by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
Be careful not to assume that what you hear about the tribulation and the rapture is grounded in sound biblical exegesis. Reading into the Scriptures and twisting the Scriptures can mean destruction to you and others (II Peter 3:16). So, make sure you are not following someone blindly into the ditch. What often happens is that texts have been mishandled and forced into a doctrine far removed from the original context.<\/p>\n
The modern teaching of the “tribulation” and “the rapture” are classic examples of biblical abuse and distortion. Add hype, fear, and imagination; the combination means the error can spread like cancer.<\/p>\n
The “tribulation” was before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, and Jesus described it in Matthew 24:3-35. That context is about the temple in Jerusalem being destroyed in that very generation. The tribulation was the hard times leading to that destruction in AD.66-70. To take it out of that generation, that event, and that context and apply it to things happening now is a misuse of the Scriptures. There is no prophecy about a period of tribulation that marks out anything in our day. But, despite the context of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, people today are looking at wars, earthquakes, and tribulations and applying those scriptures to modern events.<\/p>\n
Incidentally, this misuse was done in every unsettling period. Misguided religious preachers looked at the events of WWI, WWII, the Gulf War, etc., and told people in those days that we were in “the great tribulation” or that we were about to enter it, and every time, they were wrong. They misused scripture that applied to the first-century destruction of Jerusalem and deceived themselves and others about modern events being foretold.<\/p>\n
There is no “rapture” except being “caught up<\/em>” when Jesus comes for His people at the end (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). There is no schedule of events to let you know when the final day of the Lord will catch His people away. The text says it will be at some unexpected time, “like a thief in the night<\/em>.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-ff). So, in answer to the question, the tribulation Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24 already happened by AD 70, and the “caught\u00a0up<\/em>” of I Thessalonians 4:13-18 will have no precursor signs to warn us.<\/p>\n The doctrine of the rapture<\/em> is false. It says there will be a secret snatching away of some while events go onward on the earth. This text says the coming will be heard and seen and lends no credence to the idea of raptured folk coming back here after seven years. When Jesus comes and takes His people home, we will “ever be with the Lord,<\/em>” and the earth will be burned up (II Peter 3:7-12). There is no snatching away and then coming back here. So, don’t get caught up in the hype of misused scriptures.<\/p>\n The Lord will return and deliver those in His kingdom to the Father in heaven. No signs allow you to wait to get ready at the last moment. Get ready now because there will be no second chances. You must be wise with your time now. Either you know Jesus is worth getting ready for now, or death will catch you unprepared, or the coming of the Lord will catch you on the wrong side, the rejected side, which will not be good for you and those you influenced to be like-minded. Today is the accepted time to prepare to be on the winning team of the wise disciples of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton Be careful not to assume that what you hear about the tribulation and the rapture is grounded in sound biblical exegesis. Reading into the Scriptures and twisting the Scriptures can mean destruction to you and others (II Peter 3:16). So, make sure you are not following someone blindly into the ditch.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[344,343,840],"class_list":["post-70236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-premillennialism","tag-rapture","tag-tribulation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-werent-a-part-of-the-rapture-and-had-to-face-the-tribulation-would-that-shake-your-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":0},"title":"If you weren’t a part of the rapture and had to face the tribulation, would that shake your faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you concerning the rapture. I have been thinking about this a long time and I was wondering what you thought of this. With all that is happening in the world today, we all know the end of the world is at hand. My question\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-there-be-a-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":1},"title":"Will There be a Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Thessalonians 4:13-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have always been fascinated with the second coming of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That fascination increased greatly as the 21st century approached. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A very popular series, called \u201cLeft Behind\u201d by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins claims to tell the events of Christ\u2019s return in fictional form.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62124,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-will-be-a-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":2},"title":"There Will Be a Rapture","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton If we consider that the words \"caught up\" in I Thessalonians 4:17 are translated as \"rapture\" in Latin, then there is going to be a \"caught up\" (rapture) moment. So, the word is there in Latin, and since the verse says we will be \"caught up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3555,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-ruse-of-the-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":3},"title":"The Ruse of the Rapture","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dudley Ross Spears Maybe you have seen the bumper sticker that reads, \"In case the Rapture occurs, this car will be driverless.\" With tensions building in the Middle East, expectations are being sharpened in those who believe that the Rapture is about to take place. The Rapture is an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-believe-in-regards-to-premillennial-and-dispensational-theories\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":4},"title":"What do you believe in regards to premillennial and dispensational theories?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just came across an article on your website that talked about premillennialism. Current events seem to have got them talking. Basically, I'd like to ask you several questions about premillennial and dispensational theories that these people believe. Do current events in the Middle East, particularly those between Israel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3548,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":70236,"position":5},"title":"What Is the Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by V. Glenn McCoy \u00a0 A young Christian mother recently came into my office with her two children and said, \"Will you please explain to my children what the 'Rapture' is?\" Her children had been exposed to the \"Rapture\" through some of their friends and they were left confused. Most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}