The Rapture [RAPTURE CAUCUS]

What is it? Who will it affect? When is it most likely to take place?
by Dr. David R. Reagan
http://www.lamblion.com/about_staff_reagan.php

The promise is that someday very soon, at the blowing of a trumpet and the shout of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the sky and take up His Church, living and dead, to Heaven.

The term "Rapture" comes from a Latin word, "rapio," that means "to catch up, to snatch away, or to take out." It is, in turn, a translation of the Greek word, "harpazo."

So, "Rapture" is a Biblical word that comes right out of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The word is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In the New American Standard Version, the English phrase, "caught up," is used. The same phrase is used in the King James and New International Versions.

The concept of the Rapture was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets because it is a promise to the New Testament Church and not to the saints of God who lived before the establishment of the Church. Jesus will return as a bridegroom for His bride, and that bride consists only of Church Age saints.

The saints of Old Testament times will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and not at the time of the Rapture of the Church. Daniel reveals this fact in Daniel 12:1-2 where he says that the saints of that age will be resurrected at the end of the "time of distress."

The first clear mention of the Rapture in Scripture is found in the words of Jesus recorded in John 14:1-4. Jesus said, "I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the Rapture is given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. He says that when Jesus appears, the dead in Christ (Church Age saints) will be resurrected and caught up first. Then, those of us who are alive in Christ will be translated "to meet the Lord in the air."

Paul mentions the Rapture again in 1 Corinthians 15 — his famous chapter on the resurrection of the dead: "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (verses 51-52).

Paul's reference here to being changed is an allusion to the fact that the saints will receive glorified bodies that will be imperishable, immortal, and perfected (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50-55 and Isaiah 35:5-6).

To summarize, these passages teach that the shout of an archangel and the blowing of a trumpet will herald the sudden appearance of Jesus in the heavens (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The dead in Christ will be resurrected and rise up to meet the Lord in the sky. Then, those saints who are alive will be "caught up" to the Lord. Paul concludes his description in 1 Thessalonians 4 by encouraging his readers to "comfort one another with these words."

And truly the Rapture is a comforting thought! Consider the promises contained in the concept of the Rapture. Jesus will bring with Him the spirits of those who have died in Him (1 Thessalonians 4:14). He will resurrect their bodies in a great miracle of re-creation; He will reunite their bodies with their spirits; and He will then glorify their bodies, making them immortal. And those believers who are living will not even taste death. Rather, they will be caught up to the Lord, and in transit, they will be translated from mortal to immortal.

All my life I have heard that there are two things no one can avoid: taxes and death. Well, that is not true. According to 1 Thessalonians 4, a whole generation of believers will escape death. Taxes appear to be the only inevitability!

The most controversial aspect of the Rapture is its timing. Some place it at the end of the Tribulation, making it one and the same event as the Second Coming. Others place it in the middle of the Tribulation. Still others believe that it will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation.

The reason for these differing viewpoints is that the exact time of the Rapture is not precisely revealed in scripture. It is only inferred. There is, therefore, room for honest differences of opinion, and lines of fellowship should certainly not be drawn over differences regarding this point, even though it is an important point.

Those who place the timing at the end of the Tribulation usually base their argument on two parables in Matthew 13 and on the Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24.

In Matthew 24 the Lord portrays His gathering of the saints as an event that will take place "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matthew 24:29). This certainly sounds like a post-Tribulation Rapture. But it must be kept in mind that the book of Matthew was written to the Jews, and therefore the recording of Jesus' speech by Matthew has a distinctively Jewish flavor to it as compared to Luke's record of the same speech.

Note, for example, Matthew's references to Judea and to Jewish law regarding travel on the Sabbath (Matthew 24:15-20). These are omitted in Luke's account. Instead, Luke speaks of the saints looking up for deliverance "to escape all these things" when the end time signs "begin to take place" (Luke 21:28, 36). The saints in Matthew are instructed to flee from Judea and hide. The saints in Luke are told to look up for deliverance.

It appears, therefore, that Matthew and Luke are speaking of two different sets of saints. The saints in Matthew's account are most likely Jews who receive Jesus as their Messiah during the Tribulation. The saints in Luke are those who receive Christ before the Tribulation begins. Most of those who accept the Lord during the Tribulation will be martyred (Revelation 7:9-14). Those who live to the end will be gathered by the angels of the Lord (Matthew 24:31).

The parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) and the parable of the dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50) can be explained in the same way. They refer to a separation of saints and sinners that will take place at the end of the Tribulation. The saints are those who receive Jesus as their Savior during the Tribulation (Gentile and Jew) and who live to the end of that awful period.

The Bible clearly teaches that the Rapture is an event that is separate and apart from the Second Coming. The two simply cannot be combined into one event.

There are variations of the mid-Tribulation Rapture concept. The most common is that the Church will be taken out in the exact middle of the Tribulation, at the point in time when the Antichrist is revealed.

This concept is based upon a statement in 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says that the Rapture will occur at the blowing of "the last trumpet." This trumpet is then identified with the seventh trumpet of the trumpet judgments in the book of Revelation. Since the blowing of the seventh trumpet is recorded in Revelation 11, the mid-point of the Tribulation, the conclusion is that the Rapture must occur in the middle of the Tribulation.

But there are two problems with this interpretation. The first is that the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is blown for believers whereas the seven trumpets of Revelation 8, 9 and 11 are sounded for unbelievers. The Revelation trumpets have no relevance for the Church. The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is a trumpet for the righteous. The last trumpet for the unrighteous is the one described in Revelation 11.

Another problem with this interpretation is that the passage in Revelation 11 that portrays the sounding of the seventh trumpet is a "flash forward" to the end of the Tribulation. Flash forwards are very common in the book of Revelation. They occur after something terrible is described in order to assure the reader that everything is going to turn out all right when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation.

Thus, the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation, which describe the horrors of the trumpet judgments, are followed immediately by a flash forward in chapter 10 that pictures the return of Jesus in victory at the end of the Tribulation. The mid-Tribulation action resumes in chapter 11 with a description of the killing of the two great prophets of God by the Antichrist. Then, to offset that terrible event, we are presented with another flash forward, beginning with verse 15. The seventh trumpet is sounded and we find ourselves propelled forward to the end of the Tribulation when "the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord."

The point is that the seventh trumpet of Revelation relates to the end of the Tribulation and not the middle. It is the same trumpet that is referred to in Matthew 24:31, the trumpet that will be blown to announce the Second Coming of Jesus. It is therefore no basis for an argument in behalf of a mid-Tribulation Rapture.

A variation of the mid-Tribulation Rapture is the pre-wrath Rapture concept that places the Rapture at the beginning of the last quarter of the Tribulation, about five and a half years into the Tribulation.

The argument for this view is that the Church is promised protection only from the wrath of God and not the wrath of Man or of Satan. It is then argued that only the bowl judgments in the last quarter of the Tribulation (Revelation 16) represent the wrath of God.

But the argument for this view disintegrates when you consider two facts. First, it is Jesus Himself who breaks the seals that launch each of the seal judgments recorded in Revelation 6. These judgments occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. Second, the seven angels who blow the trumpets that initiate each of the trumpet judgments are given their trumpets at the throne of God (Revelation 8:2).

All the judgments of Revelation are clearly superintended by God. That is the reason we are told in Revelation 15:1 that the bowl judgments at the end of the Tribulation will finish the wrath of God, not begin His wrath.

I believe the best inference of Scripture is that the Rapture will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. The most important reason I believe this has to do with the issue of imminence.

Over and over in Scripture we are told to watch for the appearing of the Lord. We are told "to be ready" (Matthew 24:44), "to be on the alert" (Matthew 24:42), "to be dressed in readiness" (Luke 12:35), and to "keep your lamps alight" (Luke 12:35). The clear force of these persistent warnings is that Jesus can appear at any moment.

Only the pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture allows for the imminence of the Lord's appearing for His Church. When the Rapture is placed at any other point in time, the imminence of the Lord's appearing is destroyed because other prophetic events must happen first.

For example, if the Rapture is going to occur in mid-Tribulation, then why should I live looking for the Lord's appearing at any moment? I would be looking instead for an Israeli peace treaty, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the revelation of the Antichrist. Then and only then could the Lord appear.

This raises the issue of what we are to be looking for. Nowhere are believers told to watch for the appearance of the Antichrist. On the contrary, we are told to watch for Jesus Christ. In Titus 2:13 Paul says we are to live "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Likewise, Peter urges us to "fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). John completes the apostolic chorus by similarly urging us to "fix our hope on Him" at His appearing (1 John 3:2-3).

Only Matthew speaks of watching for the Antichrist (Matthew 24:15), but he is speaking to the Jews living in Israel in the middle of the Tribulation when the Antichrist desecrates the rebuilt Temple.

Another argument in behalf of a pre-Tribulation Rapture has to do with the promises of God to protect the Church from His wrath. As has already been demonstrated, the book of Revelation shows that the wrath of God will be poured out during the entire period of the Tribulation.

The Word promises over and over that the Church will be delivered from God's wrath. Romans 5:9 says that "we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him [Jesus]." 1 Thessalonians 1:10 states that we are waiting "for His Son from heaven... who will deliver us from the wrath to come." The promise is repeated in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 — "God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Some argue that God could supernaturally protect the Church during the Tribulation. Yes, He could. In fact, He promises to do just that for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed as bond-servants at the beginning of the Tribulation (Revelation 7:1-8).

But God's promise to the Church during the Tribulation is not one of protection but one of deliverance. Jesus said we would "escape" the horrors of the Tribulation (Luke 21:3-6). Paul says Jesus is coming to "deliver" us from God's wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

There are several prophetic types that seem to affirm the concept of deliverance from Tribulation.

Take Enoch for example. He was a prophet to the Gentiles who was raptured out of the world before God poured out His wrath in the great flood of Noah's time. Enoch appears to be a type of the Gentile Church that will be taken out of the world before God pours out His wrath again. If so, then Noah and his family are a type of the Jewish remnant that will be protected through the Tribulation.

Another Old Testament symbolic type which points toward a pre-Tribulation Rapture is the experience of Lot and his family. They were delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah before those cities were destroyed.

The Apostle Peter alludes to both of these examples in his second epistle. He states that if God spared Noah and Lot, then He surely "knows how to rescue the godly from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment" (2 Peter 2:4-9).

Another beautiful prophetic type is to be found in the Jewish wedding traditions of Jesus' time. After the betrothal, the groom would return to his father's house to prepare a wedding chamber for his bride. He would return for his bride at an unexpected moment, so the bride had to be ready constantly. When he returned, he would take his bride back to his father's house to the chamber he had prepared. He and his bride would then be sealed in the chamber for seven days. When they emerged, a great wedding feast would be celebrated.

Likewise, Jesus has returned to Heaven to prepare a place for His bride, the Church. When He returns for His bride, He will take her to His Father's heavenly home. There He will remain with His bride for seven years (the duration of the Tribulation). The period will end with "the marriage supper of the Lamb" described in Revelation 19. Thus the seven days in the wedding chamber point prophetically to the seven years that Jesus and His bride will remain in Heaven during the Tribulation.

Speaking of Revelation, the structure of that book also implies a pre-Tribulation Rapture in a symbolic sense.

The first three chapters focus on the Church. Chapter 4 begins with the door of Heaven opening and John being raptured from the Isle of Patmos to the throne of God in Heaven. The Church is not mentioned thereafter until Revelation 19:7-9 when it is portrayed as the "bride of Christ" in Heaven with Jesus celebrating the "marriage supper of the Lamb." At Revelation 19:11 the door of Heaven opens again, and Jesus emerges riding a white horse on His way to earth, followed by His Church (Revelation 19:14).

The rapture of the Apostle John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type of the Rapture of the Church. Note that it is initiated by the cry of a voice that sounds like the blowing of a trumpet (Revelation 4:1). Since the Tribulation does not begin until Revelation 6, the rapture of John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type that points to a pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.

Some counter this argument by pointing out that although the Church is not mentioned in Revelation during that book's description of the Tribulation, there is constant mention of "saints" (for example, Revelation 13:7). But that term is not used in the Bible exclusively to refer to members of the Church. Daniel uses it to refer to Old Testament believers who lived long before the Church was established (Daniel 7:18). The saints referred to in the book of Revelation are most likely those people who will be saved during the Tribulation, after the Church has been taken out of the world.

An interesting argument in behalf of the pre-Tribulation timing of the Rapture can be found in 2 Thessalonians. The church at Thessalonica was in a turmoil because someone had written them a letter under Paul's name stating that they had missed the "gathering to the Lord" and were, in fact, living in "the day of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

Paul attempted to calm them down by reminding them of his teaching that the day of the Lord would not come until after the Antichrist is revealed. He then stated that the Antichrist would not be revealed until a restraining force "is taken out of the way" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-7).

There has been much speculation as to the identity of this restraining force that Paul refers to. Some have identified it as the Holy Spirit. But it cannot be the Holy Spirit because there will be people saved during the Tribulation, and no one can be saved apart from the testimony of the Spirit (John 16:8-11 & 1 John 5:7).

Others have identified the restrainer as human government. It is true that government was ordained by God to restrain evil (Romans 13:1-4). But the governments of the world are in rebellion against God and His Son (Psalm 2), and they are therefore a contributor to the evil that characterizes the world. Furthermore, the Tribulation will not be characterized by a lack of government. Rather, it will feature the first true worldwide government (Revelation 13:7).

In my opinion that leaves only one other candidate for Paul's restrainer — and that is the Church. It is the Church that serves as the primary restrainer of evil in the world today as it proclaims the Gospel and stands for righteousness. When the Church fails in this mission, evil multiplies, as Paul graphically points out in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Paul says that society in the end times will be characterized by chaos and despair because "men will hold to a form of religion but will deny its power." When the Church is removed from the world, all hell will literally break loose.

The pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture has often been condemned as "escapism." I think this criticism is unjustified. The Bible itself says that Christians are to "comfort one another" with the thought of the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Is it a comfort to think of the Rapture occurring at the end of the world's worst period of war instead of at the beginning?

Regardless of when the Rapture actually occurs, we need to keep in mind that the Bible teaches that societal conditions are going to grow increasingly worse the closer we get to the Lord's return. That means Christians will suffer tribulation whether or not they go into the Great Tribulation. And that means all of us had better be preparing ourselves for unprecedented suffering and spiritual warfare.

If you are a Christian, you can do that on a daily basis by putting on "the full armor of God" (Ephesians 6:13), praying at all times in the Spirit that you will be able to stand firm against the attacks of Satan (Ephesians 6:14-18).

If you are not a Christian, your only hope is to reach out in faith and receive the free gift of God's salvation which He has provided through His Son, Jesus (John 3:16).

Well, there are two ways for me (I’ve got a Mac and the web browser is “Safari”). You should have the same two ways, actually.

One way is that on your web browser, when you show a PDF page (that’s what your links will show when it comes up) — you should see a menu across the top of your browser that comes up for Adobe Acrobat files. It will have a “save” button there. That’s one way.

If you don’t have it or can’t find it — then you can do a click on the links that you provided where you click to “Download Linked File” (that’s what it shows on my Safari Browser, but it the wording may be different on yours). Basically, you’re telling your web browser to download the “link” instead of loading it in the web page. So, you get the file on your desktop... (it may be a “right-click” thingy, but we don’t really have that on the Mac...).

So, those are the two ways that I know about.

Now, in order to join the files, I believe you have to have the regular Adobe Acrobat program (and not the “viewer”) on your computer. But, you might check to see if the viewer will “join” Adobe files (I don’t think so).

P.S. — I just found a third way to do it. I can load the webpage (showing the PDF file) and then choose on my menu “Save As...” which will then save the page to the Desktop as an Adobe Acrobat file. So, there are three ways (for me, at least...).

The Jew looks for a sign and the Greek looks for wisdom.
This year(2008) is a sabbatical year; seven years from now will be another sabbatical year.
Is there anything special in the year 2014 or 2015 ?
Scripturally that is; let's ignore the Aztec calendar for now.
NAU Revelation 6:12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there
was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth
made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

Joel 2:
28 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.

29 "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

30 "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

31 "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

32 "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
The sun darkens and the moon becomes like blood.
Yah'shua quoted Joel 2 in Matthew 24:29
Solar and Lunar Eclipses perhaps ?
Lunar Eclipses
The four lunar eclipses will occur on:

Passover, April 15, 2014
and
The Feast of Tabernacles, October 8, 2014

Passover, April 4, 2015 and
and
The Feast of Tabernacles, September 28, 2015

This sequence of four signs ( eclipses) on YHvH's feasts does not occur often,
the last time was 1967-1968 (six day war and the capture of Jerusalem)
and 1949-1950 ( the year after the State of Israel was formed)
and 1493 the year after the Jews were expelled from Spain.
During 2014 - 2015 there will also be Solar Eclipses on YHvH's feast days:

Adar 29/Nisan 1, March 20, 2015
Tishri 1, The Feast of Trumpets, September 13, 2015

What is coming up this year and next?
Av 1 - August 1, 2008 - partial eclipse
Av 1 - July 22, 2009 - partial eclipse
Av 1 - July 11, 2010 - partial eclipse

In the Jewish calendar, they are all on the first of Av, the day when Jews
lament the destruction of their temples. As the story goes, Moses caught
the people worshiping the Golden Calf on Tammuz 17. Therefore, the three weeks
from Tammuz 17 to Av 9 are called “the dark time” and “between the straits.”
It is the most sorrowful time of the year for Jews. From Av 1-9, no bathing
is allowed; no comforts; no clean clothes; the Jew takes his shoes off; sits
on an overturned chair and reads the book of Lamentations.

Messianic Pastor Mark Biltz discovered these signs occurring on YHvH's Feast days.

For a deeper understanding of potential Prophetic events,
possibly pointing to Daniel's seventieth week.

Read Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2014/15 by J. R. Church
or
Watch this Video for Signs of Jesus' Return
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai

Hi swmobuffalo, you were saying — “Just FYI, it doesn’t. There are those that mix and match to come to a favored conclusion regarding the Rapture. Revelation is written to the churches, the “time of Jacob’s trouble” will coincide with those events described in Revelation but will affect the Jews as opposed to the Christians.”

—

At first, I was wondering myself. I didn’t see the actual reference and didn’t know how it all fit in there, according to the poster’s ideas. So, I did ask to see if I could understand where the poster was coming from.

And I believe that the poster made a connection from the standpoint of their viewpoint in Post #125. I’m still looking at it and considering it, but at least they did give it a connection from what they saw.

That’s the kind of stuff that I would like to see, i.e., some explanations of how one thing or another fits. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to agree with everyone else’s viewpoint. I sure don’t either. But, I’m interested in hearing, anyway.

Along with that, if you wish to say something in regards to that viewpoint, please do “make the case” (whatever your view is) — to that poster. And also, remember that others may be reading who do not have the full understanding of the terminology, so try to not “get them too lost” in the conversation... :-)

I welcome you here and would like to see you help us all out by giving us some information that is useful and productive in the matter. Thanks...

A key concept in understanding that I picked up along the way was that the translation of Tribulation and Great Tribulation is confusing in english. In english we add words as descriptors to the front of the subject, like RED box, and GREAT tribulation. But in the original translation the word for great tribulation and tribulation are two different words.

This is indicated in Mathew 24 for example when Jesus said that tribulation would be earthquakes in diverse places, wars and rumors of wars but that the time was not yet, these are just the birth pangs.

The Great Tribulation is the period of God's wrath, a time AFTER the rapture. The generation (which as indicated in Genesis is 100 years) prior to that time is in the tribulation, but awaiting the Great Tribulation.

Once this is understood it clears up a whole lot of argument between pre-trib mid-trib and pre-wrath.

If the subject is the Great Tribulation then pre/mid/prewrath are all the same thing!

nice chart, but it in my opinion shows a couple of basic errors in thinking that would really open things up.

For one thing, you must look at the book in the context of the time to see some things. For example, in the days of the writing of the book, there were kings, and no TV. So when the king made a proclamation it was not on prime time, it was done by blowing a trumpet and reading the proclamation in the public square. The blowing of a trumpet or shofar was a sign that the following was a Royal proclamation.

So...

The trumpets are announcing the bowls of wrath. They go together.

Seals also were placed on a legal document, by breaking the seals you were “activating” the document. Once all the seals are opened, the contract is valid.

So the timeline is not seals...trumpets...bowls...end it is seals...end

If you look closely the last seal is the declaration of judgment of God, the last seal is the trumpets and wrath together.

Star Traveler, thanks for the opportunity to post the LDS perspective on the Rapture. This is our biblical understanding of the event surrounding the 2nd coming of the Lord and Savior.

The gospels alone provide much info on this. Consider the timing of Christ's coming and the gathering of believers in relation to the tribulation period.

Matthew tells us that:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened... 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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect...” (Matt. 24:29-31).

Mark likewise tells us:

“after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened... And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of the earth...” (Mark 13:24,26-27).

Although Luke does not use the word tribulation, he describes these events in the same order (see Luke 21:25-27). In each case, the second coming follows the tribulation and the gathering of the elect follows his coming. Not only is there no mention of Christ's appearance before or during this tribulation period, but believers are warned by all three writers that false Christs will appear to deceive many (Matt. 24:5,23-24; Mark 13:6,21-22; Luke 21:8).

Further, Matthew quotes Christ as saying that except the “great tribulation” were “shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:21-22). This is also the theme of the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30,36-52).

John the Revelator also makes it clear that the saints will pass through the tribulation period prior to Christ's coming. In Rev. 7:13-14 an elder asked John, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And [John] said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

John goes on to speak in chapter 13 of the period in which the beast would reign (42 months or 3 1/2 years - Rev. 13:5). During this period we are told that, “it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” (Rev. 13:7). Directly following this, Christ comes with his elect to Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1) and in the clouds to execute judgment (Rev. 14:15-16). Note that in chapters 14 through 19 the Lord executes judgment. Chapter 15 speaks of the exaltation of the just who “had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name” (Rev. 15:2; compare Rev. 13:7,15-17). Chapters 16 through 19 detail the “wrath of God” poured out upon the wicked (Rev. 16:1) and at the end of chapter 19 the beast is defeated by Christ (Rev. 19:20-21).
We must remember the beast's reign was previously identified as 42 months or three and one-half years (Rev. 13:5), and this seems to be the last half of the tribulation period. This is therefore further confirmation that these chapters describe events at the end of the tribulation. Compare also Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7; Zech. 13:8-9; Mal. 3:2,5-6; Mal. 4:1-3; Rev. 20:1-7 with 1 _Thess. 4:16; and Rev. 12:14 with Rev. 12:17 and Rev. 13:5.

Thanks for the opportunity to share the LDS perspective on these verses, and thanks for the thread.

Sevenbak

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