My view on The Rapture is kind of basically a form of Mid-Trib, but the standard definition of Mid-Trib doesn't quite apply to me. It's often said that Mid-Tirbbers are "From their own POV Pre-Trib", but I'm if anything the opposite, in my view the Tribulation by definition ends at The Rapture.
The Midway Point Rapture is the best name I can come up with for my view. Whether or not things play out over a seven year time period, where the Rapture is on a 7 year timeline is not the point. The Point is everything in chapters 6-9 happens before The Rapture, and everything in chapters 16-19 happens after The Rapture but before The Millennium begins. And defining it as a Midway Point is also useful because I place it in the middle of the Hebrew year, in Tishri the Seventh Month.
It's thematically more so then literally Midway because it doesn't matter much whether or not the amount of time before and after are actually even. The point is a lot of stuff happens first, and then a lot of stuff happens after. What happens after is ultimately grander in scale even though it arguably takes less text to describe.
Here are the top reasons for seeing The Rapture as being at the Midway point of the End Times scenario described in The Book of Revelation, which contrary to popular opinion is not synonymous with Great Tribulation. The Rapture is after the Church's Tribulation.
1. Luke 21:24-27. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.......And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory."
Revelation 11 shows the time the Outer Court is trodden under foot of the Gentiles is 3.5 years. Here I refute the argument that Jesus doesn't describe The Rapture. The Fullness of The Gentiles coming in is when Israel's Spiritual Blindness is lifted.
2. Revelation 14 is when the Son of Man comes on a Cloud. And when the Harvest is. It's in the Middle of Revelation, between the Trumpets and Bowls.
3. The Trumpet is one of the most universal signs of a Rapture passage from Joel to Matthew 24, to 1 Thessalonians and Corinthians 15. The Seventh Trumpet is linked to the Resurrection in Revelation 11. [Update: and I now lean towards connecting this to The Yom Kippur Jubilee Trumpet].
4. Daniel 12 places the Resurrection when Michael stands up, correlating to Revelation 12's War in Heaven, which is when the Woman flees to the wilderness for 3.5 years.
5. In Revelation 12 The Man-Child is Raptured also right before the Woman is taken to the wilderness and the War in Heaven starts.
6. The arguments for the Rapture happening on one of the Fall Feast days are usually made by Pre-Tribbers or Post-Tirbbers because of the popular assumption of the Eschatological Week being Tishri-Tishri years. However The Bible always considers years to be Nisan-Nisan from The Exodus onwards.
The first 69 Weeks were all Nisan years, from the Decrees of Artaxerxes to The Crucifixion in 30 AD. And Ezekiel 45 shows even in the Messianic Kingdom years will still be Nisan years.
4. Daniel 12 places the Resurrection when Michael stands up, correlating to Revelation 12's War in Heaven, which is when the Woman flees to the wilderness for 3.5 years.
5. In Revelation 12 The Man-Child is Raptured also right before the Woman is taken to the wilderness and the War in Heaven starts.
6. The arguments for the Rapture happening on one of the Fall Feast days are usually made by Pre-Tribbers or Post-Tirbbers because of the popular assumption of the Eschatological Week being Tishri-Tishri years. However The Bible always considers years to be Nisan-Nisan from The Exodus onwards.
The first 69 Weeks were all Nisan years, from the Decrees of Artaxerxes to The Crucifixion in 30 AD. And Ezekiel 45 shows even in the Messianic Kingdom years will still be Nisan years.
I will possibly add to the above list in the future.
A trio of posts where I refute the Pre-Trib notion of Imminence.
Where I discus Intent, and the passages that prove The Abomination of Desolation happens first
Where I discus the "Like a Thief" passages
Where I explain "of that day and hour knoweth no man"
A trio of posts where I refute the Pre-Trib notion of Imminence.
Where I discus Intent, and the passages that prove The Abomination of Desolation happens first
Where I discus the "Like a Thief" passages
Where I explain "of that day and hour knoweth no man"
And my main refutation of Post-Trib is here.
Why Post-Trib model doesn't work
[That post in particular reflects things I've changed my mind on, it needs to be totally replaced.]
Those 4 are among the oldest posts of this blog however, while I still agree with the basic points, I said much I no longer agree with in-regards to issues like Dispensationalism.
And here is my answer to "How many Second Comings are there?"
I also have a post on if there will be Believers after The Rapture.
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