Rapture in Latin (rapturos) means "translated" and in Greek (harpadso) it means "snatched". There can be no doubt that there will be a "rapture" that will take the believers from the earth before the 7 year Tribulation period commences!!
The Rapture and the Glorious Second Coming are 2 separate events of One coming. THE RAPTURE-is when Jesus Comes for the Church.---The Second Coming is when Jesus comes in power and judgment on the earth.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT CHRISTIANS SEPARATE THE CHURCH FROM ISRAEL
PRE-TRIBULATION VIEW---Hopefully all Christians believe that we will be "snatched away" before the Tribulation!! If not--here are some reasons WHY you should believe it!!!
Before the 7 year Tribulation period for Israel-the "Church" will be raptured, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and we will be taken by Christ to the Father's house and judged for our deeds since becoming a Christian, granted rewards for faithful service, be conducted to the marriage of Christ to His Bride (the Church) and permitted to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. AFTER those 7 years, Christ will come in His Glorious Appearing (Second Coming), destroy the antichrist and the false prophet, and chain Satan in the bottomless pit. He will then set up His Kingdom and rule the world with His saints.
14 REASONS FOR BEING A PRE-TRIBULATION CHRISTIAN
Most logical view of the Second Coming when scripture is taken literally It clearly and logically untangles the contrasting details of the Second Coming It allows sufficient time to interject end time events It is the ONLY view that distinguishes Israel and the Church It makes the "blessed hope" (rapture) TRULY a blessing It takes God at His Word and claims His promises literally to "save us from wrath" Preserves motivating power of imminence teaching found in the New Testament It LOOKS toward the coming of the Lord FITS the flow of the book of Revelation Makes a MAJOR event out of the Rapture Explains WHY the Church is not mentioned in Chapters 4:3 to Chapter 18 of Revelation Preserves credibility of Christ's Word that Christians will be kept from the Tribulation Maintains that 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a comfort passage Explains why there is NO BIBLICAL instruction on preparation for the Tribulation
The Lord has promised us time and again in His Word that the believers in Christ will not go through the Tribulation. Some believe that they will go through 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation (Mid-Trib View) BUT there is NO NEED for the Church to be on earth during the Tribulation because the gospel will be preached and entrusted to the following:
The 144,000 Jewish Evangelists----(Revelation 7:1-8) The two Witnesses----(Revelation 11) The angel that "preaches the everlasting gospel"----(Revelation 14:6-7)
Mid-Tribulationists believe that the Rapture happens in Revelation 11:11-12. They also believe that the 2 Witnesses are Israel and The Church. Firstly, the rapture DOES NOT appear in Revelation 11. Secondly, the 2 witnesses are living, breathing men as shown by the fact that they were PHYSICALLY killed and lay in literal streets where their bodies were abused by the people for 3 1/2 days, and then be resurrected. They heard a voice from heaven say "come up here" and they were "raptured" up into heaven. Now if the Mid Tribulation view of the 2 witnesses being the Israel and Church (remembering that there are believers that are dead in Christ) --how can you kill saints who are already dead?
