They would also see all the events discussing Jesus’s return and final judgment essentially happening at the same time…not separated over the course of years. Others, however, have seen this “rapture” event happening at the end of the tribulation, as Jesus says in Matthew 24:29-31 that after this tribulation, Christ will send out his angels to gather his elect. Those who hold to this “mid-tribulation” rapture view also point out that Revelation 12:14 speaks about being guarded for three and a half years and that Revelation 14 would seem to be a better point for a call of a “rapture” than Revelation 4 since that is when the 144,000 are in heaven (the seventh trumpet discussed in Revelation could connect to the trumpets discussed in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16). A variant of this argument is that the first three and a half years of the tribulation are the wrath of Satan, while the last three and a half are the wrath of God, so it is at that mark that Christians are removed. They note that God’s wrath is not necessarily being poured out during the tribulation time that wrath is what awaits at the end. However, others who hold to this seven-year period would say that the Bible does not teach that Christians would be raptured or removed before these events. Another verse that is used to support the view that the church will not be present during this time is Revelation 3:10: “ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Finally, another significant idea in this viewpoint is that God will pour out His wrath during the tribulation, and believers in Christ cannot experience God’s wrath because it has been poured out for them on Jesus. Revelation 4 talks about the Apostle John being brought into heaven - could this be a symbol and sign that the church will be removed before these events take place? The reasons for this removal would be that the time of the “parenthesis” (between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel 9) has ended and God is now finished with the “time of the Gentiles” and goes back to working out His plan for Israel. First of all, those who believe this view often note that Revelation 1-3 talks about the church, but the church is not mentioned again after Revelation 3. Something to note is that there is no particular verse to point to for this teaching as it is built upon a few key ideas. Some who teach about this time period say that Christians will be spared from the tribulation because the church will be “raptured” (raised to heaven to meet Jesus in the clouds as discussed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17) before these events take place - in fact, in this view the the rapture will mark the beginning of the tribulation. Why Would Christians Not Experience This? It would seem safe to say most people would prefer not to experience these situations! Because there are discussions about three and a half years in Revelation 11:2-3 12:6, 15 and 13:5 (also see Daniel 9:27 and 12:11), some view the last half of these years to be exceptionally bad. This period would also feature great persecution of God’s people with the antichrist (the beast of Revelation) in power, forcing all to follow him or suffer dire consequences (including death). Revelation 8-11 mentions seven trumpets sounded by angels that cause hail and fire to fall to the earth, the destruction of sea life, and water turning into blood by a great mountain thrown down from heaven (among other events which you can read about). For example, Revelation 6 talks about seven seals that include conquest, war, famine, and death. Those who hold to this view typically see the Book of Revelation as covering this seven year period and the various elements discussed in this book as happening during this period. Many Christians believe that the 70th week (seven year period) described in Daniel 9:24-27 still awaits, and during this time, evil will reign and God’s wrath will be poured out on the world before Jesus’ return at the end of the seven years. As you might expect if you know me, I won’t give a quick “yes” or “no” answer, but I do want to unpack the background and also offer some pastoral thoughts as we explore this question.īefore we can answer this question, we need to know what the “tribulation” is. When discussing the end times and Christ’s second coming, I am often asked whether or not Christians will experience the tribulation.
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