The Post Tribulational Rapture – Matthew 24:42

Jan 17, 2015 | Eschatology

 

  1. What do we mean by “the Tribulation?” (The seven years period of God’s wrath poured out on earth).
  2. What group of people does the Tribulation primarily concern? (Israel).
  3. What is the primary purpose of the Tribulation? (To prepare Israel for the Messiah).
    1. Isn’t the Tribulation also designed to purify God’s churches? (No).
  4. What New Testament book most clearly speaks about the Tribulation? (Revelation).
    1. At what point in that book do we begin to read about the Tribulation (Chapter 6 and the opening of the seals).
    2. Where in that book do we find reference to God’s churches? (Chapters 1-3 and 22:16).
    3. Does that book give us any reason to think that God’s churches will be in the Tribulation? (No.)
  5. What is the primary reason that some theologians have the church going through the Tribulation? (Confusion of Israel and the Lord’s Church).
  6. What are the five major areas of thought in regard to the relationship of the rapture to the Tribulation? (Pre-Trib., Post-Trib., Mid-Trib., Mixed-Trib [Partial Rapture] and the Pre-wrath Rapture).
  7. What is the primary tenant of the Post-trib’er in regard to the saints of God? (The saints will be caught up at the end of the Tribulation).
  8. Do all Post-trib’ers agree on the details of the rapture? (No).
  9. How many major branches of Post-Tribulationalism are there? (3, some say 4).
    1. What are they? (Classic, Semi-classic, Future).
  10. What does the Classic Post-Trib’er believe about the Tribulation? (That it started in Acts and concluded with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.)
    1. What is his primary method of Hermeneutics? (Spiritualizing/allegorizing the statements about the Tribulation).
    2. Could this man believe in the imminent commencement of the Millennium? (Yes, but most are amillennialists).
  11. What does the Semi-Classic Post-Trib’er believe about the Tribulation? (That it started sometime in the past and that we are now in the Tribulation.)
    1. How much of the Tribulation is left in the Eschatology of this man? (Many say that the Great Tribulation is yet to come).
    2. Do any Semi-Classic’s believe that the church will be spared the Great Tribulation? (Yes, somehow, the Lord will remove all or some of the saints, without actually returning to earth to get them).
  12. What do the Futurist Post-Trib’ers believe about the Tribulation?
  13. Do any of these people believe in a seven-year Tribulation? (Some do).
  14. John Walvoord says that Post-Trib’ers have 10 problems and arguments against Pre-Tribulationalism; what are they?
  15. What is an ad hominem argument? (Personal reasons without much factual basis, often with personal attacks).
  16. What is their historical argument? (J.N. Darby started Pre-Tribulationalism in the 1830s based on the ideas of Margaret MacDonald and Edward Irving).
    1. How many Pre-Trib’ers have you heard quote or study any of these three people?
    2. From what source do most Pre-Trib’ers get the arguments for their doctrine? (The Scriptures).
  17. What is their problem regarding the nature of “tribulation?” (Definitions).
  18. What is their problem regard the relationship between Israel and the Church? (They often see them as the same).
  19. What is their argument regarding the post-Trib resurrection of the saints? (They see the resurrection of Tribulation saints as being our “rapture”)
  20. What is their argument regarding the “meeting in the air?” (They say that I Thess. 4:17 is referring to a procession of saints and receiving Christ in order to escort him back to earth. They even define “meet” as referring to “receive and return” to which no lexicon agrees. They say that nothing is said of going with Christ to heaven; but nothing is said of returning to earth either. This kind of reception doesn’t agree with other scriptures which describe the glorious and military return of Christ).
  21. What is their argument using the words “parousia” [coming] “apokalupsis” [revelation] and “epiphaneia” [appearing]? (They argue that these words speak about the time of the rapture and the time of the glorious coming, and therefore these events occur at the same time. But these words also speak of the first coming of Christ. This doesn’t prove that they are at the same time).
  22. What is their argument of the “Wheat and Tares” [Matt. 13:24-30; 36-43]? (This is not talking about the rapture, and is only emphasizing that there will be a separation between the righteous and the wicked at the end of the Tribulation. See Matt. 13:47-50, where the order of events is reversed).
  23. What is their argument regarding motives? (That the Pre-Trib’ers selfishly want to escape the Tribulation. A reply might be to ask, why the Post-Trib’ers want to suffer through the Tribulation).