THE SEVEN SEALED BOOK
and a different pre-trib rapture view
To the Church,
the Body of Christ, of which I am most grateful to be a part.
MY BOOK INTRODUCTION
(EDITED FOR WEB SITE)
Do you believe that Jesus Christ could come again at any time for the rapture of the Church? That's what I believe. Because of this, I also believe that the Church won't go through any of what is commonly called the Seven Year Tribulation Period. You may have heard this coming time of tribulation referred to as Daniel's 70th Week. This is another but lesser-known phrase, which means the same thing and is important for one to become familiar with. It is also important to realize that rapture views revolve around the question of when Christ will return for the Church in relation to this seven year period of tribulation. For example, for one to believe that the rapture will occur before this period means one is pre-tribulation, or pre-Daniel's 70th Week, in his rapture view. Abbreviated, this means one is pre-trib in his rapture view, as opposed to mid-trib or post-trib. These abbreviations represent two of the other leading views.
This study is about a different pre-trib rapture view that I have, one that holds to several basics of the common pre-trib view, but with a different understanding of many of the related scriptures. Growing up, the common view was the only view I was aware of, and for years, even when exposed to the other views, I continued to embrace the bottom line of that view (the imminency of Christ's return for the Church). This was partially a "gut feeling" I suppose, for in my personal studies I found more and more that I couldn't embrace some of the interpretations that were being used to support it. I do believe I may have clung to some of these interpretations, until I saw the possibility of another direction. This direction, I believe, makes for a pre-trib view that is in closer harmony with the Bible and hopefully will cause those who have opted for one of the other views to take another look. Moreover, I believe it makes possible a much clearer understanding of the book of The Revelation.
It should prove helpful at this time to do a little preliminary study to show some of the biblical and historical reasoning underlying my different view. Since rapture views revolve around the timing of Christ's return for the Church, let's begin by considering a couple of phenomena that are spoken of in the Bible as occurring in conjunction with His return, and see where this takes us. For example, in Revelation 6:12-17, the Apostle John gives an account of what he beholds after the opening of the 6th Seal of a mysterious book that is sealed with seven seals. In verse 12 he writes, "and THE SUN became black as sackcloth of hair, and THE MOON became as blood." Without question, what he here beheld represents something pretty unique. Christ is seen at this time, and in verses 16-17 John records the people's reaction as they say to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke's accounts of the Gospel, Jesus Himself speaks of something happening to the sun and the moon at the time of His return. In Mark's account, which is paralleled by Matthew and Luke's, He says, "THE SUN shall be darkened, and THE MOON shall not give her light" (13:24). Right after this, He says, "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory" (13:26).
There is one other place in the New Testament where these phenomena relating to the sun and the moon are mentioned. In Acts 2:16-21, during the account of the Day of Pentecost, we find a prophecy of Joel's quoted by Peter. Notice verse 20 of this prophecy: "THE SUN shall be turned into darkness, and THE MOON into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come."
It would certainly be reasonable to understand these accounts of the phenomena concerning the sun and the moon and Christ's return as being interrelated. Most, it seems, take for granted that Christ's return at the time of these phenomena is what is commonly referred to as His Second Coming or Second Advent, when He will return as the "King of kings, and Lord of lords" for the battle of Armageddon and to set up His Millennial Kingdom. But, consider again the first reference above. Is it the event of Christ's Second Advent that John writes of in The Revelation, in his account of the 6th Seal? If it is, what are we to understand concerning the 7th Seal, for it would still be intact, and a lot happens after it is opened, all before the unquestioned account of His Second Advent given much later, in Revelation 19:11-21? Are these differing accounts of Christ's return of one and the same event? It seems that few have really looked at this. Have you?
Continuing, what if there are two phases to Christ's return, as commonly believed, or something very similar, as I believe? According to the common view, the first phase will be His return as a "thief" for the rapture of the Church, followed at least seven years later by the second phase, which will be His coming as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. In contemplation of this possibility, could it be that it is the first phase of Christ's return that is seen after the opening of the 6th Seal? A difficulty with this thought has to do with the prior seals. All of the seals are commonly interpreted to be judgments of God upon the world, judgments that belong to the time of the Seven Year Tribulation Period. This is also the position of the common pre-trib view, which holds that the rapture will occur before the opening of any of these seals. And, clearly, if the seals do belong to the time of the Seven Year Tribulation Period, the rapture happening after any of these would certainly not fit any kind of pre-trib view! But, what if the seals actually represent something else and belong to a different period of time? Let's explore this possibility for a few paragraphs.
First of all, consider with me that mysterious book, sealed with seven seals, as depicted below. John beholds each seal of this book as it is opened, and as each seal is opened, something happens. Before we get into what happens, what do you think it would take for a book to be opened that is sealed with seven seals? Every seal would have to be removed, right? Seal number one, then seal number two, and so forth until the last seal is removed. I want you to think about the opening of each seal of this book as representing something that will happen leading up to whatever is contained within the book. Does this seem reasonable to you?
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Concerning those seals, the 1st Seal is about a rider on a white horse that John beholds to go forth, and the next three seals are about other riders that go forth on other horses, each on a differing campaign (see Rev. 6:1-8). You may have heard these riders referred to as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Taking a quick glance at these riders, some have speculated that the first one is Jesus Christ, for He will certainly be upon a white horse at His Second Advent (Rev. 19:11-16)! Yet, many believe that rather than Christ, this first rider is a counterfeit and a deceiver or a false Christ. I know for me, that's the direction I'm inclined toward. The next rider is on a red horse and goes forth to take peace from the earth, which results in war (or wars). Then, there is a rider on a black horse. Understood in the setting of the first century, this rider's activity seems to result in a day's worth of food costing a day's wages. This suggests that his activity connects with famine and poverty or whatever might result in such. And lastly, there is a pale horse rider named Death, with Hell following. This pair is given power or liberty to kill, but the manner in which they do so rings of what Christians have often faced when persecuted and martyred. So, what are we to conclude of all this? It is noteworthy that what John records concerning these first four seals parallels, in sequence, certain things Jesus once warned His disciples of that were going to be happening. These parallels have long been recognized, though interpretations and conclusions vary.
Perhaps you will recall that time when Jesus warned His disciples of deceivers and false Christs who would be coming---of wars and rumors of wars---of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes---and of the persecution and martyrdom they and His followers would be facing. He warned them about these things in a talk He had with them on the Mount of Olives, a talk commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse (e.g., Matt. 24:3-9ff). You may have heard a preacher or Bible teacher speak on the last days and call attention to what Jesus here warned of and how that, as He said it would be, so it is! On a more personal note, when you look around and consider (especially from a worldwide perspective), does it seem to you that that of which He warned is indeed being fulfilled, or even, that it has been being fulfilled throughout the centuries since He spoke these words? Also, would not the things of which Jesus warned stem from Satan's activity?
Back to that possibility we began to explore a few paragraphs ago, what if the seals actually represent something other than judgments of God upon the world and belong to a time other than the coming Seven Year Tribulation Period? Based upon Jesus' warnings to His disciples, the testimony of history (even to our day), and the possible connection of all this with the first four seals, we at least have good reason to look further in this direction.
Looking further, with the opening of the 5th Seal, John beholds "the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God" and the cry of these for justice (Rev. 6:9-11). At once, this supports that the prior, or 4th Seal, is indeed about the persecution and martyrdom of Christians. Also, we know that throughout what has come to be called the Church Age, multitudes have suffered martyrdom. On this and other evidences, these longing for justice could easily be the martyrs of the Church Age. In any case, this seal would hardly represent a judgment of God upon the world.
This brings us to the 6th Seal. If Christ's appearance at this time is something other than His Second Advent, this in itself would support that the rapture takes place at this time. This would have the rapture happening after the first five seals, but just before the last seal, just before the Seven Sealed Book can be opened. This sequence supports an interesting and solid Church Age possibility. In harmony with all the foregoing, I submit the following: The first four seals represent not judgments of God upon the world, but the liberties that have been granted to Satan (he would have none otherwise!) to ply his craft during the Church Age. What John sees after the opening of the 5th Seal is the cry for justice of the Christians who have been martyred during this age. Then, when the 6th Seal is opened, we see the event take place that Jesus spoke of as the appearance of "the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30). It is at this time that the Church will be raptured (Matt. 24:31), which will mark the closing of the Church Age---just before the Seven Sealed Book is opened. Now consider: What if the Seven Year Tribulation Period, or Daniel's 70th Week, does not begin until sometime after this? This would mean that we have the basic framework for a solid and a different pre-trib rapture view.
In this study, we will be examining how everything comes together when the foregoing is accepted as possible. This will be done in a systematic way by considering the thirty-six propositions I spoke of in my preface. These propositions will be divided into two parts and represent the A,B,C's and 1,2,3's of my view. PART I will concern things up to and including the time of the rapture. PART II will concern things after the time of the rapture---many of which no other view I am aware of has ever brought to light. Also, for the purpose of heightening the reader's awareness of the significance of the Seven Sealed Book, note that PART I will bring us to the point just prior to its last seal being removed. PART II will take us from there and will further substantiate PART I.
Closely related to any discussion about the rapture is other things that the Bible teaches concerning what the future holds. And, what does the future hold for the United States? Some of these things will also be focused upon in the course of this study, things that I believe will be found to be very interesting. Let us delve further now into this different pre-trib rapture view, and see how it will hold up under careful Bible scrutiny. As with anything that is built, foundation work needs to be done, and this is what the first several propositions will concern. Hopefully, after this, things will begin to take shape fairly quickly for the reader, as with the framework phase of a building. Lastly, there will be the finish work and the tying up of some loose ends.
At this time, let's begin our foundation work by seeing if we can find some bedrock.
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(In my book, this leads into PROPOSITION A)
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