Will There Be a Rapture Before the Tribulation?

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Many people wonder, “Will I be ready when Christ returns?”

Others say, “I am not concerned about the end times. I won’t be here. I’ll be gone in the rapture.”

What about you? Do you expect Christ will rapture you before the Great Tribulation begins?

Let’s see what the Bible says about a rapture.

First, you should know that the word rapture isn’t in the Bible. However, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 mentions a time when Christ’s followers will be “caught up” and meet Jesus Christ in the air.

Here is the passage:

For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the arrival of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

Notice the sequence:

1. Jesus descends from heaven when a trumpet is blown
2. The “dead in Christ” are resurrected first
3. Then the chosen who are alive are caught up with them in the clouds

This might sound like a good way to escape the Great Tribulation. But when will this happen?

We find the exact timing in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:

Look, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

Clearly this is talking about the exact same event. A trumpet is blown. The faithful who have died are resurrected, and the chosen who are alive are transformed into immortal beings.

Notice that this will happen “at the last trumpet.”

The Bible describes seven trumpets that seven angels will blow during the Day of the Lord (Zephaniah 1:14-16; Joel 2:1; Rev 8; 9; 11:15-19). In the last lesson you saw that the last trumpet—the seventh trumpet—will be blown at the end of the Day of the Lord, one year after the end of the Great Tribulation.

God’s chosen people will not taken to heaven during the Great Tribulation.

The first resurrection will happen at the last trumpet at the end of the Day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). In lesson 10 you will learn that those who meet Christ in the in the clouds at that time will not stay in heaven. A few days later they will return to earth with Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:14; Zechariah 14:5), and they will live and rule on earth with Jesus (Revelation 5:10; Zechariah 14:9; Daniel 7:27).

The idea that Christians will be raptured to heaven where they will stay forever is not in the Bible. The rapture is a teaching of men, not a teaching of the Bible. Read all of these scriptures carefully and prove for yourself what the Bible says!

(If you still confused, please read What did Jesus mean when He said, “one will be taken and one will be left”?)

Does that mean that Christ’s faithful followers must suffer through the Great Tribulation? Not at all! God will protect some Christians during the Great Tribulation—but not in heaven.

A Safe Place

The Bible shows that God will protect a specific group of Christians for three and a half years. They will go to a safe place on earth, not in heaven.

Notice what Christ told His follower in Matthew 24:15-21:

“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea run away to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house. Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! And pray that your escape will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath, because then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

Yes, there is a way of escape. But those who escape can’t just wait to be taken to heaven. They have to leave their homes. They have to run away and go to a place on earth where God will protect them.

Who will be protected?

Notice Christ’s promise in Revelation 3:10:

Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

And the same promise, in Matthew 24:13: “But he who endures to the end, he will be rescued.”

Christ’s followers who endure to the end will escape to a safe place on earth before the Great Tribulation begins.

What does it mean to “endure to the end”?

When the first seal is opened, a false Christianity will rise to power (Revelation 6:1, 2; Matt 24:4, 5). This false Christianity will persecute God’s true Church (Matthew 24:5-12).

God will use this period of persecution before the Great Tribulation to test those who claim to follow Him.

• Many will simply join the false Christianity that will be growing in power and popularity.
• Others will quietly keep their beliefs to themselves, trying to avoid persecution.
• Some will stand up and boldly proclaim the true Gospel to the world during this time of persecution (Matthew 24:14).

Who will God protect? Those who are not ashamed of what they believe, who endure in preaching the Gospel to the end, will be rescued (Matthew 24:13, 14). They have passed the test. They have demonstrated their faith.

Notice what Jesus said in Mark 8:35, 38:

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for My sake and the sake of the Good News will save it…. For whoever will be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when He comes in His Father’s glory, with the holy angels.”

We must be willing to lose our life for Christ and His Gospel. If we show Christ that following Him is more important than saving our own life, He will save our lives.

Those who fail this test before the Great Tribulation—those who avoid sharing the Gospel because they are afraid of persecution—must be tested again in the Great Tribulation.

We see these two groups of Christians mentioned in the books of Revelation and Daniel.

Revelation 2 and 3 contain short letters to seven churches. These are prophetic letters, foretelling seven eras of God’s Church down through the centuries. For example, Revelation 2:10 says that the church in Smyrna would “have tribulation for ten days.” This foretold the great Roman persecution of Christians that lasted for ten years, from 303-313 AD.

The last two eras of the Church are Philadelphia and Laodicea.

The Christians of Philadelphia keep Christ’s instructions, don’t deny His name, and go through the doors that Christ opens to preach the Gospel (Revelation 3:8; compare 2 Corinthians 2:12). These Christians are promised protection during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 3:10; Daniel 12:12).

The Christians of Laodicea are lukewarm, lacking zeal, proud, confident, and blind to their own spiritual state (Revelation 3:14-17). Laodicea represents the condition of the majority of God’s Church at the end of the age. Jesus says He will vomit them out of His mouth and test them in the fire (Revelation 3:16-18; Daniel 12:10). Why? Because “As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent!” (Revelation 3:19)

Jesus Christ will allow some of His followers to go through the Great Tribulation, for their own good. He wants them to get serious, overcome their pride, and stop being ashamed of Him, so He can reward them with eternal life when He returns. These Christians will be the martyrs who provide a witness to the world during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11).

The Woman of Revelation 12

We see these two groups of Christians—one that goes to a safe place and one that does not—mentioned again in Revelation 12.

Revelation 12 describes “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (verse 1). This woman represents God’s chosen people, Israel (see Genesis 37:9). This woman gave birth to a Child, representing Jesus Christ, who was born from the tribe of Judah.

After the birth of Christ, the prophecy shifts primarily to God’s Church. God’s Church is also described as a woman in the Bible (Ephesians 5:22-32) and is also called “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). The nation of Israel is a prophetic type of the Church. The people of Israel are the physical descendants of Abraham, and those in God’s Church are the spiritual children of Abraham.

After Jesus Christ went to heaven, the woman ran away to the wilderness for 1260 days (Revelation 12:6). This foretold a period of 1260 years when Christ’s followers (the Church) had to go to remote areas in order to avoid persecution.

When did this happen?

The Bible shows that within a few decades after Christ’s death, false teachers entered the Church (Acts 20:29-31; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1). These teachers taught a different Jesus and a different Gospel (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:4). As a result, those who called themselves Christians began to divide into many groups.

If you examine the writings of the early “church fathers,” you will see that some of them added new teachings to “Christianity,” and discarded many of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. Over time, those who held on to the teachings of Scripture became a minority among those who called themselves Christians. This is a clear fact of history.

When Constantine became the emperor of the Roman Empire, he began to establish Christianity as the favored religion of the empire. Constantine was not satisfied with the many divisions among those who called themselves Christians, so in 325 AD he held the Council of Nicaea to settle the controversies over doctrine and practice. The main issues discussed were the nature of God and whether Christians should keep the Passover on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, like the Jews, or if Christians should keep Easter Sunday. The council settled these two questions and established the official teachings of the Roman Church on many other subjects. They declared that all other beliefs were heresies.

Constantine made this unified Roman Christianity the favored religion of the empire. The Roman Church now had the support of the armies of the Roman Empire, which began to persecute non-Christians, Jews, and every sect of Christianity that did not accept the decisions of the council. For the next 1260 years Europe was dominated by one official religion. There was no freedom of religion. People were not free to disagree with the teachings of the government-sponsored religion. Eventually, people were not even allowed to own or read the Bible!

The first step toward the restoration of religious freedom came in 1579, when the northern provinces of the Netherlands signed the Union of Utrecht. In this treaty they agreed to support each other in their struggle against their Spanish rulers, and to uphold religious freedom for every person. In 1581 the United Provinces declared their independence from Spain. The fall of Antwerp in 1585 marked the turning point in their struggle for religious freedom. Amazingly, the Spanish—who did not allow any religious freedom—gave the Protestants of Antwerp four years of toleration before they had to leave.

Finally, in 1585, after a period of 1260 years of persecution, those who did not agree with the official church could find religious freedom in the Netherlands. Most of the Protestants of Antwerp migrated north to Amsterdam. Many Jews also migrated to the Netherlands in order to escape persecution. The Netherlands became the first haven of religious freedom, ending the period of 1260 years without religious freedom that was foretold in Revelation 12:6.

In 1598, the Edict of Nantes provided religious toleration in France. Religious freedom in North America began in 1636, with the founding of Rhode Island. The Toleration Act of 1689 granted religious freedom in England.

Since 1585, there has always been a place where people could study the Bible for themselves and follow what it says without persecution. The woman of Revelation 12 no longer had to flee into the wilderness to avoid persecution.

The Church at the End

The religious freedom that exists in many places today will disappear again at the time of the end.

Revelation 12:7-12 describes how Satan and the demons will attempt to overthrow God. They will lose this battle and will be thrown down to earth a short time before the end of the age (verse 12). Once this happens, there will be a sudden, dramatic change in the world. Satan and the demons will work through political, religious, and military leaders in an effort to exterminate the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham. Religious freedom will come to an immediate end, and it will no longer be possible to preach the Gospel (Matthew 24:14; Amos 8:11-12).

You have already learned how some of Christ’s followers will escape to the hills 30 days before the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15-20; Daniel 12:11). Then what?

Revelation 12:14-16:

Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the snake. The snake spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth.

This prophecy uses symbols which are explained in other parts of the Bible:

• “wings of an eagle” refer to divine protection and guidance during the escape (Exodus 19:4)
• The “snake” is Satan the devil (Revelation 20:2)
• The “river” represents an army (Jeremiah 46:7-9)

Some of Christ’s followers escape from an army and go to an uninhabited place where they are protected and fed for 3 ½ years. But the proud and lukewarm Christians of Laodicea (Revelation 3:16-19) will not escape to this safe place. Satan will persecute these remaining Christians during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord:

The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep God’s commandments and hold Jesus’ testimony. (Revelation 12:17)

Part of God’s Church must go through the Great Tribulation in order to refine them and prepare them for the first resurrection (Daniel 12:10; Revelation 3:18).

For Everyone Else

Is there any hope for those who find themselves in the middle of the Great Tribulation?

If you find yourself in the Great Tribulation, what should you do?

First, you should understand why God will punish Israel during the Great Tribulation.

God chose Israel to be the example for all other nations. God plans to bring Israel to repentance during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, so that they can become a model nation—a pattern for all other nations to follow—after Christ returns.

Notice what God said in Exodus 19:5, 6:

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”

Right now, the modern nations of Israel are an example of disobedience. God will punish Israel first, as a warning for other nations, and to bring them to repentance.

Notice Ezekiel 18:30-32:

“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Master Eternal. “Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Master Eternal. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live!”

God doesn’t want people to die! He wants them to repent! And Israel will repent. This is foretold in Deuteronomy 4:27-31:

The Eternal will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations, where the Eternal will lead you away. There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the Eternal your God, and you will find Him, when you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you will return to the Eternal your God, and listen to his voice. For the Eternal your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.

During the Great Tribulation, 144,000 Israelites will repent, and will be sealed for protection before the Day of the Lord (Revelation 7:1-8). There will also be “a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages” who will also repent during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:9-14).

If you find yourself in the Great Tribulation, turn to God and seek Him with all of your heart!

Seek the Eternal, all you humble of the land, who have kept his judgments. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Eternal’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)

Whatever you do, don’t accept the Mark of the Beast. If you already have it, replace it with God’s mark before it is too late. In the next lesson I will show you the scriptures that explain exactly what the Mark of the Beast is and how you can be sure to avoid it.

Next Lesson: What Is the “Mark of the Beast”?

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