The nature of the Great Tribulation:

Let there be no doubt as to the reality of a coming Great Tribulation. The teaching of our Lord could not be clearer: "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again." Matthew 24:21. Jesus rules out the idea that this tribulation took place in the past – or is taking place now. He distinctly describes an unequaled future period of distress – something yet to come in the history of our world. Revelation chapters 6-19 amplifies the horror of that period to come.

The figures of seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls describe the tribulation in catastrophic terms – with some parallelisms and some differences. Between these tribulation figures are parentheses – chapters 7 and 10-14. During this period of tribulation there are catastrophic events which happen to the world in general – events which are the result of God’s wrath poured out on rebellious, sinful humanity. There is also the wrath of man poured out on the Church which faces the awful persecution of the Antichrist.

The Church and the Tribulation:

At this point there is considerable difference of opinion, but it is instructive to note that God has allowed His people to suffer persecution throughout the ages – and has even prepared them for it. Many times Jesus warned His followers that they would face persecution, e.g. Matthew 5:11: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

It would be nice to think we will escape the wrath of the Antichrist during the tribulation. Who wants to be persecuted? But there are good reasons to think the Church will not be raptured out of the tribulation until the Antichrist has had his day. In Revelation 7: 9-17 there is a description of an uncountable multitude standing before the throne of heaven. (This scene takes us back to the throne room pictured in chapters 4-5.) We find later in v. 14 that this huge crowd has "come out of the great tribulation." Our Dispensationalist friends believe this enormous crowd has been saved during the tribulation because of the work of 144.000 Jewish evangelists – the Church having been previously raptured. But think of it, during a few short years during the tribulation more people are won to Christ than the entire Church has been able to accomplish since Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost! This is not likely – especially when the Holy Spirit supposedly is not present.

Then we come to Revelation 13 and the appearance of the Antichrist described as the "beast." He is given power to “make war against the saints and to conquer them." v. 7. It is most natural to assume that “saints" means the Church – a common usage throughout the New Testament. It is only they who do not worship the beast. This brings us to Revelation 20:4a: "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands." Going on in the chapter we find that these are the martyred, resurrected, tribulation saints who reign with Christ during the millennium. What a valiant description of these saints is found in Revelation 12:10-11: "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power of God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.’"

The Rapture of the Church:

A natural place for the Rapture would be chapter 19 of Revelation before the wrath of God falls on the nations when Jesus comes to conquer and to rule – the saints accompanying Him, vv. 11-16 – after they have faced the ultimate wrath of man in the person of the Antichrist. How would this fit in with the rapture passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18? The Greek word, apantesis, or “meet,” helps to shed some light. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 believers “meet” the Lord in the air. What kind of a meeting is this? How this word, apantesis, is used elsewhere gives us some insight. In the parable of the ten virgins, we are told they were to go out and “meet” the bridegroom and then accompany him back to the wedding banquet. When brothers in Rome found out that Paul was on his way there, they decided to “meet” Paul and accompany him back to Rome, Acts 28:15. So, there is some precedent to understand “meet” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 as an event in which believers are caught up to meet the Lord – and then accompany Him back to earth. In this way, there are not two “comings” of the Lord – but only one near the end of the tribulation, cf. Matthew 24:21-31, especially v. 31. A great many problems of biblical interpretation are alleviated when the Coming of Jesus Christ is viewed as one event – not as two.

What, then, would Jesus’ coming as a thief in the night mean if there are identifiable events occurring beforehand? First of all, Dispensationalists have always insisted that Israel has to be in the land before Jesus’ Coming. That, however, would nullify the idea that no event could take place before the Rapture of the Church. Furthermore, who are those who are taken by surprise by our Lord’s Coming? 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 makes it clear that it is unbelievers who will be surprised – not believers, cf. v. 4!

Also, if the Church will face the intensified wrath of man in the person of the Antichrist, then there will be no doubt the Coming of the Lord draws near. Is the exact hour known? No. Only that the time is near. We learn in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 that the Antichrist must first be revealed before the Lord comes. Please note especially vv. 3 and 8.