There is a song in our Christian hymnal about the Good Ol Gospel Ship. It goes, I’m gonna take a trip, on the good ‘ol gospel ship, I’m going far beyond the sky, beyond the sky.
And that trip is pre-trib. What that means is we believe in the Blessed Hope when Jesus meets the saved in the clouds. Then after this event, the 7 year tribulation period hits, and God pours his wrath on a Christ rejecting world and deals with the nation of Israel once again after years of giving them the silent treatment, and then returns to earth for the terrible Day of the Lord.
The debate in many circles today is they teach, wrongly, that the church will go through some or all of the tribulation first.
The tribulation is different than facing tribulation, trials, and temptations here on earth. This lost sin cursed Christ rejecting world will give you tribulations. God’s wrath on a lost, sin cursed Christ rejecting world is going to happen during THE TRIBULATION.
The debate is Pre-Trib (biblical) vs. Post or Mid Tribs.
IF someone doesn’t believe the pre-trib rapture, they are not comparing scripture with scripture. You can “prove” a post-trib rapture taking verses out of context but the bible is PRE TRIB 100%.
The bible in Matthew 24 talks about the Day of the LORD — that is the terrible day when JESUS returns to earth. That is not the Day of Christ — ie, the BLESSED HOPE — which is when Jesus meets the saved in the air and ends the church age. After the church is raptured then God goes back to dealing with Israel — and the 7 year tribulation. Revelation talks about an angel preaching the gospel from the sky — that is what Matthew 24 is talking about, not the great commission. there is nothing preventing the rapture from coming RIGHT NOW apart from Jesus giving the lost another day to repent.
To grasp this, it will take some learning and studying. If you prayerfully read through the bible and can flat out prove why PRE TRIB is through the bible. The biggest things I glean from other men who study this faithfully is how in the book of Danial, God’s 70th week needs to be completed and that is the 7 year tribulation. He has a whole book on 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.
The contrast on the Day of Christ (see Philippians for that word over and over — Phil 1:2, he that began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ) which is our blessed hope and then the Day of the Lord. It can get confusing and that is how many today are discouraging the church by telling them they are going to have to go through the tribulation. Thessalonians says God has not appointed us unto wrath — the tribulation period is where God pours his wrath out on a Christ rejecting world. another key for me is Revelation — the entire book is chronological and goes from just after the resurrection to the end. the 1st few chapters represent the church ages — for example Philadelphia is the open door and is the great awakening when America was the beacon of light for the world. that period ended in early 1900’s when the new bible versions started coming out.
We are now in the final church age before the Lord’s return –the Laodicean period Chapter 4 “come up hither” represents a picture of the rapture and from then on God is done with the church and back to Israel. most of the confusion comes into assuming Matthew 24 talks about the Day of Christ, when really it is talking about the Day of the Lord.
My word of warning is don’t miss the rapture, and don’t be left behind. If you are saved and believe in a post-trib rapture, stay for the tribulation if you want! I will be outta here. And so will you if you are truly born again.