Biblical Forensics©

“Deliverance before Judgment”

Part 27

The primary teaching on the Pre-Tribulation Rapture can be found at 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-3; and 1^st Corinthians 15:51-54. These passages are the important, crucial teaching, but they are not the only passages.

The Apostle Paul did not want the new Christians to be ignorant (uninformed) concerning the Rapture phase of the Lord’s Second Coming. Likewise, we can still find great comfort in Paul’s words despite the disinformation, chatter, static, and confusion we might find on the internet and elsewhere today. As was the case at the time of the Apostle Paul’s ministry, there are many novice voices in the wilderness today seeking to lead believers astray by proclaiming their own message of “Yea, hath God said?” Some think they are wise, but really they foolishly believe their own vain and generic clichés and platitudes.

Invariably those who reject the Pre-Tribulation Pre-Millennial Rapture base their beliefs upon Jesus’ words found in what is known as the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 & 25, particularly Matthew 24:29-31. Those who would have you believe that the Church (Christian believers) will go through some portion or all of the “Seven” year Tribulation use this passage as their “proof” text. In most cases they are not familiar with the Greek Text of the Olivet Discourse, or are among those who have believed the lie of “Replacement Theology” noted in a previous segment.

Let me make it perfectly clear, we will experience tribulation, but this is not the same as the “Seven” year Great Tribulation. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is attacked like nothing that has been seen in the past thirty years. Keep in mind that Satan wants to deceive and distract people and one way he does that is to use fear-mongering and sowing lies of doubt. Even Pope Francis has attacked Bible-believing Christians on the Lord’s return by stating and inferring Jesus is not coming back. This may sound harsh and even unbelievable to those who have not examined this topic before, but the Jesuit Pope Francis is part of a Satanist-worshipping element existing within the Catholic Church. This faction took over the Roman Catholic Church over fifty years ago in 1963.⁽¹⁴⁾ They call the Pre-Tribulation Rapture a lie, and they ridicule Fundamental Bible Based teachings and theology.

In centuries past, the Jesuits published books designed to shift Biblical understanding of the pope as the Antichrist referenced in the Bible away from and off Rome. In fact, Jesuits authored many major books to direct people not only away from the focus on Rome as the Antichrist but also from the Biblical teaching of the Lord’s Second Coming. It may surprise readers today to learn the American Lutheran Church and ELCA held to the doctrine that the Roman Catholic Church was the Antichrist up until 1995/1996.⁽¹⁵⁾ In October of 2016 Pope Francis went to Sweden to meet with Lutheran leadership and asked Lutherans to set aside their doctrinal differences. The Lutheran Church is made up of several Synods or factions of the Lutheran Community at large. The Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, the most conservative of the Lutheran communities, has not reversed this doctrine. The doctrinal position of the Papacy as the Antichrist has not been formally repudiated by the various Lutheran communities; however, they chose to pretend that it does not exist as of 1995/1996.

The real reason for the concerted effort by the Jesuits was because they were attempting to deflect focus away from the Vatican as the source of an evil plot to undermine the Lutheran teaching by claiming that the Antichrist had already come and that he had arrived a thousand years before the Reformation. The reformer Martin Luther was the one who labeled the pope and the Vatican as the Antichrist⁽⁴⁾ and this is what inflamed the events that led to the Reformation of 1517.^{(5, 6)}

In April of 2014, a spokesperson for the Vatican officially announced that the Second Coming of Jesus, “may not happen now after all”, but urged followers to continue with their faith, regardless of the news. Cardinal Giorgio Salvadore, delivering a formal address, from Pope Francis, told WW News: “We just feel Jesus is not coming back by the looks of it”, he said, “It’s been ages like. He’s probably flat out doing other really good things for people somewhere else”. The Vatican defended John’s broken promise claiming “He was probably drinking wine” at the time when He made the comments. The cardinal was referring to the promise of Jesus in John 14:1-3. “Having the ability to turn water into wine had its ups and downs,” added Cardinal Salvadore. “We all make promises we can’t keep when we’re drunk. Jesus was no different”.⁽³⁾

How more blasphemous could the Vatican be? The cardinal’s statement went on to point out that the church will now focus attentions on rebuilding its reputation around the world, but will keep an optimistic mind for the savior’s second coming. Such are the statements made by the so-called Vicar of Christ. Pope Francis regularly releases remarks and statements to the press through a spokesperson. It is almost always a cardinal secretary for media affairs.

The Jesuit pope is not Christian! Shortly after his installation as the leader of the Papacy he conducted a ceremony to induct two former popes into sainthood. Here in broad daylight at Saint Peter’s Cathedral, pay close attention to the song offering allegiance and referencing the Satanic Lucifer as God in the live footage of a YouTube video (link provided under Notes).⁽⁷⁾ The words are in Latin but have been translated into English on the video. The Roman Catholic Church is all about “SUN” (BAAL) worship rather than “SON” (Jesus) worship. I urge readers to visit John Daniel’s website where the book, “The Grand Design Exposed” can be read.⁽²⁾ The book is currently out of print, but it can be read at John Daniel’s website. Roman Catholicism is a Satanic organization deceptively masked behind the folds of the seemingly pious robes of Christianity but a closer look reveals that the ruse is merely a thin veneer of respectability. I could quote a dozen or more damning statements made by Pope Francis, who undoubtedly is part of the coming Antichrist System as the False Prophet. For the pope to make such blatant statements suggesting that Christ Jesus is not coming back, merely reflects either a lack of Biblical understanding or complete doubt regarding the Bible’s central message. Such statements reveal that at its innermost core, the Vatican is completely unwilling to relinquish power and authority or humbly submit to the true King, the Lord Jesus Christ!

People who engage in ‘proof-texting’⁽¹⁾ to refute the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and the teaching of “deliverance before judgment” by using Matthew 24:29-31 fail to notice certain facts about this passage. What follows is significant and important:

Matthew 24:29-31 has absolutely nothing to do with 1^st Thessalonians 14:13-18. It is an issue based on lack of understanding and it erroneously compares the passage to an unrelated Scripture passage. This issue is more about hermeneutics and correctly comparing one book with another through the use of false logic and reasoning.
Matthew was written before Thessalonians. The best scholarship in theological studies today note that several years elapsed between the writings of Matthew and Thessalonians. Also, not insignificant in the least is the fact that the Apostle Paul was in Asia Minor, at least 700 miles northwest of Israel. Paul was not even in the area at the time of his missionary work in Asia Minor in what today is known as the nation of Turkey.

The Gospel of Matthew (or Jesus’ words) never quotes from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, or for that matter, any of his other epistles. NOT ONCE! It simply is not possible because none of Paul’s Epistles had been written when Jesus was alive. Then who does Matthew’s Gospel quote from? And, why is that important at all. It is very important?

The only Bible available to the disciples and the local Jews in Israel that could be accessed was the “Tanach”, the Old Testament writings of the Torah, the Psalms, and the Writings of the Prophets, and that’s all! Of the four Gospels, Matthew quotes the most from the Old Testament, and did so frequently. In fact, there are at least 40 direct quotes, and 60 references total.

Jesus Christ quoted from Isaiah, more than any other book of the Old Testament. Jesus quoted from Isaiah four times in the portion of Matthew 24:29-31. They are Isaiah 11:12; 27:13; 49:18; and 60:4. Within Matthew 24:29-35, Jesus referred to Isaiah a total of six times. The point is that Matthew only quotes Jesus’ words specifically referencing Isaiah, but NOT 1^st Thessalonians.

This is a most important point because Matthew 24:29-31 DOES NOT SUPPORT the argument against the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. I will share a Bible lesson that I learned over fifty years ago. When I was a computer programmer working on the project of putting the KJV Bible onto computer magnetic tape, we discovered a pattern that is found in the book of Isaiah, which has 66 chapters in it. Interestingly, those 66 chapters of Isaiah have a natural break between the 39^th and 40^th chapters of Isaiah. Liberal critics suggest Isaiah was written by two authors, and not one, based upon this structural divide. Coincidentally, the Old Testament has 39 books, which also is carried over in an outline arrangement corresponding to Isaiah, chapters 1-39. The theme of Isaiah, chapter 1 is the theme of the first book of the Old Testament, which is Genesis. Chapter 2 in Isaiah is the theme of the second book of the Old Testament, which is Exodus. That “theme” pattern follows through to the last book of the Old Testament. This information gives credence to a single author of Isaiah.

Interestingly, this same pattern or theme is found in the New Testament as well. Likewise, the last 27 chapters of Isaiah provides a topical outline of the 27 books of the New Testament. The theme of Isaiah chapter 40 is an outline of the first book of the New Testament, which is the Gospel of Matthew. Chapter 41 of Isaiah is an outline of the second book of the New Testament, which is the Gospel of Mark.

This entire theme pattern of Isaiah’s 66 chapters correlates with the 66 books of the Bible. The 66^th chapter of Isaiah is a topical outline of the 66^th book of the Bible, which is the book of Revelation.

God has validated His Word as Truth by means of a variety of devices, but the most important of them all is the “Heptadic Design Feature” similar to a form of DNA.⁽⁸⁾ This feature validates that the “Heptad” or the number “Seven” is a “Covenant” Seal of authentication.

The Gospel of Matthew does not even mention the word “Church” until Matthew 16:18. In fact, Jesus only mentions the word “Church” twice in Matthew: 16:18 and 18:17. Furthermore, the “Church” was not birthed until Acts 2:47. Jesus had no reason to reveal the Rapture event beforehand to the disciples, or anyone for that matter, in the Olivet Discourse.

The task of revealing the “Rapture” was left to the Apostle Paul for another phase of God’s Master Plan for Redemption. Truth in the Bible is unveiled and gradually unfolds one step at a time, as it plants the seed in Genesis and ultimately guiding one to the full bloom of God’s Grand Plan in Revelation.

An important point that few understand is that the New Testament really does not begin with the physical birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The New Testament begins with the Cross and the moment the Temple veil was “rent in twain from the top to the bottom” in Mark 15:38. The verse preceding, Mark 15:37 reads, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” The technical divide point between Old and New Testaments is at the Cross!

Because Jesus Christ never said much about the Church, its mission, purpose, plans, objectives, duration, or ending, it should be no surprise to us today that He offered little for us to ponder over the “Rapture” issue whatsoever. The Apostle Paul states that the Rapture was a “mystery” in 1^st Corinthians 15:51-52.

That “mystery” remains veiled through Typology, thematic patterns, and overlaid within the skeletal structure revealed in the context of the Divine Feasts of Leviticus 23, for us to discover just as Proverbs 25:2 states. The full extent of that event remains yet to be experienced by us today. The Bible provides us “types” and “shadows” of what good things are to come for us to explore and for more descriptive and detailed understanding. –(Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1)

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture becomes more tangible as a Biblical doctrine as we study the nuances of the Apostle Paul’s letters. When Paul said to be comforted by these words, he really meant it. First Thessalonians 4:13-18 pictures “Deliverance before Judgment” in such a way that validates the promises of God’s Word.

Between 1880 and 1920, the unfortunate swing to liberalism within the Church has led most mainline denominational churches to abandon the view of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. They have gradually adopted a position of “spiritualizing” and “allegorizing” the Bible.⁽⁹⁾ Liberalism began to expand and takeover theological seminaries and denominational seminaries,^(10,
11) thus flooding the church with all kinds of teachings and beliefs that did great harm and fractured the church and its foundational truths. Prior to the turn of the twentieth century, virtually all Protestant denominations believed and taught their congregants the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. This “liberalism” movement was not new by any means. It had its first surge when Constantine merged Christianity with State paganism in the early fourth century and the rise of Roman Catholicism.^(12,
13) Constantine and Augustine could corrupt and squash the early Christian church through force, fear, and intimidation.

Pastor Bob

Notes: