The day of the Lord in Psalms

Psalm 110:5-6 "he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth".
This is yet another reference to the day of the Lord. God's wrath is coming. Christians will be saved from it. We will not be saved from the great tribulation which is Satan's wrath (Revelation 12:12).

Angels and the day of the Lord

Jude 14-15 "the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge every one, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way."
God will use angels in his day of the Lord judgments. In the book of Revelation God uses the angels in the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls. They are not used during the 7 seals. The great tribulation is during the seals. The day of the Lord will follow.

Day of the Lord = God's wrath

Chapter 5 of I Thessalonians talks about the day of the Lord. In verse 9 it says "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ". Christians will be raptured just prior to the day of the Lord. God will show his wrath to the unbelieving world after the great tribulation.

Elijah will come before the day of the Lord

Malachi 4:5 "I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes."
This is a prophesied event before the day of the Lord. Since the rapture occurs immediately before the day of the Lord, there is also a prophesied event before the rapture. Therefore the rapture cannot occur any second.

The day of the Lord: Don't mess with God

Zechariah 14:12-13 "This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day men will be stricken by the Lord with great panic."

The Lord alone will be exalted

During the great tribulation, the anti-Christ will be worshipped by many in the world; he will make war against the saints; he is given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. (Revelation 13)
During the day of the Lord, "the eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low. The Lord alone will be exalted in that day." (Isaiah 2:11)
The day of the Lord will follow the great tribulation. God's wrath will follow Satan's wrath.

The connection between the rapture and the Day of the Lord

Immediately after the rapture God will bring his wrath on the earth. That is called the day of the Lord.
Matthew 24:30-31 the rapture
24:43 a thief in the night

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 the rapture
5:2 the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

II Peter 3:4 the rapture
3:10 "day of the Lord will come like a thief."

There is no separation between the rapture and the day of the Lord. Matthew 24:29 tells us they will both occur after the great tribulation.

Rapture and Resurrection

I Thessalonians 4:14-17 "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."

I Corinthians 15:51-52 "I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed."

Daniel 12:2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Isaiah 26:19 "Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!"

A list of pre-trib writers from the 1st through 18th centuries

The end-times in the book of Jude

      The end of time is a theme throughout the whole Bible. Even the tiny book of Jude talks about it.
verse 6) "these (angels) he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day".

verse 9) Michael and the devil fought over Moses' body. Could it be because Moses will be one of the 2 witnesses in Revelation 11?  Michael plays a big role in the 70th week of Daniel.

verses 14-15) "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
       From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, the theme of God saving his people and judging the non-believers is a constant theme.

More pre-wrath resources

prewrathrapture.com  biblefragrances.com  zionsfire.org

These are great resources to know much more about what the Bible says about the end times. On this blog I will give the basics of the end times scenario. But you can go much deeper if you check out these links.

The last trump

I Corinthians 15:51-52 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed---in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

I Thessalonians 4:16  "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God."  

Matthew 24:30-31 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send his angels with a great sound of the trumpet,  and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

All 3 of these passages refer to the same event: the rapture of the church. Only one of these passages gives us a clue to when it will happen: Matthew 24:29 tells us it will be after the Great Tribulation. The Bible is very clear.

There will be only one 2nd coming

Christ will not come back twice: once at the beginning of the 70th week for his saints and then at the end of the 70th week with his saints. When Christ comes back, he is here to stay. The word "coming" is always singular. It is a noun. It means "presence". Christ will rapture the Church and then begin the Day of the Lord.

Matthew 24:3 "What will be the sign of your coming?"
Matthew 24:37 "the coming"
Matthew 24:39 "the coming"
I Thessalonians 4:15 "the coming"
II Thessalonians 2:1 "the coming"
II Thessalonians 2:8 "his coming"
James 5:7-8 "the Lord's coming"
I John 2:28 "his coming"

God's wrath vs. Satan's wrath in Revelation

SATAN: 12:12 "woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury."

GOD: 6:17  "for the day of their wrath has come and who can stand?
         11:18  "your wrath has come"
         14:10  "the cup of his wrath"
          15:1  "with them God's wrath is completed"
          15:7  "seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God"
           16:1 "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth"
          16:19 "the cup filled with the woe of the fury of his wrath"

Satan's wrath will be in the Great Tribulation. God's wrath is after the tribulation during the day of the Lord.

One example of the devastation of the day of the Lord

Zephaniah 1:14-1:18 "The great day of the Lord is near---- near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth."
       It is comforting to know that the Church will be removed before the day of the Lord.

Revelation is able to be understood

     Here are some tips to remember when studying Revelation:

• Most of the events occur in the 2nd half of Daniel's 70 week (Daniel 9:24-27)
• In chapter 6 the seals begin the 70th week
• Either seal 2 or seal 5 begins the Great Tribulation
• The seals are followed by the trumpets
• The bowls are in the 30 days after the 70th week (Daniel 12:11)
• The trumpets and bowls are God's wrath. The seals are not.
• The 6th seal announces Christ's coming. The Great Tribulation is shortened; the rapture occurs and the day of the Lord begins. 

Events occuring at the mid-point of the 70th week

1. Great Tribulation begins (Daniel 9:24-27    Matthew 24:15,21)
2. Abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27 Matthew 24:15)
3. 2 witnesses begin their ministry (Revelation 11)
4. Seal 5 of Revelation 6 (seals 2-4 also?)
5. Remnant of Israel will be protected (Revelation 12:13-14)
6. Anti-christ will demand worship (Revelation 13)

Comparing the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord

     There are 2 times of wrath in the end-times. The Great Tribulation is Satan's wrath through anti-christ (Revelation 12:12). He will attack Israel and those who follow Jesus. The tribulation is followed by the Day of the Lord. This is when Christ returns to judge the world. He will punish the nations for their unbelief. There are numerous references to the Day of the Lord in the Bible. They refer to God's wrath and how the peoples will be in fear.
    The Church is exempted from God's wrath. It is not exempted from tribulation. After the tribulation God will rapture his Church and then commence with the Day of the Lord.

The connection between 4 major end-times events

                  Great Tribulation        Sign in sun, moon, stars         Rapture/resurrection            Day of the Lord

1. Isaiah 2                                           12-21                                                                      12-21
2. Isaiah 13                                           6-13                                                                        6-13
3. Daniel 12     1,7,11                                                                    2,13
4. Joel 2                                                 30                                                                            31
5. Matthew 24   15-29                           29                                    30-31                              37-39
6. Mark 13       14-24                          24-25                                26-27
7. Luke 21                                          25-26                                  27-28                             
8. Luke 17         22-23                          24                                      26-30                           26-30 
9. I Corinthians 15                                                                           21-23,51-52                 24-26
10. I Thessalonians 4-5                                                                     4:16-17                         5:2-4
11. II Thessalonians 1                                                                           6-10                             6-10
12. II Thessalonians 2    3-12                                                                 1                              2-3,8
13. Revelation 6-8     6:9-11             6:12-17                                   7:9-17              trumpets, bowls
14. Acts 2                                            19-20                                                                            20       

Christians have always experienced tribulation

      Some people think that the Church will not go through the Great Tribulation because God would never do that to his bride. If I had a vote, I would vote for no problems ever for Christians. But God has higher purposes for us. Let's take a look at what the Bible says.
     John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world."
Romans 5:3 "we also rejoice in our sufferings"  I Peter 4:12 "do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering". Revelation 12:7 "He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them."
     Whether we like it or not, the Church has faced persecution for centuries. The Church in the final 7-year period will not be exempt from hard times. We will be here during this time. It will be a time to stand up for our Lord. If we perish, we perish.

Pre-Trib: The False Hope

     Millions of Christians have been taught that the Church will not have to enter the Great Tribulation. That is a false hope. The Bible does not say that. We will not be here for the day of the Lord which is God's wrath on the world. The Great Tribulation is Satan's wrath with the help of the anti-christ(Revelation 12-13). Many Christians will die during this time. The true Church will be purged of its pretend Christians.
     Matthew 24:29-31 tells us the rapture occurs after the Great Tribulation. Now is the time to prepare for this horrible time. If given a false hope that they will avoid the Great Tribulation, people will not prepare.