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There are at least two different views on this issue of when the rapture will take place.. There is one view that says all believers (the church) will be raptured prior to the great tribulation. This is called the pre-tribulational view. If you hold this view, then the elect, or chosen ones, Jesus was talking in Matthew 24:22 will be those who are saved during the tribulation. It will be for their sake that the tribulation will be cut short.
Another view says that all believers will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation (called the post-tribulational view) at the Second Coming of Christ. If you hold this view, then the elect are all believers who are suffering during the tribulation.
There is yet another view that says this passage in Matthew refers to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., and therefore has already taken place. The bottom line is that this issue isn’t made clear in Scripture. The view that the rapture would take place before the tribulation is a fairly recent view in terms of the history of the church. The prevailing view of the church through the middle of the 19th century was the post-tribulational view.
All we know from Scripture is that there will be a rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18) and there will be great tribulation before Jesus comes to earth a second time (Matthew 24:4-51). And we know that Jesus will defeat Satan, sin and death once and for all. We are to “watch and pray” and always be ready, for the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:1,2), and no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). And there’s certainly no reason to “freak out,” because God is in control, no matter what the circumstances!
If you want to study these things more thoroughly, we would suggest that you get our book, “Bible Prophecy 101,” available through our web site.
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Hi Stan, I love your answer here. Although, there is one other view, and that is the Pre-Wrath view. In this case, this takes place somewhere before the breaking of the 6th seal in which it says "...for now the wrath of God has come"...
The thought is that the first 5 seals take place within the first 3 1/2 years of the 70th week of Daniel and are considered the wrath of man. And then when Satan sits on the throne in the temple which we know is also 3 1/2 years into the 70th week of Daniel, then we see the anti-christ make war against the believers. It is believed that the rapture will take place at some point during the 5 & 6th seal and Scripture doesn't make it clear as to how long that is, so it is still qualifies as not knowing the exact time. The other thought on this is that 2 Thessalonians tells us it won't happen until the anti-christ is revealed and sits on the throne. This thought brings doubt to the pre-trib thought. etc....
This was certainly a loaded question and I believe as you, the bottom line is we need to be watching and praying. I'm sure there is a very good reason that Jesus did not give us the exact timing--only seasons and warning signs.
I also think it is sad that the church has divided over a secondary issue. To me, I want to have a faith so strong that if I will go through, I will endure by the grace of God, and not be too concerned with not having to worry about not going through it at all. One of the things I experience from pre-trib believers is that the are too comfortable with this idea and they preach it as gospel. I just wonder what might happen to someone's faith if it doesn't play out that way.
According to my girlfriend, there is a forth view and that is pan-trib. In which she says, "it will all pan out in the end". I think this one is the most theologically sound. Ha!
Lord bless you! :-)
Teresa
Ah, there is yet another view: there is no rapture. The idea of a rapture (keep in mind that I'm separating this idea from that of the Second Coming of Christ - which is quite clear in Scripture) originated during the 1800's - which, as you can tell, directly contradicts Stan's claim the idea was widely held up until the 1900's. Up until that point, it was widely held that Christ's return would happen in one stage: when he comes to set all wrongs to right, no rapture. But, with the rapture came the idea that Christ's return will actually happen in two stages: rapture and then the setting of all wrongs to right - which seems like a weird way to do things, if you think about it.
I believed in the rapture for a good long time, but I no longer do. If you're interested in doing some more reading on this subject, specifically with solid exegetical interpretation, I suggest picking up N.T. Wright's book Surprised by Hope - it is a fantastic read for the lay person and clergy alike.