pre-wrath rapture explained |3.5 year tribulation|prewrath timeline

THE PREWRATH RAPTURE EXPLAINED – MY VIEW

Illustrated with Prewrath Timeline Diagrams

March 2024

What is the Prewrath Rapture Position? The answer to that questions depends upon who you ask. The following is my understanding of the Prewrath Rapture position.

There will be a Rapture and this event is described in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. We find a description of the Rapture in these passages, but no time frame is given.

To understand the Rapture, we need to understand that there is a seven-year period that needs to be completed before a righteous Nation of Israel can be created (Daniel 9:24-27). Righteous Israel is a country that will be established on this earth; it will be among and will dominate other earthly nations. Jesus will establish and lead righteous Israel.

The future existence of a righteous Nation of Israel is found in many places in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament, including in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah, and Zechariah.. This list includes Isaiah 49:8-26, Isaiah 51:1-16, Isaiah 52:1-12,Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 60:1-22, Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 65:17-25, Isaiah 66:7-24, Jeremiah 31:7-40, Ezekiel 37:1-28, Ezekiel 39:25-29, Ezekiel 40:1 – 48:35, Daniel 9:24, Zephaniah 3:9-20, Zechariah 14:6-21. This list is far from a complete list of such references.

The seven-year period that is yet to occur is described in Daniel 9:27.

“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27 NIV2011)

We know that the final seven-year period has not yet occurred because a righteous Israel has never yet been created.

The seven-year period is often and incorrectly called the ‘Tribulation.’ A simple reading of Daniel 9:27 will easily reveal that there is no tribulation until the midpoint of the seven years. Antichrist will be allowed to have power over Israel for only three and a half years (Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:5) beginning at the middle of the seven-year period.

NOTE: Diagrams in this section are not drawn to scale

Diagram 1 below shows Daniel's seven-year period

This seven-year period pertains only to the Nation of Israel. Righteous Israel will be born at the end of the seven years, but a number of other endtime events will continue in the Gentile nations for a short while longer.

As mentioned in Daniel 9:27 above, the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ will occur in the middle of the seven years. This is a very important event and is key to a number of events that happen during the seven years.

It has already been stated that Antichrist will have power over Israel for three and a half years. The following is a list of occurrences that will occur for three and a half years. Each event mentioned below is related to the abomination mentioned at the middle of the seven years and will begin at the middle of the seven years.

Daniel 7:25b; “The holy people will be delivered into his (Antichrist’s) hands for a time, times and half a time.”
Daniel 9:27b; “In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.”
Daniel 12:7; “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people (Israel) has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
Matthew 24:15 – Jesus gives the first clearly identifiable sign of the Tribulation as the setting up of the “abomination” given in Daniel 9:27 at the midpoint of Daniel’s 7-year period.
Revelation 11:2b; “They (Gentiles) will trample on the holy city for 42 months."
Revelation 11:3; “. . . I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days . . . “
Revelation 12:6; “The woman (Israel) fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.”
Revelation13:5; "The beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months."

Please note that by Jewish date reckoning in Daniel’s day, the time periods ‘time, times and half a time,’ ’42 months,’ and ‘1260 days’ all refer to three and a half years based upon 30-day months.

We cannot be certain of the identity of Antichrist until the Abomination. No specific identifiable event occurs before this event. The Rapture cannot happen before the ‘abomination.’

We know that Antichrist will engineer the treaty that will begin the seven years, but a number of treaties concerning Israel have occurred throughout the years and we cannot be certain that we are in the final seven years until we see the ‘abomination’ at the middle. We may suspect, but we cannot be certain.

Primary Villains of the Tribulation:

Satan (along with his angels)
Beast out of the sea – Antichrist – the sea represents the Gentile nations. He is related to the Roman Empire (Revelation 17:9). This means that his country is probably a country that was part of the Roman Empire or is a country that is a direct descendant of a Roman Empire country. The Beast, “once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction.” This is not the description of a human, but rather the demon who indwells Antichrist. The Beast is also said to have what seems to be a “fatal wound” that has been healed (Revelation 13:3). This wound may be a physical wound that has healed or some other disqualifying factor that has been overcome.
Beast out of the earth – False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) – not necessarily a religious figure, a prophet to Antichrist in the sense that Aaron was a prophet to Moses (Exodus 7:1) – the word translated ‘earth’ could also have been translated as ‘land’ or ‘country’ (Strong’s Concordance) – he is likely from the Land of Israel
Two very important villains remain unnamed – Demons who indwell Antichrist and the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13)

An extremely important event in Revelation 12:7-9 is Satan being thrown to the earth by the archangel Michael and his angels. This will humiliate Satan to extreme anger. Note that he first goes after the Jews who have escaped into the safety of the wilderness for 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14). Having failed to reach the escaped Jews, Satan turns to go after Christians as a second choice (Revelation 12:13-17). We cannot forget at any point that the Jews, even in their sin, are God’s chosen people; and as such, they are Satan’s first target.

Note that as the Jews are escaping from Antichrist into the wilderness that this is at the midpoint of the seven years as seen by the 1,260 days, and that the Christians are still on earth (Revelation 12:17).

As Antichrist invades Israel at the midpoint of the seven years (Daniel 9:27). The False Prophet will set up the abomination to worship Antichrist (Revelation 13:14-16). We see more deeply what will happen at the Temple site in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5.

The Tribulation will begin at the middle of the seven years and will be caused by Satan and Antichrist attacking Jews, Christians, and attacking various nations in their thirst for power and revenge. This is Satan’s Wrath, not the Wrath of God.

Diagram 2 below shows The Tribulation period in red. This period begins at the midpoint of the seven-years and continues in Israel until the end of the seven years. After the end of the seven years, the Tribulation will continue in the rest of the world.

The Heavenly Scroll with Seven Seals

A sealed Scroll is presented to us in Revelation chapter 5. We are never told what is written on the Scroll, but we are told that it is written on both sides. We are also told that Jesus alone can break the seals and open the Scroll.

Nothing said in the Bible about the Scroll indicates that it can be opened bit by bit. Most likely, the seven seals are all on the outside of the Scroll to indicate its importance. Ancient scrolls were known to be sealed with multiple seals. The seals will be opened one by one, but the Scroll cannot be read until all seven seals have been broken. Some believe that this Scroll is the deed to the earth. A deed to the earth is a very likely possibility, but that cannot be said with certainty based upon anything the Bible says.

Jesus breaks the seals one by one, and with each seal we are shown a vision of an occurrence on the earth.

The First Five Seals:

Antichrist is revealed at the midpoint of the seven years as he goes out to conquer Israel and as many other nations as he can (Revelation 6:1-2).
War between Antichrist and his allies against resisting nations (Revelation 6:3-4).
Famine, as often accompanies war (Revelation 6:5-6).
Death resulting from war and its consequences (Revelation 6:7-8)
Martyred Christians (Revelation 6:9-11)

These occurrences are not being caused either by what is written on the Scroll or by the breaking of the seals. Jesus is showing us what is happening, but He is not causing it. We can see this clearly by looking at the breaking of the fifth seal. The fact that the martyrs ask God to “avenge our blood” should be sufficient indication that God did not cause their death.

The Sixth Seal:

We see a great shift at the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-17). Aside from the fact that the opening of the fifth seal concerned martyred Christians, there has been no mention of God. Suddenly, the entire world seems to be aware that God is about to avenge the happenings on earth. People are frightened into trying to hide from God in caves and on mountains; they are even wishing rocks would fall on them (Revelation 6:14-17).

What happened to cause this pandemonium? Note the accompanying occurrences – appearance of Jesus, a great earthquake (probably worldwide), sun turned black, moon turned blood red, stars fell to earth, heavens receded like a scroll, mountains and islands removed from their places.

We see something similar to signs at the opening of the sixth seal in Matthew 24:27-30. This passage in Matthew quotes Jesus speaking of His Second Coming. Matthew 24:31 and Matthew 24:40-41 suggest that this is the Rapture immediately following the appearance of Jesus.

The Rapture is indicated in the opening of the sixth seal and in Matthew chapter 24. In neither passage is the day or time of the Rapture known (Matthew 24:36). We will not know the day or the time of the appearance of Jesus and the Rapture, but Jesus says that we will know the season (Matthew 24:32-33). The Apostle Paul also tells us that we are not in darkness, we should not be surprised – we should have definite knowledge that the time is near (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). When the author of Hebrews tells us that we need to keep meeting, he also says, “and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). The ‘Day’ is the Day of the Lord that will begin at the appearance of Jesus – we should ‘see’ as this day approaches.

Some would have you believe that the Rapture happened earlier and these were only the Christians saved during the Tribulation, but no earlier evidence of a Rapture is found in the Bible. People point to Revelation 3:10 where the church at Philadelphia is told, “I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of earth.” No mention or description of Rapture is given here. Surely God is capable of keeping His people safe through times of extreme danger. God will keep those Christians who fit the profile of the Philadelphia church safe without removing them from earth.

Some Christians will also point to 1 Thessalonians 5:9 where we are told, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” They misuse this verse by only quoting the first half and ignoring the fact that the context of the verse is salvation in Jesus, not safety from earth’s difficulties. Even if this were speaking of the Wrath of God, the Wrath of God on earth is not manifested until after the opening of the seals.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:22 that the days were “cut short.” This is only indicating that the Rapture happened before the end of the Tribulation for Christians while the rest of the world will have to continue in the Tribulation.

Two more Scripture passages suggest that the Rapture cannot happen until after the midpoint of the seven years.

Jesus tells Christians to watch for the ‘abomination that causes desolation’, something they could not do if they were to be Raptured first (Matthew 24:15)
The Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonian church that:

“that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

In the above verses, the ‘day’ spoken of is the Day of Jesus’ return. The ‘man of lawlessness’ describes Antichrist, probably at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and does not properly describe any earlier ‘abomination.’

The Rapture has occurred and the Wrath of God has not yet begun. This is the Prewrath Rapture.

Diagram 3 below shows the Rapture sometime during the second half of Daniel’s 7 years. This also helps explain the cutting short of the Tribulation reported in Matthew 24:22. The Tribulation (shown in red) continues on earth.

The Tribulation will continue after the Rapture and God’s Wrath will begin. Both the Tribulation and the Wrath of God will continue until the end of the seven-year period and beyond.

The World After the Rapture

The Seventh Seal:

Opening the sixth seal indicates that God’s Wrath is at hand, but it does not actually begin until the seventh seal is broken and the Trumpet Judgments (Revelation 8:1-6) are released upon the earth. The first six Trumpet Judgments are explained in Revelation chapters 8 and 9.

Diagram 4 below shows the period of God’s Wrath in purple beginning immediately after the Rapture and overlapping Satan’s Tribulation period. The Tribulation and God’s Wrath extend beyond the seven-year period.

The End of the Seven-Year Period

Revelation chapter 10 tells us of a ‘mighty angel’ and a small scroll. This ‘angel’ has one foot on the sea and the other foot on the land. I am convinced that this ‘mighty angel’ is the Lord Jesus Himself showing his dominance over the sea (the world) and the land (Israel). If the sealed Scroll in Revelation chapter 5 was indeed the deed to the earth, then that first Scroll could be for the Gentile world and the small scroll would be for the Land of Israel. This seems especially likely since He has a foot on the world and on Israel. God will differentiate between Israel and the rest of the world once the righteous State of Israel has been created. Jesus holding the unsealed scroll indicates that it is nearing the time for Israel to be separated from the rest of the world.

Revelation chapter 11 covers the entire period from the ‘abomination’ at the midpoint of the seven years to the end of the seven years. It largely involves two prophets who will witness for 1,260 days – three and a half years. At the end of that time, they will be killed and then resurrected. The three and a half years are over and the seven-year period has come to an end.

If the purpose of the seven years was to bring in the righteous State of Israel, it must happen now. Revelation chapters 12 and 13 are flashback chapters about the villains of Revelation that we have already discussed.

As Revelation chapter 14 opens we see Jesus and 144,000 Jews in Jerusalem. The 144,000 were actually introduced back in Revelation 7:1-8 immediately after the Rapture in Revelation chapter 6. These are the firstfruits of the righteous Nation of Israel (Revelation 14:4).

The resurrection of the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11 along with other events at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 11:13-15) have killed or have frightened Antichrist’s followers to escape from the Land of Israel. The Jews who earlier fled into safety in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6) will also be back in Israel because their 1,260 days have expired at the end of the seven years. This is the birth in one day of the righteous Nation of Israel (Isaiah 66:7-11).

Diagram 5 below show the new righteous State of Israel that is created immediately after the seven-year period is over.

After the End of the Seven-Year Period

After the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, it is time for the final series of plagues (Revelation 15:7). The seven Bowls of God’s Wrath are poured out on all the earth except for the new righteous State of Israel. We are also told that at least the first Bowl Judgment is not poured out on those who have not taken the mark of Antichrist (Revelation 16:2). It is possible that those who have not taken Antichrist’s mark will be shielded from all of the Bowl Judgments.

The Battle of Armageddon will take place as the last of the Bowl Judgments is poured out (Revelation 16:16-21). The Battle of Armageddon is indicated in several passages (Revelation 14:17-20, Revelation 16:16-21, Revelation 19:11-21)

The Battle of Armageddon will end God’s Wrath (Revelation 15:1).

Between the time of the Rapture and the Battle of Armageddon, many souls will be saved. A large number of these will be the Jews who will finally recognize that Jesus truly is the promised Messiah. Gentiles throughout the world will also be converted during this time, but this will not be an easy time for them. Gentiles who are saved will not only be risking their lives during the continuing Tribulation; but will also be risking severe consequences from most of the remaining population of the earth. The unholy trinity headed by Satan will convince many people that Satan is as powerful as God and that he (Satan) is working to rescue his followers.

God’s judgment of the earth’s people will continue even after His Wrath has subsided. Inside the passage warning of Jesus separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-33), we find the criteria for those who will be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Christ. Matthew 24:34-45 speaks of those who did or did not care for the individuals Jesus refers to as His brothers. This reference to the “sheep” in this context almost surely is speaking of those willing to take the risk of caring for Jews and for Gentile saints who have been converted during the waning months of the Tribulation following the Rapture.

Daniel 12:11 does possibly give us some interesting information about the timing of other events.

“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”

Daniel’s 7-year period will expire after 1,260 days as mentioned earlier in this writing. The 1,290 days of Daniel 12:11 is then seen as 30 days following Daniel’s time period. If Jesus and the Jews are seen as recapturing Jerusalem, then the event 30 days later is likely the Battle of Armageddon. It is likely that persons around the world who have not taken the mark of Antichrist and having seen the resurrection of the two witnesses and the other events at the end of the seven years will begin to revolt against Antichrist. These same 30 days would be sufficient for the seven Bowls of Judgment to be poured out on the earth and would also be sufficient for Antichrist to mobilize the armies of the world against the Jews at Armageddon. Although the Tribulation has already ended for the Jews in Israel, the Battle of Armageddon would end the Tribulation of the Gentiles and assure safety from war for all the world (Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3).

It is also possible that the 1,335 days may refer to the time period between the midpoint of the seven year period and the separating of the sheep and the goats as well as the time it takes to organize and bring order to the chaos in the world after the toll that the Tribulation, the Wrath of God, the many earthquakes and other disasters that will befall the people of the earth.

Diagram 6 below depicts the final stage in the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel and the Gentile nations under the leadership of King Jesus.

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