The Post Tribulation Rapture & the Great Day of God's Wrath
About this sermon
In “The Post Tribulation Rapture & the Great Day of God's Wrath,” Pastor Dean Odle opens part five of an end-time series by asking the Holy Spirit to guide a direct study of Scripture rather than tradition. He admits that promises of escaping persecution would be emotionally comforting but says teaching them without biblical support would make him a false teacher. The message develops its case chronologically from the biblical texts, examples, and applications heard in the sermon.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle opens part five of an end-time series by asking the Holy Spirit to guide a direct study of Scripture rather than tradition. He admits that promises of escaping persecution would be emotionally comforting but says teaching them without biblical support would make him a false teacher.
First Thessalonians 4 locates the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the catching up of living believers at the Lord’s descent, shout, archangel’s voice, and trumpet. Second Thessalonians 2 is then used to reject an any-moment coming because apostasy, the man of sin, and the abomination in a future holy place must occur first.
Jesus’ chronological Olivet Discourse is compared with Revelation’s seals rather than treated as an unrelated schedule. The white horse corresponds to deception and conquest, the red horse to war, and the black horse to scarcity, inflation, famine, and pestilence.
Matthew 24’s persecution of believers is matched with the fifth-seal martyrs, while the sixth seal brings earthquake, darkened sun and moon, falling stars, and heaven opening. Odle argues that these are the same signs Jesus places immediately after the tribulation, followed visibly by the Son of Man rather than a secret event.
Jesus sends angels with a great trumpet to gather His elect only after the cosmic signs, and Revelation 7 then shows an innumerable white-robed multitude that came out of Great Tribulation. Odle distinguishes protection from divine wrath from removal before tribulation, using Israel’s preservation during Egypt’s plagues as the pattern.
Odle briefly outlines his historical interpretation of the earlier trumpets before focusing on the seventh trumpet, when time reaches its end and the mystery of God is finished. He joins Jesus’ “last day” resurrection language with Paul’s “last trump,” arguing that the rapture and resurrection occur at the climax, not years earlier.
Revelation 16’s plagues target the beast’s kingdom and culminate with the seventh vial: “It is done,” cities fall, Babylon is judged, islands and mountains move, and enormous hail descends. The sermon identifies this seventh vial, seventh trumpet, and sixth-seal cosmic upheaval as different views of the same terminal day.
Revelation 19 places the white-robed bride in heaven after Babylon’s judgment, followed by the marriage supper and Jesus riding out as warrior King. The armies in clean fine linen follow Him, which Odle interprets as the newly gathered saints returning with Christ to execute judgment and begin His reign.
Pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and pre-wrath systems are rejected as attempts to separate events Scripture places at the last day and final trumpet. Odle argues that fear of suffering drives much of the escape teaching and calls believers to desire continued witness even if persecution or martyrdom comes.
The final appeal asks whether hearers have experienced genuine new birth through repentance, total surrender to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit’s inward witness rather than merely repeating a prayer. Odle confesses his own weakness and urges continued yielding so believers can face tribulation with assurance, obedience, and closeness to Christ.
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yesterday, today and forever, we praise you. We thank you, Lord, God, that we can come together and worship, now that we can worship you in spirit and in truth. Right now, we can worship you freely and in peace, and we take our blessings for granted many times. I'll ask you, Lord, to anoint me and to help me speak your word today. Holy Spirit, speak as we study the word. We don't just assume what's in it, but, Lord, we're going to study and see what's in it. We thank you for that. We ask you to touch those here today at Fire and Grace Church, touch those watching and listening. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated this morning. We welcome everyone to Fire and Grace Church this morning. We are now in part five of this end-time Bible prophecy series. Of course, through several of the messages when I spoke about the eclipse and the great sign even last week, I've mentioned a few times about the rapture and what I believe about the rapture, what I believe that the Scriptures teach about the rapture. In fact, I think on the eclipse day, I went through, in the second part of that message, I went through some of the key reasons why I believe the Bible does not teach a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Now, I want to make this clear at the outset because I've already had somebody comment on Facebook about the term that we use called the rapture. Now, that term is not a biblical term. It's not in the Bible. It's made up by men. The reason I use it in the title of the message or when I talk about this subject is because that's what most people understand. That's what most people have heard taught when you teach about the resurrection of the righteous dead and then we which are alive and remain at the coming of the Lord Jesus, most people have heard that called the rapture. So sometimes I have to use terms I don't even like so that people will understand what I'm talking about, okay? But let's just say this, that the term rapture really should be called the first resurrection is what the Bible calls it. There are two resurrections in the last days, two and only two mass resurrections, all right? And everybody needs to understand this and they are separated by 1,000 years. The first resurrection is of the righteous. That means true believers in Jesus, true believers in Jesus that have truly been born again, that have made Jesus Lord of their lives, that have repented of sin, that are living for Him. Now the Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 4 and we're going to run through some of these very quick but we're going to turn
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to a lot of scriptures this morning. 1st Thessalonians 4 verses 13 through 18. Matter of fact, go ahead we'll go ahead and start you can put that up and just we'll come back to the second slide in just a second but let's let's get an understanding about this because of course whenever I mentioned the rapture I get a lot of comments, YouTube comments, emails, it really starts stirring because you know what hey folks this is an emotional for some people this is an emotional issue because they've been taught to believe that they're going to escape all the problems of the last days and so it's very emotional and I'm going to say especially for some especially for some ladies, for you mommies out there you you want to think and believe that you know we're going to get out of here before anything gets really rough and I understand where you're coming from I have children, grown children, smaller children. I would love to tell you that oh we're gonna we're gonna get out of here we're not going to suffer any kind of persecution tribulation or difficulty or we're not going to actually see aspects of the wrath of God hit the earth but I would be a false prophet and a false teacher if I told you that. I thought about this as we were getting ready as he's getting that it's first Thessalonians 4 huh 13 through 18 is what we're going to look at first but I was thinking about Jeremiah the days of Jeremiah and I thought about you know Jeremiah started his ministry God called him when he was a teenager and I remember that so well because that's Jeremiah chapter 1 is what God used when he called me to the ministry when I was 19 years old so I was a teenager as well and I remember the Lord speaking to me and just coming in the room and in great power I felt his presence overwhelm me I was in tears and he told me he said at 19 years old he said son I've ordained you to be a prophet to the nations and I said Lord I'm I don't even understand what that means I'm too young I can't I can't do I I couldn't even fathom what he was saying to me and neither could Jeremiah but over the years as God has taught me and as I've learned things and as the ministry is unfolded over time I often look back at Jeremiah's life and I see a lot of parallels in my own life because I see that how so many people Jeremiah began prophesying as a teenager about the judgment of God that was coming upon Israel and they didn't want to hear it they didn't want to hear it when he started talking about it they didn't want to hear it in the middle of his years of ministry talking about it and they especially didn't want to hear about it right before it was about to
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happen they didn't want to hear it and there were even prophets who would get up as Jeremiah would be prophesying that Nebuchadnezzar is coming he's gonna wipe this place out many of you are going to be killed many of you are going to be taken captive they didn't want to hear it and prophets would stand up and say in the name of the Lord the name of Yahweh oh no Nebuchadnezzar is not going to come in here and do this you're gonna have peace and prosperity God's gonna deliver you from Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah would say you know the false prophets promise you peace peace when there is no peace I'm not going to be one of those as a pastor today in this area is preaching a pre-tribulation rapture message today he's gonna give an account for giving false security and telling people they're gonna have peace when they're about to have great tribulation Americans are some of the most deceived and some of the most spoiled people in the world we need to understand tribulation has been coming in persecution and terrible things don't you know that as somebody told me the other day don't go to China and start preaching a pre-tribulation rapture they will run you out of the country the Christians with they say you don't have any idea what we've lived through since 1949 don't come here preaching that nonsense but let's go through this this morning because when you start talking about this when you start dashing people's brainwashing of indoctrination of many years you know there's that discomfort that comes it's called that cognitive dissonance that comes into people's hearts and they go you know I just I can't hear this but let's look at it because the Bible does say that we are going to see at the coming of Jesus a mass resurrection of the righteous dead those in Christ those born again those washed in the blood those who have truly repented and made Jesus Lord of their lives this is what he says this is this is where we first kind of see this put forth in the New Testament after Jesus in the Gospels this is Paul he says but I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope when you some of those that are dead for if we believe that means to rely on trusty and clean to true saving faith in Jesus Christ that he died and rose again even so them which also sleep are dead in Jesus will God bring with him for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of
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the Lord shall not prevent or precede them which are asleep for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another with these words now as I said a few weeks ago and we'll go ahead and jump to second Thessalonians chapter 2 just to lay the foundation here we were taught by traditional churches Baptist churches Assembly of God churches we were taught by TV preachers for years and years and years Oh better be ready Jesus could come at any moment Bible never taught that that has been a false teaching and anybody that's ever spewed it out of their mouths didn't know what they were talking about because second Thessalonians Paul had to clear it up for them because he he introduced this resurrection of the of the dead in Christ and we which are alive at the coming of the Lord he introduced this concept to them of course Jesus taught it and right before in the Olivet Discourse Matthew 24 but here Paul's teaching it again but all of a sudden there was confusion so in second Thessalonians he had to address the confusion and what was the confusion over the confusion was some were saying oh the coming of Christ has already happened or you missed it you missed the resurrection you missed the rapture I mean people were talking about all this in Paul so he he's gonna clear it up for you he's gonna say you know what that day is not coming until some things happen right so here's what he said and this is second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1 now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him now hold on a second hold on say everybody pay attention let's pay attention to the wording now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him now what is that the gathering together of the saints unto Jesus at his second coming is what is popularly called the rapture is true it should be biblical called the first resurrection all right he says don't be soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit and notice a small s he's talking about evil spirits or by word
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