The Pre-Wrath Rapture Theory Exposed as False

By Lyle E Cooper

This is a biblical critique of the pre-wrath theory of the rapture of the church as written in Robert Van Kampen’s book, "THE RAPTURE QUESTION ANSWERED Plain and Simple." When Robert Van Kampen called Marvin Rosenthal and said, "I've found it," what he had really found was a huge error. In other words, the pre-wrath rapture theory was started with an error. Robert Van Kampen noticed that in Joel 2, the cosmic signs in the sun and moon would come before the Day of the Lord, and in Matthew 24, what he thought was the same sign came after the tribulation of those days.

Therefore, in his mind, the proper sequence would be the days of great tribulation, then the signs in the sun and moon, and then the Day of the Lord. Then he imagined that the signs in the sun, moon, and stars in Matthew 24 were the same very signs as written at the 6th seal. This is pre-wrath's first and biggest error.

The truth is, these are different signs for different purposes. The sign of Joel 2, also shown at the 6th seal, will be the sun appearing black, just as it would in a total eclipse, and the moon appearing blood red, just as the moon would appear during a total eclipse. In other words, both the sun and moon must be VISIBLE for someone to recognize this sign. This is the sign of the start of the Day of the Lord.

On the other hand, the sign written in Matthew 24 is the sign of the coming of our Lord, to the battle of Armageddon, and it will be the sign of total darkness. The sun, moon, and stars will be INVISIBLE.

Here it is written that both the sun and moon are darkened, and the Greek word behind darkened, means, for planets, a total absence of light. In other words, the sun, the moon, and the stars are invisible. This speaks of total darkness. And this is what the 5th bowl of wrath brings in Revelation 16: total darkness. These are two different signs, for two very different purposes, and will be seen over seven years apart.
The pre-wrath rapture theory must rearrange most of the book of Revelation to fit, which is a huge red flag for those that understand the Book of Revelation. If you have wondered about the pre-wrath rapture theory, or if you have taken pre-wrath theory as your end-time doctrine, this book is a must for you. It pinpoints where the pre-wrath rapture theory misses the mark according to a good exegesis of scripture. There are many areas, not just the one mentioned above.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lyle E Cooper
• Release date: Oct 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986951256

Lyle E Cooper

I was around 30 years old when I first heard the voice of God. I had been asking God about a certain verse in the bible for perhaps 6 months. I don't think I missed a day in those 6 months asking Him about this verse. Suddenly one day as I began to ask Him, I heard His voice answering my question!I learned a valuable lesson then: If we are persistent, God will always answer. After all, Jesus said, "my sheep know my voice..." We all should hear His voice.I was born again when I was 7 years old, and have never changed my mind about following our Savior. I was filled with the Holy Spirit when I was 20, and would never wish to go back to life before the Holy Spirit infilling. I was not really interested in prophecy until the Holy Spirit gently pushed me into studying Revelation about 10 years ago. Once I obeyed Him, I could not read anything else for a long time. I read Daniel and Revelation many times, not trying to understand, just depositing His word in my spirit. I was determined to know nothing unless He taught me. I laid aside all preconceptions and approached Him with an empty slate.After maybe three or four years of reading, God began to speak to me about Revelation. This is how this book came about.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:  The Beginnings

Chapter 2:  The Teachings of Christ

Chapter 3:  More about Matthew and the Olivet Discourse

Chapter 4:  The Teachings of Paul

Chapter 5:  The Teaching of Revelation

Chapter 6:  Does it Make a Difference What We Believe? Or What’s the Big Deal?

Chapter 1

The Beginnings

Van Kampen wrote, On page 16, It is our faulty interpretation of scripture, or equally wrong, our unwillingness to accept what the scriptures teach, that causes all the confusion.

I could not agree more. For the most part, I think it is just poor exegesis, and not understanding the original intent of the Author when He caused men to write.

On page 23, he wrote, the ‘face value hermeneutic:’ we understand what we read or hear by taking what is said to us at face value—or, by taking it literally, if you prefer that word—in its most natural, normal, customary sense.

Again, I agree. Much of the disagreements about the real intent of verses in Revelation are caused because some take verses literally and others make them symbolically. I always take verses in Revelation that can be taken literally as literal. Much of Revelation can certainly be taken as literal and should be taken that way.

Van Kampen has a picture On page 39, and as we say, a picture is worth a thousand words. In this picture he shows the wrath of God covering the entire 70th week, another line showing His wrath covering only the last half of the week, yet another line covering perhaps the last third of the last half of the week, then yet another line covering the last half questioning whether it is the wrath of Satan or the Wrath of God. He also shows a line in the first half of the week titled beginning birth pains. Without a doubt, this is an area of disagreement among end times teachers.

Will a face value, literal look at scripture tell us when God’s wrath begins? Certainly, it does. I am amazed that this is a dividing issue. Some people imagine they are using a face value hermeneutic, when in fact they are not.

John shows us that the Day of His wrath (so of course His wrath) begins with the 6th seal. The 6th seal is written in chapter 6 of Revelation, which is before any part of the 70th week. Another question then is, where does the 70th week start in Revelation? It begins at the 7th seal and with the first trumpet judgment. We will cover that later.

The truth is, the 6th seal is next to the last seal that is sealing a book. The book cannot be opened until all seven seals are opened. I believe the 70th week is written inside the book, so if no man was ever found worthy to open the seals, then Satan would remain as God of this world forever. John seemed to know how important this book was. The book, without a doubt, is the lease document or title deed to planet earth.

Since the 6th seal is not even the last seal to get the book opened, how can it possibly be moved to another location in Revelation, such as after the tribulation of those days? Such a theory is immediately suspect and will be proven wrong. It is simply impossible the way Revelation is written, to rearrange it.

Just try to read a book without first opening the cover. A book must be opened before it can be read. This is even more true when books were written on scrolls that are rolled up. It would be impossible to read what was inside a scroll until the scroll was first unrolled to reveal the text.

The way Revelation is written, nothing can be moved to another location. Someone once said to me, the 7th trumpet is sounded at the 6th seal. He did not understand that such a theory is impossible. Can you read a book before you open the cover? No one can. The seals must all be opened first, and then the book can be opened to reveal the 7 angels receiving the 7 trumpets. At the very minimum, the trumpets are written inside the book. I believe the entire 70th week is written inside.

If any seals remain unopened, the book cannot be opened and no angel can receive a trumpet. Therefore, no trumpet can sound until all seals are opened so that the book can be opened. In other words, John’s chronology is very important to a good understanding of the book of Revelation.

Van Kampen’s theory must move the 6th seal to after the tribulation, or move the days of tribulation to before the 6th seal, but such a thing is impossible. Nothing written in Revelation after the 7th seal is opened can take place until that 7th seal is opened, so the book can be opened. It is not going to be opened until the 6th seal is opened, to begin the Day of the Lord.

God will begin the Day of the Lord first, then the 70th week, so that the entire 70th week will be inside the Day of the Lord and so will come with His wrath. The entire 70th week will be a time of God’s wrath. Some people imagine they can separate Satan’s wrath from God’s wrath but we will show that they are concurrent. The point then is simple: the 6th seal must remain where it is, in chapter 6 of Revelation. Nothing then about the 6th seal can happen after the tribulation of those days. Neither can anything after the tribulation of those days take place anywhere before or just after the 6th seal, such as the signs in the sun and moon.

On page 47, Van Kampen wrote, in the last days, a sign will be given in the sun, moon, and stars, that will initiate the Day of the Lord. When it appears in the heavenlies, the persecution of God’s elect—at the hand of Antichrist—will be ended and the wrath of God against the children of Satan will begin.

Is this really what the bible teaches, using his face value hermeneutic? No, it does not. We have just seen that John and the Holy Spirit placed the 6th seal start of the Day of the Lord in chapter 6 of Revelation, not in chapter 19 which shows Jesus coming.

Borrowing from Rosenthal’s book, Van Kampen called Rosenthal and said, I’ve found it! He read in Joel 2 that the signs in the sun and moon would come just before the Day of the Lord, and then read in Matthew 24 that the signs in the sun and moon and stars would come "after the tribulation of those days."

He imagined that these signs would be seen only once and he could then form a timeline: the days of great tribulation would come, then the cosmic signs, then the gathering of the elect or the rapture of the church, and then the Day of the Lord, in that order. He found these signs at the 6th seal, so was convinced that the days of great tribulation in Revelation would then come before the 6th seal. Again, taking scripture at face value, is this what scripture teaches? Indeed not!

Where did Van Kampen miss the truth? Indeed, we do read in Matthew:

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24) (Emphasis added.)

And we read in Revelation 6:

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; (Revelation 6)

Van Kampen wrote that he studied these verses in great detail, and concluded they were of the same event. He was mistaken. It seems he wanted to take the Olivet Discourse at face value but made no attempt to take the book of Revelation the same way.

In Matthew 24:29, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. The word darkened comes from the Greek word: skotizo. Strong's Concordance says about this word:

1. to cover with darkness, to darken

2. to be covered with darkness, be darkened

a. of heavenly bodies as deprived of light (Emphasis added.)

Are the sun and moon heavenly bodies? Of course, they are. If the sun and moon are deprived of light, then it seems God has turned off the lights. Neither the sun nor the moon would be visible. How is someone to see the sun if it is deprived of light? How is one to see the moon when the sun is not reflecting off the moon?

I submit God is showing us that the sun, moon, and stars will be invisible. It is speaking of total darkness. In Revelation, very late in the week, the fifth vial will cause total darkness. God simply turns off all lights, so not even any starlight is seen. Then Jesus spoke of his coming appearing like lightning flashing across the sky. which hints strongly of darkness also.

10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain.

 (Revelation 16) (Emphasis added.)

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24) (Emphasis added.)

When? When is both the sun and moon and the stars dark so they are invisible? When God turns out the lights. Neither the sun nor moon are visible here, after the days of great tribulation. Compare this with the 6th seal sign: The sun appears black as sackcloth - exactly what is seen at a total eclipse. in other words, people would have to see this sign to know it happened as written. Then the moon will appear blood red, We all know that this happens with a total eclipse of the moon. People would have to see this sign to verify it.

Not too long ago we saw four blood moons in a row. In other words, people would have to see the moon to know if it was the fulfillment of this prophecy. In both cases then, the sun and moon are visible and seen, with these signs at the 6th seal, but the signs written in Matthew 24 are invisible; people expect to see the sun and moon, but they are darkened as in the absence of light, and cannot be seen.

The 6th seal is