If you have any knowledge or interest in the End Times and the Book of Revelation, then you probably have read and discussed the Rapture of the Church. There are several passages in the Bible that describe a specific event in the end days where God will snatch up the faithful and bring us to Him in the temporary Heaven (while the tribulation plays out here on earth). The Bible doesn't specifically state exactly when that event will happen. Now the bulk of eschatologists (those who study the End Times) have put together pieces of Scripture that indicate the Rapture will most likely occur before the 70th week of Daniel, which essentially means before the tribulation (therefore they are referred to as "pre-trib" believers). For the most part those pre-trib believers agree that signs would be made to us to warn us "watchers" of the season, but no one but the Lord knows the day and the hour. And long before that first opening of the seal that begins the Tribulation, we would be out of here... gone, disappeared, caught up with the Lord into Heaven, safely away from the terrible events here on earth.

I used to have that exact theory as well. Used to. I think I've changed my mind.

Why? Well, the pastor of our church recently did a Sunday sermon on Matthew 24. For those of you who aren't familiar with Matthew 24, it's also known as the Olivet Discourse (spoken on the Mount of Olives). These passages, which describe the apocalypse and the end times, are also found in Mark 13 and Luke 21. These chapters of Matthew, Mark and Luke are ones that are the hardest to interpret in the Bible, yet also some of the most prophetic. In fact, there are some groups of people who believe that this was a only a simple description of the events that occurred back in A.D. 70 -- that the Olivet Discourse is nothing more than an ominous tale that described and foretold the destruction of the Jewish temple at that time.

However, most of us do understand that there are things that Jesus mentioned in that sermon which clearly did not take place yet. It couldn't possibly just be a foreshadowing of the events in 70 AD for that reason. Also, much of the Bible has dual-prophecy or dual-meaning -- the literal point of events that happened back in those days, as well as a future foretelling of things to come. Therefore, the consensus is that those things described in the Olivet Discourse will be events that occur in those very last days. Our pastor did not state one way or another whether we are in those last days, or when the Rapture will occur. But as I sat there, listening and taking it all in, things began to "click" with me. I understood that certain things happened on God's timeline, and the puzzle pieces began to move in my mind's eye so that I could see the line-up of events.

I have now shifted my belief and think that we faithful Christians will be raptured Post-Tribulation. Well, actually it's more accurate to say "Mid-Tribulation." What I mean is: after the anti-Christ makes his appearance... after the abomination of desolation.... after all the seals are broken... etc, etc.

How, you say? Well, in a nutshell, I believe that we're here for most of the Tribulation, except for the very end when the "hour of God's wrath" is poured out on the earth. The very end judgments are referred to as "God's wrath" and we will be removed from the earth before that part occurs. But it doesn't take place until the very end of the Tribulation. Let me explain it all as best as I can...

At the very beginning of Matthew 24, Jesus tells his disciples that the beautiful, big gleaming temple will be brought down in ruins. The Bible says that the men gathered around Jesus, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3)

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,'spoken of through the prophet Daniel -- let the reader understand -- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:4-27)

Okay, so now that we've read all that, let's pause for a minute and think about the gospels. The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the teachings of Christ for whom? His believers, right? Think about all the days, years and centuries since the death of Christ. Who reads the gospels? Who studies them and meditates on them? We do. His believers. The faithful. Atheists don't read those words. Neither do Muslims or Wiccans or idolaters. So those who have previously believed that the scary end-times stuff happens after the Rapture would be pretty much ignoring big chunks of prophecy in the Gospels meant for them. I've seen and heard Christians do this. They'll say, "Oh, I don't worry about any of that. That's all after we're gone." The watchers of Christ are the faithful, right? So why would Jesus be issuing warnings to the watchers, if the watchers weren't around to watch?

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." It sounds to me like in the last days, believers of Christ will be persecuted for their faith and put to death, because all the nations will hate Christians. Jesus also said that many will turn away from their faith, and betray other Christians. Many will be deceived, and wickedness will be increased -- but those faithful who stand firm until the end will be saved.

With me so far? Great. Now at the end of that passage I mentioned above, Jesus told us not to be deceived by false Christs. Basically, he's saying that just as a huge bolt of lightening cannot be ignored or mistaken, we will know when he arrives. No one will have to tell us "there he is" or "look there." We will KNOW.

So then the passage goes on:

"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

"Immediately after the distress of those days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:26-31)

Now read that whole passage again, slowly. Without adding any of our own personal interpretations to it, it appears to read in chronological order, doesn't it? First many will come in Christ's name, deceiving many. Then there will be wars and rumors of wars. There will famines and earthquakes and other things that are the beginning of the birth pangs. After that, the people of the world will begin hating Christians, and we faithful will be persecuted and put to death. Many will turn against God and betray fellow Christians. After that, "the abomination that causes desolation" will occur. God's instructions are to flee and run away as soon as possible, without looking back. That's because there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now -- and never to be equaled again. People will try to say that Christ has come, but the true Christians won't believe it.

And immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will darken... the moon will turn red... the heavens will be shaken, and there will be a sign of Jesus in the sky. Everyone will realize it -- EVERYONE. The nations will mourn, because they will understand the mistake they made by not putting their faith and trust in Christ. "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:30-31)

Doesn't that sound like a lot of things are going to happen before the "trumpet call" when Christ gathers his elect -- his people?

That word "elect" is interesting. Both the New International Version and the King James Version (the traditional version) use the word "elect" twice in Matthew 24. Here's how the King James version uses the word "elect" in addition to the passage above: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:20-22) Jesus is saying that the great tribulation is going to be so awful that no one could possibly survive. But for our sake -- the elect, the believers -- God is going to shorten that great tribulation so that some will make it through. The word "elect" means carefully selected, or specifically chosen.

I also want to point out the words "the great tribulation." Over time, Christians have used that phrase to describe the second half of the tribulation -- the mid-point, or at approximately 3 1/2 years into it. This is also the point where the Anti-Christ stops pretending to be peaceful, and simply emerges as one who has been overcome by Satan. But as I have researched this, I haven't been able to find any Scripture that backs up the definition of "The Great Tribulation" being different from the Tribulation itself. I don't see anywhere Scripture that states the Great Tribulation is the name for the last half of the 70th week of Daniel. It's just a trivial thing, but I've often wondered where that came from. And right now, I still don't know.

So now let's go back to look at Daniel and the "abomination of desolation." It begins in Daniel Chapter 12, where the Lord tells him in a vision about the End Times:

At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people -- everyone whose name is found written in the book -- will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. (Daniel 12:1-4)

Interesting... that passage not only states that "at that time" of the great distress the faithful will be delivered, but it ALSO states that those who "sleep" in the earth (the dead) will awaken. Some to everlasting life (Heaven) and some to shame and contempt (Hell). It appears as if that's a simultaneous event, doesn't it? Which doesn't match the pre-trib Rapture theory. If only the righteous were taken up out of the ground and resurrected during the Rapture, then why is Daniel describing that the wicked will be awakened, too?

Now, there is a passage of Scripture in 1st Thessalonians that most Christians who study the End Times know well. It's about the Rapture, and this is how it reads: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Doesn't that sound like the same event as the other one I discussed just above it from Daniel? Does it make sense that there would be two times where God would raise the dead from the earth? Not to me it doesn't.

Moving further into that passage of Daniel, it goes on: Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?"

The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed. I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"

He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.

"From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

The daily sacrifice refers to the Jewish Temple. Right now, there is no temple in Jerusalem, because there is a Muslim Mosque there on the Temple Mount. But the theory is that the Anti-Christ will enforce a treaty which will include provisions for the Jews to hold their daily sacrifices in a new Temple. Therefore, the passage about the "Abomination of Desolation" refers to something awful and desecrating that the Anti-Christ does in/on the Temple. Again, Daniel's prophecy reinforces the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 -- that those who remain until the end will be blessed.

Now some pre-tribulation believers hold much of their trust in one line from the Book of Revelation. This line is in Chapter 3 -- the letter to the Church in Philadelphia: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." (Revelation 3:10) But let's look at that line in the older King James Version: "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."

The HOUR of Trial. The HOUR of Temptation. What does that mean? I did some more digging, and I found that it corresponds perfectly with a particular chapter in the Book of Revelation. Read for yourself:

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the HOUR of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."

"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Revelation 14:1-20)

I know -- that's difficult to read because of the imagery and flowery writing. Remember, John -- at a very old age -- was alone on the Island of Patmos when he received this vision from Christ. He wrote it down as best as he could, but I'm sure his brain simply could not comprehend the vocabulary it would take to describe such an eternal event. But my interpretation of that part of Chapter 14 is this:

John saw Jesus with the 144,000 and he heard a crack of thunder and a rushing sound. Then he heard harps and a new song that only the 144,000 knew -- and those 144,000 are described as the firstfruits who kept themselves pure and followed Jesus. Who are these 144,000? I don't know exactly who they are or what they will do, but clearly they are the descendants of ancient Jews. Earlier in the Book of Revelation, they are described as such: After this (after the seven seals) I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

Now, after that, John saw in his vision an angel flying in mid-air, proclaiming the Gospel to every nation, tribe, language and people. Sounds a lot like the part that Jesus explained in Matthew 24 when "this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations."

After that, John saw a second angel who talked about Babylon falling.

Then a third angel appeared, who talked about the dangers of taking the mark of the beast. This angel specifically said, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus."

Then John heard the voice of the Spirit that said, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." That's pretty obvious that the Lord is saying that those who die in His name versus taking the Mark of the Beast will be blessed. The passage says that "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus." (Revelation 14:12) Those who endure and who chose death over the Beast will be blessed.

Then immediately after those events will be the "Harvest of the Earth." Let's see that passage one more time:

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Revelation 14:14-20)

Sounds like the "harvest time" is both for good and the bad, doesn't it? One "like the son of man" (Jesus) has one sickle and harvests the earth. But then after that, another angle takes his sickle and harvests the earth for God's "winepress of wrath." Before we I go on about the winepress, let's look closer at this event of the Harvest.

It's also mentioned in the Gospels. In Matthew, Jesus tells a parable about weeds, and he ends the story with: "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." (Matthew 13:30)

His disciples wanted further explanation of that parable, so they asked Jesus to explain -- and Jesus did. "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:37-43)

Don't all those different descriptions of the harvest and the trumpet call and the raising of the dead all sound like the same event? Does it make any sense at all that there would be more than one harvest? Or more than one trumpet call? Or more than one raising of the dead? Yet this event is clearly described in Revelation after the seven seals are broken. But here's the climax of this post -- this event occurs AFTER the seven seals are broken... after the Anti-Christ is on the scene and all of that. But it does occur BEFORE the seven bowl or vial judgments from the angels. Let's read more about that winepress:

At the end of that passage from Revelation 14 and into the beginning of Revelation 15, there is a description of what that "winepress" of God really is. It's not just a quick event that is done and over with in mere seconds. It's the final blow of God's wrath. Read on to the very next passage:

I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God's wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
"Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed."

After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls (also called "vials" in the King James Version) filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. (Revelation 14:1-8)

The next portions of the Book of Revelation are more detailed explanations of the horror of each "bowl" or "vial" judgment.

After those chapters, there is a detailed description of the fall of Babylon -- two chapters worth, in fact. Then chapter 19 is a chapter describing the Heaven's praise for the Lord, and the great anticipation is over for the wedding feast of Christ. Those saints of the church who were faithful and caught up in Heaven stand ready and watching as Jesus comes down to earth, defeats the anti-Christ and sets up reign for 1,000 years.

I know this was a long post with quite a bit of information. But after reading and praying and more reading, I just don't see how the Christians are caught up in the rapture until the very end. Based on all the passages above, I just do not see any Scripture that supports that theory. But I welcome all to comment and debate it, if you feel otherwise.

God bless!