A
Post-Trib Model Failure: The Attitude of The Unbelieving World
I have decided to do a series on the Post-trib Rapture model. I believe that despite its popularity, it is a very flawed model when put under Biblical scrutiny. Instead of making one mega-post, I decided to make threads focusing on key salient issues that I think show why the model cannot be correct.
Post-Trib Failure – The Attitude of the world
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The Post-trib model forces its adherents to confuse events and the timing of events in the end times to make the rapture fit at the end of the 70th Week/ Great Tribulation
In Matthew 24:29-31, which Post-tribbers rely on as “rock solid proof” of the post-trib rapture, there is a clear description of the people of the world "mourning" when they see the “Sign of the Son of Man.” Now it’s my firm belief that this “sign” is the rapture itself, but for arguments sake, we do not even have to make this assumption. The point is the mood of the people at the time that Post-tribbers call “the end of the Tribulation”, which would be mourning by the Post-trib model.
However, when examining the Scriptures mourning is NOT what we see at the end of the Great Tribulation. The book of Revelation clearly describes the unbelieving world as angry, full of wrath and blaspheming the Lord in rebellion. There is no sadness at all.
Here is the attitude during the vials:
Revelation 16: 8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Here is the attitude at the 6th vial:
Revelation 16: 21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
And as we all know, by the time of the 7th vial, the world is now ready to go and fight God! They want to go to war with The Lord and Jesus. There is no fear. There is nothing but anger and brazen rebellion! This is clearly not mourning.
On the other hand, when we look at he beginning of the of the Great Tribulation there is indeed shock, dismay, fear and sadness.
Matthew 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The above passage is describing the rapture. However, a Post-tribber would say that this is the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the 7 Year Tribulation. If the above passage supposedly took place after 7 years of the bowls and trumpet judgment, massive earthquakes, global wars, the reign of the Antichrist, a genocide campaign against believers and Jews, mass executions and supernatural appearances left and right, how would the unbelieving world just be business as usual? Would the world not know that the judgment of God was over them?? Of course they would! For a world on the brink of Armageddon, this does not seem to make any sense at all. Especially for the post-trib model to work, the world is supposed to be in MOURNING at this time! It’s a contradiction that is required for the post-trib model to work. On one hand the world is in complete mourning, but at the same time they are eating, drinking and being merry. It does not make sense.
This calm, normal day attitude would definitely be an attitude of a world BEFORE the rapture and Great Tribulation starts. Notice Jesus said “until the day that Noe entered into the ark.” What He is describing is the world just before any Divine judgment begins. And just like the world before the flood was calm, the world before the Great Tribulation starts will be calm as well..
Listen to God describe the mood of the people once the Great Tribulation begins:
Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames..
Fear. Hearts melting. People fainting. Astonishment. This is how the world is reacting to the Day of The Lord. Not "ho hum, just another day in the neighborhood. Let's just keep eating and drinking and marrying." The Post-trib model requires that we read the Bible as saying people are calm and going about their business after 7 years of Great Tribulation and antichrist. This is just not the case.
And again, if we see the rapture taking place at the beginning of the Great Tribulation instead of the end, it makes perfect sense. And that beginning is at the 6th Seal:
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
The day “is come.” Again, this is the beginning of the Great Tribulation, not the end. And we see all the emotions just described.
Here are more examples:
Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
Mourning.
Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Lamentation. Fear. Howling. Again, this is the mood and emotional state of the world at the start of the Great Tribulation. By the time Armageddon rolls around, the world is completely angry.
In conclusion, the verses that signify the mood of the people at the time of the rapture only work if the rapture takes place at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. By the time the end of the Tribulation arrives, the world is angered, cursing The Lord and ready to go to war with Him. Thus applying a post-tribulation rapture to these passages does not work and this model fails on this basis. Nothing Jesus says supports the post-trib model based on the attitude of the people as Jesus describes
Post-Trib Failure – The Attitude of the world
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The Post-trib model forces its adherents to confuse events and the timing of events in the end times to make the rapture fit at the end of the 70th Week/ Great Tribulation
In Matthew 24:29-31, which Post-tribbers rely on as “rock solid proof” of the post-trib rapture, there is a clear description of the people of the world "mourning" when they see the “Sign of the Son of Man.” Now it’s my firm belief that this “sign” is the rapture itself, but for arguments sake, we do not even have to make this assumption. The point is the mood of the people at the time that Post-tribbers call “the end of the Tribulation”, which would be mourning by the Post-trib model.
However, when examining the Scriptures mourning is NOT what we see at the end of the Great Tribulation. The book of Revelation clearly describes the unbelieving world as angry, full of wrath and blaspheming the Lord in rebellion. There is no sadness at all.
Here is the attitude during the vials:
Revelation 16: 8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Here is the attitude at the 6th vial:
Revelation 16: 21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
And as we all know, by the time of the 7th vial, the world is now ready to go and fight God! They want to go to war with The Lord and Jesus. There is no fear. There is nothing but anger and brazen rebellion! This is clearly not mourning.
On the other hand, when we look at he beginning of the of the Great Tribulation there is indeed shock, dismay, fear and sadness.
Matthew 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The above passage is describing the rapture. However, a Post-tribber would say that this is the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the 7 Year Tribulation. If the above passage supposedly took place after 7 years of the bowls and trumpet judgment, massive earthquakes, global wars, the reign of the Antichrist, a genocide campaign against believers and Jews, mass executions and supernatural appearances left and right, how would the unbelieving world just be business as usual? Would the world not know that the judgment of God was over them?? Of course they would! For a world on the brink of Armageddon, this does not seem to make any sense at all. Especially for the post-trib model to work, the world is supposed to be in MOURNING at this time! It’s a contradiction that is required for the post-trib model to work. On one hand the world is in complete mourning, but at the same time they are eating, drinking and being merry. It does not make sense.
This calm, normal day attitude would definitely be an attitude of a world BEFORE the rapture and Great Tribulation starts. Notice Jesus said “until the day that Noe entered into the ark.” What He is describing is the world just before any Divine judgment begins. And just like the world before the flood was calm, the world before the Great Tribulation starts will be calm as well..
Listen to God describe the mood of the people once the Great Tribulation begins:
Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames..
Fear. Hearts melting. People fainting. Astonishment. This is how the world is reacting to the Day of The Lord. Not "ho hum, just another day in the neighborhood. Let's just keep eating and drinking and marrying." The Post-trib model requires that we read the Bible as saying people are calm and going about their business after 7 years of Great Tribulation and antichrist. This is just not the case.
And again, if we see the rapture taking place at the beginning of the Great Tribulation instead of the end, it makes perfect sense. And that beginning is at the 6th Seal:
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
The day “is come.” Again, this is the beginning of the Great Tribulation, not the end. And we see all the emotions just described.
Here are more examples:
Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
Mourning.
Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Lamentation. Fear. Howling. Again, this is the mood and emotional state of the world at the start of the Great Tribulation. By the time Armageddon rolls around, the world is completely angry.
In conclusion, the verses that signify the mood of the people at the time of the rapture only work if the rapture takes place at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. By the time the end of the Tribulation arrives, the world is angered, cursing The Lord and ready to go to war with Him. Thus applying a post-tribulation rapture to these passages does not work and this model fails on this basis. Nothing Jesus says supports the post-trib model based on the attitude of the people as Jesus describes