Some of you may still be scratching your head as to why the point I made in my last post (Rev. 11.18 The One and Only Judgment Seat of Christ) is so critical. What’s the big deal about the judgment seat of Christ showing up under the seventh trumpet anyway?
Case in point: In a phone conversation with a preacher friend of mine, who happens to teach Bible prophecy, I asked him who he thought the dead were in Rev. 11.18.
and the time of the dead, that they should be judged. (Rev. 11.18)
Of course, I knew it was going to stump him because most prophecy guys who hold to a pre-tribulation view conveniently ignore this verse.
Sure enough! Silence for a few seconds, followed by a few uh . . .uhm’s. Then I reminded him that this was an event under the seventh trumpet. He finally, hesitantly, said the inevitable words, “Well, it has to be the righteous dead at the judgment seat of Christ.”
For we (the just) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Cor. 5.10)
Of course, he knew it just as much as I did, but he also knew by saying it that he had a dilemma on his hands over the timing of the rapture.
What does the judgment seat of Christ have to do with the rapture, you ask? Everything!!! They are twin prophecies, so to speak. They are tied to one another. In fact, the scriptures speak of these two events as happening on the very same day.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Tim. 4.8 KJV)
As I stated in my earlier post, I don’t know of any prophecy teacher who would argue against the judgment seat of Christ immediately following the rapture.
I prodded my friend with another question (he knew it was coming.) I asked, “So if the judgment seat of Christ is seen as an event under the seventh trumpet, and we all know that the seventh trumpet certainly can’t happen at the beginning of the last seven years, then how can the rapture happen (pre-tribulation) at the beginning of the last seven years? Don’t they happen virtually simultaneously?”
More silence, followed by a hearty, “Well, the dead being judged under the seventh trumpet must be the tribulation saints who will be killed by the Antichrist, the martyred saints of the first three and a half years.”
“Really?” I said. “Then you believe in TWO judgment seats of Christ?”
More, “Well, uh . . .uhms . . .”
“So then, where does the Bible speak of TWO judgment seats of Christ?”
That was two years ago. He still hasn’t given me any scriptures.
Now you can see the critical nature of the judgment seat of Christ occurring under the seventh trumpet. It really messes up the pre-tribulation viewpoint. Any attempt to uphold a pre-trib viewpoint in light of Rev. 11.18 ends up being handled with conjecture instead of scripture.
When this verse jumped out at me four years ago, I didn’t duck dealing with it. Instead, I faced it head on, and I sought the Lord about it, painstakingly combing over every minute detail of the rapture and the judgment seat of Christ. Ultimately, I had to face the fact that some of my long-held views were not in line with the Word. Since then, I have been reluctant to speak or teach on the rapture, even avoiding conversations about it at times. But now the time has come to share it with all of you.
(A friend once told me that you don’t really know a subject well until you are able to fully articulate it to someone else. That’s where the “real” work of maintaining this blog comes in.)
There is only ONE judgment seat of Christ. This reality is only the beginning of a long road to rethinking the rapture.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
So then, are you saying that we, the saints, will be here for the tribulation?
Hi Lynne!
No, not at all. But, along with rethinking the rapture, there are a number of other things that need rethinking, including the “7 year” tribulation. I will be writing on this as well, but couldn’t do justice to it in a simple reply message.
Thanks for the question!
Well I hope you don’t rethink yourself right back to where you started from. The answer is the seventh trumpet is the time of the rapture and therefore yes all living saints of that time will have had to live through the seals and the trumpets, which are not going to be very nice are they precious? No, they are not. Sorry, had to toss a little LOTR humor in their.
Hang in there. The Lord is watching out for you, and whether He wraps you in a jobian/philadelphian cocoon for most of the tribulation or let’s you shine as one of the many multitudes of martyrs in those days, He will never give you more than you can handle. We have His word on it and His word has a really good track record.
God bless.