The most clear that I have found:
Revalations Chapter 3:Verse 10
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
And another:
1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 Verses 13-14
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church.
In 1 Thes. 4:13-18 we are given a clear description of the rapture, "the dead in Christ will rise, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord."
The timing of the rapture is not known. From the word of God and from sound reasoning, something Jesus used quite frequently, I believe in the "Blessed Hope"... the pretribulation rapture.
Scriptural Evidence for the Pretribulation Rapture
When we search the scriptures and read the passages describing the Lord Jesus' return, we find verses that tell us we won't know the day and hour. Mat. 25:13 say Jesus will return at an unknown time, while Rev. 12:6 indicates that the Jews will have to wait on the Lord 1260 days. The 1260 days start when the Antichrist stands in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God (2 Thes 2:4).
This event will take place at the mid-point of the seven year tribulation (Dan 9:27). It should be noted that some people only see a 3 1/2 year tribulation. They are in a way correct, because the first half of the tribulation will be relatively peaceful compared to the second half.
Nonetheless, peaceful or not, there still remains a 7 year time period called the tribulation. When the Jews flee into the wilderness, they know that all they have to do is wait out those 1260 days (Mat 24:16).
There is no way you can apply "neither the day nor the hour" to this situation. The only way for these two viewpoints to be true is to separate the two distinct events transpiring here; the rapture of the Church comes before the tribulation and the return of Jesus to the earth takes place roughly seven years later.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
In Luke 12:36 the Word states that when Christ returns He will be returning from a wedding. In Rev. 19:7-8 we read about the marriage itself. Before the marriage takes place, there is the marriage supper. According to Jewish custom the marriage contract is drawn up first, often including a dowry. This parallels the act of faith we use when we trust Jesus to be our savior. The dowry is His life, which was used to purchase us.
When the time comes for the wedding to take place, the groom goes to the bride's house unannounced, she comes out to meet him, and then the groom takes the bride to his father's house. This is an exact correlation of the events according to the pre-trib scenario. Jesus, the groom, comes down from heaven, calls up the Church, and after meeting in the air, both He and the bride return to the His Father's house - heaven. The marriage supper itself will take place up in heaven, while down here on earth the final events of the tribulation are playing themselves out. After the marriage supper takes place, the bride and groom are presented to the world as man and wife. This corresponds to the time when Jesus returns to earth accompanied by an army "clothed in fine linen, white and clean." (Rev 19:14)
MississippiMan:
It might help you if you read Matt thru John as Jesus dealing/talking with the Jewish folks.
Then read from Acts thru Jude as Jesus dealing/talking to the church
Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church.
In 1 Thes. 4:13-18 we are given a clear description of the rapture, "the dead in Christ will rise, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord."
The timing of the rapture is not known. From the word of God and from sound reasoning, something Jesus used quite frequently, I believe in the "Blessed Hope"... the pretribulation rapture.
Scriptural Evidence for the Pretribulation Rapture
When we search the scriptures and read the passages describing the Lord Jesus' return, we find verses that tell us we won't know the day and hour. Mat. 25:13 say Jesus will return at an unknown time, while Rev. 12:6 indicates that the Jews will have to wait on the Lord 1260 days. The 1260 days start when the Antichrist stands in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God (2 Thes 2:4).
This event will take place at the mid-point of the seven year tribulation (Dan 9:27). It should be noted that some people only see a 3 1/2 year tribulation. They are in a way correct, because the first half of the tribulation will be relatively peaceful compared to the second half.
Nonetheless, peaceful or not, there still remains a 7 year time period called the tribulation. When the Jews flee into the wilderness, they know that all they have to do is wait out those 1260 days (Mat 24:16).
There is no way you can apply "neither the day nor the hour" to this situation. The only way for these two viewpoints to be true is to separate the two distinct events transpiring here; the rapture of the Church comes before the tribulation and the return of Jesus to the earth takes place roughly seven years later.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
In Luke 12:36 the Word states that when Christ returns He will be returning from a wedding. In Rev. 19:7-8 we read about the marriage itself. Before the marriage takes place, there is the marriage supper. According to Jewish custom the marriage contract is drawn up first, often including a dowry. This parallels the act of faith we use when we trust Jesus to be our savior. The dowry is His life, which was used to purchase us.
When the time comes for the wedding to take place, the groom goes to the bride's house unannounced, she comes out to meet him, and then the groom takes the bride to his father's house. This is an exact correlation of the events according to the pre-trib scenario. Jesus, the groom, comes down from heaven, calls up the Church, and after meeting in the air, both He and the bride return to the His Father's house - heaven. The marriage supper itself will take place up in heaven, while down here on earth the final events of the tribulation are playing themselves out. After the marriage supper takes place, the bride and groom are presented to the world as man and wife. This corresponds to the time when Jesus returns to earth accompanied by an army "clothed in fine linen, white and clean." (Rev 19:14)
MississippiMan:
It might help you MM...if you read Matt thru John as Jesus dealing/talking with the Jewish folks.
Then read from Acts thru Jude as Jesus dealing/talking to the church
And Revelation as God dealing with everything soon to be fulfilled to a unbelieving world.