Nothing. He said nothing about a pre-trib rapture.

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed that for a second. I was a Baptist most of my life. I read ALL the Left Behind series books. I watched the movie. Although I didn’t really trust Kirk Cameron as being Biblically solid, the message aligned with what I’d been taught and what I truly believed would take place. One day, I would be zapped right out of this world and those left behind would be in a terrible situation. I did NOT want to be left behind. Such sadness and destruction everywhere. No Holy Spirit on the earth. And the wrath, whoa! It would finally be poured out. No thank you. I would be ready to go when that time came! Jesus, come quickly. Maranatha!

Today I stand before you declaring from the rooftops, “I pray I am left behind!” Oh, there will be some people taken before others, for certain. The Bible says so, and you can count it as truth. But you’ll be amazed when you learn who those people really are.

What The Scarlet Letters really say is pretty eye-opening. Jesus did not teach a pre-trib rapture. Paul did not teach a pre-trib rapture. John Darby and C.I. Schofield are responsible for starting that lie, and it wasn’t even around until the early 1830s. Since then, preachers and Kirk Cameron have tried their best to disseminate the deception to the masses. Whether knowingly or not, that’s between them and God, but what should matter to you, is that you’ve been lied to.

When my husband and I first started exploring this topic in depth, the intent was to prove to ourselves a pre-trib rapture would take place. After all, we wanted to be confident in what we believed and we wanted to share the truth with people. Our desire was to prepare and create resources for those who were left behind. We read the Bible. We made notes. We watched documentaries and Bible studies. We discussed it. And a funny thing happened when it was just us and the Bible. We would begin discussing a passage, and we kept getting hung up with thoughts like, “What about ____?” and “Wait, where is that passage in the Bible that says _____?” We would pause and start digging in our Bibles to find it. Shock-faces applied, what we were reading was not what we’d been taught. And what we’d been taught, was nowhere in the Bible. Whether you end up agreeing with me on this, or you stick with a pre-trib belief, I beg you to try and clear your mind of what you think you know, and look at the scriptures with me now. Then decide for yourself.

Some of the mainstream lies:

• If you believe there is no pre-trib rapture, you’ve got the Jew in the wrong place
• Christians aren’t going through the tribulation because they aren’t appointed to wrath
• The word church isn’t mentioned in Revelation, so the “Gentile” church isn’t a part of the end times
• The Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord are two different events
• The Holy Spirit is removed (lie alert – He is not the restrainer) and the wrath pours out on unbelievers
• Jesus talks about His final return in Matthew 24, and Paul is the one who talks about the rapture seven years earlier (lie alert – another doctrine than what Christ taught?)

As I’ve committed to do, I must tune out my preconceived notions and just READ the Bible.

Let’s begin with the doctrine of Christ, The Scarlet Letters. Did the apostles teach anything other than the doctrine of Christ? No, of course not! They walked with Jesus. They knew what He said. They asked him questions and He clarified. Then after His resurrection, they taught it. His doctrine and only His doctrine. In fact, they said if someone didn’t abide in the doctrine of Christ, he hath not God. I believe they proclaimed something like, “Don’t you be coming at me with another doctrine. I’m not having it!”

2 John 1:9-10 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

What did Jesus really say?

This topic is pretty in-depth so I’m going to split up the key points into multiple articles. For now, I’d like you to focus on two things.

1. Please read Matthew 24, ignoring any notes you have written in the margins over the years.
2. Think on John 17:15, which is a part of Jesus’s prayer: John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Pray about it. In the meantime, do not pray for a pre-trib rapture. You may be praying against the very prayers of Jesus.

Check back for more on this topic coming soon!

Fully immersed in The Scarlet Letters.