The Rapture Under Attack | Why Scoffers Are Increasing | Doug Stauffer | Repost 2015

Summary

PROPHECY WATCHERS PODCAST SUMMARY
Episode: The Rapture Under Attack | Why Scoffers Are Increasing | Doug Stauffer
Date: July 16, 2026
Host: Gary Stearman
Guest: Doug Stauffer
Theme: Defending the Pre-Tribulation Rapture in the Face of Growing Skepticism in the Last Days

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Episode Overview

This episode of Prophecy Watchers centers on the growing debate around the doctrine of the pre-tribulation Rapture—the belief that the Church will be taken up to meet Christ before the seven-year Tribulation described in biblical prophecy. Hosts Gary Stearman and guest Doug Stauffer discuss eschatology, dispensationalism, scriptural support for the Rapture, the reason for increased “scoffing,” and the practical outworking of living in expectation of Christ’s imminent return.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is Controversial

Timestamp: 00:37–02:57

• Stauffer notes that skepticism and mockery ("scoffers") in the last days were predicted by Scripture (2 Peter 3).
• Critics argue the pre-tribulational rapture is “escapist” or unscriptural.
• Stauffer asserts: “The pre-tribulation rapture is the only defensible position to take. Not post-trib, not pre-wrath… you cannot consistently go into the scripture and prove it.”
• Many confuse prophecies relating to Israel (Daniel’s 70th week) with those for the Church; proper distinction is critical.

Notable Quote:

“People are saying, you know, things are getting worse. The church is going to be here to see the Antichrist and they don’t understand things like Daniel’s 70th week and that’s Israel and they don’t make those distinctions.” — Doug Stauffer (01:48)

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2. The Purifying Effect of the Imminent Return

Timestamp: 02:57–05:48

• The belief in Christ’s anytime return is not “escapist,” but encourages holy, purposeful living (1 John 3:2-3).
• Stauffer: “It’s going to change the way you think. It’s going to change the way you walk. It ought to make you more godly.” (03:58)
• The anticipation of meeting Christ motivates believers to spiritual vigilance rather than disengagement.

Memorable Moment:

“Christ could come back today. What would I be doing if Christ came back today? Well, I’d be doing programs with Gary Stearman.” — Doug Stauffer (04:36)

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3. Preparation: Enduring Hardship vs. Fear of Wrath

Timestamp: 05:48–08:46

• Some Christians advocate preparing for Tribulation suffering and the “mark of the beast”—essentially, to endure God’s wrath.
• Stauffer distinguishes between preparing for inevitable persecution vs. the unique wrath of the Tribulation, which he links distinctly to Israel, not the Church.
• “No Christian can go to hell. How can a Christian be in any part of the tribulation and have something that can condemn them to eternity in hell? It’s all contradictory. You can’t.” (08:12)

Notable Quote:

“It’s Daniel’s 70th week—Daniel’s first 69 weeks, Israel. 70th week, Israel. It’s thy people, thy city, it’s not the church. And they don’t make that distinction. That’s a big part of the problem with these teachings.” — Doug Stauffer (08:38)

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4. Distinction Between Israel and the Church

Timestamp: 08:46–12:05

• Stearman references Romans 11:25, interpreting the “fullness of the Gentiles” as marking the Church’s end.
• Stauffer elaborates on Romans 11:26–29, arguing replacement theology blurs critical prophetic distinctions.
• The Tribulation’s focus is Israel, not the Church (Revelation 12’s “woman”).

Notable Quote:

“You have to make the distinction between Israel and the Church. … If you don’t do that and study your Bible dispensationally … you’re going to be confused all your day.” — Doug Stauffer (11:30)

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5. Dispensationalism & Biblical Interpretation

Timestamp: 12:05–14:58

• Discussion on the term “dispensation” and why some reject dispensationalism.
• Stauffer cautions against reading Scripture with preconceived notions: “If you go to the Bible thinking, well, this is what the Bible says, because I’ve got it all nailed down … you become the authority and you go to the scripture to try to prove a pet doctrine that you have. You can’t do that.” (12:57)

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6. The Rapture’s Scriptural Basis & Practical Effects

Timestamp: 14:58–18:51

• Stearman underscores the rapture is “not just an escapist doctrine” but signals the completion of the Church age.
• Stauffer uses Acts and Paul’s ministry to reinforce the unique role of the Church and its parenthetical place in God’s unfolding plan.
• The rapture is termed “almost unbelievable”—“too good to be true”—by skeptics, but Stauffer insists on its clear scriptural support (1 Thessalonians 4).

Memorable Quote:

“The maddest people I know are people that don’t believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. Why? They’re ignorant. ... The Bible says that.” — Doug Stauffer (19:18)

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7. Godly Living Motivated by Imminence

Timestamp: 18:51–21:15

• The hope of an imminent return calls believers to righteous and sober living (Titus 2:12-13).
• “If I told you Christ was coming back 24 hours from now, what would you do differently?” — Doug Stauffer (20:57)
• Such expectancy should shape daily priorities and drive evangelistic urgency.

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8. The Trumpet: Clarifying the Rapture Event

Timestamp: 21:15–23:56

• Stearman and Stauffer address confusion over the “last trumpet” linking the rapture to Revelation’s seventh trumpet.
• Stauffer distinguishes between trumpets of assembly (for the Church) and alarm (for Israel) in Scripture:

  “The trumpet we’re looking at is the trumpet of assembly, or the sound of assembly, or the calling up of the church. ... Paul wasn’t referring to something that hadn’t been written yet by John.” (22:54)

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9. Final Encouragement

Timestamp: 23:56–24:11

• Stauffer shares resources for further understanding, emphasizing visual teaching for clarity.
• The episode closes with encouragement to “keep watching.”

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Notable Quotes

• “The pre-tribulation rapture is the only defensible position to take.”
  — Doug Stauffer (01:29)
• “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
  — Stauffer quoting 1 John (04:02)
• “No Christian can go to hell. How can a Christian be in any part of the tribulation and have something that can condemn them to eternity in hell?”
  — Doug Stauffer (08:12)
• “You have to make the distinction between Israel and the Church.”
  — Doug Stauffer (11:30)
• “If I told you Christ was coming back 24 hours from now, what would you do different?”
  — Doug Stauffer (20:57)
• “It’s not a trumpet of alarm that we’re listening for. It’s the trumpet of the voice of God calling us home.”
  — Gary Stearman (23:42)

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Key Takeaways

• Skepticism about the rapture is increasing, as prophesied.
• The pre-tribulation rapture best aligns with a consistent, literal, and dispensational reading of Scripture.
• The doctrine is not escapist but motivational, calling Christians to holiness in anticipation.
• Distinction between Israel and the Church is essential; confusion here leads to doctrinal error.
• Imminency is a source of hope and urgency—for sanctified living and evangelism.
• Scriptural “trumpets” must be rightly divided: the rapture’s trumpet is for assembly, not judgment.
• The episode closes with encouragement to stay watchful and expectant.

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For those unfamiliar with Bible prophecy debates, this episode provides a robust defense of the pre-tribulation rapture, urging believers to live with hope and spiritual alertness as they anticipate Christ’s imminent return.

Transcript

[A]

The Rapture of the church. It's our blessed hope, but it's also a very controversial subject. And Doug Stauffer is here to talk with us today. Doug Stauffer, welcome to Prophecy Watchers.

[B]

Oh, it's great to be here, Gary, in your studios. I'm just absolutely overwhelmed with what God is doing at Prophecy Watchers.

[A]

And we are as well. The Lord has blessed us, continues to bless us and the time is right Doug, because we've got work to do. We are examining Bible prophecy day in and day out and we're attempting to hold to a certain standard in the teaching of Bible prophecy. And that's why you're here. We're going to talk about eschatology in general, the study of the last things, but specifically we're going to talk about the pre tribulation rapture of the church. And we began by saying that it has become a controversial subject, which surprised me at first, but it no longer surprises me. Let's talk about that. Why do you think the pre Trib Rapture is such a controversial subject?

[B]

Well, I think the scripture points out that in the last days there's going to be scoffers. I think that people are getting weary and well doing. They are looking at things that are going on and saying, well it's an escapist doctrine. We're just wanting to escape and miss the tribulation. So this pre tribulation rapture teaching is somehow based on an unscriptural basis. But I tell people the pre tribulation rapture is the only defensible position to take. Not post trib, not pre wrath, any of the other teachings. You cannot consistently 100% go into the scripture and prove it. And here's some scripture, second Peter 3. The Bible says knowing this first that there shall come in the last days. Scoffers walking after their own lust saying where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. People are saying, you know, things are getting worse. The church is going to be here to see the Antichrist and they don't understand things like Daniel's 70th week and that's Israel and they don't make those distinctions. So I think the reason is people are confused and they want answers. That's why you and I, I believe, spend a good amount of time and energies trying to help people so that they can know the truth and come to solid doctrinal positions.

[A]

Well, you know, the hope of the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a purifying hope. According to John. If you really have that hope ingrained in your daily life, that is, the Lord could come back at any moment, which I believe, by the way, he could come back right in the middle of this shooting that we're doing right now.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And wouldn't that be great?

[B]

Oh, it would. I'm ready to go. You got high ceilings. We won't hit them for a couple seconds or maybe the twinkling of an eye, but we're out of here.

[A]

We're out of here. But the thing is, the imminent, that is the any moment coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a reality that we hold dear every moment of the day. And if you really believe that, and I know a lot of people have said to me, it's hard to believe that, it just doesn't seem right that he could come at any moment. But if you do, it's going to change the way you think, right?

[B]

Oh, absolutely. It's going to change the way you think. It's going to change the way you walk. It ought to make you more godly. There's some other scripture you mentioned. 1 John, 1 John 3, 2. The Bible says, beloved, now are we the sons of God? And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. So by the imminency of Christ coming back, the idea isn't, well, let's just go out and eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Christ could come back today. What would I be doing if Christ came back today? Well, I'd be doing programs with Gary Stearman. I would be in my Bible, I'd be talking about the Lord. I'd be encouraging people to live for the Lord. And that's what it's about. It's not about, well, let's just, well, we don't know when he's coming. Let's be, you know, we're getting weary and well doing and a lot of people are. And I understand that. I understand people getting tired saying, well, when I was a little kid, they were saying, jesus could come back today.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Well, that's okay. There's other scripture too. 2 Peter 3, 11 says, seeing, then all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Because the world's going to be dissolved? Should we be putting all of our energies in accumulating things. And I'm not worried about the work of the Lord. I'm just going to make sure I've got a retirement. No, the Lord could come back today and you're not going to have a U haul going up with you when you meet him in the air.

[A]

So it encourages people to live correctly in view of that imminent return. Now, the other side of the argument, people might say, well, I think we're going into the first half of the tribulation very, very soon and we need to be prepared to do that. And there's a whole school out there that's preparing people to go through some very, very hard times. Specifically at least the first three and a half years of tribulation. Some say maybe as many as four or five years into the tribulation. And you need to be prepared. So from our perspective, we'd be saying, living in the hope of his coming directs you in the way that you conduct your life. But the other side would say, well, preparing to go through the wrath of God and experience that wrath also causes you to live. Right. Where do you come down on that?

[B]

Or even coming short of the wrath of God. In other words, they would say, well, we need to be preparing for the wrath of God or the wrath of Satan or before the wrath of God. All of them you lump in together. It doesn't matter at what point they say we're going to go through the tribulation, whether it's pre wrath or mid trib, which would be before the wrath comes. But the point is we do need to be preparing. What do you need to be preparing? Your heart or your guns? Well, go ahead and I have guns. I know how to shoot. I know how to protect my family. It's not for the tribulation, it's for four times we're living in. Is it going to get rough? Sure. All those that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Tribulation worketh patience, patience, experience. We are going to go through some very, very, very difficult times. We're seeing it in the news every day. Things are turning against Christianity. Things are turning. And you say, well, they've always been turning against Christianity, not like they are today.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

Are we in the Tribulation? No. Do we need to prepare for the tribulation? No. Do we need to prepare for tough times? Yes. So I say to people, they tell you, well, you're not preparing people for the mark of the beast. I'm not going to tell people how to avoid the Mark. If you take the mark, you're condemned to eternity in hell. What Christian do I need to tell to do something to avoid hell? They're already sealed with the spirit of God. No Christian can go to hell. How can a Christian be in any part of the tribulation and have something that can condemn them to eternity in hell? It's all contradictory. You can't. And it's Daniel's 70th week, Daniel's first 69 weeks. Israel, 70th week, Israel. It's thy people, thy city, it's not the church. And they don't make that distinction. That's a big part of the problem with these teachings.

[A]

Yeah, well, since you bring that up, my Bible happens to be open to Romans 11. And by the way, that was not pre planned, folks.

[B]

Well, I'm turning over there now myself because I wasn't ready for it. So you won't get over there with

[A]

Romans 11:25 says, For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits. That blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Well, here we have a mystery, Doug, meaning this thing is veiled and concealed from the world at large. And only through the leading of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are you going to be able to unravel this mystery. That's my belief. What is the mystery? Well, blindness in parts come to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. That implies to me that there is a terminus when that fullness comes in. And I think that that fullness is marked by the return of the Lord for the church.

[B]

Right? We're looking for his glorious appearing.

[A]

We are. So really everywhere you look in scripture that deals with prophecy, you see the Church, the body of Christ coming to an end at a certain point, if you know how to receive it, where to look, how to cross reference. You see that the church has a term point. And you also see that Israel has sort of lain dormant, prophetically speaking. And as Paul says, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. It couldn't be clearer to me.

[B]

Oh no. And then you continue with Romans 11:26. And so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. You see, that covenant is still there. That covenant is still future. So this replacement theology that is being taught. And really those guys that go into this pre wrath or mid trib, they're usurping Israel's promises, Israel's curse, and putting it on the church. And right here in Romans 11, it makes it very clear that there is a distinction. And that distinction is also there in Daniel. That distinction is in Revelation 12, when Satan is cast out of heaven, who's he going to persecute? He's going to persecute the woman. The woman is Israel. For how long? Time. Time. Half a time. Well then I tell people, I say, well now wait a minute. If he's going to persecute the woman in Revelation 12 for half of the tribulation, why isn't the Church mentioned in there? Because the Church is absent and missing. Then people say to me, well, you're just saying because it's not mentioned, we're not here. I say, well, what are you doing? You're putting them in there when they're not mentioned. You can't do that. You have to make the distinction between Israel and the Church. And if you don't do that and study your Bible dispensationally and look at it in a way that God intended for it to be read and studied, you're going to be confused all your day.

[A]

Now you used the word dispensationally. Dispensational. And I've studied the Bible long enough to understand a dispensation by the way that word is in the Bible. Paul said, a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me. A dispensation meaning an economy or a period of time during which certain rules are prevalent. Dispensation is a characteristic period of time in which certain things are happening and it'll be followed by another dispensation. And we happen to believe the Bible is laid out that way. But there are some people who really object to the word, to the idea of dispensationalism. Talk about that a minute.

[B]

Well, I mean, they object to it because it was a mystery. I believe a lot of that mystery has been revealed in Paul's epistles. But whenever they disagree with it, it's mainly because they don't understand the Bible or they go to the Bible with a preconceived notion. If you go to the Bible thinking, well, this is what the Bible says, because I've got it all nailed down. And you don't submit yourself to the fact that you could be wrong, then what happens is you become the authority and you go to the Scripture to try to prove a pet doctrine that you have. You can't do that. You have to allow the Scripture to speak for itself. You have to be in submission to God. You can't be high minded. You can't consider yourself the final authority or even the authority. The authority is this book and we've got to get out of the way and let God speak to us.

[A]

I have a question now. I love the idea of the pre tribulation rapture of the Church. I believe in a literal seven year tribulation. It's the wrath of God, it's the day of the Lord. It's. It's a terrible, terrible time. The Bible says it'll be the worst time on planet earth that ever was or ever will be. And I don't want to go through that. That being the case, the idea of a pre tribulation rapture, the Church thrills me to no end. I just love the idea. But it's not just an escapist doctrine. It's a doctrine that speaks of the Church, the body of Christ and the completion of the body of Christ in a particular way. And the Lord has always worked by administrations of various kinds during the days of Abraham, the days of promise, and during the days of Moses, the days of law. And then came the age of grace. And God has always worked in specific ways. And the whole Bible talks about the roundup at the end, the day of the Lord.

[B]

Right?

[A]

So we cannot, there's just no way to get away from it is what I guess I'm saying.

[B]

No, and there's not. We're in Romans 11 or I'm still there. So I turn the page back. What is this thing about? Well, verse 13 of Romans 11 says, For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. Well, I'll digress for a moment. Jesus told the disciples, go not into the way of the Gentiles. And he said to the Samaritans, enter ye not. Paul says, I'm the apostle of Gentiles. If you don't rightly divide your Bible, if you aren't dispensational, then you have Paul being disobedient to Jesus Christ. Unless something changed and it did. But go on to the next verse. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh and might save sin some of them. So what he's saying is that the reason. Well look at verse 11, I say, then have they stumbled, they should fall God forbid. But rather through their fall, salvation has come unto the Gentiles. For to provoke them to jealousy. The whole reason for the church is to provoke Israel to jealousy. And it's because that covenant still exists later on in the chapter that it talks about until the fullness of the Gentiles come in, which is the first verse that you read there in Romans 11. So the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. Israel's back in prominence, but They've got Daniel's 70th week. Daniel's 70th week is judgment. It's Israel, it's not the church. Why? The church is just here for us to provoke them to jealousy so that they realize they rejected the Messiah. He is the true Messiah. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. And without him, they have no hope. And that's what this whole thing's about. It's Israel. And the church is sort of church age, parenthetically put in, goes through. And you could go through the Book of Acts. I'll be teaching through the whole Book of Acts in a revival I'm doing in North Carolina in about two weeks. You watch, you go through the Book of Acts. You see chapters 1, 2, 3. You've got Peter speaking, you've got Stephen. Stephen being stoned in Acts 7. There's a turning point. Saul's introduced. Saul's saved in Acts 9. Then you've got. His name is changed to Paul. And you've got the missionary travels of Paul. He goes to the Jew first. They reject. He says, you blaspheme. I turn to the Gentiles. He did that in Acts 13, 18, 28. I love this book.

[A]

Church age. It's the church age. And the church age has a terminal point.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And that's when the Lord returns in the air and will be with the Lord ever after. But there's a reason for this layout, in other words. And it goes all the way back to Abraham, the call of Abraham by faith. Abraham received the Lord's proclamation. They received the Lord's interactions with him. He did it all by faith. And that faith extends to the present moment and beyond and for us. And I'm going to say this and see how you react to it. The rapture of the church is not an easy thing to absorb. It's almost unbelievable. And I've run into people who say that can't be true. It's just almost too good to be true. Like the Lord's going to come down in the atmospheric heavens and you'll hear his voice, and everybody will go up to where he is. And after that they'll always be with the Lord. I just can't bring myself to believe that. I've heard people say that, 1 Thessalonians

[B]

4 but I would not have you to be ignorant. Brethren, concerning them which are asleep. And he goes through and he talks about, you know, the dead in Christ rise first. We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words? It's comforting. And the reason that people aren't comforted the most, the maddest people I know are people that don't believe in the pre tribulation rapture. Why, they're ignorant. That's just plain why it says, be not ignorant. If they don't believe in it, they're ignorant. I'm not saying that. The Bible says that. I'm not trying to be mean to anybody. I don't want to be mean to them. I am not looking to pick a fight, but I am looking to put the gloves on and say, if you want to fight, I'll challenge you over the Scripture. I have one here. Verses like Titus 2:12, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope. So we were talking about people living right because of the imminency of Christ coming back. Well, that's what Titus 2:1213 is talking about. We're looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. But it says, teaching us, denying ungodliness, worldly lust. We live soberly, righteously, godly in this present world. The teaching of the pre tribulation rapture doesn't lend itself to people living frivolously. It lends itself. It encourages godly living. It encourages people looking for the Lord that he may come back today. Well, if you think he could come back today, let's do it another way. If I told you that Christ was coming back 24 hours from now, what would you do different? Well, you might not be recording a program that's going to air, you know, a day or two or a week away. You would be out there knocking on doors, telling your neighbors, you know, everybody would be excited. This is what people would be doing. Well, that's the way we ought to be anyway. We ought to be excited all the time about the Lord's. Return and thinking he could come back today. What would I change about today in what I'm doing if I knew the Lord could come back tonight?

[A]

Okay, got that? Now, I want to run a subject past you here in about the next three minutes. Let's talk about the trumpet first. Thessalonians 4:16. For the Lord himself shall ascend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. Turn back over here to 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul shows us another mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. This is the resurrection in a moment, a twinkling of an eye at the last trump. Now, there are two places the rapture's mentioned and a trump or trumpet is also mentioned. And a lot of people say that's the seventh trumpet in Revelation that's being referred to here, which means that essentially you're going to be going through the tribulation until that seventh trumpet break blows, which is just before the seven vials of wrath. So how do you respond to that?

[B]

Well, as we both have taught extensively that there is the last trump, which we don't even believe is a trumpet in and of itself. It's probably the voice of the Lord. But when you have those trumpets there in numbers, you have two silver trumpets. One is the trumpet for the assembly, and the other one is the the trumpet for warnings. So I go to Joel 2. When you mentioned that I jumped over to Joel. It says, Joel 2, 11. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army, for his camp is very great, for he is strong that executeth his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible. Who can abide by it? And he talks in here, in this section about the trump of God, the first verse, blow ye the trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm. Well, that's those alarm trumpets of numbers. That is the scenario. Though you also have other verses that talk about those alarm trumpets, about the tribulation. The trumpet we're looking at is the trumpet of assembly, or the sound of assembly, or the calling up of the church. So there's a big distinction there. And the problem is people put those two together. Paul wasn't referring to something that hadn't been written yet by John.

[A]

It.

[B]

He's referring to something in the Old Testament, like he did repeatedly.

[A]

And I think you're right on there. But I just, I wanted you to hear that because there's a lot of confusion about that trumpet. It's not a trumpet of alarm that we're listening for. It's the trumpet of the voice of God calling us home. We're down to the last 30 seconds. What words of encouragement do you have for our audience?

[B]

Well, I'll just tell people the reason that we came out with a CD set because I'm a very visual person. Most of mine are DVDs and visual because I do a lot of PowerPoint because people kept asking me can I listen to it in the car? And that's why we did that.

[A]

Doug Stauffer, thanks for coming by. Always stimulating to talk with you and every time we get together, the ideas flow. Doug Stauffer, I'm Gary Stearman wishing you a great day in the Lord and reminding you to keep watching everybody. We are. Thanks for joining us on Prophecy Watchers. You can find us on the web at prophecywatchers. Com or follow us at facebook.com prophecywatchers. In the meantime, keep watching everybody and we'll see you soon.