"The Rapture Debate... Are We Missing Something Important? | The Truth 10-15-26"
I encourage Paul Wilkinson and Tom Hughes to take this question to God in prayer.
I encourage Paul Wilkinson and Tom Hughes to take this question to God in prayer.
The irony is difficult to miss. Paul Wilkinson's charge that the prewrath position rests on an "inconsistent hermeneutic" and "a mishandling of God's Word" is striking, given that many prewrath interpreters have raised precisely the opposite concern, namely that pretribulational exegesis relies on a series of conflations and assumptions that compromise sound hermeneutical method.
In this interview, Wilkinson reiterates his view of pretrib imminence, asserting that "at any minute our Lord is going to catch us away" and that this is the context of 1 Thessalonians 4. However, this passage does not contain even a hint of imminence. While Wilkinson accuses others of "poor hermeneutics", his own interpretation imports a theological presupposition into the text. Rather than drawing the doctrine of imminence from the passage, he reads it into the passage, an approach which is consistent with eisegesis.
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Wilkinson addresses the accusation of "escapism" frequently levelled at the pretrib camp by their critics. Wilkinson: "It is the promise of the Lord Jesus. Paul said 'I bring this to you as a word from the Lord, and then he introduces the rapture.. The Lord made this promise in Revelation 3:10 to the church in Philadelphia.. So the Lord is saying there that the Lord will keep you out of this hour of trial. This is a reference to the tribulation period that is going to test the people on the earth."
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Wilkinson addresses the accusation of "escapism" frequently levelled at the pretrib camp by their critics. Wilkinson: "It is the promise of the Lord Jesus. Paul said 'I bring this to you as a word from the Lord, and then he introduces the rapture.. The Lord made this promise in Revelation 3:10 to the church in Philadelphia.. So the Lord is saying there that the Lord will keep you out of this hour of trial. This is a reference to the tribulation period that is going to test the people on the earth."
Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10).
The "hour of trial" is directed toward those who "dwell on the earth" (that is, the earth-dwellers), not toward the saints (Revelation 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 17:2, 8). The consistent association between the "hour of trial" and the earth-dwellers strongly suggests that the referent of this trial is the Day of the Lord's wrath and not the "tribulation". A central error in the pre-tribulation model is its identification of the tribulation with the entirety of Daniel's seventieth week, resulting in the full seven-year period being classified as the tribulation. Revelation 3:10 is best understood as a promise of removal (rapture) before the period of divine wrath described in Revelation 6:17. This interpretation coheres with Paul's teaching: "Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath" (1 Thessalonians 1:10) and his assurance that "God has not appointed us to wrath" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The consistent pretrib failure to distinguish between the Antichrist's great tribulation and the Day of the Lord's wrath represents a recurring hermeneutical error that obscures critical biblical distinctions.
Wilkinson places considerable weight on the absence of any reference to the church in Daniel 9. In Daniel 9, Daniel prays on behalf of Israel and confesses the sins of his people. God's answer addresses the subject of Daniel's prayer, namely Israel and its future. The church is not mentioned because the mystery of Jew and Gentile united in one body had not yet been revealed. That omission does not mean God lacked a future plan for the Gentiles. Rather, the church was not part of the revelation given to Daniel, nor was it relevant to the issue he was presenting before God.
And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land. (Daniel 9:4-6).
The absence of the word "church" in the book of Revelation is an argument from silence and does not prove its absence during this period. It is also worth considering whether the church will retain its present institutional form during the great tribulation. Unparalleled persecution may drive believers underground, while the anticipated falling away could substantially diminish the ranks of professing Christians (Matthew 24:10).
Wilkinson: "And and those that say, 'No, well, God's going to protect us while we go through the tribulation, you know, and they'll argue we've got to be purified as the bride.' All you've got is a a Protestant form of purgatory where, you know, the church now has to go through a final purification process before she can be presented to the bridegroom to the Lord Jesus. Well, that totally diminishes, as you just said, what the Lord Jesus did on the cross." (6:48 mark)
The New Testament presents Christ's death and resurrection as the sole basis of atonement, reconciliation with God, and salvation (Romans 5:8-11; Ephesians 2:8-9). Human suffering adds nothing to the saving efficacy of the cross.
Scripture frequently teaches that trials test, refine, and mature faith:
Scripture frequently teaches that trials test, refine, and mature faith:
Trials prove the genuineness of faith "like gold refined by fire" (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Suffering can produce endurance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3-5).
In this sense, persecution may increase faith, depth, or steadfastness, not because suffering is redemptive in itself, but because it exposes and refines what is already present. Persecution does not compromise the cross of Christ unless one claims that suffering itself earns salvation or supplements Christ's atoning work. If persecution is viewed as God's means of sanctification, refinement, or testing, it complements rather than competes with the cross. The cross remains the cause of salvation; persecution becomes one possible means through which believers are conformed to Christ. One interesting tension in Revelation is that the persecuted saints are portrayed as faithful witnesses, yet their victory is attributed ultimately to Christ's sacrifice, not their suffering itself (cf. Revelation 12:11). Their endurance bears witness to the power of the cross; it does not replace it.
Suffering can produce endurance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3-5).
In this sense, persecution may increase faith, depth, or steadfastness, not because suffering is redemptive in itself, but because it exposes and refines what is already present. Persecution does not compromise the cross of Christ unless one claims that suffering itself earns salvation or supplements Christ's atoning work. If persecution is viewed as God's means of sanctification, refinement, or testing, it complements rather than competes with the cross. The cross remains the cause of salvation; persecution becomes one possible means through which believers are conformed to Christ. One interesting tension in Revelation is that the persecuted saints are portrayed as faithful witnesses, yet their victory is attributed ultimately to Christ's sacrifice, not their suffering itself (cf. Revelation 12:11). Their endurance bears witness to the power of the cross; it does not replace it.
Revelation depicts the martyrs as receiving particular honor in the heavenly realm, not because their deaths possess independent redemptive value, but because they remained faithful witnesses under persecution. Their prominence highlights the cost of discipleship and God's vindication of those who remain loyal to Christ despite suffering and death. (Revelation 6:9-11)
Note Jesus personal example and promise of persecution: Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:20 cf. Matthew 5:11-12, 24:9; Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 1 John 13:13).
I am frequently staggered by the pretrib camp's misapplication and manipulation of certain biblical texts, and its handling of early church sources. There are disturbing parallels with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), where repeated assurances that a "breakthrough is imminent" can foster false expectations and eventual disillusionment. Similarly, pretrib teaching distorts biblical prophecy and cultivates the expectation of an imminent rapture and exemption from the persecution associated with the Antichrist. Much of Tom Hughes' teaching centres on interpretations of Gog-Magog and related prophetic frameworks that remain the subject of significant scholarly and theological dispute. Such claims warrant careful scrutiny rather than uncritical acceptance. While scripture instructs believers to "watch", it does not encourage speculative approaches to prophecy.
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:15-28).
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 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 2:1-4).
John Collins: "William Branham, a prominent figure in the Christian revival movement, is known for his end-time teachings that were heavily influenced by John Nelson Darby's dispensationalism. Branham's approach to dispensationalism, which he repackaged as divine revelation, carried Darby's prophetic timeline into the Latter Rain Message, and later evangelical-apocalyptic streams. This connection between Darby and Branham highlights the significant impact Darby's teaching had on the development of modern dispensationalism and the subsequent revival movement within Christianity."1
The potential consequences of this teaching are difficult to overstate. A doctrine that satisfies itching ears and conditions believers to expect escape rather than endurance through tribulation is a direct contradiction of Jesus' teaching and weakens preparedness for the persecution that is to come. Those who promote and teach the pretrib rapture need to repent or face God's judgement. (Revelation 22:18-19).
I do not deny that prewrath is a hard teaching or that many would prefer an "escape" from the tribulation. However, personal preference is not a valid hermeneutical principle. The aim is not what we would like the text to say, but what the text actually says.
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