Post Trib Rapture lies (Part 2)

Lie 2.) "Paul said that the Church would go through the "last days" and "latter times" which are well known references to the Tribulation."

The terms "the great tribulation" and "the Tribulation" are not Biblical terms. There is no such thing as "THE tribulation" or even "THE great tribulation". There is a time period that is described as containing tribulation, but the Bible never calls this time period "THE tribulation". The time period itself is called many different names. The only time the phrase "THE tribulation" occurs is in Matthew 24:29 and it is used as an adjective, not a noun.

The most common titles are "the last days" and "the latter days" of Israel (Gen. 49:1, Isa. 2:2, Micah 4:1, Num. 24:14, Deut. 4:30, 31:29, Jer. 23:20, Jer. 30:24, 48:47, 49:39, Ezek. 38:16,Dan. 2:28, 10:14, Hos. 3:5). The term "the last day" (singular) is used for the Second Coming of Christ (Job 19:25). So what we often call "the Tribulation" is actually what the Bible calls "the last days". The time period itself is not called "THE tribulation", that is merely a description. You can see this easily in Deuteronomy 4:30, "When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;"

But what is meant by the use of the term "last days", "latter days", and "latter times"? Clearly in the Old testament usage it is referring to the "last days" of Israel before the Kingdom is set up. Check the context to every reference of "last days" and you will see that it is referring to the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jer. 30:7+24) with the Second Advent and the Millennium (Isa. 2:2, Micah 4:1, Acts 2:17, etc.). But why are those called "the LAST days"? Because there was a certain number of days on Israel's time clock given by Daniel the prophet....

Daniel 9:
[24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
[25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
[26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
[27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

For Israel, the 70th Week of Daniel contains the "last days" of their history as given by Daniel the prophet. The 12 disciples called Daniel's 70th Week the "end of the world" (Matt. 24:3). Of course, the 70th Week of Daniel never happened because God revealed His hidden plan of the Dispensation of Grace after Israel rejected the Gospel of the Kingdom, in the present age we are not on Israel's prophetic time clock.

Ephesians 3:
[1] For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
[2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:
[3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
[4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
[5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
[6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
[7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
[9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 16:25  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Israel's "last days" have nothing to do with the "last days" of the Dispensation of Grace, the Dispensation of Grace is not even found in the Old Testament to be part of Israel's prophetic time clock. God has stopped His dealings with Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (Rom. 11:25).

In response to these facts the "post trib rapture" teachers will say "But the apostle Paul does say that the Church will go through the last days in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 3:1." That is true, the Dispensation of Grace does have "last days", but they are not the last days of Israel as predicted by Daniel. What the Bible says about Israel's last days does not match what it says about the last days of the Dispensation of Grace, in fact....they contradict.

PAUL'S LAST DAYS OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE:

1 Timothy 4:1-3 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

The characteristics of Paul's last days of the Dispensation of Grace were general bad behavior and apostasy among individuals, the command to abstain from marriage, and the command to abstain from meats. Does that match Israel's last days?

In Israel's last days, do they forbid marriage? Clearly not....Matthew 24:37-38 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

In Israel's last days, do they command to abstain from meats? No, in fact, the world is tempting the believing Jews to sin by eating things offered to idols...Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Not to mention that their is cannibalism going on in the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Micah 3:1-3, Rev. 17:6, 1 Pet. 5:8, Ps. 14:4, 44:11, 53:4, 57:3-4).

Another contradiction is that in the last days of Israel the signs of tongues and prophesying abound (Acts 2:14-21) while in the Dispensation of Grace those gifts CEASED with the completion of the Bible (1 Cor. 13:8-13). 

The last days of the Dispensation of Grace contradict the last days of Israel.The only way a person could confuse the two would be if they were not studying the Bible properly (2 Tim. 2:15) or were not studying at all. You cannot simply combine "last days" with "last days" and assume they are the same. You must look at WHO is talking to WHO about WHAT and WHEN.

--Eli Caldwell