Day: January 24, 2025

ON THE PRETRIB RAPTURE

This post discusses the belief in resurrection and the return of Christ, contrasting scriptural references from Paul, Jesus, and John about the order of resurrection and rapture. It challenges the PreTribulation position, arguing that this belief lacks direct scriptural support and emphasizes relying on contextual interpretation rather than selective readings.

  1. Paul wrote that we who remain alive shall not precede those who have died in Christ.
  2. Jesus said that the dead will be raised “after the tribulation.”
  3. John, in the book of revelation places “the first resurrection” after the tribulation.

1 Thessalonians 4:

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

 17 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, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Matthew 24:

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after the tribulation

of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and

they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 20:

4 (…) They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.

This is the first resurrection. 

So, the PreTrib believer denies that saying that yes, that is true, but we know there is a secret resurrection and the rapture before the first resurrection and before the tribulation…

Pushed for Scriptural proof, they provide selected verses (and pieces of verses) from the above quoted passages and add a bunch of verses that say God is good… When someone points out that none of the verses they have trimmed, reinterpreted and quoted without context actually say that there will be a PreTrib rapture, they tell us that we must read between the lines and understand that while God never said so, He certainly implied that the rapture would happen before the tribulation…

And then, they question our Christianity, our faith, and our sanity because we lack the gnosis needed in order to believe in a PreTrib Rapture…

PRAY-THINK-PRAY

David…