The Premise of the Tribulation Trilogy

Dr. Mike Johnston

From my book: THE TRIBULATION TRILOGY

The premise of The Tribulation Trilogy is simple. Israel and the church are not the same. In fact, they are as different as heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1), and mystery and prophecy; each with separate programs governing them (Rom. 16:25; Acts 3:21). It’s not difficult to see the divisive results from disregarding this God ordained distinction. Dr. Noah Hutchings observed, “If only Christians would hear what God has spoken to them during this age, and claim that which God has given to us and let Israel have that which God has promised to them in the Covenants, then all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour could fellowship one with another. If Christians would rightly divide the Word, then all Scriptures would fall into their rightful place.” (Why So Many Churches, 1992)

To begin with, Israel is God’s premier elect NATION on earth (Deut. 7:6; Isa. 45:4). She exists from prophecy spoken in “time past” [1] by the mouth of the prophets “since the world began” (Luke 1:70; Acts 3:21; see Matt. 25:34). Bear in mind, prophecy enhances or explains events surrounding earth, and Israel’s divine appointment to earth’s destiny, featuring the King and His Kingdom.

It is Israel to whom God’s prophets presented five covenants guiding and guaranteeing her future on earth, including a lineage, land, laws, and a Lord – King – that began with Abraham and will continue through the Millennium. It is for Israel that the earthly kingdom was “prepared from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34) [2] and through whom the Messiah was born and to whom He was presented, rejected, and yet one day will return to fulfill the Lord’s prophetic prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth…” (Matt. 6:10). It is to Israel the Lord Jesus explained this Davidic Covenant Kingdom will be inaugurated following His visible Revelation in Jerusalem (Matt. 24; see Zech. 14; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-21) “immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:21, 29). [3]

The church, on the other hand, has NO inheritance on earth, and no sustaining purpose here (study Eph. 1-3; Col. 3:1-6). She is the Lord’s heavenly BODY (Eph. 1:3; 2:6); a mystery “kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25), given to Paul alone by our heavenly risen Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:20) in a personal post ascension revelation (Rom. 16:25; Gal. 1:12; Eph. 3:1-9). Currently the church occupies a temporary position on earth during Israel’s hiatus between Daniel’s 69^th and 70^th week (Dan. 9:24-27) to provoke her to jealousy (Rom. 11:11). The Body of Christ was unknown to any of the prophets (Col. 1:26) and therefore was never included in their earthly prophecies featuring Israel’s Davidic Kingdom, and tribulation (“Jacob’s trouble” – Jer. 30:7) preceding it. In simplest terms, the church that appeared as a mystery (Rom. 16:25) [4] during Israel’s blindness (Rom. 11:7), will disappear in a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51) when “the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).  Once the Body of Christ (church) is gone, Israel’s prophecy clock will resume at Daniel’s seventieth week (one week of seven years – see Dan. 9:27; Rev. 11:2-3), the time of Jacob’s trouble that Jesus referred to as tribulation (Matt. 24:29).

Truth about the Tribulation

One highly disputed Bible doctrine is the tribulation. Retrospectively, over the past forty years I’ve found opinions surrounding it such as its name, length, participants, purpose, and timing of the Lord’s return, to be as vicious [5] as they are varied and vacuous. This need not be. From the first mention [6] in Deuteronomy 4:30-31 (we’ll examine more carefully later) through Revelation 19, it is pictured as a time of trouble for Jacob, and Jacob is Israel (Gen. 32:28; Deut. 31; Jer. 30-31; Dan. 12:1). God designed it to ultimately lead His rebellious, stubborn hearted Jewish people into repentance preparatory to the establishment of the Davidic Covenant Kingdom (2 Sam. 7:16; Rev. 20) in Jerusalem. One can be sure, “in that day” (Isa. 2:11, 17, 20; 11:11; Jer. 30:8; etc); “the day of the Lord” (Isa. 2:12; 13:6; 13:9; Jer. 46:10; etc), “a day of darkness and of gloominess” (Joel 2:2), the wayward, blind, and slumbering Israel (Rom. 11:8) will awaken to find herself once again on center stage fulfilling Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27), (study Isaiah 2; 24; Joel; Zephaniah, Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; and Revelation 6-19), currently on hold. The tribulation week will be followed by the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicted for Israel “in time past” (Zech. 14:4; Matt. 24:29-31; 25:31-46; Acts 14:16; Rev. 19:11-21) to occur in the “ages to come”.

When studied in totality, the tribulation is for Israel, God’s foremost nation on earth (Isa. 2; Jer. 30-31; Joel; Zeph; Rev. 3:10; 6-19). It is prophesied to Israel (Deut. 4:30); it is punishment of Israel (Zeph. 1:14-18); and it is preparation for Israel’s Kingdom and King (Jer. 30:3-11). Every Bible reference to it speaks of one of these three things. By prescription – written from the pen of Providence – it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the Body of Christ – provable by Scripture studied in context. Case in point: Israel and the anti-Semitic Gentile nations of the world are mentioned often and thus highly visible during the horrors of this tribulation holocaust (Isa. 2; Dan. 7-12; Joel 2; Zeph. 1-2; Zech. 12-14; Rev. 6-19). However, the Body of Christ (church) is not. In fact, if the church is present on earth during a single moment of the time of “Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble” (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1-2), the Holy Spirit went to great lengths to keep us from knowing it. Consider this example (not necessarily offered as exclusively conclusive): The Holy Spirit lavishly used the word “church” 19 times in Revelation 1-3, and yet He never specifically mentions the church or Body of Christ once during the tribulation which occurs between Revelation six and nineteen. Why is this?

There are only three possible explanations: First, it was an oversight, which omniscience renders impossible. Second, it was intentional to keep us from knowing we’re destined for the tribulation horrors of the wrath of God (Rev. 6-19) which is equally absurd. Third, the heavenly Body of Christ, His church – promised deliverance “from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10), and “the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10; see also 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; 2 Thess. 2:5-7; Rev. 4:1) is NOT here! This is the only choice an impartial eye can see through the objective lens. There isn’t a verse anywhere in the King James Bible clearly placing the Body of Christ on earth for a single moment of Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27) without redefining the words “saints” and “elect”, which in Daniel, the Olivet Discourse and Revelation specifically refer to Israel in the tribulation (Deut. 4:30).

The Dave MacPherson and Margaret MacDonald
1830 Rapture Hoax

 

Conversing about the tribulation is impossible without discussing the rapture. Moreover, discussing the rapture is impossible without hearing it’s a giant hoax less than 200 years old. I ran into this again researching material for this treatise. Selective end time’s blog and book writers have galvanized around allegations first popularized in the 1970’s by Dave MacPherson, a neurotic[7]  newspaper reporter who has devoted his life to painting the PreTrib rapture as a big hoax. Borrowing and twisting the undocumented allegations from Textus Receptus enemy Samuel Tregelles – MacPherson contends in a slew of slanderous [8] writings that the rapture is a pervasive fraud with an elaborate cover up hiding a “dubious origin”. Both MacPherson and Tregelles maintain the rapture didn’t exist until 1830 when dispensational scholar John Nelson Darby [9] pirated it from a demon possessed charismatic girl named Margaret MacDonald [10] who conjured it up in a dream. According to the narrative, Darby then gave it to CI Scofield to publish in his reference Bible as part of a sinister plot to deceive Christians for no apparent reason other than the indescribable joy both men received from misleading people. It’s important to point out here that no one – including Tregelles, MacPherson, nor any of their followers – has ever provided a shred of credible proof linking Darby or Scofield to plagiarizing MacDonald or to any of these appalling activities. Instead, they fill their books with a daisy chain of bibliographical references quoting one another as their authorities.[11] Dave a seasoned reporter must have known PreTrib scholars would expose his sham allegations – which they did. What he didn’t count on was the number of honest theologians who investigated him; many of whom did not hold the PreTrib rapture position yet felt compelled to weigh in anyway. [12] Ultimately, when the ink dried, MacPherson’s “scholarship” shriveled under a scrutiny it hadn’t anticipated and couldn’t withstand.

So what does this mean? It means MacPherson’s hoax is an iconic irony. The man who has spearheaded an elaborate 40-year scheme representing the rapture as a big lie has himself been exposed for using a big lie to do it; a tactic eerily reminiscent of one outlined in the Joseph Goebbels Nazi propaganda playbook. [13]

The rapture is not a hoax molded from an elaborate myth. It’s part of the mystery program Jesus revealed to Paul (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 15:51) for the Body of Christ which marks yet another distinction between the church and Israel. However – as MacPherson demonstrates – those who won’t accept Pauline mysteries fight them tooth and nail because they contain “things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3: 16). Taking that into consideration, I offer this treatise, set in a Church/Israel distinction, filled with Scripture, annotations, and appendices juxtaposing for our less precocious Christian friends, The Tribulation Trilogy pictured in Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, [14] the way God intended: in its proper Jewish setting.

[1] Paul provides us with a three-fold perspective for studying the Bible: past, present, future. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past (see Acts 14:16) Gentiles in the flesh, But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (excerpted from Eph 2:6-13).

[2] God’s purpose for earth is a kingdom in Israel. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints [Jews] shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. (Psalms 145:10-13 – my comment in brackets)

[3] It’s important to know that the tribulation constitutes an unprecedented period of punishment, and purification of Israel in preparation of the establishment of the Davidic Covenant Kingdom (2 Sam. 7:16; Rev. 20) in Jerusalem following the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicted for Israel in time past (Zech. 14:4; Matt. 24:29-31; 25:31-46; Rev. 19:11-21) to occur in the ages to come. The tribulation is NOT for the Body of Christ, aka the church.

[4] More information on the mystery nature of the Body of Christ discussed in Eph. 3:1-9; Col. 1:24-27.

[5] For merely disagreeing on the timing of the rapture, I’ve been insulted, cussed out, had my salvation impugned, as well as my intelligence. I’ve even been threatened with bodily harm, all by men who claim to be bearers of truth as “new creatures” in Christ.

[6] The Law of First Mention teaches that the first time a subject is mentioned in the Bible is how it stands connected in the mind of God throughout Scripture.

[7] MacPherson actually blames proponents of the PreTrib rapture for all of his misfortunes, beginning with his expulsion from Bible college, a drunken binge in Mexico, a car accident, his mom’s death, his sister’s inability to have more children, the demonic possession of his dog, and all his father’s woes. https://www.raptureready.com/who/Dave_MacPherson.html

[8] Dave vilifies all who disagree with his questionable conclusions in a signature unchristian assault. It begins by impugning the person’s character and credentials and ends with condemning their souls to Hell forever.

[9] Darby taught PreTrib rapture in 1827. Roy A. Huebner (Precious Truths Revised and Defended JN Darby).

[10] Here’s a few problems. First, Miss MacDonald’s “prophecy” doesn’t contain any elements related to a pre-trib rapture [Read her prophecy and you’ll find she believed in several raptures and that the church would suffer under Antichrist]. Therefore, in order to get his theory in line with the narrative, he had to conflate the two accounts of Margaret’s vision. Second, no one has ever demonstrated from actual facts of history that Darby was influenced by MacDonald’s “prophecy” even if it had contained pre-trib elements – which it certainly did not. There is evidence that Darby heard about Miss MacDonald’s strange vision and labeled it demonic. Third, Darby clearly held to an early form of the PreTrib rapture by January 1827. This is a full three years before MacPherson’s claim of 1830. John Walvoord has said, “The whole controversy as aroused by Dave MacPherson’s claims has so little supporting evidence … one wonders how he can write his book with a straight face. Pretribulationists should be indebted to Dave MacPherson for exposing the facts, namely, that there is no proof that MacDonald … originated the pretribulation rapture teaching.” More information available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_MacDonald_(visionary).

[11] And this they want you to believe is scholarly reporting.

[12] Ernest Sandeen, Robert Reiter, Ian Rennie, William Bell, John Bray, and Timothy Weber.

[13] One of the most successful strategies Josef Goebbels facilitated in the Nazi rise to power over Germany was the “Big Lie” propaganda ploy. Briefly, he believed if a lie was big enough and told often enough the people would eventually embrace it. The fact that Hitler slaughtered 6 million Jews virtually uncontested by Germans proves just how powerful this strategy is.

[14] This is the glorious, triumphant and visible return of the Lord Jesus when He comes to earth in full view of the world (Zech 14:4-5; Matt 16:27; 24:29-31; Rev 1:7) with the armies of heaven (Rev 19:11) following. This is the moment of victory with the inauguration of the covenanted Davidic Kingdom prophesied all through the Old Testament (1 Sam. 7:16; Dan. 2:44; Matt. 25:31-34). Unlike the rapture – which along with the Body of Christ is a mystery they knew nothing about (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 15:51) – the prophets had full knowledge about the coming of the Messiah to earth (1 Chron. 16:33; Job 19:25-26; Psa. 102:16; Dan. 7:13-14; Zech. 14:4; etc.).