Some believe the church will go through the rapture. We believe the church age time period is separate from the tribulation time period. There will be a rapture for the church pre-tribulation, then another one for the tribulation saints.
Matthew 13 disproves that there is no rapture. God spreads seeds, but there are tares of wheat within the church. It can be nearly impossible to tell them apart from the wheat! How true is this in most of our churches today?
Matthew 13:30: “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
This verse proves that there are in fact, two rapture events: first the church age saints, and then the tribulation saints. Two verses prove that this gathering of tares has to be before his wrath of burning. The verse says to gather and bind them in bundles to prepare to cast them into fire. The verse does not say that they get cast to hell immediately. The “gathering” will be introduced by the ecumenical movement and the United Nations under the Antichrist system.
Zephaniah 3:8: “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.”
Zephaniah 2:2: “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you.”
Notice the word “before” occurred so many times. The gathering happens before the wrath is poured out. The sequence matches. People are gathered first before the wrath comes.
In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist speaks of it as well: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” The water baptism and the Holy Ghost and fire baptism represent what is coming for the wheat and the tares. The Christians are baptized with water, and are gathered first. The lost people are baptized with fire and tribulation saints with the Holy Ghost are gathered afterwards.
There are two raptures
1 Corinthians 15:21-22: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Christians will be made alive. That will be our rapture: the rapture of the church age saints.
1 Corinthians 15:23: “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”
There will be an order to the final resurrection, and those of the church age will follow Christ in new life. And then, the next rapture takes place for the tribulation saints at the Lord’s coming.