when this restrainer will be removed. At this time sin will have its full force on our planet. At this time the one-world ruler called the Anti-Christ will be revealed and the tribulation period will begin. The big question of this passage is, “Who is the restrainer?” There are many theories but for a variety of reasons that we do not have time to go into in this blog, let me say that I believe that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through the church that He indwells. In other words, the Holy Spirit today is restraining evil through the church. According to 1 Thessalonians 5, this restrainer (the Holy Spirit) will be removed prior to the start of the tribulation. Because the Holy Spirit indwells each believer, the rapture is the only plausible way that this can take place. If this is the case, then the rapture must happen prior to the start of the tribulation.

A fifth reason to believe that the church will not go through the tribulation is in the design of the tribulation itself. The church going through the tribulation in no way accomplishes the purpose of the tribulation as seen in Revelation 3:10 and Jeremiah 30:7. Add to this a sixth reason…the disappearance of the church in Revelation. In this book of the Bible the tribulation is described in Revelation chapters 6-18. Though the church is mentioned earlier in the book, there is no mention of the church in these passages that describe the tribulation. In fact, no passage about the tribulation in Scripture ever mentions the church. Another issue of chronology brings about a seventh reason. It is the direction of 1 Thessalonians where chapter 4 speaks of the rapture while chapter 5 speaks of the tribulation. If the order Bible authors wrote is as inspired as the words they wrote then we have another picture of the church being raptured prior to the tribulation.

An eighth and final reason to believe in a pre-tribulational rapture of the church is God’s pattern of dealing with Saints in times of judgment. God’s pattern is to deliver believers from judgment before it happens (2 Peter 2:4-9). We cannot know for sure when the rapture of the church will take place. However, we can be sure that it will occur before the tribulation. This brings about two victorious truths for us as believers. First, we will not go through the tribulation. Hallelujah!! Second, the Lord Jesus really could come for us at any moment…maybe even today…maybe even now! Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!!