Article by: Kenneth J. Ester (Updated 12/10/2022)
Why Pre-Trib Rapture: Chronological Events
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture has a whole lot of real evidence in the Bible. To the point that when you put it all together, it becomes the clear truth. I have put much of it in articles but they become long articles that many do not want to read. I felt it time to break it all down. This short article is one in a series that when put together, they prove the Pre-Trib rapture is true.
Something very interesting I have found in Revelation is that it can be broken into six sections. By doing so, the entire book becomes a lot easier to understand. The entire book makes a lot more logical sense. The six sections are as follows...
Section 1 - Chapter 1 - The Introduction
Section 2 - Chapters 2-3 - The Letters to the Seven Churches
Section 3 - Chapters 4-5 - A Scene in Heaven
Section 4 - Chapters 6-16 - Follows the World through the End Times
Section 5 - Chapters 17-18 - The Beast and the False Religion
Section 6 - Chapters 19-22 - Follows the Bride through the End Times
Section 6 is the important one to focus on here. Chapters 19-22 follows the bride of Christ through every end times event the bride will either be a part of or be a witness to. More importantly, it takes us through those events in perfect chronological order of how they happen.
To be clear, the Bride is not every believer. Every believer is the church, but the Bride only consists of the believers from the resurrection of Christ to the rapture. They are all of the believers who accepted Jesus as their Lord purely through faith alone. The church after the rapture will consist of believers who needed the events of the rapture, or enssuing events as absoslute proof the Bible is true before they were willing to believe.
When you follow the bride through the end times in chapters 19-20, it becomes very clear that the rapture happens well in advance of the Second Coming, and so the post-trib rapture is not possible according to these scriptures. Lets run through these chapters event by event....
Something very interesting I have found in Revelation is that it can be broken into six sections. By doing so, the entire book becomes a lot easier to understand. The entire book makes a lot more logical sense. The six sections are as follows...
Section 1 - Chapter 1 - The Introduction
Section 2 - Chapters 2-3 - The Letters to the Seven Churches
Section 3 - Chapters 4-5 - A Scene in Heaven
Section 4 - Chapters 6-16 - Follows the World through the End Times
Section 5 - Chapters 17-18 - The Beast and the False Religion
Section 6 - Chapters 19-22 - Follows the Bride through the End Times
Section 6 is the important one to focus on here. Chapters 19-22 follows the bride of Christ through every end times event the bride will either be a part of or be a witness to. More importantly, it takes us through those events in perfect chronological order of how they happen.
To be clear, the Bride is not every believer. Every believer is the church, but the Bride only consists of the believers from the resurrection of Christ to the rapture. They are all of the believers who accepted Jesus as their Lord purely through faith alone. The church after the rapture will consist of believers who needed the events of the rapture, or enssuing events as absoslute proof the Bible is true before they were willing to believe.
When you follow the bride through the end times in chapters 19-20, it becomes very clear that the rapture happens well in advance of the Second Coming, and so the post-trib rapture is not possible according to these scriptures. Lets run through these chapters event by event....
Revelation 19:1-6 (NASB)
1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Revelation 19:1-6
There is a great multitude in heaven. So many that their voices sound like rushing water. They and the 24 elders are praising God.
There is a great multitude in heaven. So many that their voices sound like rushing water. They and the 24 elders are praising God.
REVELATION 19:7-10 (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.”
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.”
Revelation 19:7-9
The marriage of the lamb. The bride is the church.
The marriage of the lamb. The bride is the church.
REVELATION 19:11-18 (NASB)
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. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”
Revelation 19:11-18
This is the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus preparing to return to fight Armageddon. An angel heralding the coming victory, telling the birds of the air to come and feast on the armies that will be slaughtered.
This is the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus preparing to return to fight Armageddon. An angel heralding the coming victory, telling the birds of the air to come and feast on the armies that will be slaughtered.
REVELATION 19:19 (NASB)
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.
Revelation 19:19
The antichrist and the kings of the land assemble at Armageddon to prepare for battle.
The antichrist and the kings of the land assemble at Armageddon to prepare for battle.
REVELATION 19:20-21 (NASB)
20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Revelation 19:20-21
The antichrist and the false prophet are taken and cast into the Lake of Fire. The rest of the armies are killed.
The antichrist and the false prophet are taken and cast into the Lake of Fire. The rest of the armies are killed.
REVELATION 20:1-3 (NASB)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
Revelation 20:1-3
An angel chains up the devil and throws him into the abyss. Locking him away for a thousand years.
An angel chains up the devil and throws him into the abyss. Locking him away for a thousand years.
REVELATION 20:4 (NASB)
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
The church is given thrones and judgment is given to them. Those who died because they refused to take the mark of the beast or worship his image come back to life and they join them. They reign with Christ for a thousand years.
The church is given thrones and judgment is given to them. Those who died because they refused to take the mark of the beast or worship his image come back to life and they join them. They reign with Christ for a thousand years.
REVELATION 20:5-6 (NASB)
5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5-6
A note that this was the first resurrection. The rest of the dead will not come back to life for a thousand years. Blessed and holy are those who take part of the first resurrection for they will not take part in the second death and will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
A note that this was the first resurrection. The rest of the dead will not come back to life for a thousand years. Blessed and holy are those who take part of the first resurrection for they will not take part in the second death and will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
REVELATION 20:7-10 (NASB)
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:7-10
The thousand years is up. Satan is released for a short time and he turns the people against the holy city. As they come upon the plains of the earth, God wipes them out with fire from heaven. The devil is taken again and this time thrown into the Lake of Fire.
The thousand years is up. Satan is released for a short time and he turns the people against the holy city. As they come upon the plains of the earth, God wipes them out with fire from heaven. The devil is taken again and this time thrown into the Lake of Fire.
REVELATION 20:11-15 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-15
This is the judgment in front of the great white throne. All of the dead who rejected Jesus will be judged and cast into the lake of fire.
This is the judgment in front of the great white throne. All of the dead who rejected Jesus will be judged and cast into the lake of fire.
REVELATION 21 (NASB)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. 7 The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The New Jerusalem
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. 7 The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The New Jerusalem
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21
This entire chapter is about the old earth passing away and God gives us a new earth. He places a new Jerusalem on the new earth and it will be the great holy city of the new earth.
This entire chapter is about the old earth passing away and God gives us a new earth. He places a new Jerusalem on the new earth and it will be the great holy city of the new earth.
Post-Tribbers will read these chapters and believe two parts must be out of order. The first verses of chapter 19 must either be something other than the Bride in heaven, or it is out of order, and then in chapter 20 when the dead come to life must be out of order. In their eyes, everything is in perfect order except for the rapture. For some reason it is broken into two different events and both cases out of order. One too early and one too late. However, for the Pre-Tribbers there are no problems. Not even one that doesnt fit the Pre-Trib understanding absolutely perfectly.
First off, the great multitude in the beginning of chapter 19 must be the church. For one, only the Bride is saved through faith alone. They are literally glorifying God for His salvation. Secondly, the voice coming from the throne speaks to them and calls them "His bond-servants" and uses the phrase "small and great". This phrase always refers to people.
In chapter 20 we have the dead coming to life. Post-Tribbers will try and argue this is the rapture but there are problems with that understanding. For one, it only mentions those who are killed for defying the beast. It never mentions the living, it never mentions either the dead or living being changed, and it never mentions those who die of old age or in accidents. It is only those who would not take the mark of the beast or worship his image. Post-Tribbers need to believe this scripture is being quite negligent in leaving millions of believers out, and they have to believe it is out of order. The Pre-Tribbers do not have any problem with explaining these things.
If Pre-Trib is correct, the rapture of the church happened already. Then after the rapture there are many who turn to Christ because they witnessed the rapture and realized the Bible is absolutely true. They become the Tribulation Saints. The church of the end times. After the tribulation is over, there will be many who were persecuted and killed because they refused to take the mark or worship the image of the beast. There will still be some alive. Those who survive the tribulation will be part of the judgment of the goats and the sheep. Those who are killed will at this time come back to life to join the Bride on their thrones. That is why only those who refused the mark of the beast and did not worship his image come to life here. Because that is all it is who come to life here!
When you read scripture and it literally fits one stance perfectly with no contradictions and nothing out of order, and another stance needs to change the order of events as well as make up things like "even though it only mentions those who died for defying the beast, it really means....", it is easy to see the one that is most likely correct.
Now I have had someone put up the argument that the first verse of chapter 19 literally starts with "After these things", so it is not the beginning of the tribulation here. It takes off where chapter 18 left off. Which is the destruction of Babylon. Which is a valid point. But it means two things.... 1) It happens before the second coming. 2) It still fits a pre-tribulation rapture.
Just because the first event might be the church witnessing the destruction of Babylon, the great false religion, from heaven, it does not mean they couldn't be raptured years earlier. According to the pre-trib rapture, the Bride is raptured and taken to heaven. While in heaven we might all be given our rewards at the BEMA Seat of Christ while many events happen on earth. Then we will all witness the destruction of the One World Religion (Great Harlot). Then we are married to the Lamb and then the Second Coming. All of the events in these chapters still fit the Pre-Trib rapture 100% perfectly, while the Post-Tribbers need to make changes to the order and the meaning of some scriptures to make it work for them.
Remember, we are not making a case that it fits the pre-trib stance a little better. I am saying it fits the pre-tribulation stance 100% perfectly. It doesn't put any event out of order. It doesn't skip any events we are part of. That is pretty hard scriptural evidence to just ignore.
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