The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 4

1 Corinthians 14:20-33. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, June 28, 2026.

Today, we come to the end of our look at how the Holy Spirit empowers believers with spiritual gifts. 

Paul has been correcting the Corinthians over their over-fascination with speaking in tongues in their worship assemblies.  They had carried pagan understandings of spirituality into Christianity which caused them to be at odds with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at the rest of chapter 14.

Application for the sake of unbelievers (v. 20-25)

Up to this point, Paul has been explaining how to apply his teaching for the sake of other believers.  He challenged them that tongues were good because through them a person edifies themselves (builds themselves up to be more like Jesus).  However, in the assembly of believers, the desire should be for gifts that are understandable.  If a person speaks in tongues, and it is not interpreted, then no one else will be edified.  This is good in your private devotions, but not within an assembly. 

A person may ask why it wouldn’t be fine for everyone to gather and edify themselves.  However, edifying yourself through the Holy Spirit is best on your own.  In Christian gatherings, it is the will of the Holy Spirit to work through us to minister to others and to work through others to minister to us.  This is God’s way, but we can also see how it keeps us from becoming myopic and insular.

Now, Paul deals with the situation from the standpoint that unbelievers may also be in the meeting.  What is the effect on unbelievers of everyone speaking in tongues without interpretation?

Paul first brings up the issue of spiritual immaturity.  He mentioned this back in chapter 13.  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Verse 20 challenges them to stop being children spiritually and start being spiritually mature in this matter.  He continues the maturity language, “in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.”

This is similar to Paul’s statement in Romans 16:19, “Be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.”  Their wisdom was driving them to practices that were not good and were even evil.  Their actions were evil because they were at odds with the Holy Spirit’s good purpose, and it was causing harm to the gospel and people.

This is a thread throughout this first letter to the Corinthians.  Their wisdom led them to lift up one leader above others.  It led some of them to try and have “spiritual marriages” by refraining from sexual intercourse with one another.  This may sound spiritual, but Paul saw that the devil would use it to destroy them.  The Holy Spirit was not given to cause us to cease from having sex.  That will be our condition following the resurrection, but not now.  Their wisdom led them to these problems with the spiritual gifts as well.  All of this is childish thinking in regard to the legitimate spiritual gifts.

Paul then traces this issue of unknown languages back into the Scriptures (Old Testament).  He quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12.  Several things will become clear if we go back to that chapter and read it.

First of all, right before this section, God rebukes Israel for not listening to His instructions through the prophets (in a language they understand even).  Can God teach the children when the adults won’t listen (verse 9)?  Because they were not listening to His words through the prophets in their own language, He would now speak to them in a language they don’t understand by foreigners (especially Assyria and Babylon).

God is not presenting the foreign tongues as a solution to their lack of listening to His prophets.  As they hear the foreign tongues, they might “that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive (verse 13).”

The foreign tongues are connected to being cast out of the land due to sin.  It is connected to being far from God and His place of dwelling.  Yet, this connection goes back further than Isaiah.

Strange tongues originated at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  Nimrod had led the people into a rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth and be fruitful.  They build a tower at Babel in order to connect to the fallen Elohim from before the flood.  God’s judgment upon the tower project was to confuse the language of the people.  This became the origin of nations.  They could not understand one another.  We are told that God then handed them over to the powers of the heavens and determined the boundaries of their dwelling places (Deut 4:19; Deut 32:8-9; Romans 1:23-24). Genesis 10 pictured around seventy different nations.  Again, the strange tongues surrounding you, i.e., not understanding the language of those speaking around you, is a sign of God’s judgment upon the nations.  They are being cast out as the humans who will dwell in His presence with a special relationship.  Instead, God then turns to call Abraham in order to make a new nation (Israel) who can serve Him.

The ministry of Jesus set off a cascade of events.  God was calling Israel to embrace Messiah and become a light to the nations.  However, as a nation, they refused.  Yet, a remnant believed.  Thus, we have an event where some who are unbelieving are under the judgment of God, but others who are believing are not under the judgment of God.  All of this is within Israel.  Outside of Israel, the nations who have been under the judgment of God for millennia are entering a new era of grace.  God’s intention is now to speak to them in a language they understand in order to call them to faith in Messiah Jesus.  Of course, they too have a choice to make in which some will not believe and a remnant will believe.

All of this is the backdrop to what Paul is trying to cause the Corinthians to understand.

All of this is important for Paul because he is building a case, or argument, for why we would want unbelievers to understand what the Spirit is saying.

He states in verse 22 that tongues are a sign to unbelievers (not to believers).  He does not mean they would be a sign that they could read and understand.  He means it in the sense we have described in Isaiah and Genesis.  God speaking in a language you do not understand has always been a sign of judgment.  You are not God’s target audience.  This has changed since Jesus.  God is now targeting all humanity with His message concerning Messiah Jesus.

Before you jump to the conclusion that tongues should never happen, let Paul’s argument sink in.  God’s purpose is for unbelievers to hear the Gospel.  If they come into a church service and only hear foreign tongues, then they will continue in unbelief because they haven’t heard the good news.  At least, they haven’t truly received an opportunity to believe.

All of this is in the context of a gathering of people.  Paul earlier made it clear that he spoke in tongues more than any of the Corinthians (vs. 18).  Yet, in a gathering, he would rather speak 5 words in an intelligible language than 10,000 words in a language people don’t understand.  Thus, it is clearly implied that he mainly spoke in tongues during private devotional times.  Paul’s argument against uninterpreted messages in tongues in Church gatherings cannot be used to disqualify uninterpreted tongues in private prayers.  There is no hint of a problem in the private devotional life of the Corinthians.

If you are perplexed as to what good praying in tongues would have for a believer, i.e., how does it edify me (vs. 4), I have spoken to this before now.  So, I will give a few points.  First, speaking in tongues is instigated by the Holy Spirit within us.  To recognize that and yield yourself to trust the Holy Spirit builds our faith in Him.  It isn’t important for you to understand all that the Spirit is praying through you because the fact that you are working with the Holy Spirit to speak to God in ways He can understand strengthens our confidence in His work in us.  Second, if I am used to speaking things that I don’t understand in languages I don’t understand, then it will be easier for me to speak the things I do understand in a language others will understand.  This strengthens our obedience to the Holy Spirit in real time.  In fact, when the Holy Spirit compels us to speak certain things in particular situations, we don’t always understand the wisdom and purpose behind them, even though we perfectly understand the words.  Trust in God is something we need to become better at doing.

If you are wondering about the speaking in languages at Pentecost, we can say that the messages were interpreted by the people outside of the group who understood what was being said.  However, Pentecost is a unique event (no other event like it).  The way that tongues happened on that day should not be turned into a pattern anymore than we should expect tongues of fire on our head or the sound of a mighty wind in our meetings.

In short, God is reversing the judgment of Babel through the work of Jesus Christ and His Church.  We need to seek for unbelievers to hear the message of the Spirit in a language they understand.

On the other hand, Paul tells us that prophecy is a sign to believers that God is still working with us and through us (vs. 22).  It is meant to spur us on in becoming like Jesus. 

Verse 23 introduces a hypothetical situation of a gathered church all speaking in tongues only.  There are two categories of people mentioned: “ungifted or unbelievers.”  There is no question what “unbelievers” means.  It is referring to those who have not put their faith in Jesus.  They may be open or hostile.  Regardless, they are not a part of the church yet.  The “ungifted” as the NASB translates is not as straightforward.  There are a variety of translations which all involve trying to interpret what Paul means.  The word essentially has the meaning of an unlearned or untaught person.  But, in what way is this meant?  “Ungifted” is interpreting it to mean those who don’t have a spiritual gift in order to interpret the tongue.   However, they may only be unlearned about what spiritual gifts are.  It is also possible that they are a category between believer and unbeliever.  They are not opposed to believing.  They are simply uninformed regarding the gospel.  Regardless of how we translate this term, we are still dealing with the same dynamics.  People who are not believers and not learned in the things of the Gospel will hear everyone speaking in tongues only.  They will then conclude that everyone is crazy.  The Corinthians will essentially put them in a “judged of God” position in which they don’t understand what is happening and continue down a path of being lost.

The problem with all of this is that God is no longer excluding the nations, unbelievers, the uninformed.  He is calling all men everywhere to hear the truth, repent of sin, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Their actions were actually contradicting God’s purpose.

Speaking in tongues alone will not save the lost.  It will only push them away further.  However, Paul states that prophecy (speaking in a language they understand) can convict them and lead them to repentance.  Of course, they can reject it and remain unbelievers.  However, they will no longer be uninformed regarding the message of Christ to them.

Ordering spiritual gifts in the assembly of believers (v. 26-33)

Starting in verse 26, Paul lays down some rules that will bring proper, godly order to their worship gatherings.  The first point is that the assembly of believers is for the purpose of ministering to one another with the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes.  Paul then states that all things in the service should be done for edification.  We could insert after edification, “for everyone.”

This is a point that many churches should take to heart.  Church is not about everyone gathering to get something from a couple of leaders.  Rather, Paul pictures everyone gathering with something to share with all the rest.  This doesn’t mean that everyone has vocal gifts.  However, every gift will be exercised in order to edify the rest of the group.  The average Christian in the West does not come to church with some way to minister to everyone else.

In fact, we must be careful that the way we do church doesn’t squelch God’s work and opportunities to do so through His people.  We can have an attitude that the leadership has the Holy Spirit, so nothing is needed from the lowly “receiving class.”  A tightly controlled service can quench the Spirit.  However, the Corinthians had the opposite problem.  Their lack of control was quenching the work that the Spirit was endeavoring to do.  We must find a balance between strong leadership that protects us from abuse and a leadership that is so lax that anything goes, i.e., the only thing that matters is that we look spiritual.

Paul gives us a good example of a leader who is calling the church back to cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

We should note that Paul’s conclusion is not that there should be no messages in tongues in the assembly, but that there should be a limit, two or three at the most.  Each of these messages in tongues should be done one at a time, and they should be interpreted.  He is not getting rid of tongues in the assembly.  His concern is not that an unbeliever would hear a message in tongues, only that it should be interpreted.

In all of this, let’s keep in mind that Paul is correcting a particular error in Corinth.  He did not teach them these things from the beginning because He believed they would exercise the spiritual gifts properly.  Is Paul saying that all churches in all generations should follow these same rules?  No, he is not.  However, all churches need to process the truths that Paul lays out.  We all need to work for the overall vision that Paul has for the use of spiritual gifts in our assemblies.  It is possible for a church to have more than three messages, if they are not making the error that the Corinthians did.

We should also notice that Paul does not refer to times within the worship service where people are praying, worshipping, in a private way.  It is often the case that people pray and even speak in tongues but to themselves.  They are not lifting their voices above the group so as to call attention to what they are saying. Yes, their neighbor could stop praying and listen in on their prayer.  Is it possible that praying in tongues, with your spirit, in such a way does not breach the issues Paul raises?  I think so.

Paul makes it clear that if you believe you have a message in tongues for the group, but you also know that there is no one there with the gift of interpretation, then you should not give the message.  You should keep it to yourself.  You should keep silent in the assembly (silent in relation to giving the message in tongues).  Instead, you should speak to himself and God.  I do not believe Paul is setting up an environment where we are all keeping an eye (an ear) on one another so that no one speaks in tongues in church at all.  Rather, we are ensuring that everything that is publicly addressed to the whole body conforms to Paul’s rule of intelligibility.  When tongues are interpreted, they fit this bill.

He then gives similar rules to prophecy, two or three at the most.  They should be done one at a time, and others should judge the prophecies whether they are from God or not.  He even challenges the prophets to work together.  If one prophet has been speaking for a while and God moves upon another prophet, the first prophet should stop and allow the second to speak.  In other words, jumping up first does not give you the public floor for the rest of the day.  Work together.

It is easy with such rules to protest.  “When the Spirit moves upon me, I have to move.  I must speak what the Spirit is stirring in me!”  Yet, Paul reminds them in verse 32 that the spirits of the prophets are “subject to the prophets.”  His point is that the Spirit does not take control of our body.  Rather, all spiritual gifts are a cooperation between the Spirit of God and the spirit of a person.  God moves upon us, but then we wisely and righteously minister that to others (unless He is only speaking to you).  Paul is not denying the source of their urge to prophesy and speak in tongues.  Rather, he challenges them to work with the overall purpose of the Holy Spirit when feeling the urge to use the vocal, spiritual gifts in the assembly.

The Holy Spirit can be strong and powerful, but you are still in control of yourself and expected to remember all that the Spirit has revealed in Scripture.  God doesn’t want to control you.  He wants you to speak out in faith as He works by His Spirit within you.  Yet, He wants you to respond wisely and in the knowledge of His ways.

You are not squelching the Holy Spirit to refrain from giving a message in tongues when no interpreters are present.  You simply understand that there is a proper timing.  You are waiting on the Lord for the proper timing and place.

The Corinthian problem is not our problem.  We are often afraid of things getting out of control.  We are tempted to make our services “safe” from the work of the Holy Spirit, even though we would never say that.  In truth, we are more likely to offend the Holy Spirit in order to avoid offending people.

Paul ends this instruction in verse 33 with a statement that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.  Chaotic environments are not His doing.  They are the work of our enemy, and people who wittingly or unwittingly do his bidding.  People following their flesh can think that they are quite spiritual, whether they are in the error of a Corinthian style or they are in error by shutting down all spiritual gifts.

The Holy Spirit is here working to use us within the church.  We need to listen to Him in order to bring peace to such chaotic environments.  This starts first in each one’s own heart.  When peace rules in my heart, I can then minister the peace of God into my family, and then my church, and then my Republic or nation.

The spiritual gifts are a work of the Holy Spirit for today.  However, we must exercise them in keeping with His overall purpose of people being drawn to put their faith in Jesus.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit and His mighty power in all that we do.

Gifts of the Spirit 4 audio

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 3

1 Corinthians 14:1-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

Having explained in chapter thirteen the importance of love as a permanent foundation to everything that we do as followers of Jesus, Paul now turns back to the issue of spiritual gifts and the abuses happening within the Christian gatherings in Corinth.

Chapter twelve introduced Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts in general.  He ended that chapter with the instruction to zealously desire the greater gifts.  This statement in and of itself is not problematic to the Corinthians.  They would believe that they were seeking “the greater gifts.”  However, Paul is setting up why their fascination with speaking in tongues is a misunderstanding of what actually makes a spiritual gift greater than another.

This is why chapter thirteen may feel like it is disjointed.  Paul lays the groundwork of why love for God and others must direct our choices in the area of spiritual gifts before he comes back to spiritual gifts in chapter fourteen, where he explains why tongues is not the greater gift compared to prophecy.

Let’s look at our passage.

The need for intelligibility in the assembly of believers (v. 1-5)

Chapter fourteen narrows its focus to the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophesying because this is where the trouble was occurring in the Corinthian church.

His main concern is that speaking gifts that are exercised within the assembly of believers (i.e., during a church service) should be intelligible, understandable, to those gathered so that they can be spiritually edified.

We should not let our modern concept of church gatherings cloud our understanding of this.  A Christian gathering is not about the building.  It can be in a home, in a cave, or out in the jungle.  Regardless, when believers are gathered to worship God and encourage one another in the faith, the emphasis must be on the ability of people to understand the language of what is being said.

We should also note that Paul does not argue that the Corinthian believers do not have the Holy Spirit or that the gifts they are exercising are not legitimate.  Rather, his argument is that they are abusing them or using them in a way that is grievous to the Holy Spirit who is enabling them in their lives.

Paul opens up with tying chapter twelve and thirteen together with twin imperatives.  They are to pursue love while also zealously desiring spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy (rather than speak in tongues).

Please note that he uses the same verb, zealously desire, for spiritual gifts in chapter twelve and fourteen.  However, he chooses a different verb for love; pursue love.  This can be pictured as always chasing after something that is illusively out of grasp, but the better picture is that of a pathway or, even better, the person of Jesus Christ himself.  The love of Christ is always before us as an example and guide.  We must make that our aim and pursuit while exercising (or desiring) spiritual gifts.

Verse 1 also answers the question that Paul has set up at the end of chapter twelve.  What is the greater spiritual gift?  Prophecy is the greater gift within the assembly of believers.  You could also add any other word of wisdom, knowledge, etc. that is given in a language that the people understand.

In verse two Paul begins to describe some differences between speaking in tongues and prophesying.  A person who speaks in tongues speaks to God not man (v. 2).  No one understands him, and he speaks mysteries (i.e., no one understands what he is saying).  A person who speaks in tongues also edifies themselves (v. 4).  All of this can be changed if the message in tongues is interpreted for the people in attendance.  The interpretation would then be addressing the people (not God), and it would be understandable to them.  The message in tongues that is interpreted will also be able to edify the whole church.  At that point, speaking in tongues with interpretation would be functionally equivalent to prophecy.

Comparatively, a person who prophesies speaks to the people and they can understand them.  The prophecy is given to edify the whole body and not just the speaker.  Paul gives three examples of the way that prophecy can help the church: edification (build them up to be like Jesus), exhortation (whether commands or encouragements), and lastly consolation.  Paul sees these three aspects in the purpose of prophecy.

Analogies that argue for intelligibility (v. 6-12)

Verse six restates the problem in a personal way.  Paul again resorts to putting himself in the position that the Corinthian mindset would encourage.  “If I come to you speaking in tongues,” this implies if he only did this, like the Corinthians liked to do.  Paul asks how this would be able to benefit them.  It would only be profitable if he spoke a language that was intelligible, whether a revelation, knowledge, prophecy or teaching.

Thus, Paul is emphasizing that intelligibility allows for people to be built up in the faith and character of Christ.  The profit here is spiritual profit.

Paul then points to areas of life where the principle of intelligibility is necessary.  In verse seven, he speaks of a flute or a harp.  Music requires a distinction of tones in order to produce a pleasing sound as opposed to a raucous noise.

In verse 8, he moves to a bugle.  This was used in the military to quickly direct men.  Particular tunes were used to get men out of bed, or to warn of attack, etc.  If the bugler does not clearly blow the right notes, it would confuse the men and leave them open to danger.

In verses ten and eleven, Paul speaks of foreign languages around the world.  The message encoded in each language is real but is also inaccessible to a person who does not understand it.  I am a foreigner to them, and they are a foreigner to me.  The term “barbarian” was a Greek term that mimicked the sounds of a foreigner “bar bar bar” and became barbaros or barbarian in English.

If you were in a group that knew you did not speak a different language, but they kept speaking it among themselves, the result is that you would feel not only left out but also pushed out.  Paul makes the point that an unknown language makes you a foreigner to the speaker.  We will be isolated from one another and limited in our ability to work together or help one another.

Christians are to be a new people.  We don’t all necessarily have the same native language, but we speak a common language in order to accomplish the purpose of God with one another.

These examples all highlight the importance of intelligibility when it comes to the verbal spiritual gifts in church gatherings.

Paul ends this section in verse twelve by calling the Corinthians who are zealous of spiritual gifts also “to seek to abound for the edification of the church.”  In other words, they should exercise them for the greater purpose of God, building up believers to be more like Jesus.

They should not be zealous for a spiritual gift as a status symbol.  They should not settle for everyone edifying themselves (everyone for themselves) when they are gathered together.

The Corinthians may have imagined that everyone was being edified in the church when they were all speaking in tongues.  However, Paul will now move to explain the purpose of tongues versus the purpose of prophecy.

Application to the believing community (v. 13-19)

Paul now moves to describe how tongues and prophecy should be exercised within our gatherings.  The first application is that the person who speaks in tongues should pray for its interpretation.  He doesn’t make clear if this is before speaking or after speaking.  The main point is not to settle for continuing in tongues without interpreting the message.  The onus is put upon the person who believes they have a message in tongues to give.  We should leave room for churches to discover in trial and error just who in the may or may not have the spiritual gift of interpretation.  Regardless, it would eventually be clear whether someone is present that is used in that way by the Spirit.

In verse fourteen, Paul describes praying in tongues, which is addressed to God, as praying with your spirit.  This is placed next to the idea of praying with your mind, which is praying in a language you understand.

When you pray with your spirit, i.e., in tongues, your mind is “unfruitful” (there is no intellectual benefit) other than the knowledge that the Spirit of God is enabling your spirit to talk with God in an unknown language.

Verse 15 includes singing in this.  To sing with my spirit is to sing in tongues, and to sing with my mind is to sing in a language I understand.

Praying with your mind is important, and most people can understand this.  However, how does praying with your spirit build you up?  It teaches you how to trust the Holy Spirit and have confidence that God knows what your spirit is saying.  It gives you a comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is helping you to pray to the Father.

Some may refuse such things, declaring that they will only be edified through their mind.  This seems to be a short-sighted and selfish attitude.  God knows what we need.  Why would we shut off any help that He wants to provide?

In verse sixteen, Paul questions how someone can say, “Amen,” in the assembly to something that they do not understand.  They are called “the uninformed” (some versions have “ungifted,” but this seems to be more of an interpretation).  This could be a reference to non-believers, or it could be believers who are not taught in regard to spiritual gifts (or simply don’t have the gift of interpretation).  However, it seems most likely that this is a reference to those who are uninformed in the Gospel.  How will they hear the truth and believe (say amen) if it is not in a language they understand?

Paul may even be saying that you are turning your fellow Christians into those who are uninformed by the fact that they don’t know what you are saying.  The point is that they are left out of any meaningful interaction with what is being done.

Of course, Paul is not putting tongues down.  He says in verse eighteen that he speaks in tongues more than all of them.  However, he apparently does the lion’s share of his tongue speaking when he is by himself (in personal times of prayer).  Five intelligible words are worth more than 10,000 words in tongues that are unknown.

There is a modern contention among some that there should be no tongues at all in churches today.  Yet, the Bible tells us to desire spiritual gifts because it is God who desires to work them through us for the good of the body of Christ.  We should follow love and follow the Spirit because they are one and the same.

Second, we should not let fear cause us to shrink back from spiritual gifts.  We should trust God and exercise them properly for the benefit of all who are attending, not just for ourselves.

We will stop here today and pick up later.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 3 audio

Views of the End Times: Pretribulationism

Various Passages.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 6, 2019.

Over the last 2 weeks, we have talked about different views regarding when the Rapture of the Church will take place.  Posttribulationism says that the Church is raptured at the end of the Tribulation during the Second Coming of Jesus.  Midtribulationism says that the Rapture of the Church is an event that is separate from the Second Coming of Jesus.  In the middle of the seven-year period called the Tribulation, Christ will resurrect believers who are dead, rapture the living believers, and take them to heaven to await the Second Coming.

Our view today is the only, main view left.  Thus, we will not have a new filtering question today, but will recognize that this view is the only one that answers, “Yes,” to our last question.

Is there a rapture of the Church before the Tribulation?

Pretribulationism, or the Pretribulation Rapture view, believes that the Rapture of the Church will happen before the Tribulation begins.  Some see this as the event that starts the Tribulation and others give a gap between the Rapture and the Tribulation.  We will not get that precise as we look at this view.

Another thing to point out, before we look at this view, is that the previous challenges to the Posttribulation and Midtribulation views have strengthened the position of this view.

Here is the view of Pretribulation Premillennialism regarding the end times.  As we have stated, Christ will rapture his Church before the Tribulation begins.  Some people will come to faith in Christ after the Rapture and during the Tribulation.  These will face martyrdom and must refuse the mark of the beast to the end in order to be saved (this assumes a true, living faith in Jesus).  These are called Tribulation Saints.  In heaven, resurrected believers will be rewarded for their service, and a marriage supper of the Lamb will occur.  Then the glorified Church will return with Christ and his angels in order to remove the usurping powers, and to take control of the kingdoms of the earth.  Those who were faithful in the Tribulation will be allowed to enter Christ’s kingdom.  The Tribulation Saints who were killed will be resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ.  The rest of the view is basic Premillennialism and has been covered in our previous sermons.  Now, let’s look at the arguments used to support this view and any problems with it.

Argument 1.  The removal of the Restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 is in reference to the Holy Spirit working through believers, and He cannot be taken away from believers.  Thus, the Rapture must occur at the same time the Restrainer is removed.  If we look at the passage in question, it is clear that the Apostle Paul is trying to calm down the Thessalonian believers who had been led by some teachers to believe that the Day of Christ had already started.

To be clear, the Day of Christ is synonymous with the Day of the Lord mentioned by practically every prophet of the Old Testament.  The Day of the Lord referred to a time when the Lord would rise up in terrible power to judge the nations of the earth.  It would be a time full of judgments and is basically the Tribulation period that we have been mentioning.  They are afraid that the Tribulation has already begun. 

Yet, Paul is telling them that they are not in the foretold Tribulation, or judgment of the nations, because certain things haven’t happened yet.  The two things that must happen before the Tribulation can begin are: the falling away and the revealing of the man of sin.  It seems clear in the argument that these two things had not happened yet, and so the believers could stop worrying that they were in the Day of Judgment. 

For our purposes, we need to deal with two aspects of the Pretribulation argument.  First, in verse 5, believers are reminded that Paul had taught them these things when he was with them.  How I wish Paul had filled us in on all that he had taught them because he mentions several things without further explanation that would be extremely helpful to our understanding.  He emphasizes that something or someone is restraining the work of lawlessness on the earth.  If it was not restrained then the man of sin, or the Antichrist, would have come forward long ago.  Verse 6 refers to a thing that restrains, but verse 7 changes the grammar and refers to a being who restrains.  The Holy Spirit is uniquely qualified to fit both of these expressions.  He has the power to do so, the word “Spirit” is neuter in Greek and thus can take a neuter participle “the (neuter thing) that is restraining,” and He is a being and thus can be referenced with the personal form “the (being) that is restraining.  I know that this is a language mechanics issue that can easily cause our eyes to gloss over, but it is important.  The main point is that the most likely candidate for being a thing and yet a being who restrains the Antichrist from being revealed is the Holy Spirit.

Now that we have identified the Restrainer, the argument moves to verse 7 where we are told that the Restrainer is taken out of the way.  The Holy Spirit must be removed, and yet cannot be taken from believers.  Ergo, both will be taken together (the Rapture).  There is one problem with this logic.  It doesn’t actually say that the Holy Spirit is “taken” out of the way, or that He is removed from the earth as some say.  It literally says that He will restrain until “He becomes out of the middle of the way.”  Of course, this is not good English and requires some translation polish.  The Holy Spirit is not “taken.”  Rather, He comes to be out of the middle of the way.  He isn’t taken from the earth.  Rather, He is not standing in the middle of the way of Satan’s final plan.  This does beg the question.  If Christians are left on the earth full of the Holy Spirit, wouldn’t they still be a restraint to this guy coming forward?  The response would be that God gives him authority to have power over Christians for a short season.

The second issue with this passage has to do with verse three.  Some in the Pretribulation view have taken the word “falling away” and challenged its meaning.  The Greek word is apostasia.  All other uses of this word in the Bible refer to a defection from faith in God.  However, its main meaning is “to move away from an established place.”  Some have tried to make this about Christians moving away from the earth (the place that we have been established).  This argument has a technical genius to it that smacks of creativity more than it smacks of truth.  Either Paul used this expression as a kind of tongue-in-cheek statement, or he is simply saying that there will be a falling away from the true faith of God in the end times.  Both interpretations would fit the passage well.  However, the most natural understanding of the phrase is a defection from the faith.

So, where does this leave us?  I still think the Pretribulation view gives the best understanding of this passage, but it is not without its questions.  Are we missing something in Paul’s shorthand account that would could critically change how we view the passage?  It seems likely, but it is just as possible that that information would tilt this passage towards the Pretribulation view.  Paul didn’t want them freaking out that they were in the day of judgment.  The Holy Spirit being “out of the way” doesn’t require the Rapture, but it doesn’t preclude it either.  In this age, the work of the Holy Spirit is hand and glove with true believers, and it is possible that the Rapture would be an event in which the restraint of this world’s wickedness would be removed.  The main problem is that Paul didn’t give us all the answers that he could have due to the fact that he had already told the Thessalonians these things.

Argument 2.  The Philadelphian Church in Revelation 3:10 symbolically represents the faithful Church in the end times.  Christ promises to keep them out of the hour of trial that will come upon the whole earth.

Here, Jesus gives the Philadelphians of Asia Minor (Turkey today) the promise that they will be kept out of the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world.  He doesn’t explain how they will be kept out of it.  Will it happen during their time, but not touch them?  Or, will Christ remove them before the hour of trial begins?  Last week we mentioned two critical points about this passage.  One, the word “from” is better translated as “out of the trial.”  Second, there is a definite article with trial “the trial.”  This means that this is a very specific trial that they know is coming.  A particular trial that would come upon all the world is something that believers have known about throughout the Old and New Testament periods.  Some people try to limit this trial to the 2^nd century AD by saying it refers to the whole Roman world, but this is an artificial limiting.  The word refers to the inhabited areas of the earth, which went far beyond the Roman boundaries.  So, is it more likely that Jesus is referencing the Great Tribulation?  It is very possible since we are at a loss to find a time of trial that came upon the whole inhabited earth.

It is common among this view to see the Seven Churches of Revelation chapters two and three as being typical or symbolic of 7 Stages of the Church Age.  We don’t have time to look into the arguments of this view.  It has a certain charm because the descriptions do follow a similar path as the history of the Church.  Also, there are a few clues in the text that hint at something more going on here than just a message to seven first century churches.  The word “mystery” is used of these churches, and they represent the “things that are,” which can be extended to mean the whole Church Age. 

This view would see the sixth Philadelphian Church as the sixth phase of Christianity.  There would be a rise of faithfulness to the truth of Christ.  However, at some point the Laodicean type Church would take the ascendency within Christianity.  The last phase involves both Philadelphian believers holding on to the truth and a large group of Laodicean "believers" who are useless to Christ.  This can also give rise to the idea that only strong Christians will be raptured and the carnal Christians will be left behind.  Regardless, contextually it is not completely clear that the Seven Churches are seven phases of the history of the Church.  However, it is possible.  Also, the Great Tribulation is the best fit for interpreting “the hour of trial,” mentioned here.

Argument 3.  Christians are promised to be delivered from the wrath to come and thus must be removed before the Tribulation.  This is the same argument that we saw last week with the Midtribulation view.  It is a powerful argument that can be seen in 1 Thessalonians.  1 Thessalonians 1:10 mentions that Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come, and 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says that God did not appoint believers to wrath, but to obtain salvation.

The main objection to this argument is that these are referring to the wrath of the Lake of Fire, not the wrath of God during the Tribulation.  This is possible and the passages can be read either way.  Yet, most references to the wrath of God refer to events here on earth, and the wrath of the Tribulation is what believers would have directly in front of them more than the Lake of Fire.  Sure, we can die any day and thus the Lake of Fire is closer to us than the Tribulation.  However, in regards to God delivering the Church from the Wrath that He is going to pour out, the Tribulation is the more natural reference than the future judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20).  So, I rate this as a fairly strong argument.

Argument 4.  The promise of Jesus in John 14 parallels the Bride and Bridegroom imagery.  In John 14:1-4, we have Jesus telling his disciples that he is going away to his Father in order to prepare a place for them.  He then says that, if he goes away to prepare a place for them, he will doubtless come again to receive them to himself (literally to receive alongside oneself).  It pictures him coming to be reunited with them.  From that point, his disciples will no longer be separated from him.  Where he is, they will be.  The natural emphasis of this passage is that Jesus prepares a place in heaven, then comes back for his disciples, and then takes them to the place he prepared.

This is most likely an allusion to the Hebrew wedding practices of the day.  A bride would be betrothed to a husband.  He would then go and make a place for them within his father’s estate.  When he is finished, he would come to pick up his bride and take her to the place that he has prepared.  There would be a marriage supper, or feast, to celebrate the couple’s union. 

This gives better light to Revelation 19.  In that chapter, we are told that the wife of the Lamb has made herself ready, and then a blessing is declared.  “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”  The next scene is Christ coming with his saints and angels to destroy the beast, false prophet, and the kings of the earth and their armies.  Revelation doesn’t explicitly state that the marriage supper of the lamb happens in heaven before the Second Coming, but in view of John 14, this seems to be the most likely explanation.  John is writing to people who would totally understand the things being mentioned.  This is another strong argument to me.

Argument 5.  It makes the most sense of the passages that portray the coming of Christ as imminent.  I won’t go through all the verses.  However, many verses speak of Christ’s coming as being near, or at hand.  Only the Pretribulation view satisfies the idea that Christ could come at any moment.  All the other views have a number of years in which obvious prophesied events are happening. 

Typically, people who reject this argument do so by stating that the disciples and Jesus were simply wrong.  They thought it was near, but it was really quite far away.  Of course, then we would have a problem with the trustworthiness of the teachings of Jesus.  He is either the Word of God, and is therefore not wrong, or he is not trustworthy even in matters of salvation.  You can’t have it both ways.  I choose to trust Jesus, and to believe that the passages are intended to keep every generation on their toes.  Yes, God knew that the coming of Christ would be at least 1,900 years away, but that generation would need to know that he could come at any moment.  Such a promise, or warning, helps believers of every age to live a life that is ready for Christ at all times.  So, I find this to be a strong argument as well.

Argument 6.  The righteous being rescued before judgment is a common theme in Scripture.  However, the only safe place during the Tribulation will be in heaven itself.

This is a good argument because there are so many examples.  Enoch is removed before the flood.  Even Noah and his family enter into the safe place of God and are lifted up above the destruction on the ground below.  Lot is removed from Sodom and Gomorrah, and then destruction falls.  The children of Israel are taken through the Red Sea, and then destruction falls upon Pharaoh and his army.  The spies are helped out of Jericho and then the judgment falls on the city…and the list goes on.  The problem with such parallels is that they can only make the case that the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation is in keeping with how God operates.  It can only support the other arguments; it can’t be a main argument itself.  There are too many other places where God protects believers through judgment and tribulation, e.g. the prophet Jeremiah.  That too is in keeping with how God operates.

As we bring this view to a close, I realize that I have only scratched the surface on all of these views.  Yet, I think what we have done over these weeks serves the issues well.  God has told us that his judgment is coming upon all the nations of the world.  It is our job to warn people to flee the wrath that is coming by getting into God’s ark, the Lord Jesus.  It is also our job to be humble regarding the prophecies that we have received regarding the end times.

We must daily encourage ourselves and one another to keep our eyes upon Jesus in the way that we live from day to day.  This is not the time to compromise and pursue sin, or at least redefine sinful things as moral.  This is the time to hold the line and love people enough to warn them. 

Whether I am dead or alive at Christ’s coming for his Church, I want to be among those who are lifted up to Christ in glorified, immortal bodies.  I want to be among those who rise up to inherit the kingdoms of the earth with Christ.  May the Lord help us to be faithful to the end!

Pretribulationism audio

Views of the End Times: Midtribulationism

Various Passages.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 29, 2019.

Over the last several weeks, we have looked at three views of the end times that generally employ an allegorical or symbolic approach to end times prophecy.  They were Full Preterism (see blog post on Sept. 1, 2019), Amillennialism (see blog post on Sept. 8, 2019), and Postmillennialism (see blog post on Sept. 15, 2019).  We then identified a fourth view called Premillennialism, which generally employs a literal approach to prophecy (see blog post on Sept. 22, 2019).

The differences in these previous 4 views all hinge on the relationship between the Second Coming of Jesus and the millennium.  However, within the Premillennialist camp there are some differences that hinge upon the relationship of the rapture to the Second Coming of Christ.  Parenthetically, if you are unsure about the meaning of the word “rapture” then you should see the previous blog post (Sept. 22, 2019).  Thus, last week we looked at the first of these rapture theories within the Premillennialism, Posttribulationism.  It was the view that the rapture is just one aspect of the resurrection, which only happens during the Second Coming of Jesus and after the Tribulation.  Today we are going to look at a second view within Premillennialism called Midtribulationism.  Here is a picture to get a rough approximation of the different views on the rapture within the Premillenialist group.

As you can see The Tribulation is a seven-year period of difficulty which involves the wrath of God upon the earth and ends with the Second Coming of Jesus.  Today’s view believes that the rapture is an event separate from the Second Coming of Christ at the end of The Tribulation.

Is there a rapture of Christian’s before The Tribulation?

The Midtribulation Rapture view says, “No,” to this question.  By the way, there is a minority view called the Pre-Wrath theory, which is similar to the Midtribulation view, but puts the rapture at the ¾ point of The Tribulation.  However, it is not very common and is similar to the Midtribulation view.  So, what does Midtribulation Rapture teach?

First, they believe that Christ raptures his Church in the middle of The Tribulation, which is clearly divided into two 3 ½ -year periods in Scripture.  Second, they see the first half of The Tribulation as being the same as the seven seals and the seven trumpets of the book of Revelation (Rev. 6-11).  The second half is connected to the seven bowl judgments.  Third, they emphasize that the first half of the tribulation is the wrath of man, whereas the second half is the wrath of God.

Argument 1.  Let’s take some time to walk through some of their arguments and give some kick back to them.  They typically emphasize the many places in the Scripture where 3 ½ years are emphasized in relation to end times matters.  Here are a couple of passages that give us such details. 

Look at Revelation 11:3. Here, John is told of two witnesses that will prophesy for 1,260 days and then be killed in the city of Jerusalem (vs. 8).  1,260 days is basically 3 ½ years, and represents the first segment connected to The Tribulation.  These witnesses are killed by the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit (a prison for spirit beings).  We are told that no one can touch the two witnesses until they finish their witness to the world, and then the beast will have the power to kill them.  Now, let’s go to Revelation 13 to get some more information regarding this beast character.

In verses 4-5, we see that the beast is given authority to continue for 42 months.  Interestingly, this just another way of referring to 3 ½ years.  From Revelation 19, we know that the beast will be captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire at the Second Coming of Jesus.  Thus, a rough timeline of The Tribulation would be: 3 ½ years for the ministry of the two witnesses, and 3 ½ years for the authority of the beast.

Let’s dig a little deeper on these references to 3 ½ years.  Daniel 9:24-27 involves a prophecy wherein 70 groupings of seven years are determined for God’s prophetic dealings with Israel (totaling 490 years).  These groupings of seven years are broken up into 3 groups: 49 years (7 sevens), 434 years (62 sevens, and the last is 7 years (1 seven).  It is this last seven that we want to focus upon because of what it says about it in verse 27.  We are told that the previous period of 62 sevens would end with the death of Messiah.  “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”  So, after the death of Jesus there was only a period of seven years left for God to complete all prophecy with Israel.  We are told in verse 27 that “the prince who is to come” will strengthen and confirm a covenant with Israel for 7 years.  In the middle of the seven-year period, he will stop the sacrifices and bring in the abomination of desolation, which involves worship of a false god in the temple.  Again, a clear reference is made to a turning point at the 3 ½ year point.  This also synchronizes with Revelation 13 and the beast who has a mouth speaking blasphemies.

We are also told in Revelation 11:2 that Jerusalem will be trampled for 42 months (3 ½ years)-I would assume that this is in the second half under the beast’s authority.  Likewise, Revelation 12 speaks of the Jewish remnant fleeing into the wilderness, being protected from Satan, and being nourished for 1,260 days (again 3 ½ years).  It also describes this period as “a time (1), times (2), and half a time (½).”  This too would equal 3 ½ years.

Clearly, the midpoint of The Tribulation is an important part of the end times.  Yet, do these passages connect this midpoint to the rapture of the Church in any way?  My short answer is that most of the passages make no connection to the rapture of the Church, and the few, where a case is made, are very stretched connections.

Argument 2.  Typically, Revelation 11 and the two witnesses become a key argument.  They are killed by the beast, left to rot on the streets of Jerusalem, and then resurrected and raptured by God after 3 ½ days (Rev. 11:5-12).   These two witnesses are very reminiscent of Moses and Elijah because of what they do.  They shut the heavens so that it doesn’t rain, they turn the waters into blood, and they cause plagues.  Here is the question.  Are they actually two individuals or are they a symbol of the Church?  As you read through the passage, you can see where they could be a symbol in a few places.  However, the details are so clear and specific that it becomes increasingly harder to make it fit with a symbol.  What is symbol and what is not?  How does one make that distinction?  Are all these things symbols: the two witnesses, their death, the streets of Jerusalem, standing on their feet, their rapture, the voice, etc.  It seems a stretch to take all of this symbolic and it seems a stretch to only take the two witnesses as a symbol.  There is nothing textually connecting this resurrection of two individuals to the Church as a whole.  Will all believers on the earth lay on the streets of Jerusalem dead for 3 ½ days?  It seems not likely, especially since the passage gives no implication to this in any overt way.  It seems that these two witnesses represent the grace of God to those who are about to be tempted to take the mark of the beast and pledge allegiance to him and his system.  At this point in our history, modern man will demonstrate that it is one in spirit with the first century world, which crucified the Lord of glory.

This is the only passage that has a direct connection to a resurrection of any kind at the middle of The Tribulation, but yet falls short of a resurrection of all the Church.

Argument 3. The next argument uses 1 Thessalonians 5:9 to argue that “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  To them, this means that God will rapture his Church before he pours out his wrath.  However, Midtribulationists view only the 2^nd half of The Tribulation as the wrath of God.  Is this a legitimate claim?  Are only the bowl judgments in the 2^nd half of The Tribulation connected to God’s wrath?  The short answer is no.

If you look at Revelation 6:15-17, we have the sixth seal broken and the people of the earth are recognizing that the wrath of God has come, not “is coming.”  By their own testimony they are looking at what is happening and saying, “Oh, No, the Bible was right!”  We can also recognize that there may be some “wrath of man” in the seal judgments (note that the first seal releases a conqueror on the earth, the second releases war etc.).  However, they are all being initiated by Jesus opening each seal.  The implication is clear and obvious.  He is removing the restraints to taking up his rightful authority over the earth.  This document proves his right and is being opened in order to do so.  These seal judgments and the Trumpet judgments later are all seen as the wrath of God.

Along with this, it is very common throughout the Old Testament to speak of events that are “the wrath of man,” and yet explain that they are primarily the wrath of God.  A case in point is the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people of Israel.  No angels were involved in its destruction and their deportation.  However, the prophets testified that the wrath of God had come upon Israel, even though Nebuchadnezzar was his instrument.  Thus, it is a false distinction to emphasize the wrath of God against the wrath of God.

Argument 4.  It is also common to take the trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and connect it to the seventh trumpet of the book of Revelation.  Here is 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. “⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (NKJV).  Definitely, Paul connects the rapture/resurrection with the sounding of “the last trumpet.”  We can also note that the seventh trumpet is the last of the trumpets in the book of Revelation and happens right after the killing of the two witnesses, aka midpoint of the tribulation.

So, is there anything in the description of the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:17-18 that would lead us to believe that the rapture occurs here?  I don’t believe so.  The trumpet blast is followed by a declaration that the kingdoms of this world now belong to the Lord Jesus, and that he is going to rule forever.  It is then that the 24 elders who surround the throne of God in the heavens make several statements.  They do mention that the time has come that the dead should be judged, which by extension would involve resurrection.  Also, the reward of the saints is mentioned, which also would involve resurrection.  However, this passage has the sense of declaring that these things are on the horizon (have come).  The world has been waiting so long and now the time has come for these things to be accomplished, not that they have already been accomplished.  In fact, if all these things are done at this point, then the whole bowl judgments seem out of place.  Christ doesn’t come down to reign for another 3 ½ years.  How can he have already reigned, and judged the dead, and rewarded the saints?  There is no clear statement that a resurrection of the saints happens at the 7^th trumpet of Revelation.

Furthermore, It seems a stretch to think that Paul, who wrote 1 Corinthians 30 years earlier to John’s Revelation, had in mind the same thing John does.  John is revealing a vision that he has had.  Most of Revelation is stuff that has no New Testament connection.  It is a fresh revelation from God that is clearly giving information that the apostles did not have before this.  Yes, the Holy Spirit could have directed Paul to put down a phrase that he had no clue why he should include it, but this seems to run counter to what Paul is saying.  He has a clear reference in mind when he mentions the last trumpet.  On the other hand, the book of Revelation never calls the seventh trumpet, “the last trumpet.”  Yes, it is logically the last of those seven, but nowhere is it called the last trumpet.  Such, a connection is extremely tenuous, at best.

Let me reiterate that I appreciate that these views attempt to take Bible prophecy literally.  I believe that it is the approach that God would have us use.  Yet, people who hold one of the three Premillennial views of the rapture have not been very kind to each other historically.  In truth, they are often quite nasty, employ ad hominin attacks, and demonstrate extreme arrogance.  This is sad because our lord literally tells us not to do such things.  Even if you believe that a fellow Christian is wrong in their interpretation, you are still required to love them.  On top of this, no view of the rapture involves heresy that will endanger anyone’s salvation.  This is simply an over the top line of reasoning.  Our salvation is not based upon our view of the rapture.

May God help us to endeavor to be a people that will trust God regardless of what we are required to endure because there are people every day who are not in The Tribulation, and yet, they wonder if they can endure the things that they are facing right now.  They need strong Christians who can come alongside of them and encourage them with the truth of God.  Yes, God allows us to go through difficult things, but he also has a good plan for us.  He is not allowing us to suffer needlessly.  Instead, our lives are a witness to the world around us, and a witness against the fallen heavenly powers.  “We choose Jesus!  We choose to follow Him, and not the false pretenders who come to replace him!”

Midtribulationism audio