Twenty Issues That Pre-Wrath Needs to Explain

1. Imminent Return

2. Seventy Weeks Decreed for Israel

3. What you have seen, What is now and What will take place later

4. Distinguishing “Great Tribulation” from “Day of the Lord”

5. Pre-Wrath calls the Seals the “Wrath of Man”

6. Bowl Judgments After 70^th Week

7. Revelation 3:10 – “Kept from (ek) the hour”

8. Defining Length of Church Age

9. Shortening of the Great Tribulation

10. “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” and “Day of the Lord”

11. “Peace and Safety” in Midst of Great Tribulation

12. Birth Pains – Initial and Intense; Surprise and Anticipated

13. Cosmic Disturbances

14. Church Does Not God to Heaven

15. Rapture of Church or Regathering of Israel

16. Judgment of Nations or Judgment of Church

17. The Restrainer

18. Does Satan Attack Israel or the Church

19. 144,000 and other Tribulation Saints

20. Destruction of the Heavens and Earth by Fire

Here is a brief discussion along with Bible verses for each issue:

1. Imminent Return

a. The Bible indicates we are looking for Jesus, not looking for the signing of a treaty, the revealing of the anti-christ, the seven seals, etc.

b. Philippians 3:20 – savior from heaven

c. Titus 2:3 – the blessed hope

d. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – waiting for Son from Heaven

e. John 14:3 – coming bridegroom

f. 1 Corinthians 15:51 – some will not sleep

g. James – His coming is nigh

h. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 – we are to encourage each other with these words

i. These verses could also refer to our deliverance from the Day of the Lord in Pre-wrath

j. Pre-wrath says Jesus cannot come back today because we are still 5-6 years away.

2. Seventy Weeks Decreed for Israel

a. Daniel 9:24-27 – seventy weeks are decreed for Israel, not for the mystery age of the church

b. The first 69 weeks were interrupted with the coming of the church (or, the coming of Christ)

c. We are waiting for the mystery age of the church to end so the 70^th week can begin

d. Indeed Israel’s temple did not fall until 70 AD, but the curtain was torn in 30 AD

e. Did the 69^th week end in 26 AD (baptism of Christ) or 30 AD (crucifixion of Christ)?

f. Jesus did not start building his church until Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47)

g. God is taking a people from the Gentiles and will return to build David’s fallen tent (Ac.15:14)

h. Church began abruptly and will end abruptly with the rapture

3. What you have seen, What is now and What will take place later

a. Rev. 1:19

b. What you have seen is __?__ (OT?, Beginning of vision in Revelation?, Gospel?)

c. What is now is __?___ (the Church Age?, 96 AD?, churches in Asia Minor?)

d. What will take place later ___?___(Tribulation?, 70^th week?)

4. Distinguishing “Great Tribulation” from “Day of the Lord”

a. At 3 ½ year mark the anti-christ is revealed beginning Matt. 24:21-the Greatest Distress ever

b. Matt. 24:21 aligns with:

i. Daniel 12:1-“time of distress that has not happened since nations began”

ii. Jeremiah 30:7-“awful day…none like it…Jacob’s trouble”

iii. Joel 2:2 – which is the Day of the Lord w/ army of anti-dhrist invading as an army such as never was of old nor in ages to come, day of darkness/gloom

c. The “Great Tribulation” begins with the anti-christ on temple mount at half way point

d. Pre-wrath has:

i. seals #1-4 in the first 3 ½ years

ii. seal #5 during Time of Persecution

iii. seal #6-7, trumpets, bowls after persecution

iv. the rapture ends the persecution and begins the seals $6-7, trumpets and bowls

v. This leaves only seal #5 for this “most terrible time” described by Jesus in Mt. 24:21

e. In Rev. 13:5-7 the anti-christ has 42 months to persecute and blaspheme

f. Problem for pre-wrath:

i. The AC persecution continues until the end

ii. The trumpets and bowls must be worse than the anti-christ’s persecution, yet the anti-christ’s persecution is said to be the worse time.

5. Pre-Wrath calls the Seals the “Wrath of Man”

a. Seals = Wrath of Man; Trumpets, Bowls = Wrath of God

b. Yet, all (seals, trumpets, bowls) all come from the same scroll held by God and opened by Jesus

c. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 – not appointed to suffer wrath

d. If bowls are wrath, then the trumpets and seals are wrath

e. Pre-wrath must call the seals something other than the Wrath of God

f. Yet, ¼ of the earth’s population dies in 4^th seal

6. Bowl Judgments After 70^th Week

a. The bowl judgments occur for 30 days after the 70^th week

b. This means the greatest wrath is not part of:

i. Pre-wrath’s “Wrath of God”

ii. Pre-trib’s “ Seven year Tribulation”

7. Revelation 3:10 – “Kept from (ek) the hour”

a. “ek” (ek) means “out of “

b. “dia (dia) means “through”

c. The hour of testing is the Great Tribulation (first part of second 3 ½ years) which pre-wrath says the church lives in

d. See Pre-wrath diagram from Rosenthal:

8. Defining Length of Church Age

a. Romans 11:25- (read this verse) – Full number of Gentiles comes in and then Israel is saved

b. Church is built – Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5; Matthew 16:18

c. Acts 15:14-16 – God has finished calling from the Gentils a people for himself. Then he will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent

d. Church appears with Christ in Glory –

i. Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ, who is your life, appears”

ii. 1 Timothy 3:15-16

9. Shortening of the Great Tribulation

a. Pre-wrath says God shortens the time of anti-christ’s persecution from 3 ½ years to something less, but yet unknown length of time

b. All agree the Great Tribulation begins a the midway (1/2 way) through the 70^th week (7 years)

c. But, when does the Great Tribulation (time of persecution end?

d. All agree that the 70^th week of 7 years is not shortened.

e. If it is not shortened all flesh would perish (Matt. 24:22)

f. Does the Scripture teach that the 3 ½ years (42 months, 1260 days) is the short time? Or, the adjusted time Jesus spoke of? Meaning, was this time of judgment on the earth to have been longer, but God shortened it to 3 ½ years?

g. Revelation 12:12 - Satan knows this time is short and it is identified as 1,260 days there

h. Revelation 17:10 says that when he does come, he must remain for a little while

i. Revelation 13:5 – the Beast opens his mouth and uttered blasphemous things for 42 months

j. Pre-wrath says God shortens the Great persecution to spare flesh, but then this is followed by the Great Day or the Lord where the trumpets and bowls are poured out. The Day of the Lord is worse than the Great Tribulation. How can any survive the Day of the Lord?

10. “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” and “Day of the Lord”

a. The “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” is Not the “Day of the Lord”

b. Jeremiah 30:7 says:

i. That day is great

ii. No day like it

iii. Time of Jac ob’s trouble

iv. Jacob “will be saved be saved out of it”

c. Pre-Wrath says:

i. Jacob’s trouble = Great Tribulation

ii. Jacob’s trouble is NOT Day of the Lord

iii. Day of Lord follows Jacob’s trouble

d. The problem with the above model is:

i. The Anti-christ persecution goes to the end of the 70^th week for a full 3 ½ years (1,260 days), but eh Great Tribulation is supposed to be cut short by the rapture and interrupted by the Day of the Lord.

ii. Jeremiah 30:7 says Jacob is saved out of Jacob’s trouble, but here only to enter Day of the Lord

iii. Jeremiah 30:7 (like Matthew 24:21) says this day is the greatest (worst), none like it, yet it is followed by the terrible Day of the Lord.

11. “Peace and Safety” in Midst of Great Tribulation

a. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 says that before the Day of the Lord men will say “Peace and Safety” (absence of war, security, and a sense of wellbeing)

b. Pre-wrath says people say “Peace and Safety” at the end of the Great Tribulation (which is the worst of days according to Jesus)

c. Pre-wrath says that at the end of Jacob’s Trouble men will say “Peace and Safety as the world goes dark and the Day of the Lord begins

d. Pre-wrath explains this by saying that it is the Jews who say “Peace and Safety” since they see Jesus returning for the church, but they are left behind and destruction begins.

12. Birth Pains – Initial and Intense; Surprise and Anticipated

a. Birth pains are in two phases:

i. Initial labor contractions that surprise the woman

ii. Later contractions that immediately precede the birth

b. The Initial pains are early and surprising

c. The later pains are known to becoming once the initial pains begin, so they are not a surprise. They are predictable and very intense.

d. Matthew 24:8 says, “These are the beginning of birth pains” and these are associated with the first 4 seals of Rev. 6 in the first 3 ½ years. The seals will be a surprise

e. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 refers to the surprise of the Birth pains. . The world is not expecting it and saying “Peace and Safety.”

f. Pre-wrath assumes that 1 Thess. 5:2-3 is the hard labor, but the hard labor pains are not a surprise.

g. Pre-wrath says 1 Thes. 5:23 occurs before the Day of the Lord

h. Pre-wrath has the hard labor giving birth to the Day of the Lord, not to deliverance and joy.

i. Matthew 24:21 begins the intense pains which are not a surprise but very intense

j. Jeremiah 30:6-7 - read this – concerning the great birth pains that Jesus was building from when he used the same illustration in Matthew 24:8 of the early pains.