“WILL THE CHURCH GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION”

(A Study on What the Word of God Teaches Concerning the RAPTURE) Pt.  2

by George Zeller

 

 Salvation, Not Wrath

 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Church Age believers are told that "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus as we look to the future we should expect SALVATION and not WRATH.

 

What did Paul mean when he spoke of WRATH and what did he mean when he spoke of SALVATION?

 

(1) WRATH.  Believers are not appointed unto wrath.  We have been delivered from the wrath that is coming (see 1 Thess.  1:10).  Although it is true that believers are delivered from the wrath of God which the ungodly will forever face in the lake of fire, Paul's focus in 1 Thessalonians 5 is upon the "day of the Lord" (verse 2-3), a very specific time when God's wrath will be poured out upon earth dwellers.  This period of wrath is also described in Revelation chapters 6-19.  It is also known as the greatest time of trouble or tribulation the world has ever known (Matt.  24:21).  God has not appointed us to face this time of wrath.  Instead we have an appointment to meet the Lord in the air prior to the unleashing of God's fury upon the earth.

 

(2) SALVATION.  People obtain salvation the moment they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), but the SALVATION spoken of by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 refers to the believer's final salvation when Christ comes for us to complete the great salvation which He began! Thus, instead of facing God's wrath being poured out on the earth, we will enjoy the consummation of our so-great salvation.  What a comforting hope (verse 11 and compare 1 Thess.  4:18)!

 

 

The Removal of the Restrainer

 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 we learn that the man of sin will not be revealed until the Restrainer is taken out of the way (out of the midst).  Who is this Restrainer?

 

In verse 6 He is described in neuter terms: "And now ye know what withholdeth [lit., that which restrains] that he might be revealed in his time."  In verse 7 He is described in masculine terms: "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [restrains] will let [restrain], until He be taken out of the way."

 

How can the Restrainer be both neuter and masculine? This only makes good sense if the Restrainer be God the Holy Spirit.  He is masculine because He is the blessed third Person of the Triune Godhead.  He is neuter because the Greek word for "Spirit" (pneuma) is always neuter in gender.  Thus the Bible sometimes describes the Holy Spirit in masculine terms (see John 16:13-14 and notice how many times the pronoun "He" is used) and sometimes describes the Holy Spirit in neuter terms (see Rom. 8:16, KJV, "The Spirit itself...").

 

That which is restraining evil today is the Blessed Person of the Holy Spirit who is now dwelling in a unique and special way in the Church which is Christ's Body (Eph.  2:22; 1 Cor.  3:16; John 14:17).  When the Church is removed by means of the Rapture, the Spirit of God will be taken out of the way.  That is, He will no longer be on the earth in the sense of indwelling a body of believers.  Just as He came on the day of Pentecost in a special way, so He will "leave" at the time of the Rapture (though obviously He will still be working in the hearts of men during the Tribulation just as He was working in the hearts of men prior to Pentecost).  The Church must be removed before the man of sin is revealed.  The man of sin will be revealed when he makes a treaty with Israel (Dan.  9:27), and this will mark the beginning of Daniel's 70th week.  Thus the Church must be removed prior to the beginning of Daniel's 70th week (prior to the 7 year Tribulation).

 

 

God's Outline of the Book of Revelation

 

The God-given outline of the book of Revelation harmonizes perfectly with the Pre-Tribulation position.  The outline of the book is given in Revelation 1:19 —

 

"the things which thou hast seen" (Chapter 1) "the things which are" (Chapters 2-3) "the things which shall be hereafter" (Chapter 4-22).

 

Thus the book of Revelation could be outlined as follows:

 

 

It is significant that although the Church is mentioned repeatedly in chapters 1-3, it is never mentioned as being on the earth in chapters 4-19, the chapters that deal with the Tribulation period.  The reason is obvious: the Church is removed from earth to heaven by way of the Rapture (John 14:3).  The Church will thus be kept from the hour of testing which will come upon all the world, to test them that dwell upon the earth, according to Revelation 3:10.

 

Another key chapter which focuses upon the Tribulation is Matthew chapter 24.   The Church is not mentioned in this chapter either.

 

 

The Key Pre-Tribulational Passage

 

The most important single passage dealing with the timing of the Rapture is Revelation 3:10, "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from [out of] the hour of temptation [testing, trial], which shall come upon all the world, to try [test] them that dwell upon the earth."

 

The promise is made specifically to the first century church of Philadelphia in Asia, but students of prophecy recognize that this verse was given for Church Age believers of any age as an encouragement to remain loyal to the Lord in the midst of difficult times.  Indeed, the first century believers that made up the assembly in Philadelphia never lived to see the time of trouble that this verse describes.  "The hour of testing" spoken of by the Lord would not be fulfilled for some two thousand years, and yet the Lord was true to His promise to the Philadelphian believers even as He is true to this same promise with respect to Church Age believers living today.

 

There is coming a day when the entire world will be on trial.  God will be the awesome Judge and all those who dwell on the earth will endure this time of terrible testing.  Isaiah describes it as "a consumption [decisive destruction], even determined upon the whole earth" (Isaiah 28:22).  It will be a time of great testing for Israel, described by Jeremiah as "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer.  30:6-7).  The Lord Jesus described this time as a unique time of trouble which would be worldwide in scope: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt.  24:21).  It will be a time that will involve the terrible plagues and judgments described graphically in Revelation chapters 6-16.

 

The Lord's promise is conditional: If you keep My Word, I will keep you from the hour of testing.  Who are those who keep His Word? Who are those who keep His command? In Revelation 12:17 and 14:12, we learn that it is the saints (true believers) who keep God's Word (God's commandments).  The same is true of John 8:51: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." The true believer, the one who has eternal life and who never sees death, is here described as the one who keeps His command/Word.

 

Thus in Revelation 3:10, those who have kept His Word are those who are saints, that is, true believers.  It does not refer to a group of "obedient believers" in contrast to other believers who are not obedient.  If this were the case, then only the "obedient believers" would be "kept from the hour" and removed from the earth, resulting in a partial rapture.  But there is no such thing as a partial rapture.  The Rapture includes all living believers without exception.

 

Notice that the Lord promised believers in Revelation 3:10 that they would be kept, not just from the TESTING which would severely test the earth dwellers, but that they would be kept from the HOUR of testing.  They would not only be kept from the testing, but they would be kept from the TIME of testing.  "I also will keep thee from the hour [TIME] of temptation [testing], which shall come upon all the world, to try [test] them that dwell upon the earth." The only way to be kept from the HOUR of testing is to be removed from the earth before that "hour" commences.

 

The Second World War was a time of trial and trouble for much of the world.  Suppose you lived on earth prior to this great war, and you were given this promise: "You will be kept from the trial of World War II."  This means that you would not face any of the bullets or bombs or battles of the war.  Perhaps you would be located in a part of the world not directly involved in the conflict.  You could still be in the world, but protected from the war.  But suppose you were given this promise: "You will be kept from the TIME of World War II." For this to be fulfilled you could not be on earth during the entire period of years from 1941 to 1945.  To be exempt from the time is to be absent at the time when the event takes place.

 

The expression "kept from" is very important.  It does not mean "preservation through" or "preservation in" but it means "exemption from." The Post-Tribulation view and the Pre-Wrath view both see the believer staying on the earth during the Tribulation period.  "Preservation through" would fit their view because they understand that God will preserve the Church through the Tribulation or through most of the Tribulation.  "Exemption from" best fits the Pre-Tribulation view because the Church is not on the earth at all during the Tribulation and thus the Church is exempt from the trials and troubles associated with that time.  The term "kept from" best fits the idea of "exemption from."

 

Literally this phrase means "to be kept out of" [Greek, ek].  Its meaning is similar to how we use these terms in English.  To be kept out of jail means that the person will not be behind bars.  To be kept out of the swimming pool means that the person is exempt from getting wet.  To be kept out of the army means that the person was not allowed in the army, and thus he was exempt from serving in the army.  If a basketball player was kept out of the entire ball game, it means that he did not get to play at all.  He did not see any action.  If a sign on a person's property said, "KEEP OUT!" then this means that the person did not want you on his property at all.  He did not want your presence there at all.  Moses was kept out of the promised land, which means that he did not enter Palestine at all.  To be KEPT OUT OF "the hour of trial" that will come upon all the world means that the person will not enter that time at all.  He will be exempt from that time.  He will not be present on earth during that time.

 

The phrase "kept out of" is used by the Apostle John in one other place.  It is found in John 17:15, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from [out of] the evil [one]."  The Lord's will for His believers of this present Age is not to be removed from this world, but to be His witnesses in the world.  We are in the world but not of the world.  The key issue in this verse involves the believer's relationship to the realm of Satan, the evil one.  As saved people, are we still IN the realm of Satan, or have we been delivered out of that realm? Does God keep us out of the realm and power of the evil one or are we still in it?

 

The answer is found in Colossians 1:13 —  "Who hath delivered us from [out of] the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."  We once were in the realm of the power of darkness, but we have been delivered out of that realm when we were saved.

 

The Apostle John sets forth this truth in 1 John 5:18, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."  In harmony with our Lord's prayer in John 17:15, believers are kept from or out of the wicked one so that he (Satan) does not touch them at all!  He no longer has any kind of a hold on us.  We have been removed totally from his kingdom and from his realm.  We now belong to the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us! Yes, we are in the world, but we are kept OUT OF the evil one! As far as having Satan for our ruler, we are totally exempt!

 

Another passage written by the Apostle John is significant in understanding Revelation 3:10.  It is found in John 12:27, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from [out of] this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." Although the verb "to keep" is not used in this verse, it is similar to Revelation 3:10 in that the preposition "out of" [Greek, ek] is used as well as the word "hour."  It is clear that our Lord prayed for exemption from the hour when He would bear the sins of the world and be separated from God His Father: "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me…" (Luke 22:42).  But the Lord Jesus must follow the path of obedience to His Father's will: "But for this cause came I unto this hour.… nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done."  (John 12:27; Luke 22:42).  The Lord Jesus did not want to drink the cup of the wrath of God.  He prayed that He might be exempt from that hour; but most of all He wanted to obey His heavenly Father regardless of the cost.

 

CONCLUSION: In Revelation 3:10 the Lord promised His Church Age believers that they would be exempt from the hour of trial or trouble that would come upon all the world.  He did not promise to keep us through this time or to keep us in this time, but He promised to keep us out of this time.  He will keep us out of this time by removing us from the earth prior to Daniel's 70th week.  This great event is described in John 14:1-3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and in several other passages. g

 

The Lord says: "Surely I come quickly."   The Church responds: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"   — Rev. 22:20

 

To be continued in our next GFJ.