Matthew 24:42-44, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” —Hebrews 11:5
I feel awkward writing this article, because Dr. Texe Marrs is an elder in the
Christian faith, and I admire him tremendously as a man of God, teller of
truth, and contender for the Christian faith. I have always been a big Texe
Marrs fan. Texe is awesome! Texe's wife (Wanda) has undergone over a dozen
surgeries. There has been much cancer and health woes in the family. Yet, Texe
is a ray of sunshine in a dark and dreary world as Christ shines through him.
I don't agree with everything Texe says, but we agree on the fundamentals of
the Bible. I do agree that Zionism is a false doctrine, which Texe Marrs
thankfully exposes.
I have a small glass candle lit next to me while I work, next to my Unger's Bible Dictionary as I type from it for this article. I like to work on my ministry with a lit candle on my desk, to remind me that Jesus is the light of the world; and while Jesus is absent, Christians are the light of the world (as Christ shines through us). John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Amen!
I like Pastor Steven Anderson's excellent recent sermon titled, “Deal Breakers,” in which he expounds the things that are worthy of Biblical separation in the churches. Churches using corrupt Bible versions are a deal breaker. Don't attend a church like that! Churches teaching the heresy of Lordship Salvation are a deal breaker. Get out of that mess! Albeit, the church's position on Zionism, Abraham's bosom, the timing of the Rapture or when dinosaurs roamed the earth are not deal breakers. We all need to be in church, if we can find one that isn't a deal breaker. If not, there is Bible Home Church, which is better than nothing.
Some people scoff at such websites,
but there are millions of people around the world who have nothing except the
internet to search for the truth. I don't think anything can replace the local New
Testament Church, but there are many churches who broadcast their weekly
sermons on YouTube for shut-ins and those who just desire to hear more
preaching. So, having said that, I support Dr. Marrs' ministry, although I
totally disagree (respectfully) with him concerning the timing of the
Rapture. Whereas I am fully convinced of a Pretribulation Rapture, Dr. Marrs
believes in a Postribulation Rapture, as I will show you.
Kindly, Dr. Texe Marrs Believes in a Postribulation Rapture
Originally, I had listened to Dr. Texe Marrs preach a sermon series on the coming World War III. I had been misled by the following single statement to conclude that Pastor Marrs believed in a Pretribulation Rapture...
“The important thing I'm convinced is this, that these things (this destruction) is for the world, and is going to come upon the world; and the mass of the horrors will occur, yes, after the Rapture.”
SOURCE: Pastor Texe Marrs (a quote from the MP3 sermon titled, Does The Bible Prophesy WW III, Part 3 of 4)
Texe Marrs continues in his sermon talking about the horrifying conditions which will exist during the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture. However, then I listened to a Bible Home Church series titled, “The Rapture Controversy,” in which he states:
“The elect are going to be right here, during Tribulation. During all of these things you're going to be right here. You say, 'I thought I was going to be raptured first.' Well just read Matthew 24, that's what it says.”
SOURCE: 'The Rapture Controversy,' Part 6; by Dr. Texe Marrs, Bible Home Church.
The preceding latter statement plainly evidences that Dr. Marrs rejects a Pretribulation Rapture view, that is, the doctrinal position that the Rapture (removal) of the saints from the earth will happen in timing BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period. Notice that Texe said the saints would be present on earth “During all of these things.” This certainly seems to indicate that Texe believes in a Postribulation Rapture, that is, that the Rapture will occur in timing AFTER the 7-year Tribulation period.
Continuing in his “The Rapture Controversy” series on the Bible Home Church website, Texe mocks the idea that God would remove (rapture) the saints, just to turn around and bring them right back again. Dr. Marrs states: “God is not a manufacturer of yo-yo's.”
In my opinion, the big problem that arises with Texe's thinking is that the Bible plainly teaches Christ is going to return with “ten thousands of His saints.” Also, the fact that Jude 1:15 mentions Christ executing judgment upon “ALL” indicates that this is not the Rapture. Jude 1:14-15, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” At the Rapture, only the saved will see Christ, and then be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Please understand that the Lord is NOT coming to the earth at the Rapture; but rather, the saints are going to be “CAUGHT UP” into the air to meet the Lord (1st Thessalonians 4:17). In sharp contrast, Acts 1:9-11 and Revelation 1:8 teach that the Lord is coming to the earth itself at His Second Coming (7 years later). Texe mocks and downplays the idea of the saints going up, just to come down several years later, but a pretribulation rapture that is the only conclusion that fits Bible teaching. Christ plainly said that NO MAN knows the time of His return (Mark 13:32-37).
To make things much more confusing, read what Texe Marrs says in the very same rapture series:
“I believe that we will not be here during the wrath of God that comes upon this world. Absolutely not! God's not going to bring wrath on His people. The judgment of God will not fall on God's people, because, we are a Church without spot or wrinkle. We've been forgiven friends, why would God punish us? But there may be Tribulation upon this earth, and there will be, that befalls the saints of God. Tribulation by the Devil; Oh he wants to destroy you, but he can never destroy your soul! And you know, Christians throughout the centuries have always suffered tribulation. They've always been persecuted!”
SOURCE: 'The Rapture Controversy,' Part 7; by Dr. Texe Marrs, Bible Home Church.
It is very clear that Texe doesn't believe in a Pretribulation Rapture. Texe has also made clear statements that he believes the elect (saints) will go through all the horrible events of the Tribulation period. Yet, he doesn't believe that Christians (the redeemed) will be punished by God during the Tribulation. So, as you can see, Texe doesn't seem to make sense, respectfully. How can Christians be “right here” during all the events of the Tribulation, and yet “not be here.” Read the preceding quotes again and you decide!
Advocates of a PostTrib or PreWrath Rapture attempt to use the presence of believers during the Tribulation as proof that there will be no Pretrib Rapture. However, it simply means that people will be getting saved during the Tribulation. This in no way proves that New Testament saints will go through the Tribulation.
The Lord plainly said in Mark
13:32-37 that no man knows WHEN He will return. Jesus said to “WATCH” for His
return, not for anything else. If Texe is correct, then we should all be
looking for the Antichrist, because Christ cannot return until afterwards. Of
course, Texe is not correct in my opinion, because the Lord Jesus Himself said
in Mark 13:32-33, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”
Only a pretribulation rapture can accommodate this truth.
The Two Phases of “The Day of Christ”
Texe Marrs teaches concerning 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-6 that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot appear at the Rapture until two things happen:
Kindly, Texe makes a common mistake that Bible students make, that is, failing to understand that “THE DAY OF CHRIST” will happen in two phases; namely, Christ's appearing at the Rapture, and Christ's appearing at the Second Coming. Hence, the day of Christ refers to the entire 7-year Tribulation period.
IMPORTANT!!! MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THESE THEOLOGICAL TERMS!
Here are the correct definitions of these Biblical terms (understanding these three terms will greatly help the Bible student “rightly divide” the Word of truth):
As you have just clearly seen, THE DAY OF CHRIST involves both separate phases of: the Appearance of Jesus for His own at the Rapture; and then the Lord's appearing in glory with His own, for all the world to behold Him, that “every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7).
I like the concise way Dr. Merrill F. Unger explains this vital Biblical truth in Unger's Bible Dictionary (if you don't have an Unger's Bible Dictionary, I highly recommend that you go purchase one). . .
2:1-5. THE CHURCH'S OUTTAKING AND THE DAY OF THE LORD
A Misunderstanding Exposed, 1-2. The Thessalonians thought their sufferings (2nd Thessalonians 1:5-12) meant that the day of the Lord had arrived, 2, that the end-time period of worldwide judgment (Revelation 6—19) had dawned, making way for the setting up of Christ's kingdom (Revelation 19:16—20:10). The apostle pleads against this mistake by citing again the truth that Christ's coming would be before the day of the Lord, 1, a teaching he had outlined in the first epistle (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
He warns clearly against the speciousness of the error, 2-3a, and describes the first phase of Christ's coming for His saints as the personal presence (pasousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ, coupled with our gathering together to Him (episunagoge), as outlined in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.
The Error Refuted, 3-5. Before the day of the Lord bursts upon a Christ-rejecting world, there must first come the apostasy or falling away. This is not departure from the faith often characterizing the Church Age (1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-8; Revelation 3:14-22), but the wholesale rebellion and thoroughgoing lapse into error and demonism of the period just preceding Christ's advent in glory (Luke 18:8; Revelation 9:2-21). There must also come the revelation of the Antichrist, here called “the son of perdition,” the lawless one, the last great demon-inspired world ruler (Daniel 11:36; Revelation 13:1-10; 19-20; 20:10). He will arrogate to himself divine honors and deceive end-time Jewry regathered to Israel, 4. The apostle had plainly taught these truths when he founded the Thessalonian church, 5.
SOURCE: 'Unger's Bible Dictionary,' by Dr. Merrill F. Unger, pp. 711-712; Moody Press, copyright 1966.
So the phrase “Day Of Christ” refers to two separate, yet related, events and everything in between regarding the saints (e.g., the Judgment Seat of Christ, Philippians 2:16). So, the Lord's Second Coming cannot happen until the world goes into rebellion against God (a modern day tower and city of Babel), and the Antichrist makes his appearing to the world. Biblically, the first appearing of Christ at the Rapture can happen at any time—suddenly, imminently and without warning.
We read in 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-8 that the Antichrist cannot be revealed as long as the Holy Spirit's influence through the Church is working in the world. Dr. Merrill F. Unger goes on to comment on 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-9 that the Church must be removed (raptured) from the world before the Antichrist can be revealed, just as the Bible proclaims.
Only when the divine Restrainer is taken away with the glorified Church can and will the Antichrist be made manifest, 6, and “the mystery of iniquity” come to the full.
SOURCE: 'Unger's Bible Dictionary,' by Dr. Merrill F. Unger, p. 712; Moody Press, copyright 1966.
If, as Dr. Marrs teaches, the Day of Christ only refers to Christ's first appearing at the Rapture, then 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-8 makes no sense. Why would the Restrainer have to be removed from the world so the Wicked One (Antichrist) could be revealed? If not the Holy Spirit's influence through the Church, then who is the Restrainer? 2nd Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of iniquity [the ancient mystery schools and Satanic world dominion, aka, a New World Order] doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” There is no other logical conclusion to explain this passage of Scripture than the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is “He Who now letteth...”
Dr. Marrs criticizes Hal Lindsay and Dave Hunt, claiming that their teachings on the Pretribulation Rapture are “lies and theories.” Well then Texe is saying that about me too, because I also believe and teach a Pretribulation Rapture of the Church. I believe that it is OK to agree to disagree. Like Texe Marrs has often said, I also do not mind when people disagree with me and criticize me. That's to be expected. I have had countless people tell me how much they used to hate and despise me because of my bold website ministry, but then the Lord worked in their heart through the truth, and now they are gratefully born-again and serving Jesus. What a great ministry!!! There's nothing more blessed, fulfilling and enjoyable than to hear someone who used to hate me and despise Christ, now thank me and love Christ. There is no greater joy!!! That's what the saving-power of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can do to change a person's heart and life.
Texe says that Christ's return is “imminent,” but then contradicts himself when he says that the Lord cannot return until after the Antichrist appears. As Christians we are supposed to be looking for the Lord, not the Antichrist. Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Now if Texe is correct that the Lord cannot return until after the Antichrist APPEARS, then as believers we should all be looking for the Antichrist, which would be a dead give-away of WHEN Christ shall return. Of course, this goes totally contrary to the plain teaching of Mark 13:32-37 when the Lord said that NO MAN knoweth the time nor the hour.
Dr. Marrs believes that Isaiah chapters 26-27 teaches that the Church will enter into and suffer during the Tribulation, as a pregnant woman travailing in labor pain . . .
Isaiah 26:17-21, “Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
Although Isaiah 26-27 is definitely a prophecy concerning the Tribulation period, there is nothing definitive to teach the timing of the Rapture. The passage is too vague. There will be people saved during the Tribulation, and Jesus said that the Great Tribulation would be shortened, lest everyone be destroyed from the horrific events. Again, the presence of saints during the Tribulation is no indicator of the timing of the Rapture, because the Bible plainly teaches that people will be getting saved in the Tribulation. Revelation 7:14, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Please note that in sharp contrast to speculation about Isaiah 26-27, we have Christ's plain words in Mark 13:32-37 teaching that no man, not even the angels in Heaven, know the timing of Christ's return. If Texe is correct that Isaiah 26-27 refers to the Rapture, then we would know WHEN it occurs, because the Church would enter into the sufferings of the Tribulation period. Of course, that will not happen, because the Bible teaches that the Church (saints) will be removed before the Tribulation period begins and the Antichrist is revealed.
There is no debate concerning whether the event of the saints being caught up (i.e., rapture) will happen. Dr. Marrs and I agree 100% on that. The debate is over the timing of the Rapture. I am convinced of a PREtribulation Rapture from Jesus' plain statements in Mark 13:32-37 that NO MAN, not even the angels in Heaven, know WHEN the Lord will return. I think even if we could narrow the timing of the Lord's return down to the 7-year-Tribulation, it would be a total violation of this truth. The horrific and vividly detailed events of the coming Tribulation, as outlined in Bible prophecy, clearly tell us that Christ must appear BEFORE any of these things start happening. You decide my friend!
Please consider the Following 28 Contrasts Between the two distinct phases of The Day of Christ.
Is “the Day of Christ” a Mistranslation
in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2?
I have a copy of Dr. John MacArthur's revised and updated Study Bible. In his commentary for 2nd Thessalonians 2:2 concerning the phrase “the day of Christ,” MacArthur states: “the better text sources indicate 'the Lord' rather than 'Christ'.” Respectfully, MacArthur can put his “better text sources” (i.e., the corrupted Westcott and Hort manuscripts) where the sun doesn't shine. MacArthur often quotes heretic Brooke Westcott in his Study Bible. Although Dr. MacArthur does make some brilliant theological statements at times, respectfully, he is a reprobate concerning the blood of Christ and the simple plan of salvation. In my humble opinion, the phrase “day of Christ” is correct and it would be errant to use “day of the Lord.” I also love and respect Dr. J. Vernon McGee, but in his THRU THE BIBLE audio series, he states that “day of Christ” ought to be “day of the Lord.” I disagree. That's just my opinion. Does the King James Bible have any friends these days?
I have a thousand books which I've collected over the years since Bible college (about 30 small boxes), which have become a big burden to me lugging them from one place to another. I love books, but my space is limited. I don't have a book case, so I dig through the boxes to find them. A 106 M.P.H. typhoon named Dolphin just water-soaked a bunch of my books, and I mopped-up an inch of water from one end of the apartment to the other, but thankfully they're still readable. God is always good!!! My power is back on after two days in the dark. Amen! And so, I've been reluctantly giving many of my books away, because I need the space, but I'm holding onto most of my Bible commentaries as long as I can.
Anyway, I just dug out my water-soaked Dr. Oliver B. Greene commentaries for Romans, Hebrews and Thessalonians. Dr. Greene also thinks that “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2 is a gross mistranslation in the King James Bible. I'm no Greek scholar, but I know enough to know that only the modern corrupted Bible versions say “day of the Lord.” Call me what you will, but I'm tired of so-called arrogant scholars and pastors criticizing the King James Bible and calling it “horrible.” What they are really saying is that we don't have a perfect, inerrant, trustworthy, preserved, pure, holy, Bible today from God!!! What a sad thing it is to believe that the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, God of the universe is incapable of preserving an inerrant and reliable copy of His inspired Words for the world in modern times. Instead, we apparently need educated religious men to tell us what the Bible should actually say. The 53 men whom God used to give us the Authorized King James Bible weren't idiots.
Kindly, I'm tired of hearing preachers correct the Authorized King James Bible. By the new corrupted Bible versions changing the phrase “the day of Christ” to “the day of the Lord,” it has misled many Bible students to conclude a postribulation Rapture (e.g., Texe Marrs). Certainly, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3 can be a tricky passage to properly interpret. And may I say, you cannot decipher the correct meaning of 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4 without cross-referencing this passage with other Scriptures, such as Mark 13:32-37 (where Jesus said no man knows WHEN He will return). I see absolutely nothing wrong with the phrase “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2. Remember, there were no chapter divisions in the original Koine Greek manuscripts, men added them. So when you read the first and second chapters of 2nd Thessalonians as being one, you get a clearer understanding. 2nd Thessalonians 1:10 plainly reveals “that day” to refer to Christ's Second Coming to earth, after the 7-year Tribulation. I agree with Dr. Merrill Unger in his Unger's Bible Dictionary (as quoted earlier concerning the day of Christ). 2nd Thessalonians 1:10 identifies “that day” as the day of Christ. I find no fault in the King James Bible!!!
In 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 the apostle Paul teaches about the glorious appearing of Christ at the Rapture. This is the first phase of the day of Christ. Then in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 Paul teaches about the dreadful coming of the day of the Lord, in which the wicked shall be judged (as in the days of Noah, Matthew 24:37-39). Dr. John MacArthur assumes, as many scholars errantly do (in my humble non-expert opinion), that the Thessalonian believers were worried about the day of the Lord, but that's not accurate. Why would they care about the coming troubles for the wicked? 1st Thessalonians 5:3 describes the day of the Lord as a time when the world will proclaim peace, followed by sudden destruction. This refers to the Abomination of Desolation (Daniel 9:27; 12:11; Matthew 24:15), when the Antichrist breaks his peace covenant with Israel and the Great Tribulation begins.
Notice what Paul says in 2nd Thessalonians 1:7 and 10, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. ... When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” Notice, “THAT DAY.” This refers to the second phase of “the day of Christ.” This is what Paul is referring to when he mentions “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2. This is the “THAT DAY” of 2nd Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The Bible interprets itself. MacArthur and the so-called “better texts” are WRONG!!! The apostle Paul is comforting his converts in Christ by encouraging them. They were troubled that the Rapture had already came and then were left behind.
As I pondered this passage of Scripture in 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, and prayed for God to teach me His Word, I wondered why Paul didn't just tell the believers at Thessalonica that nothing can happen until after the Rapture happens first. But then I realized that Paul couldn't do that, simply because there are NO signs or indicators of WHEN the Rapture will happen. I think what troubled the believers at Thessalonica was what Paul said in 1st Thessalonians 5:1, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” I think they didn't know perfectly, which is evidenced by Paul's second epistle to them, addressing this very issue of WHEN the Rapture will occur. Since Paul cannot tell them what will happen BEFORE the Rapture, he tells them what events will happen AFTER the Rapture, during the Tribulation and prior to Christ's Second Coming (advent).
Now the saints at Thessalonica were troubled about WHEN Christ would return. As is commonly believed by Bible students, it is possible that someone even forged a letter in Paul's name to the church at Thessalonica, saying that Christ had returned (2nd Thessalonians 2:2). Deceivers have always been a threat to the churches. So Paul assures the saints in his second epistle that Christ has not yet returned, by giving them some signs of what must happen during the Tribulation and world rebellion prior to Christ's second Coming. Note that this is all AFTER the Rapture. It makes sense that Paul couldn't give them signs of what to look for prior to the Rapture, because there simple are none, as Jesus taught in Mark 13:32-37. Paul does begin 2nd Thessalonians chapter two by speaking regarding Christ's second coming and our gathering together unto Him (the Rapture). These are two separate events, 7-years apart.
Although the world has always been evil, and there have been rebellious nations against the Lord throughout history, there has never been a time since before the flood of Noah's day that the entire world united in rebellion against God. They were headed that way at the tower and city of Babel in Genesis 11:7-9, but God intervened and stopped them. Today, 4,500 years later, God is allowing mankind once again to come together under Satan's New World Order in rebellion against God. The Rapture must be oh so near!!!!!!!
I am going to teach you what I simply believe concerning the following controversial Scripture passage . . .
2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
First, the apostle Paul plainly mentions the “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” I believe this refers to Christ's Second Coming and the Rapture. These two prophetic events happen 7-years apart from each other. The “gathering together unto Him” can only refer to the Rapture. Texe Marrs interprets this passage to mean that the Rapture cannot happen until after the Antichrist appears. I don't agree with that at all. I think it means the opposite, that is, since the Rapture must happen before the events of the Tribulation, you know that Christ hasn't returned—not because the Rapture happens after the Antichrist appears; but rather, because the Rapture happens before he appears!
I would not be dogmatic on the issue, because these passages are open to speculation. What I do know for a FACT is that Jesus said in Mark 13:32-37 that NO MAN knoweth the time nor the hour of His return, not even the angels in Heaven. This can only mean that the Rapture happens in timing BEFORE everything else during the Tribulation. There is absolutely no way that Christ can return after the Antichrist appears (as Dr. Texe Marrs and Pastor Steven Anderson teach) and yet His return be imminent, sudden, unpredictable and without signs. We would know exactly when Christ will return. Pastor Anderson has even set a date, 75 days after the Abomination of Desolation. Kindly, this is totally unbiblical. It appears that Texe Marrs and Steven Anderson share almost identical beliefs concerning the Rapture. In sharp contrast, if you take the Bible at face value, you can only conclude a pretribulation rapture. END
