Jesus is not a Wife Beater!

 

 Please, I mean no offense at the title of this post, but it speaks louder than words. Of course I am referring to the Bride of Christ and Jesus's soon snatching away of His Bride to escort her to the Wedding of the Lamb in Heaven. The Bride is, of course, all true Saints and followers of Jesus who love Him and long for His appearing! 

 

I get an email now and then from some well-meaning person telling me that either there is No rapture or that the rapture of the church happens at the end of the Tribulation. The last email I received told me that the rapture was a lie invented by the Freemasons.  I have heard others say that the pre-tribulation rapture theory was introduced and propagated by theologians in the 1800s and that it is not Biblical. Still, I've had yet others tell me that it's ridiculous to think that this last generation of believers would be spared Tribulation because saints throughout the past 2000 years have suffered horribly for their faith. Why should we think we would not have to suffer? 

 

I have addressed several of these issues in the posts below if you're interested:

 

Pre,Mid,Post,Who cares? 

One will be in the Field, One taken, one left. Pre-trib

And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church 

 

However, when a pastor I listen to (Pastor Patrick Winfrey) on You tube said that "Jesus is not a Wife Beater", it really stuck with me and I wanted to address this fact, along with some new information I discovered about the early church fathers.

 

First of all, we know from Revelation that the Tribulation is going to be the worst time Earth has every experienced. 

 

 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.  Matthew 24:21-22

 

Just in the first half of the Tribulation with the 4 horseman, a quarter of the earth's population is killed. That's 2 Billion people killed from starvation, plagues, and war.  After that, when the Antichrist comes into full power, billions more are butchered. Why? Because those in power want only 500,000,000 people to remain on earth to be their slaves. They state as much in their literature and on the Georgia guide stones!  In addition, anyone not taking the Mark of the Beast or even claiming to follow Jesus will have their heads chopped off. And that would be the best way for them to die. Some will be crucified, others burned alive, others tortured. So that by the end of the Tribulation, barely any people will be alive. 

 

So, I ask you, would Jesus do that to a Bride He is about to marry? The Tribulation is not like any other time on earth. The argument that those Christians living in this time shouldn't get a free pass from suffering because all the other Christians living throughout the ages have suffered is like saying you're going to take one child and torture them for 7 years and then burn them alive only because your other child caught the flu. 

 

If you know your Bible or have at least read through it once, you are well aware that the rapture is in there. No, not the word Rapture, but the concept of being "snatched away" out of this world by Jesus to meet Him in the clouds. (1 Corinthians 15, Matthew 24, 1 Thess 4, to name a few)

So we know there's a rapture. It's the timing that is often questioned. So did the Pre-Trib rapture start with a Freemason lie? or was it started by some misled theologian in the 1800s?

 

Recently I came upon a book called The End-Times by the Ancient Church Fathers, by Ken Johnson Th.D.  I haven't finished it yet, but in the book, Dr. Johnson goes through 4 of the early church father's writings on end times. 

 

Irenaeus, born in Smyrna in AD 130. He was a student of Polycarp (who was a student of the Apostle John!) and he testified that he occasionally spoke to the very old apostle John himself. 

 

Justin Martyr - born in Israel in AD 100. He was also a student of Polycarp

 

Hippolytus Born in AD 170 and was a student of Irenaeus

 

Ephrem the Syrian Born in AD 306. He studied under those who knew Christians who had studied under the Apostles.

 

ALL of these early church fathers believed in a pre-tribulation rapture. ALL. I especially point out Irenaeus who actually had spoke to the Apostle John.  Please do your own study and find out for yourself. But to say that the Pre-trib rapture is a modern false doctrine is flat out wrong.

 

I have one more thing to say to disprove that the rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation. When Jesus returns to earth and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives, the Bible says He fights the Antichrist and his armies in the valley of Armageddon, (Revelation 19) and then he judges the people left on earth.  

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Matthew 25:30-34

Well, if there was a rapture at the end of the Tribulation as Jesus is descending to earth, then the remaining saints on earth would be caught up with Him, only to descend right away back to earth. Then why would there have to be a judgement after that? Wouldn't the rapture already separate the sheep from the goats?  Just saying....  

The point of this post is to encourage you because I know our enemy will come in and try to convince you that the rapture isn't real or that it doesn't occur until the middle or the end, but that is just not true and not Biblical. So, rest in the hope that soon we will see our King face to face! We are not in the Tribulation yet. In fact, what we are suffering now is nothing compared to what the Tribulation will be like. 

Jesus loves you more than His own life. He proved that on the cross. He will not leave you. He will not allow His precious Bride to get beat up and killed. What good husband would? So, hang in there, keep the faith, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and spread the Good news of the Gospel.  We are going home soon!