The Veiled Doctrine of the Pre-Trib Rapture

As a thief veils his presence from those he wishes to steal from, so the Lord has veiled the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation coming for His church. That may be construed by some as a loaded statement, for sure.

Of course, those who have put forth great effort in the study of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine may dispute its veiling. Indeed, for those who search out truth through the effort of study, and humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit, truth is unveiled.

It is of no mystery to the children of God that He requires us to study His Word.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

It should also be of no mystery to God's children that He wants them to understand His doctrines.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

God wants our spiritual fellowship with Him through the study of His Word. He stimulates and motivates us to study His Word, by veiling certain doctrines within His Word, so that in depth study is required to search them out for spiritual understanding.

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

If those who do not believe can be so blinded to the first, elementary doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just imagine how blind some can be to a deeper doctrine such as that of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church.

It’s very simple, if you refuse to believe in the truth, you will become blinded to it.

Of course there are many honest, born-again believers in Christ do not agree with the Pre-Trib doctrine. Those believers are not seeking to devour those of us who do. I have to seriously question the motivation of those who focus the majority of their “work for the Lord” in vitriolic attacks launched against the hearts of those who hold to the Pre-Trib Rapture doctrine. Such attacks are an attribute of Satan, not of Christ.

I believe that the Lord hid or veiled the doctrine of the Pre-Trib Rapture from the eyes of the wolves to protect His sheep from their hunger. If Satan knew exactly when the "Thief" would come to snatch away His sheep, he may very likely launch a mass extermination operation to kill them off before their Shepherd could come to rescue them.

Of course, we know that Satan will launch just such an operation of extermination against all who refuse to worship him, during the second half of the Tribulation (Revelation 13:7-8).

Jesus referred to His own coming for His sheep as when a thief comes at an unexpected hour.

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:42-44).

The Shepherd will turn the tables on the wolf; He will come at an unexpected hour to snatch all of His sheep away from danger.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

The following is a quote from an earlier article written by me about the Day of the Lord, with the addition of some editing:

The Day of the Lord arrives as a thief in the night but it does not end as a thief in the night. The “day” is more than just a 24-hour period of time. It is not the same amount of time as “the evening and the morning” referred to in the creation chronicle in the book of Genesis. A lot takes place during the “day” of the Lord.

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

When heaven is opened in Revelation 19:11, everyone on earth will see Jesus. His return at the end of the Tribulation will not come as a thief in the night. The “day of the Lord” will begin as a thief in the night but it will not end as a thief in the night.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire” (Revelation 19:11).

“All of the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

The entire process of Christ’s coming at the end of the Tribulation will be very obvious to the world, unlike the process of a thief who does not want to announce his presence to those he wants to steal from. When Christ comes as a thief (before the Tribulation), He will only trumpet His Presence to His bride that He is “stealing” from the world. While Christ’s bride is caught up, the rest of the world will be caught-off-guard.

To believe in the doctrine of the Pre-Trib Rapture is to embrace the hope of its truth. And if there is one thing that Satan and his minions cannot stand, it is hope in Jesus. They engage in great effort to deceive us into believing that our hope is dangerous to ourselves. The Bible clearly teaches that only those who do not receive the love of the truth will be deceived.

“And with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

Our hope is of no danger to us; it is only dangerous to those who hate the truth. It shakes their faith, it rattles their nerves. They are in danger when our faith is strong.

The danger is to the arrogance of their egos. They have to be right to stay propped up on the pedestal of their pride. We have to be right in order to properly instruct our hearts and to comfort the hearts of our fellow believers. We have to stay motivated to go about the Lord’s work until He returns. We have to continue to love God, and to teach and to love one another in His name.

The hatred of hope in Christ was no doubt the motivation behind the false teachings that led the church at Thessalonica to be so greatly troubled in their collective spirit.

The same attacks are being launched within the church today, with back-breaking strength. Satan and his children cannot stand your comfort in Christ. Don’t let their arrows pierce your armor of hope. Take up your shield of faith.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16).

After all, when we look at the near complete depravity of the world around us, what else can we hope for but the return of Jesus? There certainly isn’t any hope for the repentance of this world as a whole. The only hope that remains is for the repentance of a few, and for our escape.

If and when any of us as individuals, or all of us collectively, will or will not escape this tortuous place is up to God the Father only.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).

I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair, nor if I’ll walk the vale with him, or meet him in the air. But I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day. “I know not why God’s wondrous grace.”

I would like to recommend that you study the Jewish Feasts and Festivals. The OT make it clear that these are God's feasts and not mans. If you follow the Jewish religious calendar,( not the secular calendar), It answers many Scriptures found in the NT. We all need to understand that Passover was when the death angel passed over the families with lamb's blood on their door posts in Egypt. Even children are taught this story in Sunday School. Low and behold, We then learn that Jesus became the Lamb that was slaughtered on Passover and His blood saves us when we have applied it to our "doorposts" which is our heart. In the OT, God was signifying that He was reserving certain days for His work and the "seasons" would give us a hint as to His future plans. Of course, Jesus was "Unleavened Bread", and He was "The First Fruits of the dead". 50 days later, The Holy Spirit was dispensed on Pentecost. The first Pentecost, the Law was given on Mt. Sinai, the second, the Holy Spirit was given. In the first, 3000 died, in the second, 3000 were saved. All those days have been fulfilled Biblicaly and only 3 Feasts remain. The next to fall would be the Feast of Yom Teruah, or "Trumpets". A detailed study of these Feast Days answers many questions believers may have about the future. "The day no one knows" is a 2 day period that happens on Trumpets. It's like telling a person from Japan, "I'll call you next turkey day". He has no clue what we mean, but an American would know easily. People have turned inside out and churches have split over someone saying the Rapture will come on some future Yom Teruah. Living Water, Trumpets, Light of the world, and several other familiar words are all themes found in God's Feast Days. Yom Kippur, of course is Judgement day, and Tabernacles is the 1000 year reign of Christ on Earth. Jesus was born on Tabernacles and everything in His life of significance was on a feast Day. If you asked a Jew about the 3 posts wrapped in swaddling cloth set up in the Temple courtyard burning, he would say "Oh, that's the light of the world!"

I can't give you a 6 hour Bible study in a few lines on a blog, but it's safe to say EVERY Christian should at least be exposed to what Jesus believed and practiced because he was a practicing Jew. If He fulfilled every "jot and tittle" in the Bible while on Earth, it makes sense to me He will be faithful to fulfill the future commitments made in the last 3 Feast days.

Another point to make about the Rapture's timing is, God uses certain words in the Bible to denote His feelings towards us so that we may understand His emotions and intent. He uses the word "adultery" to denote His disgust with Israel following other gods and calls then an adulterous nation. He uses "sons and daughters" to show His feelings toward His children as we are fathers as He is a Father. He used the term "Bride" to show us His feeling toward the Church. We need to ask ourselves if we would leave our wives in harms way as the total wrath of God is poured out on the Earth. If a Groom loves His Bride, would He not fetch them out of the trouble to come? Why would He say He loves us and leave us here to be beheaded by the beast? He at least made a path of escape for Noah and family, why not his beloved?

People say I'm saying Christians will have it easy, but that's not true. The devil can dispense his own misery and is so doing even today. We are not guaranteed safety here and Jesus said the world persecutes Him, why would we get anything different? But that's NOT the wrath of God, they are totally different. If God placed these wheels in motion back in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, ect, and held true with supplying His Lamb, shedding His blood, and dispensing the Holy Spirit in order, and on certain days, I have no doubt He will not change things up just to keep us in the dark.

As far as the "Thief" reference, You have to keep in mind the world belongs to Satan and stays that way until Jesus come back to redeem it. He will call us out for our protection before He claims title to the land. Of course God is capable of anything, but people forget that He is also tied to His Word. The Word was written before the foundation of the world and it is an unchangeable script that will be finished to the last period on the page. Satan knows his part and will perform his duties as God decreed from the beginning. There is no plan "B". I've read the verses people refer to for mid trib and post trib theories, but I'm convinced in pre trib. I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed it to me just as I'm sure the others believe the holy Spirit has reveals some unknowable truth to them. I think the foundation stone is, I believe God loves me and my family and will be faithful to remove me from danger before He pours out His wrath on the earth. I can't imaging a loving Bridegroom leaving His Bride behind to suffer with the people deserving of death.

Another reference would be to the people that are His that are left behind. When lukewarm and no Christians are left behind to suffer tribulation, they will know what happened to their family and friends because they had heard the story, but failed to believe. When the Church leaves, There is no more "grace" period to come to the Lord without payment. You either will take the mark, or be murdered to be saved. When the beast has your loved ones with a knife to their throat, will you take the mark or claim Christ and let them perish. When it comes right down to it, the knife will be at your throat and you will feel the blade slicing you flesh and you will make up your mind then to live forever or rot in hell. Pretty different choice than what we have today. The souls under the alter mentioned in Revelation will be these people. They are naked and have no white robes because the wedding already happened at Rapture. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross will not be held lightly. Everyone has the chance now to claim His blood and leave before the wrath. If you miss the train outta here, the only way off this rock is by your murder. If you save your life you will lose it and if not, you will be saved.

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