When does the Rapture of the Church occur?
Thousands, if not millions, believe that the Church- or rather Christians, will not go through the end-time period known as The Great Tribulation, because, they believe they’ll be raptured away at some point in time before then.
The Great Tribulation Period, is the time when the Beast of Revelation is in full force and reigns supreme on the earth.
They claim that all of those who are dead in Christ, and those Christians living just before this dreaded period known as The Great Tribulation- will be whisked away together, into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
This event is known as, The Rapture, The Rapture of the Church, or as it is sometimes referred to, The Secret Rapture.
Those advocating the pretrib rapture of the Church, claim that God will not allow Christians to suffer wrath during this coming dreaded period. Therefore, He will rapture them to Himself, through Christ, just before this dreaded event.
But, if that were truly the case, then why would there be a need to rapture or resurrect the dead- who would not be affected by wrath? After all, they are completely oblivious to everything happening on the surface of the earth, heaven- or in the grave.
I am going to make this very simple. I will show you one Bible passage that completely destroys this theory of supposedly, a Rapture of the Church, occurring right before the Great Tribulation. But, before I do, let me show you the scriptures that are always used as evidence to support this Pre-tribulation theory.
The primary reference used as evidence for a rapture occurring before the tribulation, is this one:
1Thessalonians_4:16: – For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Notice, that a Resurrection occurs!
1Thessalonians_4:17: – Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord.
Here, is when common sense should come into play. Please realize that in order for the dead to be raised, a Resurrection must occur- to awake the dead from death.
So, according to the evidence supporting this theory, a Resurrection is involved in order to raise the dead in Christ- all others remain in their graves. Then, both the resurrected dead and those who are alive- will meet the Lord in the air.
And now, pay close attention to this following passage that utterly destroys the Pretrib theory, that claims Christians will not go through the dreaded Tribulation period of the Beast:
Revelation_20:4: – And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation_20:5: – But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Revelation_20:6: – Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years.
And there it is! Did you grasp it? It’s right there!
If this is the FIRST resurrection, then, that means there could have been no other- secret or not, before it!
Nothing can come before first! Otherwise, it couldn’t be called, The First.
So, in the very FIRST Resurrection that ever occurs, we are told, that there are some, who were beheaded by the Beast, for not submitting to its authority. That means that the first resurrection- which is supposed to happen during the Rapture of the Church, occurs at some point after the tribulation has started and not before.
Not much going for this theory of a Secret Rapture of the Church happening before the Beast System’s Great Tribulation period, which is supposed to whisk away the living and the dead in Christ, in order for them to avoid the wrath of the Beast and its Tribulation woes.
Rapture Ready advocates are at a loss for words when trying to Biblically explain this away.
It is clear, that those in the first Resurrection- which is tied to the Rapture of the Church, will consist of some who are beheaded for not worshiping the Beast or its image during the period known as The Great Tribulation! Those are just the explicit and unavoidable biblical facts.
Read those verses again!
Be prepared Christian brethren, Church, and everyone else who are Rapture Ready, and are awaiting the imminent Rapture of the Church… you will become disillusioned with your faith when you find yourself in the midst of this horrific period the Bible calls, The Great Tribulation.
You will realize then, that you, and millions of others just like you, have been duped into believing this false doctrine of a Secret Rapture.
There will be no Rapture of the Church before the Beast’s Great Tribulation period. God’s Word clearly doesn’t teach that.
The Rapture of the Church occurs at some point AFTER the tribulation has begun (Matthew 24:21-31), and not before.