" Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for hew that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God" (1 Peter 4:1, 2)
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture has been around since the 1830's, when John Nelson Darby, considered by many to be the father of Dispensationalism, championed a theological view that held, among other things, that the destiny of the church was different than the destiny of Israel. You heard it right. Even though Paul goes through great pains to explain that "they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed" (Romans 9:6-8 KJV), and that even though we were "in time past Gentiles in the flesh" (Ephesians 2:11-19), and WERE "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world", we are now, because of our faith in Christ "no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints (Jewish), and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles (Jewish) and prophets (Jewish), Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone". Yes, even though Jesus said that "many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" and that He had "other sheep, which "are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be ONE fold, and ONE shepherd" (John 10:16) people are still insisting that gentile Christians are going to be whisked away in a secret rapture while the Jews face the antichrist"s wrath in the time of Jacob"s trouble,
Just to make this short, since so many Christians don't like to study or search the scriptures, let me dispose of this pre-trib error with one fact:
The "rapture" is a resurrection, right?
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"
(1Thessalonians 4:16)
Yes. It is. We have just added another resurrection to God's prophetic word! There are only two, the FIRST is at Christ's second, very public return to Jerusalem in power and glory:
" . . for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:25, 26).
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4).
The SECOND resurrection is not until after the thousand-year reign of Christ has passed:
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (v.6)
This resurrection at the end of the thousand years is the SECOND resurrection, where death and hell itself are cast into the lake of fire . .
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6).
This is of course not a salvation issue. Corrie Ten Boom laments here how the Chinese Christians were told by American Missionaries that they would be raptured away from trouble as the Communism took over China, rather than being told to pray and prepare.
Today I am telling you to pray and prepare. Socialism is not coming to America, it is already here, and regardless of who is elected president in November 2020, antichristian legislation and marginalization will increase, whether slower or faster. We who understand and believe the scriptures know what is coming, and that it is certain. Just as Jesus prophesied his own death in Matthew 26:53, saying "But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" in reference to His ability to call legions of angels to save Him from the Cross, so must we pray until God gives us grace to put HIS will first on the earth, no matter what the cost to us.
This is NOT a drill.
We really are here.
Right now.
There is nothing taking place in the world apart from our Father's meticulous sovereignty. He has already promised to "save us from our sins", which means of course, from our innate cowardice too. We'll get our ticket, as Corrie said, "when we get on the train". If the pre-tribbers get raptured (and I hope they do!) we depressing post-tribbers will go on the same bus! Your (or my) believing something doesn't make it true, so consider what I say in the light of scripture. More on the post- trib/pre-wrath rapture is here.
God bless-