The question of when the rapture takes place has long challenged me. Like many who set out to understand the “end times” chronology I started from a pre-tribulation perspective. Looking back this was probably because at the time I first became interested in eschatology it was the most widely disseminated theory, it had many proponents who I respected (and still do), and because unfortunately I didn’t do my own due diligence as I should have.
Because this subject still challenges me, I try to read as many diverse views on the subject as I can and then compare them to my current understand of Biblical passages in question. This quest led me recently to Dr. Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener’s new book Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why we don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
While this book does dig into the details of the timing of the rapture it paints the arguments mostly from a big picture point of view. The book is divided into three parts.
Part I: Why Many Doubt “Left Behind” Theology
Part II: What does the Bible Say?
Part III: Implications for Us Today
Part I lays out some of the challenging aspects of the pre-tribulation rapture that are found in 2 Peter 3:10, I Corinthians 15:23-26, and 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 (among others). By asking a series of logical questions based upon these passages the authors get you thinking about the subject of the rapture from a new perspective. Chapter 2 then gives the author’s personal journey from a pre-tribulation rapture timing to their current perspective. After their personal testimony the authors explore the chronology of the “end times” from the perspective of church history.
Part II digs into the time of the rapture in a bit more detail by questioning the Old Testament “support” for the rapture. Here the authors look at some of the commonly used Old Testament types or shadows which are often used to support the pre-tribulation rapture. After laying this foundation the authors then really focus on why they believe there is only one “2nd coming”. Part II wraps up with Evaluating Pre-Tribulation arguments and exploring what they believe are post-tribulational passages that show why Yeshua (Jesus) returns for the church after the tribulation.
To me the part of the book that was most compelling was Part III and the authors’ exploration of the implications that he timing of the rapture has for the church today. Over the years I’ve had a hard time reconciling some of my former pre-tribulation beliefs with the suffering of the followers of Christ over the last 2000 years. In this part of the book the authors really provide some great analysis of “What is Tribulation”, why is this different than God’s Wrath. Related to this, the authors explain how and why thy believe believers will be protected from Yahweh’s divine judgments that will be poured out upon this earth at the end of the age.
Most valuable of all to me in reading this book was the authors’ challenging their readers with victorious view of living in Christ during this present age, regardless of its challenges and sacrifices. This part of the book was truly encouraging and inspiring.
Another aspect of the subject that clicked with me while reading this book is the reality of how the 1st century church understood that they were in the end times yet they understood the 2nd coming of Yeshua was at some yet appointed time. This “already” and “not yet” aspect of the end times has challenged me over the years. The authors’ explanation of this subject got me thinking that the early church’s understanding of the “end times” may have been influenced by big picture cyclical view of history much like Jewish Rabbinic thought saw the 1st century BC/AD as the start Yemot Mashiach or Days of the Messiah which was a much longer period of time than a seven years. In any case it was some great food for further reflection.
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In the category of missed opportunities I wish the authors had done a more thorough job explaining why they saw Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 “Weeks” (Sevens) as fulfilled in Yeshua (Jesus) in the first century. Clearly Dr. Brown as a Jewish believe in Yeshua, as well as one who believes in the rapture and 2nd coming, has a unique perspective on this wonderful prophecy and one can hardly call him a preterist.
Why I believe this was a missed opportunity is because Daniel 9 and 70 Sevens is the bedrock upon which all who hold a dispensationalist point of view find their chronological framework for the 7 year tribulation, the rapture, and their view of the Jewish people in the plan of God. Without the dispensational gap between the 69th and 70th “week” of Daniel 9 the entire pre-trib framework is upended. A seven year tribulation is not once mentioned in the entire Bible but comes directly from a dispensationalist conclusions about Daniel 9.
Dr. Brown and Dr. Keener both made a great effort to allow context to define their understanding of the rapture and its timing, yet in their explanation of Daniel 9 they overlooked the one contextual aspect of Daniel 9, which is fatal to dispensational view of Daniel 9. That context is the “covenant and mercy” of Daniel 9:4.
The more I study Yahweh’s wonderful words the more in awe I am of the congruency of its messianic redemptive message. Here in Daniel 9 that congruency is on display in a wonderful way.
In Daniel 9 the first words out of Daniel’s mouth are a petition for Yahweh to remember his “Covenant and Mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.” Daniel goes on to plead for his people, Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary, and ruined city of Jerusalem. As Dr. Brown and most readers well versed in the Old Testament would know, This “Covenant and Mercy” is a direct quote from Deut. 7 and Moses’ admonition to Israel.
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- Deuteronomy 7:7-12
YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shebuw’ah] which he had sworn [shaba] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…..….Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers: (excerpted)
- Deuteronomy 7:7-12
Moses goes on to inform Israel that these fathers and this oath (shebuw’ah) He swore (shaba) with them originated with Abraham (Due. 9:5). If we go back in Biblical time we find that oath Yahweh swore with Abraham was in Genesis 22 after Abraham showed his willingness to offer Isaac in that heart wrenching OT shadow of Messianic symbolism. It is here that Yahweh (by himself, by his own sovereign will) sware (shaba) the first oath (shebuw’ah) with any man in the Bible. That oath (shebuw’ah) in part promised Abraham that through his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.
It’s later in Genesis 26 that Yahweh confirms His oath with Abraham’s son Isaac:
Genesis 26:3-4 – – – Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath [shebuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Chronicles 16:13-17 and Psalm 105:6-10 both confirm this oath Yahweh swore with Abraham.
In the New Testament, Peter in Acts 3:25-26 speaks of this covenant, as does Zacharias, the father of John, and Mary, the mother of Yeshua in Luke 1. Even Paul speaks of this covenant to the Galatians and they are all unanimous that this covenant (and mercy) Yahweh sware with Abraham was the promise of Israel’s redeemer Yeshua.
In other words, Daniel’s plea for Yahweh to remember his “covenant and mercy” (whether he understood it in its fullest context) was a plea for the promised “seed” through whom “all nations of the earth would be blessed”. It was plea for Yahweh to remember the oath (shabuw’ah) He the living God of the Bible sware (shaba’) with Abraham.
So how did Yahweh answer Daniel’s prayer? He sent Daniel a prophecy of 70 Sevens. Now here is where the awesome congruency of Yahweh’s word really shines. The Hebrew word for the number seven and swear are phonetically identical. From this Hebrew root come the Hebrew words shebuw’ah (oath), shabuwa’ (Sevens) and, last but not least shib’iym (Seventy). So in other words when Daniel pleaded with Yahweh to remember the shebuw’ah (oath) He shaba (sware) with Abraham, Yahweh sent Daniel the prophecy of shebuwa’ shib’iym (70 Sevens) which told Daniel exactly when that promised redeemer would come. How congruently awesome is that!
This context of the “covenant and mercy” of Daniel 9:4, then must be the lens through which we see the “covenant” mentioned in Daniel 9:27. Only Yeshua could have “confirmed the covenant” originally made with Abraham. Indeed it was by Yeshua’s death and resurrection that the “seed” of Abraham became the blessing to all nations of the earth.
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- Luke 1:67-73 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ….To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
- Galatians 3:14-16 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises [covenant] made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
It is my hope that in some future writing, Dr. Brown will give this subject the attention it deserves and use his eloquence and knowledge to highlight the amazingly congruent redemptive message of Yahweh’s Covenant and Mercy through Yeshua.
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In closing, context matters. I believe that if you explore the subject of the rapture and its timing with Dr. Brown and Dr. Keener in this book, you’ll find that a very good case can be made that the rapture and 2nd coming are not two separate events separated by years but a single event of hours (possible days) that transpires right at the end of this age and just before Christ literal reigns upon this earth.
Maranatha!
Yahweh’s Covenant and Mercy to a Thousand Generations
For those who would like to read the story of Yahweh’s Salvation (His Yeshua) as spelled out through his Covenant and Mercy to a thousand Generations, here are the Bible’s own words:
To Abraham
Genesis 22:11-18 11 And the angel of YHWH called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15 And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
To Isaac:
Genesis 26:3-4 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath [shebuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
To Jacob:
Genesis 28:13-14 3 And, behold, YHWH stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Confirmed By
Deuteronomy 4:31 31 (For YHWH thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware [shaba] unto them.
Deuteronomy 7:8-12 8 But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shebuw’ah] which he had sworn [shaba] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers:
Deuteronomy 8:18 18 But thou shalt remember YHWH thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 9:5 5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations YHWH thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which YHWH sware [shaba] unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The Covenant of a Thousand Generations
1 Chronicles 16:13-17 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 14 He is YHWH our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; 16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath [shebuw’ah] unto Isaac; 17 And hath confirmed [‘amid] the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Psalm 105:6-10 6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is YHWH our God: his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. 9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath[shebuw’ah] unto Isaac; 10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
Nehemiah 1:5 5 And said, I beseech thee, O YHWH God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments
Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
The Covenant and Mercy in the New Testament
Acts 3:25-26 25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Luke 1:46-55 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Luke 1:67-73 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath [shabuw’ah] which he sware [shaba] to our father Abraham,
Acts 13:22-23 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Acts 13:32-33 32 ….And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Galatians 3:14-17 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Galatians 3:29 29 ….And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Romans 15:8 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Hebrews 6:12-17 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Mark 14:22-24 22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many.
Hebrews 7:22 22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament [covenant].
Hebrews 13:20 20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Daniel 9:27 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Promised Seed of Faith
Romans 4:12-18 12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. 13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Romans 9:3-8 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
A Light to the Gentiles
Isaiah 42:1-7 KJV Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 5 Thus saith God YHWH, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I YHWH have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Luke 2:25-32 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Acts 26:23 23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
Even so come Yeshua!
From now on I’ll look at the word in the Bible seed with a different light, thanks
Most welcome Ronald.