DRINKING THE KOOL-AID OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION FALSE TEACHERS

Peace, peace, when there is no peace.. (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). 

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1).

The false pre-tribulation prophets compared with the false prophet Hananiah in Jeremiah 28.

Hananiah's credentials and background were impressive: Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon. In addition, he spoke with certainty in the first person of the Lord in direct contradiction to Jeremiah's previous prophecies of judgement. The reticence of the true prophet Jeremiah makes a startling contrast. (Jeremiah 1:6 cf. Exodus 4:10; Amos 7:14).  The twice repeated false prophecy of Hananiah sealed his own death warrant! (Jeremiah 28:16-17 cf. Deuteronomy 13:5).

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon.  I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin^a son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ” (Jeremiah 28:2-4).

“This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” (Jeremiah 28 10-11).

Basically Hananiah's contemporaries had a choice to either believe Jeremiah's previous genuine words from the Lord, or to drink the lethal Kool-Aid of Hananiah. They chose the latter. Jeremiah's counter statement is key to the problem:

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.” (Jeremiah 28:8-9).

Regarding the timing of the rapture, we need to look at the teaching from ancient times i.e. to Jesus Christ Himself and to his apostles, particularly the Apostle Paul and the Book of Revelation. There was no such teaching in the early church as pretribulationism, in fact quite the opposite:

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Then the dragon became furious with the woman (Israel) and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17).

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.." (Matthew 24:9-14).

When these false prophets are proved wrong it will be too late! The inevitable failure of this much-desired event at the wrongly predicted time will cause despondence and doubt, and it will happen simultaneously with the unprecedented persecution of the Antichrist. Hope deferred makes the heart sick.. (Proverbs 13:12).

We should be very wary of confident teachers who are essentially prophesying peace and safety in the name of the Lord. (Jeremiah 28:1 cf. Daniel 8:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:3). Like Hananiah the pre-trib teachers are teaching lies by the spirit of Antichrist.

 ..you have made this people trust in a lie. (Jeremiah 28:15).

Deuteronomy 13 defines the sin of false prophecy as: "rebellion against the Lord". Even when a prophecy is accompanied by a sign, if it goes against the direct Word of God then it is false. (Deuteronomy 13:1). Going even further, the scriptures compare the sin of rebellion with the sin of divination:

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:23).

Elliot: "Opposition to the will of God is as bad as divination by the help of evil spirits, which is tantamount to apostasy from God: obstinate resistance to Him is no better than worshipping idols (vanity or emptiness) and images (teraphim: see note on 1 Samuel 19:13). Disobedience is in fact idolatry, because it elevates self-will into a god." {1}
Gills Exposition: ".....the sentence of rejection was pronounced upon him, and the bestowal of the government on his posterity was cut off." {1}

In fact Saul did go on to commit the sin of divination with the medium of En-dor and afterwards he committed suicide. (1 Samuel 28:7-19; 31:4). It never ends well for those who persistently reject the Word of the Lord and teach from their own minds. (Ezekiel 13:17). The pre-trib teachers/prophets nullify the scriptures and lead the people astray. There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the Lord;
who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
and trust in oppression and perverseness
and rely on them,
therefore this iniquity shall be to you
like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
with which to take fire from the hearth,
or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
(Isaiah 30:9-14).

The persistent pre-tribulation rapture teachers fall into the same category as Hananiah and are in rebellion against God. God will hold these teachers accountable. (2 Peter 2:1). Various posts have been published on this site with sound theological exegesis against the pre-trib rapture, and not least exposing the blatant dishonesty of many of the leaders and teachers that promote it. There are some teachers who appear to genuinely believe the lie of pretribulationism, and there are those that avoid the subject altogether, considering it too controversial. The former have an obligation to seek the Lord for the sake of the elect and to "prove all things". The latter have an obligation to face up to their responsibilities and to teach the truth about this important doctrine.

The Assemblies of God (USA) offers a lame eisegesis and integrates the Day of the Lord with the Great Tribulation:

"The weight of Scripture supports a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Wherever teaching about the Second Coming occurs in the New Testament, imminence is underscored." {2} 

The New Testament describes the day of the Lord as a day of wrath and judgement upon the wicked that does not include the reign of the Antichrist or the great tribulation as the AOG asserts. Old Testament scriptures: (Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9-11; Ezekiel 13:5, 30:3; Joel 1:15, 2:1,11,31; 3:14; Amos 5:18,20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7,14-16; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi. 4:5) New Testament scriptures: (Acts 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10). It is also alluded to in other passages (Revelation 6: 12-17; 16:14). Hence, imminence has nothing at all to do with a pre-tribulation rapture!

Similarly, Thomas Ice (PTRC), who has devoted many years of his life to teaching lies, also insists upon imminence. We only have to look at the pre-trib camp, previously led by Tim LaHaye, and their association with cult leader Sun Myung Moon (Moonies) and the Council for National Policy (CNP), to make a right judgement about their integrity! These men have forfeited the right to call themselves bible teachers and prophets!




In addition, those who promote a mid-trib rapture are a concern since they would also have Christians escape the persecution of the Antichrist.

A final note about Jacob Prasch of Moriel Ministries. Prasch appears to have the timing of the rapture right, but his false Intra-Seal teaching is totally unscriptural. Prasch mishandles and mutilates the scriptures in a number of key areas! I believe that Intra-Seal is a deliberate attempt to cause a snare to Christians during the 70th week of Daniel.{3}

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).

{1} http://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_samuel/15-23.htm
{2} https://ag.org/Beliefs/Topics-Index/The-Rapture-of-the-Church
{3} https://www.amazon.co.uk/INTRA-SEAL-RAPTURE-DECEPTION-EXPOSED-devised-ebook/dp/B06X6N2JJT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498213260&sr=8-1&keywords=treena+gisborn