Explanation on The Rapture by Sam Sanchez.

[What is the Rapture?] [Key passages] [When will it happen?] [Who will go?] [What is the difference between this and heavens gate cult?]

What is the Rapture?

It describes an event in the future when Jesus Christ will in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:51), change all believers (living and dead) to immortal, giving them a resurrected body, and catching them up to meet the Lord in the air. People say the word 'Rapture' isn't in the Bible, and this is misleading. The term 'Rapture' comes from the Latin word for the event. This term has been coined for the event rather than the actual Greek word in the text. The Greek word is harpazo. It means to snatch or catch away, used of Paul in being caught up to Paradise, 2 Cor. 12:2, 4. The word is used in 1 Thess 4:16-17, and translated 'caught up'. So, regardless of the word we use to describe the event, it most definitely is a Biblical term. (As much as any English term is, since the Bible wasn't written in English)

The controversial issue today is to when the event will take place in relation to the time of the second coming and seven year tribulation. Of course the point is meaningless for those that don't believe in a literal 7 year tribulation, but for those of us that do, it is a very import issue. Evangelicals believe in a literal 7 year tribulation, and a literal return of Jesus Christ. Less agree on a literal 1000 year Millenium after the return of Christ, but our viewpoint in EndTimes.org is that they are both literal, and future events. As will be shown, EndTimes.org teaches a Pretribulation rapture, a literal 7 year tribulation, the return of Jesus Christ, and a literal 1000 year Millennial reign of Christ.

An overview of the different Rapture positions · Pretrib - The rapture will take place before the 7 year tribulation starts · Midtrib - The rapture will take place at the mid point 3 1/2 years into the tribulation · Prewrath - The rapture will take place during the second half, and before the Day of the Lord (Distinguishes some judgments to be directly from God) · Posttrib - The rapture will take place at the end of the 7 year tribulation, at the second coming of Christ.

Key passages and supporting themes. · John 14:6 · 1 Thess 4:16-17 · 1 Cor 15:51 · Rev 3:10 · 1 Thess 5:9

Certain questions related to the Rapture issue can be asked about the purpose of God during the tribulation and Day of the Lord. The following passages bring out these questions. · Gen 18:24-25 Worldwide Judgment - The Flood/Sodom and Gomorrah - God judges Sodom, but agrees that He would not judge the righteous with the wicked. · The Bride symbolism - examine this from a traditional and historical view. Rev 19 talks about the Bride getting ready, already being in heaven. · The Feasts time table · Day and Night people · Who is the judgement on? Night people. Earth dwellers. Unbelievers. · The Restrainer - The day of the lord can't start until the restrainer is removed · Rapture vs Second Coming - a comparison · Rapture as a means of sociological changes in the end times

Gospel of John14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. So what did Jesus mean by this? Was He unconcerned with the timing of this event? Did He get confused about the timing? How could He promise to come again to take certain believers back to a place that He was going to prepare in His fathers house, knowing that the next time He came to earth would be to set up His kingdom on earth? It makes perfect sense in light of a pretrib rapture, when the Lord will come first for His bride, the church, bringing us back to the fathers house.1 Thess4:16 For the Lord Himself will 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. 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 5:7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.Revelation 310 `Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. 11 `I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. 12 `He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. 13 `He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.`Genesis - Noah and Lot 6:1 - 13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; ... 17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days; and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. Interesting that the only other case in man's history when God judged the world was in the flood, and in this case the righteous were removed, and the unbelievers judged. You might even say that Noah and his family met the Lord in the air. (I'm not saying that the experience of Noah foreshadowed the rapture, but just that it is an interesting parallel.) This is not the exact kind of deliverance that adherents to the pretrib rapture are expecting, but it is certainly true that Noah and his family were not left to go through the flood, but were removed from the point of contact. 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, "Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 "Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" Wouldn't Abraham make the same argument if left to debate whether or not Christians would go through the tribulation? Certainly if the righteous are to be killed during the tribulation, (Rev. 6:9, 20:4) I think he would voice the same concern. There weren't even ten righteous found there in Sodom, but God did something interesting. He removed the righteous before the judgment. Note: The teaching about God's dealings with man in the past isn't an absolute proof of how He will act in the future, but it is a valid point for study, and does support the pretrib viewpoint.The RestrainerNow we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. He who restrains is the Holy Spirit, since the church is not usually called 'he', nor does the church have the ultimate power outside of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God will stop working in the restraining way that He is now. This doesn't mean that He is no longer on the earth, since He is omnipresent. Just as the Spirit of God worked differently during the OT than He did in the Church age, He will work in a completely different way during the tribulation. Currently, He is restraining Satan from doing whatever He likes. Even the angels currently play a major role in keeping the devil from breaking loose. Look at Daniel 12... 12:1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Now the big question. If the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is to be removed, how can the church still be on the earth? The church can not exist without the power of the Holy Spirit, nor does God say that it ever will exist in this way. In this way it could be said that the church also restrains the effects of total satanic control over the world, in that we exercise a godly dominion over the earth, which partially thwarts the enemy, or restrains him. For those that would say that the church will be here during the tribulation, it's interesting to note that we have knowledge of some key events during the tribulation, and would not keep quiet were we to see these things come to pass. This means that there would be a huge religious movement against the Antichrist, and this is not predicted in the Bible. On the contrary, the Bible predicts apostasy. With the church gone, the restraining influence will be gone. So whether you see it as the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit & church, either way the church must be gone for this prophecy to make sense.

Rapture vs Second Coming

The Rapture as a means of sociological changes in the end times · Why would people agree to things like the mark of the beast? Could it be because millions of people are missing? · Why would countries like the US agree to a more powerful government, with less rights for the people? Could it be an event like this caused them to do it out of fear?

When will it happen?

We don't know when, and we are specifically told not that man can't know the day or hour. People that set dates are not to be believed, since the Bible specifically tells us that no man knows. However, we are not told to live as if we had all kinds of time. On the contrary, we are taught to live as if it would be today. Why? Not only because we acknowledge that we are not part of the darkness, and will escape the judgment, but because it is the way we should live, in obedience and appreciation for what God has done for us. Therefore, it is right to study the subject, and it is right to look at the events around us to see if the signs that Jesus warned of are present. We should not fall into the trap of reading everything into scripture. Far better to try to see if things can possibly NOT fit into our expectation for end times events, or eschatological model. Lots of circumstantial evidence (many coincidences) will rightly lead us to healthy concern that the times may be near. This is what endtimes.org will do as we look at current events. We should have a healthy concern today that the end times are near, and begin to do as Peter said in 2 Pet 3:11

3:11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

All believers during the church age will be part of the resurrection at the rapture. It seems from Daniel that the OT saints (believers) will receive their resurrected bodies at the second coming of Christ, when the purging of Israel is complete. (The tribulation includes the purging of national Israel) This makes sense when the tribulation is seen in context with Daniel 9. The church is not Israel, and God has spelled out a plan for each entity. The church hasn't taken the place of Israel in prophecy. God made specific promises to Israel, and He will keep them. During the tribulation, God will be working once again with Israel.

What is the difference - Christian Rapture and Heaven's gate cult

There is a huge difference between the Christian belief in a rapture, or catching up into heaven, and the beliefs of the heaven's gate cult. Since they rejected all basic Christian doctrine, they went out on their own, and therefore have no proof or evidence that what they are saying is true. Bible believers on the other hand have the reliability of the Bible to verify that it will come to pass, just as God said it would.

Christians know very clearly that Jesus Christ Himself claimed that He would return, and by looking at the Key passages, it is clear that the NT teaches the concept of a rapture.

All Christians rely on the truth of resurrection. Without the proof of the resurrection of Christ, our faith is dead, since we don't really know that Jesus was any better than any other man that claimed to be someone. Since He did rise from the dead, and history records that there were witnesses, we know that we can believe Him about other things He said He would do. John 14:6

The Rapture of the Church: What is it and when will it take place?

The Rapture is a glorious event, which God has promised to the Church. The promise is that someday very soon, at the blowing of a trumpet and the shout of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the sky and take up His Church, living and dead, to Heaven.

The term, Rapture, comes from a Latin word that means to catch up, to snatch away, or to take out. It is a Biblical word that comes right out of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible.

The word is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In the New American Standard Version, the English phrase, "caught up," is used. The same phrase is used in the King James and New International Versions.

A Promise to the Church

The concept of the Rapture was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets because it is a promise to the New Testament Church and not to the saints of God who lived before the establishment of the Church.

The saints of Old Testament times will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and not at the time of the Rapture of the Church. Daniel reveals this fact in Daniel 12:1-2 where he says that the saints of that age will be resurrected at the end of the "time of distress."

The first clear mention of the Rapture in Scripture is found in the words of Jesus recorded in John 14:1-4. Jesus said, "I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the Rapture is given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. He says that when Jesus appears, the dead in Christ (Church age saints) will be resurrected and caught up first.

Then, those of us who are alive in Christ will be translated "to meet the Lord in the air." Paul then exhorts us to "comfort one another with these words."

Paul mentions the Rapture again in 1 Corinthians 15 - his famous chapter on the resurrection of the dead:

"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." (Verses 51 & 52)

Paul's reference here to being changed is an allusion to the fact that the saints will receive glorified bodies that will be perfected, imperishable and immortal (1 Cor. 15:42-44, & 50-55).

The most controversial aspect of the Rapture is its timing. Some place it at the end of the Tribulation, making it one and the same event as the Second Coming. Others place it in the middle of the Tribulation. Still others believe that it will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation.

The reason for these differing viewpoints is that the exact time of the Rapture is not precisely revealed in scripture.

It is only inferred. There is, therefore, room for honest differences of opinion, and lines of fellowship should certainly not be drawn over differences regarding this point, even though it is an important point.

Post-Tribulation Rapture

Those who place the timing at the end of the Tribulation usually base their argument on two parables in Matthew 13 and on the Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24.

In Matthew 24 the Lord portrays His gathering of the saints as an event that will take place "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matt. 24:29).

This certainly sounds like a post-Tribulation Rapture. But it must be kept in mind that the book of Matthew was written to the Jews, and therefore the recording of Jesus' speech by Matthew has a distinctively Jewish flavor to it as compared to Luke's record of the same speech.

Note, for example, Matthew's references to Judea and to Jewish law regarding travel on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:15-20). These are omitted in Luke's account.

Instead, Luke speaks of the saints looking up for deliverance "to escape all these things" when the end time signs, "begin to take place" (Luke 21:28 & 36). The saints in Matthew are instructed to flee from Judea and hide. The saints in Luke are told to look up for deliverance.

It appears, therefore, that Matthew and Luke are speaking of two different sets of saints. The saints in Matthew's account are most likely Jews who receive Jesus as their Messiah during the Tribulation.

The saints in Luke are those who receive Christ before the Tribulation begins. Most of those who accept the Lord during the Tribulation will be martyred (Rev. 7:9-14). Those who live to the end will be gathered by the angels of the Lord (Matt. 24:31).

The parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30) and the parable of the dragnet (Matt. 13:47-50) can be explained in the same way.

They refer to a separation of saints and sinners that will take place at the end of the Tribulation. The saints are those who receive Jesus as their Savior during the Tribulation (Gentile and Jew) and who live to the end of that awful period.

Mid-Tribulation Rapture

There are variations of the mid-Tribulation Rapture concept. The most common is that the Church will be taken out in the exact middle of the Tribulation, at the point in time when the Anti-Christ is revealed.

This concept is based upon a statement in 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says that the Rapture will occur at the blowing of "the last trumpet."

This trumpet is then identified with the seventh trumpet of the trumpet judgments in the book of Revelation. Since the blowing of the seventh trumpet is recorded in Revelation 11, the mid-point of the Tribulation, the conclusion is that the Rapture must occur in the middle of the Tribulation.

But there are two problems with this interpretation. The first is that the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is blown for believers whereas the seven trumpets of Revelation 8, 9 and 11 are sounded for unbelievers.

The Revelation trumpets have no relevance for the Church. The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is a trumpet for the righteous. The last trumpet for the unrighteous is the one described in Revelation 11.

Another problem with this interpretation is that the passage in Revelation 11 that portrays the sounding of the seventh trumpet is a "flash forward" to the end of the Tribulation. Flash-forwards are very common in the book of Revelation.

They occur after something terrible is described in order to assure the reader that everything is going to turn out all right when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation.

Thus, the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation, which describe the horrors of the trumpet judgments, are followed immediately by a flash-forward in chapter 10 that pictures the return of Jesus in victory at the end of the Tribulation.

The mid-Tribulation action resumes in chapter 11 with a description of the killing of the two great prophets of God by the Anti-Christ.

Then, to offset that terrible event, we are presented with another flash forward, beginning with verse 15. The seventh trumpet is sounded and we find ourselves propelled forward to the end of the Tribulation when "the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord."

The point is that the seventh trumpet of Revelation relates to the end of the Tribulation and not the middle. It is therefore no basis for an argument in behalf of a mid-Tribulation Rapture.

A variation of the mid-Tribulation Rapture is the pre-wrath Rapture concept that places the Rapture at the beginning of the last quarter of the Tribulation, about five and a half years into the Tribulation.

The argument for this view is that the Church is promised protection only from the wrath of God and not the wrath of Man or of Satan. It is then argued that only the bowl judgments in the last quarter of the Tribulation (Revelation 16) represent the wrath of God.

But the argument for this view disintegrates when you consider two facts. First, it is Jesus Himself who breaks the seals that launch each of the seal judgments recorded in Revelation 6.

These judgments occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. Second, the seven angels who blow the trumpets that initiate each of the trumpet judgments are given their trumpets at the throne of God (Rev. 8:2).

All the judgments of Revelation are clearly superintended by God. That is the reason we are told in Revelation 15:1 that the bowl judgments at the end of the Tribulation will finish the wrath of God, not begin His wrath.

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

I believe the best inference of Scripture is that the Rapture will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. The most important reason I believe this has to do with the issue of imminence. Over and over in Scripture we are told to watch for the appearing of the Lord. We are told, "to be ready" (Matt. 24:44), "to be on the alert" (Matt. 24:42), "to be dressed in readiness" (Luke 12:35), and to "keep your lamps alight" (Luke 12:35). The clear force of these persistent warnings is that Jesus can appear at any moment.

Only the pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture allows for the imminence of the Lord's appearing for His Church. When the Rapture is placed at any other point in time, the imminence of the Lord's appearing is destroyed because other prophetic events must happen first.

For example, if the Rapture is going to occur in mid-Tribulation, then why should I live looking for the Lord's appearing at any moment? I would be looking instead for an Israeli peace treaty, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the revelation of the Anti-Christ. Then and only then could the Lord appear.

This raises the issue of what we are to be looking for. Nowhere are believers told to watch for the appearance of the Anti-Christ.

On the contrary, we are told to watch for Jesus Christ. In Titus 2:13 Paul says we are to live "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."

Likewise, Peter urges us to "fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). John completes the apostolic chorus by similarly urging us to "fix our hope on Him" at His appearing (1 John 3:2-3).

Only Matthew speaks of watching for the Anti-Christ (Matt. 24:15), but he is speaking to the Jews living in Israel in the middle of the Tribulation when the Anti-Christ desecrates the rebuilt Temple.

Another argument in behalf of a pre-Tribulation Rapture has to do with the promises of God to protect the Church from His wrath.

As has already been demonstrated, the book of Revelation shows that the wrath of God will be poured out during the entire period of the Tribulation.

The Word promises over and over that the Church will be delivered from God's wrath. Romans 5:9 say that "we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him [Jesus]."

1 Thessalonians 1:10 states that we are waiting "for His Son from heaven . . . who will deliver us from the wrath to come." The promise is repeated in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - "God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Some argue that God could supernaturally protect the Church during the Tribulation. Yes, He could. In fact, He promises to do just that for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed as bondservants at the beginning of the Tribulation (Rev. 7:1-8).

But God's promise to the Church during the Tribulation is not one of protection but one of deliverance. Jesus said we would "escape" the horrors of the Tribulation (Luke 21:36). Paul says Jesus is coming to "deliver" us from God's wrath (1 Thess. 1:10).

There are several prophetic types that seem to affirm the concept of deliverance from Tribulation. Take Enoch for example. He was a prophet to the Gentiles who was raptured out of the world before God poured out His wrath in the great flood of Noah's time. Enoch appears to be a type of the Gentile Church that will be taken out of the world before God pours out His wrath again. If so, then Noah and his family are a type of the Jewish remnant that will be protected through the Tribulation.

Another Old Testament symbolic type, which points toward a pre-Tribulation Rapture, is the experience of Lot and his family. They were delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah before those cities were destroyed.

The Apostle Peter alludes to both of these examples in his second epistle. He states that if God spared Noah and Lot, then He surely "knows how to rescue the godly from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment" (2 Peter 2:4-9).

Another beautiful prophetic type is to be found in the Jewish wedding traditions of Jesus' time.

After the betrothal, the groom would return to his father's house to prepare a wedding chamber for his bride. He would return for his bride at an unexpected moment, so the bride had to be ready constantly.

When he returned, he would take his bride back to his father's house to the chamber he had prepared. He and his bride would then be sealed in the chamber for seven days. When they emerged, a great wedding feast would be celebrated.

Likewise, Jesus has returned to Heaven to prepare a place for His bride, the Church. When He returns for His bride, He will take her to His Father's heavenly home.

There He will remain with His bride for seven years (the duration of the Tribulation). The period will end with "the marriage supper of the Lamb" described in Revelation 19. Thus the seven days in the wedding chamber point prophetically to the seven years that Jesus and His bride will remain in Heaven during the Tribulation.

Speaking of Revelation, the structure of that book also implies a pre-Tribulation Rapture in a symbolic sense. The first three chapters focus on the Church.

Chapter 4 begins with the door of Heaven opening and John being raptured from the isle of Patmos to the throne of God in Heaven.

The Church is not mentioned thereafter until Revelation 19:7-9 when it is portrayed as the "bride of Christ" in Heaven with Jesus celebrating the "marriage supper of the Lamb."

At Revelation 19:11 the door of Heaven opens again, and Jesus emerges riding a white horse on His way to earth, followed by His Church (Rev. 19:14).

The rapture of the Apostle John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type of the Rapture of the Church.

Note that it is initiated by the cry of a voice that sounds like the blowing of a trumpet (Rev. 4:1).

Since the Tribulation does not begin until Revelation 6, the rapture of John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type that points to a pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.

Some counter this argument by pointing out that although the Church is not mentioned in Revelation during that book's description of the Tribulation, there is constant mention of "saints" (for example, Rev. 13:7).

But that term is not used in the Bible exclusively to refer to members of the Church. Daniel uses it to refer to Old Testament believers who lived long before the Church was established (Dan. 7:18).

The saints referred to in the book of Revelation are most likely those people who will be saved during the Tribulation, after the Church has been taken out of the world.

An interesting argument in behalf of the pre-Tribulation timing of the Rapture can be found in 2 Thessalonians.

The church at Thessalonica was in turmoil because someone had written them a letter under Paul's name stating that they had missed the "gathering to the Lord" and were, in fact, living in "the day of the Lord" (2 Thess. 2:1-2).

Paul attempted to calm them down by reminding them of his teaching that the day of the Lord would not come until after the Anti-Christ is revealed. He then stated that the Anti-Christ would not be revealed until a restraining force "is taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:3-7).

There has been much speculation as to the identify of this restraining force that Paul refers to. Some have identified it as the Holy Spirit.

But it cannot be the Holy Spirit because there will be people saved during the Tribulation, and no one can be saved apart from the testimony of the Spirit (John 16:8-11 & 1 John 5:7).

Others have identified the restrainer as human government. It is true that government was ordained by God to restrain evil (Romans 13:1-4).

But the governments of the world are in rebellion against God and His Son (Psalm 2), and they are therefore a contributor to the evil that characterizes the world.

Furthermore, the Tribulation will not be characterized by a lack of government. Rather, it will feature the first true worldwide government (Rev. 13:7).

In my opinion that leaves only one other candidate for Paul's restrainer - and that is the Church. It is the Church that serves as the primary restrainer of evil in the world today as it proclaims the

Gospel and stands for righteousness. When the Church fails in this mission, evil multiplies, as Paul graphically points out in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Paul says that society in the end times will be characterized by chaos and despair because "men will hold to a form of religion but will deny its power." When the Church is removed from the world, all hell will literally break loose.

The pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture has often been condemned as "escapism." I think this criticism is unjustified. The Bible itself says that Christians are to "comfort one another" with the thought of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:18). Is it a comfort to think of the Rapture occurring at the end of the world's worst period of war instead of at the beginning?

Regardless of when the Rapture actually occurs, we need to keep in mind that the Bible teaches that societal conditions are going to grow increasingly worse the closer we get to the Lord's return.

That means Christians will suffer tribulation whether or not they go into the Great Tribulation. And that means all of us had better be preparing ourselves for unprecedented suffering and spiritual warfare.

If you are a Christian, you can do that on a daily basis by putting on "the full armor of God" (Eph. 6:13), praying at all times in the Spirit that you will be able to stand firm against the attacks of Satan (Eph. 6:14-18).

If you are not a Christian, your only hope is to reach out in faith and receive the free gift of God's salvation, which He has provided through His Son, Jesus (John 3:16).