There are many who teach that the Rapture is not imminent but that Christians must go through the first part of the Tribulation Period. However, this view is usually based upon two things, first, a misunderstanding of biblical judgment as every event in the Bible shows God protecting His faithful followers BEFORE His judgment falls, such as Noah on the ark and Rahab in Jericho. Second, they tend to blend biblical events together, such as the Rapture and Second Coming. Here are 9 Bible-based reasons that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation even begins:
- Though it is true that Christians can suffer persecution at the hands of other men (John 16:33, Philippians 1:27, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 1 Peter 4:12-13), there is no indication that Christians will ever suffer the wrath of God. Several passages give a clear indication that born again Christians are not reserved for God’s judgment (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9, Romans 5:9, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:4). According to the Word of God, our sins were judged in Christ (Romans 8:2, 10, John 16:8).
- In Revelation 2-3, God gives a glimpse into three possible applications, one primary, and two secondary but easily plausible. The main application is that there were literally seven actual churches in Asia Minor, who received direct communication from God by the pen of the Apostle John. The secondary applications are that they are types of churches that exist at any given time. Along with this second application of church types, it appears that they also indicate seven church ages beginning with the first churches following Pentecost and ending with the last church age before the Tribulation period which begins in Revelation 5, with chapter 4 serving as a bridge between the two. If this last application is true, then the “come up hither” of Revelation 4:1, immediately following the church ages, is a clear picture of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The clarity of this begins in Revelation 3:10, where Jesus promises those of the final church age, Philadelphia age, that they would be kept “from the hour of temptation.”
- Jesus “appears” without warning for the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18; Titus 2:13, 1 John 2:28, 3:2-3), whereas the Second Coming, which is not for Christians, has clear preceding events, such as the anti-Christ arrival (Revelation 12:13-17), the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2), and many the plagues on earth (Revelation 6-18). Jesus’ coming to take His children is a matter of suddenness not signs.
- Israel is the focus of God's Tribulation work, not the local church. As a matter of fact, the local church is never mentioned in Tribulation (Jeremiah 30:7-11, Deuteronomy 30:1-3, Isaiah 61:2-3, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 54:7-17). This means the believers in local churches either have been killed, which is not stated in Scripture, or they have been removed, which is stated (1 Thessalonians 4:12).
- The Rapture and Second Coming are not the same event, which would have to be the case for a post Tribulation Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Ezekiel 37:11-14).
- The earthly signs given for the Lord's Return precede the Second Coming not the Rapture (Matthew 24:29-31, Luke 21:25-28, Acts 2:19-21, Revelation 6-19). However, there are no signs which precede the Rapture. If the Rapture occurs either mid-Tribulation or Post Tribulation there would be signs preceding it.
- If the coming of Christ for his Church is placed on a timetable of events, it loses its imminence. He then cannot come until certain things happen, especially the Great Tribulation and this would contradict 1 Thessalonians 4:12 and all other Rapture passages.
- The churches of Revelation are all Jewish in nature and characteristics, including those claiming to be Jews who are not (Revelation 2:9, 3:9). This would indicate that Gentile Christians are not included in the focus of the Tribulation, whereas today most Christians are Gentiles, not Jews. This would seem to indicate a Pre-Tribulation removal of Gentile Christians since they are not mentioned in Revelation at all.
- Part of the Tribulation includes a period known as “the wrath,” i.e., the wrath of God (Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9) and specifically says that Christians are delivered from the “coming wrath.”
