Beth-El Baptist Church

06/12/2011

Greg Tomlinson


(open) Will there be a rapture before the tribulation?


The relationship between the rapture (taking up) of believers and the great tribulation is a hotly debated issue with Christianity


  1. Will the Christian be around for the great tribulation?

Matthew 13:20-21; 24:19-23; 24:29-33


The scriptures are clear that Jesus told the believers of His day that persecutions are coming and there will even be a “great tribulation” what will be of a short duration for the “sake of the elect”. Since the great tribulation will be shortened on behalf of the elect, it only stands to reason that the elect will have to endure the great tribulation.


  1. What do we know about the “taking up” or the “rapture” event?

Luke 17:30-37 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

2 Samuel 19:15-24 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43


Take note that in these parables of Jesus, the interpretation states that at the end of the age, the angels of God will come and gather the wicked first and leave the believer so that he might shine so much brighter. Also note that in the parable of the “two” but “one is taken” that the disciples asked “where to?” This strongly indicates that they asked about the fate of the unbeliever and Jesus told them “where the body is, there will the eagles (or vultures) be gathered together. The implication is that the ones who are taken will be placed in a location of great destruction because they will be consumed by the “eagle”.


Those who proclaim a pre-tribulation rapture generally teach that Jesus comes part of the way to earth, claims those who are believers and then return to His heavenly kingdom with him. The problem is that when a conquering king heads toward the conquering nation and the people come out to greet him, the conquering king, surrounded by the conquered city's population, enters into the city as its victor and new right to rule.


  1. Why do some people believe in a pre-tribulation rapture?

Revelation 3:22; 3:9-11 cmp Revelation 5; 8; 11:18; 13:7-10

Revelation 14 – Mark of the beast

Revelation 20:4 Ezekiel 9:1-5


Some people believe that the rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation because the “church” is not mentioned again after chapter 3, therefore since the rest of the book of Revelation seems to deal with much of the outpouring of God's wrath that it only follows that the church, who will not receive the wrath of God, must already be out of the world. The problem is that the “saints”, who are believers, are mentioned multiple times throughout the book of Revelation and saints are Christians for they are the body of Christ. In Revelation 14, the issue of the “mark of the beast” begins and all who are not Christian will be marked as such. This strongly indicates that there are believers on the earth who will not be marked at that time. Ezekiel, when dealing with the end of time, indicated that someone will have to identify all of the believers.