2003 Questions and Answers

This new section is where questions and answers received via e-mail will be posted.

12/02/2003

Q: What's going to happen to all the airplanes in the air, trains and subways piloted by Christians on the day of the rapture? How about famlies driven in an automobile by a Christian? How about nuclear bomb facilites guarded by security that are Christians? Will not unbelievers have to pray for a sudden conversion?

A: Have you read any of the 'Left Behind' series of books by LaHaye & Jenkins? They're fiction, but they're an easy read and all about what may happen after the Pretribulation Rapture. Many people think that immediately after the Rapture there will be great confusion and chaos, with airplanes and cars crashing, and lots of people getting hurt and killed. Whose to say for sure? Maybe it will happen like that. But even after a miraculous supernatural event like millions of people disappearing into thin air, many will refuse to believe the Truth of the Bible and will probably be more likely believe in crazy explanations for the Great Disapperance, like space aliens taking the 'bad people' away, leaving the good people on Earth. Its difficult for many people to see God's judgement and wrath as a form of mercy, but thats exactly what it is. Sometimes the only way God can get people to call out to him is when they're in a whole lot of trouble or pain. This is a very common theme throughout the Old Testament...God allowed Israel to suffer when they disobeyed Him, so that they would turn back towards Him and cry out for help. Likewise, this is part of God's plan for the 7 years of Tribulation on Earth after the Church has been taken out of this world.

thanks for your question Ben.

10/13/2003

Q: If a person who becomes saved during the Tribulation breaks down and takes 666... will that person (who was saved) go to Hell? A whimpy answer would be 'well, that person wasn't really saved to begin with' or 'a true Christian would never take 666'. I believe the pressure to take 666 will be incredible and many Christians may buckle. Will those people go to Hell?

A: I think you're right about a compulsion to take the mark when that day comes. It will probably be very difficult for anyone to live without it...possibly not being recognized as 'legal citizens' or labeled as 'religious fanatics'. Possibly unable to buy food at the store, use public transportation, etc. But God will provide. What I believe is more important about the mark is that it belongs to the Beast. Whoever takes the mark may have to deny Christ just to get it, or swear allegiance to the antichrist. The Bible's warning to NOT take the mark is undeniably loud and clear...so it must be a very important issue. To take the mark would not only be an act of disobedience towards God, but an action which shows a lack of faith, or doubt towards God's Word. Peter denied Christ 3 times and was forgiven...but I wouldn't use this as an example that proves that those believers who do take the mark will not suffer severe consequences. What if the ultimate result of taking the mark was that one had to divulge the identity of all the Christians (heretics, enemies of state) that they knew?

Revelation 13:16 states that the antichrist will "force" people to take the mark. The use of the word 'force' implies having no choice in the matter.

Revelation 14:9 quotes the angel who warns about God's fury towards those who "worship the beast and his image" or who "receive the mark of his name". The word "receive" implies 'acceptance of'...which is contary to being 'forced' to take the mark as described in 13:16.

Revelation 16:2 describes God's wrath affecting the people "who had the mark of the beast AND worshiped his image". Does this leave open the possibility that some people will have the mark but NOT worship his image? I think its possible.

Ultimately God is a Righteous, Loving, Merciful, and Graceful Judge.

Thanks for the question,

ybic

Rex Price

9/26/2003

Q: I have one question about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Will the Lord Jesus Christ return and the rapture take place before or after the Antichrist is revealed? That is all. Thanks for your help.
John

A: The Pretribulation Rapture position stipulates that the Tribulation period begins with the signing of a 7 year peace treaty by the antichrist. It is generally assumed that the signing of this treaty is what prophetically proves the identity of the antichrist, thus revealing the identity of this person with absolute certainty. Therefore, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Rapture of the Church happen before antichrist is revealed, since the signing of the peace treaty is what marks the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation period described in Revelation.

8/31/2003

Comment: I would be very very careful not to criticize the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope and the Blessed Mother. Besides where is the word Rapture in the Bible? Is is right there next to Purgatory?

Response (whoever you are): Too bad you weren't alive in Martin Luther's Day. Perhaps he would have taken you seriously and you might have prevented the Protestant Reformation which has dominated Christendom for the last 500 years. I don't know (or care) about the word 'Purgatory', but the word 'Rapturo' is in the Latin Vulgate...thats 'Latin' as in 'Rome', you know? the city that sits on 7 Hills where a mortal man with the title 'Vicarius Filli Dei' rules in place of God. Thank you for your warning...but like the Bible-reading Protestants who preceded me these last 500 years, I will not be silent. The truth is that Roman Catholicism is steeped in pagan idolatry. Nobody intercedes for Jesus Christ!!! Praying to the 'Saints' or to 'Mother Mary' is simply contrary to what is written in the Bible...if people would only read it.

3/27/2003

Q: How do we know that the church will be raptured before the tribulation? If it were so cut and dried, wouldn't there be less division within the church about this?

A: "Cut and Dried" usually means routine, being done according to plan. Being a PreTribulation Rapture believe I'd have to say that the PreTribulation Rapture is according to God's plan so it is cut and dried. However, if what you meant was "simple" then I'd have to say that understanding the different positions on the Rapture is not simple, it requires serious study and concentrated thought. This issue has no bearing on one's salvation, however, only one position can be correct which means that the people who are teaching the 'other positions' are teaching false doctrine. Everybody wants to believe that their position on the issue is correct and that they are not the ones teaching false doctrine, thus we have a contentious situation where people get defensive and even slanderous about those who disagree with them. My opinion may be biased, but it does seem to me that the majority of those who promote the PostTribulational position are more agressive or antagonistic towards PreTribulationalists than vice versa. It took me quite a while to consider ALL of the evidence for why the Rapture must be PreTribulational and conclude for myself that this is the correct position. But I must warn anyone interested in the subject to not be too quick to take a position, because there certainly are scriptures which when read on their own SEEM to indicate that the Rapture is PostTrib.

Kindest regareds,

ybic

RP

1/30/2003

Q: Please give me a clear verse from the bible that precisley says that the rapture is pretribulational. Literally word for word ,without application or allegorical references. For example;the last trumpet shall sound and the dead in christ shall rise and we that are alive and remain etc. In this case it mentioned the last trumpet. I would appreciate your sure verses that a person could stand upon. thanks!

A: Thank you for you thoughtful and courteous response.

Ok, so we're on the same page that there is a Rapture, but we're in disagreement about WHEN it occurs....hey! We're in agreement on something!
Heh.

I can not discount how real your list of PostTrib scriptures is to you.
All I can do is ask that you send me a list when you find the time and I'll do my best to respond to them from the PreTrib point of view. Let me reprhrase that, I'll respond to them from My Point of View, because I'm not the Official Spokesperson for the PreTribulation viewpoint. I'll even go so far as to say, "Yes Robert, when I read this one by itself it sounds as if the Rapture is at the End of the Tribulation." But to be forthright, I feel that the odds are pretty slim that anyone will say anything to sway my opinion. (That doesn't mean that I can't be wrong).

I certainly do not intend to sound as if I'm making an arrogant statement, but I started studying End Times Prophecy earnestly around 1994. ( For all I know you're 70 years old and started studying around 1954 ) I feel that I really took my time in making up my mind, and I recollect wavering for awhile. I still wonder sometimes if the Rapture couldn't be Pre-Wrath.

The timing of the Rapture is one those topics that is thrown into the Christian Debate Stew Pot. Another popularly debated topic being, "Can a person lose their salvation?" Nobody's salvation is dependent on their belief of when the Rapture occurs. However, I say that with a disclaimer. If the Rapture is PreTribulational, then the concept of imminency is preserved, meaning Christ can come back at any moment, we don't know exactly when, and this is easily supported with a number of scriptures. The concept of imminency is also a great motivator for Christians, unbelievers or seekers to live their lives in the Light. Who wants to get caught with their pants down, or with their hand in the cookie jar when Jesus comes back?

Based on the premise of imminency, I can say "Jesus might come back tomorrow", but you can not say that. Based on your PostTrib understanding, you're forced to say "Christ can NOT come back tomorrow." Where is the imminency in that?

If the imminency of Christ's return is dismissed, then people can rationalize their sinful living and continuously put off getting right with God because as they understand it, "Christ can NOT come back tomorrow (because the Tribulation hasn't started), so I still have time to get my life right with God later. Meanwhile Lets Party!"

If the Rapture does not happen BEFORE the antichrist signs the peace treaty with the 'many', then there are only 7 years left until Christ returns with his army of saints on white horses. ( A week of years, or Daniel's 70th week). So imminency is gone.

I would be interested in reading your Jewish friend's paper, thank you.

Here's 2 questions for you:

Do you believe that the parable of the 10 virgins is about the Rapture? or something else?

Have you read much about the correlation between Christ (the groom) coming for his Church (the bride) and the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony? This fascinates me. The groom comes at an unexpected hour.


Now at risk of answering a question that some might call a 'trick question', I'll answer you by saying outright that "No, there isn't one particular scripture (that I'm aware of) that explicitly states that the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation"

Regarding the last scripture you quoted as being in the PostTrib realm...

Psalm 110:1
The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."

( This Psalm is quoted in Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13 and Hebrews 10:13 )

I do understand your thinking here, that the scripture suggests that Jesus will sit at the Father's right hand until its time to deal with his enemies, namely antichrist and all those who opposed the 2nd Coming. Please give me some more time to reflect on this.

Meanwhile, affer reading the following 2 scriptures as a result of looking into Hebrews 10:13 ( on your explicit recommendation )
I believe that what God is saying here is that He is coming ( when the time is right, and not a moment sooner or later ), and that Enoch was rewarded by being Raptured because his Faith pleased God. In the parable of the 10 virgins, they were ALL waiting for the Groom, but only half of them were ready and prepared for his coming when the moment came. Could it be that many who are Left Behind are Christians by nomenclature, but haven't been "seeking" God the way Enoch had, so they are not entitled to a "reward" like Enoch received in Hebrews 11 ? I'm not suggesting tha they are excluded from Heaven, but that they miss the reward of being invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Hebrews 10:37
For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.

Hebrews 11:5-6
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.


I better send this off now, otherwise it'll turn into a novella.

Enjoy your weekend,

Kindest Regards,

ybic

Rex Price