Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 9-20-23: NAR Post-Trib End-Times Beliefs

There are a number of NAR end-times beliefs that have puzzled and disturbed me as I’ve come across them through comments made by those who have watched or read some of my Prophecy Updates or Commentaries.  One such belief really threw me for a loop when I first saw it.  Now that I’ve studied it a little more, I understand where the idea comes from, i.e. why people have it, although I steadfastly disagree with the concept.

What was said to me was that this person was looking forward to the Tribulation with great anticipation.  He said it would be the greatest time ever for believers because they’d be calling down God’s judgments so as to destroy the kingdom of darkness.  Others have repeated that over time, and I had no basis for understanding how these folks could have this mindset.

Serendipitously, as I responded to someone else concerning NAR and one of the problems in the movement regarding prayer declarations, I came across a series of articles by Holly Pivec, who has written extensively about NAR, calling out the unbiblical precepts it follows.  In one of Holly’s articles – of which I’ll deal with more in a subsequent Prophecy Update – she mentioned a couple of the end-times beliefs originating from Mike Bickle’s International House of Prayer (IHOP).  I searched out the links Holly provided, and through that finally came to a realization of where – at least from one source – this idea of the church joyously calling down God’s judgments in the Tribulation came from.

This is a post-Tribulation Rapture perspective versus what I hold to which is a pre-Trib Rapture.  Frankly these two Biblical worldviews are so contrary to each other that it’s difficult to comprehend that we both trust and believe in the same God.  I mean, we’re talking about a chasm of difference between these perspectives.  How could we so drastically interpret Scripture in such different ways?  I believe I know the reason.

I have no doubt that many who take a post-Trib stand are solid believers, just as many of them see and understand that we likewise love and cherish the Lord.  Still, the differences – the mindsets – are incredibly far apart, and it’s hard to reconcile.

Today we’ll look specifically – but briefly – at Mike Bickle’s teachings regarding the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the church’s role in the end times.  Bickle and IHOP are definitely part of the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) stream, but I would also say that he probably differs in some respects with others in this movement as to various end times beliefs.

Transcript:

There are a number of NAR end-times beliefs that have puzzled and disturbed me as I’ve come across them through comments made by those who have watched or read some of my Prophecy Updates or Commentaries.  One such belief really threw me for a loop when I first saw it.  Now that I’ve studied it a little more, I understand where the idea comes from, i.e. why people have it, although I steadfastly disagree with the concept.

What was said to me was that this person was looking forward to the Tribulation with great anticipation.  He said it would be the greatest time ever for believers because they’d be calling down God’s judgments so as to destroy the kingdom of darkness.  Others have repeated that over time, and I had no basis for understanding how these folks could have this mindset.

Serendipitously, as I responded to someone else concerning NAR and one of the problems in the movement regarding prayer declarations, I came across a series of articles by Holly Pivec, who has written extensively about NAR, calling out the unbiblical precepts it follows.  In one of Holly’s articles – of which I’ll deal with more in a subsequent Prophecy Update – she mentioned a couple of the end-times beliefs originating from Mike Bickle’s International House of Prayer (IHOP).  I searched out the links Holly provided, and through that finally came to a realization of where – at least from one source – this idea of the church joyously calling down God’s judgments in the Tribulation came from.

This is a post-Tribulation Rapture perspective versus what I hold to which is a pre-Trib Rapture.  Frankly these two Biblical worldviews are so contrary to each other that it’s difficult to comprehend that we both trust and believe in the same God.  I mean, we’re talking about a chasm of difference between these perspectives.  How could we so drastically interpret Scripture in such different ways?  I believe I know the reason.

I have no doubt that many who take a post-Trib stand are solid believers, just as many of them see and understand that we likewise love and cherish the Lord.  Still, the differences – the mindsets – are incredibly far apart, and it’s hard to reconcile.

Today we’ll look specifically – but briefly – at Mike Bickle’s teachings regarding the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the church’s role in the end times.  Bickle and IHOP are definitely part of the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) stream, but I would also say that he probably differs in some respects with others in this movement as to various end times beliefs.

We’ll check this out, but first pray and read from God’s Word.

<PRAY>

Scripture

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

NAR Post-Trib End-Times Beliefs

• As I was thinking about this subject of contrasting pre- and post-Trib Rapture beliefs based on Mike Bickle’s teachings at IHOP, I came across an article by Greg Koukl titled Silly Putty Bible Study
• In the article Greg contrasts how too many Christians use their Bibles like Silly Putty
• They add the Spirit and the Bible becomes like putty in their hands
• They can mold what Scripture says to mean almost anything at all
• Although Greg didn’t name names or organizations, it was evident to me that in some respects he was referring to NAR (i.e. New Apostolic Reformation) and its practices
• For instance, he describes the difference between studying the Bible to find its objective meaning and then making personal application of its Scriptural truth, to someone who reads isolated verses or phrases to seek what the Spirit “impresses” on them – in this case for personal messages that are foreign to the context
• In Bible study there is a difference in this effort that is critical to our truly understanding what God says in His Word
• The theological terms which describe the two approaches used are exegesis and eisegesis
• Here is what Got Questions has to say about this:

Exegesis and eisegesis are two conflicting approaches in Bible study. Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.

The opposite approach to Scripture is eisegesis, which is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.

Obviously, only exegesis does justice to the text. Eisegesis is a mishandling of the text and often leads to a misinterpretation. Exegesis is concerned with discovering the true meaning of the text, respecting its grammar, syntax, and setting. Eisegesis is concerned only with making a point, even at the expense of the meaning of words.

• I’m going to make a statement that will not go over well with any post-Tribbers who might be along for the ride in this Prophecy Update
• Here’s my bombshell statement that won’t earn me any friends among post-Tribbers . . .
• I believe that many of Mike Bickle’s end-times beliefs are derived from eisegesis
• In other words, it appears to me that he is reading into Scripture the points and outcomes he wants in order to justify his beliefs
• This would also apply to the majority of NAR adherents, be they so-called Apostles or Prophets, or anyone following this stream of theological error
• And yes, much error comes from those who follow NAR teachings
• For reference on this point generally, I suggest that you search out what Holly Pivec has written extensively about this on her website
• Recently Holly discussed NAR with Jan Markell on her weekly show
• You can find this interview at this link I provide in my Transcript

• Let’s take a look at some of what Mike Bickel believes
• This is by no means exhaustive
• It comes from several articles, transcripts, and videos he has published on his website under End Times as a subject – check out the link for more info
• First up, I want you to see how right out of the starting gate Bickle embraces error
• In a short video he discusses the Rapture with someone else
• Here are two of his statements verbatim:

1. The pre-Tribulation Rapture is a “fairly new doctrine from the point of view of history”
   1. This doctrine came about “in the last 150 years”
2. “I don’t think it [i.e. the pre-Tribulation Rapture] is Biblical view, although it’s the popular American view”
   1. His perspective is that American Christianity primarily has held this view, but it’s not prominent in the rest of the world
   2. It was spread to the world by American missionaries

• He also says in this discussion that for 2000 years this doctrine of pre-Trib was not at all prominent
• If you’ve paid attention to this argument over the years, you know that it is based on a total and absolute lie
• When he references the 150-year timeframe, he is speaking specifically about the fantasy by the mockers and scoffers that the pre-Trib Rapture doctrine came about through John Nelson Darby
• This has been thoroughly debunked over and over again, yet post Tribbers inevitably come back to it
• We know from the Apostle Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians that they were concerned about having missed the Rapture
• Subsequently, many church fathers confirmed their understanding of Scripture in this respect
• Bickle actually says that only a couple church fathers believed it – this is not true
• Here’s the bottom line:
• Bickle begins his belief system based on a lie
• I’d say that’s a problem

• Next, let’s touch on Israel
• I don’t think Mike Bickle’s beliefs about Israel totally support Replacement Theology, but he certainly embraces a streak of that ideology
• Replacement Theology is at its core hostile to Israel
• Here’s what Got Questions says about it:

Replacement theology (also known as supersessionism) essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel.

• In contrast, Mike Bickle specifically says that:

The Great Tribulation will be the context that will lead Israel to change her hostile view of Jesus and His Church.

Literally all Israel will be saved in the context of Jesus’ return and the Millennium. This means that 100% of the Jewish people who survive the Tribulation will believe in Jesus.

• In other words, Bickle does believe that God continues to have future plans for Israel, saying that:

Believers who are ignorant of the temporary spiritual blindness on Israel will wrongly conclude that God is finished with Israel, instead of laboring for their salvation and full destiny in God.

• Thus, God absolutely has much more in store for Israel regarding her leadership position in the world
• To this end, Bickle concludes:

Israel will have that role forever, on the millennial earth and then on the new earth.

• This is all good
• However, because of Bickle’s thinking regarding the role of the church during the Tribulation, i.e. he believes the church of today enters the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (which we’ll address shortly), and is an integral part of bringing about the salvation of Israel
• Bickle says:

Jesus’ return is contingent on Jewish people turning to Him. Jesus “must” be kept in heaven until the Jewish people repent and become converted to being followers of Jesus

• To bolster this argument, Bickle quotes Acts 3:19-21 (NKJV), which says:

“Repent…and be converted, that your [Israel] sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you [Israel]…whom heaven must receive [retain] until the times of restoration of all things [Millennium] which God has spoken by…His holy prophets…”

• Here is an instance that I spoke of earlier where Bickle reads into the text what he wants it to say
• He is assuming that this passage refers to the End-Times church with its evangelism of Israel
• His insertion of the Israel references in these verses shows that
• But it doesn’t say that
• The passage is not dealing with the End-Times church
• Yes, it speaks to and about Israel, but it’s through the work of Jesus Christ that Israel is saved, not by this earthly entity of the End-Times church

• With these issues out of the way, let’s look at this post-Tribulation belief
• Very directly, Bickle says:

The most controversial point is my conviction that the Church will go through the tribulation (in great victory and power). This differs from the popular pre-tribulation rapture view that teaches that the Church will be raptured at any minute and will, therefore, miss the end-time revival and crisis. The Bible does teach that the Church will be raptured. The issue is one of timing. The Church will be raptured at the end of the tribulation, rather than at the beginning.

• Discussing this issue, Bickle states

The primary theme of the tribulation is God’s judgment against the Antichrist’s empire that is released by the end-time Church under Jesus’ leadership. The secondary theme is tribulation against the saints from the Antichrist.

The Church is not waiting on Jesus; He is waiting on the Church. The Church is not absent from the tribulation but releases it by prayer under Jesus’ leadership.

• Notice that the idea of God primarily dealing with Israel as a major factor in the Tribulation is not among Bickle’s reasons
• Nor is God’s judgment upon the unbelieving world
• Note also that, as mentioned earlier, Bickle sees the church and what it does as the mover and shaker behind what Jesus ends up doing in the Tribulation
• His actions and the judgments called down are not initiated by God, they are a result of what the church on earth does
• Bickle’s proof text for this is 2 Peter 3:12

Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…

• Again I ask: Where is the reference in the text to the End-Times church?
• So, what is it that Bickle refers to concerning the church during the Tribulation?
• It’s all about the End-Times Prayer Movement (ETPM)
• Here are several quotes from Bickle in this regard:

The prayers of all the saints during the tribulation will release the trumpet judgments.

Through prayer, the end-time Church will bind or stop Satan’s activities and loose or release Jesus’ power on the Church and against the Antichrist.

Each reference to the heavenly altar in Revelation is a reference to the End-Time prayer ministry. The altar is the place in heaven where our prayers ascend to the throne. Thus, when a judgment decree is given from the heavenly altar it is to be understood as coming as the result of prayer.

• Here are several more of Bickle’s comments and direct quotes from a promotional video he did in 2008 for an end times conference that IHOP would be doing later that year
• He called it the “most important conference” ever
• In that conference they would be instructing the audience on these several issues:

• “The end-time plan of God”, i.e. the battle plan in the Book of Revelation
• The “crystal clear precepts”, i.e. the things that God wants done
• “God is not going to do them unless the praying church releases them”
• “Jesus wants the prayer movement to be at the point of the arrow to shift history for the age to come”
• The end-times church is going to have a bunch of incidents like Moses calling on God to militarily strike Pharaoh
  • It will be the same for the church in the Tribulation which will pray and call down judgments from heaven
• “I’m talking about the prayer of faith that kills” just like the Two Witnesses – in this the church is collectively the Two Witnesses
• “Cities – whole resource centers – will be destroyed”
• Two things will happen during the Tribulation:

1. “Whole regions of the earth will manifest God’s glory”
2. “There will be other places in the earth where there will be utter destruction”

• “The prayer movement is loosing both of them”
• “We’re not waiting and saying: ‘Oh, God, Rapture me out of here!’ ”
• “We’re not waiting to be taken up”
• “They want to go up so they can escape the Tribulation”
• “Rather, the Lord is waiting for us to grow up to loose the Tribulation”

• This gives you a sense of the mindset
• I personally think it’s an arrogant, flesh-centered, worldly-oriented perspective
• I liken it to the situation in Ezekiel 38 with the Gog-Magog War
• When the coalition attacks, Israel can do absolutely nothing
• We don’t know why, but they are helpless against the attack
• Because of this, God does it all
• He brings about the counter-attack that completely destroys the enemy
• As a result, He gets ALL the glory
• Consider the Tribulation
• Q – Who gets the glory under the post-Trib belief?
• A – The church – more specifically the ETPM, i.e. the people fervently praying
• Remember, Bickle says that God isn’t even going to unleash the judgments upon God-hating, unbelieving mankind unless this end-times church does pray
• Gosh, what happens if it doesn’t?
• God’s people have been pretty feckless and disobedient over the years
• Does that mean the Tribulation won’t happen?
• No, the Tribulation occurs because it’s time for God to judge and bring vengeance
• It’s all about Him
• The people remaining on the earth are just trying to hang on
• And only those who place their faith in Christ during that time will be saved – whether martyred or coming through alive

• Now we begin to understand where many post-Trib Rapture believers are coming from when they say how instrumental the church will be during this time
• This goes to the astonishing statement made to me that the Tribulation will be the greatest of all times for believers because of the judgments they’ll be calling down on the world
• Bickle relates how this will occur in this statement and Biblical reference:

The miracles of Exodus and Acts will be combined and multiplied on a global level. I believe Jesus was referring to this in John 14:12. The church will release (loose) God’s judgments and stop (bind) Satan’s activities.

John 14:12

The works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…

• Here’s the question we must derive in Bickle’s statement: Will it be the church of today in the form of the ETPM, that has entered these seven years, which unleashes all the plagues in the Tribulation?
• Here’s one more Bickle quote and Scripture reference as foundation so that we can counter some of this thinking:

The book of Revelation is a canonized prayer manual that equips the Church to partner with Jesus in confronting Satan’s authority. Nothing like this has ever happened in history where hundreds of millions are unified with an infallible prayer guide revealing Jesus’ action plan including both the glory and the pressures. All the saints will sing the written judgments in this prayer manual. The Church in unity will release Jesus’ “smart missiles” of judgment on Satan as Moses did.

Psalm 149:6-9

 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth…To execute vengeance on the nations…To execute on them the written judgment– This honor have all His saints.

• First of all, please note that this psalm begins in verses 2-3 like this:

Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

• This is a psalm specifically about and to Israel
• It is not speaking or referring to the End-Times church or the ETPM
• This is another example (of many) of eisegesis, i.e. reading into the text what you want it to mean
• To Bickle’s point in the quote, is the Book of Revelation what he says it is?
• Is it a canonized prayer manual and an infallible prayer guide that hundreds of millions of ETPM saints will follow?
• Or is it a prophetic recounting for our knowledge and understanding of what is to come?
• Will there be hundreds of millions of ETPM saints calling down all these judgments?
• To answer that, we need to discuss the issues of apostasy in the church today and the depopulation agenda that is well underway in the world
• The Bible tells us there will be a falling away from the truth of Scripture, i.e. a rebellion, in the end times
• We see that in 2 Thessalonians 2:3:

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

• Here is what Got Questions has to say about this:

The Greek word translated “rebellion” or “falling away” in verse 3 is apostasia, from which we get the English word apostasy. It refers to a general defection from the true God, the Bible, and the Christian faith. Every age has its defectors, but the falling away at the end times will be complete and worldwide. The whole planet will be in rebellion against God and His Christ. Every coup requires a leader, and into this global apostasy will step the Antichrist. We believe this takes place after the church has been raptured from the earth.

• Thus, faith will be rare upon the earth
• Yet what does Mike Bickle say?
• He believes that there will be hundreds of millions of ETPM believers who will be using the Book of Revelation as a canonized prayer manual and infallible guide to overcoming the Beast and his system
• But, how can this be?
• If there is a massive falling away from the truth prior to the Tribulation, that means there won’t be much truth heading into the Trib period
• The implication is that truth once more will have to be found
• If there are all these millions of believers entering the Tribulation, there’s something broken in this equation
• The idea of all these believers contrasts and contradicts directly what the text of Scripture clearly tells us
• Thus, this concept is a false one, not taught by the Bible
• If not taught through Scripture, it obviously comes only from the mind of man, which is always fallible
• The other critical issue to understand as to Bickle’s claims is that surrounding the depopulation agenda
• I did a Prophecy Update in May of this year titled Depopulation
• In that I showed how the earth’s population is on a precipitous decline already even prior to the Tribulation
• We also know that during the seven years of the Trib period, initially in the 4^th Seal, as much as 1/4 of the world’s population may be killed (Revelation 6:8)
• Following that, 1/3 more, over and above the previous numbers, will definitely be killed during the 6^th Trumpet (Revelation 9:15,18)
• This is on top of what is happening massively today as a result of COVID protocols and jabs, plus famine, war, Lahaina-like targeted destruction, you name it
• Upon entering the Trib, the planetary population could be as low as 4 billion, maybe fewer
• I find this extremely problematic in light of Bickle’s millions of ETPM believers
• Superimpose these two ideas and that means from Bickle’s perspective 1/5 to 1/4 of all the people on the earth would supposedly be believers
• How does that stack up with what the Bible says?
• In Matthew 24:22 Jesus says:

“And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

• So, there are fewer and fewer people as more are killed off one way or another
• And only God’s elect will be alive at the end
• Who are God’s elect?
• They would be believers – both Jew and Gentile
• Q – Why is it necessary for God to save a subset of believers from out of the Tribulation?
• A – Because there must be those who enter the Millennium in their mortal bodies in order to procreate
• Regardless of when one thinks the Rapture occurs, i.e. pre- or post- Trib, at that time those who are Raptured are given glorified bodies
• Under a post-Trib Rapture scenario, this creates a conflict, i.e. a real problem
• If every believer alive at the end of the Tribulation is Raptured and glorified, then that leaves no one in a mortal body to enter the Millennium
• Remember that Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:30 concerning those resurrected, which includes those Raptured:

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

• We certainly wouldn’t want to be like the sons of God in Genesis 6 who transgressed the heavenly boundary to procreate with human women and were cursed by God because of that
• The bottom line is that Mike Bickle’s beliefs for believers are built on a house of cards, i.e. a desire to read things into Scripture and make drastic assumptions that are simply not supportable by the text
• And if we don’t go by the text, we’re just winging it

• One final thing I want to make clear
• What Mike Bickle believes as part of NAR and as a post-Tribulation Rapture believer differs from others in the NAR stream of doctrinal belief
• Bickle is not a complete Replacement Theology adherent
• He doesn’t seem to think much happens with Israel in the Tribulation – which is a highly problematic understanding – but he does see Israel having a prominent place in God’s earthly kingdom in the Millennium after the Trib
• Total Replacement Theology believers think that God is completely done with Israel – full stop
• In the post-Trib believer world, I think I can legitimately say that Bickle’s concept with the ETPM church in the Tribulation calling down judgments, etc. is not necessarily the prevailing view of other post-Tribbers
• To his credit, Bickle very much believes in a literal Tribulation
• The problematic issue is what he does with it
• There are a lot of post-Trib adherents out there and what we normally hear is more in the sense that they will need to hunker down and live in sustainable communities
• Many of these in the prepper population may also think they’ll need to take up arms in a significant manner
• Realistically neither of these groups has a supportable Biblical position
• As noted earlier, the Tribulation will be so bad that few will survive
• It’s simply not a matter of coming together with others of like mind to make it through, as admirable as that is
• Between Satan doing his worst and God’s judgment plagues, there will be no Goshens like in Egypt during the plagues of Moses where anyone can take refuge
• The closest to this will be – I believe – in the first half of the Tribulation in Israel
• I think the covenant agreement brokered by Antichrist gives Israel this false security and may indeed be a presumed place of refuge that God protects
• But only for 3 1/2 years
• Once Antichrist takes off his mask and declares that he is god, all bets are off and persecution upon the Jews, along with Gentile believers worldwide, will begin in earnest – plus all the Bowl plagues will also come upon Israel
• Sustainable communities will be no protection whatsoever

• The most logical and Scripturally supportable position concerning the upcoming Tribulation – and make no mistake: it is coming! – is the Blessed Hope of the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the true church of Jesus Christ
• In the belief of this doctrine, we don’t have to read our wishes and desires into the text
• We simply see what the text says and examine the world through this Biblical and prophetic lens
• It all adds up this way and proves true through the harmony of Scripture in accord with world events
• The pre-Tribulation Rapture is true and it must come
• Post-Trib is a concept devised in the mind of man
• Will you remain alert and awake like Jesus commanded?
• Will you look up expectantly for Him?
• Or will you focus on this world trying in your own strength to make it perfect?