Peer Review of the "post-tribulation rapture" view of a Ms. Bell

By:  Reverend Daniel Fuller B.A, B.S, ThB, MDIV, MM

Introduction

I would like to start by stating that I for a general rule do not call out other views of “Eschatology”, I have for many years studied intently this topic, and one-third of my library are books on each theory of interpreting this teaching.  I have taught this in churches, conferences, and college credit. When I do teach it I try and stick to hermeneutics, then prophetic interpretation, followed by the covenants, and finally the four major theories of end-time studies.  I never discuss my personal views on this, due to the fact that future prophecy, is yet to be fulfilled.  Even though I feel scripture supports my view, I have always tried to approach teaching this subject, with the support of each view and the problem passages, and then to let each student come to their own conclusions.

My main reason for this is not to be elusive but based on Revelations chapter 10.
'Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire. and he cried out with a loud voice, just as a lion roars. When he cried out, the seven thunders spoke. He had in his hand a little scroll that was open. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said. Do not write it down!” '

Revelation 10:1-4
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/REV.10.1-4

This is truly a great passage because it is revealing to us that even though a lot of crazy stuff is being given to us by John, about end-times, there was a lot more than John saw, but wasn’t allowed to share with us.  Why is that important?  Because, we can only theorize about the content of the small scroll, but it clearly leaves a lot to the mystery.  It is like the ten virgins parable in the Olivet discourse.  They were told to be ready, but there was an element of mystery as to when the bridegroom would return.

'“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish ones took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was taking a long time, they all got drowsy and started falling asleep. But in the middle of the night, there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. Now the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil since our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Instead, go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Now later, the other virgins came, saying, ‘Sir, Sir, open up for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Amen, I tell you, I do not know you.’ Therefore stay alert, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”'

Matthew 25:1-13
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/MAT.25.1-13

So, as much as I do not like to share my personal view of this topic, I occasionally come across someone that will for no reason attack another view, “even though it should be fine for each to come to their own conclusion.”  And I feel compelled to respond.  Most of the time it is with a friend or fellow minister and we talk privately over coffee.  So, this is the first time I am making a comment on this topic and opening up about my personal conclusions.

As it is a peer review of a person on Twitter, who did for no reason attack a view of the “rapture,” and said person challenged me to address any issues on her webpage, I have taken the challenge.  This is in no way an exhausting review.  I have actually read through each article on her page, and find an error with much that is there, not all, as I said, each position has its merits.  I am not going to address every point in each article I really do not have the time.  So I have chosen only two articles:  “the church must be gone before the man of Lawlessness can be revealed,” and “The timing of the Gathering.”  These and others can be found at https://overcomingthetribulation.com/

What is her position?

Simply put she was raised in a church that taught the [pre-tribulation rapture view].  This is the position that I believe is the position that scripture clearly points to, but as I said previously, this is part of the mystery of the end-times.  At the age of sixteen, she came to the conclusion that a [post-tribulation view] was more supported by scriptures.  Again, I do not fault anyone for having any of the position, after all it is a mystery.  My problem is when someone for no reason calls out another view, and since I was challenged to look at her site, I did, and I found some good things, some solid scripture, and also, some assertions, trying to make verses say things they do not say.

“The church must be gone before the man of lawlessness can be revealed”

First, she brings out the passage from verse 7, which states, that who now restrains will do so until he is taken out.  She rightly states that “some”, interpret that as the Holy Spirit.  And as the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, then to the church and thus the rapture.

This is the passage we are talking about:
'Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, concerning the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to Him, not to get shaken out of your mind or disturbed—either by a spirit or a word or a letter as if through us—as though the Day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for the Day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the one destined to be destroyed. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in the Temple of God, proclaiming himself that he is God. Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I was telling you these things? And you know what now holds back, for him to be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already operating; only there is one who holds back just now, until he is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Yeshua will slay him with the breath of His mouth and wipe him out with the appearance of His coming. '

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/2TH.2.1-8

In many translations in verse three, it states “falling away”, in the TLV quoted above it states, “the rebellion” (In which it is referring to an “apostasy”, of that we agree).  She makes the claim that the [pre-tribulation rapture view] somehow teaches that this is a reference to the rapture, it is not and no school that teaches this position would refer to that.  Anyone who has studied Greek understands this as the condition of the world prior to the Anti-Christ coming on the scene. She then sums it up with, “The scripture is proclaiming, don’t let anyone deceive you - people will depart from the faith, ⏬ and the man of sin will come first!” The problem here is that she has left out before the man of sin comes onto the scene as we see in verse seven, highlighted in blue.  The one that is holding him back will be “taken out of the way, or removed.”  So who is the “He” that is holding him back?  Many scholars are in two different camps about who the “He” is; the human government and the Holy Spirit indwelling in the church.  The problem with it being “human government”, I have never seen in all of human history any government which was able to completely hold back crime let alone the Anti-Christ.  Plus it is a “He” being understood as God.  This means as the Holy Spirit is removed to allow for the Anti-Christ to come onto the scene, so the Church is removed as well.  And it is removed again, before the man of sin is revealed, at the beginning of the tribulation period.  Remember as the church we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit would not be removed and the church left behind.

Now, we must also remember, that just as in the times of the Old Testament, they found faith, so it will be true during the tribulation period, it will just be harder.

“How I Became Convinced the Church Will Face the Entire Tribulation”

This might seem trivial, but in her article she gives a definition of the word, “Eschatology”.  She correctly breaks up the greek on the first part of the word.  [eskhatos - last, or last things], however, she gives [theo] which eschatology is part of theology, but isn’t part of the break down of the word.  The last part of the word she says, [logy], but is in fact the greek [logos - knowledge, or study of].  So it means, the study of end times, or last things.

She immediately draws attention to Luke’s gospel, chapter seventeen, verse thirty-seven; which talks about “wherever the body is, the eagle with gather together.  She makes an odd declaration, that this was the verse that caused her to doubt, a “pretribulation view.”

'Now when Yeshua was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be seen. Nor will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘There!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then Yeshua said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go and chase after them. For just as the lightning flashes from one part of the sky and lights up another part, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But first He must suffer much and be rejected by this generation. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was just the same in the days of Lot. They were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed them all. Things will be the same on the day when the Son of Man is made fully known. In that day, the one who is on the roof, and his possessions in the house, must not go down to take them away. In the same way, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life will preserve it. “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken along and the other left. There will be two women grinding at the same place. One will be taken and the other left.” “Where, Lord?” they replied. And He said to them, “Where there is a corpse, there also will the vultures be gathered.”'

Luke 17:20-35,37
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/LUK.17.20-35,37

Christ characterized the attitude of the nation toward the signs that would be given to herald His coming as King when He would institute His kingdom.  He said people would act in those coming days as they did in the days of Noah.

When Christ returns, there will be a separation of saved from unsaved.  Two people will be in one bed, and one will be taken away in judgment and the other left to enter Christ’s kingdom (v.34)  This Christ forewarned of the impending judgment and exhorted each one in view of that judgment to lose his life (cf. v. 33).  To lose one’s life meant to sacrifice everything in order to identify with Christ.  To keep one’s life meant to refuse to identify with Christ in order to preserve one’s physical life.  Only those who have identified with Christ will escape the judgment to come.

The Pharisees questioned Christ as to where this judgment would take place.  His enigmatic reply was “where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather” (v. 37).  This judgment would come first on the nation Israel.  Christ viewed Israel nationally as a lifeless corpse.  He was saying that judgment would fall on Israel.  Historically, this judgment began in 70 AD, when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem.  The nation would continue under discipline until the final judgment at the second advent of Christ.

So, the implication of the article is that pre-trib folks think this is in reference to the rapture.  Now, in saying that I do want to point out that her opinion is based on a 1970’s campfire song.  No one has claimed that the ’70s created theologically correct songs.

The next passage that is used is 1Thessalonians 4:15-17.  And it is wonderful that she has made an attempt to understand this passage.  But, she has seriously misunderstood (v.16) who the “dead in Christ” are.

'Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, so with Him God will also bring those who have fallen asleep in Yeshua . For this we tell you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the blast of God’s shofar , and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left behind, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air—and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.'

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/1TH.4.13-18

I have actually included verses 13 through the end of the chapter.

• (v 13-14) - Paul is talking to the Believers who were concerned about what will happen to those who have already died.  So, what dead are we addressing?  We are talking about those believers that have died, over the past, to include family members.  Her article tries to assume it references Revelations chapter 20.  But, it just doesn’t it is the Christians who have died, our loved ones. Those all the way back to the first century.
• (v 15) - The writer is correct that those that are dead “in Christ”, will resurrect before those that are alive.
• (v. 16-17) - As back in (v. 13) those loved ones in Christ will be raised, then we who are alive will meet them and we will meet Jesus in the air...wow.  At the same time...When?  Like I said earlier, as the Holy Spirit is removed to make room for the Anti-Christ to be revealed..

So, this passage talks about Christians going up to meet Jesus.  Is this the event of Revelations chapter 19?

'After these things, I heard something like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Halleluyah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. For His judgments are true and just. For He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her whoring, and has avenged the blood of His servants caused by her hand.” And a second time they shouted, “Halleluyah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever!” Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, “Amen! Halleluyah!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you His servants and all who fear Him, both the small and the great!” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude—like the roar of rushing waters or like the rumbling of powerful thunder—saying, “Halleluyah! For Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready, She was given fine linen to wear, bright and clean! For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the kedoshim .” Then the angel tells me, “Write: How fortunate are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb!” He also tells me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that—for I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Yeshua . Worship God! For the testimony of Yeshua is the Spirit of Prophesy.” Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One riding on it is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and many royal crowns are on His head. He has a name written that no one knows except Himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is “the Word of God.” And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. '

The Revelation 19:1-14
https://my.bible.com/bible/314/REV.19.1-14

Let’s examine chapter 19.

• (v 6-10) - We see the church “the bride” at the wedding celebration, which we know occurs after the rapture.  And where is the church with Jesus the bridegroom, in heaven during the tribulation period, waiting to return which we see in the following verses.
• (v. 14) - The church isn’t raptured after Jesus returns, because the wedding celebration is in heaven prior to His return and the same “fine white” garments described only of the church, is the description of the army that comes out of heaven with HIm in verse 14.

Conclusion

Like I said this is not a comprehensive “peer review” of the articles on Ms Bell’s website, but I have reviewed two of the articles.  I have clearly pointed out some good interpretations, and some poor ones.  I have given the correct understanding of those passages.  I have also, shown, that scriptures more support a pre-tribulation rapture.