I went through this process years ago as a teenager when I realized that the pre-tribulational rapture was a nice paradigm which can simplify many eschatological issues tied up with a pretty bow; but it cannot be proved from scripture. After years of study I had to resign myself to admitting I just could not understand the passages but I could see that the pre-tribulational rapture explanation had holes that could not be reconciled with many scriptures.
There are still many things I do not understand, but I have found that there are many answers that can be found straight from scripture rather than seeking to impose a paradigm on them, no matter how attractive the paradigm is.
“First, there are seven years left of the 490 years God promised to deal specifically with Israel as a nation. That includes the laws given to that nation. In order for that to happen the ‘body of Christ’ or the ‘assembly’ of New Testament believers where their is no Jew or Gentile must end.”
Paul clearly taught that the New Covenant explicitly does not annul God’s promises to Israel. The existence of a church where there is “no Jew or Gentile” does not preclude the actual existence of Israel or Jew or Gentile. That is not the meaning. It also says there is neither male, nor female. He is referring to the doing away of a hierarchical religious order whereby we ALL now have direct access to God through Christ.
Israel is a branch broken off, and Gentiles are called a wild olive branch which has been grafted in. Paul explains that Israel will be grafted in again.
Again, Christ taught that there were other sheep of His which he would bring into the fold, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
There is no scriptural reason to require that God end His work in the Church on earth in order to fulfill His promises and prophecies from the Old Testament. Simultaneously to God working through Israel in the Old Testament, He also raised up other nations and worked His will in them as well.
The passage you cited in Acts 2 ties the dispensation of grace to the end times. It refers to Joel’s prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the coming of the Day of the Lord. Were these prophecies for the Church or Israel? Obviously both.
“That seven days is the earthly symbol of Christ and His bride sequestered in heaven for seven years prior to coming into the world.”
I do not find that the scripture teaches this plainly or explicitly. Therefore, it a doctrine of men. It could very well be true that the Church does spend seven years in Heaven with Christ before the final establishing of His kingdom on earth. But if so, it cannot be seven years that include the anti-Christ’s rise to power, signing of the seven-year treaty, or his breaking of the treaty and forcing the world to worship him as if he is God. These things clearly take place BEFORE the rapture and Day of the Lord according to 2 Thes. 2.
“As I said earlier in this post. A simple study of prophesy shows that the anti Christ will be known to those who study prophesy the minute he signs the peace treaty at the beginning of the seven years. That’s three and a half years before He sets up in the temple.”
This sounds good on a superficial level. And I hope my tone does not come across harsh or rude or condescending. I respect your opinion as well as many, many others who share your view. Yet, I find it impossible to reconcile this position with 2 Thes. 2.
What does it mean by “revealing” of the anti-Christ? On the surface, it does seem to imply the discovery of his identity. Yet, this does not fit the passage. The passage ties his revealing to an event. The event is the abomination of desolation which is explicitly taught to be in the exact middle of the seven-year treaty.
Notice the order of events. Here is the passage under discussion:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is the NKJV which capitalizes “He” when referring to the one who restrains because the translators apparently accept the popular view that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit. But this cannot be the case.
The Thessalonians were apparently worried that they had missed the rapture. They were suffering terrible persecution and some thought this was part of the Day of the Lord wrath they had learned about from Paul. He explains that the Day of the Lord (or here “Day of Christ”) could not have arrived yet because of two events which had not happened. One is something called the “falling away”. Remember that Christ taught that many would be offended because of Him and that family members would betray each other. This happens prior to the abomination of desolation. The second thing that had not happened is the anti-Christ had not been revealed.
The Thessalonians already knew (because Paul had taught them) that anti-Christ had not been revealed because the restrainer had not been removed.
Now if the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, it would mean the church had also been removed. This would be like saying, “Brothers, you know you haven’t missed the rapture because the rapture hasn’t taken place. You know the Day of the Lord isn’t here because it is not here. You know the anti-Christ isn’t here because he is not here.”
What encouragement would that be?
If the Holy Spirit must be “taken out of the way” first, and thus the Church will be gone before the anti-Christ can be revealed, then the anti-Christ will never be revealed to the Church because the Church would not be here. It has to mean something different.
Paul here refers to a restrainer they already knew about. How is it that 2000 years later we do not know about this restrainer? Remember, the rapture of living believers was a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament. The Old Testament tells of the first and second coming of Christ. It tells of the resurrection. But it does not tell of the rapture of living believers. So Paul showed this mystery of how some believers would not die.
The Old Testament also reveals the seventieth week, the anti-Christ, the abomination of desolation, and the restrainer. Paul is not revealing a mystery here. He is referring to something believers of that day already knew. Christ and Paul and Peter and James and Luke and others alluded to things taught in Daniel. It was the exposition of Daniel that gives us much of our New Testament understanding of prophecy, including the rapture and other end times events.
There is an event which takes place in Heaven exactly in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week: Satan is cast out of Heaven along with his angels. Who casts him out? Michael. What does Satan do when cast to the earth? He goes after Israel. Who is the protector of Israel? According to Daniel 12, it is Michael. But Michael steps aside exactly at the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week, and the Great Tribulation begins:
Daniel 12:1
At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
Simultaneously, there is another event that occurs exactly in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week: the abomination of desolation in which anti-Christ enters the third temple and declares himself God for the world to worship. This coincides with Satan’s working with signs and wonders.
So Paul encourages the Thessalonians to persevere. The Day of Christ had not yet arrived. Their rest would come when Christ returns. But the Day of the Lord (and the rapture) would not come before certain signs occurred first. He mentions two: a falling away (apparently of professing followers of Christ), and the abomination of desolation.
Think about this carefully. If you were to hear in the news that a world leader has signed a seven-year treaty with Israel, would this be the “revealing” of anti-Christ Paul writes of in 2 Thes. 2 which must occur BEFORE the day of Christ? If so, how is it that the restrainer has been removed if the restrainer is the Holy Spirit?
Here is the order: the falling away, the removal of the one who restrains (which may or may not be before the falling away), the revealing of anti-Christ, and the Day of Christ.
Keep in mind that the timing of the coming of Christ for His bride is synonymous with the coming of the Day of the Lord. These are not separated by years of time. It is indefensible to say that the Holy Spirit is the Restrainer who restrains until the beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week, but the actual Day of the Lord comes sometime after the abomination of desolation.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
The Day of the Lord comes as a thief. Christ comes as a thief. He does so at the end of the Great Tribulation. See Matthew 24:36-44.
How do all of the events of Matthew 24 line up with Revelation 6 and then Christ says He will return IMMEDIATELY afterward? Yet, Revelation has many more chapters in which God’s wrath and judgment are poured out on the earth which are not part of the narrative of Matthew 24.
How can He say when you see these things come to pass, look up if these same exact things happen in Revelation 6, but He does not return then (i.e. chapter 7)?
I don't know how many years that has been for you but I've been studying this for nearly 50 years now. That includes consulting the Greek and Hebrew not trusting the English translations. I have found there is no other interpretation that agrees with ALL of scripture than what is referred to as the pre trib rapture. I don't have time right now to address your post fully but will either later or tomorrow. A couple of quick remarks however.
The sequence of events in 2 Tim is not set.
The ancient marriage customs were well established already in Genesis exampled by the marriages of Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. It consisted of the Contract, the Consummation, then the Celebration.
The "He who restrains" can only be the Holy Spirit.
>>What does it mean by “revealing” of the anti-Christ?<<
The Greek word translated is ἀποκαλύπτω (apokaluptó) which means I uncover, bring to light, reveal. The form of the word used means "shall have been revealed". Looking to other passages we know that it's the anti Christ who makes the covenant with many. We also know the time frame for God's dealing with Israel alone again is 7 years as seen in Daniel's prophecy.
I read both your comments so far. Where do you see the ‘caught up’ or rapture happening within context of the seals, trumpets and vial (bowl) judgments?