Why I Believe In A Post-Tribulation Rapture

I’ve heard preachers John Hagee, Jimmy Evans and others teach about a pre-tribulation rapture. So for many years I assumed this was how it could be when Jesus comes back to earth. That the church would be caught up first, and not have to face the terrible tribulation spoken of in the Bible.    

This all changed when my husband and I participated in a Bible study with his brother, John, and several others. John led us through the various scriptures in the Bible that make it clear that there will be a post-tribulation rapture. We discussed what we read and agreed that the Bible does not say the church will be carried away (raptured) first as some believe.

Only 4 scripture passages speak of being carried away or raptured on the day Jesus returns. I chose the Amplified Classic Edition for ease of reading. (Bold text was done by me for emphasis.)

Matthew 24:29-31 (Rapture)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

I Corinthians 15:51-52 (Rapture)

Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep ]in death], but will all be ]completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].

I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 (Rapture)

 For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord!

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 (Rapture)

Now in regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together in meet Him, brothers and sisters, do not be quickly unsettled or alarmed either by a [so-called prophetic revelation of a] spirit or a message or a letter [alleged to be} from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has [already] come. Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed

My eyes have been opened to see these four scriptures as never before. I urge you to read all four out loud. I believe your eyes will be opened too.

This past week my husband and I came across on YouTube, The Rapture – The Endurance of the Saints, a Bible study taught by Dalton Thomas and Joel Richardson, FAI Studios. They have studied this for years and will provide a weekly episode over the course of several months, which will delve deep into end time events and what to expect. We watched four episodes and are looking forward to the next one. I’ve been taking notes so I can capture the essence of what is revealed in the Bible. We need to be knowledgeable and prepared for what is coming, in God’s time and way.

God bless you, dear readers, I pray you will seek the Lord for yourself and allow Him to direct your path. He will never steer you down the wrong road.