It is time to settle, once and for all, an issue regarding the rapture that continuously pops up on rapture sites and discussion forums.
To be clear, the main purpose of this study is not to prove the pre-trib or mid-trib positions – however, by clearing the path of some rubble you may find it easier to see the truth.
I am going to show you that a particular verse commonly used to "prove" several rapture positions is NOT a rapture verse at all! This can be proved absolutely by the Greek grammar of a key verb, which has sometimes been translated with the wrong English tense.
Before continuing, let me state some basic assumptions:
The last part of Revelation chapter 6 and all of 7 are about what transpires after opening the 6th seal but before opening the 7th seal. We know this because 6:12a states "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal…" and chapter 8 starts with "And when he had opened the seventh seal…"
To set up our context we will start with verse 7:9 that happens after opening the 6th seal:
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? – Revelation 7:9-13 (KJV)
So, what is the subject? "…a great multitude, which no man could number", clearly described as people, "clothed in white robes".
And what is the question about the subject? "…who are they, and where have they come from?" (NAS)
The answer is in the very next verse, which also is our study verse:
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. – Revelation 7:14 (KJV)
The problem is that although the KJV correctly says they have "washed" (Greek aorist past tense) their robes, and "made" (also aorist) them white, it incorrectly tells us they "came" out of the great tribulation.
Where they came from is stated correctly. And "out of" is exactly the correct translation of the word "Ek". But… the tense of the verb in Greek is present tense, NOT past tense!
The Greek word in controversy here is Erchomenoi and is found four times in the New Covenant. For those from Missouri, you can see its grammar and usage here: http://concordances.org/greek/erchomenoi_2064.htm
There is only one modern English word that can used to accurately represent it, and that is "coming" which is the English present continuous tense of "come". For our verse, the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) wins the day for accuracy:
These are those who are coming out of the great tribulation…
For comparison of many Bible translations, here is the key phrase of our study verse from 20 versions, grouped by translated tense:
Present [Active] Tense – Correct!
ESV These are the ones coming out
HCS These are the ones coming out
ISV These are the people who are coming out
LNT These are the ones coming out
GWT These are the people who are coming out
YLT These are those who are coming out
An Archaic Present Tense – Correct, but extinct for generations so most don’t understand the tense
NAS These are the ones who come out
ASV These are they that come of
DRB These are they who are come out – (this form is even older showing its roots)
DBT These are they who come out
ERV These are they which come out
Past Tense – WRONG!
NIV These are they who have come out
KJV These are they which came out
ABE These are those who came from
KJ2K These are they who came out
AKJ These are they which came out
WBT These are they who came out
WEB These are those who came out
Altogether Inaccurate
NLT These are the ones who died – (OK, they did get the concept right)
WNT They are those, he said, who have just passed through – (how did Richard Weymouth arrive at that?)
For those interested, here is a link to view the complete verse in 18 versions, in parallel: http://bible.cc/revelation/7-14.htm
(If you want more documentation on Erchomenoi there is additional info at the bottom.)
Therefore, these people are not the resurrected and raptured bride of Messiah, unless you think we will be cherry picked off the earth over an extended period of time! NO, these people, probably billions, are dying during "the tribulation the great" (word for word from Greek) – and the carnage is not complete at the pronouncement!
After comprehending the real meaning of 7:14, the last two verses of this chapter take on new implication, explaining how many of them died:
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. – Revelation 7:16-17
The two underlined words, "light on", in Greek are "Pese Ep'", which means "fall upon, with condemnation". The word for "heat" is Kauma and should have been rendered as "burning heat" or "charring heat"!
The same goes for the same word in Revelation 16:9, "And men were scorched with great [mega] heat…". A fair and accurate translation of that verse would be: "And men were scorched with intense burning heat…"
All this sounds to me like famine, lack of drinkable water, atmospheric penetration from solar flares, and possibly atomic warfare. As Jesus said in Matthew 24, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved."
Concluding on a more cheerful note, let me give you some "Solid Rock" hope:
While you await his Son from Heaven, Yeshua, him whom he raised from among the dead; He is The One who delivers us from the wrath that is coming. – 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ABE)
For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (AKJ)
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. – Romans 5:9 (ASV)
The above event that "delivers us from the wrath" HAS to happen before this verse in the 6th seal:
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. – Revelation 6:16 (KJV)
…but that verse is in sequence BEFORE "These are those who are coming out of the great tribulation", adding another proof that the "great multitude" was not raptured!
But the bride will fly like doves and…
…meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:17b-18
Tom
(:-{>
www.binarybees.com - God's Greatest Miracle Yet!
More on Erchomenoi
There are three other instances of our word Erchomenoi in the New Covenant but the KJV got the tense right only once:
And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. – Mark 6:31
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. – Luke 13:14
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. – Luke 16:21
These two passages in Luke were told in the present tense which was a Hebrew custom, but it can sound odd to English ears so they changed the tense, further hiding Hebrew culture from us. The YLT kept the real tense:
And the chief of the synagogue answering -- much displeased that on the sabbath Jesus healed -- said to the multitude, 'Six days there are in which it behoveth us to be working; in these, then, coming, be healed, and not on the sabbath-day.' – Luke 13:14 (YLT)
And desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores. – Luke 16:21 (YLT)