In part 4 of Andy Woods' onslaught against the prewrath rapture, he continues to insist that wrath, as against travail, defines the entirety of the 70th week of Daniel in clear contradiction to Matthew 24:8 and Revelation 6. Andy Woods' attempt to reinforce his theory that the opening of the first four seals is equivalent to wrath is to make a false association between Come! (erchomai) in Revelation 6:1,3, 5 and 7 and has come (ēlthen) in Revelation 6:17.
Some scholars interpret "Come!" in Revelation 6:1,3 5 and 7 as an invitation to John to "come and see". Benson notes the subsequent: And I looked, and behold, a xxxx horse! in verses 1, 5 and 7. {1} I am not convinced by this explanation. Rather, it seems to be more like a summoning of the four horsemen each in their turn. Whichever view we decide to take, Revelation 6:17 refers to a different scene entirely: for the great day of their wrath has come (ἦλθεν/ēlthen), and who can stand?
Andy Woods has laboured over has come (ēlthen) in his previous videos in order to "prove" that it refers to the previous seals. However, pre-trib attempts to demonstrate that ēlthen refers to the past seals are disingenuous. Dissecting words without taking the context into consideration is bad exegesis. A close study of ēlthen demonstrates unequivocally that context is the key to Revelation 6:17, as per the following examples:
It is enough; the hour has come (ēlthen). The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. (Mark 14:41).
Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come (ēlthen) to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe. (Revelation 14:15).
Andy Woods' previous interpretation of apostasy (apostasia) as the rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 has also been demonstrated to be false. {2} Woods continues to double down and teach these falsehoods irrespective of their obvious flaws. The right thing for him to do would be to correct his theology, but tragically (both for him and his followers), this seems unlikely.
All the verses Andy Woods cites as proof of imminency completely ignore the Olivet Discourse i.e. the key passages in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21, where specific signs of the end of the age are given to the church by Jesus Christ Himself. The Olivet Discourse must be disregarded as irrelevant to the church according to the pre-trib camp. In other words, Jesus Christ Himself must be silenced in order to make way for the pre-trib doctrine!
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew24:29-31).
..waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ..
Arguments from isolated verses that do not mention the signs preceding the blessed hope do not constitute a valid defence of the pretrib theory. Good exegesis takes the sum total of God's word into account. (Psalm 119:160). Paul says elsewhere: 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.. (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3).
..the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:13).
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).. (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:11).
The relationship between Matthew 24:32-35 and James 5:7-9
When the New Testament says that the Lord's coming is near it does automatically follow that it is imminent. James 5:7-9 supplements the fig tree analogy in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:32-35). The context of both these passages is a call for patience and endurance. Both Jesus and James use analogies from nature in order to make the point that the Lord's coming (parousia) is near; it is certain, but it is not imminent. The rapture will occur in a specific generation only after certain signs have taken place. These particular signs could unravel rapidly in any given generation, hence the necessity for Christians to stay alert and watchful. (Matthew 24:43).
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door (thurōn)! You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7-9).
From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates (thurōn). Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:32-35).
Titus 2:13
Andy Woods claims that opposition to the pre-trib rapture is Satanic and that Satan is trying to destroy the pre-trib doctrine. (38:00 mark) Andy Woods: "Satan hates the doctrine of imminency.. he has raised up forces trying to tear the doctrine down.. The ferocity and hatred towards pre-trib is spiritual warfare... it is part of the angelic conflict. He is right, but he has it backwards! The plan of the enemy is to sabotage the specific warnings given by Jesus Christ so that His church will be unprepared for His coming. The pre-trib theory does not stand up to the test of the scriptures, it is a false teaching that must be sharply refuted. (1 Timothy 4:1; Titus 1:13; 1 John 4:1).
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).
It is a difficult task to refute the pre-trib theory without alienating genuine believers who have been taken in by it. The intention of most prewrath proponents is to encourage pre-trib believers to test the scriptures to see if these things are so. (Acts 17:11). Pre-trib teachers like Andy Woods are putting the church at great risk. If the church is not prepared to face the persecution of the Antichrist, then the results are potentially catastrophic. (Matthew 24:10). The pre-trib theory essentially trashes approximately 1800 years of church history before imminency was ever heard of in this context.
Andy Woods final comments about prewrath proponents: "They are the most disgruntled unhappy people lacking in joy that you will ever meet." He goes on to say that they are always focused on the news, the economy, the political situation, spiritual warfare and inflation.. and that is all they can talk about. These generalizations appear to form part of Andy Woods carte blanch attack on anyone who promotes the prewrath view by fair means or foul! All believers are exhorted to be sober minded and watchful. (1 Peter 5:8). Those who have a genuine concern for truth and express their doubts about the validity of pre-trib are not devoid of joy!
In conclusion, I should mention that not everyone who promotes their own version of prewrath is reliable. We should mark and avoid revilers and false teachers like Jacob Prasch and Steven Anderson, and also modern Judaizers like Doug Hamp. (Romans 16:17). John Haller (Fellowship Bible Chapel) majors on politics and is close to both Prasch and Hamp. Although it is critically important, the timing of the rapture is not the only criteria that determines sound teaching; we should test teachers by their doctrines (Titus 1:9), and by their fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). If Andy Woods were to mention some names then it would be possible to respond to his various sweeping accusations.
Andy Woods seems determined to misrepresent and undermine the warnings given to the church by Jesus Christ Himself in the Olivet Discourse. Likewise, he employs various subversive tactics against those who repeat Jesus' end time warnings. (Matthew 5:11; John 15:20).
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