The Rapture will occur before the Tribulation - By Elizabeth Prata

 Found here. Our comments in bold. 

Ms. Prata and people like her are adamant that women should not teach men. It is becoming increasingly clear that she should not teach women either.

The author makes every attempt to fit the Scriptures into her doctrine. She makes several obvious mistakes.

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Believers of the Church Age will not go through the Tribulation. (Here is her premise. Let's see if she demonstrates it. We would expect she employs the Bible, quoting it extensively.)

Let’s define the Tribulation period and the word wrath to help understand what this unique event and time period is for. Here are the verses:

The Tribulation’s purpose is stated in Daniel 9:24. (Let's quote the passage.

Da. 9:23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:

Da. 9:24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. 

25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens’, and sixty-two ‘sevens’. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens’, the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 

27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” 

God’s purpose for the Tribulation is to accomplish 6 things. It is actually a decree:

Seventy ‘sevens’ (What about the sixty-two sevens?)

are decreed for your people and your holy city to:
1. finish transgression,
2. to put an end to sin,
3. to atone for wickedness,
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. to seal up vision and prophecy and
6. to anoint the most holy.

First, the verse begins by stating to Daniel that it is for “your people,” the Jews. Not the church. It is stated for Jerusalem, (and wicked unbelievers by extension). Not the church. The transgression to be finished was the prophesied 490 years of a decree stated in Daniel 9:25:

“So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

The starting point of that decree began in Artaxerxes given in 444 b.c. as recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8. (The author's point is eluding us, because Da. 9:25 says the rebuilding of the temple will be done in times of distress, not that times of distress will occur after the temple is rebuilt.

So if the decree to rebuild occurred in 444 B.C., the times of distress must be contemporary to the rebuilding. And Nehemiah chapter 4 tells us that this is indeed what happened. The "distress" happened thousands of years ago!)

It paused at the crucifixion of Jesus. (Whoa. The author makes an undocumented claim. Where is this pause described?)

It will resume the last 7 years of this earthly existence, after the rapture. (Whoa again. The author makes an undocumented claim. Where is this resumption described?) 

It is a time when the Jews will be dealt with, God picking up the threads of a work begun at the decree of Daniel. God has a work to finish with His people the Israelites, and He always completes what He accomplishes. And this is a decree, no less.

Second, believers in the church age have had our transgressions is already put an end to. (sic) We are considered righteous with Him, made perfect, our sins nailed to the cross. (Hebrews 12:23; Colossians 2:14). (This of course is true.)

So that takes care of #1 and 2 and 3. (But the author just wrote, "it is for 'your people,' the Jews. Not the church.")

Jesus atoned for our wickedness and our repentance clears the judgment against us. Why would Jesus die to make us perfect, we are seen as righteous in His eyes, only to be punished for sins wrath already wiped away? Makes no sense. It makes God contrary and inconsistent, and He is not that! (Yes, indeed. It doesn't make sense that God would punish those who are forgiven, i.e. Christians. Nor does it make sense that God would punish Jesus.)

Third, Paul said we are not appointed for wrath. (1 Thessalonians 5:9). (Let's actually quote the verse.

1Th. 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The author appears to think that the wrath here is a reference to the tribulation. But Paul is being very clear here. It's an either/or he presents to us: "Suffer wrath" or "receive salvation."

Those who suffer wrath are simply those who are not saved:

Ro. 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness...

Salvation is our escape from this wrath. This has nothing to do with the tribulation.

Besides, according to pre-tribbers like Ms. Prata, the tribulation will have Christians in it.

Re. 7:13-14 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes — who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

For some reason this does not trouble Ms. Prata. These Christians experience God's wrath, if we accept her characterization of the issue.

God's wrath is poured out in the Great Tribulation, but this wrath is on the last day:

Re. 6:16-17 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

There is nothing in the NT that indicates that God will take His Church out before the Tribulation; at the same time He will not pour out His wrath on Christians.

Mt. 24:29-31 Immediately after the distress of those days “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." [Isaiah 13:10; 34:4] 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Hmm. In order for the elect to be gathered after the "distress," they have to be present on earth during "the distress" to be gathered.)

The “wrath” is not that God is really, really mad. It’s not an emotion. It is punishment and it is controlled and it has a purpose (see above, again). It has a designated beginning and an end according to Revelation. The Tribulation is the time of wrath. Revelation 6:17 declares that His wrath has begun (with the seals opened) and Revelation 15:1 concludes it.

The church is seen in Revelation 5 in heaven already (singing!), and a reasonable interpretation of Revelation 4 shows our arrival. Revelation is mostly chronological and we arrive in Heaven prior to Revelation 6 when the wrath begins. We are not only not appointed for it, but He promises to rescue from it. (Here's a list of references from Revelation AFTER chapter 5 showing the Church is on earth:

Re. 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

Re. 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes — who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Re. 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Re. 11:3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Re. 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Re. 13:7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.

Re. 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No-one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Re. 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Re. 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Re. 15:2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name.

Re. 16:15 “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Re. 18:4-5 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

Re. 18:20: Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.

“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). (One must be in the midst of the "coming wrath" to be rescued from it...)

Fourth, Paul wrote: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain 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 comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). (This is not a description of the pre-trib rapture, for the author herself quotes it: 

1Th. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

This is the Last Day, the Day of the Lord, not the pre-trib rapture. 

Further, the Thessalonians were not concerned that they missed the rapture, for Paul tells us what their concern was: 

1Th. 4:13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

They we concerned for those saints who had died. They were wondering if they going to be resurrected. Paul assures them that the dead in Christ will be raised up first.)

Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians because they thought they’d missed the rapture he had taught them about and were entering the Tribulation period. He reassured them that they had not missed it. If the Thessalonians were going to be in the Tribulation, the entire letter would be different, perhaps full of instructions on how to endure, what to prepare for. (Either the author lies to us or is ignorant. The Thessalonians were repeatedly told to keep their faith in the face of suffering:

1Th. 1:6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 

1Th. 2:14 For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews... 

1Th. 4:18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

2Th. 1:4-5 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 

2Th. 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

2Th. 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

But no, Paul said ‘remember when I taught you these things? You’re not going to be in the Tribulation. Be comorted, (sic) and your dead friends won’t miss it either.’ (Again, either the author lies to us or is ignorant.)

The Second Coming shows Jesus returning all the way to earth. But that is not where we meet Him. We meet Him in the air. When? Prior to our return with Him in Revelation 19:4. (This is not the correct verse.)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3).

The Holy Spirit spent a tremendous amount of energy and words encouraging us to look for Him, telling us we won’t be here, and blessing us for longing for His appearing. Therefore, we will not be here. It is not an opinion, it is a promise of GOD!  You can bank on it, rest on it, and declare His glory through it!

Have a wonderful day and blessings to you!