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I have heard several prophecy teachers state that the Rapture of the Church and the beginning of the Tribulation do not necessarily happen at the same time. I believe that to be true. I know that the Tribulation starts when the Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel. I know no one has inside information on the timing of the Rapture because it is a signless event. I just wonder how long of a gap there could possibly be between the Rapture and the Tribulation. The Rapture will undoubtedly put the world into a time of unprecedented crisis and I highly doubt the Antichrist will take too long to take advantage of this time of turmoil before he steps in as the “man with a plan”. Do you have any opinion on what kind of a time frame we might be looking at between these two events?

I’ve read your responses to the question of how gentiles were saved in the Old Testament. You say there was a court called the Court of the Gentiles outside the temple that gave Gentiles a chance to recognize God. But what about the people that lived too far away to ever have heard of it? You also say that every person on earth has a bona fide chance to hear the gospel at one point in their life. But what about the time right after Jesus died but the gospel hadn’t been spread yet? What about people in other countries like the Native Americans? (and I don’t believe the Mormon Jesus preached to them). How could they have a chance to accept the gospel if it hadn’t spread to them yet? I’ve read your other answers about nature testifying about God. If someone came to that realization before hearing about Christ, was that enough? Because certainly, it took some time for the gospel to spread.

A pastor I heard recently preached that after the rapture, those who had been given an opportunity to accept Jesus and had rejected Him and were thus left behind would not have an opportunity to accept Jesus post-rapture. He cited a verse in II Thes. where it talks of a great delusion being sent and the people believing a lie.

It would appear from The Revelation that those killed in the great tribulation come from every nation, tribe and tongue are before the throne (saints) and there are 144,000 Jews who are sealed with God’s seal, all of whom had to have accepted Jesus as Savior after the rapture. Therefore I question the accuracy of his belief. Can you shed any light?

Thank you for all of you efforts and insight. I have a question regarding Satan. If he indeed studies scripture to know what he knows about the future, then why didn’t he know about Jesus’ coming crucifixion and what it was going to accomplish? I have read that if he could look into the future, he would have never let it happen. Am I missing something?

At our church some people teach that after the rapture of the Church, the ‘grace’ or the ‘Holy Spirit’ will be taken away from the gentiles and given to the Jews. Now we believe that many Jews don’t believe in Jesus because it’s not their time of grace, but ours (the gentiles), and once the Church is gone then this time of ‘grace’ will be given to the Jews. Is this true according to the Bible? If it is, then is it fair to say that who ever remains on earth during the tribulation period, it will be very hard for them to give their lives to God as the Holy Spirit wont’ be there for them to convince them of their sin. Is this true? Thank you for your answer.

If there was no sin nature in the Garden and they sinned, what is to keep sin from happening in the New Jerusalem? We will be immortal then, too, just like Adam and Eve originally were. What am I missing?

Re: Matt. 18:15-17. I read these verses in William Barclay’s commentary in which he essentially says these have been misapplied. He further states that the language indicates to him that Jesus could not have said this in that specific way, i.e., it sounds too legalistic for Jesus, and sounds more like an ecclesiastic committee’s work. Also, Jesus would not say to take the matter to the Church, since the Church was not yet existent. This throws me a bit on the basis of inerrancy, so it must be some kind of interpretation that stands. Your thoughts?

What is it that brings all nations together against Jerusalem? What is the common cause that unites the entire world against it? Do they not know, or not believe, that they have declared war on Almighty God Himself?

Psalm 105:37 states, “He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.” For years, the Word of Faith movement has taught, and now some Grace preachers are teaching, of a great end time transfer of the wealth of the wicked into the hands of the just. It seems that what they are saying is, that before the rapture, every member of the Body of Christ will be financially wealthy, and physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically healthy. I’ve been waiting since 1984 for this to take place, and I have yet to see it. Is it possibly still on the horizon, or is this a misinterpretation of scripture?

I have a question about the Ezekiel 38-39 war. This is a little confusing. The Lord intervenes on behalf of His land and His people and they realize His intervention has kept them from being destroyed and yet go on to build the temple. It appears that even the nations recognize that the Lord’s intervention has spared Israel, but they still do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Is that correct? And will the rapture precede Ezekiel’s war?