Important: Replies to "15 Unanswerable questions to pre-trib believers"

Below are my replies to fifteen questions that have been asked to any who believe in the pre-trib rapture. The intent of these questions is to prove that there is not going to be a pre-trib rapture at all and thus attempt to have those who believe in the pre-rapture to doubt the Word of God. Read my responses and you will see that the rapture is a true Biblical prophecy that is going take place. The only reply I have received back to my response is one of sarcasm and judgment. I have inserted it at the conclusion.

It is a fairly long document but I felt the need to go into detail in responding. As you read you will see that the person who is asking these questions to believers in the pre-trib rapture has taken every verse of scripture he used to justify his argument totally out of context. Check the scriptures and see for yourself if what I say is not true. I have had exchanges with others who refute the rapture and their attitude towards pre-trib believers is always the same, sarcastic and judgmental.

I hope you take the time to read this because it is important.

(If you want to take the time to read the original questions here is a link to the web page: http://www.leftbehindlie.com/Questions.htm)

All of my answers and remarks are highlighted to avoid confusion.

Replies to your fifteen “Questions to pre-tribbers”

Question 1. Concerning the Lord’s return, the apostle Paul tells us, “For 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 precede them which are asleep.” [1 Thessalonians 4:15] This means that not one of the righteous in Christ living on earth at the time of the Lord’s return will be taken “to be with the Lord” until AFTER the resurrection of the dead in Christ. When does this happen? At the Lord’s loud, visible, worldwide, 100% public (and ONLY) return. At the END of the Great Tribulation. Get that? There will be NO pre-Trib Rapture. If there were, how could Paul’s statement then be possible?

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Reply 1: Paul here is not referring to the final return of the Lord Jesus Christ, when all will see Him coming down from Heaven in all of His Glory! That takes place in the book of Revelation. What Paul is saying, and you are taking his words out of context, is that the dead will literally precede the living at the rapture. Paul does not call this event the “resurrection”, he states: “6 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: 17 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.” (Thess. 4:16, 17)

How can that be any clearer? Paul states that the dead will be raised first then we, who believe in Christ and are living will be caught up in the air with the Lord and be with Him forever from then on. This is not the coming of the Lord spoken of in Revelation: “11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Rev 19:11-14)

There is no mention made of Jesus appearing in 1 Thess riding a white horse nor is there any mention of the armies accompanying Him. It states in 1 Thess that we will meet Jesus in the air. He is coming back to take us out of the time of wrath. If you go a few verses further in 1 Thess 5:9, 10 Paul states very clearly “9 For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” Why would he state “wake or sleep”. Paul says, “whether we wake or sleep”. Why would he make such a statement? Also he states that we shall “… be caught up together with them in the clouds…” What are they going to do, fly around up there for an undetermined amount of time waiting for us? I don’t think that is going to be the case.

Question 2. Concerning the Lord's return, the apostle Paul tells us, “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 4:16-17].

Since this unarguably describes the situation on the earth at the very moment of Christ's 100% loud, public return (their “second” Second Coming), according to the pre-Trib “theory”, Paul must not have expected to be raptured with the Church at the pre-Tribbers previous “first” second coming! Apparently so, or else he would not be “remaining”, one of those “Left Behind” on the earth at the moment of the Lord's return! Since he says that “WE which are alive and REMAIN”, do the pre-Tribbers really believe that the apostle Paul did not consider himself to be righteous enough to be raptured along with the rest of the Church? Or did the apostle Paul (or anyone else of note, prior to 1830) simply not believe in or preach a pre-Trib Rapture at all? You decide.

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Reply 2: You are getting two distinct Biblical events confused. These are two very different events. One is when Jesus returns for all true believers, both living and those who have passed on, and the other His return in Revelation. In the first instance He comes to take away those who believed in Him up to that time. There is no mention of any army with him at this point nor any mention of Him riding a white horse. It merely states that He descends from heaven. In Revelation He returns to the earth, not the clouds, and comes as the Glorious King we know Him to be. I don’t see how you can miss that. They are two very different events. When the rapture takes place then the Holy Spirit will no longer restrain Satan. This is when the tribulation will start or shortly thereafter. The “Restrainer” will no longer be here to hold him back because the Holy Spirit who indwells in the souls of Christians will have been removed. Once the Christians have left the Holy Spirit will no longer be here to hold back Satan and he will be unloosed to do his evil. Also, why would we be caught up in the air to be with the Lord forever as the verses state in 1 Thess when the verses in Rev. refer to His coming to rule with an iron rod, accompanied by the saints? What would those who meet Him up in the air do, turn around and do an about-face in mid-air? The two are separate events.

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Questions 3 and 4 have nothing to do with the rapture.

Question 5. Further in the Book of the Revelation, we find this:

“...and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years... This is the first resurrection.” [Revelation 20:4-5]

If this is the first resurrection (the second resurrection being of the wicked, at the end of the Millennial Reign), and this first resurrection (which is also the ONLY general resurrection of the righteous mentioned anywhere in the Bible!) includes ALL of those who are killed by the forces of the anti-Christ DURING the Tribulation, HOW is a pre-Trib Rapture of the Church even POSSIBLE? Answer: It is NOT!

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Reply 5: This takes place at the end of the tribulation period. The resurrected souls are of those who were not raptured prior to the tribulation period and were won over to Christ Jesus during the tribulation. Many of those will be martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. The KJV Bible doesn’t call anything by the name of “rapture”. It says “caught up” which is also quite different than “resurrected”. We get the word “Rapture” from the Greek word “harpazo” which means basically seized or carried away. This is the word used in the Greek text which the KJV is translated from

Resurrect is defined as: To raise from the dead. (Webster’s new Riverside Dictionary)

So how can someone alive be resurrected?

Question 6. Yahshua (“Jesus Christ”) also said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” [Matthew 24:22] Excuse us, but if “the elect” will have already been “Raptured” seven years previously, they would not even be ON the earth! Why would those days (of the Tribulation) be shortened for people who are not even supposed to be on the earth? Answer: They would not!

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Reply 6: The answer is quite simple. Because there will be many apostate Christians in the world who do not believe the true message of Jesus Christ but will be on fire for the Lord after they understand what has happened! There will be a revival that will take place all over the world! That is where the “elect” will come from There are so many apostate Christians in the world today. But once the rapture occurs many will be converted and know the truth and spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ with urgency!

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Question 7. Jesus promised us that, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” [Matthew 10:22] If the Church is removed from the earth before the Tribulation even starts, what is there to be “endured”? Answer: Nothing!

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Reply 7: See previous answer.

Question 8. Jesus prayed to the Father: “I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” [John 17:15] Do pre-Tribbers believe that the Father will deny the Son His prayer? Apparently so.

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Reply 8: Here you have taken this verse so out of context that it’s silly. First of all Jesus is not praying for us in the verse you cited. He is praying for His disciples, that they will not fall for the evil one’s trickery in their time and drift away from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This verse has never been understood as a rapture verse by anyone that I know of except you. He was very clearly praying to God the Father for His disciples. In the verse you quoted Jesus is asking His Heavenly Father to protect them from an untimely death and hence He is asking that He take them not out of the world. From Jn. 17:20 on He is praying for future followers, “Neither pray I for these (disciples) alone, but for them (later Christians) also which shall believe on me through their (disciples) word;”.

And we do not for one minute think that the Father in Heaven will deny His Only Begotten Son’s prayer! Be careful about passing out judgment!

Question 9. Pre-Tribbers seek to justify their belief in the “sneak preview” pre-Tribulation Rapture by claiming that the phrase “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” refers to the pre-Trib Rapture. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 does state that “the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night”, and 2 Peter 3:10 does say “But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Unfortunately, this “Day of the Lord” OBVIOUSLY refers to the end of the present world, when New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, which is AFTER the end of the Millennial Reign. IT has NOTHING to do with the Lord's second coming. Or do pre-Tribbers believe that this world will end as soon as THEY are removed from it? Apparently so.

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Reply 9: Before I go on I will say that I have had exchanges with others who deny the veracity of the pre-trib rapture and you all have one thing in common and that is your sarcasm. Why do you insist on being so sarcastic in your arguments? If we are wrong so be it. I am not 100% sure of the pre-trib rapture. I pray for forgiveness to the Lord for all of my transgressions one of which may be misinterpreting His Holy Word. I, as do others, know only that we are saved through Jesus Christ! Of that we can all be certain. I don’t claim to be sure if there is going to be a rapture or not. I have read the relevant scripture over and over again and I really don’t see how it can be understood any other way but I am not sarcastic toward brother Christians because they don’t believe in the pre-trib doctrine. Your are dividing the brethren when you are sarcastic. I can assure you that the Lord will not reward that type of treatment towards members of His Flock.

With that out of the way I will continue:

The above assertion that we think the day of the Lord’s wrath and the rapture are the same thing is totally wrong. We know they are not the same thing. We know it has to do with the final judgment. That is going to be the day of the Lord’s wrath. It is not referring to the coming down of “New Jerusalem” from Heaven either as you claim. It is referring to the final judgment of non-believers:

“Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To what end is it to you? The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light”. (Amos 5:18)

So if, as you say, the day of the Lord’s wrath is the coming of “New Jerusalem” down from heaven how can that be a day of darkness? We desire the rapture but not the day of the Lord’s wrath. That day saddens us because many souls are going to be lost and thrown into the lake of fire on that terrible day, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth".

"19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?" (Amos 5:19,20)

There is no mention of anything like the rapture in the day of the Lord’s wrath to be found anywhere.

Question 10. If you really believe in the so-called “doctrine of imminence” – that you might be literally “raptured” at any moment – and you are driving a car, truck or plane when it happens, might this not cause someone who had not yet heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be killed in the ensuing “accident”? Do you not have a Christian duty to protect such lost people by immediately surrendering ALL of your operator's license(s), and immediately ceasing to operate all motor vehicles? If not, WHY NOT?

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Reply 10: You are rationalizing here. Stick with the scriptures.

Question 11. The Lord says to the prophet Ezekiel: “When I say unto the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die’; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” [Ezekiel 3:18] If the Lord demands that we warn the wicked in order to try to save their souls, are we not also responsible for not doing anything that would directly and predictably result in their premature deaths?

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Reply: You are rationalizing here also. Give the Lord a little more credit. He has everything under control. All of our destinies are in His hands regardless of what happens when and if the rapture takes place. If you or I die tomorrow and do not have Jesus as our Savior we have no one else to blame but ourselves. We have all been warned and told the way to eternal life through Jesus Christ. Now, the unsaved we have to try to reach and this is a duty all Christians must partake in actively regardless of our beliefs in the rapture. I take this very seriously and do what I can even if I feel I could do a lot more. Let’s just say I do what I can for the glory of Jesus Christ. (Visit my website at: www.defendersoftheword.com and see for yourself)

Question 12. Since “The Lord is...not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance” [2 Peter 3:9], how does this crystal-clear New Testament statement about God's intentions square with such undeniable consequences of a pre-Trib Rapture of the Church, even as portrayed in the “Left Behind” series?

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Reply 12: God is giving those left on the earth after the rapture their last chance to chose. They have not chosen salvation through Christ so they are going to have two choices, Christ/Anti-Christ. No more in betweens. So, what does your idea about the post trib theory portray God as? Everyone, no matter what they believe is going to suffer the tribulation period? Just as God saved Noah and his family, and Lot from the destruction of Sodom, just as he saved the Jews from Egypt God is going to keep us from His wrath. He is a just God and will not put us through the tribulation because He knows we are true believers. But if we are wrong we will endure until the end.

Question 13. The Bible says that, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him [God]” [Hebrews 11:6]. But if the Church were to be removed by God prior to the Tribulation, and tens of thousands of VCRs are “Left Behind” with slick, VHS videotape explanations of what will have just happened, how much “faith” would it then take for anyone to “believe” in God? How much “trust” in an invisible, spirit God would be required? Answer: NONE.

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Reply 13: Actually we try to warn people before it happens by talking to them and showing them the scriptures. I personally am not fixated on the rapture. I read from the Bible daily and read other things in the Bible. The rapture is not my basis of faith. We are not saved by believing in the rapture, we are saved by believing in the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His atoning blood. How many people believed in Jesus Christ even after seeing the miracles he performed before their very eyes? Many refused to believe even after he performed miracles. Some other story will supply some rationale for the rapture and people are going to believe it. I also find it strange that you did not go on to read next verse: "7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world. and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Before the flood it never rained but Noah had faith in Gods promise and believed that God would destroy the world with water. God saved Noah and his family because of their faith. And as you can see, Noah was afraid and prepared the ark. God warned Noah and Noah took heed of the warning and prepared a way of salvation for himself and his family. Our ark is Jesus Christ. He is our Deliverer, Redeemer and our Salvation in time of trouble!

Question 14. How fair would it be for people who only “believed” after seeing people disappear before their very eyes, to be accorded equal treatment by God with those who had lived their entire lives in true faith, WITHOUT seeing the promise, even as Abraham, Joseph, David, and all of the rest of the faithful have, down through the centuries? Is there ANY OTHER example of such extraordinarily preferential treatment by God of ANY other group of people ANYWHERE in the Bible? There is NOT.

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Reply 14: Actually yes. When God spoke to the Jews during the Exodus when Moses went up to the mountain with Aaron and the priests and the Jews remained below but heard the voice of God speaking to them. As you know many still drifted away from Gods commandments even though they heard His voice coming from above! They had Moses with them who performed so many miracles (God performed the miracles through Moses) and yet many still doubted. What about Nebuchadnezzar? He lost his throne but came to know God and was saved! What about the Egyptians? God sent ten plagues to Egypt to show Pharaoh His power and it worked! And then there’s Thomas who believed only after seeing the resurrected Messiah! So, yes, it has happened in the Bible at various times and it has happened that way for a reason as all things in the Bible. Some see and believe, others see and do not believe. The Lord Himself says, “Blessed are they that do not see and believe”. I'm in that category.

Question 15. If “the Church” is to be removed by God before the Tribulation, WHY is this group of people to be treated so differently by God? The 100% consistent message of the Bible is that we MUST be purified and refined by tribulation in order to enter the kingdom of God [Deuteronomy 4:30-31; Isaiah: 48:10; Daniel 12:10; Zechariah 13:9; Matthew 3:11-12; 24:21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 8:35; 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; Revelation 2:9-10; 7:14]. HOW is this to be accomplished if we are sucked out of the middle of a perfectly ordinary day, right in the middle of our perfectly secure, safe, comfortable, and predictable lives? Answer: it CAN'T!

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Reply 15: So now you are saying that we must all go through some type of purgatory in order to go to Heaven? Be careful what you claim. Salvation through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is what all we need! If we all had to go through the tribulation to be refined before getting into heaven then we would have a reverse rapture. That is, the dead would have to come back to earth to go through the tribulation even it they died in Christ Jesus! Absurd. True Christians live their lives striving for perfection but we cannot attain it with our physical bodies because our bodies have been corrupted with sin. We cannot stop sinning no matter what. The spirit on the other hand is perfected once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our sins have been forgiven and our souls have been cleansed through His atoning blood. That is all the refining one needs to go to Heaven. What you are saying is against the scriptures and states that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was not enough (just as the catholic church claims), that we need to be further purified to reach Heaven. That is an out right lie and is blasphemy! I don’t know who you are or what you are up to but I can tell you that you are in severe danger of damning yourself. I hope you are truly searching for the truth because if you are then you will find it but if you are not searching and merely teaching falsehoods and lies for whatever reason you will be judged on that day.

In Deuteronomy 4:30,31 God is talking to the Jews and not us.

Isaiah 48:10 Here God is also talking to the Jews. We are not the “house of Jacob” , the Jews are.

Daniel 12:10 is also speaking of the Jews. Look at verse 11. Since when do Christians perform sacrifices to God?

Zechariah 13:9 Is also being directed at the Jews. Verse one specifies who is being addressed in this chapter. All of the above verses are directed towards the Jews. You cannot apply them to Christians.

Matthew 3:12 fits in perfectly with the rapture. The wheat is gathered in but "...he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable (everlasting) fire."

Matthew 24:21 I agree, there will be great tribulation.

John 16:33 is not referring to the great tribulation. It is referring to persecution of His disciples which did occur. All but one was martyred for their faith in Lord Jesus!

Acts 14:22 again refers to the persecution of His disciples.

Romans 5:3-5 is speaking of persecution many Christians will face. It is an honor and a blessing to suffer persecution for ones faith in the Lord. This is not talking about the great tribulation.

Romans 8:35 is also not referring to the trib of Revelation.

Romans 12:12 is also not referring to the great trib.

1 Thess 3:4 is referring to persecution of early believers in Christ Jesus and not the great trib.

Rev 2:9,10 is towards the church of Smyrna. How many churches do we belong to? First we all belong to the Laodicean church and now we belong to the church of Smyrna? In this chapter the Lord is admonishing six churches and praising one. The church of Philadelphia is the only one that was totally true to the Lords teachings. The others are going to suffer the tribulation.

Read Rev 3:7-13. Particularly verse 10 states "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". Notice here that the Lord is going to try "them", third person plural! The Lord distinguishes between “thee (true Christians)” and “them”. We are not going to be here!

Rev 7:14 is clearly making reference to those who came out of the "great tribulation" (the Bible does distinguish between tribulation and great tribulation). True Christians have already washed their "robes" in the Blood of the Lamb. This is referring to the tribulation saints who came to Jesus Christ during the tribulation.

You have taken every one of the above verses out of context to try to prove you argument. Why? Why is it so important to you to disprove the rapture? Your argument is without foundation.

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Pre-Tribbers have NO legitimate answers to ANY of these questions. Post-Tribbers do, because belief in a Rapture of the Church at the END of the Tribulation is 100% consistent with these – and all other – facts in the Bible.

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Reply: We do have answers and the scriptures prove the rapture as my replies show. The Bible points clearly to a pre-trib rapture and not a post trib rapture. That makes no sense at all. What you say is going to happen is that at the end of the trib period the rapture is going to take place. What is going to happen, the dead and the living are going to meet Jesus in the clouds and then turn around and come back to earth? Why would we go up and come right back down? Explain that if you can. The fact is you can’t.

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NOTE: Pre-Tribbers intentionally confuse “the Tribulation” with “the wrath of God”, which are entirely separate phenomena. The Tribulation period has already ENDED and we have truly been removed from the earth BEFORE the wrath of God is poured out upon “those who dwell upon the earth”. The wrath of God does not start until after the seventh trumpet, and begins with the pouring out of the seven vials. We do not argue that the righteous in Christ will be “spared the hour of temptation” [Revelation 3:10] ... just what it refers to. Because the Church of Laodicea does not believe that it NEEDS to be purified, thank you very much, it cannot conceive of having to actually suffer for the Name of Christ, even as all other Christians down through the centuries have done.

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Reply: We intentionally confuse “the tribulation” with “the wrath of God”? I have already answered this accusation but I have a question for you. What are our intentions? If we confuse it intentionally then there must be an intention. What is our motive?

As you state the “church of Laodicea does not believe it NEEDS to be purified”.

The church of Laodicea is referring to the apostate Christians who did not truly believe in Jesus Christ. They claim to be Christians but are not. But you make it sound as though all pre-trib believers are from the Ladicean church. We are not apostates. I live by the Word of God and I do not identify myself with that church. The Lord knows who His true followers are. You don't.

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Note: So, the pre-Tribbers believe that the entire Christian Church prior to 1830 was stupidly mistaken about this central tenet of evangelical Christianity. Prior to that time, no one of note in the Church preached a pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. Virtually EVERY Church father and writer fully expected to suffer under the anti-Christ if he should arise during their lifetimes. It is ONLY since a 15 year-old girl named Margaret MacDonald claimed to have had a "vision" of a pre-Trib Rapture in 1830, and a preacher named Darby jumped on it and started preaching it, that the demonic pre-Trib doctrine (and dispensationalism, its fellow demonic lie) has infected the world.

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Reply: You are wrong here. We are instructed as were all prior Christians before us to “watch” and to “discern the signs of the times” to be ready. The events in the world were not pointing to the rapture or the end times prophecies then as they are now. We are told to be watching for we know not the hour of the Lord’s return, only the Father in Heaven knows the day and the hour. But we have been assured we can know the season. This is the season! Are you watching or do you think that the Lord is not capable of taking His Bride to the marriage supper? You are belittling the Lord when you say the rapture will not take place. It will and now I will prove it:

Throughout all of your argument you have left out a very central part of the rapture. I am referring to the words of none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

Listen: “40 Then two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

(Matthew 24:40-42)

This is referring to the rapture. If, as you say, the rapture will come at the end of the trib period then why would Jesus say that one will be taken and the other left? If everyone is going to be raptured at the end of the trib period and face judgment then why would the event mentioned in the verse take place. This fits perfectly with the rapture doctrine. Imagine, two women walking in a field and suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, there is only one! They are walking in a field or grinding at a mill. Sounds like a typical workday in many lives. What He is saying here is that believers will be taken away and those who didn’t believe in Him will be left to go through the trib period.

Read further: “43 But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, (what does a thief do? He carries away things!) he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44 Therefore ye also be ready: for in such an hour the Son of man cometh.”

If we know that Jesus is coming back at the end of the trib period then it would not come as a surprise to anyone. We all know He is coming back at the end of the tribulation period! Seven years to the day after the signing of the peace treaty. All Christians know this to be true. You cannot refute this. What is not known is the day or the hour of the rapture! Why would he warn us to be on the watch if everyone knows that He is coming back at the end of the trib period to reign for a thousand years? It doesn’t make sense. You cannot deny this fact! If you do then you are denying the greatness of Jesus Christ, His Holy Word and are not seeking the truth but are merely trying to scatter His flock. Jesus has warned us to be on the watch because we know not when the thief is going to come. On the other hand we do know, once the tribulation starts exactly how long it will last and that Jesus will come back seven years or 2520 days after it begins. I hope that this has provided the proof you need to believe in the rapture. If not then nothing I can provide will convince you. Only the rapture itself will.

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Note:The result of this doctrine of demons is to make people believe that they can be saved because of their fear of hell. It swells the church memberships of those who preach it, but it is “another gospel” damned by Paul in Galatians 1:8 – “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Fear of hell is not love of God, and fear of hell has NO power to save.

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Reply: No, it does not make people believe they can be saved because of their fear of hell. One can only be saved through Jesus Christ. As far as swelling church membership is concerned, that is false. There are not very many churches that preach the rapture at all. Very few do. Many people upon first hearing the doctrine of the rapture never go back to the church where they heard it because it sounds so “unbelievable”. What is swelling the churches is the prosperity gospel that is so popular. The Lord said there will be a falling away at the end and that is exactly what is taking place today. Also you are incorrect when you say that fear of hell has no power to save. It does in an indirect way. It is a deterrent. It is the punishment one faces for knowingly rejecting the good news of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot save of its own but it is one of the many ways the Lord brings lost souls to Him. As the Bible states in the book of Proverbs “The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil”. Everything was created by Him with a purpose. His final purpose is to bring as many as He can to salvation and eternal life in Heaven using all of His creations to convince the lost that He exists and salvation is through Him and Him alone.

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Note: Moreover, many who name the Name of Christ believe that they are “the elect”, and therefore cannot be deceived. But Jesse Penn-Lewis, in her classic work “War on the Saints” explains why this is not so:

“Christians who are true and faithful, and honest, can be deceived by Satan, and his deceiving spirits, for the following reasons:

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Reply: First of all, if you are going to make an argument based on scripture do not use other sources to back up your arguments. Whoever writes something like that, claiming that one can lose salvation doesn’t know the Bible:

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (Jn. 6:37)

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (Jn 6:43)

Those who are drawn to Jesus Christ by the Father, all true Christians, cannot lose their salvation. Just as you stated earlier, not everyone that says “Christ, Christ” is of Christ. There are many who are sowing disaccord amongst Christians to lead them astray. One of which is you. Be careful, the above scripture I quoted is clear and not taken out of context. Whoever says that one of Jesus true followers can lose his salvation is calling Jesus a lier! He is the all-perfect God and is incapable of lying! Any who make any type of remark that says he is a lier has committed the unpardonable sin!

The other quotes you provided have nothing to do with the rapture. If you are going to make a solid argument stick with the topic and do not go off on a tangent to confuse people. That is a different topic, which has nothing to do with the rapture. It should be something for another discussion such as “Can someone who is saved lose their salvation?” Or something similar.

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Note: In effect, all who have become enamored of the pre-Trib doctrine, or any other false and contrived teaching (Calvinism, Arminianism, denominationalism), have made an idol of their belief, exactly as any pagan does. They have set up this idol in front of them and worship it as surely as any Baal-worshiper ever did. And Yahweh (“the LORD” in most Bibles, which is a generic title, not His Name) tells us what His attitude toward such behavior is, in Ezekiel 14:1-11:

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Reply: Again you have taken the topic on a new route. I will not go into answering the verses you provided because now you are on idol worship. Now you claim that any who believe in the rapture are idol worshippers! That is a huge accusation and God will punish you if you do no repent of your false testimony!

That is most definitely breaking one of the Ten Commandments!

You don’t know what is in the heart of any man. That is Gods territory. You have no right even going there. You bash pre-trib believers for their belief in something that is so beautiful and here you are claiming to know what is in the hearts of men! You have gone too far with your “I know everything” attitude. You have no idea what you are doing to yourself by making such claims. You have no right to even think what may be in the heart of any man! Examine your own soul not the souls of others! For us the rapture is not an “idol” as you claim. It is a prophetic event that we believe will occur. Not because we are afraid of the tribulation period. No, we are not afraid of the tribulation period at all. We know that to die as a martyr for Jesus Christ is the most-noble way we can show our love and faith in the Lord Jesus! If there was someone standing in front of me with a sword in hand telling me to renounce Jesus or lose my head I would lay my head on the chopping block without hesitation (while singing “Amazing Grace of course). I know we are not to say such things and I often pray to Jesus that if that day comes He give me strength to endure until the end. To claim that any who believe in the pre-trib rapture are the same as Baal or any other pagan god worrshippers has taken it too far.

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My conclusion:

I have answered all of your questions (the ones that had to do with the rapture) and more. Now I have something to tell you that needs to be said. I think you are a false teacher. You have taken the scriptures and twisted them to derive at a meaning that fits your purpose. You are outright lying and sowing the seeds of disaccord amongst the brethren. You are aggressive in your wording and sarcastic in tone. I have searched your website and found:

1. No statement of faith.

2. No answer for anyone who may want to know what they must do to be saved.

3. No Biblical teaching. Just anti-pre-trib discussion.

4. Only testimony from those you have successfully led astray.

5. Your page where you are selling your book.

I have a website that is totally dedicated to defending the Word of God: www.defendersoftheword.com. We do not talk only about the rapture. There are many things that one can read there to help them understand the Bible and the way to salvation. You on the other hand are one-dimensional. Your goal is to destroy the doctrine of the rapture. Nothing else seems to be important to you. Not from what I can see on your website. Belief in the rapture, and the imminence of our departure from this corrupted planet gives us zeal to go out and warn people that they need Jesus Christ in their Lives. We don’t go out telling people: “Repent, for the rapture is at hand!” No, we try to win souls over to Christ Jesus without even talking about the rapture. Being saved does not depend on belief in the rapture, it depends on belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what it is all about and you do not have one word on your website telling people this! All you are concerned with is bashing the “pre-tribbers” as you like to call us. My friend, if you do not believe in the rapture that is fine. When it happens you too will be “caught up” with all the rest of us if you are a true believer. Remember though that Jesus is going to be asking all of His sheep what they have done for Him? And he is going to require an answer! I hope to hear Him say “Well done my faithful and loyal servant” when He gets to me. What will your answer be when He asks you what you have done for Him? Stop bashing brother Christians and start spreading the way to salvation! That is what people need so desperately to hear. The choice is yours to make. You are without excuse.

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you with His divine grace!

All glory and honor to the King of the Universe,

Ray

The above was my response after which I received the following reply:

Well, you have succeeded. I confess that I do not have the ability to penetrate the darkness of your soul, and the Holy Spirit seems to be unwilling to sovereignly intervene on your behalf (yet).

When the Gog/Magog War ends and the seven-year mutual defense pact between the U.S. and Israel takes place, AND you are not then raptured, you will remember our attempt to warn you.

Fully HALF of the "virgins" (those who were waiting for the bridegroom) were found to be "foolish" by reason of their UNpreparedness. Those who are expecting to be spared the suffering and turmoil of the Tribulation period are, by

definition, UNprepared for what is coming. The penalty for UNpreparedness is being locked out of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. What does that mean to you?

It means "outer darkness" to me, which equates to loss of salvation. Those who believe that they cannot be deceived are already deceived, and Calvinism is the root cause of this deception.

I've attached the whole Rapture chapter from our book, in the hope that there might be something in it which will "click" for you.

Yours in Yahshua Messiah,

Bob Hamrick

In closing I would like to say that my views on the rapture have not changed. I believe the rapture will take place and know the Bible is true. With that I will add that I am an fallible man and my mind is fallible also. If there is not going to be a rapture then I will gladly go through the tribulation with the knowledge of what waits ahead! Eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

Your brother in the Lord Jesus Christ,

Ray