Is the Rapture Before Tribulation? (an easy way to know)

I haven’t spoken about the timing of the rapture very often on my channel for two main reasons. First, it is a very divisive issue with many Christians, and I have no desire to cause more division.

Second, and more importantly, it is not a salvation issue. No one is being denied entrance into the Kingdom of God because they had the timing of the rapture wrong. Or, the shape of the earth, for that matter.

I was going to do a deep-dive into the rapture, and I probably will at some point, but I wanted to make this short video because it’s actually easy for us to understand whether or not the rapture occurs before the tribulation. Here’s how to do it.

First, as we all know, the dead in Christ rise before those who are alive. Just about every Christian understands that concept, as it is taught clearly in three verses in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4:

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”

“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:”

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

These three verses tell us that upon the return of Jesus, the dead in Christ rise first, THEN we who are still living at the time. This means that the first resurrection happens BEFORE anyone living is caught up.

That’s important to understand, because the first resurrection INCLUDES those beheaded for refusing the Mark. We learn that from reading Rev 20: verses 4 and 5:

“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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”

This means that whenever the rapture happens, it cannot happen BEFORE all of those who were beheaded for refusing the mark are brought to life in the first resurrection. Again, those who die in Christ precede those who are alive at His return.

Of course, those who are stuck on the pre-tribulation rapture belief have to find a way to explain away these verses, and they do so by insisting that the first resurrection actually happens in multiple stages, beginning with the rapture, and then again 7 years later.

That idea, however, contradicts how the Bible clearly tells us that ALL of us will be changed at the last trumpet:

“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” – 1 Cor 15:51-52

A “twinkling of an eye” doesn’t happen over 7 years. The “last trumpet” is not sounded for 7 years. The Bible’s teaching is perfectly clear. The first resurrection is of ALL the dead in Christ, including those who were beheaded for refusing the mark, AND THEN we who are alive shall be raised.

And the reason I wanted to point this out is because it demonstrates that when the Antichrist and the False Prophet come on the scene, we will BE HERE. ♦