"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" (Rom.5:9).
Pre-tribers refer to Rev. 3:10 promising that the church of Philadelphia will be saved from the hour of testing that is to come upon the whole earth. The reason is that this means the tribulation or even the great tribulation after the first 3 1/2 years. Revelation specifically names the wrath of God as being poured out in chapter 16. There is a definite distinction between the coming wrath of God and the wrath expressed in the damnation of the wicked in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment. John the Baptist preached: "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" (Matt. 3:7b). 1 Thess. 1:10 says that Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come. In John 3:36 we read that the "wrath of God abideth on [the unbeliever] him." They are vessels of wrath (fit for punishment) and God doesn't pour out His wrath on His children. J. I. Packer says that we are delivered from His wrath both in time and in eternity. There might be an apostate church that is left behind at the rapture, but all those who are ready and saved will be taken. Why do you think Jesus told us to be ready? Because we know not the hour and He will come as a "thief in the night."
"The day of the Lord" is referred to in 2 Thess. 1:2 is talking about the Lord's wrath and not the rapture, and we are not to fear that we are in the tribulation or that the rapture has already taken place. The day of the Lord will begin when He (cf. 2 Thess. 2:7) who restrains will be taken out of the way and the wicked one is revealed--the man of lawlessness, doomed to destruction--proclaiming himself to be God.
Is there Scriptural support to describe this wrath? Defining the word: God's wrath simply means the righteous indignation and retribution of the Lord "The great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev. 6:17). It is self-evident that this refers to the tribulation and testing come upon the whole world. Paul refers to it: in Romans 2:5 as follows: "...wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Revelation 11:18 says, "And the nations were angry, and [God's] wrath is come." (This is describing the great tribulation and final judgment of God on mankind.) Finally, let's quote the prophet of the day of the Lord, Zephaniah, in Zeph. 1:15ff: "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers, I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung ... shall be able to deliver them from in the day of the LORD'S wrath."
One must acknowledge the fact that the rapture is a "mystery" (while we cannot understand contradictions, we do not understand mysteries) according to Paul in 1 Cor. 15:51 and that God told Daniel to "seal up the words of his prophecy until the time of the end"--no wonder scholars didn't believe in it until modern times into the 20th century by most--Spurgeon knew very little of the doctrine, which was typical of his era. However, Paul said that he would rather have us not be "ignorant" and to be "encouraged" by this doctrine--it is not to be ignored as irrelevant. "We who are alive shall be caught up [raptured in secret] to meet the Lord in the air [not the second coming when an earthquake takes place in Jerusalem, and Israel shall mourn and every eye shall see Him when He sets foot on Zion coming with the clouds and His saints as King and shall ever be with the Lord [it doesn't say when the marriage supper of the Lamb] but we shall return with the Lord [coming with His saints] at the second coming to rule in the Millennial Kingdom for 1,000 years. The coming of the Son of Man refers to both coming in one grand narrative that is combined and indistinct or phased into one scheme. But we see more clearly now that the Jews of the time of Jesus had limited knowledge and revelation. None of the wicked will understand according to Daniel 12.
Daniel's 70th week, yet to be finished by Israel, in which God gives Israel [Jacob's trouble] another chance to be His mouth peace on earth and to evangelize like they should've done before but failed, and the job was given to the Gentiles [the church age]. The gist of Revelation is about God's dealing with Jacob once more, and no mention is made of the church, except being in heaven, after chapter 3. Note that Revelation is not strictly chronological. The primary witnesses are the 144,000 Jews and the 2 witnesses, who are taken out of the way midway through the tribulation. The Book of Revelation has the promise to claim to the church of Philadephia (Rev. 3:10) that they will be "delivered from the hour of testing [trial] that is to come upon the whole earth [the tribulation].
The "wrath of God" is not the same as hell or the lake of fire, which are punishment for the lost, in which they will not be punished beyond which strict justice demands--but the wrath of God is the pouring out of His anger on all the earth and none would survive, except for the sake of the elect [there is elect even in the tribulation and a great multitude who come out of the tribulation as a result of the gospel preaching of the sealed Jews and 2 witnesses these are not members of the church age that we are in]. Note that it doesn't say that if it wasn't for the sake of "all the elect" but for the elect that are in the tribulation. "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation ..." (1 Thess. 5:9). God never leaves the world without His witness--there's always election to remain.
It is wicked to deny the imminence of the coming of the Lord because no one knows the hour, nor even when the hour isn't. We can read the signs and be all the more convinced, but even John proclaimed that it was the "last hour" over 17 million hours ago. His coming will be like "a thief in the night" and we are to be ready and have this hope in our lives that He may come today and doesn't "tarry." "Therefore encourage one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18). This is the kind of mindset the early believers had and should be our model. What encouragement is there in looking forward to the wrath of God [the wrath of God is mentioned in Revelation 16 and takes place during the last part of the tribulation, known as the great tribulation].
The disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of the "end of the age." The Jews saw two ages, the one they were living in and the day of the Lord, or of the wrath of God to judge the world. They wondered about the end of the world. When we see signs happening, such as the fulfillment of prophecy, we should realize that these are the beginning of birth pangs [not the coming wrath though] and should assemble together all the more as we see the day approaching (cf. Hebrews 10:25). In Matthew 24 Jesus is combining the rapture with the Second Coming and lumping the whole end of the age together; He didn't know the day or hour Himself--He only told what the Father told Him to say. Jesus didn't preach plainly because these things were not for everyone to understand and indeed still aren't. Indeed, the gospel shall be preached to the whole world before the end of the world and this is not only happening but will certainly take place before the Second Coming and not necessarily before the rapture itself.
It is my impression that we are to anticipate the coming of our Lord: ("You should look forward to that day and hurry it along" according to 2 Pet. 3:12) i.e., to prepare for, pray about, and proclaim His coming for us. You're not going to find a proof text to show that you must believe in one doctrinal understanding of this because it is meant to be a mystery to be unraveled in its time [our age] and that means we must investigate Scripture and draw conclusions One generation will witness all the events and will not pass away according to my view of Jesus' words and He shall gather the elect from the four winds and these are those saints out of the tribulation, not the church, who have already been raptured. It is meant to be good news; how could it be good news if we were anticipating a tribulation to go through? Remember the words of Paul in 1 Thess. 4:18 says: "Therefore encourage one another with these words."
Are you looking for the Antichrist, or for the coming of our Lord? Can you honestly wake up in the morning hoping it will be the day and be ready? "Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen." Test the spirit of the doctrine and see if there are hope and encouragement, rather than despair and angst on the doctrine you hold. How can this be if you fear the tribulation--I sure don't want the mark of the beast, and I'm glad not to fret about it.
One must prove his doctrine based upon the whole analogy of Scripture, not just a favorite passage like the Mount Olivet discourse--the prophets of the Old Testament, including Zechariah and Zephaniah, had plenty to say too, and Daniel is the apocalypse of the Old Testament that has only recently been opened to us. We are delivered from the wrath of God per Romans 5:9 and Satan wants to take away the hope of our deliverance. Case closed! Soli Deo Gloria!
Pre-tribers refer to Rev. 3:10 promising that the church of Philadelphia will be saved from the hour of testing that is to come upon the whole earth. The reason is that this means the tribulation or even the great tribulation after the first 3 1/2 years. Revelation specifically names the wrath of God as being poured out in chapter 16. There is a definite distinction between the coming wrath of God and the wrath expressed in the damnation of the wicked in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment. John the Baptist preached: "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" (Matt. 3:7b). 1 Thess. 1:10 says that Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come. In John 3:36 we read that the "wrath of God abideth on [the unbeliever] him." They are vessels of wrath (fit for punishment) and God doesn't pour out His wrath on His children. J. I. Packer says that we are delivered from His wrath both in time and in eternity. There might be an apostate church that is left behind at the rapture, but all those who are ready and saved will be taken. Why do you think Jesus told us to be ready? Because we know not the hour and He will come as a "thief in the night."
"The day of the Lord" is referred to in 2 Thess. 1:2 is talking about the Lord's wrath and not the rapture, and we are not to fear that we are in the tribulation or that the rapture has already taken place. The day of the Lord will begin when He (cf. 2 Thess. 2:7) who restrains will be taken out of the way and the wicked one is revealed--the man of lawlessness, doomed to destruction--proclaiming himself to be God.
Is there Scriptural support to describe this wrath? Defining the word: God's wrath simply means the righteous indignation and retribution of the Lord "The great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev. 6:17). It is self-evident that this refers to the tribulation and testing come upon the whole world. Paul refers to it: in Romans 2:5 as follows: "...wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Revelation 11:18 says, "And the nations were angry, and [God's] wrath is come." (This is describing the great tribulation and final judgment of God on mankind.) Finally, let's quote the prophet of the day of the Lord, Zephaniah, in Zeph. 1:15ff: "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers, I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung ... shall be able to deliver them from in the day of the LORD'S wrath."
One must acknowledge the fact that the rapture is a "mystery" (while we cannot understand contradictions, we do not understand mysteries) according to Paul in 1 Cor. 15:51 and that God told Daniel to "seal up the words of his prophecy until the time of the end"--no wonder scholars didn't believe in it until modern times into the 20th century by most--Spurgeon knew very little of the doctrine, which was typical of his era. However, Paul said that he would rather have us not be "ignorant" and to be "encouraged" by this doctrine--it is not to be ignored as irrelevant. "We who are alive shall be caught up [raptured in secret] to meet the Lord in the air [not the second coming when an earthquake takes place in Jerusalem, and Israel shall mourn and every eye shall see Him when He sets foot on Zion coming with the clouds and His saints as King and shall ever be with the Lord [it doesn't say when the marriage supper of the Lamb] but we shall return with the Lord [coming with His saints] at the second coming to rule in the Millennial Kingdom for 1,000 years. The coming of the Son of Man refers to both coming in one grand narrative that is combined and indistinct or phased into one scheme. But we see more clearly now that the Jews of the time of Jesus had limited knowledge and revelation. None of the wicked will understand according to Daniel 12.
Daniel's 70th week, yet to be finished by Israel, in which God gives Israel [Jacob's trouble] another chance to be His mouth peace on earth and to evangelize like they should've done before but failed, and the job was given to the Gentiles [the church age]. The gist of Revelation is about God's dealing with Jacob once more, and no mention is made of the church, except being in heaven, after chapter 3. Note that Revelation is not strictly chronological. The primary witnesses are the 144,000 Jews and the 2 witnesses, who are taken out of the way midway through the tribulation. The Book of Revelation has the promise to claim to the church of Philadephia (Rev. 3:10) that they will be "delivered from the hour of testing [trial] that is to come upon the whole earth [the tribulation].
The "wrath of God" is not the same as hell or the lake of fire, which are punishment for the lost, in which they will not be punished beyond which strict justice demands--but the wrath of God is the pouring out of His anger on all the earth and none would survive, except for the sake of the elect [there is elect even in the tribulation and a great multitude who come out of the tribulation as a result of the gospel preaching of the sealed Jews and 2 witnesses these are not members of the church age that we are in]. Note that it doesn't say that if it wasn't for the sake of "all the elect" but for the elect that are in the tribulation. "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation ..." (1 Thess. 5:9). God never leaves the world without His witness--there's always election to remain.
It is wicked to deny the imminence of the coming of the Lord because no one knows the hour, nor even when the hour isn't. We can read the signs and be all the more convinced, but even John proclaimed that it was the "last hour" over 17 million hours ago. His coming will be like "a thief in the night" and we are to be ready and have this hope in our lives that He may come today and doesn't "tarry." "Therefore encourage one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18). This is the kind of mindset the early believers had and should be our model. What encouragement is there in looking forward to the wrath of God [the wrath of God is mentioned in Revelation 16 and takes place during the last part of the tribulation, known as the great tribulation].
The disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of the "end of the age." The Jews saw two ages, the one they were living in and the day of the Lord, or of the wrath of God to judge the world. They wondered about the end of the world. When we see signs happening, such as the fulfillment of prophecy, we should realize that these are the beginning of birth pangs [not the coming wrath though] and should assemble together all the more as we see the day approaching (cf. Hebrews 10:25). In Matthew 24 Jesus is combining the rapture with the Second Coming and lumping the whole end of the age together; He didn't know the day or hour Himself--He only told what the Father told Him to say. Jesus didn't preach plainly because these things were not for everyone to understand and indeed still aren't. Indeed, the gospel shall be preached to the whole world before the end of the world and this is not only happening but will certainly take place before the Second Coming and not necessarily before the rapture itself.
It is my impression that we are to anticipate the coming of our Lord: ("You should look forward to that day and hurry it along" according to 2 Pet. 3:12) i.e., to prepare for, pray about, and proclaim His coming for us. You're not going to find a proof text to show that you must believe in one doctrinal understanding of this because it is meant to be a mystery to be unraveled in its time [our age] and that means we must investigate Scripture and draw conclusions One generation will witness all the events and will not pass away according to my view of Jesus' words and He shall gather the elect from the four winds and these are those saints out of the tribulation, not the church, who have already been raptured. It is meant to be good news; how could it be good news if we were anticipating a tribulation to go through? Remember the words of Paul in 1 Thess. 4:18 says: "Therefore encourage one another with these words."
Are you looking for the Antichrist, or for the coming of our Lord? Can you honestly wake up in the morning hoping it will be the day and be ready? "Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen." Test the spirit of the doctrine and see if there are hope and encouragement, rather than despair and angst on the doctrine you hold. How can this be if you fear the tribulation--I sure don't want the mark of the beast, and I'm glad not to fret about it.
One must prove his doctrine based upon the whole analogy of Scripture, not just a favorite passage like the Mount Olivet discourse--the prophets of the Old Testament, including Zechariah and Zephaniah, had plenty to say too, and Daniel is the apocalypse of the Old Testament that has only recently been opened to us. We are delivered from the wrath of God per Romans 5:9 and Satan wants to take away the hope of our deliverance. Case closed! Soli Deo Gloria!