A SPIRITUAL WAR IS RAGING BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN –AND JERUSALEM IS GROUND ZERO IN THE BATTLE FOR PLANET EARTH.
Pretrib Fallacy: “The Rapture is not part of the Second Coming”
The Great Tribulation: Part 2
PROPHECY SUMMIT
January 26-27, 2024
Lakeshore Center Orlando/Ocoee, FL
CRUISE CONFERENCE
Jan. 29 – Feb. 2, 2024 RCCL Allure of the Seas from Port Canaveral
Zion’s Fire Magazine
Zion’s Fire is a publication of Zion’s Hope.
© Copyright 2023 by Zion’s Hope, Inc., P.O. Box 783369 Winter Garden, FL 34778-3369
Production staff
Editor-in-Chief: David Rosenthal
Graphic Design: Catherine LeMand Michael Feland Cheryl Philips
Copy Editors: Marbeth Rosenthal Michael Ufferman David Ettinger
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2023
The Unseen War Behind the War
David Rosenthal
The war in Gaza, and the future conflicts that will be fought throughout the Middle East, are rocketing the world ever closer to the ultimate showdown – when Satan’s fury will be unleashed, and the powers of Hell will come against Jerusalem.
INSIGHT FEATURE
Pretrib Fallacy: “The Rapture Is Not Part of the Second Coming”
Alan E. Kurschner
One of the major arguments pretrib proponents make to support their view is that the Rapture is not part of the Second Coming, maintaining that the Rapture and Second Coming are separated by the 7 years of Daniel’s 70th Week. Pretribulationists contend that the Rapture is for the Church, and the Second Coming is for Israel. But are they right?
A Word From the Word Dr. Dan Hayden
In this study, Dr. Hayden examines the phrase, “Joyful Singing.” Though today we may think in terms of congregational singing in church, the Hebrew wording conveys a slightly different idea.
INSIGHT FEATURE
Great Tribulation
Marv Rosenthal
The second half of this 2-part study looks at when the Great Tribulation will end, and whom it will impact. It is generally taught that the Great Tribulation is 3½ years in duration; that it begins at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week in connection with the abomination of desolation, and continues until its end – 3½ years later. How accurate is this belief?
Subscriptions
A one-year subscription is $20. A two-year subscription is $30. Add $10 per year for foreign subscriptions. 407-654-ZION (9466) • 1-888-781-ZION (9466)
Identification
Zion’s Fire (ISSN 1052-2301, USPS 005423) is published bimonthly by Zion’s Hope, Inc., 146 West Plant Street, Suite 300, Winter Garden, FL 34787-3136. Periodicals postage paid at Winter Garden, FL and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Zion’s Hope, Inc., P.O. Box 783369 Winter Garden, FL 34778-3369
Printed in the USA by Print By Design, Inc. All photos, unless otherwise noted, are © by Shutterstock.com
Our Purpose and Passion
Zion’s Hope is a Bible-based ministry whose purpose is to proclaim to Jewish and Gentile people throughout the world their need for personal salvation through Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. We’re also committed to helping Christians grow in their understanding of biblical prophecy and the importance of Israel in God’s plan for the Last Days. To that end, we teach Scripture in its historical, geographical, and cultural context to prepare God’s people for end-time events and the return of Jesus Christ.
Giving
Your generous support for the ministry of Zion’s Hope is greatly appreciated. All donations will generate a tax-deductible receipt.
This Christmas, touch the hearts of your loved ones with this elegant and contemporary card which reminds us that “Heaven came down to Earth” when God became a man. Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us. And as our Savior, He is the greatest Gift of all!
Phone:
Mail:
Two thousand years ago, God gave us the greatest gift of all. Wrapped in humanity, God’s gift of grace through His Son, Jesus Christ, pierced the darkness to bring us light and life! One day – I believe very soon – this same Jesus will return to establish a Kingdom of righteousness on the earth. What a glorious day that will be!
But for now, we live in a depraved and sin-sick world. In recent days, we were reminded of the depths of this depravity in graphic detail as Hamas terrorists stormed the borders of Israel and barbarically massacred 1,400 innocent Israeli civilians including pregnant women,
CONNECT
David Rosenthal
children, and Holocaust survivors.
Israel has responded with an incursion into Gaza to eradicate Hamas. Predictably, the international media, the United Nations, the Islamic world, and anti-Semitic protestors are accusing Israel of genocide, war crimes, and pointing to the Jews as being the aggressors and “occupiers” of Palestinian land.
Enraged by hatred, these raucous, anti-Israel crowds can be heard shouting anti-Semitic slurs and spewing vile threats against Jewish people. One phrase often heard is:
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” This is a reference to all of Israel’s land – from the Jordan
River (Israel’s eastern border) to the Mediterranean Sea (Israel’s western border).
Implicit in their call for “Palestine to be free” is their desire to see the land utterly “purged of Jews.” Their rage-filled chants are nothing less than a rallying cry to the armies of the Islamic world to join together in a Jihad (Islamic holy war) against Jerusalem, to annihilate the Jews, and turn the land of Israel into an Islamic state.
Devoid of any biblical perspective, much of the world views
The Unseen War Behind the War
the conflict in the Middle East as just the latest uprising in an ongoing battle between ancient peoples fighting over longstanding grievances. But it is far more than that.
At its core, this conflict is part of an epic “unseen” spiritual war that has raged since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden. It’s a war between good and evil – between God and Satan. The destiny of humanity, and planet Earth itself, hangs in the balance. The city of Jerusalem is ground zero in this epic war, and the Temple Mount is the coveted prize.
Will Satan and his progeny, the Antichrist, successfully usurp the throne that rightfully belongs to
God’s Son, and claim Jerusalem as his capital?
After the Fall in Genesis, God pronounced a curse upon Satan for his deception of humanity, declaring that a Seed would one day come to crush Satan’s head. That Seed, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) would be born through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David.
G EO P ROPHECY R EPOR T
given them as an everlasting inheritance), and relentlessly persecuted. And yet, each time, God miraculously preserved His covenant people and brought them back to their land.
To Abraham and his descendants, God not only promised to pour out His divine blessing, He also covenanted to give them a land that would be their everlasting inheritance.
Knowing this Promised Seed would ultimately crush his head, Satan implemented a strategy to destroy the people (the Jews) who would give birth to that Seed.
Throughout history, Satan attempted to use successive Gentile world powers to either annihilate the Jews, or assimilate them through their intermarriage into pagan cultures so they would cease to be an ethnically identifiable nation.
One after another, the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, MedoPersians, Greeks, and Romans each rose to power and were used as pawns in Satan’s diabolic strategy. The Jewish people were repeatedly attacked, taken into captivity (forced from the land God had
Finally, at God’s appointed time, Israel gave birth to the Seed – the One promised back in Genesis. And yet, the Jewish people continued to be the obsession of Satan’s hatred. At the hand of the Romans, they were again expelled from their land. For two millennia they wandered the earth without a home, and without a place to be at rest.
But Satan wasn’t satisfied. In yet another attempt to wipe God’s Chosen People from the earth, he devised a plan that would be implemented through Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. He intended it to be his “final solution” for the extermination of the Jewish people.
Despite the horrors of the Holocaust, Satan’s plan failed. And from the ashes of tragedy, God once again brought His Chosen People back to their ancient homeland. Miraculously, after nearly 2,000 years, the nation of Israel was reborn in 1948.
Satan attempted to use successive Gentile world powers
to either annihilate the Jews, or assimilate them . . .
But Satan continues his wicked and relentless assault on the Jewish people. For he knows that Jesus Christ, who came the first time to offer Himself as a sacrificial Lamb on the cross of Calvary for the sin of humanity, will soon return as the Lion of Judah, the greater Son of King David – and the legitimate heir to the throne of Israel.
What is so often misunderstood or, sadly, even denied by many pastors, churches, and denominations today, is that Jesus Christ is destined to be Israel’s greatest King when He returns to Earth at His Second Coming. This prominent theme runs through the entirety of Scripture – and yet so many within Christendom deny it.
The reality of this biblical truth leads to an equally important corollary conclusion. For Jesus to fulfill His rightful destiny as Israel’s greatest (and eternal) King:
1) There must be a Jewish nation called Israel in existence at the time of His return, and …
2) That nation must possess a land and a capital city (Jerusalem) from which He will rule and reign as King.
Hear the words of the psalmist speaking of that glorious future day when Jesus ascends to Israel’s throne:
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed [Jesus Christ], saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his
wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king [Jesus Christ] upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession … Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little (Psalm 2:1-8, 12a).
At His first coming, Jesus “came unto his own, and his own [people] received him not” (John 1:11). But did God decide to cast off His people and nullify the unconditional covenants He made with Abraham and his descendants because of their rejection of Christ at His first coming?
Hear the apostle Paul:
Hath God cast away his people [the Jews]? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew (Romans 11:1-2).
And regarding God’s covenant promise of an eternal land inheritance given to His Chosen People, listen again to the words of King David:
He [God] hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance (Psalm 105:8-11).
If God is a covenant-keeping God – if He can be relied upon to keep His word – He must be true to the promises He made to Israel so many years ago. To those who say God has changed His mind and rescinded His covenant with Israel and annulled His promise of a land as their eternal inheritance, I pose this question: If God has broken His covenant promises to Israel, what makes you think He won’t break His promises to you today?
Our God is a faithful, covenantkeeping God! What He has promised, He will do!
The current war in Gaza, and the future conflicts that will be fought throughout the Middle East, are rocketing the world ever closer to the ultimate showdown – to the time when Satan’s fury will be unleashed, and all the powers of Hell will come against Jerusalem.
But in the darkest hour, when it seems all hope is lost, Israel’s long-awaited warrior-King, Yeshua HaMashiach, will descend from above in radiant majesty to vanquish the forces of evil. In that day, He will stand victoriously on the holy hill of Zion.
Beloved friend, will you and those you love be on the winning side of history? Kiss the Son (embrace Him with all your heart and soul). Be a bold and faithful ambassador for Him. Watch carefully as His return draws near. Pray earnestly for the salvation of Israel, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Written by
Alan E. Kurschner
One of the major arguments proponents of pretribulational theology make to support their view is that the Rapture of the Church is not part of the Second Coming.
Pretribulationalism maintains the Rapture and Second Coming are separated from each other by the seven years of Daniel’s 70th Week – the final seven years of this era of human history.
Pretribulationists contend the Rapture is for the Church, and the Second Coming is for Israel.
They argue there are no Old Testament prophecies that will be fulfilled before the 70th Week – that is, during the Church Age. They believe the prophecies will be fulfilled during the 70th Week. For this reason, pretribulation theology maintains the Rapture will be a signless, imminent (can happen at any time) event for the Church.
. . . He returns with His resurrected and raptured saints TO WIN THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON AND TO ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM ON EARTH.
In this article, I examine several pretribulational notions that supposedly disconnect the Rapture from the Second Coming, or Parousia – the Greek word used to describe the Second Coming.
“Come FOR His Saints” and “Come WITH His Saints”
As noted, pretribulationism separates the Rapture from the Second Coming with the intervening period of Daniel’s 70th Week. I am arguing instead that the biblical evidence supports that the Rapture belongs to the extended unified event of the Second Coming. I will frame my critique around what has become a pretribulation slogan that goes something like this: At the Rapture, Christ will come for His saints; at the Second Coming, He will come with His saints. Pretribulationist Edward E. Hindson captures this assertion:
Pretribulationists divide the return of Christ in two main phases: the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ. In the first aspect, our Lord comes to take His own (the living and the dead) to be with Him. In the second aspect, He returns with His resurrected and raptured saints to win the battle of Armageddon and to establish His kingdom on earth.1
This understanding lends to the claim that Jesus’ return will occur in two stages – the Rapture “coming” and the
Second “Coming”– being separated by seven years. Hindson further argues that “the dissimilarities between the rapture passages and the return passages [i.e. Second Coming] are significant enough to indicate that they are separate events” (emphasis his).2 Similarly, pretribulationist Renald Showers wrote, “the Rapture will take place at a different time than the coming of Christ … (i.e., the Second Coming)”.3 To support this claim, pretribulationists enumerate several purported “contrasts” between these two events. While more contrasts could be commented upon, the following comparison represents four of the most common found in pretribulation literature.
Pretribulation Contrasts
The Rapture Coming indicates:
1. Jesus will come for His Church.
2. Jesus comes in the air.
3. No signs – imminent.
4. Only His own will see Him.
The Second Coming indicates:
1. Jesus will come with His Church.
2. Jesus comes to Earth.
3. Signs will precede His coming –not imminent.
4. Every eye will see Him.
1 Hindson, “Rapture and Return,” p. 157.
2 Hindson, “Rapture and Return,” p. 157.
3 Showers, Maranatha, 176.
Four of the Most Common Contrasts Found in Pretribulation Literature
While more contrasts could be commented upon, the following comparison represents four of the most common found in pretribulation literature.
The Rapture Coming Indicates: According to Pretribulationists
Jesus will come for His Church
Jesus comes in the air
No signs – imminent
Only His own will see Him
The Second Coming Indicates:
Jesus will come with His Church
Jesus comes to Earth
Signs will precede His coming – not imminent
Every eye will see Him
The First Contrast
The Rapture Coming: Jesus will come for His Church.
The Second Coming: Jesus will come with His Church.
I want to begin by critiquing the first contrast that in the “Rapture Coming” Jesus will come for His Church, but in the Second Coming, Jesus will come with His Church. Of the four contrasts, this first one is most frequently cited in pretribulation literature, so I will focus on it the most. I agree with the first element that Jesus will come for His Church to rapture her.4 As for the second element, pretribulation interpreters misunderstand the expression “Second Coming.”
What they denote by the Second Coming is the period at the end of the 70th Week when Jesus and His armies of Heaven will go to battle at Armageddon. This is a deeply flawed understanding. To be sure, Armageddon belongs to the extended event of the Second Coming of Christ, taking place toward the end of God’s eschatological (End Times) wrath.
Biblical authors use a host of terms to describe the return of Jesus, one of which is Parousia. When they use the word Parousia to speak of the Second Coming, they are speaking of the second arrival of Christ and His continuing presence. To be sure, the term Parousia is not a technical term for the Second Coming since it is also used in non-eschatological context.5 The term Parousia is a particularly important term used by Matthew in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse and in the letters of Paul, Peter, James, and John. More importantly, in their eschatological instructions, Jesus and Paul address the inception of the Parousia event. It is not that “Paul addressed the Rapture” while “Jesus addressed the Second Coming,” as pretribulationists often contend. What
Paul addresses the beginning point of the Parousia by focusing on the Resurrection, the Rapture, and the beginning of the Day of the Lord wrath . . .
they fail to recognize is that both Jesus and Paul are addressing the beginning point of the Parousia – not two different phases of it. Paul addresses the beginning point of the Parousia by focusing on the Resurrection, the Rapture, and the beginning of the Day of the Lord wrath, which will happen on the day Christ returns from Heaven to the clouds:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto [until] the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:15).
Notice Paul states “until” (eis in the Greek) the coming (parousia) of the Lord, which ties this event to the beginning of the Second Coming. Similarly, Matthew’s presentation of the Olivet Discourse addresses the beginning of the Parousia:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain UNTO THE COMING [PAROUSIA] OF THE LORD SHALL NOT PREVENT THEM WHICH ARE ASLEEP.– 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15
5 See 1 Corinthians 16:17; 2 Corinthians 7:6-7; 10:10; Philippians 1:26; 2:12.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase [corpse] is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 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: 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 (Matthew 24:27-31).
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 (Matthew 24:31).
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING [PAROUSIA] OF THE SON OF MAN BE.
– Matthew 24:27
Jesus is describing the inception of the Parousia. Jesus gives the sign of Parousia: the “lightning,” which is His glory.
The bright sun will burst through the natural light that went dark as “the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”
Jesus is describing the inception of the Parousia. Jesus gives the sign of Parousia (v. 27): the “lightning,” which is His glory. The bright sun will burst through the natural light that went dark as “the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (vv. 30-31). The disciples’ question prompted Jesus’ discourse: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia], and of the end of the world [age]?” (Matthew 24:3). Signs are given to announce something. When the sign occurs, the Parousia begins. Moreover, Jesus’ parables and similitudes (for instance, Matthew 24:32-51 – the Noahic illustration) explicitly address the beginning of His return, not the end of the Day of the Lord wrath.
Noah and his family did not enter the ark after the flood. Jesus’ warnings to His disciples to be watchful would be meaningless if He were referring the end of the Day of the Lord wrath. The warnings are intended to exhort disciples to prepare for the Parousia so they are not caught off-guard when it happens. The occurrence of the sign to the Parousia occurs “immediately after” the Great Tribulation (v. 29). Only then will Christ deliver His people from His Day of the Lord wrath.
Pretribulationism contends that the prophesied events described in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse will occur only after the Church is raptured; therefore, they maintain that the Rapture is not in view in the gathering of the
elect portrayed in Matthew 24:30-31. In their view, only “Jewish tribulation saints” will experience the Great Tribulation, not the Church. This is deeply flawed. The apostle Paul states that his source of instruction was from the Lord: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). His source is drawn from the oral tradition of Jesus’ eschatological (End Times) discourse, which Paul used for his Thessalonian church situation. The parallels between Paul and Jesus are extensive, demonstrating they have the same unified Second Coming in mind.
If the Olivet Discourse was not intended for church instruction, then why would Paul use it as his main source for instructing the Thessalonian church? There are 30 parallels between Jesus’ teaching on the Second Coming in the Olivet Discourse and Paul’s teaching on the Second Coming in the Thessalonian letters. These parallels show Paul’s dependence on the Olivet Discourse tradition for teaching the Thessalonian church.6
These parallels illustrate that Jesus’ teaching and Paul’s teaching on the Second Coming complement each other, portraying a consistent picture. The overwhelming parallels between the two support that they are clearly speaking of the same unified Second Coming of our Lord.
6 For a list of these parallels see Kurschner’s book, Pretrib, pages 88-90.
The Second Contrast
The Rapture Coming: Jesus comes in the air. The Second Coming: Jesus comes to Earth.
Most of the critique for the first contrast also applies for this pretribulation contrast. However, this one requires its own response. The Parousia/Second Coming of Christ begins in the air. We know this to be the case because Paul teaches it will begin in the air and not on Earth:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 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 (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; see also 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10, italic added).
Similarly, Jesus teaches that His Parousia will begin when He returns in the clouds:
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase [corpse] is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 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: 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
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:27-28
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:27-31, italic added).
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:27-28, italic added).
The Second Coming, therefore, begins at an earlier point before Jesus physically returns to Earth to set up this world as His kingdom (Revelation 11:15). The main events can only be summarized here:
1. Immediately following the Rapture, Jesus will usher God’s saints before the throne of the Father in Heaven. He will then direct the trumpet judgments through His angels. Jesus’ Parousia judgments will fulfill His righteous purposes for the wicked.
2. As Davidic king, Jesus will physically return to Earth to lead Jewish remnants back to Israel as they recognize Him as their long-awaited Messiah, fulfilling Daniel’s 70 Weeks’ prophecy.
3. The final series of God’s judgments are then executed through the bowls.
4. The nations’ armies and kings will encamp at Armageddon, planning to attack the newly inaugurated Christ: “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together TO MAKE WAR AGAINST HIM THAT SAT ON THE HORSE, AND AGAINST HIS ARMY.
– Revelation 19:19
Jesus will retrieve His heavenly armies and preemptively attack the beast, kings, and the armies of the earth, vanquishing them.
him that sat on the horse, and against his army” (Revelation 19:19). Jesus will retrieve His heavenly armies and preemptively attack the beast, kings, and the armies of the earth, vanquishing them.
5. The Millennial (1,000-year) period will ensue shortly afterward.
In summary, it is a mistake to disconnect the Rapture from the Parousia. The Second Coming/Parousia begins in the sky when Jesus returns in the clouds to resurrect and rapture the saints of God. The Second Coming continues to unfold with a
that the passage is about the Rapture if events aren’t mentioned before it, while a passage is about the Second Coming if events are mentioned before it.
This is an all-too-common practice for how pretribulation interpreters argue for imminence. Imminence as a theological axiom is ingrained so deeply that they do not seem to be aware of this circular reasoning. It is selective evidence that excludes any passage as a Rapture passage that mentions signs or events. If pretribulation interpreters want to begin with an unbiased principle, they should consider all passages regardless of whether they mention signs. For example, Mark 13:28-29
The Second Coming continues to unfold with a manifold of divine purposes, including Jesus eventually arriving physically on Earth to deliver a remnant of Israel, retrieve His heavenly army to go to battle, and to rule during the Millennium.
. . . it is a mistake to disconnect the Rapture from the Parousia. The Second Coming/Parousia begins in the sky when Jesus
re-
turns to the clouds to resurrect and rapture the saints of God.
manifold of divine purposes, including Jesus eventually arriving physically on Earth to deliver a remnant of Israel, retrieve His heavenly army to go to battle, and to rule during the Millennium.
The Third Contrast
The Rapture Coming: No signs preceding it – imminent.
The Second Coming: Signs preceding it – not imminent.
This third contrast is especially important for pretribulationists, who believe there are no signs for the Church to look for before the Rapture. Most significantly, they deny the Antichrist’s Great Tribulation will occur before the Rapture. Signs, they argue, are for “tribulation saints.” Contrast number 3 is a key criterion for interpreting prophetic passages from a pretribulation perspective. For example, Wayne Brindle asserts the following principle for determining imminence: “The passage speaks of Christ’s return at any moment.”7 This is circular reasoning. Brindle begins with his conclusion, then uses it as evidence for his conclusion. In essence, this reasons
speaks of Christ’s return as near, but it also mentions signs that must precede His coming:
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
Jesus predicted that summer will arrive only after the intervening events of branches becoming “tender” and putting out “leaves.” This text is from Jesus’ eschatological (End Times) discourse, but since it mentions signs, pretribulation interpreters exclude it out of hand. This interpretive method begins with a stacked deck, creating a theory that is impossible to be falsified Whether you discuss physics, philosophy, history, or theology, if your theory does not allow the possibility of being falsifiable with counter evidence, then the theory is invalid. This approach makes it impossible for
contrary evidence to exist.
Just so I am not misunderstood, for a theory to be falsifiable, it does not mean it is necessarily false – it could be true. It means that a valid theory requires objective criteria that would allow it to be falsified if there were evidence against it. One of the most common red flags of an unfalsifiable theory is circular reasoning. In our case, the pretribulation hermeneutic (interpretation) operates from a preconceived theological idea that determines the outcome for imminence in advance.
The Fourth Contrast
The Rapture Coming:
Only His own see Him.
The Second Coming: Every eye will see Him.
The final pretribulation contrast does not work either.8 When Jesus returns, he is not returning secretly, incognito, so that only Christians will see His glorious manifestation. This will not be like His first coming, which was localized to the vicinity of Bethlehem. Instead, He is coming back in power and glory for the entire world to see Him. After the Rapture, the world will not be looking around scratching their heads, wondering what just happened. This would make Jesus’ return out to be an anticlimactic, non-glorious event. It will not be a “dog whistle” return that only believers will be able to see. This may work for fantasy novels, but it is not biblical reality.
When Jesus comes back for His saints, His Parousia will be loud and visible: “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” (1 Thessalonians 4:16; see also Matthew 24:30-31, italic added). The return of Christ will be glorious, because while the world will be hating and putting to death God’s saints, the Great Rescuer will blast through the sky and deliver them! The Lord then
The return of Christ will be glorious, because while the world will be hating and putting to death God’s saints, the Great Rescuer will blast through the sky and deliver them! The Lord then will pour out His wrath upon this wicked world.
will pour out His wrath upon this wicked world. That is a glorious return!
It may be objected that since the apostle Paul taught that Jesus will come back as a thief, this indicates a secret Rapture: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). There are two problems with this. First, in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul uses the thief simile to indicate the element of suddenness with respect to those who lack watchfulness: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3; see also 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12).
His metaphor does not mean stealth, as if Christ will come back undetectably. Rather, His return will come upon the wicked suddenly because they are unprepared. When this happens, the ungodly are not going to be looking around, wondering if UFOs just beamed up millions of people.
Second, Paul teaches that while Christ’s return will be like a thief for unbelievers, it will not be like a thief for believers: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5; see also verses 6-14). Incidentally, within His discourse, Jesus places His thief-return after the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:43). It is Jesus’ universal visibility that is really the focus of such passages. Here are some other passages that convey the universal visibility of Jesus’ return:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
In Part 2, David Rosenthal continues his interview with Alan Kurschner about his book, “Pretrib, Examining the Foundations of Pretribulation Rapture Theology.”
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
YE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DAY: WE ARE NOT OF THE NIGHT, NOR OF DARKNESS.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5
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 ...
– Matthew24:29-30
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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 (Matthew 24:29-30, italic added).
This article is an excerpt from Alan Kurschner’s book, Pretrib: Examining the Foundations of Pretribulation Rapture Theology – and has been used with permission.
Pretrib Book: $15.95
Softback, 190 pages
Product Code: BK1457S
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:25-28, italic added).
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 (Revelation 1:7, italic added).
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? (Revelation 6:12-17, italic added).
These passages picture not only believers, but unbelievers recognizing the presence of Christ’s return. In will be universal in scope – a time when Jesus is glorified through His actions of deliverance and judgment. Everyone alive at that time will undoubtedly witness his par excellence theophany (appearing).
For these reasons, it is an artificial distinction that only believers will discern Jesus’ return. Unlike His first coming, Jesus will display His glory so that every eye will see Him when He returns to deliver His saints and mete out His wrath. u
Written by Dr. Dan Hayden
