The Prophetic Horizon

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1 The Prophetic Horizon What’s Next? Does the Bible teach that the Rapture comes before the Tribulation? A Gregory B. Williams

Transcript of The Prophetic Horizon

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The

Prophetic

HorizonWhat’s Next?

Does the Bible teach

that the Rapture comes

before the Tribulation?

Gregory B. Williams

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Revelation 20:4&5

4And I saw the souls of

those who had beenbeheaded because of their

testimony for Jesus and

because of the word of

God. They had not

worshiped the beast or his

image and had notreceived his mark on their

foreheads or their hands.

They came to life and

reigned with Christ a

thousand years.5(The rest

of the dead did not come tolife until the thousand

years were ended.) This is

the first resurrection.

If these Christians

are beheaded for

refusing the mark

of the beast, then

they MUST have

been in the

Tribulation.

Yet they came upin the FIRST

RESURRECTION.

And what is the First Resurrection?

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a

loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with

the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise

first . 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left, will

be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the

Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. I Thessalonians 4:16, 17 NIV

This is one of many scriptures that lead me

to doubt the pre-tribulation rapture theory.

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This is another… I Corinthians 15:51,52

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,

but we will all be changed in a flash, at the last

trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will

be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Let us reason together about this “Last Trumpet”

Two possibilities exist:

(Only one of which may be true.)

Either

or This last trumpet IS

the seventh trumpet in

Revelation 11,

It IS NOT the

seventh trumpet

in Revelation 11.

If it IS then that means

the Rapture comes inthe middle of the

tribulation. Rev. 11:15

If it is NOT , then it MUST

come either BEFORE orAFTER the seventh

trumpet of Rev. 11:15.

If it comes BEFORE,

then the designation

“LAST” would be

nonsense: There would

be seven trumpets after

it. Also, the indicator,

“LAST” means it comes

in a series. –Where are

the others?

If it comes AFTER

the Seventh Trumpet

in Rev. 11, then the

rapture would come

during God’s Bowls of

Wrath in the last half of

the tribulation. –Not a

possibility according to

I Thess. 5:9

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TheProphetic

Horizon

What’s Next?

A Study By

Gregory B. Williams

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FOREWORD

My goal in this research piece is not to be argumentative or

confrontational. Paul said, “Who are you to judge another man’sservant? To his own master he stands or falls.” Therefore, I do

not hereby attempt to prove anyone wrong. I am merely bringing to

the attention of any interested parties the very revealing and

sometimes astounding findings of my research on the sequence of

end-time events.

I am sure that you have heard it all before. I had. Your mind is made

up and it is common knowledge that the rapture could hit any day. I

thought so too. In fact, the impetus for this very study was to

prove to myself from the Bible alone that the rapture will be

the kick-off point for the seven-year tribulation period.

I had always heard that the rapture would be the spark to set off the

tribulation. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins produced several

thousand pages (the Left Behind series of books) telling the story of what happens after the rapture. So it must be true, right? Even the

Masons have a pre-concocted story of what they will tell the world

after the rapture, –how it was their doing. But somehow I wasn’t

convinced. The concept just didn’t ring true. I am the kind of

person who filters everything he hears through the scriptures in his

head and heart. And for that reason I needed two or three stalwart

witnesses from the Word to let the truth be established. I foundmuch more than two or three, but they didn’t testify the way that I

thought they would. What I found turned my view of end-time

events inside-out.

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There is no mathematical formula for the date and time, of course.

That was not my goal. History has shown that path to be an

embarrassing dead-end. My goal was simply to prove to myself that

the rapture is the next event on the prophetic horizon. With all

sincerity and urgency, I can say that I found overwhelming proof that it is not. In fact, as the pieces began falling into place, what I

found was very startling, but rang true to my heart as opposed to

the thud that the pre-tribulation rapture theory left. Another thing I

found was that according to the prophecies, many, many people

who claim to be Christians (perhaps a majority) will not be able to

see and understand what I am about to say. I pray that you will.

Jesus told His disciples, "… every teacher of the law who has been

instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a

house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as

old." (Matthew 13:52)

Dear Lord, Help us to maintain a teachable spirit

as we search your Word for new treasures.

All quotations from

the New International Versionunless otherwise noted.

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HOW TO PROVE IT…?

In order to assuage my doubts and prove from the Bible that all I

had heard was true and that the rapture certainly precedes the

tribulation, I started with a word study on the word, resurrection

–trying to piece together everything the Bible had to say about the

events surrounding the Lord’s return. Of course the word, rapture,

is not in the Bible, but that didn’t hinder me. I knew that a mass-

exodus of all Christians, living and dead, from the face of the earth

simultaneously would leave a very big footprint in time that had to

show up in scripture somewhere. I studied the words of Jesusconcerning the last days. I carefully examined the words of Paul,

looking for conditions and sequences of events pertaining to what

he calls, “the day of Christ .” And Revelation… is like the Grand

Central Station of prophecy fulfillment. Even a passage of Peter’s

second letter comes into play to reinforce the others once the pieces

begin falling into place. Furthermore, these passages have

references all over the Bible. It is a massive web of information that seems daunting. I freely admit that I can’t explain all of it. But I

know this much, when viewed from a certain vantage point, events

seem disconnected and incoherent, but when viewed from another

vantage point, things start to click into place. I think I have found

that point.

LET THE READER UNDERSTAND

As I said, I searched the Bible for weeks and months, hoping to find

that irrefutable passage of scripture that interlocked with and made

sense of all the references. —The one that brought meaning and

cohesiveness to the individual parts. And I found it —but it wasn’t what I expected.

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The turning point came when I was poring over Matthew 24. There

is a point where Jesus says, “When you see the Abomination of

Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet,…” right at this point

Jesus stops and says, “–Let the reader understand —“ WOW! I

must have read that a dozen times, but this time it dawned on me tonot take for granted that I knew what He was talking about and go

do a word study on this obviously pivotal event. Here was Jesus

looking straight into the camera in mid-sentence, and saying to ME,

“—Let the reader understand—.” It was as though He were

granting understanding to me, or commanding me perhaps, to go to

Daniel’s writings and prayerfully search the scriptures for my

answer. He knew that I wanted to know –and He was handing methe key to the first door. So I did. I went straight to Daniel and

studied it to digest the Abomination and try to get set in my mind

why Jesus was instructing me to study and understand this event.

What I found cascaded into a whole slew of answers to vexing

questions and pulled into focus other previously fuzzy pieces of the

puzzle.

DANIEL SETS THE STAGE

The term, Abomination of Desolation, is one of those great terms

in the Bible that can serve as benchmarks to nail down a sequence

of events because it is called the same distinctive thing in both

Testaments. Daniel records the event as part of the antichrist’sdesecration of the temple in Jerusalem (which as of this writing

does not exist) and the setting up of himself as God–the turning

point of horror for the non-Christian Jews who trusted him, but

then see him for who he really is and flee to the mountains to the

East.

Another benchmark term is, “…tribulation (or distress) such as

has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.”

These two are linked in Daniel’s vision:

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DANIEL 11:31 AND 12:1-2

31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple

fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will

set up the abomination that causes desolation.

1 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects

your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress

such as has not happened from the beginning of nations

until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose

name is found written in the book —will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake:

some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting

contempt.”

This little passage is just pregnant with meaning. (I mean WOW!)

But it doesn’t say when it will happen. For a push-pin in the

timeline, we must look back to the overview of events in Chapter 9.

Here we find that blessed benchmark again:

DANIEL 9:27

He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In

the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice

and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up

an abomination that causes desolation

, until the end that

is decreed is poured out on him.

“In the middle of the seven” is the push-pin in the timeline.

According to Daniel, to whom Jesus Himself referred us, The

Abomination of Desolation happens in the middle of the seven

years.

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And what exactly is this Abomination of Desolation? Daniel gives

another of those helpful benchmarks in this same chapter, which is

echoed in II Thessalonians, Chapter 2:

DANIEL 11:36

"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify

himself above every god and will say unheard-of things

against the God of gods.

II THESSALONIANS 2:4

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything

that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself

up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Now we have two important pieces of information to take back to

Matthew 24 and fill in the blanks:

1. The Abomination of Desolation includes the antichrist makingvery bold statements and setting himself up as God.

2. The Abomination of Desolation happens in the middle of the seven

years.

Here we have the WHO, the WHAT, the WHEN and the WHERE, but

we do not yet have the WHY. Let us return to Matthew 24 and

continue putting the pieces together.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

Jesus’ disciples came to him after He finished telling off the

Pharisees and Sadducees in Chapter 23. He had very likely just

signed His own death warrant by exposing them as hypocrites and

calling them snakes. He let them have both barrels in front of the

people from whom they received their most prized possession,

adulation. He hit them where it hurts and He knew it.

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As they were beating a hasty retreat from a stunned and seething

group of religious politicians who could do no wrong, His disciples

chimed in with this deep and sobering spiritual revelation: “Hey

Jesus, Look at all these cool buildings we’ll be in charge of when

you’re King!” (I am paraphrasing, of course.)

I imagine Jesus was still shaking when He said, (still paraphrasing)

“What?! Where have you Bozos been for the last thirty minutes? Do

you not realize that I just signed my own execution order in there?

These buildings mean nothing. In fact, it won’t be long before

they’re all gone!”

Assuredly this stern message about the destruction of Jerusalem

shocked and confused them. They couldn't get past hoping Jesus

would become King and they, His Cabinet. After He calmed down

and was sitting on the Mount of Olives, they apprehensively

approached Him seeking more detail to this horrendous revelation.

Jesus' dire answer gave them little hope of human glory, and only a

promise that things would get worse before they got better. He said,

MATTHEW 24:4-6

(Deep sigh)

"Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come

in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive

many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but seeto it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen,

but the end is still to come.

These are not omens of the last days. These are natural occurrences

that Jesus knows are going to make people panic and wonder if it is

the end of the world. He warns us to be aware of them but to

disregard them as to eschatological sequence. Wars and rumors of

wars are not a sign of His coming. But then comes a transition

period:

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THE BEGINNING OF BIRTH PAINS

Wars and disasters begin to accelerate for some reason. What could

be causing it? Luke's recounting of this Olivet Discourse is almost

identical to the one in Matthew, only he gives a little more detail inthis section. In Luke's parallel passage he records Jesus as saying

next:

LUKE 21:10,11

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against

kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and

great signs from heaven.

→Luke adds “ fearful events and great signs from heaven” to what

is recorded in Matthew.

And then we go back to Matthew for the finishing touch:

“All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

This is the Transition Period. When we combine these two parallel

passages we get a clearer picture of (and reason for) this event:

THE TURNING POINT…

Matthew 24 continued…

9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put

to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of

me.

THEN YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL NATIONS —

This is the turning point, the beginning of the end, because there

has never been a time when ALL NATIONS have hated and put to

death Christians. So far, there has always been a safe haven

somewhere for believers. –Some nations were even founded by

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Christians. Now think about it. What could this huge, cataclysmic

turning point be? What is causing all nations to pass laws that

Christians deserve to die? ALL NATIONS! What happened? Is it

because the Muslims have taken over? Maybe, but I do not see any

evidence of that in scripture. If it were the Muslims, they would bepersecuting everyone who is not a Muslim –not just Christians.

The evidence that I do find is this: At some point in time this is

going to happen:

A charismatic leader on the world stage bent on conquest

An insane galloping increase in war

Wide-spread food shortages

Shocking and numbing quantities of death –demanding some

response, even if it is Draconian.

But Why?

Human nature is such that when terrible, frightening things are

happening, a mob-like mentality sets in that can cause good people,

even Christians, to tend to blame somebody and do things that they

normally would not. When people fear for their lives they will

commit acts that would normally make them shudder.

These four events that I have listed are the results of the opening of

the first four seals of the apocalypse. It is easy to imagine that theevents of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ all happen

sequentially, but a careful examination results in a finding that

some are an overview, some are a sequential storytelling, and some

are parenthetical sections like, “meanwhile, back at the ranch.”

Various literary mechanisms must be used in the telling of an epic

to bring into the flow of the main story, pertinent side stories and

tangents that tie together in the end. And this book is a onethousand, seven-year end-of-the-world epic. It takes a lot of careful

study and comparing with other scripture to put the pieces together

in order.

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For example, the telling of the opening of the seals in Chapter 6, is

an overview of the entire seven years. When you read the book of

Revelation in light of Daniel, you see that the antichrist (first seal) is

active all seven years, from the signing of the treaty to his demise at

Armageddon. You see that Wars (second seal) continue mostlyunabated throughout. Famines (third seal) grow worse because of

the plagues and war; and Death (fourth seal) is evermore

widespread. So, all of these first four seals must cover the entire

seven years.

Similarly, the fifth seal is a vision of the souls under the altar in

heaven who have been killed for their testimony of God and His

Word. This is not an isolated incident that happens between the

fourth seal and the sixth seal. Martyrdom has been going on since

Abel was murdered, and during the seven-year term of this scroll,

will accelerate viciously.

Likewise, the sixth seal is a snapshot of the very last day when the

sun turns black and the moon to blood and all men, rich and poor

cry out for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb. This is the day when

Christ returns with Bride in tow, to set His feet on the Mount of

Olives, initiate His Kingdom, and put down all rebellion for a

thousand years.

The seals on the scroll are like the title on the cover of a book. They

reveal the general contents of the whole book and give a glimpse

into what is coming. Then, when the seventh seal is broken, andthe book is opened, we get to see specific events unfold in

chronological order. The first event after the opening is the scene of

an angel casting a fire-filled censer to the earth accompanied by

lightning, thunder and an earthquake. I assume that this is similar

to a starter’s pistol in a race. Soon after, the Seven Trumpets begin

to get people’s attention (including the rider on the white horse)

and spur them to action.

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FEARFUL EVENTS AND GREAT SIGNS FROM HEAVEN

Now we have a possible answer to the question of what starts the

world-wide persecution of Christians: If these seals and trumpets

do not happen consecutively, but concurrently, then the first trumpet sign could be the event that kicks off the persecution. It

stands to reason because a supernatural falling of blood, fire and

hail from the sky, a third of the trees burning up and all the green

grass burning up would cause the population in general to want to

blame someone. Who are they going to blame? How about those

Christians pointing to their Bibles, saying, see! We told you! Then

the next sign hits,

“The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a

huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of

the sea turned into blood, 9a third of the living creatures in the

sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

Something like this could cause a lynch-mob-mentality panic. These

frightful end-of-the-world type disasters are plainly foretold in theChristians’ book of prophecy, so they must have some control over

it. –They must be stopped at all costs. The Nations will be eager for a

strongman/dictator type who has a plan (or seven-year treaty

perhaps) to bring these evil Christians to heel. “He is riding a white

horse, you know. He must be a good guy.” And then this happens:

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing

like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water — 11the name of the star is Wormwood. A third

of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the

waters that had become bitter.

“O.K. That’s it! Start rounding up the Christians! Their God is doing

this.” It can’t be the Jews because even though the Christians say

that their God is the same as the Jews’, the Jews do not believe the

book of Revelation. The Jews will disavow these happenings to save

themselves and many Christians will start disavowing each other

for the same reason. Widespread panic and self-preservation

measures will set in. This causes war, war causes famine, and

famine causes death. Hail, Hail! The Four Horsemen of the

Apocalypse are all here! Then the fourth trumpet sounds:

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12The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun

was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a

third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light,

and also a third of the night.

These things would definitely qualify for the “fearful events and

great signs from heaven” that Jesus said would be the beginning of

birth pains; things that would jump-start the great worldwide

persecution. And there is no mention of rapture yet.

It seems readily apparent that these things coming upon the earth

as the Christian New Testament predicted will provoke three

things:

1. M illions of people who know better but aren’t doing it will

realize what is happening and turn to God.

2. Other millions who just pretended to be Christians and

ignored the truth will jettison their Bibles and Church

membership to save themselves and their families from the

coming wave of persecution, torture and death.

3. A lot of angry people are going to want to take this out on

somebody.

So simultaneously we have a worldwide revival and apostasy and

bloodbath.

Now imagine the scene: If all the Christians are gone, who are thetalking heads going to blame for all this? But if they are still here,

then all the world’s wrath (men’s wrath, not God’s wrath) will break

out against those who are pointing to their Bibles and saying, “See?

We told you.” This could definitely cause ALL NATIONS to

persecute and kill Christians. Those whose hearts are hardened will

turn into murderous mobs seeking revenge on those whose God did

this to their friends and loved ones. The few who hold to thetestimony of Christ will become sacrifices to their gods!

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PARENTHETICALLY

Many propose that the rapture will come before the tribulation

because we are not appointed to wrath as written in

I Thessalonians 5:9, “For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Even though Paul wrote that we are not appointed to wrath, we

must remember that Jesus suffered men’s wrath; and so too did all

the apostles. Further, according to II Timothy 3:12, so will “ any one

who desires to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus.” If then, we are

appointed to men’s wrath; it must be God’s Wrath from which we

are excused.

Now to my point: Are the trumpet signs God’s wrath?

We assume that they are because they are so horrendous, but let us

look carefully at the appearance of God’s wrath in the book of The

Revelation of Jesus Christ and find out for sure when God says His

Wrath appears:

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The following timeline shows the appearance of God’s Wrath

10 times in the Book of the Revelation. Not once is the term used to

refer to a trumpet —or even mentioned among the trumpets.

GOD’S WRATH as it appearsin Revelation:

Seals Trumpet Signs Bowls of Wrath1.2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

1&2. The first two usagesare in the sixth seal. It is a

flash-forward to the Last

Day (sun-black, moon-

blood, men crying out for

rocks to fall on them) when

Jesus returns to set up His

Kingdom. The sixth seal is

not the wrath –it is

depicting the wicked of the

earth suffering God’s wrath

on the Last Day. The six

seals (Conquest, War,

Famine, Death, Martyrs and

Final Judgment) are all

spread across the entireseven years. It is an

overview.

3. 11:18 “The Nations wereangry and your wrath

has come.”

4. 14:10 She will drink the wine

of God’s wrath.

5. 14:19 Grapes cast into the

wine-press of God’s

wrath.

6. 15:1 Seven last plagues are

God’s wrathcompleted.

7. 15:7 Seven Golden Bowls

full of the wrath of

God.

8. 16:1 “Go pour out the Bowls

of God’s wrath upon

the earth!”

9. 16:19 Great Babylon given

the wine of the

fierceness of God’s

wrath.10 19:15 Jesus treads the

winepress of God’sWrath.

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And if the Bible doesn’t call the Trumpets “Wrath”

…then why do we?

Surely Satan’s wrath and men’s wrath is ever-present, but only

after the seventh trumpet is God’s wrath upon the nations

announced.

HERE IS DIRECT SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE:

Revelation 11:15-18

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,

And there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of

our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever

and ever."

16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones

before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

the One who is and who was, because you have taken

your great power and have begun to reign.18

The nations were angry; and your wrath has come .The time has come for judging the dead,

and for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your saints and those who reverence your name,

both small and great — and for destroying those who

destroy the earth."

Here it is!

God’s Wrath comes right after the seventh trumpet!

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This is it! The seventh trumpet has sounded. It is the end of the

age of which Jesus spoke —the end of the rule of mankind upon

the earth!

Now it is time for God’s reign of wrath upon the earth whilerewarding his prophets and saints in heaven at the 3½ year

Judgment Seat of Christ and Marriage Supper of the Lamb! It fits!

Conclusion: I Thessalonians 5:9 cannot be used

to prove a pre-Tribulation Rapture.

CLOSE PARENTHESIS

So, if the Trumpets are fearful events and great signs from

heaven that all hell is about to break loose, then this could very

well be the reason for all the persecution.

Let us return to Matthew, Chapter 24 for one more clue beforemoving on:

THE FALLING AWAY FROM JESUS’ LIPS…

Matthew 24

10 At that time (the time of persecution/tribulation –the

first 3 ½ years) many will turn away from the faith and

will betray and hate each other, 11and many false

prophets will appear and deceive many people.12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of

most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end

will be saved.

(Quick Question: “…the love of most what? will grow cold.” Sinners? Is Jesus worried about the love of sinners growing cold?

If all the Christians are gone then this must be who He is talking

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about. It doesn’t make sense. He must be speaking about the love

of CHRISTIANS growing cold. –And why? Keep reading.)

“AT THAT TIME…”

If it is true that we have now entered the first half of the

tribulation and the trumpets are sounding, then there are going to

be a lot of fair-weather Christians who are going to be very

disillusioned, very disappointed that JESUS LIED TO THEM

ABOUT THE RAPTURE! They may even be angry enough to betray

to the authorities those other fanatical Christians, who said, “I

told you so.” They’ll ask , “What happened to the rapture? Whereis this ‘ coming’ He promised? ” Oh, wait, this brings another piece

of the prophetic puzzle into play:

II Peter 3:3,4

First of all, you must understand that in the last days

scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil

desires. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes

on as it has since the beginning of creation."

OBSERVATION: If people are wondering where His COMING is,

then He must not have come when they thought He would .

ERGO: If everyone believes the rapture comes before the

tribulation, then there are going to be A LOT of frightened and

bewildered Christians asking this very question:

WHERE IS HE?!

All the pieces fit together!

In this light, I submit that the scoffers are not unbelievers, no— the murderers are going to be unbelievers. The scoffers are going

to be disillusioned and angry “Christians” and false prophets.

Furthermore…

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Peter goes on to say,

17 Therefore, dear friends, SINCE YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS, be

on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the

error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

Now you know –where the promise of His coming is…

Just at the seventh and last trumpet.

Peter’s warning is for Christians. And it carries dire con-

sequences (falling from our secure position) if ignored. When

the rapture doesn’t happen before the signs start happening,

don’t blame God or curse Jesus. They didn’t say it would, —but

that’s what everyone thinks!

Again, this fits with another puzzle piece…

II THESSALONIANS 2:11

(Still talking about the rapture, Paul says :)

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion

that they should believe the lie.

With all I have learned, I personally believe that the

strong delusion is the pre-tribulation rapture

theory that even Bible scholars believe and purport

on very weak and disjointed grounds.

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THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS, DON’T TOUCH T HAT DIAL!

As you can see, this side trip to Daniel, Chapters 9, 11 and 12 has

led to a avalanche of prophetic puzzle pieces, which when viewed

from a mid-tribulation rapture vantage point, all fall into place.

But that’s just the start. There’s much more. People believe in the

pre-trib rapture because they want to. It’s easier –it’s safe. They

cannot bear to think of actually having to face loss of property orlifestyle or life for Jesus. No –He’s the giver. He wants to make all

of your dreams come true… Poppycock! That’s what TV

preachers tell you to get your money. We were created to make

God’s dreams come true of having a family with members that

live not to themselves, but unto Him and each other —at the cost

of their lives.

Jesus said:

Matthew 16:24

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and

take up his cross and follow me.”

Mark 8:35

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever

loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Paul said:

2 Timothy 3:12

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted,”

The easy road leads to the wide gate.The hard road leads to the narrow gate.

Please stay with me on the hard road and explore more proof that

the rapture is not a “Get -out-of-Tribulation-Free” card.

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PAUL’S OWN ORDER OF EVENTS

In I Thessalonians, Chapter 4, Paul gives us our most complete

picture of what the rapture looks like from our perspective. (I say

that because later we’re going to see what it looks like fromheaven –and the Old Testament.)

I THESSALONIANS 4:15-17

15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we

who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the

Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallenasleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from

heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the

archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the

dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are

still alive and are left will be caught up together with

them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so

we will be with the Lord forever.

This is what it look s like but there is no indication of the rapture’s

placement on the timeline other than benchmark terms that may

turn up elsewhere:

The Lord will come down from heaven.

It will happen with a loud shout or command.

Michael (the only angel dubbed “archangel” in scripture,

Jude 1:9) will speak or shout something.

The trumpet call of God will sound.

Dead Christians will be resurrected.

Right after that, the living Christians will be caught up withthem to meet the Lord in the air.

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But in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he wows us with

the actual sequence of events:

II THESSALONIANS 2:1-3

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus

Christ and our gathering together to Him

, we ask you, 2

not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by

spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though

the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by

any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling

away comes first, and the man of sin

is revealed

, the son of perdition,… NKJV

I had read this many times and never realized that the actual

sequence is right there! It is rather obscure though, so we have to

look at it closely:

First of all, we can see that the subject of this passage is very

clearly labeled: “…concerning the coming of our Lord JesusChrist and our gathering together to Him.” …and our gathering

together to Him… That’s the rapture! DON’T LOSE THAT! Some

people try to change the subject of this paragraph to “Judgment

Day” when Jesus sets His feet on the Mount of Olives, destroys His

enemies and sets up His Millennial Reign. That is not the day He

gathers us, that’s the day He brings us back . In context, Paul also

calls the subject of this paragraph, “the Day of Christ” and “that Day.” We call this the rapture.

Secondly, Paul is giving us a stern warning that there will be

deception surrounding this event. And boy, is there!

And third, He gives us the actual order:

…that Day will not come unless the falling away comes

first, and the man of sin is revealed, (NKJV)

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Do you see the order?

“…that Day will not come unless…

…the falling away comes first and the man of sin is

revealed.”

THERE WE HAVE IT!

1. The rebellion or falling away

2. The man of sin revealed

3. That Day

When does the rebellion begin?

–At the appearance of the trumpet signs. (Luke 21)

When is the man of sin revealed?

– In the middle of the seven. (Dan 9:27)

When is “That Day?”

–After the man of sin is revealed & at the 7th trumpet.

(II Thes 2:3)

Upon close examination, this passage clearly states that the

rapture comes after the falling away and the man of sin beingrevealed. —This last item Jesus pinned on the timeline by

referring to the Book of Daniel which says it would come at

the middle of the tribulation. So “That Day” (the rapture)

cannot occur until AFTER the middle of the Tribulation!

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PARENTHETICALLY

The Greek word translated to English, as “ falling away ” is the

word, apostasia. It means literally an “exodus” of some sort.

Those who propound the pre-tribulation rapture theory insist

that this word actually stands for the rapture. –The “exodus” is

the Christians leaving the earth. Semantically speaking and out of

context, that is a viable translation, but it doesn’t fit with the

other puzzle pieces or the context of the passage. It raises more

questions than it answers. It is interesting that the NIV rendersthe word “rebellion”, the KJV renders it “falling away” and the

NASB simply transliterates it as “apostasy.” No Bible version of

which I am aware renders it with a positive connotation such as

“the Blessed Hope” should have.

But for the sake of argument, let’s interpret it that way and

reconstruct the sentence,

“That Day (The rapture) will not come unless the apostasia

(rapture) comes first and the man of sin is revealed.”

My conclusion: “Apostasia” refers to the big backsliding

when Jesus doesn’t show up.

CLOSE PARENTHESIS

This passage in II Thessalonians is a very clear and important

announcement of the sequence of end time events. It bears

repeating and fleshing out with the other details we have

discovered:

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1. World-wide supernatural cataclysms start happening and

Christians get the blame for it, which causes the Christians-in-

name-only to fall away and all the other false religions and

new-age prophets to begin world-wide persecution of those

“ heretics” who believe the Bible. Masses of people who believed in the pre-tribulation rapture are perplexed and wonder why

they got “Left Behind” and where the promise of His coming is.

This is terrible! What’s the use? He forgot about us!

2. Because of the world-wide hysteria, a strongman is needed who

can bring a sense of order to the chaotic and bloody situation.He signs a seven-year treaty with the worst hotspots (mainly

the middle-east) to quiet the situation. Everyone says “Peace,

Peace” but then sudden destruction comes on them when the

strongman is finished using religion to take control and

declares all religions illegal. [I believe this is the beast (the

antichrist and his generals) devouring and burning the Harlot

(false religion) in Rev. 17:16-18] Then he sets himself up asGod. And why not? He is mankind’s only hope to stop God. He

came back from the dead, has his own miracle-working prophet

and a talking statue of himself. “Who is like the Beast!?”

3. Then this happens just before the seventh trumpet in

Revelation 11:

This is a huge piece of scriptural evidence for

the Mid-Tribulation Rapture–

Please read carefully!

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REVELATION 10

The Mystery of God is accomplished —

1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from

heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above

his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were

like fiery pillars. 2He was holding a little scroll, which

lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the

sea and his left foot on the land, 3and he gave a loud

shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, thevoices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the

seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard

a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven

thunders have said and do not write it down."

5Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on

the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore

by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the

heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is

in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There

will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the

seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the

mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he

announced to his servants the prophets."

Wow! What an incredibly regal announcement!

Voice of the Seven Thunders

Shout of a Lion

Face like the Sun

Legs like Fiery Pillars!

What is this staggering, stupendous

announcement?!

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NO MORE DELAY!

No more delay? …OK... …Delay for what?

–Oh, for the Mystery of God to be accomplished. (Some

versions say completed some say finished .) But what does it

mean? Obviously, it’s very important and it comes right before

the seventh trumpet in Chapter 11.

Wait, there’s a clue in the text!…

… , just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

YES! This prophetic passage would be a total dead end if His

prophets didn’t write it down somewhere, right? Let’s do a

word study and see if we can decipher what “the Mystery of

God” is.

*******************WORD STUDY********************

The word MYSTERY is found in the Old Testament only in the

Book of Daniel. Each time it refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s dreamthat Daniel interpreted. The dream was concerning a great statue

that represented a succession of empires or human governments

on the earth.

If this mystery is the mystery of God, then human governments,

at this point in Rev. 10, are finished and the government of Jesus

is about to begin. This is very interesting. It is true. The end of

the dream predicted that a stone cut out of the mountain without

hands would smash the entire statue and grow into a mountain

that covered the whole earth. (Dan. 2:35) That is the government

of Jesus destroying and replacing human governments.

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Furthermore, as we have seen, Revelation 11:15-18 (the chapter

immediately following this Regal Announcement) recounts the 24

Elders giving thanks to God for beginning His reign at the seventh

trumpet. This is one of many unexpectedly amazing puzzle pieces

that I have run across that fit. But that’s not all of the MYSTERY.Keep looking…

The word MYSTERY is found in the New Testament only in the

writings of Paul (and Revelation of course). Let’s look at these

instances and see if we can find a common thread –a definition of

THE MYSTERY THAT IS NOW COMPLETE.

Romans 11:25

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that

you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in

part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

(This is part of the mystery: Israel being partially set aside until the

full measure of the Gentiles are brought in.)

Romans 16:25

Now to him, who is able to establish you by my gospel and the

proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the

mystery hidden for long ages past, 26but now revealed and made

known through the prophetic writings by the command of theeternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— 27to

the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

(Doxology. Doesn’t say what the MYSTERY is, but does say why it

exists: …revealed…so that all nations might believe and obey Him.)

1 Corinthians 15:51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all

be changed—52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last

trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised

imperishable, and we will be changed.

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(This mystery is not called The Mystery of God – just a mystery. Yet,

it is very interesting that Daniel’s mystery was the end of human

governments and this mystery is the rapture. It’s just amazing

how these pieces fit together!)

Ephesians 1:9

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his

good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect

when the times will have reached their fulfillment —to bring all

things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even

Christ.

(Here is another facet of the Mystery –bringing all things together in Christ when the times will have reached their fulfillment.)

Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be

given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the

gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains.

(Mentions the mystery, doesn’t say what it is.)

Colossians 1:24-27

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh

what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the

commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its

fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and

generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has

chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of

this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

(The mystery is now disclosed to the saints. This mystery is Christ in

you, the hope of glory. This is good, but it gets better. Read on.)

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Colossians 2:1-51 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and

those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the

flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together inlove, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of

understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of

the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of

wisdom and knowledge. NKJV

(This passage does not actually define the Mystery, but like a

“Rosetta Stone” it equates the Mystery of God with the Mystery of

Christ. They are one and the same. It also expresses Paul’s struggle

and desire to see the Church grow.)

Colossians 4:3

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,

so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in

chains.(Speaks of the mystery, no info.)

1 Timothy 3:16

Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He

appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by

angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the

world, was taken up in glory.

(Speaks of Jesus’ incarnation and departure.)

Hold onto your hat! I saved the best for

last. Read it carefully; it is the key andlines up with all the others!

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Ephesians 3:2-6

Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace

that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to

me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading

this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into themystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other

generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's

holy apostles and prophets.

This is an almost exact quote from the Regal

Announcement!

And here is the definition.

6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs

together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers

together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

READ THAT AGAIN!

THIS IS THE KEY TO THE REGAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

The benchmark wording is there

and the definition is there!

This was written so that you can understand the MYSTERY of Christ.

It was not made known to other generations.

…it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy

apostles and prophets

Definition of the MYSTERY: “…through the gospel theGentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together

of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ

Jesus.”

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That’s it! That’s the Mystery of God:

The Bringing Together of Israelite andGentile into one in Christ.

That is the Church –

The Bride of Christ!

Stick a fork in ‘er, boys, she’s done!

Let the weddin’ bells ring!

Time for the seventh trumpet!!!

And this one in Chapter 5 just for good measure:

Ephesians 5:32

This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and

the Church.

! WOW !

What more could you want? The Mystery is the Church and just

before the seventh trumpet in Revelation, Chapter 11, the Mysteryis complete. What’s left to do but pull it out? Now the

“last trump” in I Corinthians 15:52 does not need to be

explained away as something other than the seventh trumpet.

Also, II Thessalonians 2:1-3 does not need to have the subject

(rapture) changed in mid-sentence to mean Judgment Day. It

fits!

***************END OF WORD STUDY***************

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MEANWHILE, BACK IN JERUSALEM…

The Regal Announcement takes up the entire tenth chapter of

Revelation. But before the seventh trumpet sounds, another side-

story, in Chapter 11, needs to be brought in and tied togetherwith the other mid-tribulation events.

Here we see the brief account of a 3½ year ordeal for two

witnesses who prophesy in Jerusalem and have power to smite

the earth with all manner of plagues and curses. They protect

themselves with fire from their mouth, which consumes their

enemies. –Wow! (Allegorical or literal, it’s impressive!)

But when their 3½ years of testimony is over (and the Church is

finished) the Beast out of the Abyss slays them and their bodies

lie in the street for 3½ days and everyone celebrates. (I imagine

that this is when the Abomination of Desolation is set up. Since all

the wicked of earth are glad the two Witnesses are dead, they will

follow the one who takes credit for it.)

But then, the breath of life from God enters them and they are

resurrected right in front of God and everybody! As the horrified

bystanders (and CNN) look on, they hear a loud voice

commanding, “COME UP HERE!” And away they go!

PARENTHETICALLY

Some experts that I have read hold to the idea that this very same

phrase, “Come up here!” spoken to John the author in Chapter 4,

is proof of the rapture before the tribulation. But there is no

corroborating evidence to support that assertion. It seems to be

only wishful thinking. It is very weak evidence to say that since

the Church is not mentioned for several chapters that it must

have been raptured already. Maybe the focus is just on something

else for awhile. One of the laws of logical thinking is that “absenceof proof is not proof of absence.” It is entirely possible that the

Church is still here, it is simply not at the forefront of the

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narrative. A much more plausible understanding of the sequence

of events is right here in this section:

1. CHAPTER 10: The MYSTERY of GOD is completed.

2.

CHAPTER 11: The Two Witnesses have completed 3½years of testimony and are commanded to “Come up

here!”

3. CHAPTER 11 Cont.: The Seventh Trumpet sounds.

4. CHAPTER 14: The scene of the rapture from heaven’s

perspective.

5. CHAPTER 15: the Bowls of God’s Wrath.

This same phrase, “Come up here!” spoken in Chapter 11, has lotsand lots of corroborating evidence that this is the point when the

rapture occurs.

BLESSINGS AND WOE UPON THE GREAT

TRIBULATION SAINTS

After the two witnesses are caught away in Rev. 11, there is a

great earthquake and the seventh trumpet sounds. There are loud

voices in heaven declaring that the age of men’s rule on earth is

over. It has now become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ,

they cry. The 24 Elders worship God for finally taking control and

announce His wrath upon the earth. Then God’s temple is opened

in heaven to show “The Ark of His Covenant” dramatically framedby lightning, rumblings, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Oh,

how exciting!

After this there are three more parenthetical pieces that reveal

actual events in figurative language. These need to be tied in to

the mainline story at the middle as well but they are immaterial

to the scope of this study on the sequence of events.

1. The woman and the Dragon. (Rev. 12)

2. The Beasts out of the sea and the earth. (Rev. 13)

3. The 144,000 with the Lamb on Mount Zion in heaven. (Rev.

14:1-5)

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Suffice it to say that these are things which are happening during

the first 3½ years, and at the middle of the seven they come to a

head, similar to the Two Witnesses.

After these important tangential narratives are tied in, threeangels appear with warning announcements of judgment to come

in the bowls of wrath about to be poured out. (Rev.14:6-12)

RIGHT AT THIS POINT (Rev.14:13) something very interesting

happens. (Another of the many threads that weave together the

viability of the mid-trib viewpoint):

A voice comes from heaven:

Verse 13:

“Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from

now on.” “Yes” says the Spirit, “They will rest from their

labor for their deeds will follow them.”

Now why do you suppose that is in there?

What is different for “the dead who die in the Lord”

from THIS POINT on?

Now remember where we are,

The MYSTERY of GOD is completed,

The two witnesses have ended their 3½ year testimony

and have been resurrected and taken up to heaven.

The Seventh Trumpet sounds and several things happen:

o God begins to take control of the earth.

o Three tangential narratives tie in.

o A voice from heaven says: “Blessed are the dead

who die in the Lord from now on.”

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The very next thing in the narrative is the scene of the

Rapture as seen from heaven. (–Same chapter, next three

verses. Hold tight, we’re coming to that.)

ANSWER:If I am correct about the sequence, then after this point , the souls

who turn to Jesus (i.e. the Jews and others who turn to Jesus after

the Abomination of Desolation) will have no “Blessed Hope,” –no

rapture to look for to save them. They have missed the bus.

After the Mystery of God is complete, and the seventh trumpet

sounds, there will be no more additions to the “Bride of Christ.”The souls who are saved after this (and this passage proves that

there will be some) become something different. “Their deeds

following them” means, I believe, that they get a special job in

heaven:

We see this in the overview back in Revelation 7. This portion of

the overview refers to the Great Tribulation saints. It mentions

being scorched by heat from the sun, which is the fourth bowl of Judgment. This group will serve God in His Temple rather than on

the earth as the Church does.

REVELATION 7:13-17

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white

robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"

14I answered, "Sir, you know."

And he said, "These are they who have come out of the

great tribulation

; they have washed their robes and

made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15

Therefore,"they are before the throne of God

and serve him day and night in his temple

;

and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over

them.

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16Never again will they hunger; never again will they

thirst.

The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching

heat.17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their

shepherd;

he will lead them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

This is a fitting reward for those who endure with no hope of

escape. May God bless them with His Spirit and give them

strength.

Parenthetically, this passage also serves as part of the scriptural

foundation for referring to the last half of the tribulation as “The

Great Tribulation.” –The Day of the LORD; the Wrath of God. (See

also Matt 24:15-21, Rev.2:22, Zech. 14)

Similarly, this passage serves another purpose: It gives

supporting evidence that the Holy Spirit could not be the ONEtaken out of the way to allow the anti-christ free reign in II Thes

2:7. These people are saved after the seventh trumpet! You can’t

be saved without the Holy Spirit. –More on that later.

ON WITH THE STORY,

After the blessing on the Great Tribulation Saints, Rev. 14:14

begins the narrative of how the rapture looked from heaven in

the vision:

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REVELATION 14:14-20

The Harvest of the Earth

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated

on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15Then another

angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to

him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap,

because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the

earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his

sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Immediately after, this happens:17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too

had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of

the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him

who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather

the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its

grapes are ripe." 19The angel swung his sickle on the earth,

gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress

of God's wrath. 20They were trampled in the winepress

outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as

high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Paul gives his earthly view of the rapture in I Corinthians and I &

II Thessalonians, but this is John’s view of the rapture in

figurative language as seen from heaven. It seems readily

apparent to me that this “ son of man with a crown of gold on his

head ” is Jesus removing what he wants from the earth before theJudgment falls –the Great Winepress. The sequence fits as well:

the very next thing to happen in the narrative is not the first seal

or the first trumpet as the pre-trib viewpoint would dictate. No,

those are long gone. The next thing to happen is the introduction

of the seven angels with the seven last plagues –God’s Bowls of

Wrath. (Rev 15:1)

There you have the scene of the rapture from above ,

in sequence, just after the Seventh Trumpet

and just before the Bowls of Wrath

–as simple as it can be.

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MORE CLICKING PUZZLE PIECES…

DANIEL’S PREGNANT PASSAGE

I mentioned earlier that the passage in Daniel 11:31 ~ 12:2 was

“just pregnant with meaning.” If you will bear with me, let’s

revisit it and see if the mid-trib viewpoint will unravel another

controversial mystery.

DANIEL 11:31~12:2

"His (the antichrist’s) armed forces will rise up to

desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily

sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that

causes desolation.

Now we know that the Abomination of Desolation is in the middle

of the seven years, so what happens then?

" At that time…

Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will

arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not

happened from the beginning of nations until then.

Wait a minute! If Michael protects Daniel’s people, and he is

“rising” to do that, then why is there a time of distress afflictingthem such as has never happened before?

It doesn’t make sense.

It sounds like he’s not doing his job very well. Let’s zoom in and

take a closer look…

“...Michael, the great prince who protects your people,will arise .”

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OK, this word “arise” is sometimes translated “stand up” and

sometimes just “rise.” But it doesn’t make sense for Michael to

step up to the plate and strike out. Perhaps this levitation of

his is not to the people’s valiant defense. Perhaps he is rising to

go back to heaven!

That would explain the unparalleled distress breaking out and

the man of sin slipping by.

That would also explain how Michael came to be with Jesus in

the clouds to announce the rapture (I Thes. 4:16), just before

the seventh trumpet.

That would also explain how Michael came to be in heaven to

cast out Satan just after the seventh trumpet! (Rev. 12:7)

Now it makes sense!

Furthermore…

Accepting this possible and plausible interpretation of this

passage in Daniel about Michael, would also give us a logical

explanation to yet another controversial passage of scripture:

II THESSALONIANS 2:5-8

5Don't you remember that when I was with you I used

to tell you these things?

Sorry, Paul. I wasn’t there. What are you talking about?

6 And now you know what is holding him (the man of sin)

back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.7

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work;but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so

till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one

will be revealed…”

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This is a pretty spooky passage of scripture. Paul refers to

something important that he told the believers in Thessalonica,

but we don’t know what that is. Let’s see if we can pick up a clue.

Perhaps God intended it as a mystery:

“…the one who now holds it back will continue

to do so till he is taken out of the wa

y.”

WHO IS THIS ONE?

This is another key to the sequence of events. I have heard some

purport that this ONE is the Holy Spirit. But the timing states that

this happens in the middle of the tribulation and we know that

the Great Tribulation Saints (Rev 14:13) are saved after they

missed the bus. (If they had been saved before the rapture, they

would have gone up in the rapture, wouldn’t they?) The HolySpirit is an absolutely integral part of regeneration to salvation,

so the ONE can’t be he Holy Spirit.

Hmm, What about the Church? Maybe it’s the Church. Well, the

Church is removed about this time, but this same chapter,

II Thessalonians, Chapter 2 states clearly:

Verses 1-3: (Paul’s Own Order of Events) The Church

leaves after the man-of-sin is revealed.

Verses 7-8: The ONE is removed before

the man of sin is revealed.

So, the ONE who leaves to allow the man-of-sin to be revealed

can’t be the Church either —the Church is still here when he isrevealed!

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Let’s look at the sequence again,

1. Trumpet Signs jump-start world-wide persecution.

2. 3 ½ years of persecution precipitates the “f alling-away.”

3. The ONE leaves. (loosing the “power of l awlessness”)

4. The antichrist is revealed for who he really is.

5. The Rapture Hits. (Church leaves)

6. The Great Tribulation Saints (Jew and Gentile) are saved

afterward, thereby necessitating a Holy Spirit here to savethem.

We have shown that “the One” could not be the Church or the

Holy Spirit. So who could it be that is taken out of the way to

unbridle the secret power of lawlessness culminating in the

revelation of the man of sin? Hmm… Are there some livingbeings other than men or the Holy Spirit whose job is to

restrain/battle evil beings in spiritual realms?

DANIEL 12

The Time of the End

1"Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who

stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.

And there will be a time of distress such as never

occurred since there was a nation until that time;

NASB

Michael… will arise, and a time of unparalleled distress breaks

out . What does this mean? Has he been holding back someunseen evil?

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Now, if we accept and follow this line of reasoning, that Michael

has been “taken out of the way” to:

1. allow the antichrist to be revealed,

2. announce the rapture and

3. kick Satan out of heaven,

(all of which fit perfectly around the seventh trumpet,)

…then what is to become of Daniel’s people in great distress?

Oh, wait … here it is… right here in the next verse!

Daniel 12 continued…

2But at that time your people—everyone whose name is

found written in the book —will be delivered.

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will

awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and

everlasting contempt.

There it is! Now we have seen the Post-Trumpet — Pre-Wrath

resurrection/deliverance/rapture from:

Paul’s writin

gs (after the falling-away & the man-of-sin

revealed),

the Book of Revelation (between the Seventh Trumpet

and the Bowls of Wrath) —and—

the Old Testament (after Michael being pulled out & the

Abomination of Desolation allowed !)

All these fit together at the middle of Daniel’s 70th week!

From the Mid-Trib vantage point the Pre-Trib theory’s evidence

melts away like a snowman in Tahiti.

I believe three witnesseswith much corroborating evidence

and bonus cleared-up mysteries should be enough.

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NOW, WAIT A MINUTE…

The question arises: Why have people not figured this out

before? The last book of the Bible was written around 95 A.D. so

why hasn’t this sequence of events been widely known and

accepted?

Forgive me, I have to throw one more piece of the puzzle in here…

DANIEL, CHAPTER 12 CONTINUED…

4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book

until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and

knowledge shall increase .”

9 …"Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed

up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be

purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will

continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will

understand, but those who are wise will understand.

My friend, the human psyche (the flesh) tends toward the wide

path with the broad gate. It tends to dismiss thoughts of death or

persecution. It is natural for people to shy away from information

which promises that things will get worse before they get better.

If I am wrong about this sequence of events, nothing happens, we

all go to heaven in a little row boat before the tribulation. But if I

am right, and we are handed over to the anti-christ for a time,

times and half-a-time (Dan 7:25), then a lack of knowledge and

preparation will cause the “falling-away” to be even bigger andmany more souls to be lost.

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IN CONCLUSION:

There is more to be discovered. But these many puzzle pieces

have had their say. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory that I set

out to prove let me down. The gauze-thin proofs offered tosupport it and the wishful thinking offered to defend it, by even

very learned men, are easily wiped away with common sense

once the Mid-Tribulation Rapture position is taken up. When

you’re on the right trail, solutions to vexing questions come fast

and furious.

So then, what is the answer to the question posed on the cover of

this book? What is the next event on the prophetic horizon?

I believe that since the seals on the scroll, opened by the Lamb,

are depictions of a sanctioning of the spirit of conquest and war –

and their accompanying conditions upon the earth— that we may

actually not know when this happens from our vantage point on

the ground. These wicked things will grow into place and we may

not witness the seed germinating. I believe that the first trumpet sign of hail and fire mixed with blood will soon thereafter cause

these wicked roots to grow rapidly, bringing the bitter fruit of

undeserved retribution upon those seen as responsible. But

actually, this is the next event that humans may witness from the

earth…

Revelation 8:1-6

Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in

heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven

angels who stand before God, and to them were given

seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden

censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much

incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the

throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers

of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s

hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire

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from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there

were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an

earthquake.6 So the seven angels who had the seven

trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

If this event is not visible from the earth, then the next event on

the prophetic horizon is hail and fire, mingled with blood from

the sky. –The first Fearful Event and Great Sign from Heaven.

–The first Trumpet Sign. –The Beginning of Birth Pains.

I believe that it has been prophesied for many centuries that most

people who think of themselves as Christian will not adopt and

understand this vantage point. On a corporate level this is anunavoidable tragedy of gargantuan proportions. But on a

personal level, those who refuse deception and stand firm to the

end; those who have truly been crucified with Christ and look

forward to this trial by fire will find in it a glorious putting-off of

the flesh and an exhilarating crash-course on living in the spirit!

I pray that you will take this to heart and be prepared to explain it

to others, thereby giving God glory for His advance warnings to

those who love the truth.

After all, that is what prophecy is all about.

Isaiah 45:18-22

Declare what is to be, present it —

let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago,

who declared it from the distant past?

Was it not I, the LORD ?

Isaiah 46:10

10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say: My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.

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ANOTHER SOON-TO-BE PRECIOUS SCRIPTURE

ISAIAH 57:1, 2

The righteous perish,

and no one ponders it in his heart;

Devout men are taken away,

and no one understands

that the righteous are taken away

to be spared from evil.

Those who walk uprightly

enter into peace;

they find rest as they lie in death.

Copyright© 2009 as “Is the Rapture the next event on the prophetic horizon?” Done to prevent others from copyrighting it and killing it.

Gregory B. Williams

This booklet may be reproduced in any way and distributed with or

without charge. The author asks only that you notify him so that

he may rejoice with you in getting the truth out.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL

VERSION® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 BY International Bible

Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All

rights reserved.

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