Many non-Bible-believers believe in the mid and post-tribulation rapture, which have been proven as fallacies by the Bible.
They believe that as mentioned in Daniel 9:27, the abomination of desolation occurs in between the tribulation and wrath of God timeline.
The Tribulation And The Wrath Are Interchangeable
Firstly, it is already a misconception when they separate the tribulation and wrath of God as two different things when we know that they actually mean the same. They claim that the tribulation is the first half of the period, and the second half is known as the wrath of God instead.
So by putting out this false claim, some of them even justify the rapture that will happen after the tribulation period and prior to the wrath of God period is hence considered a post-tribulation rapture, not mid-tribulation rapture. We know that’s not true.
Christians Do Not Go Through Tribulation
Matthew 24:15,29-34 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”
We know that verse 34 is referring to the tribulation rapture, we do not deny that there will be more than one rapture for sure, but our understanding is based on a dispensational timeline and people.
This means rapture for Christians will surely happen before the tribulation, and after that, some time during the tribulation will be another rapture for the tribulation saints. Unlike the heresies who argue that Christians will also have to go through the tribulation, and will only be raptured sometime during the period.
1 Thessalonians 5 shows us that God has not appointed us unto wrath.
Besides, Revelation 6 also confirms the mid-tribulation that we believe in and is not for us Christians. Both Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 mention events like sun darkened, stars, and earthquakes that happen sometime during the tribulation.
Revelation 6:12-14 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
They claim that verses 12 and 13 match with Matthew 24 which we can agree upon, but verse 14 provides more information that diverges our beliefs. In verse 14 we see that every mountain and island moved out of place. So the heretics claim that when this incident happens, that’s the sign of the beginning of God’s wrath.
Revelation 6:17 “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
This is their proof text that the wrath only begins from this point onward, after the so-called post-tribulation rapture.
To debunk this fallacy, let’s look at Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:17-20 “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”
This matches with Revelation 6, where islands and mountains can no longer be found, and this passage in Revelation 16 actually happens towards the end of their so-called ‘wrath’ period.
Revelation 16:17 has clearly stated that this event occurred when the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. There were six more vials before this, and there were all known as the wrath.
Revelation 16:1 “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”
Luke 21:25 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”
This is a repeated passage from Matthew 24, but Luke 21 specifically tells us what the event is called.
Luke 21:22-23 “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.”
If Luke 21 is repeating on Matthew 24, and Matthew 24 matches with Revelation 6 and 16, then it means that wrath is also known as the tribulation. We can clearly deduce this fact if we were to just compare them verse by verse.
Moreover, we solidify this and claim that it is the wrath of God, not of the devil-like how some of the heretics argue.
Revelation 6:12-13 tells us about the sixth seal, and we know that all the other seals were revealed by God Himself, not Satan.
This doctrine of dispensationalism is helpful to witness to non-Bible-believers and also to the heretics.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
So notice right here that God will come as a thief to rapture saints to Heaven. The post-tribulation proponents will argue this as the rapture that is meant to happen before the wrath. Nonetheless, this will be self-contradicting because Revelation 16:12 shows that this will only happen when the Angel poured out the sixth vial of the wrath, and prior to this all the vials were already happening during the period of wrath, which is also known as the tribulation.
Luke 12:37-39 “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.”
Luke 12:37-39 matches with Revelation 16 about watching for the coming of God to rapture the saints up to Heaven.
Luke 12:36,40 “And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
This clearly tells us that when God comes down at this tribulation rapture after His returning from a wedding up in Heaven. We know that this wedding is referring to the Church that is married to Jesus Christ.
This concludes that we Christians will already be up in Heaven before the tribulation happens.