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The Pre-Tribulational Rapture "Confidence" Game
by Tom Stewart
May 10, 1999
Life is a game. "Let
us run with patience the Race that is set before us" (Hebrews
12:1). But, unlike the games that the world plays, the Christian is called upon to
direct his attention upon the "prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians
3:14), making the LORD Jesus the focus and purpose for running the Race. "Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of Our
Faith" (Hebrews 12:2). [See
our article, "How to Trust God" ---New Window, to examine
how our necessities are merely opportunities to trust God.]
Confidence is the name of the Christian's game. "Now
faith is the substance [literally, confidence] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith in God, then, is another way of stating the Saints'
confidence. "For we walk by faith, not
by sight" (2Corinthians 5:7). Our confidence in Bible
Prophecy is a product of our understanding of what God has revealed to us in His
Word. "Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). Our hope of a Pre-Tribulational
Rapture must ultimately rest upon our confidence that being "kept from the Hour of Temptation"
(Revelation 3:10) means being delivered from entering the Tribulation Week via a
Rapture escape. "Watch ye therefore,
and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things
that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man"
(Luke 21:36).
How do we know that there will be a Rapture? Consider the following passage from
the Apostle Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians. "16 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" (1Thessalonians
4:16-17). Notice how clearly Paul speaks of a catching up of those who "are alive and remain" immediately
after the resurrection of the "dead in
Christ". And, both occur after the sounding of the "Trump of God". "In a 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" (1Corinthians 15:52). ["Must
There Be a Pre-Tribulational Rapture?" ---New Window is our attempt to answer this
timely question.]
Since this writer sees more than one Rapture in Scripture, i.e., the "Come Up Hither" of the
Pre-Tribulational Rapture (Revelation 4:1) and the "Come
Up Hither" of the Pre-Wrath Rapture (11:12,15), First
Thessalonians 4 is actually describing the events of the Pre-Wrath Rapture-- toward
the End of the Tribulation Week. [Our article, "The Seventh Trumpet and the Second
Rapture" ---New Window, attempts
to explain this distinction.] Luke 21:36 is a Pre-Tribulational
Rapture promise to "escape all these
things that shall come to pass [all the judgments
of the Tribulation Week]" (Luke 21:36), but to only those who "watch
...and pray" (21:36). This worthiness to escape is based
upon our abiding in Christ. "And now,
little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence,
and not be ashamed before Him at His Coming" (1John 2:28). [See our article, "Babylon
the Great (Part 4), Or, Come Out of Her, My People" ---New Window to see the relationship of faith,
love, and obedience to our abiding in Christ.]
Confidence in our Covenant Keeping God is the foundation of any hope that we possess
of a Pre-Tribulational Rapture. "The
LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in Whom
I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my Salvation, and my High tower" (Psalm 18:2). David testified of not only past deliverance, but confidence
in future deliverance. "The LORD that
delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine" (1Samuel
17:37). [See our article, "The
Character of God Is Revealed in the Rapture" ---New Window, which emphasizes the point
that we must trust the very character of God for the Pre-Tribulational Rapture.]
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's deliverance from the burning fiery furnace persuaded
Nebuchadnezzar to exclaim, "There is no
other God that can deliver after this sort" (Daniel 3:29).
Further, Daniel's confidence in Jehovah caused Darius to decree, "He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders
in Heaven and in Earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions" (Daniel 6:27). Paul testified, "I
was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the LORD shall deliver me from every
evil work, and will preserve me unto His Heavenly Kingdom"
(2Timothy 4:17-18). Peter confidently asserted, "The
LORD knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptations"
(2Peter 2:9).
In conclusion, Does faith make a difference for the future? It must, because it already
has made a difference for our past and present. "Who
delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in Whom we trust that He will
yet deliver us" (2Corinthians 1:10). Can we have confidence
that God will rapture us, if we choose to distrust what He has plainly revealed to
us? Obviously, this lack of confidence would be sinfully displeasing to Him. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Our confidence
in our LORD delivering us will only give us greater boldness to stand for Him. "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous
are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1). May we boldly stand
for Him until He Pre-Tribulationally Raptures us. "And
to wait for His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come" (1Thessalonians 1:10).
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