Without a doubt, the most dangerous item of fake news about the Rapture is that it doesn't really matter whether you miss the Rapture; you will get a second chance ~ during the Tribulation ~ to go to heaven. That's the thing about fake news: it's simply not true.
By far the majority of well-known, contemporary Bible prophecy teachers are saying that a great Revival is going to occur during the Tribulation. Here's what one such well-known prophecy teacher (Jack Van Impe) recently had to say about that:
"Both Jews and Gentiles are saved during the greatest revival in history, because at that time, God says, 'I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh' (Joel 2:28). Yes, there will be a great revival, and it will occur after the Rapture" (source, here /emphasis added).By saying, "at that time...after the Rapture," Van Impe means, 'during the Tribulation;' which the context of Van Impe's article (linked) plainly shows.
I could very easily fill up this blog with quotes from many other well-known prophecy teachers and church leaders, all of whom have recently said basically the same thing as Van Impe. But you can either take my word for it, or, with very little effort, verify that information yourself.
If they are correct ~ then, one should expect that such claims as those just mentioned would be well documented in Scripture ~ since those claims entail profound consequences. But there is no such proof in Scripture, of any sort of Revival occurring during the Tribulation ~ nor at any other time following the Rapture!
Van Impe quoted a snippet from Joel 2:28: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh"; which, importantly, Van Impe included as evidence in support of his claims. But does that fragment of Scripture really mean any such thing as that there is going to be "the greatest revival in history...after the Rapture" ? Let's examine that snippet of Scripture, in its proper context, as follows:
"...for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?Therefore also NOW, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.... And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the hnadmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and the terrible day of the LORD come" (Joel 2:11-31).Note, if you will, the sequence of events as those occur in order, as I have highlighted the words:
NOW ~ what? Repent.
AFTERWARD ~ what? I will pour out my spirit.
BEFORE ~ what? "Before the great and terrible day of the LORD come."
In other words, the prophecy of Joel ~ which was written about 800 years before Christ ~ not only commanded and exhorted the world to repentance (NOW). But, furthermore, Joel also prophesied concerning the outpouring of the Holy Ghost ~ which was to come AFTERWARD ~ that is to say, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ would make the way for the coming of the Holy Ghost to dwell in the hearts of God's redeemed. In fact, the apostle Peter ~ on the very day (Pentecost) when that great prophecy regarding the coming of the Holy Ghost was actually fulfilled, said:
"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy," &tc. (Acts 2:16-17).Lest there should be any mistake regarding the time frame during which those events involving the outpouring of the Holy Ghost would occur; the prophet Joel (by the Holy Ghost) wrote, that those events would occur "before the great and terrible day of the LORD come." The (Biblical) phrase, "day of the LORD," has been replaced in contemporary terminology by the phrase, "the Tribulation" (though that phrase, as such, appears nowhere in Scripture).
"Doctor" Van Impe only missed the mark by 2,000 years. Though not without doing serious harm. By misrepresenting what the Bible actually says about what's really going to happen after the Rapture, Van Impe ~ and many others who should know better ~ have given a powerful voice to the devil's lie (that those who miss the Rapture are going to get a 'second chance' to be saved, during the Tribulation).
Joel's prophecy is by no means the only passage of Scripture that many prophecy teachers have misinterpreted, and then misrepresented to the Church. Probably the most significant prophecy which has been misconstrued ~ for the purpose to prop up the (false) claim pertaining to people getting saved during the Tribulation ~ is the following:
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled (Revelation 6:9-11).The above quoted passage is the singular most important "proof" (as that is supposed, by many prophecy teachers) of their claim that a great Revival is going to occur during the Tribulation ~ which is to say, after the Rapture. If the Church be taken from the world, in a pre-Tribulation Rapture, then, how is it that we see in Scripture an evidently very large number of Christian martyrs, during the Tribulation, in connection with the "fifth seal" judgment? The only way that could happen, it is supposed, is that there must then be a great Revival during the Tribulation! And with the Church gone from the world, who will then be present to evangelize the world ~ but the 144,000 Jews?! Ah-ha! our prophetic schema works!
Or so they think.
Bible prophecy teachers ~ almost without exception ~ believe that the "seven seals" in the book of the Revelation (6:1-8:1), describe the first in a series of divine judgments that shall occur during the Tribulation. But that idea is not only wrong; it also has deadly implications. All of those "seven seals" indicate events which shall transpire prior to the Tribulation (except, the "opening" of the seventh and last seal indicates the beginning of the Tribulation). A few years ago, I published a book in which I went to great lengths to prove that is the case. Yet, I will here point to but one such proof which appears in the above quoted passage, as that pertains to the fifth seal; where the text states that those martyrs complained to God: "How long, O Lord...dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"
But ~ wait a minute! Isn't that what "the Tribulation" is supposed to be all about: God judging and pouring out His wrath in vengeance? So ~ is that time period supposed to be a time of "tribulation" to the saints of God? Or is it supposed to be a time of "tribulation" to the world of unbelievers? Which one is it? We can plainly see, in the text itself, that the saints are the ones (in that case) who are suffering tribulation (being martyred!). Whereas, those very same saints are questioning God as to why He is not yet judging and punishing those, the saints' murderers! Well, then, it appears that "the Tribulation" is a time of "tribulation" not for the murderous world of unbelievers but, rather, for the saints of God!
Yes; but it appears that way ~ only if one insists that the "fifth seal" (or any of the seven seals) occurs during the Tribulation! Which they do not.
When it is understood that the seven seals pertain to events that occur before the Tribulation, the Christian martyrs' question (at the fifth seal) then makes perfectly good sense: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood...?"
It is wonderful (in a fearful sense) to me, to think about the fact that that verse of Scripture is actually being fulfilled ~ right now! Today! This very day, there is such a thunderous cry from all of the Christians who have ever been martyred, calling out to God, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?"
But Christians have been martyred, ever since the time of Christ. How and why, then, does that have any special connection with the "fifth seal"? It is because that, in this present time period ~ just prior to the return of Christ at the Rapture, Christians are being killed at a rate, and in absolute numbers, unprecedented in all of human history! Which the Bible teaches us, is one of the great signs of the soon-coming of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, yet with tragic consequences, most Bible prophecy teachers just don't get it ~ though it is happening right before their own eyes.
Excuse me. Can I rant for a minute? You, dear reader, could not know this. But in the past three years (at least) since the publication of my book ~ during which time I have also written very extensively about these things, on this blog ~ not one person has ever yet attempted to answer my arguments (in any way or forum of which I am aware). Much less has anyone ever bothered to respond to me personally to show me, by Scripture, how that my system of prophetic interpretation is wrong. I have reached out to many well-known Bible teachers, in efforts to correspond with them concerning matters related to Bible prophecy. (I could name names ~ many of which, some of you would doubtless recognize; but I won't.) I have sometimes been scorned and abused by them; though, most often, simply ignored by them; but, never yet has any of them answered me, with respect to my ideas (except, only to say that in their opinion, I am wrong).
It is no wonder that the Church in America is in such desperately weak and confused condition: Her presumed leaders are evidently too busy to be bothered by anyone who questions their untidy narrative.
There. Let's move on.
So, what is the Tribulation really going to be like? It doesn't matter what I believe about that, any more than it matters what any other teacher believes. It only matters what the Bible says about that. Below, is just one of many passages in the Bible, which describe "the day of the LORD" (the Tribulation):
"They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." (Isaiah 13:5-13)If you will, just take a glance at all of the words in red, above. There is not even a hint of mercy in those words, nor in that lengthy passage. Much less is there any suggestion of some great, soul-saving Revival ~ during the day of the LORD!
Alright, we'll look at one more passage of Scripture ~ this one from Zephaniah; just in case that Isaiah might have misunderstood the Holy Ghost's meaning, concerning the day of the LORD:
"The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." (Zephaniah 1:14-18)Honestly, it makes me wonder whether those prophecy teachers actually read the Bible ~ or if they just parrot what they read in each other's nonsensical books.
I don't have the time, now, to expound upon the meaning of the second chapter of Thessalonians. I will simply say that it powerfully withstands against the idea of anyone being given a "second chance" to be saved, during the Tribulation. Yet there are many other passages of Scripture which deny that any kind of Revival may be expected during the Tribulation.
Friends, there is not going to be any Revival, during the Tribulation. Nobody's going to have a second chance to be saved, during the Tribulation. Yes, God is going to do something very unique, during the Tribulation, involving 144,000 Jews. But you're (probably) not one of those people. And they are definitely not going to be evangelizing the world; they're going to be on the run and hiding out from the Antichrist.
Are these truths not unspeakably important?! Don't you feel any personal responsibility to tell everyone in your part of the world, the truth? The time is short; the hour is late. Christ is coming. And just as when that God told Noah it was time to take his family and go into the Ark ~ whereafter, God Himself then shut the door! Likewise, after Christ comes to receive His faithful Church, God is then going to close the door of Salvation; and all the world shall suffer the outpouring ~ not of the Holy Ghost (as some have foolishly claimed), but of God's indignation.
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