Nolan Lewallen

Retired airline pilot. Author of “The Integration of Church & State” and “Yeshua is Still the King of the Jews.”

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

PRE-TRIB. VS. POST TRIB. RAPTURE
A few weeks ago, The Stream posted a video by Pastor Vlad Savchuk supporting a post-tribulation Rapture. Below is my response to that video, pointing out some problems with his presentation (in my view). The Stream chose not to publish my counterview (or anyone else’s to date). While they have the right to publish whatever they see fit, I think it’s unfortunate to present only one side of this very controversial subject because “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). We should have open and honest debates on arguable issues like the Rapture. A link to Vlad’s video is at the end.

A ‘Pre-tribber’s’ Response to Vlad Savchuk’s Rapture Video
I must say at the onset that I think Pastor Vlad Savchuk’s is a great preacher! Just a few months back, I personally shared one of his videos (on a completely different subject) to multiple friends, including pastors. Moreover, I think his video was one of the better ones I’ve seen defending the “post-Tribulation” view, but it comes up short in my view. I have a different point of view—a pre-tribulation Rapture and below are seven points in Vlad’s video that I would like to respond to.
1. Vlad said, “The true hope of the believer is not escape, it’s faithful endurance and glorious resurrection.” However, Jesus Christ said, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:36). It’s the same Greek word used in Acts 16:27, where Paul and Silas escaped prison. There are no alternative definitions for this word.
2. He said, “You cannot draw your doctrine from analogies, shadows and types” and gave the example of pre-tribbers’ use of a Jewish wedding as a historical analogy of the Rapture. He added that we must start with scripture. That’s fair. Although Jesus Himself used analogies, I agree that we must start with scripture. But then, he broke his own rule on one of the most problematic issues of the post-trib view—the “U-turn in heaven” if the Rapture and Second Coming happen at about the same time. I’ve heard it said, “If that’s the way it’s going to be, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is going to have to be a snack lunch! He used a historical analogy (“cultural context,” as he called it) to describe how the word, “parousia,” was used of the glorious return of a king when the people went outside of town to greet him and accompany him back into the city. Chapter and verse, please? Again, I can agree with not relying on analogies, but I take exception to forgoing “types and shadows” because that would disagree with a host of scripture (including Colossians 2:16-17, Hebrews 8:6, Romans 5:18, and 1 Corinthians 10:11 to name a few).
3. He said the main scripture that changed his theology was Revelation 20:4-5, which speaks of the “first resurrection” as being those who “had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not taken his mark,” thus proving that it had to occur at the end of the Tribulation. In the first place, the Rapture will not be a resurrection, but rather believers who are alive and will be changed. Granted, there will be a resurrection of the “dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) coincidentally with the Rapture. But that includes 6,000 years (at this point) of dead saints, most of them having been dead long before any opportunity to worship the anti-Christ, so I think that’s trying to put a square peg in a round hole.
I believe he is overthinking this. Technically, there was already a “first resurrection” when Jesus gave up the ghost, long before a pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation. “The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52-53). You might argue that they were not resurrected to heaven, since they went into the city. But Jesus made a pit stop on earth and appeared to many—including 500 at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6)—before ascending to heaven.
Jesus only references two resurrections in John 5:29: “For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life (first resurrection), and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (second resurrection). Apparently, the “first resurrection” is the resurrection of all believers (including the Old Testament saints) and will have taken place in various phases. The “second resurrection” will be the resurrection of the wicked to be judged by God at the great white throne judgement.
4. He said there was no evidence of the doctrine of the Rapture being in the early church, but that John Nelson Darby introduced it in the 1930s. First of all, you mean the same early church that replied to Jesus’ warning, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” with “It is because we have no bread” (Mark 8:16)? And when Jesus spoke of being scourged and killed, Luke 18:34 says, “But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them.” Sometimes new generations bring new revelation. For example, smart bombs are implied in Jeremiah 50:9 at a time when they used bow and arrows and spears. Neutron bombs are implied in Zechariah 14:12, and even since 1948, scriptures regarding Israel in the last days makes much more sense.
But actually, Darby only popularized the doctrine in the 1930s. Irenaeus of Lyon (120-202 AD) referred to the church being “caught up” before the Tribulation in Against Heresies, Book 5. Ephraem of Nisibis (306-373 AD) wrote, “For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” And then there was Victorinus of Petrovium (died 304 AD), who wrote, “And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up. For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the Church shall be taken away.” Syrian church father Pseudo-Ephraem (fourth to sixth century) wrote, “For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” After Gutenberg’s printing press in the 15th century, there were printed accounts of pre-tribulation doctrine, including Joseph Mede (1586-1638) and Bishop Richard Hooker (1553-1600). https://t.co/ajIPjswFwV, to say that Darby initiated the doctrine in the 1930s is inaccurate. But none of this really matters. It doesn’t change the Word of God.
5. He rightly acknowledged that Noah and his family were saved from the wrath of the flood but said God only preserved them during the flood as He will preserve Christians during the Tribulation. Yes, God did preserve them. But we read in Genesis 7:17, “The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the ark.” I see a type and shadow there, and Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37). But if you want something more literal, there was an actual Rapture before the flood—Enoch.
He then brought up Lot and his family, who were saved from the wrath of Sodom but said they were relocated. And where were they located? To a city of refuge—a perfect type of Christ. By the way, aren’t we going to be relocated in the Rapture? Another perfect type to me.
6. His answer to our (pre-trib) common argument of 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “God did not appoint us to wrath,” was that the Tribulation is going to be “Satan’s wrath.” Well, first of all, the Greek word for “wrath” is the same word used in Romans 1:8 that says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” That same Greek word also refers to the “wrath of God” in Romans 2:5, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6, and 1 Thessalonians 1:10. The same word was translated to “vengeance” in Romans 12:9: “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay says the Lord.” So, the question is, does Satan even have a right to wrath? Sure, he tries to counterfeit it and work havoc, but God says wrath (or vengeance) belongs to Him.
But all that said, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says “God did not appoint us to wrath” … period, whether it’s God’s or Satan’s wrath.
7. He stated, “The problem with Pre-tribulation Rapture is if you don’t expect to be here, you can be misled to take the mark.” That’s a valid point. If we’re still around, many of us will recognize the events unfolding, such as the two witnesses, the anti-Christ desecrating the temple, the would-be fatal wound to his head, and his mark to buy and sell. If I start seeing these things, I will find Pastor Vlad and say, “You were right, brother!” (And I’ll probably ask if he has any food to spare.) But those who are ignorant of the Scriptures could be misled. That’s why all of us—pre-tribbers, mid-tribbers, and post-tribbers—need to keep sounding the alarm concerning these events. We all agree on what’s going to happen; we just disagree on whether or not we will be here.
I also see a problem with telling Christians they are going through the Tribulation when they are not. That would evokes much fear in many, and “Fear has torment” (1 John 4:18).
In Closing ...
Lastly, here are a few additional scriptures that I believe support a pre-tribulation Rapture:
2 Thessalonians 2:7: This is one of the key scriptures, in my view, and says, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” Many of us believe “He who restrains” is Jesus or the Holy Spirit—through the church. Some say, “But the church is the bride of Christ and wouldn’t be called “he.” Who is the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18)? Or, the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within us, could be the restrainer. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “He” (John 14:26, John 16:13). God has given us authority “over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).
Popular arguments of post-tribbers are that “the restrainer” is either human government or Michael, the archangel. As far as human government, that doesn’t make any sense to me. There have always been governments on earth, from the Garden of Eden (a Theocracy) to present. But world government is going to be hijacked for evil as the one-world government of the anti-Christ (whether that happens through the United Nations or some other avenue). So, the government is not going to be “taken out of the way.” It’s actually going to be the very mechanism the anti-Christ uses to get into power. The good news is, Jesus will take it back! Isaiah 9:6 prophesies that “the government shall be on His shoulders,” and His reign will “have no end” (Luke 1:33).
As far as Michael, the archangel, that’s also a stretch. Michael and his angels do engage war with the dragon during the Tribulation (Revelation 12:7-9), but they were never “taken out of the way.” In fact they defeated the dragon. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 associates “the voice of an archangel” with the Rapture, when we “shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Although Michael is a mighty warrior in the spiritual realm, it’s important that we keep things in perspective. Hebrews 1:14 (ampc) asks, “Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation?” So, angels are actually our servants, who “hearken unto the voice of His Word” (Psalm 103:20)—another good reason for God’s Word to continually be on our lips.
We, the church—through the power of Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit—will restrain the anti-Christ until we’re removed, just as Noah and his family restrained the rain until the ark was finished. And as Lot and his family restrained the wrath on Sodom until they got out of there.
Matthew 24:44: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” The first 35 verses of Matthew 24 are all about signs. Beginning in verse 36, it only warns of no signs. That would have probably been a good place for a chapter change. (Remember, the chapters and verses weren’t added until the 12th through 16thcenturies). That’s because it’s referring to two different events—the Second Coming and the Rapture. There are many dreadful things we can say about the Tribulation, but at least it’s a well defined timeframe. From the time the anti-Christ signs a treaty with Israel, the clock starts for 2,520 days. A believer going through the Tribulation would be able to count off the days and would even be given a halfway marker—the anti-Christ desecrating the temple. In a post-tribulation Rapture, “when you do not expect” would not be appropriate. You would expect Him at the end of the Tribulation.
John 14:2-3: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” In the Rapture, we go to where He is. In the Second Coming, He brings the saints with Him back to earth. This scripture doesn’t make a lot of sense if you try to fit it into a Second Coming context. It would mean that after Jesus went to all that trouble preparing our mansions, we would have to leave right after the house warming! Then, we would return to earth with Jesus for the 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom.
Revelation 3:10: “Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
The truth is, there are good arguments and problems on both sides. We should all be cautious about getting too dogmatic on our views. It’s probably somewhat obscured by God’s design to keep Satan in the dark, as in the crucifixion. 1 Corinthians 2:8: “Which none of this age knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” But whether the Rapture is pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib, I plan to take the first flight out!
Pastor Vlad's video:
https://t.co/gasmoaXtdw

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@CarlaHSands Amen, sister! Nothing else matters until we secure our elections. If Thune can't get that done, the GOP senators should get somebody else in there.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@SpringSteps 🙏

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@MalcangiSarah That's all true, and I like Deek. But no Aliyah if you’re a Christian. https://t.co/U7SgP1twzx

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@GovMikeHuckabee @bariweiss

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@farmingandJesus Correct, sister. How did they ever drift away so far from the words of Jesus Himself? Mark 3:35: "For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and MOTHER.”

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@chris_jolliff @megbasham Probably WAY before your time, but maybe you've seen some re-runs.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@chris_jolliff @megbasham This is the only masked man I've ever trusted.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@DrMichaelLBrown Good!

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@Fair_and_Biased Agreed. I wouldn't be at all disappointed with him at the top of the ticket in '28.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@farmingandJesus When the devil reminds us of our past, we should remind him of his. After all, he got kicked out of heaven. Oh, and while we're at it, we should throw in something about his future!

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@SchmittNYC It looks like the Babylon Bee forgot to put their logo on this one! 🐝

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@SpringSteps 🙏

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@DavidLimbaugh I nominate YOU to write "It Didn't Start With Trump."

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

Here's a short exerpt from a book I wrote a number of years ago. The Left's policies are so bad that they have to operate completely on this principle. On Trump, they use lies like "Racist, Rapist, Convicted Felon, etc." To push their agendas, they use lies like "The Separation of Church & State, January 6 Insurrection, etc."

We’ve all heard it said, “If you say or hear something over and over, you will eventually begin to believe it.” There have even been scientific studies done that support this saying. They call it the “illusory truth effect.” The studies on the subject, which began in 1977, have typically given participants a list of statements and asked them to judge whether they are true or false. The process is repeated week after week, and some of the false statements are repeated on the list each week. The studies have shown that the more a false statement is repeated, a greater number of participants believe that it’s true, but their recognition of non-repeated false statements tends to remain flat. Apparently, that sense of familiarity with an idea in our thought process can be mistaken for truth.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@FarmGirlCarrie Love it. Ya know, digging post holes is the only job in which you start at the top.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@HeatherJ_Israel Heartbreaking. It seems there's only outrage when they can (falsely) blame the Jews.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@ScottWalker Amen! Psalms 78:4: "We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done."

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

There are some blatant (and presumably deliberate) errors in KJV, like in Psalm 8:5 (quoted in Hebrews 2:7): "For thou hast made him a little lower than the ANGELS, And hast crowned him with glory and honour." The word was ELOHIM, or God, not angels. There are some others. And don't get me wrong; I think it's a perfectly fine translation. I just get a little frustrated at the KJV only crowd, who I guess, think it floated down from heaven.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@DavidLimbaugh I'm sure the "Israel caused cancer" shoe is going to drop any day now.

[Nolan Lewallen @NolanLewallen]

@Colin_Patriot @IngrahamAngle @CoachForGov Yes, I see that now. 👍🏻