A revised view of the pretrib rapture

Some folks will look at these effects and notice how similar they are to the effects that occur later in the Revelation (Rev 16:18-20) and also the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24:29-31). As a result they place the timing of the removal of the sixth seal to coincide with these other events. Though they look similar, a careful reading shows that they are in fact not the same effects. More on that later. These effects result from the removal of the sixth seal from the scroll. I believe they will result from the same cataclysmic event, which I believe is the rapture. Though I do concede that these events may not all happen at the same time, they could be spread out over time, by weeks or even months.

You have a great earthquake, in scripture, earthquakes often accompany resurrection events.

You have the sun appearing blackened as if it is covered with sackcloth made of hair. Now sackcloth was made of animal hair, typically goat hair, which is very course. People made sacks from it,hence the name, but they would also wear it during times of mourning, because it kept the wearer in a constant state of discomfort. It was rough and itchy. It had a loose weave, and light could penetrate through it. So when John describes the sun in this way, it is not completely darkened like it is at the time of Christ's visible return at the end of the 70th week. It also doesn't seem to be caused by an eclipse but rather by some environmental factor, such as smoke, or even ash from a volcanic eruption , it could also be the result of the stars falling, as in meteor or asteroid collisions with the earth? Here's an interesting about a "dark" day that occurred in the 18th century.  www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18097177

The whole moon became like blood. This too is a moon that is still visible, though darkened, it is not devoid of light. Note that because John describes the moon as "whole" that the timing of this event occurs at the full moon. A blood red moon can also be caused by other factors other than an eclipse, it can also be caused by ash particles suspended in the air. 

Stars fall from the sky to earth. Stars are sometimes symbolic for people or angelic entities in scripture. But I would suggest that this is a physical visible effect on earth, they may be meteors or asteroids. It seems that there are many but not an abundance, the passage says that they fall like unripe figs fall from a tree shaken by a great wind. This could also be a clue as to what time of year this may happen, unripe figs would show a fig tree of spring. Interestingly Jesus shares the parable of the fig tree in connection with events of the end times and His return. That fig tree is also depicted as a tree in springtime. 

The sky is split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up. The parallel passage to this is in Isaiah

Because this sign is shown here in Isaiah in connection with the Lord's return to earth, many again place the sixth seal's removal at the end of the 70th week. But you will notice that the analogy of the fig tree is somewhat different. Th e Isaiah passage shows a fig tree in the fall, a post harvest tree, whereas the 6th seal shows a pre-harvest tree of spring. Now perhaps I take this analogy a bit too far, but it is true that scripture uses the fig tree to symbolize the nation of Israel (Jer 24:1-10, Hosea 9:10, ) Jesus curses the fig tree (Mark 11: 13-14) and most commentaries say that this corresponds to the idea that the nation of Israel failed to bear spiritual fruit, by rejecting their savior. The fig tree at the opening of the sixth seal may depict the nation of Israel in it's pre-harvest condition before the events of the tribulation produce spiritual fruit. Whereas the events at the end of the 70th week, show Israel in a post harvest condition, after it has yielded its spiritual fruit. I believe that there is a reason that the events of the sixth seal and this passage in Isaiah are so similar and yet analogous to different seasons of the fig tree. That reason is because they are in fact different events. More on this idea in my next post. What the sky being split actually is, I cannot say, some say a nuclear bomb. I tend to believe that people on earth will actually get a glimpse of heaven opened up to receive the body of Christ. When Jesus was "caught up" at His ascension, people witnessed it. They saw Jesus being received by a cloud. Moses saw into the heavenly throne room on mount Sinai. Contrary to what many scholars think, I do not think the rapture will be a secret event, I think people on earth will see something- the sky will be split. They may not understand what they are seeing and misinterpret it to mean something else,or even be deceived into believing it is something else happening.   

Every mountain and Island are moved from their place- this may be the result of the great earthquake, it is a fact that earthquakes cause land masses to shift from their places. The 2011 earthquake in Japan for instance, moved its coastline 8 feet. It also caused a slight shift in the earth's axis (6.5 inches), shortening the day by about 2 microseconds. Imagine a global earthquake, one can only imagine what kind of impact this could have on the earth. This earthquake however will pale in comparison to the one that occurs later in the 70th week.
 
Note the difference in the description here. It is described as the greatest earthquake to ever happen, causing the "great city" to be split into three parts, nations fall, every island flees, they don't just move from their place, they run as if escaping, the mountains are not found, they completely disappear. Now Islands and mountains can also be used metaphorically in scripture to describe nations and kingdoms. Whether or not these are allegorical descriptors matters not, it is what we see happening to these islands and mountains that is relevant to show the differences in events. At the sixth seal they are moved from their places, after the pouring of the seventh bowl the run away, and are no longer found. A striking difference in terms. 


To be cont'd as time allows