The Timing of the Rapture

God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
–1 Thessalonians 5:9

When is the rapture going to take place? Some Christians believe it’s going to happen during or after the tribulation, the seven-year period when God will pour out His judgment on the earth. However, I believe the church will be taken to heaven before the tribulation. Every Christian experiences tribulation in life, but I believe the church will be exempt from God’s judgment in the end times. Let me tell you why.

First of all, there is no tribulation-like language in 1 Thessalonians 4, where Paul described the rapture. If the tribulation were coming first, wouldn’t Paul have explained how awful it’s going to be and encouraged the Thessalonians to hang on until the rapture? But Paul didn’t do that. Instead, he started with the rapture. Then in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, Paul used the Greek phrase peri de, a transitional phrase that signifies a new subject, and moved on to “the day of the Lord” (5:2), which refers to a day of judgment. This suggests that the rapture comes before God’s judgment on the earth.

A second argument for a pretribulation rapture is the absence of the church in Revelation 6–18, where John described the tribulation. I believe the church is not mentioned in these chapters because we’re not going to be on earth at the time.

However, the strongest argument for a pretribulation rapture is God’s promise to keep believers from His wrath. In Paul’s discussion of the day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5, he wrote, “God has not destined us for wrath” (v. 9). And in Jesus’ letter to the church at Philadelphia, He promised, “I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world” (Revelation 3:10). Jesus never promised to keep us out of problems. But the problems of this world are nothing compared to the wrath of God. If God’s judgment is going to be poured out on us in the future, then Jesus’ death was worthless. The reason He suffered on the cross was to take upon Himself the wrath that you and I deserve. As Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Aren’t you glad we don’t have to fear God’s wrath? That’s why I believe we will be with God in heaven before His wrath is poured out.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Jesus the Prophet,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2024.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.