Just as there are popular Christian heresies about what constitutes the born again experience, similarly, there are popular Christian heresies about what shall happen in the endtimes. One of the most important doctrines about the endtimes is the doctrine or the teaching about the events which shall precede the Day our Lord and Saviour the resurrected Jesus Christ shall come back to “Rapture” or to take away His upright saints to Heaven. The contentious question is, shall Jesus Christ come back to “rapture” the saints before or after the prophesied Great Tribulation? Most Christians have been of the view that saints shall be raptured before the “Great Tribulation.” This is still a very popular belief amongst today’s Christians.
But is this what is taught by the Bible?
The Answer to that question is regrettably a big NO. In fact scriptures in both Testaments clearly show that endtime saints shall go through the Great Tribulation and that saints shall be “raptured”only AFTER and not BEFORE the Great Tribulation. In fact the Great Tribulation shall bring the worst tribulations saints shall face on planet earth because the wicked shall face even greater tribulations during the post Rapture period called the period of the “Great Wrath of God.”
So which scriptures show that saints shall be “raptured” or taken away (to Heaven) by Christ AFTER the Great Tribulation?
21 For then there will be Great Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 29 “Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:21-31, NKJV
This scriptural passage does not only show that the elect will go through the great Tribulation through Matthew 24:21, Matthew 24:29-31 clearly says and shows that the saints shall be “raptured” by Christ AFTER and not before the “Great Tribulation.”
In fact as we shall continue to see from scriptures in both Testaments, it is crystal pellucid that saints shall be “raptured” or taken away to Heaven by Christ only AFTER the Great Tribulation because other scriptures clearly show that endtime saints shall go through this prophesied endtime Great Tribulation. So the Truth is no single scripture in the Bible teaches that saints shall be raptured before the Great Tribulation. As we shall see, All scriptures in both Testaments only teach one doctrine, the fact that saints shall be raptured AFTER and not BEFORE the Great Tribulation.
NB: A summary of our beliefs is listed in our Our beliefs web page accessible through the Our beliefs Tab on the top right corner of all our web pages.
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