The Mid Tribulation Rapture

Why I disagree with the Mid and Post-Tribulation Rapture Theories

§U Introduction: The Divine Prologue to the Great Tribulation (Revelation 4:1-11)

¶O John was brought into Heaven to see a vision of God the Father on his throne with 24 elders sitting around his throne

U After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter.”

C And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and God sat on the throne; and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone.

C And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like an emerald.

O And round about the throne were twenty-four seats; and upon the seats I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

O And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thundering and voices.

For a brief discussion of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, go here.

What about the “Mid-Tribulation Rapture” theory?

Well, this is the way that I look at it. In Revelation 4:1, you have a clear example of a “Rapture-like event” occurring immediately after the end of the Last Days before the onset of the Great Tribulation. In the text as you can read it above, there are no earthly historical events associated with it; just John and God saying, “Come up here”; and he is suddenly in Heaven.

But in the only other ‘Rapture-like event” recorded in Revelation with the 2 Witnesses, you have many earthly historical events associated with it; and no general Rapture of all Believers is described there:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the Beast that ascends out of the Abyss shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and tribes and languages and nations shall see their dead bodies three and a half days, and shall not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three and a half days the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them who saw them. And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand; and the remainder were terrified, and gave glory to the God of Heaven.” (Revelation 11:7-13)

So the events with the 2 Witnesses doesn’t give any indication of a general Rapture event: only 2 men, who are probably Moses and Elijah (although that is not certain). They will experience a Rapture-like event, but it will be confined only to them. But with Revelation 4:1, there is plenty of room there to accommodate 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, which does describe a general Rapture of all Believers.

And when you consider the problem of millions of Christians here on Earth, particularly in the US, who pose a serious problem for anyone wanting to impose a One-World Government on the United States, the most plausible solution to this “problem” is simply for God to remove them from the Earth completely with the Rapture, so that the terrible events described in Revelation will be allowed to move forward with as little political hindrance as possible.

Have Christians suffered persecution and death in previous centuries? Absolutely yes, and it is happening right now, even as we speak: in the Middle East, in China, North Korea, and other places not as well known. We can even go back to the hundreds of years of persecutions under the Roman Empire.

But the United States is a different situation, I believe. It is the only real military muscle behind the United Nations; and no One-World Government will happen without a compliant US government to back it up with arms and soldiers. And there are many millions of Believers in the United States who have political power that Believers in other countries do not have, because of our Constitution.

There are also about 40% of the voting population in the United States who will welcome the Antichrist with open arms when he finally arrives. We have seen this with Barack Obama already. I’m sure that you saw some of his supporters who called him “a god”, “messiah”, and so on. This makes a lot of Biblical sense, because we know that the Antichrist will be an imposter who will appear to the Lost as someone who is “god-like” and full of himself, which is clearly something that describes Obama:

If you don’t understand why I made this statement, then you need to wake up and start paying attention to what is going on.

But Obama was not the Antichrist, simply because while he would clearly have liked to unite the world under his leadership, the opposite happened, and the world exploded in war, while he “led from behind”. In my opinion, he was the worst leader of any kind that I have ever seen in my lifetime, and especially as President of the US. He was a type of the Antichrist to come, but thankfully, he was not the real thing.

So it is clear that while there is a certain segment of the United States voting population who would welcome the Antichrist with open arms, an equally large percentage of the US voting population feels the opposite way because they have read Revelation and understand the consequences of surrendering our Constitution in favor of rule by bureaucrats in the UN. And this poses a real problem for those who want a One-World government that has to be solved somehow before the Antichrist can make his appearance; and the only plausible solution that the Bible provides is the Rapture of all Believers from the Earth.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 clearly teaches that

“...he who now is restraining will continue to restrain, until he is taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming...”

Who is restraining the “mystery of iniquity”? God the Holy Spirit, of course. The Holy Spirit is dwelling in the lives of Born-again Believers on Earth right now. When the Believers are removed from the Earth in the Rapture, then the mystery of iniquity will no longer be restrained, and the Great Tribulation will begin.

The Believers in the United States (those with the indwelling Holy Spirit) must be removed from the Earth before the Great Tribulation can begin. The “Mid-Tribulation Rapture” theory simply cannot be reconciled with these things. What about the “Post-Tribulation Rapture theory”? This is what I mentioned earlier with the teaching that Believers will be raptured to meet the Lord in the air, only to immediately return with Him to the Earth. But this is complete nonsense.

First of all, why bother with the Rapture, if they’re going to immediately return with Christ anyway? There is no good reason for God to do this, because the saints will not be delivered from anything: the Great Tribulation is over, so they should stay right where they are, because the Millennial Kingdom of Christ will begin then, and that’s the best place to be for any living saint.

Secondly, the Bible gives no indication of this event. In fact, the Bible indicates the opposite:

And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness does he judge and make war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems. And he had a Name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his Name is called “THE WORD OF GOD.” And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Revelation 19:11-14)

Notice that it says, “And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him...” These are the saints who were Raptured previously who are now with the Lord in Heaven. In other words, there is no “Post-Tribulation Rapture” and never will be.

On the other hand, in Daniel 11:36-12:3, the Bible does describe a Post-Tribulation resurrection of the Old Covenant saints:

“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done.....And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your 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 your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to Everlasting Life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 11:36; 11:45; 12:1-3)

But notice that no Rapture event is described here. The Old Covenant saints are raised from the dead after the Tribulation is over, so that they might inherit all of the promises of God made to their fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. There is no need for a Rapture at this time, because the Great Tribulation is already past.

So in conclusion, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory is the most natural way to interpret the Bible text. It is in harmony with literal interpretation, and therefore it is in harmony with the Word of God.

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