Are you Pre, Mid, or Post? These terms all refer to when various believers think the Rapture is supposed to occur with regard to the 7-year Tribulation period, ‘Daniel’s 70^th week.’ Most fundamentalists and evangelicals know the question is asking; ‘Do you believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation, or in the middle, or after the Tribulation.’ So there is a dispute among believers concerning the timing of the Rapture. I’ll not try to disprove the error of Mid and Post-Trib views, but rather offer the Scriptural basis of my belief in a Pre-Trib Rapture. This question should not divide believers since the Rapture is a secondary matter to salvation as members of “the body of Christ” and all who are saved will inevitably be Raptured..

I strongly believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture as being important information necessary for the members of “the body of Christ,” that we, as Paul says, should “be not shaken” (2Thes 2:2). These verses are verses of assurance and security for grace believers.

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (have died as believers in Christ), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Yet, someone had told these believers the 2^nd coming and Millennial Kingdom had already come and that they and their deceased loved ones had missed the Rapture. These below verses are Paul response to the lies being spread in letters alleged to be from Paul and which were shaking the faith the grace believers.

“Now in regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to be quickly unsettled or alarmed either by a [so-called prophetic revelation of a] spirit or a message or a letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that ‘the day of the Lord’ (2^nd coming) has [already] come

³ Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy (falling away) comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], ⁴ who opposes (God) and exalts himself [so proudly and so insolently] above ^[d]every so-called god or object of worship, so that he [actually enters and] takes his seat in the temple of God, publicly proclaiming that he himself is God.

 ⁵ Do you not remember that when I (Paul) was still with you, I was telling you these things? ⁶ And you know what restrains him (Antichrist) now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but it is restrained] only until he (the Holy Spirit in the believers) who now restrains it is taken out of the way (by the Rapture).

 ⁸ Then the lawless one [the Antichrist] will be revealed and (later) the Lord Jesus will slay (Gk. kartargeo, ‘render toothless’) him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by the appearance of His coming.”  (2Thes 2:1-8, AMP)

Many Christians misinterpret the Scriptures and then go to great lengths to twist them so as to ‘prove their idea’ as to where the Rapture fits into the timeline of events to come. Some believe the Rapture will come pre-Tribulation, some mid-Tribulation, still others say it’s just before the 6^th Seal is opened.

Then there is the Roman Catholic Church, which sees no Rapture to heaven and no Millennial Reign of Christ... just a gathering to Him when He comes again. As admitted ‘Amillennialists’ and contrary to Scripture, the RCC entirely rejects the idea of Christ’s Millennial reign, calling it ‘millenarianism’ in the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church 676.’ (See Catechism of the Catholic Church 668-679).

What’s the Catholic Position? (From: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-rapture)

As far as the millennium goes, we tend to agree with Augustine and, derivatively, with the amillennialists. The Catholic position has thus historically been "amillennial"… The Church has rejected the premillennial position, sometimes called "millenarianism" (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church 676). In the 1940s the Holy Office judged that premillennialism "cannot safely be taught," though the Church has not dogmatically defined this issue. 

With respect to the rapture, Catholics certainly believe that the event of our gathering together to be with Christ will take place. (at His 2^nd coming to earth)…

The RCC view is simply due to the common confusion between the Rapture and Christ’s 2^nd coming.

1Thes 5:1-3 is a particular section of Paul’s epistles that some misuse in order to say the Rapture of the church comes with the time of the 2^nd coming. But Paul here refers to a time after the Rapture of “the body of Christ.” Paul wrote of the “day of the Lord,” with “sudden destruction… coming upon them (v3 below).”

“BUT of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye (the Thessalonian grace believers) Have No Need that I (Paul) write unto YOU. ²For Yourselves Know Perfectly (from my words and prophecy concerning Israel)… that the “Day of the Lord” so cometh (in wrath) as a thief in the night (unexpectedly). ³For when THEY (the non-believers left behind after the Rapture) shall say, Peace and safety; then Sudden Destruction Cometh Upon Them, as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY (the non-believers) shall not escape.” (1 Thes. 5:1-3)

I ask, who you suppose this “sudden destruction… (is) coming upon” in the “day of the Lord”? Is “sudden destruction” coming upon the members of the “body of Christ” who Paul says are not “appointed to wrath” (1Thes 5:9)? Or is this coming upon the rebellious lost who are left behind to suffer in the Tribulation… after the Rapture? The “church, which is His body” will not see the coming “sudden destruction” of the Tribulation judgments? The view of “sudden destruction” coming upon the “body of Christ” would obviously conflict with Paul other words;

“… wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which DELIVERED US FROM THE WRATH to Come.” (1Thes 1:10).

You will recall that we’ve already discussed the proper method of Bible interpretation, using the plain literal interpretation of Scripture with contextual study, and that’s how we will answer the question I’ve postulated. Some mistakenly assume that, because 1Thess. 5 follows Paul’s description of the Rapture in Chapter 4, that Chapter 5 must be continuing the same thought of Chapter 4, as if “sudden destruction” must then apply to the Raptured “body of Christ.” Often one Bible verse, chapter, or sequence of verses may speak of two time periods (E.g. Isaiah 9:6-7). In any case, the idea of applying “sudden destruction” to the believers of the church is ridiculous and certainly would contradict the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of the Rapture that Paul said would “comfort” believers (1Thes 4:18). I will further prove this idea to be incorrect.

In 1Thes. 5:1-3 Paul is writing to his “brethren (the grace believers)” (1Thes 5:1) at the Thessalonica, but it concerns the judgments that will come upon those still on the earth after the Rapture. One-half of the Gentiles on earth in the Tribulation will die (Rev 6:8, 9:15). Two-thirds of Israel’s population to die before the 3-1/2 year “Great Tribulation” (Zech. 13:8-9), leaving 1/3 to pass through the refiners fire (1Pet 1:7) So, Paul is writing to the church, but he’s writing about “THEM” (see 1Thes 5:3), those upon whom judgment is coming. Paul says, “THEY (the non-believers) shall not escape (v3).” Paul does NOT say ‘sudden destruction… is coming upon YOU,’ the Thessalonian believers to whom he is writing.

Many Christians then also mistakenly mingle Paul’s words with Jesus’ words seen in the four Gospels (i.e., Matt 24, Luke 17, 21), assuming Jesus and Paul are addressing the same events, as if applying to the “body of Christ.” Jesus was a as “minister of the circumcision (Israel)” only (Rom 15:8). He never spoke a word concerning Paul’s “mystery” that includes the Rapture of “the church which is His body.”

Paul’s words in 1Thes 5:1-3 to some degree do agree with the Lord’s prophesies concerning judgments coming upon the world and Israel… but NOT the church... In Matt 24:30-31 (below) Jesus spoke of the “sign” that “all the tribes (nations) of the earth mourn” and then of His “coming in the clouds” to “gather together His elect (Israel),” at the end of the “great tribulation” judgments.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the SON OF MAN (Jesus) COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory. ³¹ And he shall send HIS ANGELS WITH a GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, and THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds (North, South, East, West), from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matt 24:30-31)

Many misapply Matt 24:30-31 because these phrases, “he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and … gather together his elect,” sound similar to Paul’s words concerning the Rapture of the church in 1Thes 4:13-18. Actually God is precise; His ‘words’ mean something and differences count. Jesus and Paul refer to 2 different comings of Christ. By looking closely at the verses preceding Matt 24:30-31 in context, we see that Jesus is clearly speaking of His 2^nd coming… in judgment.

Let’s consider Matthew 24:13-21 as it precedes and sets the context for Matt 24:30-31.

Note my commentary on Matthew 24:13-21 below is in Arial print in parenthesis. You will see that Jesus’ words obviously describe “the Great Tribulation” toward “the end” (v14 below)” of the Tribulation. These verses below do not apply to the “body of Christ,” which will have been Raptured to heaven several years earlier.

“¹³But HE THAT SHALL ENDURE unto THE END, the same SHALL BE SAVED.

(This indicates that this Scripture does not apply to the Christian believers under “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:2). The Grace believers are assured of their salvation “by grace through faith in Christ (alone).” A grace believer’s subsequent failure to “endure to the end” does not negate their salvation as it would under “the Law”.)

¹⁴ And this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN SHALL THE END COME.

(Christians are saved according to Paul’s “The Gospel of the Grace of God” (Act 20:24), not according to “The Gospel of the Kingdom” that Jesus gave the Twelve for Israel.)

¹⁵ When YE THEREFORE SHALL SEE THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET, stand in the holy place (temple), (whoso readeth, let him understand :) ¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

(Clearly, according to Dan 9:27 and 12:11, “THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION” occurs in the middle of the Tribulation, 3-1/2 years after the Rapture and 1,290 days before the end of the Tribulation)

¹⁷ Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸ Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹ And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰ But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹ For THEN shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as was NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE. (Matthew 24:13-21)

(The “Great Tribulation” will be such as man has never yet seen. This has not yet occurred. “… except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. (Matt 24:22)

Then in verse Matt 24:27 we read of the “carcasses” of the dead that will be eaten by “the eagles.”

“²⁷For as the lightning (suddenly) cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN be. ²⁸ For WHERESOEVER the CARCASE is, there will the EAGLES BE GATHERED TOGETHER.  

(This is a prophecy, not a parable. These gathered “eagles” will eat the carcasses of the dead of the Great Tribulation. These eagles are the “fowls” of Revelation 19:18. Consider many other Bible references to fowls, eagles, and ravens eating the dead after judgments. Jesus also said these events will occur before He comes again to earth.

Luke writes of the same event, referring to these “eagles gathered” to eat the flesh of men.

“³⁶Two men shall be in the field; the ONE SHALL BE ‘TAKEN,’ and the other LEFT. ³⁷And they (Jesus’ disciples) answered and said unto him, (Taken) WHERE, LORD? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body (the flesh body, the carcass) is, thither will the EAGLES be gathered together.” (Read Luke 17:33-37.)

Note the word “taken” in verse 36. These “taken” ones are not being raptured to a better place. No, they are taken in the death of judgment, after which the “eagles (fowls)” will eat their flesh. In Rev. 19:18, John writes similarly, confirming the fact that “fowls” will “eat the flesh” of the dead.

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all THE FOWLS that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; ¹⁸That ye may EAT THE FLESH of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

So Jesus is not referring to the Rapture in Matt. 24, or Luke 17 and 21. The idea that the “one taken” is Raptured, while those ‘left behind’ will suffer the Tribulation, but is exactly wrong. Let me summarize.

1. First, these judgments on earth will occur several years after the Rapture of “the body of Christ,” in the 7-year Tribulation period, thus having nothing to do with the Rapture of “the body of Christ.”
2. Those “taken” are in these judgments; their bodies are to be eaten by the fowls.
3. By contrast, those NOT “taken” are the faithful Messianic Kingdom believers left alive on earth. They remained faithful and did not take “the mark of the beast.” They will survive the Tribulation judgments to go on… and live in Christ’s Theocratic Millennial Kingdom on the earth, and then the eternal Kingdom.
4. We can conclude that it is a good thing for Kingdom believers to be left alive, Not “taken” by death in the Tribulation.

Now note how that Jesus continued in Matt. 24 by saying; “as the days of Noah were, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man” (Matt 24:37).  In Noah’s day the flood took them ALL away, except Noah and his family of eight souls. They were left behind “to replenish the earth.” So shall it be “of the coming of the Son of Man” when the lost are to be “taken,” while the kingdom believers of Israel are to be left on earth. Jesus continued here in Matt 24:29:

… ²⁹ Immediately after THE TRIBULATION of those days (of ‘signs and wonders,’ cf. vs 23-24) shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (asteroids?), and THE “POWERS” (the evil powers) OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN (toppled)” (Matt 24:27-29).

(Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the fallen host of angels will be toppled just prior to the 2^nd coming of Christ in “power and glory” (see v 30).

So Paul’s words of the coming of “sudden” and devastating judgments during the “Great Tribulation” were NOT to be a problem that troubles the Thessalonian grace age believers. All grace believers should know they have the eternal security of the “blessed hope” of the Rapture… before these judgments. The Thessalonian grace age believers were NOT to be concerned with Antichrist or the Tribulation judgments.

So what then was the concern of the Thessalonians that Paul was addressing? As we’ve previously discussed, their concern was whether their deceased loved ones, who “sleep” (died in Christ), had missed the Rapture. As noted earlier, Paul’s answers this directly saying the dead in Christ shall “rise first” and then we “who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord.” Hence, concerning the Rapture, Paul says grace believers can “… COMFORT ONE ANOTHER with these words” (1Thes 4:13-18). Obviously, there will be no such “comfort” in the “sudden destruction” by the judgments that are coming upon the rebellious lost.

In 1Thess. 4:13-18 and 1Thess. 5 Paul’s contrasts the comfort of the Rapture for grace believers with the “Day of The Lord” with its “sudden destruction” coming on the lost in judgment. The day of His “wrath” and “vengeance” was the subject of many O.T. prophecies and also of Jesus in Matt. 24, Luke 17 and  21, warning Israel to take heed of the signs of “that day,” the “day of judgment”(Matt 11:24, 12:36, 24:36).

By contrast, Paul’s “MYSTERY” gospel, “the gospel of the grace of God” concerning the mainly Gentile “the body of Christ” had not been prophesied, but rather “Kept Secret Since The World Began” (Rom 16:25). Paul’s says his “mystery” gospel had been “hid (by God) from ages and generations” (Col 1:26) until it was first revealed by the ascended Lord Jesus Christ directly to Paul (cf. Gal. 1:12), for his conveyance to “you Gentiles,” the members of “the church, which is His body” (Eph 1:22b-23a).

“For this cause I PAUL, the prisoner of Jesus Christ FOR YOU GENTILES, ² If ye have heard of the Dispensation Of The GRACE OF GOD which is GIVEN ME (Paul) TO YOU-WARD: ³ How that by revelation he (Christ) made known unto me THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words, ⁴ Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) ⁵ Which in other ages Was NOT Made Known unto the sons of men, as IT IS NOW REVEALED UNTO HIS HOLY APOSTLES (Gk. apostolos, sent ones, i.e., Paul, Barnabas, Silas, etc) and prophets (preachers, i.e. Timothy, etc) by the Spirit; (Eph. 3:1-5).

Paul also taught the believers concerning the oft prophesied “times and the seasons” to come (1Thes 5:1, Eph 1:10, 1Tim 4:1, 2Tim 3:1). So we can say they should have known full well that the “sudden destruction” that Paul was writing about in 1Thess 5 was in contrast to their “blessed hope” of the Rapture of “the body of Christ” that he describes in detail in previous chapter, in 1Thes 4:13-18.

The word “you (the believers)” in 1 Thes 5:1-3 is distinguished from “them” and “they” (the non-believers). Paul doesn’t say ‘these things will come upon you believers,’ but that they will come upon “THEM” and “THEY shall not escape” (1Thes 5:3). Obviously, the first word, “But,” in 1Thes. 5:1, marks a transition to properly introduced and distinguish it from the previous chapter, 1Thes. 4. The Rapture of 1Thes. 4, as a “comfort” (v18), is quite different from that the “sudden destruction… coming upon them” who “will not escape” of 1Thessalonians 5.

All grace believers today ought to be “looking for that BLESSED HOPE, and the GLORIOUS APPEARING of the great God and our Saviour JESUS CHRIST” (Titus 2:13).

In summary we can consider these distinguishing facts.

1. Note that 1 Thes 4:15-18 has to do with “the Body of Christ,” while the latter, seen in 1Thes 5:1-3, is related to the Tribulation judgments before Christ’s 2^nd coming to set up His Theocratic Kingdom on earth. Paul often draws contrast to make his points clear.
2. The closing verses of 1Thes. 4:15-18 deals with the “mystery,” a heretofore secret (1Cor. 15:51) that was first revealed through Paul. But the opening verses of 1Thes. 5 deal with prophetic truths which God had been proclaimed for centuries. 1Thes. 5 contains three familiar prophetic phrases: “the times and the seasons,” “the day of the Lord,” and “a thief in the night,” meaning the “day of the Lord” will come unexpectedly for those to whom it applies.
3. 1Thes 4:13-18, refers to the Rapture of the members of “the body of Christ,” while 1Thes 5:1-3, refers to the subsequent times of the return of Christ to earth to reign in His Theocratic Kingdom, nearly seven years later.
4. Paul wrote 1Thes 4:13 because the Thessalonian believers needed more light on the truth of the Rapture, so as to have faith concerning their loved ones who “sleep” in Christ (1Thes 3:10; 4:13-18). They already understood the truth about the coming judgments of “the day of the Lord,” so concerning that subject Paul wrote; “Ye have no need that I write unto you” (1Thes 5:1).
5. 1 Thes. 4:13-18 concerns the believers of “the body of Christ” in this age, while 1 Thes. 5:1-3 concerns “them,” the unbelievers whom Christ will judge in the Tribulation, before He returns to earth. In 1 Thes. 4:13-18 we find the words “we” four times, and the “them” who are “asleep,” those who will be raised to join “we who are alive and remain.” Both the dead and living will be “caught up together... to meet the Lord in the air” (v17). But in 1Thes 5 “they” and “them” is the subject. “When THEY shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon THEM ... and THEY shall not escape” (v3). They will die and later face “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29b) to appear at the “Great white throne Judgment.”.
6. While 1Thes 4:13-18 closes with an exhortation to “comfort one another with these words,” the “sudden destruction” of 1Thes 5 should clearly strike fear into the hearts of the unbelievers.
7. The former passage (1Thes 4:13-18) concerns believing saints of God and a sacred secret called “the Mystery” that was first revealed through Paul, proclaiming their “hope” of glorious deliverance from the time of God’s “wrath,” affording them the most blessed “comfort.” Paul tells the Thessalonians, you “YOURSELVES KNOW PERFECTLY” of that “coming upon them” (the unbelievers), that is upon those who will be left on earth after the Rapture of the “body of Christ.”
8. Some ask why the Apostle Paul wrote to these believers with regard to “the day of the Lord,” if they already “know perfectly.” Paul is simply emphasizing the dis-relation between the Rapture and the subsequent Judgments of the Tribulation to occur just prior to the 2^nd coming of Christ to earth.
9. The latter passage (1Thes 5:1-3) deals with “them,” the Christ-rejecting world and the “sudden destruction” that will overtake “them.” Inescapable vengeance will come on them “as travail upon a woman with child.” A baby’s birth comes in a sudden moment even though it was preceded with inescapable signs occurring over time, which we may liken to the 7-year Tribulation. The many prophetic warnings of God’s wrath, long unheeded by Israel and the world, will be fulfilled.

The contrast between 1Thes 4:13-18 and 1Thes 5:1-3 should be clearly evident to all who simply read Paul’s words ‘in context.’ It’s a great error that some well-meaning preachers and teachers should confuse the joyous day of our Rapture to dwell with Christ “eternal in the heaven” (2Cor 5:1) with the calamitous judgments of “day of the Lord.” Placing the Rapture at the time of or after the Great Tribulation is frightening to the very ones to whom the truth should be of “comfort.”