This is one of the most asked questions about the end times. Here is what Scripture says, what this site believes, and what every view agrees on.
Jesus spoke of a time of distress unlike any before or after it. Daniel and Revelation describe a seven-year period of judgment on the earth, the rise of a world ruler, and a mark without which no one can buy or sell.
“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”
Matthew 24:21This site holds that believers will be taken before the tribulation begins. The key promises:
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9“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 on the earth.”
Revelation 3:10See the pre-tribulation rapture for the full reasoning.
Even in the worst days in history, God’s mercy does not stop. Revelation describes a great multitude who come to faith during the tribulation, many at the cost of their lives.
“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Revelation 7:14That is why the question is urgent. If the rapture happened tonight, those left behind could still turn to Christ, but it would cost them everything.
Mid-tribulation and pre-wrath Christians believe the Church will go through part of the tribulation. Post-tribulation Christians believe the Church will go through all of it and be preserved, not removed. Each reads Scripture seriously.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Matthew 24:36We are not told the date. We are told to be ready.
Scripture quotations from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), © The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. lockman.org
Christians differ. The pre-tribulation view, held by this site, teaches that believers will be taken before the tribulation begins (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10). Mid-tribulation, pre-wrath and post-tribulation views hold that believers will go through part or all of it.
Yes. Revelation 7:9-14 describes a great multitude from every nation who come out of the great tribulation, having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
Christians have always faced tribulation, meaning trouble and persecution (John 16:33). The pre-tribulation view holds that the seven-year period is a time of God's wrath on the earth, from which believers are promised rescue.
No one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). Daniel 9:27 links the seven years to a covenant made by a coming ruler, but Scripture gives no date, and no one should set one.
No one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). The question is not when. It is whether you know Him. If you are not sure where you stand with God, start at salvation101.com.
What if it happened tonight? The Bride Is Taken, a Christian end-times thriller by Paul T. Barham, imagines the first days after the rapture. Read about the novel.