The Rapture, Pre-Trib Or Post-Trib?

Is the word Rapture in the Bible? No, but the meaning is. The word Rapture comes from the Latin Vulgate Bible Translation of Scripture which reads, Rapiemur–Vulgate.org

The word Rapture in Greek is Harpazo which simply means caught up, catch up, seize by force, and snatch away–Gr. Strong’s# 726.

The question then becomes, will the rapture of the church, the believers in Christ, happen before the Great Tribulation, in the middle [before the wrath of God is poured down on the earth] or after?

I am convinced through the aid of the Holy Spirit that all believers in Christ Jesus will be spared from the coming wrath that will come upon the unbelievers.

Matthew 24:29-31, seems to say that the rapture or the snatching away will occur after the Great Tribulation. These verses were hard for me to just disregard as all of Scripture is of God or better said, God-breathed. The Word of God cannot contradict itself so if we think that we find a contradiction, the problem does not lie with Scripture, but with our own understanding. It is imperative that we always start a bible study by asking the Lord to open up our mind for understanding through the aid of His Spirit. 

I will start by showing the verses that seem to say that we will go through the Great Tribulation and then show you the other verses that seem to say we are not. After showing you all those verses, I will bring them all together as if they came from 1 Chapter, to see it in a different angle. 

Going to go through the Great Tribulation

Matthew 24:29-31

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

Not going to go through the Great Tribulation

1 Thessalonians 1:10

10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 

9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

Revelation 3:10 

10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Now, I will put them all together including other verses not mentioned above but, will be referenced at the bottom

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Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son —except the Father alone.

About the times and the seasons: Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

In order, Revelation 3:10, 1 Thes. 1:10, 1 Thes. 4:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, 1 Thes. 4:16-17, Matthew 24:29-31, 2 Thes. 2:1-4, 7-8, Matthew 24:36, 1 Thes. 5:1-3, 1 Thes. 5:9-10

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If you noticed, the Lord has promised the believers that He will keep them from His wrath (which includes the full seven years of the Great Tribulation). That statement is very clear and cannot be ignored. In Revelation 3:10, which says, 10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia that they will not go through the Tribulation, even though it will be 2000 years into the future. Why would Jesus say this to a church, knowing full well that they will never make it to that dreadful day? Because it was a statement of faithfulness in keeping His Word that those who follow suit, it would apply to them. Meaning, every believer in Jesus Christ who is faithful to the Word of God and endure all temptation without falling away proving the genuineness of their faith will be kept from the Great Tribulation.

The promise to keep us away from the Great Tribulation continues in 1 Thes. 1:10, 5:9-10. The word wrath does not mean hell as the topic in 1 Thessalonians refers to sudden destruction which is mentioned in 1 Thes. 5:2-3 which says, For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

How can we put together the verses that seem to say we do like Matthew 24:29-31? 

Another problem would be that the Scriptures does not appear to mention two comings of Christ.

First of all, let’s start with what we do know. 

1. Jesus has promised to keep us from the Great Tribulation/Wrath/Testing [1 Thes.1:10, 5:9-10, Revelation 3:10].
2. Jesus will appear at the end of the Great Tribulation [Matthew 24:29].
3. His wrath is for the unbelievers [1 Thes 5:2-3].

Another thing to notice is in Revelation 19:11-16, His 2nd coming, Jesus returns with the saints but a rapture or a snatching away is not mentioned to connect that with Matthew 24 or for that matter at all in the whole Book. In Matthew 24:31, Jesus sends His angels to gather the elect, but in Revelation 19, that event is not seen. The question then becomes, why isn’t the rapture mentioned in the main Book about the end times? The answer would be because the event had to have taken place already.

Let’s go back to Matthew 24, it is a concise or summary of the whole Book of Revelation. In Matthew 24, Jesus never mentions an Antichrist, leaves a lot of the Seals, Bowls, and Trumpets [the plagues which are His wrath] out. He does mention, however, the image of the beast but, not his mark [666]. The reason being, it was reserved for the Apostle John to write down. Jesus gave His disciples a small taste of what was going to come in the end times without revealing everything, but He wanted to show John the end through visions. To be able for one to grasp what was going to be unfolded, it had to be seen rather than told.

Saying that, it seems that Jesus left out the rapture in Matthew 24 and the meaning of this verse, “31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” might refer to the gathering of all believers from the four winds, those who became Christians during the Great Tribulation and of the sky [or heaven, those returning with Christ] to be at Jerusalem with Him. If we say that the rapture occurs in Matthew 24, that will contradict 1-2 Thessalonians.

Just because the Bible does not mention a word or a phrase, does not mean it is not there. For an example: A verse saying the exact words-The Trinity, we know it does not say it but, the concept is there and it is strong. For further study on the Trinity click here: The Trinity

The reason I am convinced of two comings, one without Jesus touching the ground [in the clouds] and the other, when He comes to reign for 1000 years, is that the Scriptures testify to our being kept from the Great Tribulation that will last seven years, which is coming upon the whole world. The first half of the seven years will be a time of great deception, as the world has never seen. The second half will be God’s wrath or judgment upon mankind. Another thing, the church after chapter 5 of Revelation, is not even mentioned once. It just focuses on Israel. Where is the church? It is Gone.

As believers, we cannot ignore any verses regardless if we don’t understand them or how they fit into one’s theology. Remember, all verses talking about the same topic will be in agreement with each other and we shouldn’t be afraid of putting them together. Our understanding does not come from us, but from the Holy Spirit. 

In conclusion, the coming of the Lord is like a thief in the night. We will not know the day or hour, but we can know the season, so be ready. Certain things must take place first-the falling away/apostasy, and the man of lawlessness must appear. Most likely with the false peace he brings to Israel, the third Temple will be built. The Great Tribulation won’t start until the removal of God’s children. This is certain [1 Thes. 4:14-17].

Be Ready…