JOE SCHIMMEL BLESSED HOPE CHAPEL: RECAPITULATION VERSES TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2fetze4xBU

Rev Series: God's Grace Through the Book of Revelation

I have never heard Joe Schimmel give any kind of explanation as to why he teaches the recapitulation of the sixth seal, the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl in the book of Revelation. However, in this sermon, he does give a few very questionable reasons.

According to Schimmel, the sixth seal is a picture of the very end of the age i.e.Armageddon. (1:18 mark). However, there is no indication of Armageddon in Revelation 6. We see all the people hiding in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. There is no battle in Revelation 6. The only indication of the wrath of God is verse 17: the great day of Their wrath has come i.e. Their wrath is imminent.  

And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” (Revelation 6:12-17).

Schimmel: "This is proof that it backs up.. In chapter 7, he shows who is protected and sealed before the great day of his wrath comes so they can stand through it..  First he shows the 144000...  until the 144000, twelve tribes from each of the tribes of Israel are sealed in their foreheads before the trumpets blow.. In that way they won't partake in God's wrath because they will be sealed from it.. If you are a Christian you have already been sealed by the Holy Spirit..  If you are sealed and you are abiding in Christ you are protected.." 

After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice. “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. (Revelation 7:9-11).

Schimmel's eisegesis of Revelation chapter 7:9-17 is abysmal! According to Schimmel, because the multitude are standing, they are standing during the wrath of God on the earth. Note that the angels are also standing in Revelation 7:11. Schimmel conflates Revelation 7:9 with stand/withstand in Revelation 6:17 which has an entirely different context: "Who is able to stand" (Revelation 6:17 cf. Malachi 3:2). 

The multitude are literally standing in heaven before the throne of God. It is interesting that they are wearing white robes and have palm branches in their hands, which indicates that they have resurrected bodies.

Why would the throne of God be located on earth in Revelation 7:9 when other passages both preceding and following this verse locate the throne in heaven? Revelation 6:16 refers to the One seated on the throne. Heaven is the backdrop to the unfolding events - Revelation 6:14: The sky (heaven/οὐρανὸς) vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up. The wrath of God is orchestrated from the throne of God in heaven. Revelation 8:1-4: When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Isaiah's Apocalypse (Isaiah 24-27)

Schimmel continues to demonstrate the folly of taking verses in isolation and out of context. In this case, he quotes Isaiah 26:20 in isolation. Schimmel: "We have been saved from the wrath to come, Amen. So we are not appointed to wrath.. Is there any scripture that kinda uses that imagery of us being protected at that time? (1:26 mark) Schimmel refers to the Passover when the wrath of God passed over the people of Israel due to the blood on their doorposts of lintels. (Exodus 12: 21-27). Undoubtedly there are parallels between the plagues described in the book of Exodus and the eschatological wrath of God in Revelation 15-16. However, Isaiah 26 demonstrates that the chambers are located in heaven and that the resurrection (rapture) precedes the eschatological wrath. In context, the resurrected saints enter their chambers in heaven. (John 14:2). The Lord "comes out from his place" i.e. heaven to administer the wrath. Instead of providing a proof text for his argument, this passage is very problematic for Schimmel's post-tribulation view.  

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain. (Isaiah 26:19-21)

Schimmel's increasingly chaotic sermons are delivered at warp speed with many deviations and errors. I think that someone with little knowledge of the Book of Revelation would have a hard time keeping up with him. Schimmel admitted that he did not open his bible prior to delivering this sermon: "I just meditated and thought about each chapter.. and began to seek the Lord this morning."  (1:13 mark) I would suggest that in the future he does bother to open his bible and prepare properly! 

While it is a good thing to refute the pre-trib rapture, it is pure folly to replace error with error! Schimmel has mistaught the Book of Revelation for years. He seems oblivious to the fact that his eisegesis of the Book of Revelation is likely to cause confusion to those believers who are seeking a right understanding of the rapture. (2 Timothy 2:15).

Further Links 

 

Articles for Posttribulationism to Consider | ESCHATOS MINISTRIES (alankurschner.com)
THE REVELATION PROBLEM | 7 Pretrib Problems and the Prewrath Rapture
Why Isaiah 26:19–21 Supports the Prewrath View - Ep. 171 | ESCHATOS MINISTRIES (alankurschner.com)
WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Joe Schimmel Blessed Hope Chapel (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)