A Comparison of the Pre-trib, Mid-trib, Pre-wrath, and Post-trib Rapture Views

The Coming Tribulation ^ | 8-14-2017 | tct

[Brookhaven]

This is a brief overview and comparison of the pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, pre-wrath, and post-tribulation rapture views. This article will not argue the pros and cons of the different views, but simply gives a very brief summary of each. These four major rapture beliefs have a relatively specific rapture point, during the 70th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27), which is unfolded in the events of the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls (Revelation chapters 4-19). We will look at the 70th week timing of each rapture theory to get a better understanding of them.

PRE-TRIBULATION

The pre-tribulation view places the rapture before any of the events of the seals, trumpets, and bowls of Revelation. This view says that the entirety of the seals, trumpets, and bowls (and, therefore, the entire 7 years of Daniel’s 70th week) is the Wrath of God, and that Christians will not be present during any of it, because 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “…God hath not appointed us to wrath…” The pre-trib view looks to Revelation 4:1 where the apostle John, who it says represents the church, is called up to heaven. In chapters 4-18, John (and therefore the church) looks down on earth as the events of the seals, trumpets, and bowls unfold. This view points out that the word “church” does not appear again until chapter 19 where it is pictured as a bride, beautifully adorned for her husband, which then returns to earth to be with the Bridegroom.

The pre-tribulation view is the only one of the four views that says the rapture is imminent- that it could occur at any time. This view says that Jesus coming as a thief (Revelation 3:3, 16:15; Luke 12:39-40; Matthew 24:42-43) confirms that He could return at any time.

MID-TRIBULATION

The mid-tribulation view divides the 70th week of Daniel into two sections- the Great Tribulation and the Wrath of God (or the wrath of Satan, and the wrath of God). This view places the rapture after the sixth seal, but before the 7 trumpets and 7 bowls. Revelation 6:12-17 speaks of a cosmic chaos, after the opening of the sixth seal, during which time the unbelievers declare, “…the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 7:1-9 then tells of the “sealing” of the servants of God, after which a great multitude is seen in heaven. The mid-trib view looks to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 which says the rapture will not occur until after the Antichrist is revealed. This event, which Jesus calls the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15), occurs around mid-point of Daniel’s 70th week (Daniel 9:27). The mid-tribulation view generally says that the Wrath of God will begin about ½ way through the 7 year period, and that Christians will miss the most intense part of the Great Tribulation.

The mid-tribulation, the pre-wrath, and the post-tribulation views all say that Jesus specifically mentioned the cosmic events of the sixth seal, and said they would occur immediately after the tribulation, and just before the rapture (Matthew 24:29-31). These views, therefore, hold that the rapture cannot occur until sometime after the events of the sixth seal, regardless of the exact timing. (See also- Joel 2:30-31; Haggai 2:6; Isaiah 13:9-13; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25-28; Acts 2:17-20)

Both the pre-tribulation and mid-tribulation views say that the second coming of Jesus will occur in two phases- a silent rapture of believers, and a triumphant return, separated by the Great Tribulation. The pre-wrath and post-tribulation views say that the second coming of Jesus will only occur once, with believers being raptured at His triumphant return.

PRE-WRATH

The pre-wrath view is often confused with the mid-tribulation view because it also places the rapture after the sixth seal and this view also divides the 70th week of Daniel into two sections- the Great Tribulation and the Wrath of God. They differ, however, in that the mid-tribulation view places the rapture around mid-point of Daniel’s 70th week, but the pre-wrath view places the rapture near the end of the 70th week. Also, the pre-wrath view generally says that Christians will go through the entirety of the Great Tribulation period, but be raptured before the Wrath of God is poured out on unbelievers.

The pre-wrath view is also often confused with the post-tribulation view because both views place the rapture after the end of the tribulation period. They differ, however, in relation to the Wrath of God. The pre-wrath view is often (incorrectly) called the “3/4 view” because it occurs between the mid-point and the end of the 7 year period. The pre-wrath view generally says that the Wrath of God will begin at the second coming of Jesus, and will last as little as 30 days.

POST-TRIBULATION

The post-tribulation view, like the mid-tribulation and pre-wrath views, also places the rapture after the sixth seal. This view differs, however, in that it generally views the seals, trumpets, and bowls as running simultaneously rather than concurrent. Therefore, the post-trib view places the rapture also after the sixth trumpet, and (usually) after the sixth bowl, and at the end of Daniel’s 70th week. Placing the rapture after the bowls of God’s wrath means that Christians will not be raptured until after the wrath of God is poured out on unbelievers. The post-tribulation view also holds that the rapture and the return of Jesus are one event.

[Brookhaven]

I have been pre-tribulation for my adult life.

Lately, I have been reading about the pre-wrath position.

It seems persuasive to me, given how well it seems to fit scripture. You do have to assume that:

1. The seals, trumpets, & bowls all run consecutively--one after the other.

2. That God's wrath doesn't doesn't start until the trumpets. The seven seals are just setting the stage for God's wrath (the Day of the Lord).

Given those two assumptions, it fits well with scripture. But, those would probably be the two main stumbling blocks for those who adhere to the pre-trib position.

That, and the fact that current believers will go through the Great Tribulation and be persecuted by the Anti-Christ. But then, Christians have been persecuted by the Devil for centuries.

[nevermorelenore]

I’m a Pan-Trib

It will all pan out ..

[G Larry]

There is also the "No Rapture" POV, as it contradicts the Second Coming of Christ with a ridiculous notion that "His feet don't touch the ground".

Tribulation? Yes!

Rapture? No!

[GBA]

I think your first assumption is correct and I also agree with the second assumption.

Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter when, but rather that we are not asleep, that we persevere until the end and are ready to meet Him whenever our time here is up.

And doing all of this no matter what comes and all while praising His name, just like in Crowder’s song Good God Almighty.

[taxcontrol]

I am of the opinion that ALL of the prophecies made in the bible will come to pass before the day of judgement.

Isiah 55:11 KJV

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

One of those prophecies is the burden of Damascus:

Isaiah 17:1 (KJV) The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap

So I hold out hope against that prophecy, that I might live my life and pass into the hereafter without having to endure the tribulation. However, that hope comes also with a caution. Each person’s own “end times” may very well happen before the tribulation and we should be daily living our lives accordingly.

[Bruiser78]

Exactly.

A great Pastor I studied under always said the basic rule of thumb for your family and friends that maybe dont study the Word as in-depth is: If you can pinch yourself, then Christ hasn’t returned yet.

Antichrist will deceive the majority

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Greek translation…

1 Thessalonians 4 WUESTNT ..:

“… the Lord himself with a cry of command, with an archangel’s voice, and with a call of a trumpet sounded at God’s command, *shall descend from heaven*

“and the dead in Christ shall be raised first, then as for us who are living and who are left behind, together with them *we shall be snatched away*• forcibly in [masses of saints having the appearance of] clouds for a welcome-meeting with the Lord in the lower atmosphere. *

“And thus always shall we be with the Lord. So that—be encouraging one another with these words.”

Look ma! No feet!!

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

The ‘vaxx passport’ is merely a trial run, to see about ‘compliancy’, to ‘train’ the sheeple. Once they are used to showing their ‘vaxx passport’, coupled with the ‘de-Christianization’ of the wealthy countries, a ‘saviour/dictator’ of this secular world will EASILY convince the God-less sheeple to ‘take the mark’.

[Salvavida]

I think John MacArthur has the most persuasive, air-tight view of Pre-trib:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOmyivp3-V8&t=35s

[xenia]

Great Chart.

I used to believe pre-trib years back when I listened to Hal Lindsey.

Over the years I changed my mind as I read the scriptures myself. Pre-wrath seems to fit the Word, altho I wish it were not so. Would rather get on the rapture express before it gets bad!!

I really think that as in the Old Testament, the prophecies about Christ and his first coming were vague and most missed them....the same is true for now. The NT says that if Satan had understood, he wouldn’t have had Christ crucified. In like manner I don’t believe God spells it all out so Satan knows the exact script.

It will make sense when it happens. I believe God will give us the grace we need when things grow dark. I saw that first hand when tragedy struck my life years back. There IS grace in time of need.

[dangus]

“Great Pan is dead,” the ancient world lamented at the Resurrection of Christ.

[BenLurkin]

Used to be pre-trib.

Now I’m not so sure.

[Migraine]

running simultaneously rather than concurrent

Not to be pedantic (but I will anyway), there is no real distinction between your two terms. Maybe instead of "concurrent" you meant "consecutive", or "sequential"?

[barney10]

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

[aimhigh]

I’m surprised the article doesn’t mention the view that the rapture occurs at the seventh trumpet. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet the following events occur:
- the temple of God was opened in heaven (Rev 11:19)
- Two harvests occur (one good, one bad. Rev 14:18-20)
- The mystery of God (the church) is finished (Rev 10:7)
- The seventh trumpet is the final judgment before the bowls of wrath, which makes it a pre-wrath rapture.

[HossB86]

Yup — meeting Him as He descends for his Second Coming.... otherwise, if there’s “no feet” involved, where in Scripture do we read of the Third Coming?

Hoss

[unlearner]

“ The pre-wrath view generally says that the Wrath of God will begin at the second coming of Jesus, and will last as little as 30 days.”

That’s not quite right. There are many things in Revelation that are clearly the wrath of God and are even described in those exact words. And these events cannot fit into a 30-day window. For example, people are tormented for 5 months by creatures coming out of the abyss.

I was raised and taught pre-trip rapture theory at almost every church I’ve been a part of. But I realized as a teenager that there were some things that didn’t lineup with the Bible. It wasn’t until the pre-wrath rapture book by Marv Rosenthal was published that I was able to see where the discrepancy was at. It is in the failure to distinguish between Daniel’s 70th week, the great tribulation, and the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is the same time period as the second coming of Christ. It begins with the rapture and ends with Christ Returning to earth and defeating the antichrist.

The Day of the Lord is not signless. Joel says it will be preceded by cosmic signs and events.The sun will be turned the darkness of the moon into blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord.

There’s nothing in the scripture that indicates these heavenly signs will proceed Daniel’sl 70th week or the great tribulation. Matthew Mark and Luke contain the Olivet discourse in which these signs are clearly placed at the end of the great tribulation. The account of the four Horsemen of the apocalypse and seven seals of which they are part also confirms this.

There is a difference between the wrath of God and tribulation. Christians must go through tribulation and they will never go through the wrath of God. Christ prayed for his own that they would not be taken out of the world but would endure through tribulation.

[Lake Living]

I also was raised to believe in the pretrib view. In college I read some literature from the post trib viewpoint and began to realize something wasn’t right with what I had been taught. I’d hear a preacher teach on why we were out of here before all the bad things happened - but when I’d get home and read the passages myself things just didn’t seem to line up. In the late 70’s (I think) I came across a man named Robert Van Kampen who wrote a book called The Sign. He also came out with another smaller book called The Rapture Question - Plain & Simple (at least the title was something like that). His views made the most sense to my wife and I and we have been Pre-wrath ever since. He really was a champion in clearly refining this view. If you are not familiar with his story and how he came to write the book, The Sign, it’s worth pursuing. I believe it was Van Kampen who also convinced Marvin Rosenthal of this view. Changing his views to those of Van Kampen’s also was costly for Marvin Rosenthal. He has published a little magazine called Zion’s Fire. Also worth your time. I’ll be 74 in a few days. From what I have witnessed over the last 30 years it seems that the Pre Wrath view is gaining in its acceptance. Some great teaching videos on Youtube on this viewpoint.

[Cronos]

The thing is that Daniel's visions end with the destruction of the 2nd temple and the triumph of Jesus (the stone unhewn by human hands) that becomes a mountain that covers the earth (the community of Christ, i.e. Christians)

Let's look at the entire passage yes

[1] And Jesus being come out of the temple, went away. And his disciples came to shew him the buildings of the temple. [2] And he answering, said to them: Do you see all these things? Amen I say to you there shall not be left here a stone upon a stone that shall not be destroyed. [3] And when he was sitting on mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world? [4] And Jesus answering, said to them: Take heed that no man seduce you: [5] For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ: and they will seduce many.

[6] And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places: [8] Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows. [9] Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake. [10] And then shall many be scandalized: and shall betray one another: and shall hate one another.

[11] And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many. [12] And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. [13] But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come. [15] When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand.

Daniel's desolating sacrilege. Matt 24:15-19. Note that the Sanhedrin believed that this had been fulfilled in 167 BC, but that did not meet Daniel's prophecy of 3.5 years

Jesus then mentions in 24:21 the Great Tribulation - which is for the Jesus-movement Jews.

There has never been, nor will there ever be anything rivaling it. The Church was close to being smothered in its cradle if Nero continued and the Jerusalem Christians had not escaped to Pella - this was a tiny community, primarily Jewish and was attacked by both the Roman authorities AND the Jewish authorities. That WAS the great tribulation

Kingdom number	Daniel 2	Daniel 7	which empire
1	head of gold	lion	Bablyonian empire
2	Chest and arms of silver	Bear with 3 bones in mouth (Media, Fars and Babylonia)	Achaemenid empire
3	Belly and thighs of bronze	Leopard - swift like Alexander's conquest	Macedonian empire
4	Iron legs ending in mixed iron and clay	Beast with iron teeth and 11 horns	Roman Empire - first under the Roman Republic, then under the Princeps (Emperors to you)
end	Stone which destroyed the statue and filled the earth as a mountain	..	stone is Jesus, mountain is the kingdom of heaven - the Church Jesus founded at the Pentecost in 33 AD,

The eternal Kingdom of Christ was set up , inaugurated at the first advent in 33 AD

Daniel 2 is very clear in verse 40:41 - 40 There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else. 41 The feet and toes you saw, partly of clay and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, -- not a recreated kingdom, the same "beast with iron teeth" - note there is no resurrected beast

The Messiah and His Kingdom were foretold by Daniel to come during the fourth "kingdom" when the Romans ruled over Jerusalem. During that time Christ set up (past tense for us today) His Kingdom which would grow to encompass the entire world

There is no 2000 years gap between verses 2:40 and 2:41

Daniel 7 makes it clear that the Roman empire was swept away by the force of Christianity

Daniel's vision must not be mixed up with John's vision, which overlaps the end (the destruction of Jerusalem), but Daniel's ends with the Pentecost and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven here on earth

[G Larry]

Yep, Second Coming of Christ, NOT “Rapture”!