Objections To Pretribulationism(1)
(a) The Innumerable Multitude In The Throne Room Of The Temple In Heaven
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”(Revelation 7:9-17).
It is clear from this passage of the Scripture that this innumerable multitude are from all tribes, nations, languages, and peoples. In other words, they came from all races, colours, and ethnic groups from all over the world. They came out of the Great Tribulation. No contest because it is so explicitly stated. They have palms in their hands which signal victory. They were victorious over the forces of darkness in the midst of the Great Tribulation and are gathered in Heaven. The pretribulationists tell us they were all killed(martyred) for their faith. They concede there will be massive killings in the first half of the 70th week from wars, famines, pestilences and natural disasters like earthquakes though believers may not be specifically targeted, and in the second half during the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist and his gangs of humanists. (During this period, the believers shall be specifically targeted because of their refusal to bear the mark of allegiance to the Beast). That is how, according to them, they will obtain salvation by suffering martyrdom. They call them “tribulation saints.” They were “left behind” after the Rapture according to pretribs. There is no evidence they were all martyred. This passage does not in so many words state so either explicitly or implicitly. Please, read this passage slowly, and see if it says that or not. Some of them no doubt are martyred, but not all of are martyred. They include those who are killed and those who are not. One thing characteristic of them all is that they all came out of the Great Tribulation. Unlike the fifth seal martyrs who were souls under the altar of incense in the temple of God in Heaven, these are in their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. When did they acquire these bodies? Obviously at the Rapture.
Let us for once assume that the Pretribulational rapture view is correct. The Rapture has taken place before the commencement of the 70th week. Where are the raptured saints? Why are they not in the Throne Room Of The Temple Of God In Heaven, before the Lamb to welcome these martyred saints? They are expected to be there to welcome and rejoice with this great and innumerable multitude of saints who came out of the Great Tribulation via martyrdom. If the Rapture occurred in Rev.4:1 as the pretribs say, before the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel in Rev.6:1, then the raptured saints should be conspicuously present in the heavenly scene in Rev.4,5. The Pretribs realizing this now claim the sea of glass in Rev.4 and the revelator Apostle John in conversation with an elder in the heavenly scene in Rev.5 are the raptured saints. What rules of hermeneutics and exegesis would lead an astute theologian and biblical scholar to such outlandish conclusion? Note that the sea of glass in Rev.4:6 was vacant. To say that the sea of glass in Rev.4:6 represents the raptured saints in the Throne Room of the Temple of God in Heaven is reading into this verse of the Scriptures an event that would occur several years in the future. Rev.15:1-4 makes it clear the redeemed who minister to God in the Throne Room of the Temple Of God in Heaven in Rev.14:2-3 are standing on the sea of glass. Does that in anyway mean that the glassy sea before the Throne Of God in the Throne Room of the Temple Of God in Heaven represents the raptured saints? To say yes to that is a very wrong way of exegeting the Scriptures.
The fact that the rapture had already taken place means that all the good pastors, teachers, prophets evangelists, counselors, Church workers and their congregants are gone in the rapture, leaving only weak, feeble, and false Christians who did not make the Rapture. Now, let us examine the conditions on Earth during the first half of the 70th week. The first three and one-half years of the 70th week begins with emergence of false christs. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”(Matthew 24:4,5). This is the first seal: white horse and rider(Rev.6:1,2). It is followed by wars, commotions, rumours, and threats of wars. “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:”(Matthew 24:6-7a). This is the second seal: red horse and rider(Rev.6:3,4). The natural consequences of war are famines, pestilences(plagues), and natural disasters like earthquakes. “: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”(Matthew 24:7b-8). This is the third seal: black horse and rider(Rev.6:5,6). These three events occur in the first half of the 70th week. The events of the third black horse and rider bring to a close the first three and one-half years of The 70th week. How do we know? Because at the midpoint of the 70th week, the antiChrist shall unveil himself as a dead man come back to life, deify himself and demand worship of all mortals.
Let us analyze these events and see whether they are compatible with, conducive and favorable to evangelistic successes. The pretribulationists tell us these innumerable multitude will come to the saving knowledge of Christ after the good pastors and believers have been raptured. Who will hold these evangelist missions and crusades after the disappearance of the faithful believers, leaving only the feeble and false ones to contend with a large army of false christs, false prophets and teachers? Are conditions of wars, commotions, rumours and threats of wars, and rampant natural disasters like earthquakes favorable to evangelistic missions? Let us answer this questions honestly for ourselves. At this time in the eschatological timeline, whatever is left of organized Christendom is in disarray after the Pretrib Rapture of the saints. Who volunteers as missionaries? Who sponsors, supports, organizes, and runs these missions
Our brother Apostle Paul in his first letter to his son-in-the-Lord Timothy wrote:
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”(1 Timothy 2:1-8).
Time of peace fosters a favorable atmosphere to the propagation of the Gospel. The reason why our brother Apostle Paul urged his son-in-the Lord Timothy to pray for those in authority is that there may be peace. Time of peace favours the preaching of the gospel. And that men may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. People cannot believe unless they hear the gospel, and people cannot preach except they be sent(Rom.10:14,15). Are all the believers in the world today up to this number? How can feeble and false believers achieve in a short time of three and one-half years of wars, commotions, rumours of wars, famines, pestilences, and natural disasters, what the Church with all her faithful pastors and teachers have not achieved in two millennia of relative peace?
From the midpoint of the 70th week, the Great Tribulation begins. “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another………..”(Matthew 24:9 & ff). This is the fourth seal: pale horse and rider(Rev.6:7,8). During the Great Tribulation, anyone who refuses the mark of the Beast cannot buy or sell. They will be hounded and ferreted out to recant or be killed on refusal to recant. And there will be false christs, false teachers and false prophets all there to deceive. The antiChrist and his gang will be performing outstanding miracles to deceive if it were possible, the very elect. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”(2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). The false prophet will command fire to come down from Heaven in the sight of men, and cause the image of the Beast to speak(Rev.13:11-17). What the prophets of Baal could not do when they contested with Elijah on Mount Carmel(1 Kin.18:20-40). And there is no biblical evidence that the feeble believers left behind match the power of the antiChrist and his followers to perform miracles. The ministry of the two witnesses takes place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel. There is no biblical evidence there are others like them amongst all peoples all over the world. In other words, their powers and anointing were not duplicated in other parts of the world. Is this the condition for evangelistic missions and successes that will bring in millions or perhaps billions of souls into the Faith? Not only that but also, have them all massacred within a period of about seven years in duration. We assume here that the pretribulation Rapture view is biblically accurate and that the killing of the tribulation saints lasts the entire seven years of the 70th week of Daniel. How did these new converts to Christianity develop the inner fortitude in so short a time to endure the terrors and horrors of the Great Tribulation without recanting?
Professor J.F. Valvoord, the second president of Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the major proponents of Pretribulational Rapture view has told us, “neither pretribulationism nor posttribulationism is an explicit teaching of the Scriptures.” We can see that pretribulationism is not an explicit teaching of the Scriptures. Richard Mayhew in his doctoral thesis wrote: “………, the proof is logically invalid, at least unconvincing.” He too is a pretribber.
We can see the fraud that is pretribulationism. Pretribulationalism is a hoax. I weep in my spirit and soul for the body of Christ, especially for those in Europe and North American, and parts of Africa, especially Southern Nigeria where we have been fed with bread and butter Christianity, and promised we shall be raptured to Heaven before the antiChrist hangs out his shingles. If this error is not corrected, and believers hardened and toughened up a bit, and adequately prepared to face the hard conditions of the 70th week, especially the second half when the antiChrist institutes his reign of terror, before we enter the 70th week to face the antiChrist and his gang of atheists and humanistic evolutionists, some of us so deceived may commit suicide, some will kill their pastors, teachers, and prophets, out of anger and frustration that they have been deceived and sold fool’s gold, and betray one another, and roll over to worship the Dragon and the Beast in order to save their skin.
Avraham Shallom.
Mt Zion Heritage Ministries 