Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Why the Post-Tribulation Rapture is Impossible?
There are always people posting why they think the pre-tribulation rapture is wrong. They never back it up with more than some misinterpreted scripture. However, there are very plainly written scriptures that clearly make it impossible for the Post-Tribulation to happen. It only takes a passage of 8 verses to see it.
To be honest, it only takes two verses to prove the Post-Tribulation Rapture is false, but to show that they are clearly not misinterpreted here, I am adding the mere six verses that separate them, as well well as proving out other facts that most agree on.
Chapter 19 of Revelation includes two very important events of the End Times. The marriage of the Lamb to the bride, and the Second Coming of Christ. In this chapter, they happen one right after the other.
In the following scripture, I will place a bold emphasis on the two most important verses.
Revelation 19:7-14 (NASB)
7 Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
In the marriage to the Lamb, scripture describes the bride. They are wearing fine linen, bright and clean. The fine linen represents their righteous acts.
Then it describes the armies which are in heaven who follow the Lord back. They are in fine linen, white and clean.
There is no doubt that the bride is the one and the same as the army that is already in heaven and follows Jesus back.
Now most Christians already understand that the bride is the church, which are the true believers. However, just to make it extra clear, I will give scripture proving that as well.
Ephesians 5:23-32 (NASB)
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are parts of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Paul is clearly referencing a man and woman in a marriage to be the same as Christ and His church. However, Revelation 19:8 also says the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the Saints. The word “saint” is another reference to a true believer.
If the church is the bride, and we are married to the Lamb, then right after that, we are also the armies which are in heaven who follow Christ back, how is it even possible for Christ to rapture us on his way down?
One argument was that he will begin his descent and rapture us up to heaven and then we would follow Him down. The problem is this doesn’t work with the marriage to the Lamb. How can we be married to the Lamb if Christ is already descending to earth? The only possible answer is that we absolutely must be raptured up and taken to heaven before Jesus even starts his descent. And there must be time for the marriage to happen in between.
There is also the fact that 1 Thessalonians plainly tells us we will be raptured to meet Jesus in the clouds. We are not raptured directly to heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NASB)
17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
We are caught up together into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It never says Jesus then brings us to earth. It never says we are raptured to heaven first and the come down to catch up to Jesus in His descent. Jesus will come in the clouds and we will be raptured up to meet him. Then we still need to be a part of the marriage to the Lamb. So the Lord takes us back to heaven with Him. We are prepared and married to Him. Then Jesus prepares for the second coming and when He descends, His armies which are already in heaven (the church, which is His bride) will follow Him down.
There simply is no other way to interpret all of this to happen. We are not raptured straight to heaven. We Meet Jesus in the clouds. We must be married to the Lamb before the Second Coming. We are His army that follows him back and so we must be in heaven already when He descends. The only way this is even possible is if we are raptured before the Second Coming even begins. Thus, the Post-Tribulation rapture is literally impossible according to scripture. Not my interpretation of scripture, but what scripture plainly states.
To be honest, it only takes two verses to prove the Post-Tribulation Rapture is false, but to show that they are clearly not misinterpreted here, I am adding the mere six verses that separate them, as well well as proving out other facts that most agree on.
Chapter 19 of Revelation includes two very important events of the End Times. The marriage of the Lamb to the bride, and the Second Coming of Christ. In this chapter, they happen one right after the other.
In the following scripture, I will place a bold emphasis on the two most important verses.
Revelation 19:7-14 (NASB)
7 Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
In the marriage to the Lamb, scripture describes the bride. They are wearing fine linen, bright and clean. The fine linen represents their righteous acts.
Then it describes the armies which are in heaven who follow the Lord back. They are in fine linen, white and clean.
There is no doubt that the bride is the one and the same as the army that is already in heaven and follows Jesus back.
Now most Christians already understand that the bride is the church, which are the true believers. However, just to make it extra clear, I will give scripture proving that as well.
Ephesians 5:23-32 (NASB)
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are parts of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Paul is clearly referencing a man and woman in a marriage to be the same as Christ and His church. However, Revelation 19:8 also says the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the Saints. The word “saint” is another reference to a true believer.
If the church is the bride, and we are married to the Lamb, then right after that, we are also the armies which are in heaven who follow Christ back, how is it even possible for Christ to rapture us on his way down?
One argument was that he will begin his descent and rapture us up to heaven and then we would follow Him down. The problem is this doesn’t work with the marriage to the Lamb. How can we be married to the Lamb if Christ is already descending to earth? The only possible answer is that we absolutely must be raptured up and taken to heaven before Jesus even starts his descent. And there must be time for the marriage to happen in between.
There is also the fact that 1 Thessalonians plainly tells us we will be raptured to meet Jesus in the clouds. We are not raptured directly to heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NASB)
17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
We are caught up together into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It never says Jesus then brings us to earth. It never says we are raptured to heaven first and the come down to catch up to Jesus in His descent. Jesus will come in the clouds and we will be raptured up to meet him. Then we still need to be a part of the marriage to the Lamb. So the Lord takes us back to heaven with Him. We are prepared and married to Him. Then Jesus prepares for the second coming and when He descends, His armies which are already in heaven (the church, which is His bride) will follow Him down.
There simply is no other way to interpret all of this to happen. We are not raptured straight to heaven. We Meet Jesus in the clouds. We must be married to the Lamb before the Second Coming. We are His army that follows him back and so we must be in heaven already when He descends. The only way this is even possible is if we are raptured before the Second Coming even begins. Thus, the Post-Tribulation rapture is literally impossible according to scripture. Not my interpretation of scripture, but what scripture plainly states.
