"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever".
(Revelation 20:7-10)
The Dispensationalist concept of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture has fallen on hard times throughout contemporary American Evangelicalism. Throughout the Evangelical Christian Church in the North American Hemisphere, fomerly staunch Dispensationalist Evangelicals are jettionising their previously held doctrinal understanding and belief that the Rapture of the Christian Church will most definitely occur before the seven year Tribulation Period. Many Evangelical Pastors and Scholars such as John Piper, Al Mohler Jr and Wayne Grumen maintain a Posttribulational eschatological postion.
As I reflect upon over two decades of personal faith in Jesus Christ and Evangelical Commitment, I have come to maintain some serious reservations about the commonly held Dispensationalist conviction that the church will be raptured before the start of the Tribulation period.
The rapture ("harpazo" in Greek) is the event in certain systems of Christian eschatology (the study of the end times) in which it is stated that all born-again Christians will be taken from Earth into Heaven by Jesus Christ. While almost all forms of Christianity believe that those who are saved will have eternal life, the term "rapture" is usually applied specifically to the event in which all Christians on Earth are simultaneously transported by some manner of physical bodily ascension to join Christ. Everyone else on Earth will be left to wonder where they went. The concept has been popularized recently by proponents of the dispensationalist or futurist interpretations of scripture. According to these theories, current world events indicate that the fulfillment of prophecies of the end times is imminent.
The timing of when the rapture will take place is a key point often discussed and debated between denominations and individuals who accept the notion. The most common is that the rapture will take place immediately prior to or during the great tribulation, a seven-year period preceding the second coming of Christ. Others propose that the rapture will take place after the events of the tribulation, as Christ comes to Earth to establish a kingdom here, taking over rulership of the world. An alternative viewpoint is that Jesus will return when all on Earth have come to worship Him as their savior.
Three major views on the timing of the rapture
There is considerable debate among Christians who believe in the rapture in regard to the
timing of it relative to the seven-year Tribulation
Pre-tribulation
The Pre-Tribulation rapture, or "Pre-Trib", is the belief that the rapture will occur at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. Christian believers will be translated into immortal bodies in the rapture before the great persecutions by the Antichrist as he comes into his Beast role midway through the final seven years. According to this view, the Christian Church that existed prior to that seven-year period has no vital role during the seven years of Tribulation. Those people who accept Christ after the Rapture will be martyred for their faith during the Tribulation. The apostle John is seen in Revelation 4:1 as representing the Church caught up to Heaven. John hears the Trumpet and a voice that says, "Come up hither", and he is translated in the Spirit to Heaven and then sees what will happen for those left on earth. The pre-tribulation rapture is the most widely held position among Evangelical Christians. It has become popular in recent years around the world and through the work of dispensational preachers such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey.
Post-tribulation
The other main view is termed the Post-Tribulation rapture (or "Post-Trib"). This view admits the concept of "rapture" from 1 Thessalonians, but does not see an intervening seven-year period (or three-and-a-half-year period depending on scholarship) between the rapture and the return of Christ. This viewpoint is that Christian believers will be on Earth as witnesses to Christ during the entire seven years and right up until the last day of this age. This includes the final three and a half years of the age believed to be the time period of the Antichrist in his malevolent role as the Beast. The post-tribulation view is supported by Matthew 24:29–31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect..." See also Mark 13:24-27 and Luke 21:25-27 for the parallel accounts from the other Gospels. Another account which lends support to the idea of a post-tribulation rapture is in 2 Peter 3:10-13 where the idea of a "thief in the night" comes from. In this passage, Christ's return is equated with the "elements being melted", and "the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up". Another key difference between the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation lines of theology is the number of times that Jesus Christ must return. Although it is not directly referenced, in both the pre- and mid-tribulation raptures, Christ must then return a third time, at the end of the Tribulation period.
Both views hold that Christian believers will be either removed from, or protected from, the judgement when the wrath of God falls and the wicked are carried off at the end of the age.
Mid-tribulation
Others have proposed that the rapture will occur at the mid-point of the tribulation, dividing it into two periods of 3 1/2 years. At this point, the Antichrist commits the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple
Prewrath rapture
The prewrath rapture theory is that the tribulation of the church begins midway through the seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. The great tribulation, according to this view, is of the Antichrist against the church at this time. According to Jesus, this tribulation will be cut short by the second coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of rapture. The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of the seven-years.
(Revelation 20:7-10)
The Dispensationalist concept of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture has fallen on hard times throughout contemporary American Evangelicalism. Throughout the Evangelical Christian Church in the North American Hemisphere, fomerly staunch Dispensationalist Evangelicals are jettionising their previously held doctrinal understanding and belief that the Rapture of the Christian Church will most definitely occur before the seven year Tribulation Period. Many Evangelical Pastors and Scholars such as John Piper, Al Mohler Jr and Wayne Grumen maintain a Posttribulational eschatological postion.
As I reflect upon over two decades of personal faith in Jesus Christ and Evangelical Commitment, I have come to maintain some serious reservations about the commonly held Dispensationalist conviction that the church will be raptured before the start of the Tribulation period.
The rapture ("harpazo" in Greek) is the event in certain systems of Christian eschatology (the study of the end times) in which it is stated that all born-again Christians will be taken from Earth into Heaven by Jesus Christ. While almost all forms of Christianity believe that those who are saved will have eternal life, the term "rapture" is usually applied specifically to the event in which all Christians on Earth are simultaneously transported by some manner of physical bodily ascension to join Christ. Everyone else on Earth will be left to wonder where they went. The concept has been popularized recently by proponents of the dispensationalist or futurist interpretations of scripture. According to these theories, current world events indicate that the fulfillment of prophecies of the end times is imminent.
The timing of when the rapture will take place is a key point often discussed and debated between denominations and individuals who accept the notion. The most common is that the rapture will take place immediately prior to or during the great tribulation, a seven-year period preceding the second coming of Christ. Others propose that the rapture will take place after the events of the tribulation, as Christ comes to Earth to establish a kingdom here, taking over rulership of the world. An alternative viewpoint is that Jesus will return when all on Earth have come to worship Him as their savior.
Three major views on the timing of the rapture
There is considerable debate among Christians who believe in the rapture in regard to the
timing of it relative to the seven-year Tribulation
Pre-tribulation
The Pre-Tribulation rapture, or "Pre-Trib", is the belief that the rapture will occur at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. Christian believers will be translated into immortal bodies in the rapture before the great persecutions by the Antichrist as he comes into his Beast role midway through the final seven years. According to this view, the Christian Church that existed prior to that seven-year period has no vital role during the seven years of Tribulation. Those people who accept Christ after the Rapture will be martyred for their faith during the Tribulation. The apostle John is seen in Revelation 4:1 as representing the Church caught up to Heaven. John hears the Trumpet and a voice that says, "Come up hither", and he is translated in the Spirit to Heaven and then sees what will happen for those left on earth. The pre-tribulation rapture is the most widely held position among Evangelical Christians. It has become popular in recent years around the world and through the work of dispensational preachers such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey.
Post-tribulation
The other main view is termed the Post-Tribulation rapture (or "Post-Trib"). This view admits the concept of "rapture" from 1 Thessalonians, but does not see an intervening seven-year period (or three-and-a-half-year period depending on scholarship) between the rapture and the return of Christ. This viewpoint is that Christian believers will be on Earth as witnesses to Christ during the entire seven years and right up until the last day of this age. This includes the final three and a half years of the age believed to be the time period of the Antichrist in his malevolent role as the Beast. The post-tribulation view is supported by Matthew 24:29–31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect..." See also Mark 13:24-27 and Luke 21:25-27 for the parallel accounts from the other Gospels. Another account which lends support to the idea of a post-tribulation rapture is in 2 Peter 3:10-13 where the idea of a "thief in the night" comes from. In this passage, Christ's return is equated with the "elements being melted", and "the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up". Another key difference between the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation lines of theology is the number of times that Jesus Christ must return. Although it is not directly referenced, in both the pre- and mid-tribulation raptures, Christ must then return a third time, at the end of the Tribulation period.
Both views hold that Christian believers will be either removed from, or protected from, the judgement when the wrath of God falls and the wicked are carried off at the end of the age.
Mid-tribulation
Others have proposed that the rapture will occur at the mid-point of the tribulation, dividing it into two periods of 3 1/2 years. At this point, the Antichrist commits the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple
Prewrath rapture
The prewrath rapture theory is that the tribulation of the church begins midway through the seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. The great tribulation, according to this view, is of the Antichrist against the church at this time. According to Jesus, this tribulation will be cut short by the second coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of rapture. The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of the seven-years.
