The Great Economic Crash!?
This is it! This is the beginning of the great financial collapse that’s going to send the world into Tribulation—the last seven years leading to Christ’s return, the last three and a half of which will be the worst time in human history, according to Jesus Himself (Matthew 24:21).
This is the apparent belief of some who study Bible prophecy and completely dismiss any notion that the Bible teaches a pre-Trib Rapture that will keep believers in Jesus Christ out of that terrible time the Lord warned about. Those who adamantly proclaim there will be no pre-Trib Rapture, or that there will be a mid-Trib Rapture, imply that now is the beginning of the Tribulation. Or, they believe the world is at least entering the portal that will lead into that last seven years the book of Revelation covers by giving twenty-one specific judgments in a series of seven scrolls, seven trumpets, and seven bowls or vials.
All of this dire assessment is, of course, based on the turmoil stirred by the tariffs threatened against America’s worldwide trading partners for not treating the US fairly. The stock market has been fluctuating wildly, with nations threatening retaliation, causing panic within the world of economy and finance. The dire analysis reverberates within the no-pre-Trib sphere, to be sure.
Two articles posted on Raptureready.com more or less frame this “we-are-now-entering-the-Tribulation-era” view that ignores the great mystery revealed through the Apostle Paul about the Rapture of the Church (all born-again believers in Christ for salvation).
Here are the prompts linking to the stories on Rapture Ready News on April 8, 2025. The stories are products of a writer who covers news from a biblically prophetic perspective, for the most part:
We Are Witnessing “Lehman-Style Margin Calls” in the Aftermath of the Biggest Stock Market Wipeout in U.S. History
We have never seen so much stock market wealth get wiped out in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, many major players on Wall Street that made a ton of money on the way up were not prepared for a rapid reversal of this magnitude. All of a sudden, hedge funds are being hit with absolutely enormous margin calls, and this threatens to create a “doom loop” which could potentially push stock prices a whole lot lower.
The second such prompt linking to the full story is the following:
This May Not Be What They Were Originally Anticipating, but a “Reset” of the Global Economy Is Definitely Here
Over the past few years there has been a tremendous amount of buzz about an imminent “reset” of the global economy. Well, what we are witnessing may not look like what they were anticipating, but a “reset” of the global economy is definitely here.
The article’s writer (who covers issues and events such as the world’s economy as it might pertain to Bible prophecy fulfillment, and who, for the most part, does so very well) always points to the Tribulation, never to the blessed hope of the Rapture. This troubles me, of course, because that consistent perspective, which never includes God’s promises of Rapture, diminishes our Lord’s truth about things to come.
Jesus said in no uncertain terms that at the time He next catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of wicked, rebellious humankind, there will be no worldwide economic disaster in progress. The Lord said business will be doing well, perhaps even booming. He said it will be exactly like it was in Lot’s day when that “righteous man” was removed to safety (Luke 17:28-30). God will call all believers out of a totally debauched society and culture like that of Lot’s day while building, planting, buying, and selling are taking place–indicating a strong commerce at that future time.
He will take them to a place of rescue, just like He did Lot and his daughters because Lot was seen as righteous in His holy eyes. All believers in Jesus Christ will be removed from this planet before all of the disastrous judgments of the Tribulation begin. That’s what we must take from Christ’s words in the “days of Lot” prophecy.
Get it? Economy will be business as usual when Christ calls us into the clouds of Glory. No matter what the wild world financial markets indicate—or what any other indicator flashes before the panicked eyes of the financial gurus—the economy will be business as usual.
While in the process of writing this article, the news came that despite the fact that the direst warnings of financial collapse imaginable were in every headline of significance, the Dow had gone up 2,500 points. This due to President Trump putting a ninety-day pause on all tariffs he had previously said the US would impose. In addition, it was reported that the tariffs will likely be only 10 percent across the board (not the tremendously higher percentages) on all nations (more than one hundred at this time) that had not retaliated against America wanting a fair balance of trade with the nations of the world.
China, at the time of the report, would have a 125 percent tariff for engaging in war against the Trump tariff initiatives for fair and balanced trade. (It later went to 145 percent on China.)
This president—and I give him credit only because he is, unwittingly, being used as God’s human agency in keeping Heaven’s control on matters as the end of the age approaches—is a negotiator like no other. Trump, as I’ve often expressed in these commentaries, is, I am convicted, not a godly man, but God’s man for this late hour of the age.
It should be obvious to any serious student of world economic matters, and of America’s economy in particular, that there are forces that have done all within their power to bring the world into financial collapse in order to reshape—“reset”—things so their power base might control all things, especially all things of the fiscal order.
One of the most respected Wall Street types weighs in on all of this:
Mark Spitznagel, one of Wall Street’s most prominent skeptics, is sounding the alarm once again—insisting that the recent market volatility is not the long-awaited reckoning he has been predicting for years but rather a harbinger of something far worse.
“This is a trap,” Spitznagel told MarketWatch, dismissing the latest downturn as a mere tremor before a true financial earthquake. “I expect an 80% crash when this is over. I just don’t think this is it.”…
Last week’s steep selloff, triggered in part by former President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, saw the S&P 500 suffer its sharpest two-day decline since the COVID crash in March 2020, falling more than 10%. Monday brought further volatility, with the Dow losing over 200 points and major indexes continuing to swing wildly. Yet Spitznagel remains unfazed.
“This isn’t Armageddon,” he continued. “That time will come as the bubble bursts.” (“Wall Street Bear Warns: The Real Crash Is Still Ahead,” America’s News Brief, WWWAmericasnewsbrief.com)
This secular financial wizard is correct, even though he most likely doesn’t understand Bible prophecy. The worst—by far—is yet to come during that time of Great Tribulation Jesus warned about. It will be the Rapture that bursts that bubble he mentions. Until then, there will be no great economic crash.
—Terry
What Do the Scoffers Tell Us About the Rapture? :: By Jonathan Brentner
No other biblical teaching receives as much ridicule within the Christian community; it’s not even close. It even happens within the walls of churches that claim to believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. What doctrine receives so much scoffing? It’s none other than our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture.
The online Cambridge Dictionary defines a scoffer as “someone who laughs and speaks about a person or idea in a way that shows that they think that person or idea is stupid or silly.” This accurately sums what often happens when such people hear about our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
The book of Proverbs describes scoffers as those that:
- Spurn reproof – Proverbs 9:7-8, 13:1, 15:12
- Exhibit pride and arrogance – Proverbs 21:24
- Cause quarreling and division – Proverbs 22:10, 29:8
- Seek wisdom in vain – Proverbs 14:6
The Apostle Peter warned that such people who would arise during the last days asking, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).
The word for “coming” in the above text is parousia, a word that denotes Jesus’s presence and its resulting impact on the world. The Lord used the same word in Matthew 24:37-38 to denote the sudden onset of judgment on the earth at His coming.
Former pastor and author Ray C. Stedman, in his book What on Earth Is Happening? wrote this about Jesus’ use of parousia in these verses:
In one sense, He is describing one event: His parousia, His presence on earth. The parousia begins with His return to remove the church, and it climaxes with His glorious manifestation. So these two events are really different aspects of one parousia, one presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Beginning with the pre-Tribulation Rapture, the earth will feel Jesus’ presence via the Day of the Lord wrath during the Tribulation period, His spectacular Second Coming, and His thousand-year reign.
Today’s scoffers ridicule our belief of Jesus’ unexpected and sudden intervention in our world, His parousia.
They Cause Division in the Church
Please know that the blame for divisions that arise because of our belief in Jesus’ imminent appearing does not result from our adherence to it, but rather from those who suppress any mention of the Rapture in their churches. Such places of worship often seek to take the “high road” by regarding the Rapture as tertiary, or of lesser importance than other doctrines, and therefore not an issue that should divide believers.
However, more times than not, such a stance silences those of us who watch for Jesus’ imminent appearing. It often leaves us out in the cold without a church home. Pay close attention to the words of Jude 17-19:
“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”
There will always be people who disagree with the message of God’s Word. If division erupts as a result of our adherence to what Scripture tells us, the fault lies with those who scoff at our beliefs. This is particularly true for those who scoff at our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
Scoffers Don’t Recognize the Signs of the Times
I’m shocked by how many writers, pastors, and teachers deny the reality of the approaching seven-year Tribulation and thus the Rapture that precedes it. They misinterpret John’s words in Revelation 6-18 as symbolism or past history, which blinds them to how so many world events are shaping the world for the fulfillment of the judgments described in these chapters.
They boast of a wisdom that enables them to understand what the biblical prophets actually meant. They retrofit their words to fit their errant understanding that God has rejected Israel.
During a long lunchtime conversation with a pastor who denied a future for Israel, he accused prophecy watchers like us of “reading the paper in one hand with the Bible in the other.” In other words, he claimed that what we see today is not the fulfillment of prophecy but rather our attempts to make it fit with what Scripture says. In reality, his inability to recognize that we live in the last days results from following current events with a closed Bible.
I recognize that there’s a significant difference between those who ridicule our belief in the Rapture and those who are willing to respectfully listen to us despite not agreeing with our beliefs. In my experience, however, scoffing is much more prevalent when it comes to Jesus’ imminent appearing than that of those genuinely seeking to discern the truth from Scripture.
My passion is to defend the biblically sound teachings of premillennialism and the pre-Tribulation Rapture. That’s what gets me up in the morning and keeps me writing. The ability to recognize the signs of the approaching Tribulation comes from the wisdom that flows from a biblically sound approach to prophecy.
So, what do the scoffers tell us about the Rapture?
First, they tell us it’s exceedingly close because their mocking is itself a sign that we live in the last days before we meet Jesus in the air.
Second, the widespread dismissal of the Lord’s imminent return, which has given rise to mocking of our hope, tells us that the fulfillment of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:45 is at hand:
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
When the Rapture happens, Jesus will quickly take us to glory, and sudden destruction will fall on those left behind. Although we don’t know when, we obey the Lord by watching for it.
-Jonathan