Study – Grow – Know

Steve Fletcher Says We are IN the Tribulation, But Are We?

April 25, 2014 at 1:30 PM 5 comments

Steve Fletcher sent me another one of his articles without me asking for it. Because of that, I feel an obligation to comment on it. I don’t do this because I’m “into” it or because I take joy in it. I do it because he sought me out. I’ve also asked him to stop sending me his articles.

It is really frustrating to see an individual like this continue as though nothing was wrong, in spite of the fact that he continues to twist Scripture so far out of joint that it doesn’t even resemble anything like what God intended. I realize that there are those who would argue that I am being arrogant and how dare I decide what God really meant. If they believe that, then clearly, they can’t really believe anything at all. The Bible says one thing or it says nothing.

God had an intended meaning when He prompted human beings to write His Word. Determining His meaning is most definitely a lifelong endeavor. But God actually wants us to know His mind at least on the things He has revealed. He doesn’t want us guessing or making things up to suit our own beliefs.

Fletcher’s latest article is titled “There are PROPHECY LOVERS everywhere… but not many LOVERS OF FULFILLED PROPHECY!” From there, he presents his thesis statement, which essentially amounts to his belief that people love prophecy, but do people really love prophecy that’s been fulfilled? He tries to prove this by stating that – for instance – he hears that the Rapture is going to happen at the 6th Seal but no one can know for sure.

Further, he believes that many of the seals, trumpets, and bowls from the book of Revelation have already occurred in the past.

For those who would say the seals and trumpets are all still in the future, then all these world disasters that have happened in the past were nothing, not even warnings, not even precursors… and they fulfilled no prophecies. 2000 years have passed since John wrote Revelation and we are still waiting for the first seal to open… and it won´t happen until after we are gone… SO IT DOESN´T MATTER!

The problem of course, is that according to Daniel 9:27, none of these things can happen until the Tribulation begins. The Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist (the “he” in verse 27) brokers some sort of agreement or covenant. The text says he will confirm a covenant.

The Tribulation period is referred to in many ways in the biblical record. It is called the “Day of the Lord,” the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” and other things besides. The deep sense that we get from the many books of the Old Testament is that this coming time of Tribulation is specifically designed to purify the nation of Israel. It is also recognized as God pouring out His wrath on the world, much the way He poured out His wrath on Sodom and Gomorrah, or the entire world during the Great Flood. In both cases, many, many people died, but some were saved.

If the Tribulation is mainly God pouring out His wrath on the world, then we have to ask what caused it? Certainly, we can look around the world today and rightly declare that if God were going to destroy the world now, He would be within His right to do so. But there appears to be a specific event that causes the start of the Tribulation and again, going back to Daniel 9:27, we learn that immediately after the covenant with “the many” (Israel’s leaders) is confirmed, the last week of the 70 weeks begins.

Why does this event kick off the Tribulation? What about it is the very event that removes the last shred of God’s patience? It is because the Antichrist is the one confirming the covenant with Israel. In essence then, Antichrist – standing in for Satan – brings about a covenant with Israel in which Israel signs on the dotted line with Satan himself!

The Israeli nation literally sells their soul to Satan. They only think that they are working with the “messiah,” but because of their lack of discernment, they are entering into a covenant with the devil. It is this event that is so powerfully anti-God that forces God to open the floodgates of His wrath.

But Steve Fletcher doesn’t see this at all. For him, it’s “all about the math” and he firmly believes that numerous individual judgments described in the book of Revelation as belonging to the Tribulation have already occurred. That means that, according to him, the Tribulation has begun.

Fletcher goes onto point out the famines, the world wars, the crusades, and other things that have occurred in history. He emphatically states that famine is the 3rd Seal. Yes, it is, but the problem is that if were to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, he might see the truth. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus pointed out something that Steve apparently misses completely (or reinterprets to mean something else).

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains,” (Matthew 24:6-8)

Please notice that Jesus says that

• nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom
• famines and earthquakes will occur in various places
• these are the beginning of birth pangs

The phrase “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” is – according to Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum – a Jewish idiom that means “world war.” World War I took place in the early part of the 1900s, followed a few years later by WWII.

In his article, Steve points to some great famines that occurred and most of them happened to occur right around the time of our world wars. That is not unusual. Earthquakes have also been increasing. Jesus’ point is not that the Tribulation has begun, but that the beginning of birth pangs have begun.

I discuss all these things in my book, “Between Weeks,” which can be downloaded FREE from my website. I would encourage you to download it and read it, comparing it to Scripture.

Steve has very little understanding about prophetic events. Instead of focusing on the fact that people need Jesus, he is focused on events and times of the seasons. Those in Jesus already have a wonderful and eternal hope. Whether the Rapture happens at all, or in my lifetime is really not a big deal.

Steve Fletcher is emphasizing the wrong thing. He should be evangelizing the lost, not trying to convince those who are allegedly saved that the Rapture is right around the corner.

Let’s continue to pray for Steve Fletcher, that the Lord would either open his eyes to the fallacies he is teaching, that He would help Steve to see that he needs to be more evangelistic in nature, not prophetic, or that the Lord would do whatever is best for His own glory in this situation.

Entry filed under: rapture, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, second coming. Tags: are we in tribulation?, steve fletcher.