Rapture Positions: Pre-Tribulation

Introduction

Pre-Tribulationism is a futurist interpretation of end time events. It teaches that the church will be caught up to Christ sometime before the "tribulation" period (which they claim is Daniel's Seventieth Week and thus a seven-year period) begins. This removes the church from the earth and conveys it into Heaven while divine judgment is poured out on the unbelievers who remain. Typically pre-trib teaching includes the belief that there will continue to be people saved who were left behind, many who are converted by the preaching of the 144,000 "witnesses" of Rev. ch. 7. These believers are the "tribulation saints" who must wait until Christ returns a second (third?) time to receive their eternal inheritance, although most will be martyred by then. Upon Christ's return with the church, a 1,000-year period of earthly rule by Christ will begin (pre- millennialism). 

The Separation of the Church and Israel

The events of the 7 last years are for Israel, they were prophesied for Israel (Dan 9:24-27), not for the Church. The Church and Israel are separate, and are under different redemptive plans. Therefore the Church cannot be present on the earth during the end times.

Believers Kept from God's Wrath

God says believers are not appointed to suffer wrath (Romans 5:9, 2 Thess 5:9). Obviously if God is pouring out His wrath on the earth, then believers cannot be present. 

The Day of the Lord is After the Rapture

In 2 Thess2: 1-2, Paul tells the Thessalonians that because the rapture had not occurred, they could not be in the day of The Lord. This would make no sense if they believed in a post-trib rapture. 

The Father's House

In John 14:1-3 Jesus promises that He is going to prepare a place for believers in His Father's house so that when He comes again, we will be with Him. If the rapture occurred at the Second Coming, we would have to stay on earth  (Zech. 14:4-9). 

Kept from the Hour

Rev 3:10 promises the true church that it will be kept from the hour of testing that will come upon the whole world. The church would have to be removed from the earth to avoid being in this hour of trial. God's purpose is to test the world, not the Church. 

John's Calling Up To Heaven

In Rev 4:1 John, who is representative of the church, is pictured as being called from the earth and brought into heaven. After this verse the church (which has been mentioned often in the book so far) is no longer mentioned until Christ's return (Rev 19:7-16). 

Resurrected Saints

In Rev 19:11-16 Christ is seen to return with the church. Later, in ch. 20:4-5 the martyred tribulation believers are resurrected. Now, if the rapture were to occur at Christ's Second Coming, and the dead in Christ will rise first(1 Thess 4:16- 17), where do the martyrs come from?

Populating the Millennial Kingdom

The Bible teaches that only the tribulation martyrs will enter the Millennial Kingdom. They are believers (Ezk. 20:33-38), and they are mortal Isa. 65:17-25. If the believers are all raptured at the time of Christ's coming, and all unbelievers are judged and destroyed (Ezk. 20:33-44; Matt 24:30 & 25:30-32), who then is left to enter the Kingdom? 

The Restrainer

2 Thess 2:6-8 states that the Restrainer must be taken out of the way. The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit, and for Him to be removed, the church must be removed. 

What or Who Do We Wait For?

1 Thess 1:10, and Titus 3:13 tell us that we are to wait and hope for Christ, not tribulation. If any signs precede His coming for us we would be told to wait for those signs, and our hope would be greatly diminished. 

Immanency

Matt 24:42 and 25:13 are quite clear that we will not know the day or the hour of Christ's coming for us. The early church seemed to believe He could come at any moment. To place this at the end or middle of the 7 year period destroys this idea because it would be proceeded by signs. 

Christ's Army

Revelation 19:14 has Christ returning to earth with His army of saints. This army is made up of believers that have already been raptured. 

Believers like Yo-Yo's

If Christians were called up to meet Christ in the air during His return to earth (1 Thess. 4:17) we would go up, and then right back down again like Yo-Yo's, what would be the point in that? 

Israel's 69 Weeks

God dealt with Israel alone for the first 69 prophetic weeks, so the Church must be gone during the 70th. 

Air or Earth?

At the rapture, Christ is said to come in the air, while we know that His second coming will be to the earth. They are not described the same way, for they are two separate events. 

Joyful or Mournful?

Christ's coming for His saints is painted as a blessed hope (Titus 2:13), how can we look forward to that moment if it is only after the horrors of the Tribulation? 

Signs Before the Rapture?

There are no rapture passages that contain signs before its occurrence, while there are many for the second coming. The verses describing the rapture there is no mention of surrounding trials, as there are concerning the second coming. There are other differences as well such as the timing of resurrection and rapture etc. These combine to show that the two events are not only different, but occur at different times.

Holy Living

The Pre-Trib understanding of the rapture, that Christ could come for His saints at any moment, has been a major impetus for holy living and evangelizing.