The Rapture of the Church is after the beginning of the great Tribulation

By John Chopores

 

When is the Rapture of the Church? I believe that it is after the beginning of the Tribulation. Some of the reasons are-

 

1. The Church is not to go through the wrath of God cf. 1TH 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, {even} Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (KJV)

(1Thessalonians 5:9 KJV)

(9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

(Matthew 3:7-8 KJV)

(7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

 

2. But [the Church] can go through persecution and the wrath of sinful man cf. MAT 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (KJV)

MAT 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all {men} for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. (KJV)

MAT 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (KJV)

LUK 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, (KJV)

LUK 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you {from their company}, and shall reproach {you}, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. (KJV)

(John 15:18-19 KJV)

(18) If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before {it hated} you. (19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

 

3. The wrath of God seems to be poured out after the sixth seal is opened Cf.(Revelation 6:12-17 KJV)

(12) And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; (13) And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (14) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; (16) And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17) For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? cf. with (Matthew 24:29-31 KJV)

(29) 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: (30) 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. (31) 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.

You will notice that, God's wrath is on anyone who has the mark of the beast cf. REV 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and {upon} them which worshipped his image. (KJV)

 

4. After the beast starts killing the saints, God pours out His wrath Cf.(Daniel 7:21-22 KJV)

(21) I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; (22) Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

REV 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. (KJV)

REV 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (KJV)

REV 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. (KJV)

REV 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for {thou} only {art} holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (KJV)

 

(Revelation 15:6-16:2 KJV)

(6) And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. (7) And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. (8) And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

(Revelation 16)

(1) And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. (2) And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and {upon} them which worshipped his image. [ please note that the wrath seems to be poured out on all the earth]

 

Also, the first place that the wrath of God is mentioned in the book of Revelation is Rev.6:16. Which is after the sixth seal is opened! It is also a day of wrath [cf. Rev.6:16&17], and Christian is not to go through the wrath of God cf.1TH 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, {even} Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (KJV)1TH 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (KJV)

REV 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (KJV)

 

 

The coming of the Antichrist is before the Rapture

 

When we look at the book of Revelation, we see that the Antichrist comes into the open after the Tribulation has started! Cf. Rev. 13: 1 ¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

 5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

 

What does St. Paul say about the coming of the Antichrist? Let us take a look.

 

2 Thess. 2: 1 ¶ Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

A "falling away" when? The answer is first, before the coming again of Christ and our "gathering together until him"!

Thess. 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

We see here, that the Antichrist must sit in the "temple" and claim that he is God, before the Rapture of the Church.

Thess. 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

The one who is "taken out of the way", cannot be the Holy Spirit, because if it was, how would anyone get saved during the Tribulation?  Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

Yet there are many saved during the Tribulation! Cf. Rev. 7: 13 ¶ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

  Revelation 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

 

Thess. 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

We see that the Antichrist "taken care of" by Christ at His 2^nd coming! Cf. Rev. 20: 20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.