End Time Delusions

Another false prophecy

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."--Matthew 24:36

Eschatology, or biblical prophecy that concerns the end times is much like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle. Rather than one giant piece, it consists of several different pieces that must be carefully put together in order to get an accurate picture of just what is going to happen during the last days on earth preceding the return of Jesus Christ.

I've been studying eschatology for over 25 years and I've had to change my view of the end times since I first began investigating prophecy. When I was a novice believer in Jesus Christ in the early 1980s, I truly believed in the pre-tribulation Rapture. What is the Rapture? It is the biblical doctrine that God plans to remove His church and all true Christians from the world prior to global judgment and the return of Jesus Christ. 

Global judgment refers to what the Bible calls the Tribulation and Great Tribulation periods, which consist of two 3-1/2 year periods that make up a seven-year period. Though Christendom has been accused of inventing the Tribulation doctrine, it was revealed by the ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel nearly 2,600 years ago. (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 12:11-12) The Rapture is also biblical and it was revealed by Daniel (Daniel 12:1) as well as by Christ (Matthew 24:31) and the apostle Paul. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:3)

The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine teaches that just before the dreaded Antichrist appears on earth, God is going to remove His church. That doctrine has become immensely popular since 1970 when Christian author Hal Lindsey published a book (The Late Great Planet Earth) that presented a compelling argument based upon biblical prophecy for the end-time appearance of a revised Roman Empire and the pre-tribulation rapture.

Since Lindsey's book first appeared, literally thousands of books, articles and CD's have been published that promote the pre-tribulation rapture. Unfortunately, the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture is based more upon wishful thinking and out-of-context scripture than it is on solid biblical truth. How so? Because both Christ and Paul, who wrote extensively on the Rapture, never revealed a pre-trib rapture.

For example, when Christ revealed the general time that the Rapture will occur, he placed it at the end of the Great Tribulation period, not before. (Matthew 24:31) Furthermore, he warned true believers not to be taken in by false prophets and elaborate counterfeit messiahs that will appear on earth and deceive multitudes prior to His return. (Matthew 24:24-28) Christ's warning doesn't make any sense if there's going to be a rapture prior to the appearance of the Antichrist who will be the ultimate counterfeit messiah. That warning was specifically directed toward true Christians rather than nominal Christians or unbelievers who will be easy dupes for false prophets and pseudo-messiahs. If the rapture occurs prior to the appearance of the Antichrist, then there won't be any true Christians around to be deceived.

And furthermore, Paul also revealed that the true church is going to be around when the Antichrist appears. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) If that's true then the pre-tribulation rapture isn't. How then can we properly understand Christ's warning to be alert for His return? "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42) Wouldn't we expect Him to return during a time of trouble rather than during a time of peace?

Consider this; if the Rapture fails to occur before the Antichrist appears, and he begins persecuting Christians worldwide, then many will lose their faith and consider the Rapture to be a fraud. How many Christians then, will actually be looking for Christ after that? Not many. Consider this rhetorical question that Christ asked concerning His second coming: "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

He will if he returns prior to the Tribulation and Great Tribulation periods. But he won't if he returns at the end of these periods.