PERILOUS TIMES

Lesson 5 Rapture Part 3 Navigating Primary Beliefs

4. Sudden and Secretive Event: The Pre-tribulation position claims the rapture is described as a sudden and secretive
event where believers will be caught up to meet Christ in the air without warning, without the ability to calculate
the date.
5. clearly describes the swiftness of the rapture, "Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”
▪ The term “twinkling of an eye” means suddenly, quickly, in the blink of an eye.
6. To illustrate that the rapture will be secretive and without warning, Jesus uses the example of a thief in the night to
describe the sudden and secretive nature of the rapture:
o Matthew 24:42-44 - "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But
know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he
would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be
ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
7. The sudden and secretive aspects of the rapture also imply the inability to predict or calculate the timing which
reinforces the first tenet of imminence in the Pre-Tribulation position. Jesus says in Matt. 25:13 “Watch therefore for
you know neither the day nor the hour”.
o If the rapture comes after any of the events described in prophecy, it would be easy to calculate the timing.
8. Based on the scripture that supports the unconditional imminence of the rapture mentioned in the previously in
Perilous Times Lesson 4, the arguments against the Post-Tribulation claim that events must happen before the
rapture (which is also an argument against a Mid-Tribulation rapture), and the scripture that supports the sudden
and secretive nature of the rapture mentioned just now, this tenet holds well and does not leak at all.

Mid-Tribulation Position

1. Time of Testing: The Church is seen as enduring the first half of the Tribulation, a period of testing and
purification, but spared from the more severe judgments of the Great Tribulation, which are interpreted as the
outpouring of God's wrath.
2. The question before us is not about the definition of God’s wrath, that we’ll discuss later.
3. This question relates to the first three and a half years being a time testing and purification of the church.
4. From the inception of the church, there are many passages in Scripture that warn the church, and Believers in
particular, that their faith will be tried by tribulations that come from unbelievers, governments, anti-church
organizations, other religions and so on.
5. This has been happening for 2,000 years. The Fact that Believers will be faced with trials and tribulations is
common and will continue well into the seven-year Tribulation period.
a. But that doesn’t mean the church continues into the seven-year Tribulation period.
6. We know that almost all Believers will be martyred in the first half of the tribulation and most who are alive in
the second half will also be martyred. But, for the mid-tribulation position, we are only talking about the first
half.
7. So, who are these Believers who are martyred in the first half of the Tribulation? Are they part of the church or
not?
8. There is a passage in Revelation that tells us who these Believers are:
a. Revelation 6:9-11 says when the fifth seal is opened, John "I saw under the altar (the alter of God) the
souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried
out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our
blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a
little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were
to be killed as they themselves had been.
b. These souls are the Believers martyred during the first half of the Tribulation for their faithfulness to
God's word and their testimony about Jesus.
 c. Then in Revelation 7:13-14 there is further explanation of who these are, “Then one of the elders
addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I
said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great
tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
d. The phrase “from where have they come? “, simply mean “where did they come from?”, the answer is
“they are coming out of” (meaning “from”) the great Tribulation.
i. It doesn’t mean they are those of the church who went into the tribulation and are now
coming out of it.
ii. It means they are “from” the tribulation”, their origination is the Tribulation. Those born of
the tribulation.
e. Think of it like this, they went into the tribulation like everyone else. Unsaved and caught off guard by
the rapture. Hearing the global testimony of the 144,000 and declaration of the two witnesses in
Jerusalem, they underwent the profound transformation of repentance and new birth.
f. Furthermore, like gold is refined and purified through intense heat their faith is tested, purified, and
proven genuine through by the tribulation. Yet, because of their salvation, not their perseverance, they
emerge pure having had their works tried and tested by fire.
g. This is a very important difference between the Believers born-again during the Tribulation compared
to the Believers born-again in the church prior to the Tribulation.
i. That is because those born again in the tribulation never go before the Christ’s Bema seat of
judgement because their works have already been tried and proven. Rev. 7:15 states this
when it says, “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
temple.”
ii. However, Those who are born again in the church, will face the trial of their works at the
Bema seat of judgement where their works will be tried by fire.
1. Paul explains this in 1 Cor. 3:13-15 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the
day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but
he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
2. And then in 2 Cor. 5:10 he tells them where this will happen, “For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his
body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
h. It is also important to note that the is the 5th and 6th seals – clearly in the first half of the Tribulation
and it is referred to no-where near the mid-point of the Tribulation and the time period is referred to
as the “Great” Tribulation. But more on this later.
9. Look at it like this, the 7-year Tribulation is like an oven, not a microwave.
a. Imagine you go to a pizza restaurant and order a pizza. The pizza they prepare is uncooked, so they put
it in the oven. The oven performs a fundamental transformation to the pizza taking it from one state
(uncooked) to another (cooked).
b. It’s too big to eat it all so you take some home. Later, if you want to have what’s left over. So, you put it
in the microwave and re-heat it.
c. Those who enter the tribulation are like the uncooked pizza, they have never undergone the
fundamental transformation of salvation. They enter the oven of the tribulation uncooked and are
transformed by the tribulation.
d. The tribulation serves as a significant, transformative process, turning them from their raw, initial state
into something new and fully "cooked" (refined and purified by the experience.
e. If the church, which has already been transformed through salvation is subjected to the tribulation, it’s
like re-heating the leftovers –there is no new fundamental transformation.
f. The tribulation is not merely a “re-heating” or minor testing process for those already refined, but a
“cooking” process that makes a profound and fundamental change to those not yet purified.
 g. To say that the church endures any part of the tribulation is to see the tribulation as a microwave and
not an oven – as a re-heating event, not a transformational process.
10. It is clear from the scripture passages referenced and the arguments presented that the church does not
undergo any trial and testing in the first half of the Tribulation. So, this tenet doesn’t hold water at all and leaks
100%.

Post-Tribulation

4. Endurance Through Tribulation: This view asserts that the Church will remain on earth throughout the entire
Tribulation period. It emphasizes the scriptural calls for endurance and faithfulness during times of trial, as seen
in Matthew 24:13 (ESV): "But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
5. We have already proven in the previous discussion on the Mid-Tribulation that the Tribulation is not a time of
testing or trial or a proving ground for the church.
6. So, what does endurance have to do with salvation or “will be saved?”.
7. First, we know that salvation is through faith alone by the grace of God and not of anything we could do to
merit such mercy and benevolence.
a. Proof texts that support this doctrine include Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16, and Titus
3:5, just to mention a few.
8. Likewise, we know that, once we are saved (or born-again), we are secured and kept in our salvation by God,
not by our own effort.
a. Scripture for this includes John 10:28-29, Ephesians 1:13-14, Philippians 1:6, and Romans 8:38-39, just
to mention a few.
9. That said, when Jesus says: “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” what does He mean?
10. It can only mean two things:
a. That endurance or perseverance is a result of salvation. So, enduring to the end is a proof of salvation
not a condition of salvation.
b. Or those who hold on through the tribulation will be saved to enter the Messianic Kingdom.
11. Let’s start with the first one: endurance is a result or proof of salvation.
a. 1 John 2:19 states "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of
us."
i. In this passage, John is explaining that the verdict of those who walk away from Christ is they
were never genuinely saved.
ii. Those who are saved, don’t deny, or disclaim Christ.
b. James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he
will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."
i. We need to be careful we don’t read into Scripture what isn’t there. This is not saying that all
Christians will not fall or become weak under trial. What this is saying is those who stay strong
under trial will receive a crown of life.
ii. The "crown of life" is not salvation itself but as a reward for enduring faith and perseverance
under trial.
iii. It is the same as in Revelation 2:10 (ESV): "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold,
the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days
you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
c. 2 Peter 1:10-11 (ESV): "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and
election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly
provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
i. In this passage, Peter encourages believers to live lives that reflect their faith and salvation. By
doing so, they provide evidence of their calling and election, enjoy a fuller assurance of their
salvation, and look forward to a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom. This passage
underlines the New Testament theme that faith, while alone is sufficient for salvation, is never
 alone in its expression but is accompanied by a transformed life that bears fruit in keeping
with repentance and faith such as is mentioned by James in James 2:18.
d. By way of example, some who proved their lack of genuine salvation by their lack of perseverance are
Judas Iscariot, Demas, Hymenaeus and Alexander.
e. That said, Scripture teaches endurance and perseverance under trial is a proof of salvation, not a
condition of salvation.
12. Let’s look at the second point: those who hold on through the tribulation will be saved to enter the Messianic
Kingdom.
a. The key to understanding Jesus’ statement in Matt. 24 is its context.
i. From verse 4 through 14, Jesus is describing things that will happen He calls “birth pangs”.
These are not the actual start of the tribulation - they are only warning signs that it is about to
begin.
1. He mentions things like false Christs, regional wars, world wars, a global hatred of
Christians, martyrdom, betrayal by friends and family, great deception, lawlessness
and a loss of natural love.
ii. He then states in verse 13 “the one who endures to the end will be saved” and immediately
follows in verse 14 with “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the
whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
iii. Following verse 14, Jesus explains what will happen during the Tribulation period.
b. So, what does “then the end will come” mean?
i. If taken in context with the idea of birth pangs, it doesn’t mean that the end is the birth of the
Messianic Kingdom, it would mean that the beginning of the end has come.
ii. So, since all the things listed beforehand, including the “one who endures to the end”, it can’t
refer to enduring the Tribulation from beginning to end, it has to mean the one whose faith
endures all these birth pangs to the end will be saved.
1. “Saved” in this case means “delivered”.
iii. To help understand this, we also need to look at the word “will”. Jesus uses the same word is
used in Rev. 3:5 when Jesus says: “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment; and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I “will” confess his name
before My Father and before His angels.
iv. The word “will” not blot out their name, isn’t a threat, it is a promise that because they are
true Believers, they will persevere and therefore their name will not be blotted out.
v. What does “He that overcomes” mean? Overcomes what? These are those who have
overcome the nature of the unregenerate flesh and not abandoned the faith thus defiling
themselves with the world and denying Christ.
vi. These “overcomers” can also be translated as “conquerors” or “victors” and are the same
people as the ones who endure or persevere. Not because they were able to muster up
enough strength to hold on, but because the grace of God sustains their faith through trials
and tribulations.
1. These are the ones referred to in Rev. 2:11 as the “victorious” ones and the ones in
Rev. 20:6 as the “blessed and holy”
13. The answer then, to Matthew 24:13: "But the one who endures to the end will be saved.", is these are the true
Believers in the Church whose faith enables them to persevere the birth pangs and are delivered before the end
begins.
14. That said, the Post-Tribulation claim the Church will remain on earth throughout the entire Tribulation as proof
of salvation is wrong. The doctrine of perseverance applies to the all Believers, whether pre-tribulation (as is the
case Jesus was talking about in Matt. 24:13) or those Believers born of the Tribulation (which we discussed
earlier about the Mid-Tribulation position). The fact that all true Believers persevere to the end does not mean
the church will go through the tribulation.
15. Consequently, this Post-Tribulation claim the church will endure the tribulation as proof of salvation doesn’t
hold water at all and leaks 100% because the church won’t be there.