How does pretribulationism depend on Scripture?
Question 1121
Pretribulationism, the view that the Church will be raptured before the seven-year tribulation period, is sometimes accused of being a recent invention with little biblical support. Critics say it was invented by John Nelson Darby in the nineteenth century and read into Scripture rather than derived from it. But is this fair? How does pretribulationism actually depend on Scripture? Let’s look at the biblical foundations for this position.
The Biblical Case for the Rapture
Before we can discuss the timing of the rapture, we need to establish that Scripture teaches a rapture at all. The primary passages are 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul comforts believers who are grieving the death of fellow Christians. He assures them that “the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The phrase “caught up” translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpagesometha), from which we get the Latin rapio and English “rapture.” This is not a word invented by modern theologians. It’s right there in Scripture.
Paul calls this a “mystery” in 1 Corinthians 15:51, something previously unrevealed. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” This event is distinct from the Old Testament hope of resurrection. It includes living believers being transformed and caught up to meet the Lord.
Distinguishing the Rapture from the Second Coming
The pretribulational position rests significantly on distinguishing the rapture from the second coming. When we compare the rapture passages with the second coming passages, notable differences emerge.
At the rapture, Jesus comes for His saints (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). At the second coming, He comes with His saints (Colossians 3:4; Jude 14; Revelation 19:14). At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). At the second coming, Jesus returns to the earth, His feet standing on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11). At the rapture, there is no mention of judgment on the earth. At the second coming, Jesus comes to judge the nations (Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21).
John Walvoord, in The Rapture Question, catalogues over fifty differences between these two events. If they are the same event, why do the descriptions differ so dramatically? The pretribulational view explains this by placing the rapture before the tribulation and the second coming at its end, with seven years separating them.
The Nature of the Tribulation
Pretribulationism also depends on understanding what the tribulation is and who it is for. Scripture describes this period as uniquely terrible, “a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” (Daniel 12:1). Jesus calls it “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matthew 24:21).
Jeremiah 30:7 calls it “a time of distress for Jacob,” using Israel’s covenant name. This suggests its primary focus is on Israel, not the Church. The tribulation is the seventieth week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27), a period determined for Daniel’s people (Israel) and his holy city (Jerusalem). The Church was not in view in Daniel’s prophecy.
The purposes of the tribulation include judging an unbelieving world (Revelation 6-18), purifying Israel and bringing them to faith in their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26), and finishing transgression for Daniel’s people (Daniel 9:24). None of these purposes involves the Church, which has already been justified by faith and is not appointed to wrath.
The Promise of Deliverance
This brings us to the explicit promises of deliverance from this period. In Revelation 3:10, Jesus promises the church at Philadelphia: “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” The phrase “keep from” translates τηρέω ἐκ (tereo ek), which most naturally means to keep out of or preserve from, not merely to protect through.
Paul tells the Thessalonians that Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). He assures them, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The tribulation is described as “the hour of his judgment” (Revelation 14:7) and the pouring out of God’s wrath (Revelation 6:16-17; 15:1, 7; 16:1). If the Church is not destined for wrath, and the tribulation is the time of God’s wrath, then the Church must be removed before that time.
The Imminency of the Rapture
Another scriptural argument for pretribulationism is the doctrine of imminency. The New Testament consistently presents the return of Jesus as something that could happen at any moment, without warning signs or intervening events. Believers are told to wait for God’s Son from heaven (1 Thessalonians 1:10), to look for the blessed hope (Titus 2:13), to be ready because the Lord comes at an hour we do not expect (Matthew 24:44).
If the rapture occurred at the end of the tribulation, after all the seals, trumpets, and bowls of Revelation, it could not be imminent. We would know that certain events must happen first. But the New Testament posture is one of constant expectation. James says, “the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). This makes sense only if the rapture could happen at any time, which requires it to be pretribulational.
Renald Showers, in Maranatha: Our Lord, Come!, extensively documents the early church’s belief in imminency. The apostles and their immediate successors expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. They did not look for the Antichrist first; they looked for Jesus.
The Church’s Absence in Revelation 4-18
A striking feature of Revelation is the absence of the word “church” (ἐκκλησία, ekklesia) from chapters 4-18, the section describing the tribulation. The word appears nineteen times in chapters 1-3 and once in chapter 22, but not once during the tribulation narrative.
John is called up to heaven in Revelation 4:1 with the words “Come up here.” Many pretribulationists see this as picturing the rapture of the Church before the events of the tribulation unfold. The twenty-four elders, seated on thrones and wearing crowns (Revelation 4:4), are understood as representing the raptured and rewarded Church, now in heaven while judgment falls on earth.
J. Dwight Pentecost, in Things to Come, notes that the saints mentioned during the tribulation are called “tribulation saints,” distinct from the Church. They are those who come to faith after the rapture. The 144,000 Jewish witnesses (Revelation 7) and the two witnesses (Revelation 11) minister during this time, but the Church is conspicuously absent from the earthly scene.
The Distinction Between Israel and the Church
Underlying all of this is the dispensational distinction between Israel and the Church. God has distinct programmes for each. The Church is a parenthesis in God’s dealings with Israel. When the Church is raptured, God resumes His programme with Israel, fulfilling the promises made to the patriarchs and prophets.
Daniel’s seventy weeks are determined for Israel (Daniel 9:24). Sixty-nine weeks were fulfilled before Messiah was cut off. The Church age intervenes before the seventieth week begins. When that final week arrives, it is about Israel and the nations, not the Church. This is why pretribulationism depends on a consistent distinction between Israel and the Church.
Conclusion
Pretribulationism is not a recent invention imposed on Scripture. It arises from careful attention to what the Bible actually says about the rapture, the tribulation, the promise of deliverance from wrath, the imminency of Christ’s return, and the distinction between Israel and the Church. When these biblical themes are taken together, the pretribulational position emerges as the most coherent way to harmonise them.
This is not merely an academic exercise. The hope of the rapture shapes how we live. It keeps us watching, waiting, and living in light of eternity. It comforts us that we shall be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17). And it motivates us to share the gospel while there is still time.
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Bibliography
- Ice, Thomas and Timothy Demy. When the Trumpet Sounds. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1995.
- Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958.
- Ryrie, Charles C. What You Should Know About the Rapture. Chicago: Moody Press, 1981.
- Showers, Renald E. Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel, 1995.
- Walvoord, John F. The Rapture Question. Revised Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.