"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren ... 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." —1st Thessalonians 4:13, 17, 18
NO, the PRE-tribulation Rapture is not a new teaching. I have heard numerous people, from
pastors to talk show hosts, claim
that the PRE-TRIBULATION Rapture is a new teaching that didn't exist until just a couple
hundred years ago. Many websites teach this heresy as well.
May I say, confidently, that the Bible teaches a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the saints. I believe that the Words of the King James Bible are 100% preserved and inspired by God. Every last Word. Word-for-Word inspired. We clearly read in 1st Thessalonians 4:17 that all believers shall be “caught up” together in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air. This is the Rapture of the Church, which may take place at any “moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1st Corinthians 15:52).
If a POST-tribulation theory were true, then why would the saints need to be “caught up” if Christ is returning to the earth? A POST-tribulation Rapture makes no logical sense at all. The Bible plainly differentiates between the PRE-tribulation Rapture verses the Second Coming of Jesus Christ 7-years later. Here is a helpful chart by Pastor Harry Ironside explaining God's prophetic timeline.
So you see, the Bible does teach the doctrine of the PRE-tribulation Rapture. It is NOT a new teaching as some pseudo-scholars claim. Before the Bible was completed in A.D.96, the teaching of the Pre-tribulation Rapture was already contained in the Bible, in 1st Thessalonians 4:17. The Biblical doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture has been with us for the past 2,000 years.
The body of every born-again believer will suddenly change, and be “caught up” into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Carefully notice that the Bible says we will “meet the Lord.” Amen!
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon His face, the One Who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
I humbly look forward to meeting my precious Savior face-to-face, the One Who understands and loves us unconditionally for Who He is. John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” Amen and amen.
One can only conclude a Pretribulation Rapture if you take the Bible literally at face value. “Pretribulation” means that the Rapture happens BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation Period. This is Biblical.
One of the strongest proofs of a Pretribulation Rapture is the event of the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 9:27 and then again by the Jesus Himself in Matthew 25:15. This is the event when the Antichrist will claim to be god from the temple in Jerusalem, and demand that the world worship him or be killed. From this blasphemous event, it will be exactly 3 1/2 years until the Lord's SECOND COMING (2nd Thessalonians 2:4).
Since the Bible plainly states that no man knows WHEN the Rapture will occur (Matthew 25:13), we must conclude that it will be a Pretribulation Rapture, because we DO KNOW it will be exactly 3 1/2 years between the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION and the SECOND COMING.
I believe that the Bible is God's inerrant, preserved and inspired Words. I believe that the Words of the King James Bible are inspired Word for Word. God's Word is inspired into whatever language it is translated into. God doesn't inspire a language, He inspires His Words. We have God's preserved and inspired Words today in the King James Bible.
The Bible teaches a Rapture of the saints, and it could occur at any moment. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
