The Post-Trib, Pre-Wrath Rapture
Will the Church face the Anti-Christ?

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.                                                                  Joel 2:31
 

The Post-Trib Pre-Wrath Rapture

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Level 2. In Depth Study
    Step 5. Who are the Elect?

Who are the Elect in Matthew 24 & Mark 13?

Pretribulationalists have several different ways of coping with the "Elect"   mentioned in Matthew 24 & Mark 13. Here they are.

Method 1 "Aha!" They say, "these elect are Jews, after all this chapter is written to the Jews". They say that this gathering together must be the re-gathering of the Jews back to Israel; that Jesus picks up his elect and drops them off in Israel. And says, "Thank you for flying Angelic Airways, have a nice day!" They fail to see that in Mark 13 it says, "and he shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven." Jesus doesn't drop off his "elect" in Israel; he takes them to heaven "and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

    Method 2 "Aha!" They say, "these elect are those people who are saved during the tribulation"; you know those guys who are saved after the Church is raptured and after the Holy Spirit is removed from the world! So these "elect" are raptured following the tribulation. "Wait a second," you say! "You mean a second Rapture!" Yep! One rapture for the Church and one rapture for these "elect" folk. You don't hear that preached to much, but that's what the leaders of pre-tribulationalism teach.

    Method 3 Ignore it altogether, answer: "We don't know. Matthew 24 and Mark 13 were written to Jews not to the Church; therefore, we don't need to worry about it". This seems to be the preferred method of most preachers!

Who does the Bible say the Elect are?

In nearly every instance in the New Testament the word "elect" is referring to the Church. In one instance the word "elect" refers to angels, and in another it refers to the "chief corner stone". Let's read some of the other references in the Bible to the "elect".

II John 1:1 "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth" In this verse John speaks to a lady of the Church, and refers to her and her children as "elect".

II John 1:13 "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen." Again John refers to a sister in Christ as on of the "elect".

I Peter 1:1 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." Here Peter is writing a letter to the Churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. He refers to the members of these churches as the "elect".

Colossians 3:12   Paul in writing to the Church at Colosse says in Colossian chapter three, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."  Here Paul is telling the Church that they are the Elect of God and to be merciful and forgiving to each other.

II Timothy 2:10 "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Here Paul is writing to Timothy from prison, he tell Timothy that he is suffering for the "elect", the Church.

Luke 18:7 "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" Here Jesus is teaching the disciples about prayer.

Titus 1:1 "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;" In the book of Titus, Paul is speaking to Titus on matters of Church duties, dealing with the qualifications of church elders and other Church matters.

Romans 8:33 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Here is Paul writing "to all that be in Rome", Romans 1:7, and he calls them the "elect" in this verse.

In none of these references does the word "elect" refer to the Jews. Therefore it is

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Last modified: February 07, 2004