CAN ANYONE PLEASE ANSWER ME THIS: Is there a pre-tribulation rapture?  Before the seven years of tribulation???  I would highly appreciate if you could e-mail me and also post it on here for everyone else.  God bless.

Sincerely,
Rapt Attention

Dear Rapt Attention,

The word ‘rapture’ means ‘caught up’ in Latin.  The term ‘rapture’ is used to describe an event that many think will take place right before the days of tribulation in Revelation.  The problem with this theory is that it is wrong.  There will be a time when all christians will be caught up into the air to be with Christ – the end of time (1 Thess 4:14-18).  The book of Revelation doesn’t describe events in the future; it describes events in the past.  The book of Revelation deals with problems that the church was to “shortly” see come to pass (Rev 1:1).

Furthermore, the tribulation taught by many denominations is based off of a misinterpretation of Matthew chapter twenty-four.  Matt 24 is dealing with the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Jewish temple that would happen in 70 AD.  If we carefully pay attention to the context, Jesus is talking about the Jewish temple’s destruction, not a worldwide trial thousands of years in the future (Matt 24:1-2).  Jesus specifically said that the tribulation would occur within that generation’s lifetime (Matt 24:34).

There will be a day when all the faithful are caught up to meet Christ in the heavens.  The day He returns (Acts 1:11), all mankind will be judged at the same time (Jhn 5:28-29).  In that great day (Jude 1:6), the whole world will be burned up with fire (2 Pet 3:10-12).  There will be no post-tribulation, pre-tribulation, semi-tribulation, etc.; there will only be the great Day of Judgment (2 Pet 3:7, 1 Jn 4:17).

I am a twenty-four-year-old wife and mother of two.  My husband and I have been together for five years, some good, a lot of pain.  We lived in Oregon for a couple years of our marriage, and during that time, we had our daughter, and my marriage was very painful.  He always hangs out with friends that don't care about married people (or women for that matter), and they would gladly give him drugs to use and bring him to strip clubs and worse.  Well, his friend had to go to Iraq, and he said he realized that our marriage was down the drain and that I couldn't take it anymore, so we moved to Colorado where his family lives to get away from the people and things that kept bringing him down.  Things were great in Colorado.  He was treating me like I was worth something.  Well, his friend that went to Iraq got back, and magically, we had to move back to Oregon for his schooling because he can't handle online classes anymore.  He promised he wouldn't hang out with old people or do old things again.  Well, we have only been here a week and half, and he has left every day so far to hang out with these guys at bars and who knows where else, coming home late every night, telling me to just be cool with things and stop being his mom all the time.  I don't know what to do because it is too much.  What should I do?  I'm really losing my mind and don't have a friend in him anymore.  He just tells me I am psycho and crazy and I need to stop being so stupid because I am the one that changed.  When I cry, he just tells me to shut up because crying won't make me get my way.  I don't do it on purpose; I try to hold it in, but the loneliness is killing me.  What is a christian wife supposed to do?  I've been praying like crazy, but nothing is getting better.

Sincerely,
Missing Colorado

Dear Missing Colorado,

There are no easy answers to the struggle you are going through.  Your question was "what can a christian wife do?", and we will do our best to answer that specific question and leave all counseling to those in a better position to help.  You have two options, and neither of them is a smooth road.

Option #1 - Remain with him and plant your feet.  1 Pet 3:1 says that your example of faithfulness and godliness has a chance of winning your husband over.  Don't accept immoral behavior, but in everything else, be subject to him and show kindness and respect.  Overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21).  Every time you act in a loving and righteous manner toward him, it will heap coals upon his head, and it will hurt his conscience (Rom 12:19-20).

Option #2 - You cannot divorce him unless he has committed adultery, but you can be separated (1 Cor 7:10-11).  If his behavior is so detrimental to your children and life that you can no longer live faithfully toward God in such an environment, you can separate from him.  If you do this, you must remain unmarried and seek in every way to reconcile with him if he shows a willingness to change his ways.  This second option is a choice of last resort.

Either road is difficult, but the first option is Biblically preferable.  If you two can find and get counseling – do so.  We would be happy to point you in the direction of a faithful counselor/preacher in your area if you would like.  Simply e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.  We are so sorry to hear of your struggles and trials.  May God bless you as you seek to be faithful to Him above all else.

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

Is it wrong for me to keep praying for the same thing I've already prayed for?

Sincerely,
Don’t Want To Be A Bother

Dear Don’t Want To Be A Bother,

Absolutely not.  Feel free to pray for the same thing as often as you’d like.  Jesus gives the example of the widow and the unrighteous judge as the standard for repetition in prayer.  In Lk 18:1-7, we are told to always pray and never grow weary in it.  Samuel said that he would never cease to pray for the good will of Israel (1 Sam 12:23).  Jesus says to pray constantly for our daily bread (Lk 11:3).  Both of these are examples of repetitive prayer.  Lk 11:5-8 explains that prayer is like constantly knocking at a door until the homeowner gets up to answer.  As long as we preface our wishes with a willingness to submit to God’s will (1 Jn 5:14-15) – we should keep on praying.

When is all the misery going to go away?

Sincerely,
In Anguish

Dear In Anguish,

When we get home.  Some questions that we receive here at AYP really do break our hearts – perhaps none more than this one.  Suffering is one of the most poignant experiences of human existence, and all the great men and women of the Bible faced it.  David said that his bed swam with tears many nights (Ps 6:6-7).  He also said that his sorrow was continually before him (Ps 38:17).  Isa 53:3 calls Jesus the “Man of Sorrows”.  Suffering is a constant reminder that this world is not our home and that our spirits will someday rise upward to meet our God (Eccl 3:19-21).  All of God’s faithful are strangers and pilgrims on this planet (Heb 11:13).

We cannot imagine what you are going through; you alone know your heart’s grief (Pr 14:10).  There is hope.  Trials can make us stronger if we reach out to the Lord (Rom 5:3-5).  If there is anything we can do, or if we can put you in contact with a faithful congregation that could buoy you up and prepare you for heaven, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.