Jesus: The Wife Beater

 I recently heard one of the best arguments for the pre-tribulation rapture. If you believe that the Church has to go through the tribulation, you believe that Jesus is a wife beater. 

How does Jesus relate to the Church?

Isaiah 54:5 - For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.

Isaiah 61:10 - I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Mat 25:1 - Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

John 3:28-30 - You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

2 Corinthians 11:2 - For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Ephesians 5:21-27 - Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Rev 19:7-9 - Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

The passages above show that all throughout history, God has had a relationship with His chosen people as a husband to his wife. God deals with Israel the same way that He deals with the Church, choosing to relate to us as a husband to a wife. Now, how does that relate to the rapture??

How Is Jesus’s Relation to the Church as a Bridegroom Related to the Rapture?

Rev 5:1-10 - And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Notice who grabs the scroll. It's Jesus!

What is the scroll for?

The following chapter, Rev 6, shows that Jesus opens the seals, and each seal is a judgement. After these seals are opened, at the very minimum, 1/4 of the population of the world is dead. That's not including the hyperinflation, conquests and wars. If the Church is still on Earth, 1/4 will be killed... by Jesus! That would make Him a wife-beater. Do you think He's a wife-beater? If not, consider the logical choice and concede that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation. You don't even need any other scripture, but there is plenty.