“Where’s the Beef?” and “Where’s the Verse?”

by Douglas Reclaiming the Rapture

Chapter 1 of Reclaiming the Rapture : “Where’s the Beef?” and “Where’s the Verse?”

That question framed a very successful marketing campaign for Wendy’s Hamburgers TM when they asserted that the other burger places were all bun but no burger. When it comes to theology and eschatology, we must ask not, “where’s the beef?” but rather, “where’s the verse?” Having a doctrine with no supporting verses is like having a hamburger with no beef – it’s just wrong. Strangely, however,
one of the most popular doctrines does just that – it has an entire theology without an actual verse supporting it. The Pre-Tribulation rapture is a doctrine with no verse; and this is not just our opinion but
readily admitted by the most salient Pre-Tribulation authors. Hal Lindsey, author of the best-selling book The Late Great Planet Earth, and one of the world’s best known advocates of a PreTribulation rapture, candidly admits in his book The Rapture, “PreTribulationism is based largely on arguments from inference and silence.” 2 He then follows up that admission by confessing that he cannot “point to any single verse that clearly says the rapture will occur before… the tribulation.” 3 This naturally begs the question, if it is based largely on arguments from inference and silence, and there isn’t a verse pointing to the timing of a Pre-Tribulation rapture, then how does he know when it will occur? Tim LaHaye, author of the phenomenally successful Left Behind series, which sold over 60 million copies, makes similar confessions as Hal Lindsey. LaHaye reveals in his book, No Fear of the Storm: Why Christians Will Escape All the Tribulation (this book was later republished as Rapture Under Attack): “One objection to the Pre Tribulation Rapture is that not one passage of Scripture teaches the two aspects of His Second Coming
separated by the Tribulation. This is true. But then, no one passage teaches a post-trib or mid-trib Rapture, either.”4 LaHaye reveals more saying: “No single verse specifically states, ‘Christ will come before
the Tribulation.’ On the other hand, no single passage teaches He will not come before the Tribulation, or that He will come in the middle or at the end of the Tribulation. Any such explicit declaration would end the debate immediately.”5 Lindsey and LaHaye are by no means two lone wolves who
are exposing the big secret of Pre-tibulationalism, namely that it is a doctrine with no substantiating verse. David Reagan with Lamb and Lion Ministries likewise confesses that the timing of the rapture is inferred, not stated, in his article entitled “The Mystery of the Rapture”: “The Bible never specifically defines the timing of the Rapture by tying it to any other event like the re-establishment of Israel or the rebuilding of the Temple. Even its proximity to the Tribulation is inferred rather than definitely stated. That’s because the Rapture is an imminent event that could occur at any moment.”6 This admission of not having a single verse seems to actually be something that Pre-Tribulation authors tout proudly rather than burying because of embarrassment. One Pre-Tribulation website, bible-truth.org, has outlined exactly where the Pre-Tribulation rapture is not in, what they call, “The Mystery of the Rapture.”

  1. “The Rapture of the Body of Christ is not found in the Old Testament for the obvious reason that the
    institution of the local church was not revealed until the New Testament. The Old Testament deals with God working with the nation of Israel.”
  2. “The Rapture is also not found in the Gospels, and again the reason being, the Gospels primarily deal with Israel and not the churches.”
  3. “The catching up of Christians is a different resurrection (the Rapture), than that of Restored Israel,
    which was a mystery not revealed to the Jews in the Old Testament.”
  4. “God used the Apostle Paul to explain how it is that believers in the church age have a different relationship with Christ and also a different resurrection.”7 [emphasis mine]

We will examine all of their points later in our study and demonstrate all of their points to be false; as God does clearly speak of the rapture, or better known as the gathering, throughout the entire Bible. Nevertheless, how can all of these teachers justify teaching a Pre-Tribulation rapture when they freely admit that it is nowhere to be found in the Bible? According to the author of Beginningandend.com, in an article, “Believers Escape God’s Wrath: Biblical Foreshadows of the Rapture,” they do so by claiming that the rapture is a type and shadow in the Bible. Shadows “By looking at Old Testament types and shadows, God’s method of saving His people before judgment becomes apparent and foreshadows timing of the rapture of the church in the prophetic timeline.”8 However, if you have ever stood in the shade of a tree, then you know that the shade is only there because there is a real tree. Take away the tree, and the shadow goes away. I have stood in the shadow of the Eifel Tower only by virtue of the tower being there to block the sun. If there were no Eifel Tower, there would be no shadow. This seems obvious, yet it appears to have been overlooked somehow. The conclusion is simple; if there is no verse indicating that the rapture will happen before the tribulation then it is not a biblical doctrine – it is, unfortunately,
make believe.
Look a Distraction!
Acknowledging this massive deficiency, the Pre-Tribulation teaching has had to look for an ally; which they find in the doctrine of the trinity. They point out that there is no single verse which teaches
the trinity, and yet we believe that; therefore, we are not required to demand a verse in defense of the Pre-Tribulation rapture. Yet this is nothing more than a clever diversion to distract Bible students from
wanting to see the proof of the Pre-Tribulation doctrine. In his book, The End, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, predictably (and probably unwittingly) employs this well used and effective defense: “While no single verse says Jesus is coming to rapture His saints before the seven-year Tribulation, there are clear statements that He is coming to deliver His people from the coming wrath. Many biblical doctrines, such as the Trinity, the inerrancy of Scripture, and the dual nature of Christ, are NOT SPELLED CLEARLY IN ONE VERSE.” 9 (emphasis mine) This distraction is very effective because most Christians believe in the tri-unity of the Godhead. They believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. And also believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Such comparisons are used to imply that doubting the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation rapture is tantamount to doubting these other foundational doctrines. The conversation effectively shifts from
discussing the absence of evidence for the Pre-Tribulation rapture to whether or not the doubter is orthodox in his or her beliefs. This is in fact a false dichotomy, since there are actual verses which do teach the triune nature of God. When Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out to make disciples, He said to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… Matt. 28:19
The triune nature of God is not even something uniquely Christian. The ancient Israelites long understood there to be something peculiar about the nature of God. They clearly knew about the Holy Spirit from Genesis 1:2, where the Spirit was hovering over the face of the deep. The Prophet Isaiah recorded God saying:

“Come near to Me, [God is the subject] hear this: I [God is the subject] have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I [God is the subject] was there. And now the Lord GOD [God is the subject – so who is this?] and His Spirit [i.e. Holy Spirit] have sent Me.” Isa. 48:16

The above verse is a powerful example of the triunity of God before the writing of the New Testament. Thus in at least two places we have direct evidence of triune nature of God spelled out in a single verse. Pre-Tribbers make the case that the word “trinity” is not in the Bible; but that fact is simply not the issue.

Whether we find the word “Pre-Tribulation rapture” in the Bible or not is beside the point. The book of Zohar, an ancient Jewish writing, underscores the ancient concept of the triunity found in Scripture. They speak of “three in one”, and “hameshulleshet” (threefold), which is the very basis of the tri-unity or “Trinitarian” doctrine. “The Ancient Holy One is revealed (found) with three Heads, which are united in One, and that Head is threefold exalted. The Ancient Holy One is described as being Three; it is because the other Lights (i.e., two Lights) emanating from Him are included in the Three. Yet the Ancient One is described as being two (Dan. 7:13). The Ancient One includes these two (i.e. the two are found in Him). He is the Crown of all that is exalted; the Chief of the chief, so exalted, that He cannot be known to perfection. Thus the other Lights (Shining Ones) are two complete ones, yet is the Ancient Holy One described and complete as One, and He is One, positively One; thus are the other Lights united and glorified in One; because they are One.”10 Taking the time to explain the trinity is exactly what the PreTribulation distraction is all about. The easier, and adequate, answer would be to simply stay on target. Nevertheless we have taken the time to demonstrate that it is not reasonable to say we shouldn’t demand to see a Pre-Tribulation timing verse simply because there is no verse with the word “trinity”. We have clearly seen that there is sufficient (and powerful) evidence of the trinity in both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, as well as ancient Jewish extra-biblical sources.

The Intimidating List
Getting back to the true issue of the timing of the Pre-Tribulation rapture, let’s now consider the verses that they do give in support of the doctrine. On the one hand, we are told that there isn’t a single verse which describes it, and then we are told that there are verses all over the place which describe it. We refer to this as “the intimidating list,” so called because when someone flashes the list at you, it looks impressive. It can be intimidating to doubt the rapture when there are just so many verses.

  1. John 14:1-3
  2. Romans 8:19
  3. 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
  4. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
  5. 1 Corinthians 16:22
  6. Philippians 3:20-21
  7. Philippians 4:5
  8. Colossians 3:4
  9. 1 Thessalonians 1:10
  10. 1 Thessalonians 2:19
  11. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
  12. 1 Thessalonians 5:9
  13. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
  14. 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3
  15. 1 Timothy 6:14
  16. 2 Timothy 4:1, 8
  17. Titus 2:13
  18. Hebrews 9:28
  19. James 5:7-9
  20. 1 Peter 1:7,
  21. 1 Peter 1:13
  22. 1 Peter 5:4
  23. 1 John 2:28—3:2
  24. Jude 21
  25. Revelation 2:15
  26. Revelation 3:10

“Twenty-six places in the New Testament that speak of the PreTribulation rapture!” That is intimidating; and it works. The average person is happy with the impressive list and it settles the matter. However, once we take a closer look at the verses, we begin to see a different picture. Despite the claim, not even one of the verses gives the timing of the Pre-Tribulation rapture. Not even one!

Let’s take a look at these verses and see for ourselves if their claim, that these verses teach the Pre-Tribulation rapture, holds water.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3

Just where is Jesus saying that He will come to catch believers up before the tribulation? Jesus said He was going away, and He would come back and collect His followers. It is true that this passage teaches Jesus will come back for His own. However, Jesus simply did not give any indication whether taking His followers to Himself would be a pre, mid, or post tribulation event. The next passages on the intimidating list are Romans 8:1 and 8:19. Paul speaks of no condemnation, and the revealing of the sons of God, but he says nothing about rapture or the timing of rapture. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. Rom. 8:1, 19 Likewise, in the next passage, First Corinthians 1:7-8, Paul mentions the revealing of Jesus, but nothing about the timing of the rapture.

…so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 1:7-8

Next on the list is First Corinthians 15:51-53. Paul’s discusses the transformation of our bodies at the resurrection, which is undoubtedly linked to the rapture, yet Paul does not give any indication when this will occur in relation to the Great Tribulation. He gives no hint in this passage of a Pre-, Mid-, or Post-Tribulation rapture. His language of the resurrection of the dead is straightforward, but he is silent on the timing of the rapture. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 1 Cor. 15:51-53
First Corinthians 16:22 is a plea for Jesus to return, but it is once again silent on the timing of the rapture.
If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! We have now examined five passages on the list and yet we haven’t seen anything remotely indicating a gathering, catching up (rapture) happening before the tribulation. So far, their intimidating list is yielding no results. Where is the timing of the Pre-Tribulation rapture in any of the verses examined so far? It is conspicuously
absent. Somehow this exercise is beginning to feel like the shell game where the onlooker is tricked by fast moving shells and a fast-talking dealer.
The two verses listed from the book of Philippians likewise contain no timing references to the rapture. In the first one, Philippians 3:20-21, Paul speaks of heaven and resurrection but
nothing about the rapture:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Phil. 3:20-21
Philippians 4:5 says nothing about either the rapture or the resurrection but is merely an exhortation that Jesus is “at hand.”

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Phil. 4:5
The passage on the list from Colossians is similar to Philippians 4:5 in that Paul is exhorting believers to live right since we will be like Jesus when he returns. No timing is even remotely given
concerning the rapture.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:4

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col. 3:1