The Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church by Bill Pierce (Part 2)

THE DAY OF THE LORD

JUDGMENT AND BLESSING

Concerning the "day of the Lord" Brother Rosenthal makes the following statements:

"The error of such logic [that the Day of the Lord begins with the tribulation period] is that it assumes that the Day of the Lord commences when the seventieth week of Daniel begins. But a careful examination of the biblical data will clearly indicate that it does not" (p. 117).

We do not intend to look at "biblical data," but carefully and prayerfully at the living word of the living God. When we do, I trust that you will find Brother Rosenthal's statement to be completely false, as we most certainly have!

Concerning the extent of "the day of the Lord," Brother Rosenthal wrote:

"There is no blessing associated with the Day of the Lord. It is the most awesome period of divine judgment the world will ever know. Nonetheless, and amazingly, some Bible teachers insist that the Day of the Lord is a time of darkness and light, judgment and blessing, night and day. They do so by starting the Day of the Lord at the beginning of Daniel's seventieth week and then extending it through the millennial kingdom " (p. 126).

Brother Rosenthal sets forth four arguments contrary to the scriptures concerning the Day of the Lord:

"Concerning the termination point of the Day of the Lord, four arguments are advanced to show that the Day of the Lord cannot include the Millennium, as pretribulationism normally teaches. First, the description of the Day of the Lord in the Old Testament is exclusively a time of devastating judgment. No blessing is associated with it" (p. 127).

Jer. 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 

When we look at the Old Testament we find the statement that, "the day of the Lord cannot include the Millennium" to be false. We find both judgment and blessing in "the day of the Lord," for it is "one day which shall be known unto the Lord" (Zech. 14:6).

In Zechariah's prophecy we find that the day of the Lord includes both judgment AND blessing:
THE JUDGMENT
 
Zech. 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

THE BLESSING
 
Zech. 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 

To say that "that day" (Zech. 14:8) does not refer to "the day of the Lord" (Zech. 14:1) is simply NOT TRUE! "That" is a pronoun whose antecedent is "the day of the Lord." The Bible says, "in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem" (Zech. 14:8). We read about the millennial temple in Ezekiel and how there will be waters issuing out from it at that time. Is this not a blessing?
 
Ezek. 47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

If you have any doubt that Ezekiel is talking about the millennium, then read Ezekiel chapters 47 and 48 and note the context.

In Isaiah's prophecy we find the day of the Lord includes both judgment AND blessing:
JUDGMENT
 
Isa. 24:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

BLESSING
 
Isa. 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
 
Compare Isaiah 24:23 (above) with Zech. 14:6-7:
 
Zech. 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day [the day of the Lord (Zech. 14:6)], that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

Read Isa. 11 and 12 taking everything in context and you will find a mixture of judgment and blessing "in that day," "the day of the Lord."

BLESSING
Isa. 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

JUDGMENT
Isa. 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

BLESSING
Isa. 12:4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Read the following verses from Joel and see the same mixture of judgment and blessing included in "the day of the Lordthat day."

JUDGMENT
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

BLESSING
Joel 3:17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And yet, in the light of all these clear scriptures, Brother Rosenthal continues with his second argument against the scriptures:

"Second, the supposed exegetical basis for extending the day of the Lord through the Millennium rests solely on one verse of Scripture" (p. 128).

Of course, we have already looked at several verses of scripture, taken in context, which show a mixture of judgment and blessing during the "day of the Lord." Which "one verse of Scripture" is Brother Rosenthal talking about? He is talking about 2Peter 3:10! The verse needs very little explanation. Nevertheless, we will compare "line upon line" (Isa. 28:10, 13) and ask that the Holy Ghost teach us:

2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

BEGINNING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

According to Brother Rosenthal, the "day of the Lord" does not begin until the seventh seal is opened. This means, according to Brother Rosenthal, that the church will have seen and experienced the results of the first six seals prior to the rapture of the church!

"After the opening of the sixth seal there is cosmic disturbance, and then men flee to the mountains to attempt to escape from God's wrath. That is precisely what the Old Testament writers said would occur immediately prior to the Day of the Lord" (p. 170).

In order that you will know part of what Brother Rosenthal teaches that the church will go through prior to its rapture, read what John writes in Revelation about the events of the sixth seal:

Rev. 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Please take careful note that these men did NOT "say, Peace and safety" (1 Thess. 5:3) just before "the great day of his wrath is come" (Rev. 6:17). They "said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us" (Rev. 6:16). So, how could Revelation chapter six possibly be speaking of the coming or beginning of "the day of the Lord" when the Bible clearly says that "they shall say, Peace and safety" (1Thess. 5:3) when "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1Thess. 5:2)? The day of God's wrath does not come as a thief in the night! It comes with many signs, those which Brother Rosenthal calls "cosmic disturbances."

Brother Rosenthal comments in another chapter of his book on the day of the Lord:
"Sixth, John notes that with the opening of the seventh seal there is silence in heaven: "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour" (Rev. 8:1). That silence is immediately and directly associated with seven angels who were entrusted with the seven trumpet judgments (Rev. 8:2). Why this silence in heaven immediately prior to the trumpet judgments? Simply stated, because there is a command for silence associated with the outpouring of God's wrath during the Day of the Lord. In this regard, the prophet Zephaniah wrote, "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests" (Zeph. 1:7). The world is called upon to be silent with the awareness that the Day of the Lord has arrived that divine judgment is about to fall" (p. 171).

Brother Rosenthal states that the world will be aware that the day of the Lord has come. The "silence" was in HEAVEN, not on the earth! It is impossible to reconcile his statement with the scripture which says, "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2)! A thief coming in the night to steal your pearls doesn't warn you that he is coming! He doesn't run his automobile up and down the street in front of your house blowing his horn and flashing his lights on and off to wake you up before he breaks into your house! The scriptures clearly teach that the "day of the Lord" begins with the rapture of the Church. Look at the context:

1 Thess. 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first [the first resurrection]:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thess. 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
 
We need not remain in darkness because we have the light of God's word (Ps. 119:165), but the world is in darkness and not the least bit concerned about the "thief in the night". They laugh at us Bible believers who are looking for him. We are looking for him because we know the truth! We hear the Shepherd's voice and we hear not the voice of a stranger!
 
John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Ps. 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

One of the many things the truth will make the Bible believer free (John 8:31-32) from are heresies such as The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church.. Christians are NOT looking for the events of the first six seals! We are NOT looking for "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, [to] stand in the holy place" (Matt. 24:15), nor are we looking for any of the other events of the great tribulation. We are NOT looking for the day when men will run and hide from the face of the Lord, but for the day when men will say, "Peace and safety" (1 Thess. 5:3), the day when the Lord will call his Church out of this wicked world, the day when God will destroy all of the Christ rejecters with a "strong delusion" (2Thess. 2:8-12) and NOT with "hail and fire mingled with blood" (Rev. 8:7) as taught by Brother Rosenthal!

We are "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13), who will come into the clouds of this world "as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2) to take his bride away. Those who were called by the Holy Ghost (Eph. 4:4; 2Thess. 2:14) when they heard or read the "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) and refused to come to Jesus Christ (John 5:40) will not know what happened! They will be suddenly destroyed by the "strong delusion" of God and will believe a lie. They will ALL "be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:10-12)!

The rapture of the Church precedes a day of great delusion by the antichrist (2 Thess. 2:7-12; 1 Thess. 4:165:5). The rapture of the tribulation saints precedes a day of great destruction on the day of God's wrath. See the section on TWO FUTURE RAPTURES. Brother Rosenthal's gravest error is the lack of discernment between the rapture of the Church and the rapture of the tribulation saints!

So we see that "the day of the Lord" WILL begin when the Lord Jesus Christ comes as a thief in the night for his Church, the "pearl of great price" (Matt. 13:46). Therefore the rapture IS included in and marks the beginning of "the day of the Lord" according to the scriptures.
 
Also included in "the day of the Lord" is the destruction of this earth.

2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

How much plainer can that be? "Which" is the pronoun whose antecedent is "the day of the Lord," so we would be grammatically correct to say that this scripture is saying that, "IN the day of the Lord the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up".

For further clarification of this grammatically correct interpretation read the following:
2 Pet. 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Listen to Noah Webster's definition of wherein: "In which; in which thing, time, respect, book, &c." In other words, during "the day of the Lord," in that time period, the heavens shall pass away.

TWO RESURRECTIONS

The rapture of the church is part of "the first resurrection" or "the resurrection of life." The Lord Jesus, speaking of the two resurrections, spoke in similar terms:

John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. See also Acts 24:15; Dan. 12:2.

This "hour" cannot literally mean an hour with only sixty minutes, but a time period during which both "the resurrection of life" AND "the resurrection of damnation" occur. We believe that the two resurrections will occur in the same day called, "the day of the Lord." This means that "the day of the Lord" is a thousand years, because after the first resurrection [the resurrection of life], the saints reign with the Lord for a thousand years, and only then are the rest of the dead raised [the resurrection of damnation] for judgment at the great white throne AFTER the "heaven and earth fled away".

Rev. 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

DURATION OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

Brother Rosenthal, did some expounding of 2 Peter 3 in his book and correctly establishes that the context of 2 Peter 3 is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but for some strange reason he completely ignores 2 Peter 3:8. He skipped over the key prophetical verse, the one that warns about being "ignorant"!:
2 Pet. 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

In the context, "one day" would be a reference to "the day of the Lord" (2 Peter 3:10)! God said that it was a thousand years long (2 Peter 3:8). The Lord will reign on this earth for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4). Since God rested on the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:2) and "the day of the Lord" is a thousand years long, we should not be surprised that the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, should reign as the KING OF KINGS during the final day (a thousand years) to bring peace and rest to this earth prior to the passing away of this present heavens and earth and his creation of a new heavens and a new earth. So we read:
Isa. 11:10 And in THAT DAY there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isa. 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Brother Rosenthal states his third argument against the scriptures:

"Third, if Peter is speaking of A day of the Lord at the end of the Millennium, there must be two distinct prophetic occasions called the Day of the Lord. As has been demonstrated, the Millennium cannot properly be included in the Day of the Lord" (p. 129).

We have demonstrated that the Millennium, the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, IS INCLUDED in the Day of the Lord, according to the scriptures.

HEAVEN AND EARTH SHALL PASS AWAY

Brother Rosenthal then states his fourth and final argument against the scriptures regarding the Day of the Lord:

"Fourth, 2 Peter 3:10 is not describing a judgment at the end of the MillenniumIn verse 6 Peter reminds his readers that in the days of Noah "the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." Although the word perished was used to describe the flood judgment, it was neither the end o f the earth nor of all life. After the flood, Noah, his family, and the animals disembarked from the ark and replenished the earth. In the same manner, when Peter speaks of "the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (v. 7) and "the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are in it, shall be burned up" (v. 10), he is not talking of total annihilation of the earth any more than the earth perishing in the days of Noah was total annihilation. He is talking of nonannihilative judgment during the Day of the Lord as the prophets foretold, but in connection with Christ's return before the Millennium begins. In verse 9 Peter declares" (pp. 129-130).

The word "perished" is used by Peter concerning the flood. Perish means 'to destroy,' and if we go back to the scriptures and find out what God said he was going to accomplish with the flood we can see that he never intended to destroy the earth itself, but "every thing that is in the earth"

Gen. 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

But this is NOT what 2 Peter 3:10 says:

2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, THE EARTH ALSO AND the works that are therein shall be burned up.

The apostle writes that God is going to destroy not only "the works that are therein," but also "the earth also" itself. Is this the only scripture that makes such an astounding statement? Of course not! It is recorded three times that the Lord Jesus Christ said:

Matt. 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Also see Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33.

This of course agrees with 2 Peter 3:10. The Lord didn't say there would be a "nonannihilative judgment" of the earth! He said, "HEAVEN AND EARTH SHALL PASS AWAY"! Heaven and earth WILL pass away, and they will pass away IN the day of the Lord, because the Lord will make a new heavens and a new earth for the righteous to dwell in. I wonder why Brother Rosenthal failed to mention any of the above scriptures nor any of the following scriptures which CLEARLY state what God is going to do with the earth regardless of what anyone has to say about it!

Isa. 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the FORMER shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

God's word says that this earth, "the FORMER" (after he burns it up), will not be remembered nor come into mind. We won't have a milky way or a big dipper or a little dipper in the heavens to remind us of this old wicked and sin-cursed world. There won't be anything in the new earth either that will remind us of this old earth, because, according to the scriptures, this old earth will be burned up! Unfortunately, Brother Rosenthal uses the word "annihilation," which isn't even a scientifically correct word, much less a Bible word. Some of us believe that the present heavens and earth, which WILL BE BURNED UP, will not be annihilated but that "the lake of fire" will be composed of the for ever burning remains. See the second law of thermodynamics.

Isa. 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

Notice that in contrast to THE PRESENT EARTH, which is "reserved unto fire" (2 Peter 3:7), the Lord said that THE FUTURE EARTH "which I will make, shall remain before me" (Isa. 66:22).

Rev. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And, brother, it makes no difference what ANY Bible scholar drew up in an impressive chart about the renovation of the earth, or how intelligent his argument sounds, or how well this fits with your "Christian philosophy". What did God say in plain English? I trust that this is enough scripture to convince the Bible believer of the truth on this subject.

The "day of the Lord" begins with the rapture of the church from the earth to face "the judgment seat of Christ" (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10) and ends with the rapture of the damned out of hell to face Jesus Christ (John 5:22; 2 Tim. 4:1) sitting on the "great white throne" (Rev. 20:11). See also 2 Tim. 4:1.