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Sunday School

Lesson 27: Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church, Questions

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David Capoccia

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Summary

This lesson concludes a two-part defense of the pre-tribulational rapture doctrine by answering common follow-up questions and objections. We are given a comprehensive sequential overview of the world’s last events—from the rapture through the eternal state—and then guided through several challenging objections, including the apparent contradiction from the Olivet Discourse, the identity of tribulation saints, the meaning of the “first resurrection” in Revelation 20, and the question of who repopulates the earth during the millennial kingdom. Each objection is carefully addressed to show that the pre-tribulational view best harmonizes the eschatological scriptures.

Key Lessons:

  1. God has revealed a clear sequence of end-times events—from the rapture and judgment seat of Christ, through the tribulation, to Christ’s return, the millennium, and the eternal state—giving believers confident hope.
  2. The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 is primarily directed to future Israel during the tribulation, not the church, and therefore does not contradict a pre-tribulational rapture.
  3. God regularly splits what appears to be a singular prophetic event into multiple phases separated by time—such as the Messiah’s coming and the “first resurrection”—so the pre-trib view’s phased approach is consistent with biblical precedent.
  4. Tribulation saints are not the church but Jewish and Gentile believers who come to faith after the rapture, and the millennial kingdom will be repopulated by unglorified believing survivors of the tribulation.

Application: We are called to live faithfully and watchfully in the present, drawing courage and hope from the certainty that God will vindicate His justice, fulfill His promises, and gather His people to Himself. Rather than growing complacent, we should serve Christ zealously as we await His return.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does understanding that God splits singular prophetic events into phases (like the Messiah’s coming and the resurrection) change the way you approach difficult eschatological passages?
  2. If the tribulation passages in Revelation and Matthew 24 are primarily for future Israel, what practical value do they hold for the church today, and how should we apply them?
  3. How should the doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture affect our daily priorities, evangelistic urgency, and trust in God’s justice?

Scripture Focus: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (rapture description), Matthew 24 (Olivet Discourse and its proper audience), 1 Corinthians 15:21-24 (phased resurrection), Revelation 20:4-6 (first resurrection), Isaiah 61:1-2 with Luke 4:16-21 (Messiah’s coming in phases), Revelation 7:9-17 (tribulation saints), Matthew 25:31-46 (sheep and goats judgment).

Outline

Introduction

Welcome back to our defending doctrinal distinctives Sunday school series. We are concluding our look today at the controversial yet crucial doctrine of a pre-tribulational rapture.

Last week I overviewed this doctrine and sought to defend it from scripture. This week I’ll be answering follow-up questions and objections, some of the more common ones.

Before we get into those new questions, allow me to begin today’s lesson with a quick review.

Review of Previous Lesson

What is the rapture? I defined it this way last time. The rapture is an event associated with Christ’s return in which Christ’s entire church, living and dead, is resurrected, glorified, and lifted up to meet Christ in the clouds and be with him thereafter.

This rapture event is clearly described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and also described in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53.

Now, when will the rapture take place?

The Bible nowhere answers that question directly. Rather, Bible interpreters must carefully harmonize various eschatological passages to discern the rapture’s relative timing. No one knows the day or hour, but relative to other events in the last days, we can say when the rapture will take place.

“No one knows the day or hour, but relative to other events in the last days, we can say when the rapture will take place.”

Now, theologians have taken to describing the rapture’s timing in relation to the tribulation period. What is the tribulation period?

Also called the day of the Lord, it is a seven-year period of final judgments on the world before Christ returns to earth to reign. The tribulation period is most clearly described in Revelation 6-19.

What are the main views today regarding the timing of the rapture in relation to the tribulation?

There is the pre-tribulational rapture view, in which the rapture takes place before the tribulation period. There’s the mid-tribulational rapture view, in which the rapture takes place at approximately the midpoint of the tribulation. Closely related is the pre-wrath rapture view, in which the rapture takes place in the second half of the tribulation but before God unleashes his wrath on the world.

And then there is the post-tribulational rapture view, in which the rapture takes place at the end of the tribulation period. Now allow me to correct something that I said last week about the midtrib and pre-wrath views. I had said that the midtrib view means that Jesus comes after the seal judgments but before the trumpets and bowls, while pre-wrath means that Jesus comes just before the bowls. That’s not quite accurate.

I’ve since learned that while there is surely variation among those who hold to a midtrib or pre-wrath view, the typical midtrib view is that Jesus comes for his church at the seventh trumpet or just before the bowl judgments. And those who hold to this view see that as the midpoint of the tribulation period.

Meanwhile, the typical pre-wrath view is that Jesus comes for his church just before the sixth seal, this being seen as approximately three-quarters through the tribulation period.

So largely what I said last week is correct. But in terms of the specific lineup between the seal judgments, trumpet judgments, and bowl judgments, I needed to correct that.

Now, which of these rapture timing views is correct?

Well, the pre-tribulational rapture view best harmonizes the eschatological scriptures. Jesus will come in love and to rescue and to reward his church. Jesus will come again to snatch his people away. And so if you believe that’s you, that’s you even here in this church this morning. He will do that before the tribulation period begins.

Key Arguments Reviewed

Now, last time I presented three key arguments from the Bible for a pre-tribulational rapture view. Just to remind you briefly what those arguments were: Number one, Revelation 3:10 promises that the church will be spared from the tribulation period. I will keep you from the hour of testing.

Revelation 3:10: “I will keep you from the hour of testing.”

Jesus says, not keep you from testing or keep you through the testing, but I will keep you from the hour of it, the time of it. Number two, believers, New Testament believers expect to escape God’s wrath. And the whole tribulation period is God’s wrath. It doesn’t really work to say, “Oh, the sealed judgments up to a certain point are Satan’s wrath or man’s wrath, and God’s wrath begins at this other point.” No, it’s all God’s wrath.

Jesus is opening the seals. There are the trumpets.

“It’s all God’s wrath. Jesus is opening the seals.”

And even things like famine, war, the rise of the Antichrist, they are under God’s sovereign control, and they are part of his pouring out wrath on the earth. Then finally, John 14:1-3 requires a return to heaven after the rapture. Jesus says, “In my father’s house are many dwelling places. If I go away, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go away, I will come back and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

So he’s going to take us away to the father’s house, not immediately just go right to the earth and forget about the father’s house. All right. So these are the key arguments.

I also presented to you three supplemental arguments for a pre-tribulational rapture. These are not decisive on their own, but they strongly suggest and reinforce a pre-trib rapture view. Number one, the Thessalonians’ eschatological distress makes best sense with a pre-tribulational rapture. If they were thinking another way, their distress doesn’t make as much sense.

Number two, the church is noticeably absent in the judgment descriptions of Revelation 6 to 18. They’re there at the beginning of Revelation. John is not afraid to talk about them, but suddenly they disappear. And that’s because of the rapture. Number three, the New Testament does not seek to prepare Christians for the tribulation period. It seeks to prepare Christians for many other things, but not for that.

Okay, so that’s our review. Let’s now answer some follow-up questions and objections about the doctrine of a pre-trib rapture. A few of you submitted questions to me. That’s great. Allow me to pray and we’ll get into those questions and others.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the rapture and we thank you, God, that there’s even enough information to understand the relative timing of the rapture. Yet these are some things that take diligence and skill and care when it comes to interpretation. So help me to be able to explain this well. Help us to be able to understand it.

And help us to draw the courage and hope that you meant for us to gain from this teaching of a pre-tribulational rapture. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Okay, here’s our first question.

Q1: Sequential Overview of the World’s Last Events

Could you give a sequential overview of the world’s last events? Between this lesson and the previous one, I’ve touched on different parts of eschatology. Could we just have something that puts it all together? Yes, let’s do that. I think it would be helpful.

Allow me to show you one of the better charts I found for the last events of the world. I don’t know if you’re able to see it from where you’re sitting, but you can always check the slides on the website afterwards.

There is one typo on this chart. Please excuse it. It says “Daniel the 70th week from Daniel 7.” It’s not Daniel 7; it should be Daniel 9.

Here’s a chart that overviews the last events of the world. We are on the left side of the chart currently. We are now in the church age.

“The next event on God’s eschatological calendar is the rapture and the resurrection of the church saints.”

The Lord will return from heaven and suddenly and supernaturally remove us all to be with him. Christians who had previously died will be resurrected, and all of us who are still alive will be transformed to have glorified, incorruptible bodies fit for God’s eternal kingdom.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Now, right after that, most likely in heaven will be the judgment seat of Christ, also known as the Bema seat judgment.

We hear about this in 1 Corinthians 3, 2 Corinthians 5, and Romans 14. This is not a judgment of unbelievers, but of church saints. It is not a judgment of punishment, but of reward.

Jesus will judge believers’ works as well as the motives of believers in this judgment.

“This is not a judgment of punishment, but of reward.”

The works of precious and acceptable quality will receive lasting reward, while worthless works will receive no reward. They represent loss or missed opportunity.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Sometime after the judgment seat of Christ in heaven and before the Christian saints return to earth is the marriage supper of the lamb described in Revelation 19:7-9.

This apparently is a special celebration in heaven with Christ regarding the long-awaited coming together of Christ and his church. The groom finally won with his specially prepared bride.

“The groom finally won with his specially prepared bride.”

The Tribulation Period on Earth

And that’s what’s going on in heaven right after the rapture. Meanwhile, what is happening on the earth? Well, while the church is rewarded and celebrating, the world enters the seven-year tribulation period.

This period is divided into two portions of three and a half years each. The period begins with the rise of Antichrist who gains worldwide power and makes a treaty with Israel guaranteeing protection and freedom to worship God by sacrifice in a restored temple.

The seal judgments begin in the first half of the tribulation as does a new worldwide religious system. At the midpoint of the tribulation, the midpoint of the seven years, Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel, sets himself up in their temple as the only acceptable object of worship and begins persecuting Israel.

“Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel and sets himself up in their temple as the only acceptable object of worship.”

The second half of the tribulation period is much worse than the first, most likely consisting of the trumpet and bowl judgments. The Bible in other places refers to the second three and a half years as the great tribulation or the time of Jacob’s distress.

By the end of these seven years, probably close to 80% of the world population is destroyed.

Jesus says if God had not limited the length of the tribulation period, no one would survive.

Purposes of the Tribulation

And what we might ask? Well, why? Why this terrible time of tribulation? What is God accomplishing?

Two main purposes. First, God is executing punitive judgment of the world’s wicked rebels as God initiates his takeback of the earth.

And second, this we don’t want to miss. God is executing a refining judgment on Israel as God prepares them finally to receive their Messiah and be restored to their promised kingdom.

So it’s judgment of the world’s rebels, but it’s also refinement and preparation for Israel.

“God is executing a refining judgment on Israel as he prepares them to receive their Messiah.”

Christ’s Bodily Return and Final Judgments

This tribulation period culminates with a final battle of the nations against Israel called in one place the battle of Armageddon. In this battle, Israel is doomed. Jerusalem is taken and the surviving captives are being led away when suddenly Jesus returns to the earth in power and glory. He annihilates the wicked armies attacking Israel and he throws the antichrist and the false prophet alive into eternal fire.

Several other important events then take place at Jesus’s bodily return to the earth. Satan is cast into the abyss and completely incapacitated for a thousand years. Jesus gathers and judges all remaining living Gentiles on the earth to see if they are fit to enter into his kingdom. This judgment is also called the sheep and the goats judgment featured in Matthew 25.

“Jesus annihilates the wicked armies attacking Israel and throws the antichrist alive into eternal fire.”

Saved Gentiles, that is the sheep, are allowed into Messiah’s kingdom.

Unsaved Gentiles, the goats, are barred from the kingdom and cast into hell.

Jesus also gathers and judges all remaining living Jews to see if they are fit to enter into his kingdom. As with the Gentiles, believing Jews, saved Jews are allowed in, whereas unsaved Jews are barred from entry and are cast into hell. We’ll say more about this later, but that’s from Ezekiel 20.

The Millennial Kingdom

Also after Christ’s bodily return, Old Testament saints and tribulation saints, tribulation martyrs, they receive their resurrection and they receive their reward. And then Jesus actually establishes his long-awaited messianic kingdom and begins ruling with his saints.

Thus follows the millennial kingdom of Christ in which all the remaining promises of those unconditional covenants in the Old Testament—the Abrahamic, the Davidic, and the New Covenant—are fulfilled in their entirety for Israel. This 1,000-year kingdom will be characterized, as we’ve seen in previous lessons, by righteousness, peace, joy, ecological renewal, unprecedented prosperity, long life, absence of disease, rapid increase of population, vegetarian animals, and more.

“All the remaining promises of the unconditional covenants are fulfilled in their entirety for Israel.”

At its beginning, only believers will inhabit this kingdom. Though later some unbelieving children will be part of this kingdom and they will chafe under Christ’s rule. Some of them will not come to faith.

At the end of the 1,000-year kingdom, Satan is granted release from his abyssal imprisonment. He immediately gathers all unbelievers of the world for one final rebellion against the Lord and against his Christ. These will besiege the city of Jerusalem one last time.

But God will destroy these rebels with fire from heaven. He will finally cast Satan and presumably his demons also into eternal fire. And God will even destroy the whole created universe with fire.

The Great White Throne and the Eternal State

Immediately following as earth and heaven are fleeing away from the presence of God is the great white throne judgment, which God through his son judges all sinners finally and eternally according to their deeds and according to the sinners’ names being absent from God’s book of life.

Thus sinners from all periods of history will finally have their resurrection. But it is not a resurrection to life. It is a resurrection to judgment with bodies specially prepared for receiving holy torment forever.

After each sinner is judged before God’s throne, he is thrown into eternal fire.

What follows is the final entry in God’s eschatological calendar: the creation of the new heavens and the new earth and the eternal state.

Death and sin are finally gone forever.

New Jerusalem comes down to earth from heaven where God dwells with his people. They will worship him. They will serve him. They will rule with him and they will enjoy him and his amazing new world forever.

“Death and sin are finally gone forever. God dwells with his people and they will enjoy him forever.”

That’s the overview. This is what God has revealed to us that he is going to do and what we can look forward to as his believing children.

There are plenty of details in this revealed plan that we do not yet know, but God has revealed enough to us so that we can have full hope and courage in the present.

Here’s a list of those same events I just recounted to you with some supporting scripture references. I’m not going to spend time with this slide, but you can look at it later when they’re posted to the website.

That’s question one. Let’s go to the next question.

Q2: Will the World Know the Rapture Happened?

Will the world know that the rapture has taken place after it takes place?

The answer is we cannot say for sure.

The rapture surely will not be an invisible silent event like the Left Behind book series suggests. We noted in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which most clearly describes the rapture, that the rapture is said to be accompanied by Christ’s shout from heaven, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.

That’s a lot of sound. That’s kind of noisy. Believers are also said to meet the Lord in the air and in the clouds, which suggests the atmosphere of the earth. That’s a visible place.

“The rapture is accompanied by Christ’s shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.”

Now, I suppose believers could meet the Lord high enough and concealed enough by clouds for the rest of the people on the ground not to notice. But what about the sounds? Might believers be the only ones who hear the sounds, or will the world hear it too?

Biblical Precedents for Selective Hearing

It is possible that only believers would hear the sounds, though we don’t have precedent for that in the Bible. Usually in the Bible, if there’s a sound, everybody nearby can hear it too.

That being said, we do have a few instances in the Bible in which people hear sounds, but only those for whom the sounds are meant can clearly understand it. For example, when God speaks from heaven to Saul on the Damascus road, Paul clearly sees Jesus and he hears Jesus’ voice. But Acts 9:7 says that his companions heard a voice but saw no one.

Acts 22:9 says that his companions saw a light but did not understand the voice.

We also have the instance where God speaks to Jesus in John 12:28-30. The Father tells Jesus, “I have both glorified my name and will glorify it again.” When Jesus hears this voice, he’s in a crowd of Jews in Jerusalem. Those standing by heard the voice but they thought that it had thundered or that an angel had spoken to Jesus.

John 12:28: “I have both glorified my name and will glorify it again.”

So they heard something but they didn’t understand it. Only Jesus did. Therefore, it is my opinion—we can’t say this dogmatically—that the world will hear and will perhaps see something during the rapture that indicates something special is happening.

However, either because God conceals the full truth from them or because their hardened hearts will not allow them to grasp the truth, the world probably will not know that the rapture has taken place. After all, just look at how the unbelieving Jews responded to the signs of Jesus’ resurrection. It was pretty obvious that Jesus had risen from the dead. But they were willing to entertain all sorts of explaining possibilities except the most obvious one: that Jesus, the one that they hated and crucified, actually rose from the dead.

“The unbelieving heart is dead and blind without God’s merciful intervention.”

The unbelieving heart is dead and blind without God’s merciful intervention. So one way or another, the world probably will not know, but we can’t say that for certain.

Number three, this next one’s a big one.

Q3: Does the Olivet Discourse Contradict Pre-Trib?

Doesn’t Jesus’ Olivet discourse in Matthew 24, Luke 19, and Mark 13 contradict a pre-trib rapture view?

Okay, the Olivet discourse is an important word from Jesus on the end times, but it’s too long of a passage for us to read and analyze in depth together right now. Nevertheless, I’ll try to summarize the important issues from this discourse.

At first glance, Matthew’s version and to some extent the other versions of Jesus’ Olivet discourse do seem to contradict a pre-trib rapture view because in relation to Jesus’ second coming, Jesus instructs his disciples to prepare for increasing world tribulations, to watch for the abomination of desolation being placed in the temple in Jerusalem, and to flee from Jerusalem at that time without going back to get anything.

Also, there is no mention of a rapture except perhaps Matthew 24:41.

Matthew 24:41 says, “Then there will be two in the field. One will be taken, one will be left. Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken and one will be left.”

Yet these verses come at the end of the description of tribulation. So doesn’t that suggest a post-trib rapture rather than a pre-trib rapture?

On the surface, yes, this does seem to contradict.

On closer examination, however, these objections are meritless.

Matthew 24:40-41 in Context

To tackle these objections in reverse order, verses 40 to 41 in Matthew 24, in context, do not relate to the chronology of judgments associated with Christ’s return, but instead to the disciples’ necessary readiness.

If we go back to verse 3, Matthew 24, the whole discourse starts with a two-part question from Jesus’ disciples. He tells them, “Look at this temple. It looks great. I tell you, soon there will not be one stone left upon another.” The disciples therefore ask Jesus a two-part question: When will these things happen? When will the great temple in Jerusalem be torn apart, even as part of the eschatological last days?

And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Some people say that’s actually three questions, but I would say just two because the disciples have assumed that those latter two things are going to happen at the same time. Jewish eschatological understanding based on the Old Testament was that the Messiah’s coming would coincide with the end of the age.

They’re just two things happening at the same time. So when will this happen and what are the signs? In verses 4-31 in Matthew 24, Jesus clarifies the signs of his coming—namely, increasingly intense judgments unleashed upon the world and Israel, culminating in the sign of the Son of Man appearing in the sky in verse 30, which is Jesus himself. The last sign you’ll see is me, and you’ll know that the end of the age is here.

Jesus himself will appear in the clouds in glory.

In verses 32-35, Jesus concludes talking about the signs of his coming by presenting the fig tree as a parable. He says, “Just as the fig tree’s leaves show that summer is near, so these tribulation judgments, when you see them, show you that my coming to the earth is near.” Verses 36-41 then represent Jesus’ answer to the other part of the disciples’ question: When will these things happen? When will we start seeing these sign-like tribulation judgments?

When will you return? The answer is no one knows. No one knows except the Father. All you can know is that it will be just like the days of Noah. Most people in those days weren’t ready and therefore experienced judgment rather than salvation.

Verses 40-41 appear in this latter response from Jesus and thus are spoken generally about the future. They’re not related to the specific chronology of the tribulation events.

“You cannot justify a post-trib rapture view based on the placement of verses 40 to 41.”

So in short, you cannot justify a post-trib rapture view based on the placement of verses 40-41 because those verses don’t have to do specifically with end-time chronology.

Furthermore, the focus in the context just before verses 40-41 is judgment upon the unready.

So probably verses 40-41 are not talking about the rapture at all. Listen to verses 40-41 again. It says, “Then there will be two in the field. One will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken and one will be left.”

Taken in Judgment, Not Rapture

On its own, we could see that being the rapture. But look at the previous verse, verse 39. Jesus says, “And they,” speaking of the oblivious ungodly in the day of Noah, “and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the son of man be.” Now notice the word “took” in verse 39.

It’s the same Greek verb as the one that appears in the next two verses about taking.

What is the sense of the “took” or “taking” in verse 39?

When Jesus says, “And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away,” what is the sense of taking in verse 39? Judgment. This isn’t like they were rescued. No, they were taken in judgment most likely.

Then verses 40 to 41 keep the same sense of the taking. The one taken in each instance isn’t taken away in the rapture or taken away in salvation, but he’s taken away in judgment.

“The one taken in each instance isn’t taken away in the rapture but taken away in judgment.”

You don’t want to be one of the oblivious ones who’s taken away suddenly in judgment.

So what should you do instead? Well, what the next verse says and what the rest of the discourse basically says—verse 42 and following—stay awake. Be ready. Keep persevering and following and obeying Christ because he will come at an hour you do not expect. If you don’t want to be taken away in the judgment, stay ready.

So again, not only does the placement of verses 40 to 41 not indicate a post-trip rapture chronology, it’s not related to that specifically, but the verses themselves are probably not talking about the rapture at all. So this cannot be used against the pre-trip position.

But to this, someone might say, “Well, now you’ve got no mention of a rapture at all in the passage.” And yet, the passage does mention people seeing the events of the tribulation period. Isn’t that a problem?

The Olivet Discourse Is for Future Israel

Only at first glance. Because ultimately, this passage is not direct instruction for the church, but instead for future Israel. That is, this is for Jewish believers at the time of the tribulation.

I’ll tell you something interesting. If you compare the version of Jesus’s discourse in the book of Matthew and you compare it to the version in Luke, you’ll notice some poignant differences.

Luke’s version speaks much more about what’s going to happen soon to Israel. Even that Roman armies will surround Jerusalem in AD 70 and destroy its temple. In Luke’s version, Jesus doesn’t say “when you see the abomination of desolation.” He says “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies.”

So Luke seems to be focusing on the near judgment coming on Israel, whereas Matthew’s version speaks much more about what’s going to happen to Israel in the far future, even in the last days under antichrist.

Now, did Matthew and Luke twist Jesus’s words to talk about their own preferred topics? No. Rather, it must be that Jesus originally spoke about both of these things. He spoke about Israel’s near judgment and he spoke about Israel’s far judgment. But each author chooses in his record of Jesus’s discourse to focus on just one or the other. He doesn’t mention all of it.

All this to say, Matthew, particularly in Matthew 24, this word from Jesus is largely a revelation as to what will happen to Israel in the last days rather than what will happen to the church.

“This word from Jesus is largely a revelation as to what will happen to Israel rather than the church.”

And will Israel be raptured at the beginning of the tribulation period? No. Israel will not be raptured at all because as a people, they do not yet believe in their Messiah. They won’t have yet believed in their Messiah at the beginning of the tribulation. So then it is no surprise that Jesus does not mention a rapture when answering his Jewish disciples’ questions about Israel’s future.

Now someone might say, “But wasn’t Jesus talking to his actual disciples and giving them instruction as to how they should act in the future? These disciples were later the foundation of the church. They basically were the church in incipient form. So how can you say that this instruction is only for later Jewish believers, only for Jewish believers in the tribulation period?”

Well, let me first say that just because instruction is most directly applied to others rather than the original audience doesn’t mean it’s not useful for the original audience. In addition, it is useful for the disciples to hear this instruction as well, even if it more directly applies to a later generation.

Textual Details Pointing Beyond the Disciples

Second, there are details in this text that indicate Jesus is speaking beyond his current disciples. I’ll point you to a few.

One is the parenthetical in verse 15 in Matthew 24. After Jesus mentions the abomination of desolation, we get this little parenthetical which says, “Let the reader understand.” That’s really interesting because obviously Jesus did not say that originally. It’s not like his disciples were listening and he’s like, “Let the reader understand.” They weren’t reading. They were listening to his voice.

So why would he say that? Well, he didn’t say that. Yet Matthew was inspired by the Holy Spirit to put that parenthetical in Matthew’s record of Jesus’s words. And why? To indicate that what Jesus just said would be relevant to later readers and not necessarily the original disciples.

“‘Let the reader understand’ — Matthew was inspired to indicate this would be relevant to later readers, not the original disciples.”

Another point of detail is verse 20 in Matthew 24, in which Jesus says, in the context of the abomination of desolation appearing in the future temple, in the context of the antichrist unleashing his vicious persecution of the Jews, and in the context of believers at that time needing to flee: “Pray that your flight will not be in winter or on a Sabbath.”

What’s poignant about that statement? Jesus said, “Pray that you will not need to flee on a Sabbath.” Why would fleeing on a Sabbath represent a potential difficulty for future disciples?

For Jews still living under the Mosaic law, there are limitations as to what is allowed before God for you to do on the Sabbath. You’re not to work on the Sabbath, but also you’re not to travel a long distance. That’s why the New Testament can refer to a Sabbath day’s journey. There was an understanding that there’s only a certain amount of distance you’re able to cover on the Sabbath before you violate God’s law and sin against God.

But if you had to flee from deadly persecution on the Sabbath, then you’re in this terrible predicament: Do I violate God’s law and save my life, or do I keep God’s law and perhaps lose my life?

But would fleeing on the Sabbath be a concern for the future church? It shouldn’t be.

Colossians 2:16 says, “Let no one judge you regarding a new moon or a Sabbath day, things that are mere shadows of the things to come, but the substance is Christ. We are not under the Sabbath restrictions that the Jews once were. The Sabbath has been fulfilled for us in Jesus Christ.”

Therefore, this warning—this word about what they should pray for—would have been largely irrelevant for the original disciples who would soon be brought under the new covenant and certainly irrelevant for the church. But it would be highly relevant for Jewish believers in the tribulation period who are at that time still living under the Mosaic law.

This Generation — Who Is It?

Finally, there’s verse 34 which says Jesus speaking, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Okay, who is this generation? Who is this generation that Jesus has been speaking about, even for whom Jesus has given this instruction about signed judgments and the unknown timing of Jesus coming?

The most intuitive answer is that Jesus is referring to the generation of his hearers, his original disciples.

This necessarily means that everything Jesus just described would be fulfilled before the generation of his original disciples died. All of you hearing me, you’re not going to pass away until these things are accomplished. What’s the big problem with this interpretation?

They’ve already passed away and these things did not happen. There is no biblical or historical record of all these events coming to pass. And Jesus obviously is not now returned and reigning on the earth from a restored and believing Israel.

Now there are some interpreters who believe, who insist that actually these things did come to pass based on verse 34. These are called preterists. They say all or most of these events were fulfilled by AD 70.

The only way you can make that work is if you make figurative much of what Jesus is saying. For example, Jesus coming in clouds is actually a metaphor for the Roman armies coming to Jerusalem and destroying it.

That is a huge stretch. That just doesn’t work. But preterism requires that.

So even though this generation most intuitively would refer to Jesus’ original disciples, it cannot reasonably be taken to be so. So who else could it be?

Well, future Israel—the generation of Jewish believers alive at the time of Christ’s return, alive during the tribulation period. Jesus says all these foretold events will conclude in that generation’s lifetime.

“Future Israel — the generation of Jewish believers alive at the time of Christ’s return.”

Revelation would be even more explicit. It’s only going to be seven years. So it’s going to conclude within one generation. But before that specific information was given, Jesus says it’s not going to take hundreds of years.

It’s going to be a short amount of time. All these things will happen before one generation passes away.

Therefore, one could justly say based on these details of the text that the direct relevance of this passage is not for the original disciples nor for the church but for the generation alive at Christ’s return, particularly Jewish believers.

All this to argue that Matthew’s Olivet Discourse and also the other versions of the Olivet Discourse we have in Luke and Mark primarily explain the eschatology of Israel rather than the church. Therefore the lack of any mention of a rapture—or if you really want to, you could talk about the gathering of the elect by his angels and say, “Oh, surely that’s the rapture”—that’s given at the end of the description of tribulation judgments.

The lack of any mention of a rapture or the gathering of the saints at the end of the tribulation is not really a problem for the pre-trip position because this is about Israel rather than the church. What Jesus says in Matthew 24 and 25, Luke 21, and Mark 13 actually fits with the pre-trip rapture.

Q4: Why Give the Church Tribulation Instruction?

Okay, that was a big one. Follow-up question number four. All right. Well, why would the church be given this instruction then? Why would the church be given instruction like Matthew 24 and 25 and Revelation 6:19 if the church won’t actually go through the tribulations that those passages describe? Why couldn’t God just give extra revelation in the future for whoever actually needs it?

Well, if we ask a why God question like this, we must be prepared to admit that we might not be able to discover the answer. And that’s okay. God doesn’t have to explain himself to us.

But we many times wonder why God includes this thing in the Bible and not this other thing. Why didn’t God clarify this issue more? Well, God has his reasons, or he decided this is sufficiently clear. We need to stay humble and be able to trust God even when we don’t fully understand.

Still, while we don’t have God’s exactly revealed answer as to why these passages are included to the church, we can brainstorm some answers that demonstrate that this is a good thing. I’ll just give you four.

First, the explanations of the wrath to come teach people in the present age to fear God and seek salvation refuge in Christ. After all, if you do not believe and if you do not become part of Christ’s church, then you are headed to these judgments.

What is the frequent evangelistic message of the New Testament from the apostles to Jews and Gentiles? Repent and be saved from the wrath to come. Yes, the wrath of hell, but also that which comes before it, the horrifying world tribulation in which you will probably perish and be quickly sent to hell if you go into it. From this reason alone, the passages are quite relevant.

Second, for the saved believer, these explanations of wrath to come give believers great reason for gratitude, comfort, and effort at holiness. If what you’ve been rescued from by the Father’s mercy, you should love God all the more and seek to serve him with more zeal.

“These explanations of wrath to come give believers great reason for gratitude, comfort, and effort at holiness.”

Third, these passages encourage believers by explaining how God’s justice will be vindicated in the days to come. Repeatedly, the Bible instructs believers not to seek vengeance on the people of the world, even when they persecute us, because God will take care of it.

But believers don’t usually see that. Believers don’t see God’s justice against the world or against persecutors in the believer’s lifetime. Therefore, it should encourage believers, yes, even believers in the church right now, that God will one day set right what otherwise doesn’t look like it’s going to be set right anytime soon. We can trust God and not seek vengeance.

Fourth, the exhortations and examples given for our future brethren, those who are living during the days of tribulation, ought to encourage us to walk more faithfully in our present less demanding circumstances. If there are, for example, special Jewish evangelists in the tribulation period who will remain unstained by the world even in that situation, then don’t you want to do the same? Wouldn’t you like to live as faithfully in your lesser time of tribulation?

This, by the way, explains why the book of Revelation would be highly relevant for Christians being persecuted by Rome at the end of the first century. It’s not because the emperor’s persecution is what Revelation is describing figuratively, but because the emperor’s persecution is just a lesser version of what Antichrist will one day seek to unleash on all of God’s people.

If God’s people can be faithful in the future and if God can vindicate that faithfulness in a spectacular way, then God’s people can be faithful in the first century in a lesser version of that as they await God’s vindication.

All right. Next question number five.

Q5: Who Are the Saints in Revelation 6–18?

If the church does not go through the tribulation, then who are the saints on the earth described and being martyred in Revelation 6:9?

That’s a good question, but it’s a relatively simple one to answer. We do indeed get references to saints living on the earth a few times in the judgment section of Revelation. Revelation 13:7, for example, says that the Antichrist will be given authority to make war against the saints and overcome them.

Revelation 16:6, an angel praises God’s justice for turning all the fresh water of the world into blood because the people of the world, even at that time, poured out the blood of saints and prophets. The angel says, “And you have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” Revelation 17:6, Revelation 18:20, and Revelation 18:24 similarly report that Babylon, that horrid economic, religious, and political capital of the world, will one day be judged for getting drunk on the blood of the saints.

So the saints are clearly there in the tribulation.

But who are these saints?

They are not the church. Don’t think “church” automatically when you read “saints” because, after all, there were saints or holy ones in the Old Testament before the church came to be.

“Don’t think ‘church’ automatically when you read ‘saints’ — there were saints in the Old Testament before the church came to be.”

Tribulation Saints Identified

Rather, these in the tribulation period in Revelation 6:18 are other saints. These are Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus who come to faith after the rapture and before Jesus’ kingdom arrival to the earth.

Thus, these are commonly called tribulation saints. They are a special category of saints alive during the tribulation period. The Bible foretells that there will be many of them. Even though we look at the book of Revelation and we see the incredible stubbornness of the people of the world, they’ve got these obvious judgments of God coming upon them and it’s like, “Why aren’t you turning and believing? God is clearly real. His word is clearly true. Why aren’t you turning and believing?” We might be like, “Oh, nobody saved at that time.” That’s not what the Bible says.

The Bible foretells that there will be many tribulation saints, but most of them will be martyred.

Revelation 7:9-17 describes an uncountable multitude of saints who come out of the tribulation. So they were in it, but they’ve come out of it because they’ve died. John sees them worshiping the Lord in heaven. These are said to be those who have made their robes white in the blood of the lamb and for whom God now wipes away every tear from their eyes.

They’re not going to be beaten by the sun anymore. They’re not going to be hungry anymore. They’re going to be with the lamb and they’ll know his joy forever.

This is kind of amazing. God is indeed a God who even in wrath remembers mercy.

“God is indeed a God who even in wrath remembers mercy.”

Even in the horrors of the tribulation, many will hear, many will believe the gospel, and many will be saved. It’s not the church. This is another group of brethren unique to that time.

Okay, next question.

Q6: The First Resurrection in Revelation 20

Number six, Revelation 24:6 describes the first resurrection of believers taking place right after Christ’s return to the earth and defeat of his enemies.

Doesn’t that detail point to a post-trib rapture rather than a pre-trib rapture?

After all, how can John speak of a first resurrection after Jesus returned to the earth if there already was a resurrection of believers as part of a pre-trib rapture?

Okay, fair objection. This is a good question and it’s part of a constellation of objections to the pre-trib view all around the same basic concept. The pre-trib rapture view splits into two or more what the Bible often describes as a singular event.

So you get a reference to a singular event. The pre-trib rapture seems to split it. For example, it’s the second coming of Christ, not the second comings of Christ—once at the rapture and once again at the end of the tribulation.

Or it’s the resurrection. One resurrection in the future, not resurrection part one, two, three, and four.

Such splitting of one event into phases is one of the perceived weaknesses of the pre-trib position. By contrast, the post-trib rapture view has the advantage of keeping events simple and singular.

It’s one coming of Christ, one first resurrection, and so on.

We admit that rhetorically speaking, this does seem to be a weakness of the pre-trib view.

God Splits Singular Events into Phases

But in reply to this objection, we must confess God apparently likes splitting what sounds like singular events into phases.

“God apparently likes splitting what sounds like singular events into phases. He’s done it before.”

He’s done it before and he’s going to do it again in the future. Consider when the Old Testament foretells the coming of the Messiah. Does the Old Testament make it sound like the Messiah will come to his people Israel once or twice?

Just once, even though it’s actually twice.

We see a stunning example of this in Luke 4:16-21. The context here is that Jesus visits the synagogue in Nazareth and he reads from the scroll of Isaiah. He reads a portion of it, hands it back to the attendant, and then Jesus announces, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

That’s pretty cool. But what part of Isaiah was Jesus reading? Isaiah 61:1 and part of verse two. Isaiah 61:1-2 reads, “The spirit of the Lord, the spirit of the Lord, Yahweh is upon me because Yahweh has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh.” That’s what Luke also records.

What’s intriguing about this is that Jesus stops reading in the middle of a verse. What does the next part of Isaiah 61:2 say right after it says to proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh?

It says, “And the day of vengeance of our God.” Why didn’t Jesus read that next line?

Because that line wasn’t being fulfilled yet. You couldn’t have read that line and say, “This scripture is now being fulfilled in your hearing.” Because that second part of it, the day of vengeance, it was not actually being fulfilled.

Yet these lines were originally put together as one prophecy about apparently the one coming of Messiah. That’s true. Yet you see the Messiah’s one coming to his people would be in phases.

First it would be to proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh, salvation through the cross. Later it would be to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God, God’s judgment on the world.

So from this one example, we can see pre-tribers are not playing fast and loose with the Bible by breaking singular events down into phases. God is the one who did it first.

“Pre-tribers are not playing fast and loose with the Bible. God is the one who did it first.”

The Resurrection Has an Order

More to the point, the Bible speaks of the one resurrection of the dead happening in phases. For example, 1 Corinthians 15:21.

In 1 Corinthians 15:21, Paul writes, “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.” Okay, singular event, right? One death for all through one man, one resurrection from the dead for all through another man, namely Christ, just one singular.

But Paul quickly follows up that statement just two verses later with verses 23-24. 1 Corinthians 15:23-24.

“But each in his own order. Christ the first fruits. After that, those who are Christ at his coming, then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father when he’s abolished all rule and all authority and power.”

Did you notice what Paul just did? What Paul just said? He clarified that the one resurrection has an order. Or in other words, it has sequential phases.

“The one resurrection has an order — in other words, it has sequential phases.”

Christ first, then his people at his coming, then the end.

And consider the gap of time between the first and second phases of this one resurrection that Paul describes. Jesus was the resurrection first fruits around 30 or 33 AD. And if the rapture happens today, how many years later will be the second phase of this resurrection?

Almost 2,000 years between the phases of the one resurrection. Just the first two phases. And if it’s not today, it could be even longer.

So even a resurrection with phases can be separated by millennia and still be the one resurrection.

So it is then with the first resurrection described in Revelation 20:4-6. John’s use of the term does not preclude anyone being resurrected before the inauguration of the millennial kingdom because if that were to be the case, Jesus himself would have to be excluded.

His resurrection could not happen because this is the first resurrection. Rather, John uses that term, the first resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6, to contrast it with the resurrection of the dead that occurs at the end of the 1,000-year millennial kingdom. A qualitatively different resurrection because this is the one that takes place for the great white throne judgment.

This is the resurrection of sinners unto eternal death.

Blessed indeed is the one who partakes of the first resurrection in whatever phase and not the second.

The first resurrection has different phases. We have Christ the first fruits after the cross. Then the resurrection of Christian saints at the rapture. Then the resurrection of Old Testament saints and tribulation saints at the inauguration of the kingdom after Christ returns to the earth and sets up his millennial kingdom.

Those three things are the first resurrection though in phases.

Rhetorically, mentally, it would be simpler if it had no phases. But we have to be faithful to what the Bible actually describes. That’s why we hold to it as a pre-tribulation rapture.

Okay, my last question, last prepared question.

Q7: Who Repopulates the Earth in the Millennium?

Who exactly will be repopulating the earth in the millennial kingdom period?

After all, as we noted in our lessons on premillennialism, Isaiah foretold about Messiah’s coming kingdom. Isaiah 65:20 says, “No longer will there be an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fulfill his days, for the youth will die at the age of 100, and the one who does not reach the age of 100 will be thought accursed.” Isaiah 65:23 further says, “They will not labor in vain or bear children for terror, for they are the seed of those blessed by Yahweh and their offspring with them.”

In other words, Isaiah prophesies that someone is going to be having babies in the millennial kingdom and without the calamities of miscarriage or child mortality or maternal mortality.

So, who’s having the babies?

We might want to answer resurrected saints.

But Jesus says explicitly that this is not so. When answering the Sadducees’ trick question about the woman marrying seven times and then having her husbands all die, “Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be?” Jesus responds, “In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” That’s Matthew 22:30.

In other words, resurrected believers aren’t married and don’t get married. And as marriage is the only legitimate sexual relationship before God, resurrected believers are also no longer having sex and they’re no longer having children.

Okay. Then if resurrected saints aren’t having children in the millennial kingdom, maybe unbelievers who’ve survived the tribulation period are having them instead.

This cannot be the case either. For the scripture repeatedly makes clear that unbelievers will not enter the kingdom of God. Just one example, John 3:3: “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

In fact, Jesus describes a judgment of the survivors among the nations after his coming in Matthew 25:31-46, which is also called the sheep and the goats judgment.

He gathers all survivors of the nations, that is, the Gentiles. And if every surviving Gentile is an unbeliever, as evidenced by his poor treatment, his neglect of the least of these, my brethren, Jesus says that unbeliever is immediately sent away and cast into eternal punishment.

Whereas those who are believers from among the nations are welcomed in.

And as I mentioned earlier, Ezekiel 20:33-38 says that God will execute a similar judgment among his people. He will gather Israel. He will gather the Jews in the wilderness and purge out all rebels and prevent them from entering the kingdom.

So in short, no unbelievers are entering the kingdom of God once Jesus inaugurates it. So babies will not be coming from unglorified unbelievers.

So if not coming from glorified believers and not coming from unglorified unbelievers, who’s left?

Unglorified Believing Survivors

The only possible answer is surviving believers among the nations and among the people of Israel who do enter the kingdom but are not yet resurrected or glorified.

These persons continue in a state similar to before. They are still subject to the weaknesses of sin and death, but they also still get married and they still have children. But it’s on a restored earth under the perfect rule of the Messiah and of his saints.

These believing survivors at the beginning of the millennial kingdom will bear children and will repopulate the earth probably at an amazing rate considering that their curse has been removed. And their children will also have children.

But not all of the offspring will grow up to believe and be saved. Which is why Isaiah can say that some of these children will indeed die young at the age of 100, considered to be cursed by God.

But many of these children will not die young, or at least they will live until the end of the 1,000 years because then they will join, they will be part of, they will make up Satan’s final rebellion and his assault against Jerusalem, which God will easily crush.

Sometimes people look at Revelation 19 and Revelation 20 and they’re like, “Oh, Revelation 19, he got rid of all the unbelieving rebels. Who’s there to rebel in Revelation 20?” It must be symbolic. Revelation 20 is just a recounting of Revelation 19. No, there’s no reason to take that view because when there are children being born in the millennial kingdom and some of them don’t grow up to believe, then you have people who can constitute this final satanic rebellion. You don’t need to take Revelation 20 symbolically.

“Believing survivors at the beginning of the millennial kingdom will bear children and repopulate the earth.”

So again, to reemphasize, there will be procreation in the millennial kingdom, but only at first by believers who have survived the tribulation period and then by their descendants.

Now, someone might ask, “So, when will unglorified believers finally be glorified? When will they receive their resurrection bodies?” We don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say clearly. It could be individually at the moment each one of them dies, or it could be at the end of the millennial kingdom period. Either way, God’s going to work it out.

And by the way, the fact that someone needs to bear children in the millennial kingdom and the fact that some of these children need to turn out to be unbelievers is a weakness of the post-trib rapture view. Because if the rapture happens right when Jesus comes back bodily to the earth, then all believers in the world are resurrected and glorified and all unbelievers are judged and barred from the kingdom. So no one can have children. But who’s going to then be part of the final rebellion?

So this is the problem for the post-trib view. But if you’re post-trib, there’s a good chance you take the Bible’s eschatological prophecies symbolically anyway. So you’re probably not that bothered by that inconsistency.

Unfortunately, this move to allegorization, to figurative interpretation, it can save any kind of error, which is why a consistent literal hermeneutic for the Bible is so key, as we emphasized at the beginning of our course.

“A consistent literal hermeneutic for the Bible is key, as we emphasized at the beginning of our course.”

Audience Q&A

Okay, that’s it for my prepared questions. I think I have time for one or two more. Glenna, I was looking at that same narrative.

That’s a good question, Glenn. In trying to explain that line, “this generation will not pass away until all these things have come to pass” or however exactly Jesus says it, can you parallel that to the statement that God makes to Abraham? “You are going to possess this land,” even though Abraham never actually did.

There is some similarity, but I don’t think it’s a complete parallel. With Abraham, you have not just him but in his body there’s the seed from which the people to come will actually be brought forth. So you could say that in speaking to Abraham, he’s speaking to all of Abraham’s line because the seed is in Abraham.

Sometimes there are parallel passages that say it explicitly: “You and your descendants will possess this land.” That’s not quite the same thing for the disciples in Matthew 24, especially because he says “this generation,” which seems to imply it’s only going to be a certain amount of time before whatever is making up that group is going to pass away.

So you’re really stretching the definition of what generation means if it’s supposed to include the disciples and then all their spiritual descendants. There’s some parallel there, but I don’t think it’s totally exact.

Arthur, yeah. When you mentioned the question of why God would reveal to the disciples the distinction between the rapture and the understanding of the saints coming out of the tribulation, my memory went to when God visited Abraham and said, “Shall I keep this from Abraham since he’s going to be a great person and I have a plan that I didn’t reveal to anyone else?”

I was thinking of that as an example. We see that there are times when God will reveal something, and God does do that.

He does reveal that type of character.

Yeah. And since he was talking to his disciples, he considered them his friends, just as God considered Abraham his friend.

Yeah, that’s a good point, Arthur. You’re pointing out parallels where for the friends of God—those who have been chosen for God’s special favor—he often does reveal plans that may not directly have to do with that person, but may have to do with those who will come after as part of bringing comfort or bringing clarity.

Not just the example you mentioned with Abraham, where he says, “What I’m about to do with Sodom and Gomorrah, shall I not reveal it to my friend Abraham?” Or when he reveals to Abraham what’s going to happen to Israel when they go down to Egypt. He says they’re going to be slaves for centuries and says, “That doesn’t really have anything to do with me,” but he’s like, “I want you to know about it.”

I’m thinking also of the parallel that Jesus says in his farewell discourse where he says, “I no longer call you slaves but friends, because slaves don’t know what their master is doing, but I’m letting you know.” I also think of the same objection sometimes made with the prophecy about the virgin birth in Isaiah 7, where he says, “Why would Jesus declare this to King Ahaz because it has nothing to do with him? Surely this must refer to something different than the Messiah who’s to come centuries later because why would he tell Ahaz?”

Well, God has his reasons.

“God has been revealing plans to His friends throughout all the scriptures.”

Even though it referred more directly to Ahaz in his own time period, he wanted Ahaz to know about it. I would say partially as a statement of rebuke and judgment to Ahaz. He says, “You’re not willing to believe me. You’re not willing to test me by faith. You only test me by unbelief. I’m going to tell you about somebody who’s going to come in the far future who’s going to be totally different from you and is going to be fulfilling what the house of David was meant to be.”

Closing Prayer

Anyway, I think it’s good that you pointed out if we have problems with God saying things to the church that aren’t directly related to the church, well, God has been doing that throughout all the scriptures for those who are his friends. All right, good comments, good questions. If you have other ones, you can let me know afterwards.

But remember too, as I was telling somebody before we got started, before the end of our course at the end of June, we’ll have one more elder Q&A. So if you have a question about eschatology, particularly about premillennialism or pre-tribulation rapture that I haven’t answered yet and that you still think would be good to have answered, let me know and it might be something we can talk about at that time.

All right, we’ll end our time today with a word of prayer. Thank you for being part of the class.

Lord, we thank you again for your rapture. We thank you for this truth. Everything you do is right. If you had chosen to do it a different way, we could not complain. Yet, God, the way you have chosen to do it is so right.

And thank you for letting us know. Thank you, not only for letting us know so that we may have hope and perseverance, but also, God, so that we can see how these things are going to be all taken care of. You will vindicate your justice. You will show faithfulness to Israel and to your people.

And God, we are going to be with you in your kingdom forever. God, we do say along with the Apostle John, come Lord Jesus. If you were to come back today, we know you can choose to come back today or any century from now. If you were to come back today, we would be so glad.

But God, help us to be those faithful slaves until you come back. Not to say to ourselves, “Well, my master’s a long time coming, so I’m just going to goof around.” No, help us not to do that. Help us to not miss out on the joy of serving you nor test you by this kind of selfish unbelief.

I thank you for this time and bless the rest of the service in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Amen.

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