[metmom]

I understand you must resist the mark of the beast and have your head cut off during the tribulation to become a tribulation saint. What happens to the souls in NYC who miss the rapture and are vaporized 3 seconds later in a nuclear blast? Do they qualify as tribulation saints?

If someone gets saved in those three seconds, they probably would qualify as Tribulation saints. However, I doubt there will be many who accept Christ in that 3 second time period.

[marbren]

If someone gets saved in those three seconds, they probably would qualify as Tribulation saints.

I do not know if that is possible anymore. When we say we believe in the rapture what we are actually saying is:

WE BELIVE IN GOD'S GRACE AND PROMISES THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

After the age of grace ends with the rapture all bets are off. God's focus is then on Israel again:

Ephesians 2:12 ... remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.