A number of people have wondered about using Acts 15:13-18 to support my position that the rapture of the church has to precede the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week (Pre-Trib Rapture).  Most of their comments have  contained a request for a clearer understanding of why I do this, so here it is.

It was almost 20 years after the cross when the Council of Jerusalem took place. James, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, some believers from the Pharisees, and others had gathered to settle the issue of whether Gentiles had to convert to Judaism before they could become Christians.  But another question, unspoken, was also on their minds and as Jews it was even more important to them.  “If not, what’s to become of Israel?”

The Pharisees argued that the path to Christianity for Jews and Gentiles alike was through Judaism.  To them this meant keeping the Law, being circumcised and following the traditions in addition to  recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Then Peter, Barnabas, and Paul presented a different opinion, based on seeing firsthand the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. They said because of that, Gentiles should be allowed to come directly into the Church.  Now let’s turn to Acts 15:13 for the outcome of the meeting.

When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me.  Simon (Peter) has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. (Acts 15:13-14)

The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,  that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages. (Acts 15:15-18)

What Does That Mean – Pre-Trib Rapture?
In simple language James, the brother of Jesus and Head of the Church in Jerusalem, said Israel was being set aside while the Lord took a people from among the Gentiles for Himself (or for His name’s sake.) Remember, 69 weeks of Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy had transpired. It was becoming obvious that with the Lord’s crucifixion the clock had stopped short of the promised 70 weeks. Although Jerusalem and the Temple had not yet been destroyed the Lord’s prophecy that they soon would be was a matter of public record.

Already there were signs that all was not well where the Temple was concerned. The Jewish Talmud   records four ominous indications that trouble was coming. (Talmud Mas. Yoma 39b)

1.  In the Yom Kippur service two goats were brought to the High Priest, one was to be “for the Lord” (the peace offering) and the other was “for Azazel”, also known as the scape goat.  They were chosen by lot and the lot for the Lord’s goat had always come up in the High priest’s right hand.  After the cross it never did again.

2.  A scarlet cord tied the scape goat to the door of the temple during the service.  After the High priest symbolically placed the sins of Israel on the head of the scape goat, he cut the cord leaving some on the goat’s horn and the rest on the Temple door.  Then it was led to its death in the wilderness.  Previously,  the portion on the Temple door had always turned white when the scape goat died. This was seen as a fulfillment of Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow” indicating Israel’s sins had been forgiven.   After the cross the cord never turned white again.

3.  The westernmost light on the seven branched Menorah would no longer stay lit. The number seven signifies divine completion, while man’s number is 6. The seven lights meant that together with God,  Israel was complete and brought light to the world.  But now, with only 6 lights that would burn, it was obvious God had left them.

4.  The main Temple doors began opening by themselves.  The priests saw this as a warning that Zechariah 11:1 would soon be fufilled.  “Open your doors, O Lebanon, so that fires may devour your cedars.”

During the conquest of Jerusalem the Romans set fire to the Temple.  It’s roof was made of cedar from Lebanon covered in thin sheets of gold.  The intense heat from the fire melted the gold and it ran down the walls into the cracks between the stones.  After the fire had burned out, the Roman soldiers dismantled the Temple stone by stone to get the gold.  When they were finished the Lord’s Palm Sunday prophecy had been dramatically fulfilled. “They will not  leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44) .

When James referred to Peter speaking of the Lord taking from the Gentiles a people for Himself in Acts 15:13-14 the Greek words he used for “taking from” were lambano ek.  Together they mean to take (something) with the hand in order to carry (it) away from a certain time and place.  In this case the something is the Church (the people for Himself), and the certain time and place would be carried away from is the restoration of Israel on Earth for the final seven years of their covenant with God.  We know this because the first two words of Acts 15:15, which talks about rebuilding the Temple, are “after this”, after the Church is gone.  Whether he knew it or not, James was saying the rapture of the Church would precede the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week. (Pre-Trib Rapture)

Then What Happens? (Pre-Trib Rapture)
In Acts 15:15-18 James quoted from Amos 9:11-12 to confirm his understanding that after the Lord has taken the Church He’ll cause the Temple to be rebuilt.  Like we saw above they knew it would soon  be destroyed, but James used a prophecy from Amos that was already 800 years old to show the Temple will be rebuilt when the Lord has finished with the Church.  After that the gentiles who will have missed the rapture will have one final chance to be saved as well.  This settled the issue of Israel’s future.

From Daniel 9:24-27 we know that rebuilding their Temple  will be a sign that Israel has returned to its covenant relationship with God and the remaining 70thweek of Daniel’s prophecy is under way.  The only reason for a Temple to exist is to allow Israel to conduct Old Covenant rituals and sacrifices. Daniel 9:27says the anti-Christ will put an end to sacrifice and offering in the middle of the 70th week. This tells us a Temple will have been erected and sacrifices offered again beginning sometime earlier (Pre-Trib Rapture).

So here’s the scope of the passage.  Following the cross, Israel was temporarily set aside while God began His redemptive work among the Gentiles.  His first work was to build His Church, against which the gates of Hell will not prevail (Matt.18:18).

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)

Romans 11:25 tells us that Israel was to be hardened in part during this time. Paul was talking about Israel’s heart which would be hardened against understanding.  Remember in Luke 19:41-45 Jesus said the obvious fact that their long awaited Messiah had visited them would hence forth be hidden from their eyes.  Paul said this would be the case all through the time the Lord was focused on the Church.  The fact that some say more Jews have come to Jesus in the past 19 years than in the previous 1900 years may be an indication that the time of hardening is coming to an end. (Pre-Trib Rapture)

In Paul’s day, the Greek word translated full number (fullness) was often used in a nautical sense.  It referred to the number of crew members necessary for a commercial ship to set sail.  Because of the dangers involved in being caught short handed during a storm at sea, ships could not leave port until they had the full number of sailors aboard.  Also the word translated “come in” meant to arrive at a scheduled destination. (We’ve all heard the phrase “waiting for my ship to come in”.)  In Romans 11:25 Paul used these metaphors to describe the Church leaving Earth and arriving at our Heavenly destination before Israel’s heart is softened (Pre-Trib Rapture).

When the full number of the Gentiles has been reached we’ll be whisked away to our Father’s house (John 14:2-3) while He turns His attention back to Israel.  At that time, the remaining seven years of Daniel’s prophecy will play out. Through the most devastating judgments ever visited upon Earth the nations among which Israel has been scattered will be completely destroyed, Israel will be purified to prepare for the coming Kingdom Age, and the remnant of the Gentiles will get their final chance at salvation.

Pre-Trib Rapture But Wait, There’s More
If you stop to think about, it these few verses in Acts 15 answer several important theological questions.   They show the New covenant did not replace the Old Covenant, but merely interrupted it.  They prove God didn’t intend for the Church to replace Israel in His plan forever, He just set Israel aside temporarily so the door of salvation could be opened to the Gentiles. In Isaiah 49:6 the Father said to the Son;

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

With the added insight from Romans 11:25 we can also confirm that Israel and the Church are like oil and water in that they don’t mix. For one to be here the other has to be gone.  The two systems are theologically incompatible.  You can’t have a system of faith evidenced by obedience to the Law complete with daily animal sacrifices functioning beside a system of grace through faith alone with no other requirement than to believe in the one He has sent (John 6:29).

Therefore the Church is not the next dot on a straight line from Creation to Eternity.  It’s a giant right hand turn that takes believers to a unique and exclusive destiny  that no other believers will share, and allows the Lord to fulfill His promises to Israel at the same time.

We tend to think the only reason for the Pre-Trib Rapture is to get the Church out of the way of the End Times judgments. But this shows us there’s another reason why the Church can’t be on Earth during any of Daniel’s 70th Week. We have to leave so Israel can come back to God.  From the looks of it, our departure is coming soon.

I’m frequently asked why I believe we should have to continue confessing our sins after being born again, since all our sins are already forgiven.  People who ask point out that 1 John 1:9 is the only place this is mentioned and if it was so important wouldn’t Jesus have taught it?

Well it turns out 1 John 1:9 isn’t the only place confession is mentioned for believers and as a matter of fact Jesus did teach it. But before we get into that, let’s review what I call the two sided nature of our relationship with the Lord so you can see where the idea came from in the first place.

Union And Fellowship
I call one side Union. It’s eternal and unconditional, based only on our belief. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn. It’s good forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption to guarantee that.  2 Cor. 1:21-22 goes even farther saying it’s God who makes us stand, and that he’s put His mark of ownership on us as well as sealing His Spirit in our hearts. In 1 Cor. 6:19-20 Paul wrote, “You are not your own you were bought at a price.”  God purchased us with the blood of Jesus and then He put His mark on us.  You could say He branded us, like a rancher brands his cattle, as proof of ownership.  We’ve covered these verses many times in support of the Bible’s promise of eternal security.

I call the other side Fellowship and it’s a bit more complicated. Fellowship is that state of continual closeness to God that enables Him to bless us in our daily lives, both by protecting us from enemy attacks and by making good things happen for us (Romans 8:28). It’s like He’s taken our side to give us a supernatural advantage.

Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:8-9 as being both earthly and conditional upon our behavior. Even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin. Since God can’t abide the presence of sin (Habakkuk 1:13), our unconfessed sins interrupt our earthly relationship with Him and may deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. Because of our Union with God we’re still saved in the eternal sense, but here on Earth we’re out of Fellowship. And when we’re out of Fellowship, we have to make it on our own while being legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are raptured. They don’t realize that they still need regular confession to stay in Fellowship in the mean time.

Now by defeated lives, I mean they lack the spiritual success all Christians are promised (John 10:10). They might be doing all right from a worldly perspective, although many are deprived even of that, but their lives do not reflect the Spiritual well being for which there is no substitute in worldly living. Nor do they feel the sense of peace and satisfaction that we all desire.

Where Did This Come From?
Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas. Consider the plight of Job, a man of God and the main character in the oldest book of the Bible.  He was such a good man that God bragged to Satan about him. But he was not perfect.  His sin was self-righteousness and what he said to his friends proves it.

“Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.”(Job 9:21).

(Speaking to God) “Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands … though you know that I am not guilty?”  Job 10:3,7

(To his friends again)“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!” (Job 12:4).

I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live. (Job 27:6).

In addition all 41 verses of Job 31 are devoted to Job giving evidence of his righteousness.

Because he wouldn’t confess his sin, he was out of fellowship.  When asked, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses.  Once Job confessed (Job 42:1-6), he was restored (Job 42:10-17). Even though he was the most righteous man on Earth, Job still had to confess to be restored to fellowship with God.

Some say that because these verses come after God’s agreement with Satan, they can’t be the cause of Job’s affliction.  Are we to think God didn’t know about Job’s sin until he said something?

Later, in Old Covenant times, the priests had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people.   Although God was dwelling among them, providing for all their needs, there still had to be a twice daily sacrifice for sin to stay in His good graces.

1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

This verse was written for believers who are forever saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship because of their sins. When we confess in faith, we’re immediately forgiven and purified from all unrighteousness.

This is the real underlying issue of Hebrews 6:4-6. We know this because in the preceding verses the writer said he was leaving elementary teachings about Christ and going on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, etc (Hebrews 6:1-3). This alone tells us he wasn’t talking about our salvation.

The key is the phrase “renew again to repentance” in verse 6.  Jewish believers were being pressured into keeping the law, especially where it concerned the sacrifice for sin. Those who relied on sacrificial lambs instead of confessing directly to God were in effect crucifying the Lord all over again, since He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The daily sacrifice was a foreshadowing of Him, and when He came the shadow gave way to the reality. The old way was no longer sufficient to restore them to fellowship.

What Did Jesus Say?
As for Jesus teaching about believers confessing, take a look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Seeking a life of independence from his father, the Prodigal Son left his father’s house and struck out on his own.  He had soon squandered his wealth in wild living and would have happily traded places with one of his father’s hired hands. Swallowing his pride, he returned to his father’s house where he confessed and was restored. While He was away, he never stopped being his father’s son (Union), but during that time there was no communication and he didn’t receive any of the blessings that might have been his had he remained in his father’s house (Fellowship).

Like the Prodigal Son, we still belong to our Father’s family while we’re out of Fellowship with Him, but there won’t be any communication and we won’t receive the blessings we might have otherwise had.  And like both Job and the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

Why Do We Resist?
Since the penalty for all the sins of our life is already paid (Colossians 2:13-14) and therefore there is no more condemnation for us (Romans 8:1), why do many believers resist the idea of confessing when they sin?  Don’t they know forgiveness is automatic?  What’s the problem?

One reason is lack of knowledge.  Most people have never been taught about staying in Fellowship and are only familiar with the Union side of our relationship with God.  They’ve learned how to be saved, but they don’t know periodic confession is required to stay in Fellowship.

But there’s also a fair amount of pride contained in our fallen human state. Having to repeatedly admit to being a sinner can be  embarrassing even when we’re only admitting it to God who already knows all about us. That pride itself is a sin that interrupts our fellowship.

And finally, at least in the US, there are many believers who have it too good to even realize they’re out of fellowship.  They judge themselves the way others judge them, by worldly standards, and think they’re OK.  They never stop to consider their lack of spiritual wealth.

Jesus was warning us about being out of fellowship when He said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  He said if we don’t remain in Him, we’ll be like a withered branch, unfruitful, no matter what we do.  Believers like this will soon discover that whatever worldly success they’ve achieved is meaningless in the Kingdom, and their life as a believer is mostly devoid of eternal value. To their dismay, they’ll discover  they’ve hardly stored up any treasure in Heaven (Matt. 6:19-21).  As one escaping through the flames, they’ll still be saved (1 Cor. 3:15) but with nothing to commend them.  According to recent studies over 90% of this generation’s born again believers may soon find themselves in this situation.

By the way, this presents an interesting dilemma for the partial rapture advocates.  They contend that only the best Christians will go in the rapture. The rest, they say, will be left behind for a while until they  prove themselves worthy.  At the Bema Seat, these faithful ones will find their works compared to gold, silver and precious gems that survive the judgment fire.  But right there beside them will be those whose works are all burned up leaving them with nothing.  If only the best are taken in the rapture, how did these others who don’t have anything to show for themselves get there?

What’s The Point?
Because of our unbreakable union with God we never have to worry about losing our salvation. Nor do we have to wonder if we’ll be included in the rapture.  But to make our relationship with Him here on Earth as good as it can be and to accomplish all that He desires of us requires that we confess when we sin.

Confessing when we sin is like apologizing to a loved one. You know you’ll be forgiven but you feel bad about disappointing someone you love and want to make sure you’ve restored the relationship to its previous condition. Confession. It really is good for the soul.