Pre-Wrath Rapture Theory Debunked A Critique of "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" by Marvin Rosenthal

By Lyle E Cooper

This is a biblical critique of the pre-wrath theory of the rapture of the church as written in Marvin Rosenthal's book, "The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church." This pre-wrath rapture theory started when Robert Van Kampen called Marvin Rosenthal and said, "I've found it." What he had found was a huge error—he just did not recognize it as an error. 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. 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.

Rosenthal and Van Kampen then added to their first error because they thought the 6th seal was the same sign in Matthew 24. The prewrath theory tries to warp a point in time “after the tribulation of those days” to a point in time before the tribulation. The 6th seal is before the tribulation.

They also try to move the 6th seal to “after the tribulation of those days.” This could be their worst mistake. The 6th seal is fixed between the 5th seal and the 7th seal, and cannot be moved. However, the pre-wrath crowd imagines it can be moved. My axiom on Revelation is, any theory that must rearrange Revelation’s God-given chronology is immediately suspect and will be proven wrong.

On the other hand, the sign written in Matthew 24 is the sign of the coming of our Lord, to the battle of Armageddon. 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. 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 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, and Rosenthal has done his share of rearranging. If you have wondered about prewrath theory, or if you have taken pre-wrath theory as your end-time doctrine, this book is a must for you. It pinpoints where pre-wrath 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 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986951232

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.

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Copyright © 2022 by Lyle E Cooper.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

For simplicity, the colloquial terms, pre-trib, pre-tribbers, post-trib, post-tribbers, pre-wrath, and pre-wrathers will be used. I will also call Marvin Rosenthal in this critique by the last name, as Rosenthal wrote… or something similar. I will often use numbers, such as the 6th seal, the 7th trumpet, or 3½ years, rather than writing them out in text format. I will frequently use trib, tribulation, or Week for the 70th week of Daniel. I will often shorten the word of God to the Word.

Scripture quotations marked (AMPCE) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. © Copyright 2011 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked CSB®, are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (CJB) are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is not to be shared with others. IF you wish to share it, purchase another copy for your friend.

Published as an ebook in the United States of America.

ISBN 979-8-9869512-3-2

Self Published as a ebook.

Lyle E Cooper

1792 Laramie Cir

Melbourne, FL 32940

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:  How Pre-wrath Got Started

Chapter 2:  Evidence From the Book of Revelation

Chapter 3:  The Wrath of Satan Vs the Wrath of God

Chapter 4:  Tribulation, 70th-Week or Just Semantics?

Chapter 5:  The Day of the Lord: and Our Future

Chapter 6:  The signs in the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

Chapter 7:  The Two Witnesses: Elijah and ?

Chapter 8:  The Day of His Wrath

Chapter 9:  The 144,000

Chapter 10: The Last Trump

Chapter 11: The Apostasy and the Man of Sin

Chapter 12: Kept From the Hour

Chapter 13: Pre-wrath Rebuttals to Pre-trib Arguments

Chapter 14: Why the Pre-wrath Rapture Theory Now?

Chapter 1

How Pre-wrath Got Started

Robert Van Kampen called Marvin Rosenthal and said excitedly, I’ve found it! Why he was looking for it we may never know. Perhaps he thought the pre-tribulation theory was not the intent of the scriptures. What was it he found? He told Marvin that the rapture would occur just before the Day of the Lord, and the Day of the Lord would begin with the 7th seal. In truth, this is scriptural.

I have no problem so far. In fact, in pre-tribulation theory, the rapture is also pre-wrath. I would start the Day of the Lord at the 6th seal, but we are close. Perhaps the 6th seal is only the warning that the Day is imminent. For simplicity, for the rest of this book, we will call these different rapture theories as, pre-trib, pre-wrath or posttrib.

We will call people that hold to the pre-trib rapture, pre-tribbers, those that hold to a postrib rapture, posttribbers, and those that hold to a pre-wrath position, pre-wrathers. We will use the shorter version of the seventieth week as the 70th week. We will use numerals rather than writing out numbers.

In its simplest form, Van Kampen saw that in Matthew 24, the signs in the sun and moon came after "the tribulation of those days" and in Joel 2, the signs come before the Day of the Lord. Then he saw that just as Joel had said, the same signs in the sun and moon were seen at the 6th seal just before the start of the Day of the Lord. So in his mind, the correct order of things would be; first, the tribulation of those days, then the signs in the sun and moon as seen at the 6th seal, and then the Day of the Lord. This forced him to put the days of tribulation before the 6th seal. We will see that this is not in any way the intent of scripture.

Where did he and Rosenthal veer off from the truth? On pages 47 and 56 of his book The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple, Van Kampen assures the readers that he carefully studied every passage speaking of the diminishing light of the sun, moon, and stars, and in every case, these verses are speaking of the same event: the sign before God unleashes His wrath. Let’s check that with just one such passage.

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:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ( Matthew 24) (Emphasis added)

Is this the sign for the coming of the Day of the Lord? No, it is the coming of the Lord Himself as shown in Revelation 19: His coming to Armageddon! Now, let’s compare the above scripture with the start of the Day of the Lord.

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;

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6) (Emphasis added.)

Here we can see that the signs at the 6th seal are not for His coming, but rather for the start of the Day of the Lord. As for timing, is this 6th seal sign before or after the tribulation of those days? In other words, where, in the book of Revelation, is the tribulation? This is another area where the pre-wrath theory is far off from the truth.

How can we know where? Jesus said that the days of great tribulation would come after the abomination. And Jesus told those in Judea that when they see the abomination, they are to flee instantly – no time to stop for clothes. Where do we find this fleeing in Revelation?

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (Revelation 12) (Emphasis added.)

We find the fleeing in chapter 12, showing us that the abomination that will divide the week is in chapter 11. Why are they fleeing? Jesus told them to flee the moment they see the abomination. Jesus said, for then shall be great tribulation. That is, then, after the abomination. It would be silly to think that the days of great tribulation would not be a part of the tribulation.

Many people call the 70th week the tribulation. It is the tribulation or the 70th week that will be divided by the abomination event. Is there more proof? John has given us five different mentions of the timing of the last half of the week as follows: each is a countdown from the verse of mention to the end of the week.

2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11) (Emphasis added)

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.  (Revelation 12) (Emphasis added)

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13) (Emphasis added)

John has given us five clues here as to the midpoint of the week. Each of these five mentions of the three-and-a-half-year period of time is for the last half of the week and are countdowns to the end, with the count beginning in the verse of mention. In other words, The midpoint of the week is somewhere in these 3 chapters: 11, 12, or 13. Can we get closer? Yes.

Jesus told those in Judea to flee immediately when they see the abomination. Therefore, the fleeing we see in 12:6 will be only seconds after the abomination event that will divide the week. If we back up verse by verse looking for the abomination event, we will not find it; God did not show it to John so John did not write it. However, if we back up looking for a marker, we find the 7th trumpet in chapter 11.

Here I must tell of an event in my life. One day as I was reading Daniel 9, verse 27, when my eyes and my mind got to the word midst suddenly God spoke to me in what sounded like an audible voice: You could find that exact midpoint ‘clearly marked’ in the book of Revelation.

I was suddenly in the Spirit, and could not speak, but my spirit man immediately spoke and asked, How would I find that?

He answered, Every time I mentioned an event that would begin at the midpoint and go to the end of the week, I always included the 3½ year period of time. When you find the mentions of the 3½ years, you will be very close to the exact midpoint. Then, almost as an afterthought, he concluded: "In fact, you could find the entire 70th week ‘clearly marked.’ " When He said this, I suddenly understood that the reason I could find the entire 70th week would be that God would use the same marker. That came as a download, not in words.

When I backed up from verse 12:6, I was looking for a marker. I found the 7th trumpet. The moment I found that I flipped my bible as quickly as possible to the 7th vial and read it is done: the last three words in Revelation 16:17.

I knew then that I had found what Jesus had sent me to find. But I rushed back to the 7th seal and read of the 30 minutes of silence. Then I knew for sure: what better way to start the time of Jacob’s trouble on earth than with a time of silence? God has marked the 70th week with sevens.

What does all this mean? It means we have proof after proof that the 70th week or time of Jacob’s trouble is not in the seals, not in chapter 6, not in chapter 7, and does not even begin until chapter 8 with the 7th seal.

The 70th week is before, during, and after chapters 11, 12, and 13, with those three chapters being midpoint chapters. Van Kampen was then mistaken about every mention of the sun and moon darkened as the same event. Is there more specific proof? Yes.

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)

What exactly does it mean: the sun be darkened? How much? Just a little? Perhaps a lot darkened? Some people imagine it is saying the same thing as the sun turning black. Can we know? Yes. We will look at Strong’s concordance on the word darkened. The Greek word behind darkened is skotizo. Strong’s concordance gives us this definition:

"I. to cover with darkness, to darken

II. to be covered with darkness, be darkened

A. of heavenly bodies as deprived of light"

(Emphasis added.)

Think about this: to cover with darkness. Or "of heavenly bodies as deprived of light.’ Since this verse is certainly speaking of heavenly bodies, then deprived of light is our best definition. If the sun and moon are deprived of light, this means they are invisible. Perhaps volcanos have spread ash so thick the sun and moon cannot be seen, but I rather think God just turned out the lights. It seems this is speaking of total darkness. Is there any other proof of total darkness?

8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

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.)

Notice what this is saying: it is absolute proof that God can control