The majority of evangelical Christians believe that there is going to be a pre-Tribulation rapture in which Jesus returns to earth, catches them up into the clouds, and keeps them from having to go through the horrific events of the 7 year Great Tribulation. However, the Bible does not teach that there is going to be a pre-Tribuation rapture, and you can prove this to anyone in under 5 minutes using the Bible.There are two main passages in the Scriptures that pre-Tribulation rapture advocates believe describe the rapture. The first is in 1 Corinthians and the second is in 1 Thessalonians. As we shall see, both of them tell us exactly when the rapture is going to be.
The first scripture that pre-Tribulation advocates use is 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.....
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Do you see how it tells us precisely when the rapture will be?
It is marked in red for you.
This passage tells us that the rapture will take place at the last trumpet.
So when will that be?
Well, hold on to that for a minute and let's take a look at the next passage that pre-Tribulation advocates use.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, once again we see the timing of the rapture coincides with the trumpet call of God.....
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
So, we see that the two main rapture passage that pre-Tribulation advocates use to describe the rapture both agree about the timing of the Rapture.
But just when is the "last trumpet" going to be?
Fortunately, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us the answer to that question. In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus tells his disciples about many of the events that will occur during the Tribulation period, and then in verses 29 to 31 Jesus describes the moment of His second coming to earth at the end of the Tribulation period. Most pre-Tribulation advocates refer to this event as "The Glorious Appearing".
Please notice that once again, the events of Matthew 24:29-31 coincide with the trumpet call of God.....
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now, as we saw earlier, the "rapture" is clearly supposed to take place at the "last trumpet".
In Matthew 24, Jesus tells us that His final return to this earth will coincide with a great trumpet blast.
Is there any other trumpet blast after that one?
No.
So that is the last trumpet.
At the END of the Tribulation.
Pre-Tribulation advocates have to somehow rationalize that there is going to be "another last trumpet" at the beginning of the Tribulation that also coincides with the Lord Jesus gathering in His elect from the four winds.
It simply does not make sense and it simply does not square with Scripture.
The truth is that I Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4 and Matthew 24 are all talking about the exact same event.
So the next time you discuss the end times with someone, you now know how to pull out your Bible and prove why there is NOT going to be a pre-Tribulation rapture.
