Prophesy – the rapture phase
John 14:1-3
Will the church go through the tribulation?
To answer that question, we must first determine what God’s purpose for the church is. Primarily it is God’s calling out a people, both Jew and Gentile to reveal His grace. The tribulation is a period of time in which the wrath of God is revealed upon the unbelieving world and to prepare the nation of Israel for the kingdom.
We hold to the teaching that the saints are rapture before the tribulation. While there is no one verse to directly state when the rapture will occur, there are a number of different verses that when taken together will point to this view.
John 14:1-3, is the first hint that the Lord is going to return for his church. The rest of these verses reveal further information concerning the rapture of the church.
In the book of Revelation, the church is seen in Chapter 2 an 3 and after that it is no longer mentioned.
Rev 3:10 tells us from what the church will be delivered from the hour of temptation or testing.
I Thessalonians 1:10, which is written to believers in Christ that we will deliver from the wrath to come.
I Thessalonians 5:9, states that we are not appointed to wrath and Romans 5:9 tell us that we are saved from the wrath of God.
There is a necessity of an interval period of time between the rapture of the church and the establishment of the kingdom. During that period of time the earth will experience tribulation from God and the rapture church (believers) will stand before God at the judgment seat of Christ for rewards based upon our life and then experience the marriage supper of the Lamb.