Daniel 9's Treaty. Whose Is It Really?

 Most Christians who believe in a pre-millennial coming of the Lord, believe in the seven-year period of the 70^th week of Daniel's prophecy. Most of these also believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, but even those who don't believe pre-trib, do believe that what kicks off this seven-year period is a treaty that is signed between the antichrist and the people/countries he represents, and Israel. It is expected that part of this treaty will be the allowing of a temple to be erected on the temple mount. Pre-tribbers believe either that this will immediately be followed by the rapture, or that the rapture will immediately precede it.

But what if it does not happen like that? Will people then not believe that they are in Daniel's 70^th week? I can hear someone saying, how else could it possibly happen? There has to be a seven-year treaty. If there isn't, then the tribulation has not begun.

The one thing about prophecy is that it is often somewhat lacking in specific details or is a little vague, giving room for multiple scenarios. I believe it is important to consider all possibilities, so as to recognize the truth and not be deceived when it occurs, and with that in mind, I want to present an alternative theory. To do that, one must go to the chapter that gives us this information. Daniel 9:24-27 tells us the following:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

God has determined. What does that mean? It means that God has irrevocably promised, covenanted, or decreed something. He has covenanted with Himself that something He has stated will happen and nothing will prevent it from happening. So, what has God determined? He has promised or covenanted to give Israel seventy “weeks.” The word “shabua” means a period of seven of either days or years. In this case, Daniel had been praying to the Lord asking what would happen next to God's people, as he had read Jeremiah which had said that God was going to take back all the seventh year Sabbath years that Israel had neglected, which amounted to seventy years, as they had ignored the Sabbath year for apparently four hundred ninety years, as God was taking back seventy of them. That is determined by simple math since the Sabbath year occurs once every seven years. Seventy times seven is four hundred and ninety. So, they had not kept God's Word in this particular matter for four hundred and ninety years. And now those seventy years of punishment were about to end, and Daniel was wondering what was next for them.

Now interestingly, God tells Daniel that He has determined or is covenanting with Himself to give them seventy weeks or four hundred ninety more years in which He will deal with them as a nation to finish up what He has begun - to redeem them in such a way that they never stray again, to fulfill the prophecies, and to bring in everlasting righteousness which will commence with the millennial reign of Christ. Oddly enough, it is the same number of years that they were guilty of not keeping Sabbath years. If there is a reason for this number being the same, I have not discovered what it might be. For the sake of this article though, it is not necessary that we know. We know that the seven “weeks” refers to a week of years and not days, as 1) this was the context of the prayer and 2) God gives parameters that can only be fulfilled by these weeks being weeks of years. He begins these four hundred and ninety years at the giving of the decree for Israel to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. There are several theories as to which particular decree this refers, but again, that is not the subject of this article, so I will not spend time going over that. They are not that many years apart. What is important is that from this decree until the Messiah comes and is cut off or killed, there are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, or sixty-nine weeks altogether. This is four hundred and eighty-three years of those promised four hundred and ninety years. So that leaves seven years left to be fulfilled. Then we are told that the temple will be destroyed (which happened in AD 70) by the people of the prince who will come, (in this case it was the Romans) and there will continue to be wars and desolations until the end of the war. As to which war He refers, since all of this ends at the Lord's Second Coming, one could say it is the war between God and Satan.

The next thing we are told is that “he” will confirm (or strengthen) the covenant with many for one week. So, this week is still future, as it has not occurred yet. The normal interpretation of this is that the word “he” refers to a future prince of the Romans, (as they destroyed the temple) which people assume to be the antichrist, but does it? Or was it merely identifying that the people who would destroy the temple would be working on behalf of the antichrist, who has had numerous incarnations as leaders of the heads of the beast which were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia (during Daniel's time when this was given to him), Greece (whose beast incarnation yet to come was Antiochus Epiphanes who did desecrate the temple and stop the sacrifices), Rome, (whose people did destroy the temple) and last but not least, the seventh whom most believe to have been Hitler. The last incarnation of the beast, who presently resides in the abyss, will be the one we know as the antichrist.

The topic of this chapter has been God's relationship with Israel, His punishment of them, and His covenant with them at Daniel's time. This is the only covenant mentioned in this chapter before this last verse. Would not a reference to a covenant be a reference to a covenant mentioned in the text, keeping all this in context, and not a reference to something which has not been mentioned before in the text? To strengthen or confirm a covenant implies that a covenant is already in place. There is nothing in the text that indicates that a covenant with the antichrist already exists. That interpretation comes from speculation that there must be one. And why the specificity of seven years? Why would antichrist care about a treaty being made for seven years? On the other hand, God's covenant is not speculation. It is decreed right there in the text. And it specifically has exactly seven years left on it, hence the need for a seven-year confirmation since it already exists.

Let's say for a minute that the “he” is God and see if it fits. God does have a covenant with Israel that is mentioned in this text. And it has seven years left on it, which is precisely the amount of time for which this covenant is confirmed or strengthened. God would have to confirm, re-enact, or strengthen the existing covenant He has already made with Israel to put it into action or start it up again. While I have to assume something that is not in the text to believe that antichrist has already had some sort of treaty in place to make him the “he” that confirms a covenant, I only have to accept what Scripture tells me to see that God and the covenant He made with Israel fits this perfectly.

Does that mean I am saying that there will be no treaty? No, that is not what I am saying at all. It would seem almost essential that there be some sort of agreement, considering the hostilities between Israel and the Muslim nations, for a temple to go up on the temple mount. But here is where I think Satan could use deception to keep people from realizing that they are in the 70^th week. (Given that Scripture does not teach a pre-trib rapture, they will still be here – see my blogs on that). If there is a treaty (and God may use something other than a treaty to erect the temple), it is not necessarily required by Scripture that it be seven years long, given that this verse most likely refers to God's covenant, not a covenant with the antichrist. So, this could be a time of great deception for Christians who have believed they will not be here.

An argument against this being God's covenant is that it says that “he” will confirm the covenant with “many”. Some take this to mean many nations, but the Hebrew word simply indicates a great number of people. God is not making this covenant with just Judah or modern Israel. He is making this covenant with what we know as the lost tribes of Israel as well, as God has promised that during this time, He will bring back Israel which has gone into and is living within the heathen nations and reunite it with the nation of Judah. (Ez. 37) This is clearly talking about those from the nation of Northern Israel who were lost to the heathen nations during the Assyrian captivity. So, this is a great multitude of people, as it goes far beyond those we call Jews today, who are numerous enough.

Another argument that someone might make is that this person who confirms the covenant is also the one who causes the sacrifices and oblations to cease midway through the seven years. Again, this is thought to be the antichrist, but this says it is the person who causes them to cease. What is the real cause behind that action that antichrist takes? His action is a reaction which has had a cause. So, what is the cause? We are told the answer in Revelation 12:7-17.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

What happens when Michael throws Satan out of heaven for good? He comes down with great wrath to go after Israel, but Israel is delivered by God (this is also said in Daniel 12:1. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, (great tribulation) such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” So, Israel (at least those in the Book of Life) is protected from antichrist's holocaust and the rest of what occurs in the 1260 days after the great tribulation is cut short.

If all of those of Israel whose names are written in the Book of Life are delivered out of the Satan's hands, who does Satan go after, to kill by his puppet the antichrist? To those who have the testimony of Jesus, or in other words, Christians. Christians who overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and loving not their lives unto death. And how does he do that? First by declaring himself God. 2 Thess. 2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” It is at this time that the sacrifices and oblations will also cease, and the false prophet insist that everyone get a mark and worship the beast. Then there will be a time of trouble such as the world has never seen before. Wholesale slaughter of Christians and anyone who refuses the mark. 

While here at these last verses, it is important to note the first two verses that precede them. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” People were afraid that they had missed the Second Coming somehow and were now in the Day of the Lord, which they knew came after the Lord's return. Persecution and martyrdom were common in that age, and it was so bad they thought they must be at the end of time. They are told that the Second coming when He gathers us to Himself and starts pouring out God's wrath will not happen until the other things that Paul has told them will happen first, occur. Specifically, Paul has told them that 1) there will be an apostasy or falling away from the truth first, and 2) the man of sin is revealed. How is he revealed? When he sits in the rebuilt temple declaring that he is God. We know this occurs midway through the seven years, so clearly our being gathered cannot happen before then, if that is a sign that we are to see before the Lord returns and gathers us.

So now, back to who is the cause of all this? Well, ultimately God is, because He has Michael throw Satan out of heaven. All that happens after that is a direct result of that action. There is cause and effect. Satan's revenge, the setting up of the antichrist, and the wholesale slaughter of Christians, is the result of the cause, God having Satan thrown out of heaven. So still, there is no reason to think that the “he” does not refer to God, as He fits the criteria very nicely. Better than the antichrist, in fact.

So again, why is this relevant or important? Because as I told a dear friend who is a pre-tribber, if she is wrong in her belief, and that there is no pre-trib rapture or seven-year treaty by antichrist, then will she understand that she is in the 70^th week, or will she be deceived right until someone comes to drag her away to be killed during the great tribulation. Or worse, would she take the mark, thinking that it could not possible be THE mark, as she was supposed to be out of here, and there was no seven-year treaty. I did hear an evangelist preach to people that since they would be out of here before the mark of the beast came into being, that they need not worry that they could accidentally take it and were free to take anything that they were told to take. Bad advice. 

Another sign which people do not understand is the sacrifices. If I am correct in believing that there is no seven-year treaty with the antichrist necessary, but still something allows the sacrifices to begin, people could be deceived and accept that the temple could go up and the sacrifices begin before the 70^th week actually begins, and therefore with no pre-trib rapture, the abomination would come on them completely unawares.

God did give us some insight into timing regarding the sacrifices. It has to do with the 2300 days in Daniel 8. That is in another article I've written. For the sake of information and warning, though, when the sacrifices begin, you will already be in the 70^th week, so start preparing for persecution and martyrdom.

Parents, Go to Church. NOT!

 I'm not writing as much on my blog the past few years, as I am teaching a number of Bible studies weekly, which keeps me busy and takes away from my writing time, but a local pastor just posted the following (credit is given to the author) and I just have to respond, because the premise of the article is so skewed to what should be, that I couldn't just not say anything. I am going to put my comments, as you read through the article, in italics.

Parents, Just Go to Church

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 CAMERON COLE

At a Fortune 500 corporation, many interests and demands consume the company’s time and resources. How does an executive choose what opportunities to prioritize? The same is true for Christian parents. Tremendous resources exist for discipling kids: devotionals, catechisms, and guides for family worship. Parents are paralyzed when confronted with all the good options. Where do we start?

Why should parents be paralyzed? Where do you start? Seriously? EVERY Christian should know that there are certain things that a Christian should be doing for their own walk with the Lord, and they should, by Scriptural mandate, be doing these things WITH their children as well. It doesn't require “resources” other than what you should have at hand. Prayer does not need anything other than just talking to the Lord. You don't need written prayers or a prayer book. God doesn't want recitations, He wants you to talk to Him personally. Do it for yourself, do it with your children, and teach them to do it for themselves.

Get a Bible. Preferably the KJV is the most accurate word for word translation. Most of the others, while more modern in language, are really nothing more than paraphrases of what are the minority manuscripts, which have major issues in the original manuscripts. (I have an article on that in my blog archives.) Reading and studying the Scripture is a must, as well as prayer. How can you know God if you don't read what He wrote to tell you about Himself? How can you grow in knowledge and grace? We need to know God's Word, and by that I don't mean racing through it to read (or more accurately skim) it in a year. Take as long as it requires to go through it carefully verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, meditating on what it says, looking up background info on the circumstances and history of the passage or book you are reading, and learn about God through that. Most everyone has a computer and historical, archaeological, geographical, etc. info can be looked up online with a simple search. Don't worry that you “can't understand everything at the beginning.” Just start doing it. God promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us and He is the best teacher you can have. It might take time, but the more you do it, the more you will find it easier to understand. Do it for yourself alone, and do it with your children, teaching them to do the same.

Praise and worship can be accomplished through the two previous disciplines, as well as singing praises unto the Lord. Get some hymnals. Get some CD's. Sing the songs when alone, teach them to and sing them with your children in family worship. Do all these things daily as much as possible.

None of these disciplines require a plethora of resources. What they do require is your time and commitment. And that seems to be the problem with most people. What ARE your priorities? To turn them over to someone else? The church? The church has been failing for years as people are walking away in droves. Do not trust your children's salvation to the church. God gave them to YOU. YOU and you alone are the one who will stand before God as responsible for what that child was taught. The church corporation will not stand before God and be held responsible for them. YOU will.

Hear me when I say this: start by going to church. Yes, I encourage you to pray with your kids. Read the Bible as a family. Attempt to have family worship. Use a catechism. These are all excellent disciplines. But if you can only choose one discipline, go to church. Make attending corporate top priority for your family. There’s nothing more positive you can do for your children than to attend corporate worship at your church every week.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. This is not the top priority and discipline. To think that you can toss aside the very mandate that God gave parents (Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul...... And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deut. 11:18a,19) is foolishness. WE are the ones responsible for bringing up our children in the Lord, NOT the corporate church. God has nowhere dictated that we have to attend a weekly service in a church building. Nowhere in the Bible will you find that mandate. To set aside the Sabbath as holy (which the Sabbath is Saturday, by the way, not Sunday), yes, that is a commandment (the commandments show us our sin) that the church has been ignoring for almost 2,000 years, as it substituted a day, chosen by man, to live more agreeably with the laws of the Emperor Constantine when he outlawed Sabbath worship. The Bible says to keep it holy, not run to a bunch of services on a day that was not mandated by God to fulfill an obligation. To substitute services that may or may not be totally apostate in nature, as a replacement for raising our children in the admonition of the Lord is not going to do anything for anyone.

To not forsake the interactions of other Christians whether in fellowship or worship is given as an instruction in Hebrews, but fellowship and worship are not solely defined by being in a designated church building on a Sunday morning. They are, these days with the great apostasy going on, more often found in truth and spirit in private settings of Bible studies or house churches and definitely should be daily ongoing in the household of a Christian. If going to church weekly is your ONLY religious action in your life and toward your children, I can pretty much guarantee that your children will walk away from the Lord. Not to mention that your own spiritual life will not be in very good shape.

Corporate Worship Sets the Tone for Life

A parent in our church once made a statement that caught me off guard: “Corporate worship is crucial to my family. It’s the center of our family’s life.” I know this family. They do family worship as well, and they read devotions, but this father said corporate worship is the single biggest priority in his family’s life. Why?

Yes, I must ask why also. Should not setting an example of godly Christian living during the rest of the week be the first priority? Children DO learn by example, and if you are living like a devil six days and 23 hours of the week, but make it a priority to go to church on Sunday morning for an hour, what exactly ARE you teaching the children? Hypocrisy? If church is merely an addition to a daily lifestyle of teaching the children the disciplines of a Christian faith, then it adds to and complements the example, but it should not be the ONLY example and only priority.

This dad’s mentality is consistent with how Scripture prioritizes corporate worship. God is the center of our lives. In corporate worship, we make this clear. We receive God’s grace through Word, sacrament, and prayer. We respond to God’s grace with praise, thanksgiving, and love. We fellowship with him under his Word and by his grace. We serve, worship, and flourish out of that communion. In these ways, corporate worship is the whole Christian life in distilled and concentrated form.

I must be reading different Scriptures, because in my Bible, it is our personal relationship that is the priority. Without that, the rest, the corporate gatherings are no more than show for public display. The early churches had major issues with sin, false teachers, and heresies. The apostles were constantly warning and chastising the church, which was failing in many aspects, and was addressing that every individual in that church needed to get on the right track. The church boils down to the individuals in it. As a corporation, it is as much a failure as Israel as a nation was. The Church (as opposed to the church) is comprised not of corporate bodies but of individuals in and outside of those bodies who are walking with the Lord. Read the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. Be an overcomer in the midst of the apostate church. Don't look to it to save your children.

God commands his people to meet for worship weekly (Deut. 5:12; Heb. 10:25). It’s not optional or a matter of preference, and this is God’s mercy toward us. God knows how badly we need the benefits of meeting together. God doesn’t need our worship. We, on the other hand, desperately need corporate worship to center and order our lives around the Lord.

The content of those two verses were already addressed. Keeping the Sabbath holy means that you don't work or do things that are not God oriented on Saturday (if you want to be accurate). Family time is considered a part of that, as you are to teach your children at all times. Rest is a part of that, as the whole idea was to have a rest from working for physical and mentals health's sake as well as your spiritual sake. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Meeting with others to fellowship and worship is beneficial when done in keeping with God's standards, but it does not have to be on a Sunday (although as long as you are keeping the Sabbath as well, instead of replacing the Sabbath, there is nothing wrong with it) nor does it require being in a building designated as a church. Where two or more are gathered together, Christ is in the midst of them.

As for Hebrews, the book of Hebrews was written as a response to the straying into Gnosticism. Many of the people were beginning to go out to the desert to become hermits (maybe thinking they were emulating John the Baptist?) and separating themselves from the rest of the flock. They were told to “not forsake the assembling of themselves together as was the manner of some.” Yes, those who were totally cutting themselves off from the Christian community altogether to live as hermits needed to stop doing it and and go back to gathering with others of the faith in whatever manner that was available. It doesn't mention going to a service at a designated building on a Sunday as a mandate. Do not add to God's Word what He has not said. Bible studies, social fellowship times, and etc., all qualify as not forsaking getting together with other Christians. This is taking a verse totally out of context of what was intended to the original audience to create a man-made legalistic mandate. Gathering with like-minded Christians is good and essential for us, but God never delineated what that gathering constituted. Historically it has been a church building for a very long time, but it is not the only way.

It’s Hard to Get to Church. That’s the Point.

Nothing can prepare you for the labor that is getting small children out the door to church on a Sunday morning. I don’t know if it’s spiritual warfare or whiplash from the weekend, but dressing small kids and loading them into the car is a grind. Even when your kids are teenagers, there are days they seem to resist just about anything you suggest. Getting to church is hard. But that’s part of the value of attending church every Sunday. It sets the tone for the Christian’s daily struggle to live in personal relationship with Christ.

Daily fellowship with and service to the Lord involve a purposeful, deliberate approach. Getting up in the morning to pray and read Scripture isn’t easy. Praising God in times of pain and sorrow can be a struggle. Entering conflict, repenting, and engaging in reconciliation requires effort, purpose, and patience. But however difficult these endeavors are, we find life and peace as a result. The intentional effort we make to attend corporate worship each week reinforces for our kids the patterns of intentionality and endurance necessary for a fulfilling and fruitful Christian life.

Yes, daily fellowship and service to the Lord does involve a purposeful deliberate approach. Which most people are too lazy to do, because that is exactly what is needed to bring your children up in the Lord. Those who make a priority of going through the hassle of getting the children dressed and ready for church to make the obligatory appearance (is it any worse than getting them ready for school which is generally even earlier than church?) feel vindicated of their responsibility to give their children a Christian education at home themeselves, but it does not vindicate them of that responsibility. Spending time every day, as the Scripture says, when going here, going there, doing this, doing that) is much harder than taking them to (or dropping them off at) church on Sunday. If that is the best a Christian parent can do, then shame on them. These are eternal lives with which God has entrusted you.

Model Unflinching Commitment to Sunday Worship

When I was a kid, we went to church every single week, even on vacation. I often complained about it (though I liked the donuts they served at Sunday school). I asked my father, “Why can’t we take a week off?” My old-school Dad would always reply in the same gruff Southern drawl, “Son, God gives us seven days a week. We can sacrifice one morning for him.” The only other “religious thing” we did in our household was pray at meals. Still, my Dad’s maxim and our consistent church attendance made a major impression.

So the ONLY things of a religious nature that this person experienced growing up was making it a priority to go to church on Sunday (as if that is what saves you) and saying grace at the meals. How much did he actually learn at church in the way of knowledge of God is my question. Most children I know who have attended church only know a few Bible stories, and even those they don't usually have accurate. Several adults (one in her 80's) who had attended church ALL THEIR LIFE, were surprised when they learned that the David who slew Goliath was also the King David of Israel. They had no idea he was the same person. How do you go to church all your life, and not know this simple fact? What were they teaching there? But the people were sure they were saved, merely by attending church regularly on Sunday. Church attendance is not a panacea for our sins. It is not a replacement for an ongoing relationship with the Lord.

When I left for college, this pattern was deeply embedded in my life. I was usually the only person on my hall who attended church on Sunday, but I’d get up and go. When I traveled and missed Sunday morning church, I’d go to a campus service that night.

So what was ingrained in this person's mind? A deep love for God and a desire to study His Word and worship Him in prayer and praise. No. It was a pattern. A ritual that was embedded in his life. One that he apparently feels will ensure that he makes it to heaven? Oh, that it were that easy.

My family’s commitment to Sunday worship communicated major truths to me: God is the center of life. God is worthy of praise and worship. The Christian life requires sacrifice and discipline. My father rarely talked to me about spiritual matters; I don’t think he had a vast vocabulary for such conversations. Still, he modeled the Christian life well, largely through his unflinching commitment to go to church every Sunday.

Does attending church ritually really communicate the idea that God is the center of life, or does it communicate that the ritual is essential to make sure you are good with God? Which is it really? How can God be the center of your life if He is only invited in one hour a week? He admits that even talking about spiritual matters was non-existent in his childhood. How do you learn if it is not taught? And is ritualistically attending a weekly service an actual model for Christian life? The Muslims do it unflinchingly committed, the Orthodox Jews do it unflinchingly committed, the Mormons do it unflinchingly committed, the Catholics do it unflinchingly committed and many Protestants do it unflinchingly committed. And how many of them are actually saved? Commitment to a ritual does not translate into a relationship with God.

If you feel inadequate to lead your kids spiritually, just go to church. If strategizing about your Christian parenting feels overly complicated, just go to church. If you’ve been taking a few too many Sundays off, just go to church. If all of this seems overwhelmingly difficult, ask God to give you the grace to have this consistent discipline in your family’s life. Faithful church attendance can have an eternal influence on your kids.

If you feel inadequate to lead your kids spiritually, the for heaven's sake, get into your Bible and get on your knees, because if you have been a Christian for any length of time, SHAME ON YOU!!! There is no excuse. Do not count on the church to teach you God's Word. God said “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” You need to ask for the Holy Spirit to help you learn and diligently be studying daily. And share it with your children, even if you are just a student yourself. God supplies our needs when we act in faith, believing. Don't just go to church. It isn't wrong to go to church. It can be a beneficial thing, IF you are attending a church that 1) preaches the Word undiluted and truthfully, and teaches it in depth, not with a superficial touch on it, but don't go into it attitude, 2) has the music of the church, not the music of the world, and isn't geared toward entertainment or showcasing people who desire to be “stars” (I have an article about that in my blog archives also) 3) treats prayer as a real necessity and seriously, not as a means of getting people to share things for the sake of gossip, 4) treats children as beings who are capable of learning God's Word, not beings who are incapable of understanding and thus need to be entertained with games, crafts, snacks, and with a simple Bible story thrown in for good measure, 5) follows the rules of good worship according to the Scriptures, not follows the “outpouring of the spirit” chaos which sometimes is NOT the Holy Spirit at all or treats the service as a nightclub venue and 6) has real fellowship, not the kind with cliques or gossip circles. (good luck with that last one.)

If you are doing the disciplines you should be doing for your own growth, and teaching them daily to your children, then if you find a church which does the above, even though it might be on the wrong day of the week as far as being the Sabbath is concerned, by all means, go. Make it priority, but not the FIRST priority. It comes after your personal and your family's relationship with the Lord.

The apostate church today is a part of Babylon. We are called to come out of Babylon. So if it means that to follow the Lord in truth and spirit, you have to come out of the apostate churches and worship in a house church or other type of non-building oriented group, then by all means, do that. But never, ever think that church is a substitute for your daily walk with God in the disciplines, or teaching your children those disciplines on a daily basis. That comes before attending a service in a designated building, which is not Scripturally required by God.

The Pre-wrath Rapture Has Major Problems

 

People who are waking up to the fact that the Bible does not teach a pre-trib rapture, but who find that mid-trib and post-trib do not seem to line up with Scripture are turning to the more recent (it’s been around for a few decades) theory of the pre-wrath rapture. I myself made that change to pre-wrath from pre-trib on my journey to the truth, but what I find interesting is that the very same fault that pre-wrath points out about pre-trib, they themselves have. They fail to see in the flaws in their own theories. And that flaw is that Scripture does not support it. That they have to ignore certain Scriptures and reinterpret others to make their theory work.

There are a number of problems with the pre-wrath theory that need to be addressed. In the process of addressing them, hopefully the reader will see where the rapture truly is found. That is, where Scripture points as you put all the Scriptures together. If you are expecting pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib, you will be disappointed. Rather than coming at the Bible with a theory in hand, looking to defend it, the Scriptures can speak for themselves, if you are willing to listen. As we go through the problems with pre-wrath, it will be seen what Scripture has to say.

Pre-wrath has many things right. I think all of the theories have some things right. In fact, it is those things which helped lead me further on to the truth. First, the things they have right.

1) The seven years is not God’s wrath. Applying wrong terminology leads to wrong conclusions.

They prove this by showing that the Day of the Lord, another name for God’s wrath, cannot begin before the great tribulation and is not the seven year week. How is this accomplished? Easily. In the Old Testament there are dozens of verses which describe the Day of the Lord, but the ones that really show with total certainty that it cannot happen before the great tribulation are the following:

Joel 2:30-31 “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”

Acts 2:19-20 “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE that great and notable day of the Lord come:”

These verses clearly and unmistakably state that BEFORE the Day of the Lord comes, BEFORE God’s wrath, these celestial events must occur. Now while some ministries are making money off books saying that the four blood moons were the fulfillment of this prophecy, it doesn’t say that there will be four blood moons. It says that the sun will go dark and the moon turned to blood (go dark red) which indicates that these things will be occurring simultaneously, for solar and lunar eclipses have been happening for centuries, but they never happen simultaneously. This is a once in a world’s lifetime type of event. Not only the eclipses, but there will be earthquakes and stars falling and the sky rolling up like a scroll. That has not occurred with blood moons. It is a catastrophic event which literally shakes the earth, not merely a visual phenomena. Other verses in Isaiah and other prophets also foretell this devastating event.

When we get to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, we find Christ talking about this event. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Matt. 2:29. This is the same event spoken of in Joel and Acts and where does Christ put it? He puts it AFTER the great tribulation is cut short. Pre-wrath has this teaching very correct in saying that the Day of the Lord, or God’s wrath does not begin until some time after the signs that precede it occur. It cannot come before those signs or God is a liar. As Paul says in Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” If man does not listen to God’s truth, it is he who is the liar. So the Day of the Lord, God’s wrath, cannot come before the great tribulation. By Christ’s words it has to come after. We are not appointed to God’s wrath, but God’s wrath does not come before the great tribulation. So there is no need to remove people before it.

Pre-wrath then correctly goes to the sixth seal of Revelation and shows that these very signs are again mentioned. Rev. 6:12-15 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;” So God’s wrath cannot come before the sixth seal.

So pre-wrath rightly concludes that the seven years are not God’s wrath and that God’s wrath cannot possibly begin until after the great tribulation is cut short, and these signs have occurred. That also puts it some time after the sixth seal.

2) Pre-wrath correctly states that the great tribulation is Satan’s wrath. Rev. 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” The great tribulation or “thlipsis” in Greek, means persecution. Not wrath, which is “orge” or “thumos” when speaking of God’s wrath. Satan’s wrath is always persecution of the saints, “thlipsis.” And that is what the great tribulation is. God states both in the Old and New Testament that He will hand over the saints (we are the saints) to the antichrist. Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Rev. 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

The great tribulation is Satan’s wrath, not God’s. We are not exempt from Satan’s wrath or persecution and martyrdom.

3) Pre-wrath says that the word “coming” when used in connection with Christ’s second coming is the word “parousia” which means to come and remain as a presence, not coming and leaving. They are absolutely correct on this. That is exactly what it means and that is the word used every time when speaking of Christ’s coming. When Christ comes, He is not leaving. He will remain while God’s wrath is poured out.

Christ cannot come and leave, for that is not the word used to describe His coming. It is always a parousia. He will remain because He will be pouring out God’s wrath from the heavens while He rewards the saints and prepares for the Marriage of the Lamb.

4) Pre-wrath teaches that when Christ comes at the Second Coming, He will resurrect the dead and rapture those who are alive and remain or in other words, gather the elect. This is also correct according to Scripture. Matt.24:30-31 “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Rev. 14:14-16 “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and UPON THE CLOUD ONE SAT LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; AND THE EARTH WAS REAPED.” 1 Cor 15:22-23 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING.” 2 Thess. 2:1-2 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by OUR GATHERING TOGETHER unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the DAY OF CHRIST is at hand.”

Christ gathers the elect, who are the saints or us, when He comes at His one and only coming. And that coming is associated with the Day of Christ aka the Day of the Lord.

Now for some problems with the pre-wrath position.

1) The first mistake, which leads to every other mistake is similar to how pre-trib makes a mistake. For instance, pre-trib assumes that tribulation and wrath are the same thing, and since we aren’t appointed to wrath, we must not be appointed to tribulation. Nothing could be further from the truth. By mislabeling something or misunderstanding the context of something and making an assumption, and ignoring the other verses that would negate that assumption, it lays a faulty foundation upon which the rest of the things that are built, will also be false. Two assumptions that pre-wrath make are a) God’s wrath follows immediately upon the heels of the celestial signs, so the trumpets are God’s wrath and b) when people react to those signs it is the same as God making a pronouncement. Neither of those is true.

a) The mistake of the first assumption is understandable, because Christ left out a whole lot of information at the Olivet Discourse, which He then provided to John for Revelation. However that is not an excuse to get it wrong. It was up to us to analyze the further provided information and create the correct outline of events. Absence of information in one place, does not mean there is nothing there, when in another place that information is provided. The linking word between the celestial signs in Matthew and His Coming is the word “then,” not “immediately.” “Then” is a chronological word, meaning that something is after something else, but timing is not given. It does not necessarily mean immediacy. For instance, as a teacher, if I were asked what I was doing after school was out, I could say “Immediately after final exams, there will be a graduation ceremony, then I will leave on vacation to go to Italy.” If immediacy was implied by the word “then,” one would assume that the day after graduation I would be leaving to go to Italy, but the truth is, I might go shopping for necessities for the trip, I might have to put my animals in a kennel, check on my elderly parents to see they have all they need while I am gone, go to a doctor’s appointment, and do a number of sundry other things before I actually leave. These other things are not what my colleagues were wanting to know. They weren’t interested in the details, they were interested in the big plan for the summer. What was I going to do after school got out. There are things that must and will take place before I leave, but they aren’t the important thing. They aren’t the information for what my colleagues were asking me. The big event is my trip, so that is all I mention. That is all any of my colleagues need to know at that point. That was all the disciples needed to know at that moment. The main signposts of Christ’s coming, not all the details.

If one studies the sixth seal of Revelation and the trumpet judgments that follow, it is clear that they are a continuation of whatever catastrophic event happened in the sixth seal (at least up to the demonic hordes). They are the result of that catastrophe, and should not be separated from it. They must be fitted in that period of “then” between the signs and Christ’s coming in the Olivet Discourse. They are the details. Jesus’ disciples were not ready to hear all of what John is told. It was neither the time nor the place for that information to be given. It is up to us to study all of Scripture and line things up correctly in their proper place. In listening to a popular Youtube teacher who teaches pre-wrath, she said, “When Jesus wipes away every one of those seals when that scroll is unrolled, it is going to be the wrath of God…….. the seals are the wrath of Satan, not God.” She also says, and I agree, that the trumpets are the seventh seal. However she was not adjusting her belief to fit what her words said, for by her own words, the trumpets are the seventh seal (and part of Satan’s wrath) and those seals have to be wiped away before God’s wrath can come. Which means that the trumpets must be wiped away also.

The sealed scroll is the mortgage on planet earth. In the Law, God gave instructions for redeeming property. Not only did Christ need to redeem us, which He did on the cross, He needs to take back the earth from the prince and power of the air, who is in control of earth, Satan. The cross was only the first part of the plan. It was the redemption price for us, but now come the conditions for the rest of the redemption of the property. We know the world is Satan’s, because he offered it to Christ during the time of Christ’s temptation. It was his to offer. Christ will be taking it back, but to do that He has to also redeem it, as He redeemed us. There is a mortgage and that mortgage has conditions. It was the custom to write the conditions on the scroll (in this case front and back) and to write them on the seals themselves that sealed the scroll, as one could not read the scroll until it was opened, so to know the conditions, they had to be put on in a manner where they could be easily read. One seal at a time was opened and fulfilled before the next seal could be broken. When the last seal was broken, the property reverted in ownership legally, as the intention of fulfillment for the last seal was about to occur, but taking possession could not actually occur until that last seal’s conditions had been finished. Only a kinsman redeemer could open the scroll, if the original owner could not meet the conditions. Adam lost the earth for us, and he could not redeem either himself or the planet. He could not pay the price. Only Christ has been able to do that. So only Christ can open the scroll.

As this lady teacher says, the seals are the wrath of Satan, not God. All seven of them. For the mortgage to revert to the owner, the last condition on the last seal must be completed. That is why it is at the end of the sixth trumpet that the angel puts a foot on land and sea and says time will be no longer and it is done. The sixth trumpet is the last condition. This lady also says that Jesus must wipe away ever one of those seals and when He does, then the wrath of God can come. Yes, that is so. But what she misses, is that she is not including the seventh seal, which she states is the trumpets, as a part of that wiping away of the seals before the wrath of God can come. The conditions of the scroll are not met until the six trumpets, which are the seventh seal are complete. The last trumpet is the trumpet of God, announcing that is it over, it is not a condition of the seventh seal. Pre-wrath starts God’s wrath at the seventh seal not at the seventh trumpet. It cannot be both ways. Either the trumpets are part of God’s wrath, or they are part of Satan’s. So which is it? Scripture would seem to indicate that they are part of the conditions of redeeming the mortgage, not God’s wrath. That will be shown to be Scriptural further on.

b) The factor that makes pre-wrath assume that the trumpets are God’s wrath, is what the people say during the sixth seal. The world reacts to the cataclysm by yelling that God’s wrath has come. Rev. 6:15-17 “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” They take this as a pronouncement that God’s wrath has come, but is that how it should be taken? People will always say that God’s wrath has come when something cataclysmic happens. They make television shows about catastrophes titled, “God’s Wrath.” And the fact that these signs are to precede the Day of the Lord does make it seem that God’s wrath must immediately follow, so one can see why they might assume that. The problem is, that is not where heaven announces God’s wrath. A further study of Scripture shows that this assumption is wrong. This is how God’s wrath is announced. Heaven announces the following:

Rev. 11:18 “And the nations were angry, and THY WRATH IS COME, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest DESTROY THEM WHICH DESTROY THE EARTH.”

Rev. 14:19-20 “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of THE WRATH OF GOD. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”

Rev. 15:1 “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES; FOR IN THEM IS FILLED UP THE WRATH OF GOD.”

Rev. 15:6-8 “And the seven angels came out of the temple, havingTHE SEVEN PLAGUES, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full OF THE WRATH OF GOD, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

Rev. 16:1 “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of THE WRATH OF GOD upon the earth.”

Rev. 16:5 “And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because THOU HAS JUDGED thus.”

Rev. 16:7 “And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are THY JUDGMENTS.”

Rev. 16:13-14 “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY.”

When God’s wrath comes, it is announced over and over. It is specified that the plagues are the wrath of God. Nowhere are the seals or trumpets announced as being the wrath of God. The only reference to God’s wrath up until the point it begins is when people are reacting to the celestial events in the sixth seal and yelling in fear that it must be the wrath of God. That is not the same as heaven announcing it. There is a place where heaven starts to announce it. And from that point on it is announced numerous times as can be seen above.

2) The next problem which is another assumption, is that the great multitude that appears on the sea of glass must be the raptured Christians. For of course they are said to come out of the great tribulation, and the signs that precede the Day of the Lord have occurred, so what else could they possibly be, right?

By assuming that the Day of the Lord has begun, one can only come to that conclusion based on that assumption. But several things are being ignored. One is that God’s wrath is not announced by heaven until later, which has already been shown. Another is that the great tribulation is the greatest holocaust in the history of the world. More people will be killed in this persecution than ever before. And who are the people being killed? We are told who they are. Satan comes down having great wrath and goes after God’s people. First he goes after the Jews. Rev. 12:15-16 “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” During the great tribulation, Satan will come after the Jews, the woman, first, but God will not allow him to hurt those whose names are in the Book of Life, and who are destined to be spared to go into the millennium. First the 144,000 are protected in the wilderness. Rev. 12:14 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Other Jews are protected as well. Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

It can be seen from these verses that Satan cannot get at the chosen of Israel, so then what does he do? He goes after Christians. Rev. 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Rev. 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” The saints are handed over to the antichrist. And he kills them. We know that multitudes will be killed, because that is what makes it the worst holocaust. And it is those who will not take the mark and worship the beast who get killed. Rev. 13:15 “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Those who take the mark will not be hurt. They will be the majority of people on earth who will continue life as usual. The people suffering during the great tribulation, the people dying during the great tribulation are those who refuse to worship him. Christians.

Now when we look at the fifth seal, and we see the martyrs under the altar, what is said makes much more sense when we get to the sea of glass. The fifth seal martyrs are asking when God will start pouring out His vengeance or wrath. God responds that they must wait for His vengeance, for “it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be KILLED AS THEY WERE, should be fulfilled.” Rev. 6:11. There are a multitude of Christians who must be killed, that these martyrs must wait for, before God pours out His wrath. And then in the next seal, the great tribulation is cut short, as we see the signs that follow the great tribulation occurring. Thus the great tribulation is over and has claimed its last victim. They are all now in heaven. We then see a great multitude that cannot be numbered standing on the sea of glass waving palms.. Rev. 7:13-14 “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The expectation that a great multitude will be raptured AFTER the great tribulation has occurred is simply wishful thinking. God has said that He is turning the saints over to the beast for him to persecute them. He will not be intervening to protect them. Why? The answer to that comes in the letters to the churches. Five of the churches are condemned for various sins. Two churches do not receive condemnation. Of those two, one is still told that they must suffer martyrdom. The other is the ONLY church that is promised, to those who have kept His word, have not denied His name, and kept the word of His patience, that they will be kept from the hour of temptation (or in Greek it means putting to the proof or testing) that will come upon the whole world. Of all the rest, only those who have an ear to hear and overcome will stand in heaven. Each is promised a reward in heaven IF they overcome. So what is an overcomer? We are told that in Rev. 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” An overcomer is one who maintains their testimony and loves not their lives, but will die to overcome Satan and the antichrist. Those on the sea of glass are those who have overcome and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Why would they have to do that? We are told what will happen to the church during the time preceding the great tribulation. 2 Thess. 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” There will be a falling away. A great apostasy which has already begun and has almost destroyed Christianity, especially in the western world. Just as Israel was punished to be purged and made right with God, so do Christians need this.

Now, once you remove the assumption that the sixth seal begins the Day of the Lord, you can see that it makes far more sense that the people on the sea of glass coming out of the great tribulation are martyrs. That is what fits with Scripture, not a tremendous multitude being raptured. How does Paul speak of those who are raptured. “Then those who are alive and remain” is the phrase he uses. Alive? Remain? Remain alive from what? If there was a great multitude being raptured, why would Paul refer to those being raptured in such a way? It is because they are the remnant of what is left over after the great holocaust. Those who are still alive and remain after so many have been martyred.

3) The pre-wrath rapture teaches that the rapture occurs at some unknown point in the middle of the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week. That is because they believe the trumpets are part of God’s wrath, and since the fifth trumpet is five months long, the great tribulation must be cut short by at least that much, so therefore the rapture must occur somewhere in the midst of that half of the week. Is that true? Can Christ come in the middle of the second half of the week? What does Scripture tell us? Acts 2:34-35 “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.” and Acts 3:20-21 “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” These verses tell us that the heavens must receive Christ and He must sit at the right hand of God until His foes are made His footstool and the restitution of all things occurs.

So what would make Satan, the beast, and the false prophet his footstool? When they are defeated and done ruling. That only happens when Christ defeats the antichrist by destroying him, and the world reverts to Christ’s ownership. When does that happen? In 2 Thess. 2:8 we are told what causes his destruction. “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” It is Christ’s coming, His Second Coming that destroys the beast and ends his reign. So what is the problem? Why can’t that happen partway through the second half of the week? We know that the antichrist is given forty-two months or 3 ½ years to reign. Daniel 7:25 (see above) and Rev. 13:5 both tell us this. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” So he has a full 3 ½ years to reign, which brings him to the end of the 70^th week. That would mean that Christ cannot come until those 3 ½ years or forty-two months are over, or his reign would not be forty-two months. Again, God is not a liar. He would not tell us something that is not true. Nor should we ignore that information or twist it to fit our needs.

When does the restitution of all things come? That comes when Christ is able to take possession of the world and becomes the King of this world. When does that happen? When the conditions of the trumpets are over. When the angel stands on the sea and land and declares (after the sixth trumpet) that it is over. Rev. 10:7. And that occurs at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” The restitution occurs when the kingdoms of the world become Christ’s and that occurs as the verse says, at the seventh trumpet when the seventh angel sounds or blows the trumpet.

So pre-wrath has a serious problem with putting Christ’s return before the end of the 70^th week. It cannot come before, by Scripture’s clear teachings. The antichrist has forty-two months to reign. He is destroyed by Christ’s coming, so Christ’s coming must come forty-two months after his reign begins at the abomination of desolation. There is no getting around it. Only then do Christ’s foes become His footstool and do things revert back to His ownership. Only then does His reign begin. And it begins when that seventh trumpet is blown. So the seventh trumpet is blown at the end of the 70^th week.

4) At least one well-known pre-wrath teacher says that as Israel is promised one more week out of the seventy weeks God promised, to bring in all of the things mentioned in Daniel 9: 24 [“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”], Israel cannot be saved until the very end of that week. Their blindness will not be lifted until that week is complete and then their transgressions will be forgiven and reconciliation will be made and the prophecies will be sealed up. I agree with that, however he does not recognize that in saying that, he is creating a dilemma for himself, for that blindness is lifted when Christ returns. There are verses that tell what happens when Israel gets saved.

Romans 11:25-26 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”

This verse tells us two things. First, Israel will be blind until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. What exactly does that mean - the fullness of the Gentiles? It means that the age of the Gentiles being God’s priests, the Church age, has come to and end. So Israel will be blinded to their Messiah until the Church age is complete and the last person to be a part of the Bride has been saved. When the Church age is completed, the Church is raptured. From that point on, the mantle of priesthood is handed off to Israel for the millennium. The second thing it tells us is that the One who comes out of Zion, the Deliverer, Christ, will turn away their sin. So since Christ turns away their sin, He must return to do so. That is exactly what was said in Daniel 9:24, that God would bring an end to their sins and transgressions and bring in everlasting righteousness. But when does that happen? When the Deliverer comes. The Second Coming.

That is again shown to be the case in Revelation 1:7. It is when they see Christ at His Second Coming that they understand who He is and mourn for their rejection of Him. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” And in Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

So these verses all tell us that Israel will not have their blindness lifted and accept their Savior until they see Him at the Second Coming. They will see Him when the Church age is over and He returns and raptures what is left of the Church. Now that is a problem for pre-wrath, for as this prophecy teacher says, they do not accept Him until that 70^th week is finished. As pre-wrath has Christ returning long before the 70^th week is over, and have Israel’s blindness lifted at the end of the week, but the reason Israel accepts Him is because they see Him returning. there is a dilemma for pre-wrath. How can their blindness be lifted months or more before the end when they see Him, if their blindness is supposed to be lifted at the end? The only way it works is for His return to be at the end, so they see Him at the proper time. It is impossible to be any other way, if we hold to the truth of Scripture.

How do we know that their blindness must be lifted at the end and not simply when Christ returns? Maybe pre-wrath is wrong about that. The key seems to be, when does the fullness of the Gentiles that Paul mentions being when their blindness is lifted, come in? If that can be pinpointed, then we know when the Church age is over. If we look at Rev. 11:1-2, we find the following: “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” John is told to not measure the courtyard of the temple, for it and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles for a period of forty-two months. So why is that important? Because if we look to Luke and his version of the Olivet Discourse, we find that he tells us when the Gentiles start to trample it, therefore we can know when the forty-two months are over. Why that is important will become obvious when we look at what he says. Luke 21:21-24 “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Luke’s version parallels Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse. He starts with the desolation or the abomination of desolation. We know from Daniel that this is at the mid-point of Daniel’s 70^th week. Luke then mentions the great tribulation, which he calls the time of great distress. He also says it is a day of vengeance and wrath, but we already know that it is not God’s vengeance and wrath, but Satan’s. Then Luke says that Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles (from the time of abomination) until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. This is another way of saying the fullness of the Gentiles, which we know is the end of the Church age when Israel’s blindness is lifted. And when we put that together with Rev. 11:1-2, we know that it is a period of forty-two months. So the courtyard and city will be trodden by the Gentiles, beginning at the abomination of desolation and going until the fullness of the Gentiles comes and Israel’s blindness is lifted forty-two months later. That brings us to the end of Daniel’s 70^th week, which is exactly where Israel is supposed to be saved. And now we know that the Church age (fullness of the Gentiles) ends there too. Are there any other verses that might indicate that the Church age ends there? Yes, there is.

We are told in Rev. 10:7 “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”. The mystery of God is the Church and the gospel - Eph. 6:19, Col 1:26-27. Christ’s relationship to the Church - Eph. 5:32, and the rapture of the Church - 1 Cor. 15:51. The mystery of God is finished when? When the seventh angel begins to sound. And what angel is the seventh angel? It is the angel that blows the seventh and last trumpet of God. Pre-trib insists that the last trumpet is not the seventh trumpet, but there is no valid defense for that statement. Clearly it is. And pre-wrath must also believe that they are not the same trumpet, for the last trumpet does not get sounded in the middle of the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week. It gets sounded at the end of it. How can we be sure of that? We’ve already covered some proof texts, but there are more.

We know that the abomination starts the second half of the 70^th week. We know that the great tribulation follows that, and that the sixth seal and seven trumpets must come in the second half. So why would the seventh trumpet in particular coincide with the end of the 70^th week, or rather the end of the forty-two months or 1260 days. We already know that the time of the Gentiles ends forty-two months after the abomination. And if the seventh angel blows his trumpet when the mystery of God, the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled, that makes it at the end of forty-two months. We are also told some other things. Among them, we are told that the two witnesses prophesy for 1260 days. Rev. 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” When does this occur? It seems to be connected to the previous two verses which talk about the temple courtyards and Jerusalem being trodden underfoot. But more importantly at the end of their 1260 days, the beast kills them. And it occurs right at the time the seventh trumpet is blown. If their witness is during the second half and starts at the time of the abomination, (it can only be the first half or second half of the 70^th week as it is a 3 ½ year period) it takes us to the end of the 70^th week. And since they die at that time, and the seventh trumpet is blown at that time, then the seventh trumpet is at the end of the week. This is just one more proof in an already growing list of proofs.

5) Finally we have the huge neon sign that Paul so graciously gave us, that we have all completely ignored. 1 Cor. 15:51-52 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The argument is that Paul could not know what John would write, therefore it isn’t the same thing. Paul did not have to know what John would write. He was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and prophesied the truth, whether he had the knowledge that John was given or not. Paul pointed us, through prophesying it, that the rapture would occur at the last trumpet. The last trumpet is the seventh trumpet. And what do we find when we go there?

Rev. 11:15-18 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

Let’s examine this passage. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” The seventh angel blows the seventh and last trumpet and when he does, the kingdoms of the world revert back to Christ’s ownership and He takes the kingship away from Satan. The world no longer is Satan’s. Christ is now King, and His reign will last forever. “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” Again, it is repeated that now God is magnified, God is taking the reins and will reign. Satan is now done until he is loosed at the end of the millennium. Christ does not begin His reign, until He returns. And this is where His reign begins. So this is where He returns.

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,” God’s wrath is announced as having finally come. It would not be announced as coming now, if it has come several years earlier. God’s wrath, the Day of the Lord starts after Christ returns and resurrects/raptures the saints. So Christ is returning now and God’s wrath is beginning now.

“and the time of the dead” Resurrected saints are no longer considered the dead. But these saints at this moment when the seventh trumpet sounds are still considered dead. It is not speaking of their spiritual lives, so it must be speaking of their corporeal lives. The resurrection is about to occur when Christ comes, and now is that time.

“that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great;” This rewarding is known as the Bema Seat, when the rewards are given out to the saints for their works. This occurs when they are resurrected/raptured, when the Lord returns. It does not occur seven years after a rapture (pre-trib), it does not occur three and a half years after a rapture, (mid-trib) It does not occur several years or even a half year after the rapture (pre-wrath) and it cannot occur before a rapture (post -trib which puts the rapture at the end of the bowls). It can only happen at the time of the Second Coming, so if the Bema Seat is at the seventh trumpet, so is the Second Coming and rapture.

“and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Again, this is speaking of God’s wrath. He will destroy those who have destroyed the earth in His wrath. It begins now at the seventh and last trumpet.

6) All of these things, and even more which are not listed here, point to the Second Coming and rapture occurring at the seventh and last trumpet, which is 3 ½ years after the abomination. But what about the day and hour problem? Not knowing the hour is obviously an easy thing. Who could possibly pinpoint the hour of the Lord’s return. And with twenty-four time zones, it would not be the same for everyone anyhow. No problem there. What about the day? Well, that partially has the same problem, for not all of the world is in the same day at the same time. But apart from that, there are some things that will make knowing what day it is difficult. First of all, Daniel 7:25 says that the antichrist will change the times and the laws, which means the calendar we know will no longer be in use. Then we find out that these catastrophic events in the trumpets have the effect of moving the earth out of her orbit into another orbit. Is. 13:13 “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” Is. 24:20a “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage;” With the earth’s orbit changed, the length of a day can change and the length of the year will change. Then with all the “nuclear fallout” as it were, from the trumpet judgments, the ability to know day from night might be hard to determine, especially if the length of a day has changed. In Zech. 14:7 we are told what it will be like. “But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” Things will be so mixed up and bizarre, we will not know day from night.

Further, the phrase “not know the day nor hour” has an idiomatic meaning. When a couple got betrothed, the groom would go home to his father’s house and build a room onto the house (or if he could manage it, he would build a house of his own) for his bride. When it was finished, he had to have his father’s approval and permission to then go and get his bride. Even if he knew it was finished, it took the father’s permission for him to leave, so technically even though he knew when that would occur and be given, until it was given, he could not state that he knew. Thus even Christ could not say that He knew, even though being God Himself, He has to know. He still will need the Father’s permission.

It would seem that pre-wrath has as many problems as pre-trib, yet they do not see them. Many are already too invested in that theory to let it go. Many just want to have it both ways, that we would endure the tribulation, but not be killed during it. The truth is, Satan does not want people understanding the truth of God’s Word. So he blinds people. I know it took me ten years to work my way out of the pre-wrath rapture theory, and I saw problems with it right from the beginning. Satan will always blind you to the truth unless you sincerely pray to God asking for it REGARDLESS OF THE COST. That is how much you must desire the truth for God to open it up to you. And He is gracious not to overwhelm you, leading you at a pace you can handle to get to that truth. Truth is a very hard pill to swallow and some simply can’t swallow it at all. I’ve always preferred a hard truth to a comfortable lie and yet I apparently could not handle all of the truth at once. God had to bring me to it slowly, as I had no guide but His own teachings. This truth is not a common one. I have run across a very few others who believe it is at the last trumpet, but in many cases they have conflated the trumpets and bowls having the bowls end at the last trumpet too. These are post-trib people. There are many problems which they ignore to do that, but this is not the article to go into that.

As an added piece of information, the spring feasts of God were given to signify the first coming of the Lord. The fall feasts were given to signify the Second Coming of the Lord. These feasts do not seem to be known or understood by Christians, and Jews do not entirely understand them in light of the coming of the Messiah. I offer an explanation here. The feast of trumpets is the first feast. There is absolutely no explanation given by God to explain why He wants them to blow trumpets on the first day of the seventh month. From the perspective of eschatology, it appears that they signify the trumpet judgments which will precede His coming. There are seven trumpets. The Feast is on the first day of the seventh month. There is a definite correlation between the trumpets in Revelation and those given by God in the Law. That key helps us to then understand the next Feast. The Day of Atonement, known as Yom Kippur.

On the Day of Atonement God had the high priest enter the Holy of Holies and offer a sacrifice of the blood of a lamb on the mercy seat. It was the day for which Israel’s sins were atoned. Their sins were placed on the head of the scapegoat and it was sent into the desert. It is the day that the Jews expect the Messiah to return and resurrect the dead. And that is exactly when Christ will return. On the Day of Atonement for Israel, when they look upon Him whom they have pierced and cry for Him. But then won’t we know the day? No. Again, the calendar will be changed, the earth will have been moved out of its orbit, the moon may not be seen at all, and by God’s calendar reckoning, the first day of the month is not declared until someone has seen a new moon, and that will be impossible during this time due to the problems stated above about night and day being indistinguishable (probably due to nuclear fallout). If one doesn’t know the first day of the month, one cannot figure out which day is the tenth (Yom Kippur).

Another arrow pointing to the Day of Atonement is that on the year of Jubilee, the last trumpet of the year is blown not at the start of the month, but on the Day of Atonement, announcing the start of the Jubilee year. When Christ first started His ministry and He entered the synagogue, He quoted a Scripture. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD (the Jubilee year).” Isaiah 61:1-2a. This Scripture speaks of the Jubilee year when the Messiah will come and set the captives free. Had Israel accepted Christ, the Lord’s reign would have begun after His resurrection, but they didn’t accept Him. He deliberately left off finishing the verse, because He knew they would reject Him. The rest of the verse is “and the day of vengeance of our God (Day of the Lord) ; to comfort all that mourn;” This clearly speaks of the Day of the Lord, which begins with His Second Coming. He didn’t finish it, because the real year of Jubilee and the Day of the Lord will be when He returns. And that will start when the Jubilee year begins, at the Day of Atonement, when the last trumpet for the year and for the Church age is blown.

Then comes the Feast of Tabernacles, a week long feast. Pre-trib makes the case for a Jewish wedding customarily being celebrated over a week’s time, so therefore they will be in heaven for seven years. The pre-wrath teacher (the man, not the lady) scoffed at the idea of a week long celebration saying it was ridiculous, because a couple wouldn’t stay in a room for a week. That’s not what they did. There was a week of celebrating, not hibernating. Both their spring feast and fall feast last for a week. This is the way God ordered it to be. And so weddings also do this. With the resurrection/rapture on Yom Kippur, the tenth, and the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Ingathering, beginning on the fifteenth, it leaves five days for a Bema Seat judgment (heaven’s time is not our time so five days is probably more than sufficient) to be followed by a week long wedding celebration. This week long celebration already is built into the Jewish calendar. Interestingly, the Jews have a story attached to the celebration of this ingathering of the harvest of grapes (does ingathering of a harvest make you think of anything? Do grapes make you think of anything? Read the end of Rev. 14.). This story has to do with a wedding celebration. The Jews don’t understand why or how this story attached itself to the feast or why it is there, but Christians can easily see why it is there. And in Zechariah 14 we are told that this celebration (not the Passover, but THIS celebration) is so important, that if people don’t come to Jerusalem for it, the entire country they live in will be punished. Why would this week which to the Jews is just a reminiscence of the forty year wanderings in the desert or a celebration of the grape harvest be so important? Possibly because it is the anniversary of the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride. It is the only feast that God insists on during the millennium. Does that not seem pertinent?

Everything in Scripture points to a last trumpet Second Coming/resurrection/rapture. And it should occur on the Day of Atonement at the end of the 70^th week. But nobody will know the exact day or hour.