Here's a point by point rebuttal:
1. The Lord loves to teach by comparing and contrasting, examples are the 10 Virgins, the Wheat and Tares, the Rich Man/Poor Man, and of course the two groups in Isaiah 65, etc. Since the 144K are pure, spiritually virgin (not literal virgin) and are firstfruits who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, then the GM (if contrasted) are something less.
The contrast clearly is in those who are on the earth, the 144K, and those who are in heaven. There need not be a contrast in quality, it's a contrast of geography and ultimate destiny. They both are seen to be holy and righteous.
2. Rev 14:13 provides a "Blessing for those who die in the Lord from now on."
THis implies a special blessing for those who die during the Great Tribulation. They who will endure the greatest tribulation the earth will ever see will have a special blessing. Rev. 20 shows those who died reigning with CHrist, there is special blessing for all who endure the Tribulation.
3. Rev 19:9 similarly states, "Blessed are those who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb" again implying there are some not invited.
This actually fits quite well with the 10 virgin parable. This is not saying that all believers enjoy the marriage supper. It actually seems to be saying that there will be a special reward. Honored places at the table versus others who are farther away, the 5 virgins who didn't persevere by having oil will be left out, in outer darkness, not enjoying the feast. This is heavy doctrine of rewards and perseverance. Not all Christians will persevere and be equally rewarded.
4. You state the GM were literally hungry and thirsty. But what if they were spiritually hungry and thirsty? It would give a whole different meaning.
The entire point is that they were hungry and thirsty while on earth and they are then rewarded while in heaven. Yes, literal hunger and thirst, there is no reason to spiritualize it.
5. The GM were seen crying. Are their tears in heaven?
Yes, in heaven it says, "God will wipe away every tear." There will be the overcoming of sorrow, there will be joy. But there will also be remorse for believers who lament the wasting of their lives, weeping and gnashing of teeth, having their works burned up, seeing others rewarded where they are not. Heaven is a joyous place, but it's also a place where we are rewarded. I don't believe remorse will be eternal, joy is eternal, but clearly there is temporary remorse for those who do not receive the "Well done" of Jesus.
6. The GM had to wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb to make them white as opposed to the martyrs of the 5th seal who were given robes already white.
7. The GM were standing before the alter while the Martyrs of the 5th seal were resting under the alter.
These are interesting pictures of contrast but they seem to represent what we'll all do in heaven. We will all wash our robes as an illustration of receiving Christ's righteousness and we'll all have white robes given to us as an illustration of having perfect standing before God. Righteousness will be both a completed action and a present state. What a beautiful picture. And in heaven we will rest under the alter, enjoying perfect peace, and we will serve the Lord, praising Him, enjoying fulfillment in action. This is a beautiful picture of both the static stability and the dynamic energy of heaven. I don't think it's classifying that some saints will be worker bees and some saints will be resting bees. We will all rest, we will all praise God.
8. The Lamb WILL shepherd them (future tense) and lead them to living waters.
Again, a beautiful picture of heaven as a continual enjoyment of progression. We as finite creatures cannot understand or attain infinite perfection, we will enjoy perfection as an everlasting progression. The Lamb will continually shepherd us, this is out pleasure. Enjoying physical and spiritual nourishment forever. Isn't the thought of waking up every day and being led to streams of water by Jesus every day an awesome thought of heavenly enjoyment?
9. I provided a passage in Isaiah 65 which sure seems to provide the same 4 descriptions used for the GM in the same order. The timing of Isaiah 65 is right before the Millennium.
But this is a common picture. Look at Is. 49:
9Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture
will be on all bare heights.
10“They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them
And will guide them to springs of water.
11“I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up.
12“Behold, these will come from afar;
And lo, these
will come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the L
ORD has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
This is probably more of a direct allusion than Is. 65, and the idea is that God's servant Isreal will be restored. This has both an earthly reality, and a beautiful picture of heavenly everlasting comfort.
10. The 6th trumpet describes 1/3 of the world being slain.
THis is an interesting theory, many would disagree with all Catholics being Christian. But you also have here all these Christians as being slain because they believe in pre-trib. Who are the righteous Christians left? This is where your theory terribly breaks down. The 1/3 slain can be both believers and unbelievers. You are basing your theory on speculative census and religious data and leaving no room for your own Christians who really believe what you think is true.
11. As you pointed out there are several warnings about "Not going out after the False Christ." It is reasonable to suspect some believers will fail to heed this warning. If they did fail to heed the warning they would have worshiped the False Messiah and not been literally hungry or thirsty as they would have been able to buy and sell.
Right, but I believe there is a contrast between those who may be deceived by false Christs and those who receive the mark of the beast, clearly not being believers, instead being those who worship Antichrist. I agree some believers can be deceived, this was true in Jesus day, for 2000 years, and in the Trib., but ultimate deception and belief in the Antichrist is not the destiny of the saved. You can't have the GM being spiritually hungry and yet they were deceived on earth and so they actually weren't physically hungry, they followed Antichrist. Don't you believe this GM were deceived and followed Antichrist, yet none who worship the beast are believers. You have an illogical contradiction in your understanding of whether they were spiritually or physically thirsty.
12. The Church of Thyratira was threatened to be cast into Great Tribulation
The problem is that this was a real church at Thyatira and this had real meaning to that church. The better translation is
So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. This can indeed have devotional application to those who are deceived during the tribulation, but it can't have specific meaning both to the church at Thyatira and mean that Christians are in danger of entering the Great Tribulation if they are deceived. Not to mention the fact that this interpretation shows that if Christians aren't deceived, they won't endure the Tribulation. Where will they be? Will they be raptured? No, I don't believe this is a pre-trib proof, even though to interpret it the way you do could actually prove this. Can you not see that?
Thank you for driving me to examine the text in specific ways. It is a privilege to do so. It is my hope that this will shed light on the truth, and not cause further disagreement. The word is a beautiful thing, and we should interpret it humbly, thoroughly, and with attention paid to the way the Holy Spirit has illumined many to its truth. It should never be studied in isolation. The word washes and purifies the entire Church, we must recognize that we should examine the Word collectively, probably more than we do individually.
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