This is the part of Scripture I am referring to.
Matthew 24:48-51
"But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite
his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for
him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
In other words, folks are saying the Lord is delaying his coming to a time they say, rather than believing that the Lord will come in a day that they look for him not. This passage says this person is an evil servant.
So they will miss out on the Rapture. As for their salvation, that is up to God.
Because many Christians love people and do not want other folks to go thru the Tribulation. The other views does not really mattter if I believe in them or not. The Pre-Trib Rapture position that is Biblical is the only position that actually will have consequences in not believing in it. Just as not believing in Jesus Christ will have consequences.
There are actually a ton of verses in Scripture that support the Pre-Trib Rapture. I cannot see how someone cannot see it, unless they are intentionally ignoring other verses.
However, the other Rapture positions do not make any sense.
No Mid-trib Rapture:
The Rapture cannot be during the middle of the tribulation because those who are beheaded for Christ in the tribulation (
Revelation 20:4) and who are later identified as being the saints who were martyred in the tribulation are of a great multitude from all nations that no man could number (
Revelation 7:9) (
Revelation 7:13-14).
In other words, you have a population problem. If the tribulation saints are raptured before the Anti-Christ kills the saints then you have a contradiction because there will not be any saints to kill. If the tribulation saints are raptured after being martyred then God really is not doing his job of saving his saints all that well from the wrath to come then. For the wrath to come is the "great tribulation" spoken of by Jesus after the abomination of desolations takes place at the mid point of the tribulation.
So, if all the remaining true believers in Christ from all nations are Raptured at the midpoint of the tribulation after the the Anti-christ beheads and kills them for refusing the mark of the beast, then how exactly is God saving them from the Wrath to come mentioned in
1 Thessalonians 1:10? Or how does the population of believers boom overnight from all nations if the Rapture happens before the enforcement of the Mark?
No Post-Trib Rapture:
The Rapture cannot be near or at the Second Coming of Christ because they are not being saved up into Heaven but they will be gathered as eagles or fowl to eat the flesh of kings and captains at the supper of our Great God (i.e. the Marriage Supper of the Lamb). Oh, and no, believers are not going to eat people. It is speaking metaphorically how they will utterly defeat the wicked people who remain on the Earth and refuse to repent.
Hebrews 9:28 KJV -
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
To put it to you another way, the above passage here is talking about Christ appearing a second time without sin being imputed to him (like with his first appearance), but unto the purpose of salvation. For Christ's second appearance here is dealing with salvation and not judgment; Which perfectly fits the context of discussion in Hebrews chapter 9.
For the context of Hebrews 9 deals with Christ entering the Holy Place once and for all. For the description of the rites and sacrifices of the law were far inferior to the dignity and perfection of the sacrifice of Christ. For Christ is our mediator and redemption from sin; In other words, Christ is our salvation. Which is the topic of discussion mentioned in verse 28.
And here is the same passage in the ESV.
Hebrews 9:28 ESV -
"So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."
Which again says that Christ is appearing not to deal with sin but to SAVE those who are waiting for him.
Now, your probably thinking to yourself, how is that a problem, right? Is not Christ saving the elect at His Second Coming?
Well, at Christ's Second Coming, Jesus is not so much saving the elect from the events at Armageddon, but He is gathering them to fight there. Which means the saints taken up at Christ's Second Coming will be partaking in executing Christ's Judgment upon the Earth. Which is not really the same thing as Christ appearing so as to save His elect from something. How so?
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Luke 17:34-37
"I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
And they answered and said unto him,
"Where, Lord?"
And he said unto them,
"Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."
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Matthew 24:28
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
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Revelation 19:17-18 and
Revelation 19:14
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying
"To all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great."
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
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Jude 1:14
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
In other words, at the Second Coming of Christ, the elect (or the fowls or the eagles) will be gathered to battle those who remain on the Earth or gather to the supper of the Great God to eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains. This of course is speaking metaphorically. The saints are not going to really eat people, but they are going to defeat the wicked people of this world in the final battle with Christ.
And the Rapture will be an event that will save the saints from having to go thru the Great Tribulation. For this letter from Jesus Christ to this church says....
Revelation 2:21-22 "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold,
I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."
These are the folks who probably do not even know where in the Bible it even talks about the Rapture and or in how to adequately defend it using Scripture.
They are not real Christians then. For he that does not love does not know God (1 John 4:8). For Jesus said there will be wolves in sheep's clothing who would be among us. Also see Jude.
