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Where is the church during the seven-year Tribulation, as outlined in Revelation 4-19? If posttribulationism were correct, you would expect to see the church mentioned as being on earth during this time. However, that is not the picture one sees in Revelation 4-19. This writer demon-strates through investigating many of the details of Revelation 4-19 that the church is pictured in heaven with Christ, having been raptured before the Tribulation began. You can become informed of the overwhelming support for the pretribulational understanding of this issue through this essay.The Roman emperor Domitian banished the apostle John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea (Rev. 1:9). It was there that John heard the command of Jesus Christ: "What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia" (Rev. 1:11 NKJV). John recorded what he saw and heard, and then he sent the volume to seven local churches located in key cities within the Roman province of Asia; namely Ephesus, Smyrna, Perganios, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Rev. 1:11).The content of the book of Revelation can be divided into three sections, based upon Christ's command: "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this" (Rev. 1:19 NKJV). These three sections reveal a time sequence: past, present, and future.What had John just seen? He had just seen a symbolic vision of Jesus Christ standing in the midst of seven lampstands that represented the seven local churches (Rev. 1:12-18,20). This content forms the past section of the book ("the things which you have seen"). The present section ("the things which are") can be seen in the seven individual letters to the churches (Rev. 2-3). The future section thus forms the major part of the book (Rev. 4-22). The prepositional phrase "after this" (meta tauta) literally means "after these things." It is found three times (1:19; 4:1 [twice]). The third section begins with these words: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this" (4:1 NKJv).The future section (Rev. 4-22) contains an introduction, revealing the throne of God the Father in heaven and the taking of the seven-sealed scroll by Jesus Christ (4-5). The seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments are then described (5-16). The judgment of Babylon is then set forth (17-18). The second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth is finally presented (19:11-21). The millennial kingdom, the great white throne judgment, and the eternal state close out the prophetic revelation (20-22).The typical futurist interpretation of the book contends that chapters 4-19 describe what will take place in the seven years preceding the second coming of Christ to the earth (19:11-21). Consistent advocates of premillennialism hold this position regardless of their particular view on the rapture of the church.However, only those who embrace the pretribulational rapture (or the pre-seventieth-week-of-Daniel rapture) will argue for the absence of the genuine church on the earth during these entire seven years. What evidence can be found within Revelation 4-19 to show that the true church is in heaven when the events of these chapters are taking place? The following looks at nine indications.The Mention of the Church
The words "church" or "churches," so prominent in chapters 1-3, do not appear again in the book until the last chapter (22:16). The singular "church" and the plural "churches" together occur 19 times in the first three chapters (1:4,11,20 [twice]; 2:1,7,8,11, 12,17,18,12,19; 3:1,6,7,13,14,22).The term "church" (ekklesia) literally means "a called out group." It has two main usages in the New Testament. It can be used of the body of Christ, which He is building in this age (Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:1-6). It is composed of believing Jews and believing Gentiles made one in Christ (Eph. 2:15-16). The term can also be used of a local congregation of believers (Acts 14:27; Gal. 1:2). It is so used in this second sense in the book of Revelation.However, there is a strange silence of the term in chapters 4-19. That fact is especially noteworthy when you contrast that absence with its frequent presence in the first three chapters. One good reason for this phenomenon is the absence of the true church and true evangelical churches in the seven years preceding the second coming. The true believers of the church have gone into the presence of Jesus Christ in heaven before the onset of the events of the seven-year period. The church is not mentioned during the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments because the church is not here during the outpouring of these judgments.
The Admonition
The recurring phrase "unto the churches" (2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22) is conspicuously absent in a similar admonition (13:9). All seven letters to the churches end with this admonition by Christ: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (NKJv). Each individual person in each individual local church was to hear and to apply the truth that Christ gave to all of the local churches. For example, a believer in the church at Ephesus could profit spiritually from what the Savior said to the churches at Pergamos or at Philadelphia.Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are the three main enemies of God and His people during the seven-year period (13:1-18; 19:20-20:3). The beast, symbolic of the military-political dictator of the end times, will rule for 42 months, the second half of the seven-year period. John recorded this truth about him: "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (13:8).At this point, John records the warning: "if anyone has an ear, let him hear" (13:9). Period! There is no mention of "saying to the churches," a phrase which is repeated seven times in the seven letters. If the previously mentioned churches (Rev. 1-3) could possibly be in the seven-year period to face the wrath of the beast, then why wasn't the admonition addressed to them? The obvious answer is that they won't be on earth at that time.There is the mention of "saints" in the context (13:7,10). These saints, however, are those who get saved during the seven years after the true church has been taken into heaven.
The Wife of the Lamb
The church, as a body-unit, is not seen after chapters 1-3 until the marriage of the Lamb is discussed (19:7-9). Here is the description:Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints (19:7-8).The church is called Christ's "wife" (gune). Paul used the metaphor of husband and wife to describe the relationship of Jesus Christ to the church (Eph. 5:22-33). The wife is seen as a complete, definite unit in heaven even before the actual second coming of Christ to the earth (19:7; cf. 19:11-16). There is no sense that part of the wife is in heaven and another part is on earth.The wife has also been rewarded prior to the second coming of Christ to the earth. Her accountability can be seen in the fact that she "has made herself ready" (19:7). However, no believer deserves any reward for what he has done for the Lord. The divine conferral of reward is still an expression of His redemptive grace, thus the text reads: "And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen" (19:8). The linen is defined as "the righteous acts of the saints" (19:8 NKJV). The phrase "righteous acts" is the translation of a plural noun (ta dikaišmata). It seems to refer to the righteous deeds done by genuine believers rather than to the imputed positional righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:22; 4:22-5:1).Thus, the judgment seat of Christ has already taken place in heaven before He returns to the earth. All believers in this church age know that they will have to give an account for what they have done since they have been saved (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).Since the wife has been rewarded prior to the return of Christ to the earth, then the wife had to be raptured into heaven before that event.
Christ's Activity
The focus of Christ's activity changes from chapters 1-3 to chapters 4-19. In the first three chapters, His ministry was in the midst of the seven churches on earth. He is commending, criticizing, and correcting them. In chapters 4-19, however, His activity occurs in heaven. He is occupied with the seven-sealed scroll and the judgments that proceed from it.As the living Head of the church, His body, He is presently building His church (Matt. 16:18). He is in us and we are in Him His attention is on the church. However, that emphasis disappears in chapters 4-19. In the seven years prior to His return to the earth, He is preparing the world and Israel for His coming. The church is now completely with Him in heaven by way of resurrection, translation, and rapture. That phase of His creative and redemptive purpose has been finalized.
Written by: Dr. Robert Gromacki -
As in the days of Noah....
