A
Post-Trib Failure: The Day of The Lord
[FONT="]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. [/FONT]
This post is a point I actually have to credit the post-tribbers in this forum with. It was through being exposed to so many Post-tribber posts and arguments I came to realize that one of the most fundamental flaws in the Post-Trib model is the misunderstanding of the Day of The Lord. It centers on this verse:
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Essentially for the Post-Trib model to work, the "unexpected" arrival of Jesus and the Rapture must occur at the end of the "Great Tribulation"/70th week of Daniel. Thus the "Day of The Lord" must be at the end of the Great Tribulation and it's basically the Second Coming of Christ (with HIs saints presumably), according to the Post-trib model. This is serious Biblical error. There are many, many Old Testament Scriptures that prove this but I am going to focus on the one most salient passage that without a doubt signifies the start of the Day of The Lord:
Isaiah 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 12For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ...19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ...21To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Now the signs for the Day of The Lord are delineated clearly:
1) The proud and lofty folk of the world shall be humbled and abased.
2) People shall go into holes of rocks and into caves in fear once the Lord causes a great earthquake.
3) God is clearly "arising" to initiate the action. This is The Lord God's judgment.
Post-Tribbers will try and offer events from the trumpets and seals as the fulfillment of this passage, but there is only one compelling prophetic fulfillment of this passage in Revelation. And that is at the 6th Seal of Revelation Chapter 6. This is where the Day of The Lord begins and where the rapture of the church actually takes place:
9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 12And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15And 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; 16And 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: 17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
And there are all the signs. The 6th specifically mentions the rulers, kings and wealthy people of society as part of the group that is now in total fear and running for their lives. We also see that there is a global earthquake. And finally, and the most compelling and most obvious point to make is that the people are specifically running into caves and holes! This is precisely what Isaiah 2 prophesied. The 6th Seal events are the fulfillment of Isaiah 2. And thus the Day of The Lord is just BEGINNING at this point. The people even announce the "great day of His wrath is come.."! Even the heathens know God is now arising to pour out His wrath.
This is also why I included the 5th Seal. We see the 5th Seal martyrs are specifically asking The Lord to rise up and avenge Him. The clear implication being He has not risen yet. Yet at the 6th Seal, He has.
Although I have posted several reasons for why the post-trib model fails, this one point single-handedly refutes the post-trib model on its own. The Day of The Lord is not the Second Coming of Christ. It is the outpouring of God's wrath and it CLEARLY begins with the 6th Seal.
The one compromise position that I have read from a post-tribber in response to this is that the 6th Seal and the 7th trumpet are the same event. This position in addition to being unsupported by Scripture is illogical on its face. The Angels who sound the seven trumpets are not even given the trumpets until after the 7th Seal is opened. Secondly, it seems to be forgotten that it is JESUS WHO OPENS THE SEALS. Not an angel. So to say that an angel is doing something that only Jesus Christ Our Lord is worthy to do just cannot be correct.
Again, I do not subscribe to any of the 3 major rapture models. I believe they are all flawed and thus this is why this debate rages on. Because each side can make valid points to refute the other. But with the post-trib becoming so common and the same arguments being used over and over again, I wanted to really get into the Scriptures to show the errors that are present therein. And for the record, I was once a classic Pre-trib adherent. But after further study, I realized that I was wrong. 100% wrong on the rapture. I don't know why there is so much zealous attachment to a certain model. We believe what we believe but we should always keep a ready mind for Biblical correction. God bless.
[FONT="]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. [/FONT]
This post is a point I actually have to credit the post-tribbers in this forum with. It was through being exposed to so many Post-tribber posts and arguments I came to realize that one of the most fundamental flaws in the Post-Trib model is the misunderstanding of the Day of The Lord. It centers on this verse:
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Essentially for the Post-Trib model to work, the "unexpected" arrival of Jesus and the Rapture must occur at the end of the "Great Tribulation"/70th week of Daniel. Thus the "Day of The Lord" must be at the end of the Great Tribulation and it's basically the Second Coming of Christ (with HIs saints presumably), according to the Post-trib model. This is serious Biblical error. There are many, many Old Testament Scriptures that prove this but I am going to focus on the one most salient passage that without a doubt signifies the start of the Day of The Lord:
Isaiah 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 12For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ...19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ...21To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Now the signs for the Day of The Lord are delineated clearly:
1) The proud and lofty folk of the world shall be humbled and abased.
2) People shall go into holes of rocks and into caves in fear once the Lord causes a great earthquake.
3) God is clearly "arising" to initiate the action. This is The Lord God's judgment.
Post-Tribbers will try and offer events from the trumpets and seals as the fulfillment of this passage, but there is only one compelling prophetic fulfillment of this passage in Revelation. And that is at the 6th Seal of Revelation Chapter 6. This is where the Day of The Lord begins and where the rapture of the church actually takes place:
9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 12And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15And 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; 16And 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: 17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
And there are all the signs. The 6th specifically mentions the rulers, kings and wealthy people of society as part of the group that is now in total fear and running for their lives. We also see that there is a global earthquake. And finally, and the most compelling and most obvious point to make is that the people are specifically running into caves and holes! This is precisely what Isaiah 2 prophesied. The 6th Seal events are the fulfillment of Isaiah 2. And thus the Day of The Lord is just BEGINNING at this point. The people even announce the "great day of His wrath is come.."! Even the heathens know God is now arising to pour out His wrath.
This is also why I included the 5th Seal. We see the 5th Seal martyrs are specifically asking The Lord to rise up and avenge Him. The clear implication being He has not risen yet. Yet at the 6th Seal, He has.
Although I have posted several reasons for why the post-trib model fails, this one point single-handedly refutes the post-trib model on its own. The Day of The Lord is not the Second Coming of Christ. It is the outpouring of God's wrath and it CLEARLY begins with the 6th Seal.
The one compromise position that I have read from a post-tribber in response to this is that the 6th Seal and the 7th trumpet are the same event. This position in addition to being unsupported by Scripture is illogical on its face. The Angels who sound the seven trumpets are not even given the trumpets until after the 7th Seal is opened. Secondly, it seems to be forgotten that it is JESUS WHO OPENS THE SEALS. Not an angel. So to say that an angel is doing something that only Jesus Christ Our Lord is worthy to do just cannot be correct.
Again, I do not subscribe to any of the 3 major rapture models. I believe they are all flawed and thus this is why this debate rages on. Because each side can make valid points to refute the other. But with the post-trib becoming so common and the same arguments being used over and over again, I wanted to really get into the Scriptures to show the errors that are present therein. And for the record, I was once a classic Pre-trib adherent. But after further study, I realized that I was wrong. 100% wrong on the rapture. I don't know why there is so much zealous attachment to a certain model. We believe what we believe but we should always keep a ready mind for Biblical correction. God bless.