Q: For the past year and a half I have been attending a course on the Book of Revelation as presented by Kay Arthur’s "Precept Upon Precept" Bible study. During this time, I began to question many of her interpretations regarding:

* Matthew  24  (Olivet Discourse) as applying to Israel only.
* Seventh trumpet as being the middle of the 70th week
* Two witnesses testifying at the beginning of the 70th week
*  Equating the Great Tribulation with the Day of the Lord
* Never fully explaining the Great Multitude from the Great Tribulation
* Never explaining the 75 extra days of Daniel 12

And so on and so forth.

As a consequence, I began surfing the ‘Net for answers and coincidently at this time I came across a copy of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthal.  Voila!  It seemed that while I was reading this book, all my questions were answered and in a way that made perfect sense.  I couldn’t get enough of this concept, so I purchased and read the Robert Van Kampen books The Sign and The Rapture Question Answered.  I followed this up with your book Before God’s Wrath and  Dave Bussard’s Who Will Be Left Behind and When?

I downloaded and read all the articles on your Web Site and  Sola Scriptura plus other Web sites as I encountered them.

However, I have found that when I relate my new beliefs, I’m considered somewhat of a mild heretic and I get responses that go something like this "Oh Yes, just another Revelation interpretation. Stick with the men of theology who have the education to interpret scriptures."

So my dilemma is this – I would like to find a church where this concept is accepted and taught.  I live in the Houston, Texas area (Northeast part of Houston).  I thought that you might have some leads to a local church or a church in the area.

A: I'm sorry you are experiencing this reaction from your brothers and sisters in Christ, but unfortunately, I can't say that it's unusual. I have a few suggestions for you.

First, check out the Prewrath Only discussion group on Yahoo.  I moderate the group, along with Pastor Ron Wallace, and it's a great place of fellowship. There are lots of prewrathers out there, but we just aren't organized very well, so it's easy to feel alone. You can go to www.yahoo.com, then click on "groups," and then type in PrewrathOnly and look for my byline in the messages to ensure you're in the right group. It's just a great place for fellowship, and often, people will post questions about local churches on the board. You never know — someone may live in your area and know of someplace.

The other suggestion is to look for churches that do not have pretrib in their doctrinal statements. Pentecostal and charismatic churches almost universally hold to pretrib, not just as a doctrine, but as part of their doctrinal statements, so they hold to pretrib like they do the deity of Christ, the resurrection, and the blood atonement. In churches like these, you aren't going to get much support for your views.

However, there are denominations that hold to premillennialism (the belief in a literal thousand-year reign that is yet future) but that accept all rapture positions. We attend an Evangelical Free church, and our pastor holds to premil but does not espouse one view over the other. Before that, we attended a Free Methodist (very different from Methodist) church, which also accepts a variety of rapture views. I believe that Baptists have an open doctrinal statement on the timing of the rapture, as well. I don't remember all of the different denominations that fall into this category, but you can post the question on the prewrath only board and you'll get a variety of responses.

Strong Tower Publishing will also be compiling and publishing a list of prewrath churches on its Web site under "Other Prewrath Resources." Right now, there are only a handful of churches, but over time, that list will certainly grow.


Q: In your opinion, do you think that our current situation in the
Middle East (I am not saying it's in Bible prophecy) will lead to major
future conflicts? Also, supposedly the Antichrist is a person that "once was, now is not and is yet to come." Could it mean that he may come out of the current European Union / rebirth of the old "Roman Empire"? Or could he be of Arab descent?

A: Potentially.  I think that we've stirred the pot, and while there was hatred against the U.S. already, our actions have intensified it and focused it in a new and purposeful way.

I also believe that the Antichrist will come out of what is commonly called the "Revived Roman Empire," whether that is the European Union or similar entity. This, I believe, is pretty well documented in scripture. I have an article detailing the scriptures that indicate that he will be from the old "Roman Empire," but specifically from that portion of it that used to be Ancient Greece.  It's also under the "Talkin' Rapture" columns, called "The End-Times Prophecies of the Prophet Daniel."

Whether or not he's of Arab descent is not in scripture, just the location. Today, you can be from a certain country, but not of its national origin. I'm open to the possibility (very likely possibility) that he has Jewish blood — probably the tribe of Judah — because he will be accepted by at least some Jews. If he's mistaken as the Messiah, then this would be a requirement. I'm also open to the possibility that while his bloodline may include Jewish blood, that he is a Muslim by faith, since he's accepted by the Arab countries. Somehow, he straddles both cultures and religions, so there is likely, in my view, some sort of blend in him that makes him uniquely appealing and uniquely reprehensible at the same time, depending on your point of view.

Q: I appreciate your understanding of the Bible and your kindness in helping people to understand your points of view and in discussing general issues with everyone.

I have question for you. Since the American continent in not mentioned (specifically or generally) in the Bible, what is your opinion about our continent being a world power at the time of the rise of the Antichrist? Do you think that we will already be an (obsolete) desolated country before (or at the time) he rises to power? If I remember correctly, was it you that mentioned, that we could be struck by (natural disasters)?

My questioning is because every time I am part of a Bible session, there is
discussion that during the time of the Antichrist, the country of Israel will be pretty much on it's own to defend itself.  This makes me feel that America will no longer be a superpower by then.

Actually, if I read correctly, are not armies led by (Russia-Gog?) and I
think you mentioned the Arab armies going to surround Jerusalem in the
battle leading up to Armageddon. I believe that the dragon (China) will be
involved somehow?

A: Thank you for the kind compliment.

Suggesting that, because Israel appears to be "on its own" to defend itself during the War of Gog and Magog, the United States is no longer a superpower is a huge leap. There are alternative explanations, although this is certainly one of them.

Another possibility is that, for whatever reason, America decides not to support Israel anymore, or not to get involved in fighting other countries' wars, perhaps a new political direction. Another possibility is that the Arab countries feel that, if they band together, they can defend against the United States. Perhaps one or more of them will develop nuclear weapons and feel that they have a "big stick" to threaten us with.

The point is, here as in many other places, Bible just doesn't give us enough information, so I remain open to all of the possibilities. If we hone in on just one of them, when the Bible itself leaves it open, then we close our minds to other potential fulfillments and might inadvertently miss it.

Whether the dragon (China) will be  involved somehow, scripture only says "the armies of the East," so that could be China or it could be another country. The reason China is often mentioned is because many people associate the army of "two million" mentioned in Revelation with China's two billion-man army, but if you look closely at that verse, the army mentioned in scripture appears to be one of demonic beings, not human beings.

When it comes to the "hows" of prophetic interpretation, it's fun to speculate, and it's important to watch, but it's even more important, I believe, to remain open and not close down too quickly on one interpretation or another unless the Bible is clear and specific. The political landscape changes quickly, and interpretations of various verses, such as these, will change along with it.


 

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