The Great Tribulation and the Return of Christ Pt. 1: The Pretribulation View
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. – Matthew 24:21-23
One of the most interesting topics in Scripture is that of Christ’s return. I suppose this is a bit of an understatement, since for some, this topic borders on obsession. Yet this is the great hope of the Church; that Christ will return and rule in righteousness and peace. Coinciding with Christ’s return is the time period known as the Great Tribulation. This, according to the verses above will be a time of immense chaos and hardship under the short reign of the Antichrist. The timing of Christ’s return and the Great Tribulation are subjects of debate within evangelicalism. In our next series of three articles, I will explain the three views regarding the timing of Christ’s return. They are known as pretribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. As you may have guessed by their prefixes, the return of Christ will be either before the start of the tribulation, in the middle of it, or after it. Today, I will explain the pretribulation view.
What is the Pretribulation View?
In this view, Christ does not return to the earth but removes His Church from it prior to the start of the Great Tribulation. This is called the Rapture. The word “rapture” comes from the Greek Word haprozo, which means to be snatched up and/or taken away. So, in essence, the Church as it sits now will not see the revelation of the Antichrist since it will be raptured beforehand. Those who hold this view cite 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and call attention to three points of interest. (1) The order in which Paul writes. First is the coming of the Lord, then the Day of the Lord. If you don’t know, the Day of the Lord is usually synonymous with the judgment of the Lord. (2) They point out that it is an unsigned event, meaning, there will be nothing to signal its occurrence and it could happen at any moment. Jesus seems to be saying this when He tells His disciples in Matthew 24: 36-37, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Pretribulationists will point out that in 1 Thess. 5:3, people will be celebrating peace and security, and then sudden destruction will fall upon them. This does seem to coincide with what Jesus says in Matthew 24:38. It does seem hard to believe people will be celebrating peace and security during what Jesus says will be a time of hell on earth. (3) They point out that the New Testament authors saw this event as being imminent, meaning it could happen at any moment. The whole reason Paul wrote to the Thessalonians was they thought they had missed the return of the Lord. The early Church had the expectation that Christ could return in their lifetime. The only way this all works, according to the pretribulation view, is if the Church is raptured prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Critiques of the Pretribulation View
This view is not without its issues, and it certainly has its critics. I will offer some common criticisms of this view, but I will not refute them in this article. First, critics will rightly point out that this position is very new compared to the whole of biblical history. This view was a part of the theological view called dispensationalism which was taught first in the 1830’s by John Nelson Darby in Ireland. (I’ll do an article on dispensational theology and its counterpart covenant theology at a later date). New theological views should cause us to pause, but this view does have biblical merit so while it can be criticized, it need not be fully rejected. Secondly, critics of this view claim that in the pretribulation rapture view, there are two returns of Christ, one secret, (the rapture of the Church) and one public, (the visible return of Christ). Thirdly, critics rightly point out that God does not promise we will be spared suffering in this life. To the contrary, those who desire to life a godly life will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Thirdly, critics explain that the hope of the return of Christ is not that we are spared suffering under the hand of an exceptionally wicked ruler (Antichrist) but that we will be spared God’s wrath. Israel and the Church have both endured much suffering, so we should not hang our hat on the fact that God will remove us from the earth prior to the Tribulation. Holding to this view, according to critics, generates a lack of preparedness. Finally, if we are indeed to be removed from the earth, why do the Scriptures explain in detail what will occur?
Summary
The pretribulation view states that Christ will take His Church from the earth prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation during which time the Antichrist will come to power and oversee a time of literal hell on earth. This view is a part of a theological framework called dispensationalism which is fairly new, so we should be willing to critique it. Any open-ended theological topic is worthy of critique and this one is no different. There is much nuance regarding all of the tribulation views, and we can only scratch the surface in these articles. I recommend that you do more research and come to the best biblical conclusion. Below are some recommended readings on this topic. Note that these readings are in support of this view.
Soli Deo Gloria
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/dispensational-theology/
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1324/will-the-church-go-through-the-tribulation-part-1
