Rapture, 7-Year Tribulation, then a Thousand-Year Reign of Christ on Earth?

Will there be a rapture of the righteous, followed by seven years of tribulation, and then a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth?

While it’s true that the righteous will be “caught up” to meet the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17), the rest of that timeline and many doctrines connected to it do not harmonize with God’s Word. The Bible teaches that the day the Lord returns for all the righteous (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18) is the same day all the wicked are punished (5:1–3). Many people stop reading at the end of chapter 4 and never continue into chapter 5 — but there was no chapter division in the original text. It’s all part of the same discussion. Read it carefully for yourself:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout … and the dead in Christ shall rise first … then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up … But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you … the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night … then sudden destruction cometh upon them … and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 5:1–3; see also 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

This means:
1. After the Lord’s return (His one and only future coming), nobody will be left on earth (1 Thessalonians 4–5), and the universe itself will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10–12). Peter and Paul described the very same “day of the Lord.” The passage quoted above also proves that Christ’s return will not be secretive, but audible and visible to everyone (1 Thessalonians 4:16–5:3; cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

2. No 7-year tribulation (there’s no clear passage for that anyway)

3. No rebuilding of the temple and no reinstating the Law of Moses with its animal sacrifices (that would be a blasphemous insult to our Lord’s one effectual sacrifice forever; Hebrews 10)

4. No return of the so-called “10 lost tribes” to their land (they already returned — Ezra 1:1-4; 2:70; 6:17; 8:35; Ezekiel 37; Luke 2:36; Acts 26:7, etc.)

5. No literal battle of Armageddon (that is apocalyptic language, not literal)

6. No literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth (that is apocalyptic language, not literal)

7. The word “kingdom” can sometimes refer to Heaven, but Christ’s kingdom — His holy nation, His church — has already come. It is not something still waiting to be established: “[God] hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:13; cf. Daniel 2; Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 16:18–19, 28; Mark 9:1; Luke 10:9; 17:20–21; 24:49; John 18:36; Acts 1:8; 2:1-47; Hebrews 12:22–28; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:9).

8. Christ is reigning as King over His kingdom now (1 Corinthians 15:25), and He will deliver the kingdom “up” to the Father at His return (1 Corinthians 15:24). He’s not coming “down” to set up a kingdom on earth, but coming to bring the righteous to Heaven and punish all the wicked. This will not be a new beginning on earth, but what Paul called “the end” (1 Corinthians 15:23–24).

9. Only one literal resurrection, not three (John 5:28–29; 11:24; Acts 24:15)

10. The day the Lord returns is “the last day” – the final day of history, the day of Judgment (John 6:39; 11:24; 12:48). It is the day when all will be raised in the same hour and judged together — both the righteous and the wicked (John 5:27–29; Matthew 25:31–46; 2 Corinthians 5:9–11). The righteous, like Jesus’ friend Lazarus, will be raised on that same day the wicked are judged (John 11:24; 12:48), as also shown clearly in 1 Thessalonians 4–5.

11. Jesus gave signs for the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in A.D. 70, but His literal return will come suddenly and without signs — like a thief in the night, like the flood in Noah’s day when people were suddenly swept away. There will be no second chance after He returns; the door will be permanently shut: “They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:10; cf. 24:35–25:13; Mark 13:32-33).

Please don’t simply take my word for it. I challenge you to carefully study all the passages referenced above. It all fits together perfectly when you let God speak through His rightly divided Word (2 Timothy 2:15). Please contact me if you want help preparing for the Lord’s return on the Day of Judgment.

–Jason Hilburn

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