Matthew 24:29-30, “Immediately 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: And 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.”
I love Pastor Steven Anderson and support his ministry, because he is 100%
correct on the Gospel and the King James Bible. Albeit, I disagree with him
on the TIMING of the Rapture of the saints. The doctrine of the Rapture
itself is easy to find in the Holy Bible. 1st Thessalonians 4:17, “Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Those words “CAUGHT UP” are very plain to see, which is what the word
“Rapture” means.
The controversy arises over the TIMING, that is, WHEN, the Rapture will happen. Through the process of elimination and deductive reasoning, I believe that any diligent Bible student could only conclude a PreTribulation Rapture of the saints. Respectfully, I am going to PROVE to you very simply why Pastor Anderson's PreWrath Rapture theory just isn't possible theologically, from Matthew 24:29-30, which is the key Scripture passage that Brother Anderson uses to teach his theory.
Immediately “AFTER THE TRIBULATION” of those days:
- SUN SHALL BE DARKENED
- MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT
- STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN
- POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN AND SIGNS OF CHRIST'S COMING (LUKE 21:25-27)
- TRIBES OF THE EARTH SHALL MOURN
- SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST WITH GREAT POWER AND GLORY
Please read this parallel passage from the Gospel of Luke...
Luke 21:25-27, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
The preceding passage further elaborates upon the frightening conditions, that will exist upon the earth just prior to the Lord's Second Coming. My big question to you (and this sums up the whole article) is this: If Matthew 24:29-30 is referring to the Rapture, as Brother Anderson boldly teaches, then WHEN does the Second Coming happen? Think about that, because it is important.
If this astonishing event is the Rapture—when the sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars (asteroids) shall fall from the heavens, and tsunamis waves will rage upon the sea, and the nations of the earth will be perplexed and frightened, and men's hearts shall fail them (fatal heart attacks) due to inexplicable fear, and the forces of the universe shall go haywire—then prey tell me, what will the Second Coming of Christ look like, and when will it happen? Folks, if you have any sense at all, and a working brain that can think, it ought to be very obvious to you right now that the events I just explained to you IS CHRIST'S SECOND COMING!!! This cannot be the Rapture of the saints.
Matthew 24:31 is Not the Rapture
Now let's read Matthew 24:31, because I know someone is going to bring that up next? Matthew 24:31, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Now this is NOT the Rapture, as many believers mistakenly conclude. I will PROVE IT to you with the next passage of Scripture...
Matthew 13:37-43, “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
So Jesus is the Sower of the good seed. The Devil is the sower of the bad seed, that is, the tares. Clearly, we read in Matthew 13:41 that the Lord will send out His angels to gather the tares (all things that offend and them which do iniquity). The righteous (saved) will be left upon the earth when Christ returns at His Second Coming. This is the exact opposite of what will happen at the Rapture, when the saints will be CAUGHT UP in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. What I just showed you is THE TRUTH.
This is far different than what Pastor Steven
Anderson is teaching. I say that kindly. My purpose in writing this article
is not to refute Steven Anderson; but rather, simply proclaim THE TRUTH for
the benefit of my readers. I respect Brother Anderson's right to his
opinion. I have no problem supporting his soul-winning ministry, even though
we disagree on the timing of the Rapture of the saints.
So When Does the Rapture Happen?
1st Thessalonians 4:14-18, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
If you look back to Matthew 24:29-31, Luke 21:25-27 and Matthew 13:37-43, there is no mention of raising the dead. The dead are only raised at the Rapture, which is a part of the FIRST RESURRECTION. Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” So the events mentioned in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Matthew 13 cannot be the Rapture. This is further evidence that Pastor Anderson's PreWrath Rapture theory is wrong and unbiblical. Clearly, “the dead in Christ shall rise first” at the Rapture, as we just read in 1st Thessalonians 4:16. The only logical place in time to place this event (i.e., the Rapture) is at the very beginning of the Tribulation, BEFORE, not during or after. We call this a PreTribulation Rapture of the Church.
The unsaved dead will not be raised up until after the 1,000 year Millennial reign of Christ. This is the SECOND RESURRECTION (Revelation 20:11-15). All of the unsaved in this resurrection will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire. They are already condemned, because they believed not on the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). Please note that all Scripture references are only to the precious King James Bible. Please make sure my dear friend that you will be a part of the First Resurrection. How do you do that? By getting saved, and you do that by placing your faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!
Philippians 3:9-11, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
Boy, I love that passage of Scripture! You know, if you just kick back and listen to the New Testament, a common theme that you will hear over and over, is that we are saved simply by believing (trusting) on the Good News (Gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. There is no mention of turning away from sinful behavior, nor of speaking in tongues, nor of committing one's life to serve God, nor of making Jesus the Lord of one's life, et cetera. Easy-believism is not only Biblical, it is the ONLY way to be saved. God doesn't save anyone who is trying to be saved, He only saves those who are trusting to be saved!!!
