Paul Benson – A Bottomless Bucket (Part 5)

God’s Kingdom

I never anticipated that this series, A critique on Paul Benson’s book “The Pre-trib Rapture: A Bucket Full of Holes.” would become so long-drawn-out. I have only managed to critique his book to Part 4 of the first section under the title “A SIMPLE Biblical Image of Election” on page 21, and still there is no end. Besides the fact that my sentences are so long (I am trying my very best to keep them short), the FIN-horizon (The End) seems to elude me and shift even further each time I put my fingers to the keyboard of my computer.

In the next part of section one (pages 31-36) Paul Benson discusses God’s Kingdom under the title “Thy Kingdom Come.” The word “kingdom” appears 25 times in his book but never once in the context of the Millennial Kingdom or the thousand Year Kingdom on earth. It appears that he deliberately wanted to ignore the passages in Scripture that specifically deal with Jesus Christ’s Millennial reign on earth, and instead hone in on a passage in Song of Songs that in the very least has no connection to the Millennial Kingdom on earth. Scripture that deals with the 1000 years reign of Jesus Christ’s peace on earth are the following:

To validate his view of the Kingdom, Paul Benson quotes Song of Songs 2:10-13.

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song 2:10-13.

Then again, like clockwork, Paul Benson puts his speculative imagination in gear and links the phrases “Rise up, my beloved . . .” and Arise, my love” to his Post-tribulation Rapture. He writes:

What a poignant and beautiful allegory we get from this book of the Bible. There’s a day coming! A wonderful bright spring day arrives after a time of winter’s harshness. Who doesn’t anticipate spring after all the cold and moisture involved with the winter season? (Up here in Montana it comes in the form of snow and ice, and often sub-zero temperatures!)

I don’t think this allegory is speaking of winter and spring in the sense of months and years, but in the sense of the time of man, so to speak. As the closing of a year gives way to the brutality of winter, and as the fullness of life gives way to the troubles of old age, so also the fullness of this era of mankind is sadly giving way to great darkness. But thank God, there IS a day coming!

A coming springtime day in which the Bride of Christ will rise up to meet the Groom as he returns to earth as promised. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. If you are a believer and those words don’t stir you deeply you better check your pulse. The Resurrection at the last day, and our catching away to meet Jesus, has been the hope and expectation of the Church for nearly 20 centuries. Just as assuredly as Jesus came to earth to redeem us by his sacrifice on that Cross, he will return for those he has redeemed.

Jesus Christ’ censure in Matthew 7:3-5 seems to have escaped (pun intended) his mind when he wrote on pages 36-37.

A common tool of deception is the practice of pulling a snippet out of its proper context, and using it to convey an idea that it does not present in its original context. I refer to these misappropriated bits of Scripture as ‘Stolen Snippets’! They sound quite convincing until compared with what their contextual meaning actually speaks. The danger with this practice is this: To those who are lacking in discernment, or a familiarity with the true teachings of the Word of God, the poisoned concepts presented by these stolen snippets will most likely be ingested as truth! But the antidote is quite simple. Read the snippet in its original context and ask: Does this verse (or portion of verse) now speak what it has been claimed to speak, or was it assigned a new or altered meaning? If the claimed meaning of the snippet is not in sync with the original meaning, then that facet of doctrine it is being used to present should be considered bogus! If this critical evaluation was a standard practice of all Christians there would be a lot less falsehood defiling the Body of Christ. It was this practice of critical examination that got me free of the pre-trib error the Denomination I was a part of sought to impose upon me. The knowledge of the truth set me free! Thank you Jesus!

How weird of him to thank Jesus for his “stolen snippet” from the Old Testament (the words “rise” and “arise”) and using it to attack a doctrine that was only revealed to Paul in the New Testament by Jesus Christ Himself. In doing so, is he not defiling the Body of Christ with his falsehoods? The word “qûm” (koom) means to “get up” or “stand up.” Surely, Paul Benson cannot deny that standing up or getting up is something you do in your own strength, using the muscles and bones in your feet, your knees, back, and legs to rise from a seated or lying position to a standing one.

Depending on your height, the highest position you will be able to reach (rise up to) is your own body height, unless you are able to levitate yourself to a higher position. A person of 1.8288 meters will only be able to reach a position above his head of 1.8288 metre. That is far below than what the rapture (“harpazo”) is going to reach when the saints are going to be caught up forcefully in God’s strength, and not their own, to a position somewhere in the air.

Solomon’s Song of Songs does not infer that it is an allegory of Jesus Christ and his beloved (the Church) being raptured (“rise up”) at the Second Advent of Christ. If that had been the case, Paul of Tarsus could never have written, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:51). The word “musterion,” as I explained earlier in this series, does not mean that something is mysteriously unknowable; it means that something which had been unknown in the past is now revealed by God to a person whom He sovereignly chose to make it known.

ADDENDUM: In an article Paul Benson wrote on his blog, “The Rapture Is NOT ‘The Mystery God Revealed To Paul’!

As we shall see the mystery of the ages revealed to Paul had nothing to do with a supposed ‘rapture’ of the Church before the time of tribulation; but was referring to the resurrection of the dead. Namely Christ’s resurrection; and our personal association with it. That in a similar manner as he was raised up into an immortal glorified body, so shall we be! (Emphasis added).

I tried to post a comment on his blog but had so many problems that I abandoned my efforts. I wrote the following:

How on earth can you call something a mystery (musterion) when it had already happened so many times in the past? When Paul said, “I shew you a mystery” God had already raised several people in the Old and New Testaments (about 10, including Jesus). Job, the oldest book in the Bible refers to the resurrection of the dead, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26).

You may as well say, “Behold, I show you a mystery. Donald Trump became the 45th President of the USA on 20 January 2017.” Wow, you must be a prophet! Shall we call you Prophet Paul Benson of Montana Redneck?

King Solomon could not possibly have known anything about the Rapture to use his Song as an allegory of it. In fact, there is not a single verse in the Old Testament that even remotely alludes to the Rapture of the Church. There are, however, a multitude of verses and passages that refer to the coming reign of Jesus Christ on the earth for a thousand years, but Paul Benson, for some bizarre reason, ignores them all. On page 66 he writes:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I sometimes hear people make comments like: ‘I’m praying very hard for the rapture to happen soon!’ But is that really how we ought to be praying? I’m pretty sure Jesus said to pray:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (Luke 11:2)

Instead of praying, ‘Lord, bring your Kingdom here upon us.’, the pre-trib rapture theorists are praying, ‘Lord, take us away to your Kingdom!’ Doesn’t that seem a bit out of sync with the words of Christ? Our duty as believers is to travail in prayer for souls to be saved, and for the Return of Christ to Earth. Why are so many casting aside those responsibilities and instead praying for an evacuation before the final conflict? Isn’t that desertion; or at the very least dereliction of duty? What are you praying for: ‘Kingdom Come’, or ‘Cut and Run’?

When Jesus taught us to pray “Thy Kingdom Come . . .” He never had the Rapture in mind but his Millennial Kingdom of peace on earth. Praying for his Kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven, is to prayer for his will, righteousness, justice and peace to reign on earth as it is in heaven. It can only materialize the moment Jesus returns together with his Pre-trib saints to earth (Jude 1:14), purges the earth of unbelievers, casts the devil in the abyss where he will be bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3), and ascends the throne of his earthly father David (Luke 1:32), in Jerusalem,

The Seven Paul Benson Stolen Snippets

Beginning on page 35, Paul Benson deliberates seven “stolen snippets,” as he calls it, in continuation of his vicious attack on the Pre-tribulation Rapture. Unbeknownst to him, I should like to think, and yet very dangerous, is the path he pursues to associate the belief in a Pre-tribulation Rapture with unsaved and hell-bound unbelievers. His quote of 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 is deliberate and to the point, labeling Pre-trib rapturists as unbelievers who have not been elected to be grafted into the Olive Tree. Nonetheless, he denies teaching “that people will miss out on salvation just for believing the pre-trib rapture but it does present some very grave dangers to those who embrace it.”

So, he’s saying “you cannot lose your salvation but there is a very good chance that you may if you embrace the pre-trib rapture doctrine. That’s what I call riding the horse backwards, holding its tail thinking you are “getting it right.” The word “grave,” as we all know, is a hole dug in the ground where corpses are buried. It follows that “grave danger” means to play with death (spiritual death in this instance) if you embrace the pre-trib rapture.

So, what’s the point in saying with hypocritical finesse, “Let me state here that I do not teach that people will miss out on salvation just for believing in the pre-trib rapture theory; but it does present some very grave dangers to those who embrace it. And even more so for those who teach that deception to others!” One can only apply this passage to someone who wilfully and persistently rejects the gift of salvation. There are many redeemed saints who do not believe in any kind or format of a catching away, mainly because they have been deceived by false teachers like Paul Benson, but will assuredly enter into the glories of heaven.

Benson’s Snippet #1: “As in the days of Noah”

Paul Benson asserts that the days of Noah have no relation to a catching away prior to the seven-year tribulation, and refers exclusively to Christ Jesus’ Second Coming, when first He is going to catch up the believers to a vicinity somewhere in the air only to return immediately to the earth to burn up the field where the tares have been tied up in bundles with the help of Antichrist’s number 666 in preparation for his judgment and wrath. He writes on pages 237 and 38,

You often hear pre-trib preachers making statements like: ‘Jesus said it would be just like the days of Noah and Lot when our rapture happens.’ See how cleverly they now have Jesus acknowledging their theory. This is subtle deceit. They are insinuating Jesus was referring to a pre-trib rapture when he said these phrases. This is not true. These allegorical references to Noah and Lot are unmistakably both found in the immediate context of Jesus teaching on his Return. Notice in the passage above the words: ‘thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.’ That is the Second Coming!

If you study it out you would be amazed how many pre-trib ‘proof texts’ are actually snippets of Scripture stolen out of passages clearly belonging to the Return of Christ. They are stealing these snippets out of Matthew 24 and applying them to their theory for the same reason they always do; they don’t have any of their own! The Bible does not teach a previous event, only the Resurrection of the Dead at the Second Coming. There are no pre-trib rapture verses, only stolen ones used to teach that error.!

Many others use a twisted interpretation of these verses to promote a number of false teachings about the end-times. They say Jesus was comparing the conditions of society and moral decay of our age and theirs,in these passages. The focus was on the fact that life was just going on as usual until judgment fell. I would have to agree there are many similarities between our day and theirs, but pointing that out was not his objective at all. As we will see he was making just ONE significant point.

The point of this allegory was the similarity of the sudden destruction of the wicked following the deliverance of the Righteous in both their day, and the coming day of Christ’s Return. The very same day the door was closed on the ark God’s wrath began to descend upon the wicked. The very same day Lot left Sodom and entered Zoar destruction rained down upon the wicked. The same day Jesus returns, and resurrects/catches away the Righteous, sudden destruction will once again fall upon the wicked. This is the point Jesus was trying to get across, and the prophetic pattern we are to embrace. Same day – sudden destruction!

In reality, Paul Benson is saying that that which is good for the goose (the catching away at Christ’s Second Advent to the earth) is not good for the gander (the catching away at Christ’s return in the air for his Bride). Although he readily admits “there are many similarities between our day and theirs (Noah and Lot), but pointing that out was not his objective at all. As we will see he was making just ONE significant point.” The ONE significant point he mentions to defend his view, is the phrase “sudden destruction,” on the same day. The only place in the Bible where the phrase “sudden destruction” appears is in 1 Thessalonian 5:3.

With due respect to Paul Benson, who ceaselessly sings his “context” song but conveniently turns a deaf ear to it, we need to put the once-stated phrase “sudden destruction” in context with the rest of the passages surrounding it. First, the words “aiphnidios olethros” (sudden destruction) means that punishment and destruction will come upon the world unawares and unexpected. That is to say, there will be no signs, fore-warnings or clues that the destruction is at the door.

In fact, the world will be celebrating the covenant (peace treaty) Antichrist is going to make with Israel as Daniel 9:27 predicted and 1 Thessalonians 5:3 affirms. It sufficiently diffuses Benson’s argument that the “sudden destruction” will occur when Jesus Christ returns at his Second Advent to the earth when there will have been no peace and tranquility but worldwide chaos, mayhem and violence during the seven-year tribulation, amidst of which the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Second Coming of Christ will be preached worldwide. Everyone will know that his second coming to the world is at hand in contrast to the Pre-tribulation where his appearance shall be secret and unexpected.

The only correct way to interpret 1 Thessalonians 5:3 is to see it in the context of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul expounds the Pre-tribulation Rapture and not the Second Coming. It cannot be the Second Coming because Paul would never exhort his brethren to comfort one another if they had to face the seven-year tribulation and its global destruction. He would have charged them to prepare themselves for persecution and martyrdom, as our Post-tribulation friends would have it (Revelation 3:10). Unless, of course, you rather prefer Paul of Montana Redneck’s comforting (or are they comfortless) words on page 180.

” . . .  why [are you going to] experience hunger and thirst, as well as the ill effects of the sun and great heat [during the seven-year tribulation]? Although [you] must expect great persecution and even possible martyrdom during the tribulation (and even today for many); [be of good cheer] because we do have very many promises as to personal provision and protection. …the sun shall not smite thee by day… (Psalms 112:6) … in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (Psalms 37:19). It doesn’t sound like all of [you will take part] of those promises. Had maybe (I am just wondering here) some of ‘the things written in this book’ come upon many of [you] due to [your] disregard of God’s Word? I see this as a distinct possibility.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Revelation 13:7

Some questions need to be asked here: WHO [gives] Antichrist permission to war against the Body of Christ and temporally overcome them during the tribulation; and more importantly: WHY? Could this have anything to do with the curse of Revelation 22? There has never been a time in the history of God’s people when the words ‘truth lies fallen in the street’ were more relevant than today.

Does the Church ‘give place’ (Eph. 4:27) to the Devil by their lack of regard for the warnings against abusing God’s Word? Have they set themselves up for a purging? Rapture theorists refuse to acknowledge the great tribulation as a time of sifting and purification for God’s people, but the Scriptures clearly put forth that concept.”

But, as I said, do not let your hearts be troubled. I myself, the great Prophet Paul Benson of Montana Redneck, will escape Antichrist’s wrath because I have NEVER in all of my pristine life abused God’s Word like so many of you. In fact, my book, “The Pre-trib Rapture: A Bucket Full of Holes,” is a shining example of how I exposed the varmints who will have to face the scourge of Antichrist’s wrath because they are disregarding and abusing God’s Word big time, even to the extent where they are now, and will be then, cursed for their Pre-trib Rapture theory. But, do not despair and comfort the others like me who do not disregard God’s Word, with the divinely inspired words in my book that God is going to protect us during the seven-year tribulation. We may forfeit the glorious opportunity to be purified and glorified, and become like Christ in persecutions, suffering and in death, like the others who are not protected because they believe in the curse of the Pre-tribulation Rapture in stead of the blessed hope of the Post-tribulation Rapture,, but what the heck, it sounds good, doesn’t it? HALLELUJAH!!! WHEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS. (1 Benson 4 verse 18).

In contrast to this garbage, Paul of Tarsus did not include himself and his brethren to whom he addresses his epistle with the group who would see and experience the Day of the Lord (seven-year tribulation), as he did when expounding the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17). The “them,” to whom he refers, are evidently those left behind at the Pre-tribulation Rapture, who will be waiting for the promised peace and safety when sudden destruction will come upon them.

Although the moment of his Second Coming will not be known, everyone will know that his appearance is nigh and at the door. Like a woman who cannot escape the consequences of her labour pains, so too the world will not be able to escape the wrath of God which will build up to a crescendo during the seventieth week of Daniel, and reach its zenith when the Son of God appears in the clouds to set his feet on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Benson’s Snippet #2: “In the Twinkling of an Eye”

I sincerely wish that Paul Benson would remove his dark glasses so that he may read the Bible without being hampered so seriously by them. At the moment his reading of the Bible is very poor. Allow me to explain. In his assessment of 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 he writes on page 39,

Almost any theologian (including rapture theorists!), will tell you 1 Corinthians chapter 15 cannot rightfully be considered a ‘rapture passage’. There is no mention of the catching away of the believers to be found in the entire chapter! But it is probably the most descriptive of any in the whole Bible dealing with the event of the Resurrection of the Dead.

It does NOT say we will be ‘caught away’ in the twinkling of an eye! Read carefully. It says we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Not a thing about a rapture! To say the phrase is referring to our catching away is a false statement! It is a lie! The reference is to the raising of the dead and the transformation to a glorified body. How then did the phrase ‘in the twinkling of an eye’ come to be applied to our journey from the earth to the clouds, and thus giving everyone a quite presumptuous notion, this trip will happen instantaneously? It is a stolen snippet!

Of whom does he speak when he says, “It does NOT say we will be ‘caught away’ in the twinkling of an eye! Read carefully. It says we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.” Is he including himself in the realm of the dead (whose souls are now with Jesus and waiting to be resurrected in their new glorified bodies like that of Jesus), and whose souls shall return with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:4)? Or, is he including himself in the realm of the living who are still incased in their physical earthly bodies?

The deceased saints are not on earth. Only their decaying bodies are here on earth in their graves. If the “twinkling of an eye” is limited only to the raising of the dead and their transformation to glorified bodies, as Benson says, where do the living saints fit into this scenario? Has he discarded his philosophy on “cognitive scaffolding’ which simply means that in literature we receive a progression of understanding as each new sentence adds information to the previous ones. The fullness of meaning in any verse of Scripture is not found only in that verse itself, but also in the contributing information of the verses around it. Let’s keep that in mind as we see a progression of thought built here.” (page 61). His hypocritical application of “cognitive scaffolding” whenever it suits him and his random discarding thereof, whenever it suits him, smells rather fishy.

If cognitive scaffolding can be applied to verses and passages within a chapter, it may also be applied to chapters in different books or epistles. This is precisely how we ought to examine the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” because its meaning will only become clear when we apply Benson’s “cognitive scaffolding” to chapters in different books or epistles. There are two portions in the New Testament that deal with the dead and living in Christ within the paradigm of Paul of Tarsus’ revelation “I shew you a mystery,” and that is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4: 14-18.

If, as Paul Benson affirms, he only referred to the raising of the dead and their transformation to a glorified body, he would not have been able to call his new revelation a mystery because the Corinthian and Thessalonian Christians were thoroughly familiar with the resurrection of the body. It was the “in twinkling of an eye” change of the living saints and their transformation to glorified bodies (without dying) that was unfamiliar to them,  because it had never been revealed to the Church before. It only became fully known when Paul of Tarsus revealed it to his brethren.

Both 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 14 describe the Pre-tribulation Rapture. First Corinthians deals with the Pretribulation Rapture in terms of “in the twinkling of an eye,” whilst 1 Thessalonians 4 deals with the dead and the living in Christ being caught up in a flash to meet our Lord in the air. If Paul Benson’s “cognitive scaffolding” is a biblical principle of hermenetitcs, which I believe it is, then we should interpret both these passages as harmoniously complementary to one another. Therefore, we may safely say that the twinkling of an eye applies to the living saints in Christ in particular, and the catching up of both the resurrected saints and the transformation of the living saints in the twinkling of an eye to both these groups, which is going to transpire in a nanosecond or even less. On page 41 he states:

Resurrection and ascension are not the same event! Look at Jesus our example and forerunner. Think about it. Was his resurrection and ascension the same event? No, they were forty days apart! I don’t know how much time (a little or a lot) will be between ours; but the idea of the Church instantly vanishing has no foundation in the Word. Not ONE verse!

Of all the holes we have examined in Paul Benson’s bottomless bucket, the one thing that stands out like a sore thumb, is that he has absolutely no regard for proper semantics. His research, he boasts, is based purely on the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and yet with clockwork precision makes a whole series of boo-boos in his dealing with semantics. Let me say this again, and hopefully Paul Benson will listen this time. Paul’s mystery (musterion) with regard to the manner the resurrection at the Rapture is going to take place. was completely unknown in the Old Testament and even to Jesus Christ’s twelve disciples. It was only made known to the saints when God revealed it to Paul of Tarsus. Therefore, not even Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension can be used as an example to describe how the resurrection of the dead in Christ at the Rapture will take place.

However, let us for a moment assume there will be a gap of 40 days (give or take) between the resurrection of the dead and their translation or catching up to meet Jesus in the air, only to return immediately to the earth at Christ’s Second Coming. Let us also briefly accept Benson’s view that the “then” in verse 17 of 1 Thessalonians 14 does not convey synchronized immediacy but also a longer drawn out period no one is able to calculate. What then could we deduce from two 40-day intervals? A quick glance at this interpretation makes one believe that there are two indefinite interludes – one between the resurrection and translation of the dead in Christ and one following it of the living saints in Christ Jesus.

To make it easier, let’s assume both these intervals are each 40-day long gaps. What will it amount to? Well, firstly the resurrected saints will roam the earth in their glorified bodies for approximately 40 days before they are caught up. At least they won’t have to face the scourge of Antichrist’s persecution and decapitations, unless he finds a way to cause pain and suffering in their risen glorified bodies like unto that of Jesus, and even kill them again. In the meantime, the living saints in Christ will sadly have to endure Antichrist’s persecution for a further 40 days until their natural and earthbound bodies are also changed to be like that of Jesus.

Voila! Paul Benson effectively and tersely demonstrates his so-called biblically and Holy Spirit inspired knowledge when he again violates his own divine indictment of the satanic and cursed Pre-tribulation Rapture. On page 30 he writes:

FOOD 4 THOUGHT: Is God going to split the ‘one new man in Christ’ he created in half, and subject half to the (supposed) ‘wrath of God’ during the tribulation; but take the other half off to a wedding feast that only half the Bride is in attendance of? This is the kind of unreasonable conclusions Dispensational theology presents. When confronted with the Biblical truth of election the pre-trib theory becomes quite nonsensical. Many other aspects of this folly could be highlighted but I think you get the point.

Teachers serve an important function in the Church (I should know because I am one); but a teacher should only be confirming what the Spirit and the Word are already speaking to you (plus you can benefit from many hours of research and prayer condensed into a short teaching). God never intended for ‘education’ to replace the function of the Holy Spirit as teacher!

I don’t know who Paul Benson’s teacher is, but it cannot possibly be the Holy Spirit because He would never teach his students to thrive on contradictions, hypocrisy, poor semantics, nigh blasphemous statements, downright hatred, and ill-founded false doctrines. NEVER! Paul Benson abhors the alleged splitting in half of the one new man in Christ, and the subjection of the one half to the (supposed) wrath of God during the tribulation, but, lo and behold, he has no qualms to split the deceased saints and the living saints in Christ in half of whom the latter will be subjected to the tribulation and the glorified risen saints will escape (pun intended) it, for at least 40 to 80 days before their ascension. Should we be surprised at Benson’s non-Holy Spirit shenanigans? I don’t think so because false teachers usually believe they are led and taught by the Holy Spirit whilst they are actually led and taught by another spirit. As you may have noticed, it leads to a haughty attitude of sheer hypocrisy.

Benson’s Snippet #3: “Of that day and hour knoweth no man”

This is one of the rare moments in Benson’s book where we can actually agree with him, at any rate, partially. In his assessment of Matthew 24:36, he says:

This verse comes from a context clearly speaking of the Second Coming of Christ. Try as you might you will not find the phrase ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man’ used in regard to a pre-trib rapture. You will only find it used to specifically refer to the Second Coming!

He is spot on. However, the reason he offers is not so convincing. He wants it to say, “No man knows the day or hour of the pre-trib rapture event!” which again exposes his hypocrisy to apply his own “cognitive scaffolding” rule to his research on the Pre-tribulation Rapture or any other biblical subject. Matthew 24:36 does in fact refer to Christ’s Second Coming and not the Pre-tribulation Rapture. Surprisingly, it refers to no rapture in any shape of form, because there is no such thing as a rapture at Christ’s Second Coming, only a return of the saints who had been caught up to meet Him in the air seven years earlier, coming back together with Him when He sets foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Jude 1:14).

The Post-tribulation belief that Matthew 34:31 is an event portraying the catching away of the elect from the realm of the earth to a place somewhere in the air, and their immediate return to the earth with Christ at his Second Advent, is not correct. It depicts the gathering of the surviving Jews (the elect) whom the angels will bring from the four corners of the earth to Jerusalem to meet their long-awaited Messiah. The word “harpazo” (to seize, carry off by force; to seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly; to snatch out or away) does not appear in Matthew 24.

Ironically, Benson single-mindedly defends the notion that the phrase “of that hour knoweth no man” has no relation to the Pre-tribulation Rapture because “this verse comes from a context clearly speaking of the Second Coming of Christ.” Yet, he conveniently assigns it to his own views of a rapture which he believes occurs simultaneously with the Second Coming of Christ. On page 21 he writes:

Then the wheat being accepted and received. Just as the wheat once freed from its chaff was received by the farmer so will we now be fit to be gathered unto Christ as he awaits us in the air at his Second Coming!

Then the husbandman returns to the field and burns it (along with the tares). After the harvest and in-gathering the farmer would return to burn his field to destroy the bad seed (tares), purify the field, and prepare it for the new season to come. In like manner Jesus will descend to earth, after the resurrection /catching away at his Second Coming, and purge this evil world by fire, preparing it for a new era!

The resurrection and catching away of the Church at the Second Coming (and the fiery vengeance poured out at that time) fit the prophetic picture of the parable of the wheat and tares like a tailor-made glove! And why shouldn’t this be so? Both are plainly described to us in the Bible! But any other scenario (pre-trib, midtrib, no-trib or what-have-you) are, as we have seen, not according to the prophetic pattern given us by this parable. And thus should be rejected outright.

Benson reminds me of a game we used to play as children. There was this kid who, whenever we played cowboys and crooks, used to say to us, “Listen up, you varmints, when I shoot you, you must fall down, but when you shoot me I will not fall down because I am the cowboy. Now, let’s get on with it and make sure you get it right, or else.”

Benson’s Snippet #4: “One Shall be Taken and the Other Left.”

On page 43 Paul Benson writes:

How can people engage in such duplicitous practices and not be bothered by it? The pre-trib theory is chock full of such conflicting ideas! Want to get rid of all that conflicting theory? Teach ONE catching away of the Church at ONE time: The Second Coming! That is what the Bible teaches!

Here’s a question for Paul Benson, and hopefully he will answer it. Are these also ONE time and instantaneously simultaneous events with the Second Coming of Christ — the Bema Throne judgment, the Marriage of the Lamb and the Marriage Supper? The Bema Throne judgment of believers is one of the most important events on the Church’s calendar. Guess what? Paul Benson never even once mentions it in his book. Why would he ignore one of the most magnanimous events for the Church? We dare not circumvent or set aside the Bema Throne judgment of Christ for believers as a non-event because it helps us to determine when the rapture and the marriage of the Lamb are going to take place.

According to Luke 14:14, the reward of the just accompanies the resurrection of the believers, and since 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 confirms that the resurrection is an indispensable part of the translation, reward must then also be part of that programme. Consequently, when the Lord returns with his wedded bride to the earth at his Second Advent, she must already be rewarded. Revelation 19:8 confirms this as an irrefutable fact, and here again I urge Paul Benson to take the semantics into account.

The word “dikaiōma” is in the plural and, therefore, cannot be interpreted as the imparted righteousness of Christ to those who believe, but to their righteousnes (righteous acts or deeds) which have withstood the test or examination by fire at the Bema Throne Judgement and have become the basis for their reward. We find this scene in heaven beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 3.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Two sets of deeds appear to be Paul’s focus in this passage, those that are indestructible and others that are destructible. Whilst the first, gold, silver and precious stone cannot be destroyed by fire, wood, hay and stubble are easily burned to ashes. The first set of deeds are wrought in and through believers by the Holy Spirit and the second by man’s own efforts through the flesh (John 6:63). The Bible mentions five areas of reward.

1. An incorruptible crown for believers who gain mastery over the old man (their inborn carnality) (1 Corinthians 9:25).
2. A crown of rejoicing for the soul winners (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
3. A crown of life for believers who endure their trials (James 1:12).
4. A crown of righteousness for believers who love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).
5. A crown of glory for being willing to feed the flock of God with sound doctrine (1 Peter 5:4).

None of these rewards are for the glorification of the believers but for the glory and honour of Him who redeemed us with his blood. Sinners are redeemed in order that they may bring glory to God. In Revelation 4:10 we get a glimpse of this when the elders cast their crowns before the throne in worship and adoration of God the Trinity. We can only surmise with amazement why Paul Benson never mentions the Bema Throne Judgment in his book. Is it because it proves to perfection that the Pre-tribulation Rapture is the only feasible explanation for when and where the marriage of the Lamb will take place?

Brother John tells us that the Marriage of the Lamb and his bride will take place in heaven in Revelation 19:7. Once again, I may add, proper semantics help us to understand both the Marriage of the Lamb and the Supper of the Lamb in their proper context. The phrase, “The Marriage of the Lamb is come” (not “has come”) clarifies it for us with divine meticulousness. The aorist tense “elthen,” translated “is come” signifies an already completed act or occasion and proves that the marriage will have already been consummated when Jesus Christ appears at his Second Advent to the earth. The Marriage of the Lamb is an event that relates to the Church and the Marriage Supper, which will occur on earth during Christ’s entire reign of peace on earth for a thousand years, relates particularly to Israel.

Benson’s Snippet #5: “As a thief in the night”

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10).

One of Paul Benson’s most serious errors is, as I have shown so often in this series, is his misunderstanding and misapplication of words. In this instance his error relates to the word “day” in the phrase’ “day of the Lord.” He is clearly trying to convince his readers that “day” is a 24-hour period. To make his arguments against a Pre-tribulation Rapture viable and acceptable, he quotes several passages where “thief in the night” appears, i.e. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to 5:3; Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-30), and argues as follows:

Now back to our stolen snippet. Once again, we see in 1Thess 5:2 the phrase ‘like a thief in the night’ was also used here in regard to the Second Coming. But where does the Bible use it to speak of a pre-trib rapture? It doesn’t! Both times this phrase is used (2Peter 3:10 and 1Thess 5:2) it is directly tied to the sudden destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming. The pre-trib rapture does NOT in any way present such a picture! This distinctly shows how bogus it is to claim the phrase is a reference to their unworkable theory. Remarkably, in verses 4:16 thru 5:11 of 1Thessalonians (clearly dealing with the Second Coming) we find not one, but THREE phrases which are hi-jacked from this context and deceptively applied to the pre-trib teaching!

I have frequently revealed how Paul Benson accuses Pre-tribulationists of stealing snippets from his so-called Second Coming passages whilst he himself rapturously and precariously violates his own rules of engagement. No one in his right mind will interpret the phrase “For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonans 5:3) in terms of the Second Coming of Christ, which he believes occurs instantaneously and simultaneously with a Post-tribulation Rapture. Neither the Old testament prophets nor the New Testament apostles wrote about a time of peace trailed by destruction, mayhem and turmoil in the event of Christ’s Second Coming to the earth.

The final destruction of the wicked will not take place at Christ’s Second Coming, but a thousand years later (Revelation 20:7-15). Neither is the destruction to which brother Peter refers to in 2 Peter 3:10 the destruction of the wicked at Christ’s Second Coming. He is not going to destroy the old creation at his Second Coming. He will do so after his thousand years reign of peace on earth (Revelation 21). So, neither one of the “thief in the night” references in 2 Peter 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 can be interpreted as an event that occurs on same day together with Christ’s Second Coming.

The prophet Daniel predicted that Antichrist would be the one to engage in a peace treaty with Israel and eventually trigger destruction the world has never seen before or will experience ever again (Daniel 8:23-25; Matthew 24:21). The rebuilding of the third temple in Jerusalem during Daniel’s seventieth week will be one of the results of Antichrist’s peace covenant with Israel (John 5:43). Will Antichrist only appear on the world scene when Christ returns at his Second Coming? Perish the thought. He will appear shortly after the Pre-tribulation Rapture and soon after Daniel’s seventieth week is set in motion. At first, things will seem very peaceable and calm when, as Paul wrote, sudden destruction will come upon the entire world population. Paul Benson’s “same day” view of destruction of the wicked cannot and will not stand the test of biblical prophecy. He writes on page 45:

. . . a tie clearly shown also by Jesus comparing the rescue of the righteous and the immediately ensuing destruction of the wicked at his Second Coming to the same pattern shown in the story of Noah and Lot. Same day – sudden destruction! Matt. 24:37-39, Luke 17:26-30).

If the “day of the Lord” pertains to a single or same day of 24-hours, then Paul Benson must explain how long the “shabua” (week) is in Daniel’s prophecy of 70 times 7 weeks in Daniel 9:24-27. If the “day” in 2 Peter 3:10 is a 24-hour period, then the week in Daniel must be a seven-day period. The “Day of the Lord” is that period which begins with the Lord Jesus Christ appearing for his bride before the seventieth week of Daniel as a “thief in the night,” and includes the seven-year tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week), as well as the Millennial Kingdom on earth, until Jesus delivers it over to his Father when the new heavens and the new earth will be created.

Paul Benson insists that the Church (Body of Christ) must go through the seventieth week of Daniel to prepare her for the Second Coming of Christ. There is no such thing. Israel as a nation will need preparation for his coming and not the bride of Christ. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Himself declared that Israel, and not the Church (Bride of Christ) will be in need of preparation for his coming to the earth (not the Rapture).

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance], so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse [of complete destruction].” (Malachi 4:5-6).

Luke 1:17 identifies John the Baptist as the one who came in the “spirit and power of Elias” to prepare the people of Israel for the first coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus confirms it in Mark 9:12-13.

He answered them, “Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]? But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come [already], and they [a]did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written [in Scripture] of him.”

And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfilment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom]. (Matthew 11:14)

Sadly, Israel’s religious hierarchy and the majority of the nation of Israel rejected their King. John the Baptist was beheaded, and Jesus crucified. As a result, the unbelieving Jews were cut off from the Olive Tree and the remaining Jewish believers were baptized into the body of Christ together with all the Gentile believers to form one man in Christ. However, there is another person who, like John the Baptist, will come in the spirit and power of Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord, to prepare a remnant of Israel for the coming of their King. The bride of Christ needs no such ministry of preparation because she is already without spot and wrinkle through the washing of the blood of Christ.

To propose that she must experience persecution and suffering during the seven-year tribulation in order to purify her and prepare her for the Second Coming of Christ is akin to the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory and an outright denial of the efficacy of Christ’s blood. (Romans 8:1-3). The testing of “earth dwellers” and the preparation of the remnant of the nation of Israel for their King have absolutely no relation to the Bride of Christ whatsoever. Therefore, we must conclude that she will not be in the seventieth week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27). Note that Daniel unequivocally declares that the seventieth week (seven-year tribulation) is determined on his people (the Jews and not the Church).

Benson’s Snippet #6: “Shall be caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air”

The overall content of Paul Benson’s book is replete with jabbing, derision, mockery and even hatred of Christ’s doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture. Through his sheer lack of thorough research, proper hermeneutics, and sound contextualization, he relentlessly relies on unproven statements and “jabbing,” as he puts it.

Also in this same contextual discussion in 1Thessalonians we see the popular phrase ‘shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air’. But, considering the true subject of the context in discussion, to state this phrase is talking about a pre-trib rapture is absolute falsehood! Even most pre-trib believing theologians will (if pressed) admit this is not a pre-trib passage, but few include that fact in their teachings (for obvious reasons).

Amazingly, this is the very verse (v.17) from which the catchy name ‘Rapture’ was derived! I guess it goes something like this: Caught-up (English) = Harpodzo (Greek) = rapturio (Latin) = Rapture (English) so Yee-haw! (Montana Redneck). Sorry, I could not resist the jab. But quite the linguistic gymnastics that was employed to concoct a flashy new name for their new doctrine! (And it very much IS a modern not a historical doctrine.)

Please briefly ponder the fact this context about the Second Coming we are discussing is the only place in the Bible this phrase on the catching away is found! DO you get the significance of that? I mean SERIOUSLY! Think about that! The name rapture came from a passage of the Bible clearly discussing the Second Coming of Christ and the catching away of the Church at that time! It comes from a stolen snippet! Even the very name ‘rapture’ cannot be tied to the pre- trib theory by the Scriptures! What a joke that is! Excuse me but I find that quite laughable!

Does his railing against the Pre-tribulation Rapture in the above quote prove anything? No, of course not. It is merely a senseless load of nonsense, and I can prove it. He claims to have made a wonderful discovery. The linguistic gymnastics, he says, is a concoction of English, Greek and Latin words to arrive at a flashy new name “the Rapture,” which, he says, is a stolen snippet from the Second Coming of Christ – “so Yee-haw! (Montana Redneck).”

Show me a single instance in the Bible where the phrase “Second Coming of Christ” appears; not one Zilch, nada. There are three words the Holy Spirit uses in reference to Christ’s return of which “Parousia” occurs more frequently. It appears 24 times in the New Testament in passages describing the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 4:15; 5:23; Thessalonians 2:1; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 3:4; 1 John 2:28) and the Second Coming (Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Peter 1:16). The article “the” and the adjective “second” do not appear even once in any of these verses. So, where does the terminology “The Second Coming of Christ” come from?

It is common practice in etymology to develop (not change) a word into something readers find plainer than the original word, especially those words that describe something unique and need to be articulated more precisely to distinguish them from the same words in different contexts. The word “harpazo,” for instance, appears 13 times in the New Testament of which two or three refer to a catching away by divine intervention (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 12:5). The other instances are in Matthew 11:12; 13:9; John 6:15; 10:12, 28-29; Acts 8:39; 23:10; 2 Corinthians 12: 2, 4; Jude 1:23). The same etymological rule applies to the word “Parousia.”

The strict etymological meaning of the word is “to be near” or “alongside.” It denotes “presence” in the sense of presence being brought about by the coming or appearing of an individual. Although the phrase “The Second Coming of Christ” does not appear in the Bible, it has been developed into an etymological term which is very similar to the development of the word “catching away” into “The Rapture.” As such we can very easily accuse Paul Benson of stealing snippets from passages relating to “The Rapture” to validate his own “The Second Coming of Christ.” “Do you get the significance of that? I mean SERIOUSLY! Think about that!” as Benson would say.

Benson’s Snippet #7: “God hath not appointed us to wrath”

Paul Benson limits the wrath of God to the event of Christ’s Second Advent to the earth at the end of the seven-year tribulation. He must do this to accommodate verse 9 of 1 Thessalonians 4. If the entire seven-year tribulation (seventieth week of Daniel) is not God’s wrath (judgments) poured out on the world, whose wrath is it – Satan’s wrath, Antichrist’s wrath, the false prophet’s wrath?

In that case we will have to excommunicate Jesus from the magnanimous task to open the seven seal judgments right at the beginning of the seven- year tribulation, and employ either Satan, the Antichrist, or the false prophet to open the seven seals. It makes me very angry, and so too it should you, because the false doctrine of a Post- tribulation Rapture very subtly demeans, vilifies and disgraces Jesus Christ and his office as the Lamb of God. Listen to this again and tell me whether “The Lamb of God” designation can be applied to Satan, the Antichrist or the false prophet.

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:1-10).

Now, exchange the word “Lamb” with either Satan, the Antichrist or the false prophet and you will realize with shock how blasphemous it is to deny that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is the only worthy Person to set God’s judgments (wrath) in motion right at the beginning of the seven-year tribulation (seventieth week of Daniel). Yet, Paul Benson writes on page 47:

And within this context we find the phrase ‘God has not appointed us to wrath’. Although this phrase is commonly attributed to the (supposed) wrath of the tribulation period, here we clearly see it is in reference to the wrath of God poured out at the Second Coming. We will not suffer that wrath as we will have been gathered unto Christ at his Return! Once again a snippet of verse has been stolen away from its context, assigned an altered meaning, and then misapplied to prop up a feeble fable.

Evidence Of A Hoax!

The pre-trib rapture teaching is just one of many falsehoods of this day that utilizes stolen snippets, unsupported claims, and even subtle lies to seduce the undiscerning into accepting it as truth. It boggles my mind that such evident trickery in its promotion goes unnoticed (or deliberately overlooked) by so many. What do you think of all these purloined verses being used to promote this fable of escapism? Does not this testify of deception to you? How could we see such evident mistreatment of Scripture and not be alarmed? But sadly some sleep so soundly not even an alarm clock could wake them.

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See:

According to the ‘Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings’ this proverb has been traced back to 1546 (John Heywood), and resembles the Biblical verse Jeremiah 5:21 (‘Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not’). In 1738 it was used by Jonathan Swift in his ‘Polite Conversation’ and is first attested in the United States in the 1713 ‘Works of Thomas Chalkley’. The full saying is: ‘There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.’

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