Bible Verses That Prove a Pre-Tribulation Rapture Revealed
- AN EXHAUSTIVE STUDY-
An unbased reading of Scripture would clearly lead one to understand the God would never put His repentant and Born-Again Children through the Tribulation Period. This is a period of seven years that Jesus called the most horrific times since the creation of mankind. So it should come as no surprise that Jesus Himself left us with this very understanding. Jesus said, "Because you {believers} have kept the word of my patience {command to persevere}, I will keep you from the hour of temptation {Tribulation}, which will come upon the entire world {mankind}, to test them {unbelievers} that live {remain} on the earth" (Revelation 3:10).
The confusion concerning Christians enduring the Tribulation Period centers on those that are saved before the Rapture and those that become saved during the Tribulation. At the moment of the Rapture, all born again Christians dead or alive will be translated and raptured off the earth leaving the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth behind. These are the people that God will now focus on in an effort to cause them to repent and receive eternal life before the End of the Age scheduled to end in seven years. Scripture does not outright tell us the time of the Rapture nor the time between the Rapture and start of the Tribulation period. But one could imagine the disappearance of 2.5 billion Christians plus an additional 2.5 billion children would cause a great turmoil on earth and quickly trigger this time period.
Summary
The word "rapture" is not found in English translations of the Bible. However, in the Greek translation, the word "harpazo" is used when referring to Christ "calling up" or "snatching away" His followers from the earth. Scripture teaches that at the Rapture, Jesus comes only for His followers and so is seen and heard only by His followers. This is distinct from His Second Coming in which the entire world will see Him arrive and descend to the earth accompanied by all those raptured seven years earlier and the angelic armies of Heaven (Revelation 19:14). Please note that after Jesus was resurrected, He only appeared and spoke with His followers. The Jewish nation had rejected Him due to their being partially spiritually blind. So, starting with Jesus' resurrection, they were temporarily set aside while Jesus now focused on His universal Church.
Both the Old and New Testaments give a multitude of clear understandings of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. In particular, the Book of Revelation written by the Apostle John, provides concrete evidence of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
Those that insist that Jesus' followers will be require to endure the Tribulation are in spiritual darkness. They obviously lack the Wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirt which God sends to people who are earnestly seeking to discern the truth through Scriptural proofs. Paul commanded that all Christians are to, "Prove {investigate} all things; {then} hold fast to that which is good." (I Thessalonians 5:21)
As for some of the most obvious accounts concerning a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, consider that God raptured Enoch so he would not suffer and drown in the coming flood. God's flood destroyed the wicked but Noah and his family floated safely above that tribulation period. The angels told Lot that Sodom could not be destroyed until he and his righteous family were relocate to a safe place. Abraham, a righteous man, safely watched the destruction of Sodom from his home located away and above the city. Jesus said that He was going to provide a place for His followers, and that He would return to take them there to be safe with Him. James the half brother of Jesus said that Jesus had called out a people for Himself. The word James used for the phrase called out in the Greek meant to remove from one place to another. Paul tells us the Jesus will deliver us from the wrath of God to come, and that God has not appointed His Children to wrath but instead salvation (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Thessalonians 5:9). We are told by Paul that the Antichrist will only be revealed after there is first a "falling away". This Greek term can be translated as members spiritually falling away from the true Gospel. But it can also legitimately be translated to mean a removal. And finally, Jesus himself said, "I will {personally} keep you from the hour of trial." (Revelation 3:10).
These are but a few of the many understandings about a Pre-Tribulation Rapture that are about to be revealed to you. Enjoy!
THE DEEP DIVE
The word "Rapture" does not appear in English Translations of Scripture. In the original Greek manuscripts the word “harpazo” was used as a verb. The word harpazo means: to seize, catch up, snatch away. The word "harpazo" was translated from the Greek to the Latin word “raptume” or “rapture” depending on the usage in the Latin Bible. This is where we get the English word Rapture.
Multiple Bible verses in the Old and New Testaments, along with common sense, leave no doubt that the Rapture of the Church occurs before the Tribulation Period starts. Christ will remove His precious Bride the Church from the earth before He initiates His seven year plan which culminates with the end of the Age of the Rule of Mankind on earth. On that final day, Christ returns to the earth with His saints and initiates the Millennial Age of Christ's Reign on Earth. Thus that day will symbolically lasts one thousand years.
While the Tribulation Period last seven years, it is during the final 3.5 years that God’s wrath slowly increases. This is due to a series of plagues that are released on the unrighteous people of the earth who were not taken away by the Rapture. This is known as the Great Tribulation Period (Matthew 24:21-22). God’s intention is to cause these people to reconsider their relationship with their Creator, repent of their sins and receive eternal life. But time is quickly running out.
That said, it is God’s overall desire to save as many Jews and gentiles as possible. God does not want a single person to perish (II Peter 3:9). He is intent on growing His family through the salvation of as many people as possible. He needs them to repopulate the earth after the Tribulation Period has ended. He also wants them to experience the many blessings He has in store for them during the endless Ages to come. But this current Age of Sin and Death has always had an expiration date. Many Bible scholars believe the clock started ticking with the creation of the race of Adam or modern man. This is thought to have occurred in 4,000 BC and it was then that the Children of Adam were allowed self rule. But it is also theorized that this Age of the Rule of Man would only be for six thousand years as six in the Biblical number of man. Thus, the end date on the modern calendar could be 2033 AD. And, as that fixed date in God’s master timeline draws very near, He is going to quickly increase the pressure on the living unrepentant of the world in order to get their attention, hopefully change their ways, and reward them with immortality and eternal life.
To believe that the Rapture is not Pre-Tribulation is to show a complete ignorance of what Scripture plainly states. Those who teach a Mid-Tribulation or Post Tribulation Rapture are either unknowingly wrong, or willingly ignorant of the facts and trying to sow the seeds of confusion and doubt, or are trying to sell books to the gullible.
The following study is a straightforward exhaustive listing of all the verses in the Bible that speak to the Rapture and Tribulation Periods. Some Scripture quotes are accompanied by commentary to further make clear their intent. After studying these prophecies, there should be no doubt in the readers mind that the Tribulation Period follows the Rapture, and that the Rapture is the trigger event that starts the Tribulation Period.
THE TRIBULATION PERIOD VERSUS THE JEWS
The Old testament has many verses that refer to the Jews, as the chosen people of God, and that they have always disappointed Him. So people assume that God has given up on the Jewish race and replaced them with the Christian Church. This is only partially true. When the Jewish leaders plotted with Rome to have Jesus crucified, they demonstrated that they were content to, spiritually speaking, remain partially blind to who Jesus was. This forced God to go to His Plan B and the establishment of His wildly successful Christian Church. A Church based on the understanding that Jesus was the Messiah {Anointed One of God} and Saviour of mankind.
That said, God has established an eternal covenant with the Jews as His people whether they liked it or not. Scripture tells us that the small remanent of Jews who survive the Tribulation Period will be given religious instructional duties during the Millennial Reign of Christ (Zechariah 8:22-23; Mica 4:2). Scripture is also clear that the Tribulation Period is primarily focused squarely on spiritually awakening the Jews to the fact that Jesus was, is and will always be their Messiah (Jeremiah 30:7). That Jesus is coming back to the earth at a time and in a way that they will clearly recognize Him as Messiah (Zachariah 13:7; 12:10). The Jews that reach this overtly obvious conclusion will be saved and enter into the Millennial Age. Those that adamantly continue to reject Jesus as the Christ will be considered the same as all other unrepentant people of the earth, struck dead at the Second Coming and their intelligent spirits confined in Sheol to await a judgment of condemnation.
THE TRIBULATION PERIOD VERSUS THE GENTILES
God sees mankind in two ways, the saved & unsaved, and Jews & Gentiles. The gentile world, or all those who are not Jews, will experience colleterial damage during the Tribulation. This is because God loves both His spiritually blind Jewish children and the gentiles. This thought aggravates many devout Jews who see the Messiah as their Messiah. But God has a love for all mankind and one plan of salvation for all of them. So, the plagues that God releases on the earth will affect the entire population of the earth both Jew and gentile. And while the more intense focus of the plagues will be directed towards the Antichrist, his followers, and the Middle East region, the entire earth will feel the consequences. This is because God also needs to bring pressure on the world of the Gentiles to repent. Scripture is clear that the regional conflicts in the Middle East will in turn draw in China, Russia, Europe and by proxy, the United States in an effort to support Israel.
God as the Creator of mankind, reserves the right and has the ability to keep those people who have faith in Him from harm during times of tribulation. A person who has faith in God loves God. They show their love for God by obeying His commands and helping their fellow man. God treasures His obedient children and has promised to keep them safe from harm.
The children of God the Father are never appointed to experience His wrath. Why? Because they are His loving Children not His hateful enemies. His wrath is reserved only for those who are in constant active rebellion against Him and hurting His followers and innocent children. Still, He has not given up on them and will do all He can to get their attention in order to persuade them to have faith in Him as their Creator. However, God will never take away a person inalienable right to refuse His offer of salvation. The only unforgivable sin is the person who willingly turns down the offer of forgiveness and eternal life. So, it is the person that has both knowingly committed sins and at the same time refuses to ask for forgiveness of their sins that, in doing so, commits the unforgivable sin by rejecting the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32).
A VERSE BY VERSE STUDY OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE
ENOCH
Genesis 6:9
The very first Rapture recorded in Scripture involved a righteous man named Enoch. The Book of Genesis tells us Enoch, “… walked with God {Elohim}”. Then, instead of traditionally finishing the phrase with the words, “…and he died” as with all the other patriarchs, instead the phrase ends with the words, “ … and he was not, for God took {raptured} him.” So, Enoch did not experience death (Hebrews 11:5). The words “walked with God” is only used in Scripture concerning Enoch and Noah. To walk with God is inferring the closest one-on-one relationship a person can have with their Creator. We can rightly assume this was the same relationship God initially had with Adam and Eve in the Garden. There He would literally walk with them at the end of the day (Genesis 3:8). However, they both willfully decided to rebelled against Him or sinned and by doing so, they distanced themselves from His presence. This Rapture of Enoch occurred one thousand years after the creation of Adam and approximately seven hundred years before the flood of Noah. God saw that the people surrounding Enoch were now growing pagan and cruel (Genesis 6:5). He did not want Enoch murdered nor to be drowned in the coming flood. So one day, as Enoch was walking and giving praise to God for his many blessings, God took him to Himself. In this way Enoch would not experience the coming cataclysmic time of tribulation and death.
Enoch would have been instantly translated to a physical state of immortality. This way he could physically withstand the transition from being an earth bound mortal to now being temporarily placed into Paradise or Sheol located down in the earth.
Sheol was a place created by God to house the intelligent spirits of the righteous dead. It was also used to temporarily house the physical bodies of those few people He would physically Rapture off the earth. These people were not dead, but instead held in Sheol as physical immortals. They, along with a multitude of intelligent righteous spirits, were waiting for a Messiah or Saviour that would have the authority from God to release and lead them up and into Heaven. This event finally occurred on Resurrection Sunday evening when Jesus became the first person or “fruit” to ever be resurrected from the dead of Sheol (I Corinthians 15:20).
Enoch was a man judged by God to be righteous because of his faith and love for his fellow man. So God took Enoch to a safe place known as Paradise {Sheol} where he would not experience the coming tribulation period caused by the flood.
NOAH
Noah experienced a type of Rapture, but the hard way. At the time of Noah, God found mankind had become completely incorrigible (Genesis 6:5). Not only was mankind cruel, wicked and worshiping pagan idols, fallen angels had mated with human females who gave birth to half-bred monsters call Nephilim or giants. These creatures were only partly human killing at will, eating the flesh of those they killed and drinking blood (Genesis 6:2-4). Today we would call them homicidal psychopaths with a complete disregard for human life. The more they killed the more they wanted to kill. The human genome had become polluted to the point where it was almost impossible for a Messiah to be born fully human. However, God found Noah, his three sons and their wives who had not been infected by this hybrid genome. So, God decided to flood the earth to kill the current incurably wicked race of mankind and the giants.
To accomplish this plan, God ordered Noah to build an ark. He then had a pair of adolescent animals of every genus board the ark along with Noah and his family. God then caused the earth to flood. People ask how did Noah get all the animals on the ark when the real question was, what did he do with all that leftover room?
This flood caused a great tribulation period for the people left behind down on the earth. However, Noah and his family floated safely above the devastation. In short, a great tribulation befell the earth, but God protected those that had faith in Him. Noah loved God and showed that love by daily preaching repentance and salvation to his people (II Peter 2:5). But they all turned a deaf ear and were destroyed. Noah, a man judged righteous because of his faith, was spared from being a part of this great tribulation by being protected in a safe place above the deadly turbulent waters.
ABRAHAM
We read an often overlooked story involving Abraham who experienced another type of rapture event. In the story, Abraham is sitting in the shade of his tent on a hot and completely uneventful day. Suddenly, he sees in the distance three strangers approaching. He seems to have been divinely given the understanding that these men are actually messengers sent from God. Abraham welcomes the strangers and invites them to rest and eat. During the meal Abraham is informed that the men have been sent by God to see if Sodom is as corrupt as had been reported. We are told that Abraham’s tent was located on the High Plain of Mamre that overlooked the city of Sodom in the far distance. Sodom is later tried, judged and declared guilty of crimes against God, mankind and nature. Abraham’s righteous nephew Lot is told by two angels that the city could not be destroyed until he was safe in the surrounding mountains (Genesis 19:22). The city is then summarily destroyed by a storm of liquid burning rock known as sulfuric brim stone. Abraham and Lot can only look down from their places of safety and witness the violent devastating judgement taking place below. Abraham and Lot were men judged as righteous through faith in God, and so were spared from this great tribulation and destruction by being safely located above and away from it (Genesis 19:27-29).
MOSES
In the story of the Exodus, we find a striking parallel to the Rapture of the Church. God had taken out a people {the Jews} for Himself. Literally the Jews, but Prophetically the Christian Church. The people {Jews} anticipated the Lord taking them into the Promised Land of milk and honey. The people {Christians} anticipate the Lord taking them into Heaven. The Jews are now living at the base of Mount Sinai. The Christians are now living throughout the world. Then in the Book of Exodus we read, "And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and loud,...Moses spoke and God answered him by a voice {Christ the Word of God}. And the Lord {Christophany} came down {from Heaven} ... and the Lord called Moses up ... and Moses went up {to meet with the Lord} (Exodus 19-20). This is analogous to Paul saying that a trumpet will sound, Christ will descend from Heaven and give the command "Come up here!" and the faithful will rise and follow Him into Heaven (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 4:1). However, the Jews lacked faith in God and so were not taken onto the Promised Land. Instead, they were left on earth to suffer a tribulation period of forty years. Then, after that generation died in the tribulation, their children were allowed into the land. This is analogous to the children of the earth being taken into Heaven in the Rapture.
ELIJAH
Elijah was one of the greatest of the major prophets of God. He was loving, righteous, kind and honorable. But most importantly, He had great faith in God who rewarded Him with the gift of prophecy. God eventually decided to interrupt Elijah’s ministry by rapturing him off of the earth and down into Paradise or Sheol as He had done with Enoch. But this time He raptured Elijah in a spectacular way. He had Elijah drawn up off the ground by a whirlwind and set in a chariot drawn into the sky by horses of fire (II Kings 2:1). God did this because it was in His future plans for mankind that Elijah would serve a second time as one of Two Witnesses during the Tribulation Period.
THE TWO WITTNESSES
In an effort to save as many Jewish and gentile people as possible, God will cause Elijah and Moses to appear on the earth during the final 3.5 years of the seven year Tribulation Period. They, along with 144,000 Messianic Jewish missionaries will proselytize the world concerning the immanent return of Christ (Revelation 14:1). Because the Church has been Raptured, the onus of missionary work now is handed over to them. They will be assisted by three angels continually circling the earth and verbally announcing revelations from God to the unrepentant. The first angel recites the truth of the eternal Gospel of Christ. This message will be understood by all people of the earth (Matthew 24:14). The second angel announces that the kingdom of the Antichrist and those of all mankind are now fallen and will cease to exist. They have been replaced by the Kingdom Age of Christ (Revelation 14:8). A third angel announces that any person that worships the Beast and his image and has received his mark of allegiance on their foreheads or hands will be eternally tormented (Revelation 14:9-10). Then, just days before the end of the Tribulation Period, God will allow Moses and Elijah to be publicly executed by the forces of the Antichrist. They will remain dead for three and one half days, only to be publicly resurrected and raptured back into Heaven (Revelation 11:11-12). At this time, God has done everything possible to save anyone who wants to be saved. It is now that Jesus appears in the sky above the earth. He is escorted by His followers {saints} and the angelic armies of Heaven. He gives a command and all the unrighteous of the earth instantly fall dead. He then begins His one thousand year Millennial Reign on earth. God in the flesh finally dwells with mankind in peace and harmony.
THE TRANSFIGURATION
Scripture tells us that Moses died, was buried and his intelligent spirit descended into Sheol or Paradise (Deuteronomy 34:6). Elijah was alive when he was physically escorted into Sheol by a team of fire horses (II Kings 2:11). Now both men suddenly found themselves drawn up and out of Sheol and standing before their Messiah Jesus at what is traditionally referred to as the Transfiguration. They were told by Him that they would be physically resurrected at the End of the Age. At that time they would be tasked to prophesize to the Jewish and gentile races of the world of His imminent Second Coming. They would be martyred, then resurrected and ascend into Heaven. Then, after participating in the Marriage of Christ to His followers, and attending a great Wedding Supper or feast, they would return to earth with Him at His Second Coming. They are the only two people who will die twice, be resurrected twice and experience the horrific 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation Period as Witnesses. They have been chosen as they are considered by God and the Jews as being the two greatest prophet-leaders in the four thousand year existence of their race. Thus, they have been given the honor and onus to try and bring salvation to as many of their fellow Jews as possible. Many if not most Jews will ignore their pleas just as they did during their first ministries on behalf of God. Sadly, some things never change. “Thinking themselves wise, they became as fools” (Romans 1:22).
ISAIAH
Isaiah was a major Old Testament prophet who, as a reward for his faith and hard work, was raptured so that he could briefly appear before the Throne of God (Isaiah 6:1-9). He was then sent back to the earth to finish his ministry. Some Bible scholars say that Isaiah only saw a vision of Heaven. If so, it was quite a vision. Christ will Rapture all His followers alive into Heaven and the Throne of God to escape the Tribulation, and then back to the earth to continue their mission under His Millennial Reign.
DANIEL
God sent His angel Gabriel to Daniel now living Babylon c.550 BC with a message concerning His people the Jews. He is told that the Jewish race had commit grievous sins against their Creator and that their punishment would be that they would be removed from their Promised Land, Judah or Israel for seventy years (Daniel 9:2). This prophecy turned out to be accurate as Babylon fell to the Mede-Persian army and the Jews were freed to leave Babylon and return to Judah.
Daniel was also told about the Great Tribulation that would befall his people (Daniel 9:24-27; Daniel 12:1). Daniel was told that the Jewish Messiah would appear 70 weeks after the defensive wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt. This wall had been destroyed when King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This 70 weeks prophecy was based on the understanding that each of the 70 weeks was actually a seven year period. In other words, the 70 years needed to be multiplied by 7 to get the actual number of years involved in this prophecy which would be 490 years (Daniel 9:25). But, Daniel was also told that the Messiah would be “cut off” or killed at the end of week 69 or year 483 (Daniel 9:26). As prophesied, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday exactly 483 years after the defensive wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and was executed five days later.
We now know that the remaining seven years of this prophecy accounts for the Tribulation Period which will occur following the Rapture. The prophet Jeremiah rightly called this period, “the time of Jacob’s trouble”. Interestingly, God personally changed the name of Jacob to Israel. But Jeremiah went on say that some Jews “would be save out of it”(Jeremiah 30:3-11; Jeremiah 31:5-10). This is because on the last day of the Tribulation, Jesus appears, destroys the incurably wicked and saving a remanent of the now repentant Jewish race.
So, the Tribulation Period is for the unrepentant Jews and gentile nations to wake up and understand the times they are living in. It makes absolutely no sense that repentant believers in Christ would also be put through this horrific period of persecution.
Also, in the Book of Daniel, a famous story is told in which three of Daniels closest Jewish friends are found guilty by Nebuchadnezzar for not worshiping his image. This is a shadow prophecy in which the Antichrist will require of all the people he conquers to worship him or be killed. The three young men are condemned to be burned alive in a great oven. Their mentor Daniel, a man who constantly walked with God, was mysteriously absent to help save them. He was apparently safe in an unknown location which can be seen as a shadow of the Rapture of the righteous from affliction of the Tribulation. The three Jews undergo the trial, judgment and fiery furnace punishment. However, because they had faith in the Creator God, they are not killed. Instead, onlookers see a fourth person {Christophany} in the oven which seems to allow the other three to not experience the flames. This event shows that the people of God will not suffer the rage of the Antichrist, but instead be saved by being removed by Christ before the Tribulation begins.
APOSTLE PHILIP
The Apostle Philip experienced an unusual Rapture. He had just finished witnessing to and baptizing an Ethiopian man (Acts 8:34-38) when he suddenly found that he had been removed from the desert of Gaza and was now in the city of Azotus (Acts 8:40). So, Phillip was a believer in Christ in a desolate area when God raptured him from where he was to a beautiful safe city on the Mediterranean coast. While Philip was in no mortal danger, God suddenly removed him without warning from one place to another. Jesus’ great commission was for His followers to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth and in the process, the end of the Age would come suddenly and without warning. Modern media has now accomplished His command. Jesus did not say that all the world would at that time believe. He only said that the end would come when all people of the earth had the opportunity to hear, consider, believe, repent and be saved. That time has now arrived. And all Christians, as ambassadors of Christ, will be suddenly and unexpectedly called back home before the rule of the Antichrist and Tribulation begins.
JESUS RAPTURES DISCIPLES OUT OF STORM
Scripture tells us that in the middle or late part of the ministry of Jesus, He created a minor, seldom commented on Rapture. Jesus is safe on a high mountain looking down at His disciples on a boat as a raging storm is slowly developing. His followers are valiantly struggling against a tumultuous sea that is violently rising and threatens their lives. Jesus descends down from the mountain, walks out to the ship suspended in the air just above the water, and calmed the sea (John 6:16-19). This mighty miracle concerning Jesus’ power over the natural forces of the earth got the attention it deserved from both the disciples and generations of readers. But what is often overlooked by most readers is that just as the turbulent sea was calmed, the disciples were astonished to realize that they had instantly been transported to the safety of the port they had been striving so hard to reach (John 6:21).
There are many parallels with this story and the description of the Rapture given by Paul. The nations of the earth are in turmoil, the storm of civil unrest and wars are beginning, believers understand the times and pray to be saved. Jesus descends from Heaven into the atmosphere of the earth, He commands His followers both dead and alive to “come up here”, and they find themselves immediately safe with Him in Heaven (Revelation 4:1).
JESUS RAPTURES RIGHTEOUS SPIRITS OUT OF SHEOL
Jesus was resurrected on Sunday, April 5th 33 AD. That morning at sunrise, He spoke to Mary Magdalene at the tomb site. Then He spoke to a group of women who had earlier left the empty tomb having spoken with the two angels. Then He briefly met with His step brother James and His disciple Peter. Later that evening He met with Cleopas and Mary who were His uncle and aunt on their way back to the village of Emmaus. He had a brief dinner with them then disappeared from their sight. He then descended back down into Sheol and raptured all the captured righteous intelligent spirits up out of Sheol and into Heaven (Ephesians 4:8). Then He descended back to the earth and met with the disciples at dinner (John 20:19). Please see related: “Timeline of the Resurrection Revealed”.
So, Jesus has repeatedly proven that He is completely comfortable with His power to Rapture Himself from danger, or from place to place to meet with followers and return to and from Heaven when necessary. Over the forty days after His resurrection, He preached to large and small crowds and continued to regularly meet with the disciples. Then on May 15, ten days before the Feast of Pentecost, He was with His disciples on the Mount of Olives when He slowly raptured Himself up into Heaven and on to the Throne of God (Acts 1:8-11).
Jesus is emblematic of a person who has complete faith in God to save Him from perilous times. Herod the Great tried to kill Jesus as a baby, but He escaped into the safety of a distant land. The mobs tried to kill Him in His own home town, but He escaped into the peace and safety of the countryside. The religious leaders of Israel tried to kill Him, but He escaped beyond the Jordan awaiting His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Romans tried to kill Him, but He arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.
It is clear that Jesus considers His Church as His precious bride. A loving groom would never allow His adored bride to be tortured by the Antichrist. Just as He, the Groom, escaped mortal danger, so also will He provide an escape for His Bride the Church. Thus, the Rapture will come before the Tribulation Period.
PAUL AND THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH
This is the Great Rapture event that not only the Church, but the entire world is waiting for. The difference is, the Church has complete faith that it is going to happen while the world scoffs at the impossibility of such an event. But both sides agree that this event would be the greatest miracle in the history of mankind excluding of course the birth and resurrection of Jesus.
The Rapture of the Church was a prophecy given almost exclusively to Paul. He received this information directly from Christ (Galatians 1:12). And, it was in the very first city he visited on his first missionary trip that he taught about the Rapture. Unfortunately, it apparently boggled the mind of his listeners as they later wrote him repeatedly to explain again in detail exactly what was going to happen during the Rapture. Fortunately, Paul wrote back to them and his letters were immediately taken to scribes who made multiple copies that were then distributed to all the various churches in Asia Minor {modern Turkey} and the Jerusalem Church.
But, before we look at what Paul wrote, we need to first look at what little Jesus and the disciples have to say on the subject. The Gospels primarily contain the accounts that Jesus gave concerning His Second Coming after the Rapture and at the End of the Tribulation Period. However, there are a few clues here and there concerning the Rapture. Again, the Rapture is primarily a Pauline prophecy, but the Gospels hint at the Rapture while Paul clarifies and amplifies.
WHAT THE APOSTLES WROTE ON A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE
THE APOSTLE MATTHEW
Matthew 13:30
This is an interesting quote. Jesus is saying to let the wheat {righteous} and weeds {unrighteous} grow together until the harvest. Israel traditionally had two harvests, Early Summer and late Fall. Jesus is talking about two spiritual harvests. One takes place during the Rapture and another at the Second Coming. In the first harvest, the righteous followers of Jesus are taken into Heaven to attend the Marriage of Christ to His Church followed by a Supper. The unrighteous people of the earth are left to experience the Tribulation Period and hopefully repent and be saved. At the Second Coming, those raptured seven years earlier return with Christ to the Earth. At that time, the people of the earth now consist of two groups. Those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour, and those who have not. This division is referred to as the sheep versus the goats (Matthew 25:31-34; Matthew 25: 41-46). Scripture also refers to these two groups as the second harvest of the wheat and the chaff (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). With the return of Christ, the unrepentant {goats or chaff} who have freely decided to reject God and His offer of salvation, simply collapse dead where they stand. Their intelligent spirits are remanded down into Sheol to await a final judgement. Those mortals on earth who have accepted Christ {sheep or wheat} and survived the Tribulation Period, will live during the Age of the Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth. They will be tasked with, among other things, repopulating the earth.
Matthew 24: 37-41
This quote is unique in that it is Literal, Figurative and Prophetic. It is a shadow prophecy of the literal Rapture. It is figurative as it references the current times when at death, all people fall onto the categories of either repentant believers or unrepentant nonbelievers. These two categories determine the destination of all the intelligent spirits of all people. It references the prophetic future and the Second Coming which will be the final division of the the repentant people of God from the unrepentant. But each case shows that God has always and will continue to separate His blessed and faithful Children from the cursed and unfaithful people of the earth.
Noah and his family were faithful and blessed. They were set apart by way of the ark floating above the earth’s waters from the unfaithful and cursed people of the earth who were judged and destroyed by the ensuing flood. Noah and His family were ordered by God to come into the Ark with Him. The believers are ordered by Christ to come up into Heaven with Him before the Tribulation begins. God was in the ark when Noah was told to come on board. Jesus will be visibly in the Heavens when He commands His followers to come up to be with Him. Noah and his family boarded the ark 7 days before the flood came. The Tribulation Period may begin seven days after the Rapture, and the Rapture will take the righteous away 7 years before the end of the Tribulation. The wrath of God was poured out upon the people of the flood while Noah was blissfully off the earth’s surface and unaware. The wrath of God will be poured out in the people of the earth while those Raptured will be blissfully celebrating in Heaven unaware of the turmoil on the earth below.
Jesus tells us that two men will be working in a field and two women grinding at the mill. Then suddenly, one is taken. This refers to both the literal Rapture and the prophetic Second Coming (Matthew 24:36-44). Thus, the word “taken” has two different meanings as it is referring to two completely different events separated by a seven year period. A person is raptured leaving the other to deal with the Tribulation. At the Second Coming, Christ gives a command and one person falls dead while the other lives a long full life in peace.
The Rapture occurs first and suddenly without warning. At that event, a believer is both physically and spiritually removed from the earth alive and taken up into Heaven. Jesus only states that the person is taken and will leave it up to John and later Paul to give the details of this event at this time. However, the Second Coming occurs after a prolonged and agonizing 3.5 years during the Great Tribulation. Jesus gives a detailed timeline of this period and the various judgments of God against mankind as they unfold. He also gives a detailed description of when and how He will appear to end this Tribulation Period, and how He will usher in a one thousand year period of peace on earth and goodwill towards all mankind.
The people of the earth who survive this seven years period will have a very accurate understanding of when the Second Coming will occur. They will even be able to actually see the unmistakable sign of Christ in the skies just before His appearance (Matthew 24:30). The armies of the Antichrist will be gathered at a place called the Plain of Megiddo to participate in the final war known as the War of Armageddon. This is a war in which unrepentant mankind makes a final attempt to remove their Creator from their lives. Yet, even at this very late moment in time, anyone who turns to Christ for redemption will be saved. Some few will, but sadly most will not.
So the Rapture and Second Coming are two completely different events, involving two completely different types of people, at two completely different times and having two completely different outcomes. One is a great and joyous gathering of the saved or sheep, in which a brotherhood of mankind comes together to be joined to their Creator, celebrate and receive eternal blessings. While the Second Coming is a great and terrible gathering of the unsaved or goats, in which the armies of the world come together to reject their Creator, declare war and receive eternal condemnation and destruction. The timing of these two events is also completely different. For the repentant, the Rapture is unknown, sudden and joyous. For the unrepentant, the Second Coming or Day of the Lord, will be known, drawn out and dreadful.
Matthew 24:42
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
This quote is for today’s believers patiently waiting for the Rapture and the unbelievers left behind as they struggle to stay alive during the Tribulation. Jesus is telling both groups to stay mentally alert and spiritually strong in both Pre and Post Tribulation times. To not let the cares of everyday life take ones attention away from His promise of eternal life through faith. However, because we know that the Second Coming takes place 1260 days after the “abomination” in the third Temple in Jerusalem, we can know the exact date of the Second Coming. Therefore, this quote is to encourage believers concerning the unknown and sudden Rapture. Yet it also is a survival guide to help those who come to Christ during the Tribulation to keep the faith and know that, in their darkest hour, the date He is coming back. The exact day and time is impossible to state as during every day on earth, there is a time period where three days are occurring simultaneously. Also to be considered is earth’s 24 time zones. Bottom line, Jesus is coming so stay alert and focused in faith.
Matthew 25: 1-46
Matthew chapter 25 is just straight up talking about the Rapture and the Bema Seat Judgement versus the Second Coming of Christ and His Judgement of the wicked and unrepentant.
The parable concerning the ten virgins is about the followers of Christ. Here they are referred to as the virgin {spiritually dedicated} bride, and Christ as the bridegroom. The term virgin is a way to describe believers that have a rock steady faith in Christ and are not spiritually deluded by false doctrines. Please see related: Religions of the World file in Library. Some of the brides were considered wise as they were singularly focused in who Christ is, what He expects from His followers and passionately awaiting the coming Rapture. However, some of the brides were unwise as they were very lackadaisical about their relationship with Christ. They understood the premise of the relationship, but were not fully committed. They waited passively. Both types participated in daily life, but the wise were always in an expectation mode with their eye on the prize. Then, when it was least expected, the Groom arrived. The wise rushed out prepared having been in a state of expectation. The foolish were surprised and thus unprepared because they did not have faith He would ever actually appear. The wise were prepared and were taken by the Groom to participate in the Wedding ceremony and the door was shut {Rapture occurred}. Once the unwise were ready, they called out in prayer to the Groom to now come back for them. But He said to them, “I do not know you” as you were unprepared. I did not recognize you as you were not indwelled by the Holy Spirit {Reborn} (Matthew 25:1-13). In other words, the prepared are unable to share with the unprepared. Thus, exclusion through negligence.
The second parable concerned three people who were loaned different sums of money {gifts of the Spirit} by a wealthy man {Christ} to freely do with these gifts as they saw fit. Two invested or grew their money {used their gifts} with varying success while one played it safe and buried his money {gift}. The master suddenly arrived {Second Coming} rewarding those who grew their gifts, but cast the one who buried his money from the estate into “outer darkness”. The point being, all people are born with gifts or talents. It is up to them to decide to exercise those talents and in what ways. Those that miss the Rapture, like the unwise brides, will be given seven additional years to discover and use their talents in a way that is in the will of God. Those that do not take advantage of this seven year reprieve will be found wanting and will receive the earned reward of exclusion from eternal life through gross negligence.
THE APOSTLE MARK
Mark 13:32 “But concerning the day hour, no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, but only the Father.”
Jesus is stating that only the Godhead knows the exact time of the Rapture and Second Coming. While these two events are separated by seven years, both are destine to occur and at an exact time as these occurrences are already scheduled in God’s eternal timeline for mankind. The date of the Rapture is unknown to mankind in that nothing needs to happen prophetically for it to occur. As opposed to the Second Coming which will occur exactly 3.5 years after the “abomination of desolation” in the third Temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Matthew 24:15). .
THE APOSTLE LUKE
Luke 12:40
This quote can be taken to refer to both the Rapture and Second Coming. Jesus is extolling His followers to always be alert and remain spiritually “ready” for He will appear at a time not expected. This could be while sleeping, during the holidays, the Superbowl, or reading this Paper.
Luke 21:34-36
“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have the {spiritual} strength {though faith} to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man {Christ at the Bema Seat Judgement of rewards}.”
This is an interesting verse as written by Luke. It is another quote that mixes the Rapture with the Second Coming. Both are two events that a believer should be aware of. Jesus is saying that a follower should not let the cares and worries of this world depress or detract their focus. If they do, then they could miss the Rapture which is a reward and blessing for the faithful. However, it will be the exact opposite for the distracted and unfaithful. Once the good are gone, the bad are left to their own devices. The Rapture will leave behind those who are caught up in day to day worries and have little or no faith. Faith is the intellectual belief that allows the Holy Spirit to indwell a person. And it is that indwelling that allows the Holy Spirit to locate a believer and take them away during the Rapture. The Holy Spirit will pass over those without faith and instead have a spirit of the flesh. Leaving them to continue to be self-absorbed about themselves and the material world around them. Jesus tells us to continue to pray that one will have the spiritual strength to escape the physical Tribulation by way of the Rapture. If a person misses the Rapture, then they are too late to escape the horrors of the Tribulation. But in either case, they will still stand before Christ as all people will stand and kneel before Christ (II Corinthians 5:10). However it is significantly better to be raptured and stand before Christ at the Bema Seat judgement of rewards, than at the Second Coming and His separating of the Lambs {His followers} from the goats {the unsaved self-doomed to eternal destruction}.
THE APOSTLE JOHN
John 14:1-4
Jesus tells His disciples at the Last Supper, “Let not your hearts be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me {the Father and I are one}. In My Father’s house {God the Father} there are many mansions {spacious places to live}: If this was not true, I have told you. I go to prepare a place {a home specifically} for you. And if I go to prepares a place for you, I will 'come again' and will take you {Rapture} to Myself; that where {ever} I Am, there you will also be.” (John 14:1-3).
First Jesus is saying to His followers to not let their emotions rule their faith in God. Times will get rough in the Pre-Tribulation days and cause confusion for mankind (John 16:33). But this should not be the reaction of His followers. Jesus is saying the He and God are of one essence {Triune} and to not lose their faith.
Now Jesus is apparently repeating something He had promised His followers earlier. He says that there are an infinite number of large gracious homes in God’s house. And that He would not have told them about this if it was not true. He reminds them that while He must leave them, He is still with them in Spirit. And, that He is preparing individual homes for each of them in His Father’s house. This physical home will be located in the New Jerusalem which Christ is also overseeing the creation of (Revelation 21:16). This is an enormous physical structure {1,400 miles by 1,400 miles} where all physical immortal believers will have a permanent home on earth. This is the structure John saw descending down to the earth at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ (Revelation 21:2-4). The Children of God are not forever confined to the earth, but they will always have a home here. Please see related, “The Stars Are Only a Stepping Stone”.
So Jesus has promised to prepare a unique physical home for each of His followers initially located off the earth. Then He states that since He is going to prepare a place for each follower, He will “come again” or return back to the earth and at that time take all His followers “to Himself” so that, from that time forward, wherever Jesus goes, His followers will be safe with Him. Notice He does not say this appearance will be His Second Coming. He does not say the entire population of the earth will see this event. He does not say He will descend to the earth. He simply says He will return to specifically take His followers to Himself and from that moment forward, wherever He is, His followers will be with Him.
Therefore, Jesus is saying He will return to the earth again and it will be before His Second Coming. We can know this for certain because at His Second Coming, He does not take anyone to Heaven. Instead, all His raptured saints follow Him from Heaven to the earth to take control of the planet now their forever home. So, Jesus is cleverly intimating that He will return to the earth before the Second Coming to take His followers to Himself to a special place He has prepared for them. This is the New Jerusalem which may be the location of the Marriage Ceremony of Christ to His Church. Then followed by a Wedding Supper for many billions of followers comprised of both Old and New Testament saints. And Jesus is saying that from that moment on, His followers will always be safe with Him. They will be with Him in the Rapture, at the Bema Seat Judgement for rewards, at the Wedding ceremony, at the Wedding Supper, at His Second Coming to the earth, throughout His one thousand year reign on earth and throughout all eternity.
John 17:15
This is a very interesting quote by Jesus that I have never heard or read anyone comment on. Jesus is conducting the Last Supper. He is praying and asking God to protect His followers from the coming dangers. He then adds the phrase, ” I do not ask you to take them {Rapture} out of the world {at this time}, but that you {instead} keep them from the evil one {Satan}.” So, Jesus is stating that while He knows that the time will come when His followers will be Rapture from the earth in order to protect them from Satan and the Antichrist, He was not making that request to God the Father at this time.
THE BOOK OF ACTS WRITTEN BY LUKE
Acts 1:11
The time has come for Jesus to return back to the Godhead. It is May 15th and ten days before the Feast of Pentecost. This is the Feast in which the Jews celebrate the giving of the Law {Commandments} to Moses on Mount Sinai. Jesus leads His disciples to the Mount of Olives and commands them to take the Good News of Salvation and eternal life to the world. He then begins to bless His followers both present and future. As He is pronouncing this blessing, He began to slowly ascend or be Raptured into Heaven. His disciples stare in awe and wonder as this event quietly and slowly takes place in real time. There are two parts to this event to be considered. First, it means that Jesus’ blessing on His followers never ended, so their blessings are endless. Second, this event is an exact visual representation of how all His followers will one day ascend into the sky at the Rapture. The only difference is, that ascension will be so quick that it will appear as if His followers disappeared. But in fact they simply moved from the earth to an initial congregation location in the atmosphere faster than the human eye can register.
It was after Jesus disappeared into the clouds that two angels appeared. They told the Apostles that the spot where Jesus' feet left the earth would be the exact same spot that He will descend to at His Second Coming (Acts 1:11). However, the Book of Revelation tells us that the entire Earth will see Him arrive in great glory and with an entourage of both the angelic armies of Heaven and His Saints or followers (Revelation 1:7).
Acts 15:14-16 James, the step brother of Jesus, prophesies the Rapture is Pre-Tribulation.
In this small completely unrecognized chapter, James the step brother of Jesus, is about to give a startling prophecy that the Rapture will be Pre-Tribulation. This occurred during the Council of Jerusalem c.50 AD (Acts 15). James, now the leader of the Jerusalem Church, is saying to Peter, Paul, Barnabas and many of the Apostles that Israel was now being set aside while the Lord took a people from among the gentiles for Himself. James and the other Apostles understood at this time that alarming events were now taking place in the Temple. The Jewish Babylonian Talmud Commentary mentions four of them.
First, the High Priest had always selected the Yom Kippur sacrificial male goat by lot. The High Priest would alternate both his hands to finally pull the short straw. This signified which of the two goats would be sacrificed. Traditionally the short straw was always pulled using his right hand. Now, after the cross and for the first time, the short straw was being pulled by his left hand. The left hand was considered a bad omen for the nation. Second, the male goat not sacrificed was know as the Scape Goat. The priests used the palms of their hands to symbolically indwell the sins of the nation onto that goat. The animal was then released into the desert to roam alone and die. When that happened, a red thread placed on the Temple door would always turn white. After the crucifixion, this thread never turned white again meaning the Yom Kippur sacrifice was no longer acceptable to God. Third, the Temple Menorah had seven lamps. The 7th lamp stood for Completion. After the Crucifixion, the Temple priesthood could not get the seventh lamp to light. And finally, the Temple’s main doors refused to stay latched and would regularly open by themselves. Many Jews saw this as a fulfillment of a troubling prophecy by Zachariah, ”…may the fires devour your cedars...” (Zachariah 11:11). Forty years after the start of Jesus’ ministry, Rome would burn the Temple with its cedar carvings and ceiling to the ground. Then they broke up the stones with sledge hammers and salted the earth, thus dramatically fulfilling Jesus' prophecies (Matthew 24:2; Luke 19:41-44). The Jews have not conducted a Yom Kippur sacrifice for the past two thousand years.
James said at the meeting, "God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His namesake. After this {taking out a people for His name}, I will return and build again the Temple of David which is fallen down and I will build again the ruins of it and I will set it up" (Acts 15:14; Acts 15:16). The Greek words “take out of” that James used are “lambano ek” which means “to take something with one’s own hand in order to carry {it} away from a certain time and place”. In this case it is obvious that the "something" is the Church {a people for Himself}. The term, "with ones own hand" is speaking of Christ personally removing the Church. And to "carry it away" is an obvious reference to the Rapture as the mode to remove the Church. The phrase "from a certain time" is referring to the Tribulation and the word "place” is the earth which is about to receive the wrath of God, Satan and his son the Antichrist.
This prophecy is saying that God would crate a new Church system using the gentiles. The second sentence says, "After this" {referring to the Rapture} I will return and rebuild again the {Third} Temple of David {in Jerusalem} which if fallen down {made a ruin by Rome 70 AD} and I will build again {from} the ruins of it and I will set it up". This prophecy is saying that God will allow the Jews to rebuild the third Temple in Jerusalem just as Jesus prophesied as did the prophet Amos in c.780 BC (Amos 9:11-12). In other words, God will allow the third Temple to be rebuilt when He is finished with the Church. Once the Church is gone, He will freely allow those that want to follow the failed system of law, meaningless rituals and animal sacrifices to do so unto their own destruction. Daniel and Jesus both say that the Antichrist will put an end to Temple sacrifices and offerings in the middle of the 70th week {3.5 years before End of Age} (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15). So this tells us that a third Temple will be rebuilt before the Great Tribulation and Second Coming. Will God's chosen people choose to follow the system of Law, death and the grave, or will they choose His improved system of grace and mercy through faith in Jesus their Messiah? The choice will be theirs to freely make.
So the Tribulation is not for the Church. It is specifically for the Jewish race and unrepentant gentiles. Trying to mix the Temple with the Church is like trying to mix oil {the Law} with water {grace}. The two do not go together and James was prophetically stating, whether he knew it or not, that the Rapture of the Church would preclude the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week or the seven year Tribulation Period.
NOW ON TO PAUL
I Thessalonians 1:10
Paul writes, “And to wait {End of Age} for His {God’s} Son from Heaven, who He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us {His followers} from the wrath {Tribulation Period} to come.”
Could this be explained any clearer? The followers of Christ will not experience the Tribulation … full stop!
I Thessalonians 4:2
In this verse Paul is telling the church he founded in Thessalonica that they should follow his instructions about living a virtuous life as all he has told them was personally given to him by Christ Jesus. This would include his message concerning the Rapture. It was all personally given to him by Jesus.
I Thessalonians 4:13-16
Paul is writing to first century and twenty first century Christians that Jesus does not want His followers to be confused or unreasonably bereaved concerning loved ones who are asleep {dead}. Because, these people will live again. Therefore, their bodies are not so much dead as they are in a state of rest. For as Jesus died and arose, so through faith in Jesus, God will awaken and bring to Himself these people once considered dead. Paul states that he got these understandings directly from Jesus. Those Christians that are living on the earth the day of the Rapture will ascend to be with Christ in the air just seconds after those that were dead have been resurrected. This resurrection and disappearance of over 2.5 billion living Christians around the world will also include the earth’s 2.5 billion children. Why Rapture the children? First, God will not allow innocent children to suffer the tribulation. Second, He wants to get the attention of the earth’s unrepentant people. And taking their children is a sure way to accomplish that goal.
I Thessalonians 4:16-17
Paul describes in detail the Rapture event. He writes that Jesus the Christ will personally descend from the Throne of God down into the atmosphere of the earth. While suspended in midair, He will give a command with a loud voice, like the clear crisp sound of a trumpet or shofar. Then instantly, all those in the will of God who are dead, will have their bodies reconstituted. Even those cremated or buried at sea will regain their physical bodies only now all will be immortal (Revelation 20:13). These resurrected bodies will rise up into the sky irresistibly drawn to their Creator and Saviour Jesus the Christ. Then all those alive and in the will of God will also be transformed to a state of immortality and taken up into the sky. Paul writes that all this will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Which is to say the smallest amount of time that is indivisible {Nano Second}. All will be drawn up so fast that it will appear to the human eye that they disappeared. They will now be forever with Christ who leads them into Heaven and the Bema Seat Judgement of Rewards .
It is the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of billions of adults and children that trigger the seven year Tribulation Period. So, the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation Period.
I Thessalonians 5:1-9
Paul tells us in verses one through three that the unrepentant should fear the Day of the Lord. It is a terrible day that will come like a thief in the night to steal and destroy. The Day of the Lord is just another name for the Second Coming in which Christ strikes dead all the wicked unrepentant of the earth. So they should fear this terrible day for them. Then in verses four through eight, Paul explains that as “children of light”, we should not worry as God is on our side protecting us.
Then in verse nine Paul states, “For God has not appointed us to {His} wrath, but to obtain salvation {Rapture} from {His} wrath through {faith in} our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The “wrath” Paul is writing about is the coming Tribulation Period. Paul is plainly stating that the followers of Christ will not experience God’s righteous wrath because they will not be on the earth thanks to “our Lord Jesus Christ” and the Rapture.
II Thessalonians 2:1-8
Here Paul gives us a direct understanding of the revealing of the Antichrist versus the timing of the Rapture.
Paul writes, 1) “Now I beseech {beg} you, brethren, by {concerning} the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together {Rapture] to Him, 2) that you be not soon {easily} disturbed or be troubled, neither by spirit, or by word, or by a {false} letter {that seemed to be} from me, that the Day of Christ (the Lord} is at hand {occurring}.3) Let no man deceive you in any way: for that Day will not come {occur}, except there {first} come a falling away {Rapture}, and that {then} the man of sin be {is} revealed, the son of perdition {Hell}; 4) who opposes and will exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sits in the {third} Temple of God {in Jerusalem} showing himself {declaring} that he is God. 5) Do you not remember this, when I was there with you, I told you these things? 6) And now you know what {currently} withholds {the Church Age} that he {Antichrist} might be revealed in his time {after Rapture}. 7) For the mystery {secret power} of iniquity is already at work {will zenith with Antichrist}: only He {Holy Spirit} who now let’s {allows} will {continue to allow}, until He is taken out {Rapture of Church} of the way {of Antichrist}. 8) And then shall the Wicked {one} be revealed, who the Lord will {at Second Coming} consume {envelop} with the {Holy} Spirit of His mouth {a command}, and will destroy {confine in Lake of Fire} with the brilliance {Shekinah Light} of His {Second} Coming;”
At the Second Coming of Christ, the wicked and unrepentant of the earth drop dead where they stand, sit or sleep (Revelation 19:15). The Antichrist and his False Prophet are both immediately confined in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:19-20). Satan is confined in a Pit for one thousand years. He is briefly released, leads one final short rebellion against Christ, and is then also eternally confined in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10).
I Corinthians 15:51-53
Paul now reveals a new revelation that he received from Christ concerning the Rapture. “Behold! I show you a mystery. We will not all sleep {die}, but we 'will' all be changed {translated}, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye {nanosecond}, at the last trumpet {of Rapture event}. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will {first} be raised {immortal}, and we {living} will be changed {translated immortal}. Because this perishable {now mortal} body must put on imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
So, at the Rapture, all followers of Christ receive immortal bodies in order to be able to survive being taken up into the earth atmosphere and into Heaven. Thus escaping the Tribulation Period.
Philippians 3:20-21
Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we wait {patently} for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly {mortal} body {to immortality} to be like His glorious body, by the power {as Creator} that enables Him to {also} subject {rule} all things {creation} to Himself.
So, while the followers of Christ are in the world, they are not of the world. They are ambassadors of Christ. And as such, they are tasked with spreading the Good News of the Gospel. However, like all ambassadors, when the country they are assigned becomes unsafe, they are immediately recalled to return back to the safety of their home country. So, as the world approaches a tipping point in lawlessness, Christian ambassadors will be called home to Heaven by way of the Rapture. And it will be during the Rapture that the bodies of believers will be translated from mortal to immortal in order to withstand the stresses of physically leaving the earth’s atmosphere and entering Heaven.
Romans 10:9
Paul wrote, “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart {mind} that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So the question is, saved from what? The answer is, saved from the judgement and wrath of God on the wicked and unrepentant of the earth. So, if a person is saved from judgement and the wrath of God, then a person is obviously saved from the Tribulation Period also known as the judgment and wrath of God. Capeesh?
Colossians 3:4
“When Christ who is {the focus of} our life, will appear {at the Rapture}, then will you also appear {join} with Him in Glory.” Christ is a believer’s focus in life. Thus a believer is in Christ and Christ is in all believers by way of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So, when Christ appears at the Rapture, then a follower will also appear with Him in Glory both in a glorified immortal body the same as His, suspended with Him in the sky, and bathed in Glory from standing with Him in Heaven before the Throne of God (I Corinthians 15:51-57; I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Take a minute to imagine the grandeur of that moment!
So this verse tells us that a follower is considered in Christ, and at the Rapture, they will be like Him physically {immortal} and be where He is {Heaven}. Therefore, it is completely incongruous to believe that the Rapture occurs during or after the horrific Tribulation Period. What purpose would that serve? The Groom watches His devoted Bride suffer, then rewards her by marring her?
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
The Apostle John, now in his nineties, is writing the Book of Revelation. He is writing exactly what he sees, hears and is told by Christ. It is not clear nor relevant if John was raptured up into Heaven, or saw the unfolding events in a vision. The first three chapters of this Book deal exclusively with established Christian Churches at that time. Each of these churches represents a type of follower. Some receive praise from Christ, some are determined to be lukewarm in their faith and outreach programs, and others are reprimanded for specific reasons.
Then starting with chapter four, the focus is only on the timeline of the Tribulation Period. This period has three major forces at work on the unrepentant people of the earth. God begins to initiate a series of curses on the earth and mankind. Satan now tries to be recognized as the god of this world through the use of a False Prophet. And, the Antichrist persecutes all people who do not support his efforts to create a One World Order with him as its divine leader. His persecution plan eventually evolves to include the gynecide of all Jews and recent Christian converts.
There is not a single mention of the Church from chapter four until chapter twenty two. It is at this time that Jesus arrives with His Church Age Saints on earth. He saves a remanent of the Jewish race, and those Gentiles that have become followers of Christ and survived the Tribulation Period. We are then told Jesus begins His thousand year reign on earth from Jerusalem. This Age is followed by the Perfect Age in which the fire of the Holy Spirit first cleanses the planet (II Peter 3:10). It is then that the New Jerusalem can descend from the heavens and comes to rest on a pristine earth. It is this gigantic structure {1,400 by 1,400 miles} that will now provide homes for the saints, and a Throne Room from which the Triune Godhead will rule the earth and all creation eternally (Revelation 21:1-3).
For most Bible scholars, the Book of Revelation is understood as being composed in three major sections each representing three major moments in time. The present time in which Jesus judges the existing churches. The time starting with chapter four in which Jesus says, “Come up here”, and John writes he is now with Christ in Heaven watching in real time the Tribulation events unfold. Then starting with Chapter twenty two, we pick up again with Christ and His Church returning to the earth to begin His Millennial Reign on earth.
So it is clear to most scholars that John, representing the Church Age believers, is raptured into Heaven and then the account of the Tribulation Period occurs for him to view from a place of safety. Thus, this organizational structure is a shadow prophecy given to John by Christ concerning a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. A prophecy that the Rapture will take place before the Tribulation.
Revelation 3:10
“Because you {believers} have kept my {Jesus’} word about patient endurance {in faith}, I will {in turn} keep you from the hour of trial {Tribulation Period} that is coming on the whole world, to try {test} those {unrepentant} who live on the earth.” Jesus cannot be any clearer about a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. This verse speaks for itself!
Revelation 19:11-16
The Apostle John finally writes that he now saw, from the vantage point of the earth, the sky opening and Jesus descending. He was followed by the angelic armies of Heaven as well as the physical now immortal saints of His Church. They were still dressed in fine linen, white and pure that they received at the Bema Seat Judgement of rewards (Revelation 19:8). They are no longer referred to as the "Bride of Christ". They are now referred to as “His Wife” (Revelation 19:7.) This obviously means that the Rapture of the Church has taken place, the intelligent spirits of the followers of Christ have been indwelled into their resurrected immortal bodies, and they are now physically with Christ and that the Marriage and Supper of the Lamb has taken place.
Therefore, the Rapture must have taken place before the Bema Seat Judgement, Marriage Ceremony, Supper of the Lamb, and Second Coming.
One final thought. There are currently 8 billion people living in the earth. There are 2.5 billion Christians on earth. There are 2.5 billion children under the age of accountability {19} on earth. That accounts for approximately 5 billion people leaving 3 billion people unaccounted for.
China has a population of 1.4 billion people with 3% identifying as Christians. India has a population of 1.4 billion with 2% identifying as Christians. The Middle East has a population of 500 million with 5% identifying as Christians. There are 16 million Jews in the world. This is a total of approximately 2.85 billion people.
It is clear that there is no reason why a loving God would visit the horrors of the Tribulation Period on the righteous and child populations of the earth. Why would He punish the righteous along with the unrighteous? He would not. Conversely, because the time of the rule of mankind has come to its predetermined end, there is every reason for Him to now concentrate on those populations who will continue down the wide path of destruction unless He literally steps in and corrects their course. This includes His Chosen People the Jews who believe there will be a tribulation period of some sort at the end of the age with a victorious Messiah ushering in a messianic Age of Peace.
Bottom Line: The Church is delivered from wrath not appointed to wrath!
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