Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!
I received this in a text from a friend. He found it on the net.
When will the church be taken up to heaven in the face of great tribulation?
The Answer:
The timing of the church's ascension to heaven is one of the most controversial issues among Christians today. There are basically three theories about this:
!. Before the tribulation (the ascension of the church to heaven will take place before the last tribulation)
2. In the midst of the tribulation Seeds.
3. After the tribulation (the ascension of the church will take place after the last tribulation).
4. The fourth doctrine is commonly known as "before the wrath" which is a slightly modified version of the second doctrine (the doctrine of the church being raised in the midst of trouble). First of all, it is very important to know the purpose of the last trouble. According to Daniel 9:27, there is still a period of seventy "weeks" (seven years) to come. And Daniel's Seventy Week Prophecy (Daniel 9: 20-27) speaks entirely of Israel. This will be the time when God will focus on Israel in particular. In the same way, the seventy weeks, the last tribulation, must be the time when God will deal with Israel in particular. Although this prophecy does not explicitly indicate that the church could not exist on earth at that time, it does raise the question of why the church needs to exist on earth at that time.
The most important Scriptural reference to the ascension of the church to heaven is 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18. This passage states that all living believers and with them all believers who will be resurrected will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and will be with him forever. God lifted his people from the earth
The term "church ascension" is used to refer to the English term rapture. After some verses, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 "For God hath not ordained us to wrath, but to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ." The book of Revelation, which primarily deals with the last days of the tribulation, is a prophetic message about how God will send His wrath upon the earth in the last tribulation. It is contrary to the nature of God to promise believers that He will not fall into wrath and then leave them on earth to go through the wrath of the last tribulation. The fact that God first promises to save Christians from wrath seems to be linked to these two events and then promises to raise His people from the earth shortly thereafter.
Another very important reference to the time of the church's resurrection is Revelation 3:10 in which Christ promises to save believers in "the hour of trial" that is to come on earth. This could mean two things: either Christ will protect believers during trials or He will save believers from trials. Both meanings are correct according to the Greek word translated "from". However, it is important to know what believers are promised protection from. And this is not just a trial, but a "time" of trial. Christ promises to keep believers safe from the time of trials and tribulations. The purpose of the last tribulation, the purpose of the resurrection of the church, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all clearly support the doctrine of "the resurrection of the church before the great tribulation." If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, then the doctrine of 'before the tribulation' is more in tune with the teachings of the Bible than any other doctrine.
William James Roop, M.A.B.S.
