Matthew 24:21 For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Matthew 24:29
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:
Revelation 7:14 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.
Pastor Rick Jackson
When we talk about the millennium we call ourselves by three
possible names. A "premillennialist" believes Christ will come back
before the millennium, a postmillennialist believes Christ will return after
the millennium, while an amillennialist says, "Aw, there ain't gonna be no
millennium." Make no mistake about it- I am a premillennialist. I am a
premillennial Christian because I believe that's what the Bible teaches. I came
to this doctrine with no preconceived ideas (I was not raised a fundamental,
Bible-believing Baptist-I came to be one through salvation and conviction from
studying the Scriptures) and I am convinced this is what the Bible teaches!
You can be a premillennialist and still be a
post-tribulationist. Or you can be a premillennialist and be a
mid-tribulationist. Or you can be right and be a pre-tribulational
premillennialist. At least that's the way I like to think of it. I have reasons
I believe that is right and I want to share just a few of them with you now
from the Word of God.
I am a pre-tribulational, premillennialist because:
I. OF THE DOCTRINE OF
THE IMMINENT RAPTURE
1 Cor. 1:4-7 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the
grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all
utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed
in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ:
1 Thess. 1:9-10 For they themselves shew of us what manner of
entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from
the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 4:15 this we say unto you by the word of the
Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep
Titus 2:11-13 the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ;
Note that in all these verses we are to look for His coming,
not the tribulation. I am a pre-tribulational, premillennialist because:
II. WE ARE PROMISED
DELIVERANCE FROM WRATH [1 Th. 1:9-10, 5:2-9]
Rom. 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rev. 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I
also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev. 6:12-17 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; 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?
We are promised deliverance from God's wrath and though the
primary emphasis may be the lake of fire it cannot be denied that the Great
Tribulation is designated as the wrath of the Lamb!
There are a few who may believe in a "Pre-Wrath Rapture
- the church will go through the great tribulation by Antichrist during the end
times, but will be raptured immediately before the 'Day of the Lord' wrath,
when Christ cuts short the persecution of Antichrist." This mid-tribulation
view may be better than the post-trib. view but it is still not as good as the
pre-trib. view as we shall continue to explain.
Others believe in a "Partial Rapture - only those who
are faithful in the church will be raptured or translated and the rest will
either be raptured sometime during the tribulation or at its end." This
could better be called the rupture of the church since they believe some will
go through the tribulation and some won't. I am going to be raptured because of
Christ's faithfulness... not mine!
I am a pre-tribulational, premillennialist because:
III. THE CHURCH ISN'T
MENTIONED IN REVELATION 6-19 (WHICH DEALS WITH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD IN
DETAIL)
Rev. 1-3 mentions "church" or "churches"
almost 20 times, then you will not find the church mentioned again by name
until 22:16. Many scholars believe Rev. 4:1 is a picture of the Rapture
(compare that with 1 Th. 4:16-17 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord).
"This is a definite statement concerning the rapture.
When anyone tells you the word rapture is not in the Bible, remember that the
Greek word for 'caught up' is harpazo; it means 'caught up, raptured, or
snatched up.' ... If you don't like the word rapture then call it harpazo.
That's what Paul called it. We are to be caught up, and His voice will be like
a trumpet. It pulled John up, and someday it will pull you and me up." -J.
Vernon McGee
The church returns with the Lord in Rev. 19:7-9
I am a pre-tribulational, premillennialist because:
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT'S
RESTRAINING MINISTRY THROUGH CHRISTIANS MUST BE REMOVED [2 Th. 2:3-9, Mt.
5:13-16]
I am a pre-tribulational, premillennialist because:
V. OF THE MANY EXAMPLES
OF GOD'S DELIVERING HIS CHILDREN BEFORE PUNISHING THE UNGODLY [2 Peter 2:1-9]
Noah was delivered before the flood, Lot (am unfaithful
Christian at best) was delivered from Sodom & Gommorha and the church will
be delivered “saved” from the wrath to come.
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