Dr.  Ronald Powell      

Some Christians Will Go Through The Tribulation! - Part 1 

Acts 2:19-21:And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord comes: And it shall come to pass (during this time), that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 6:12-17: 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 casts 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.  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 15:1-2 & 6-7And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them (The Tribulation Saints) that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass... And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

Will All The Christians Go Through The Tribulation?

Having settled the fact that some Christians will go through the Great Tribulation, we now will look at the question will all Christians go through the Tribulation? Or, is there a called-out group who are caught up before the Tribulation? What is the evidence? This is a matter that should be examined closely. The answer must be based upon the entire Bible evidence, and on what God's Word says. The evidence indicates strongly that there will be a first-fruit Rapture and Resurrection before the Great Tribulation. Here is the evidence:

1. Christ Warns Us To Be Ready Because His Coming Is Imminent.

In all of Christ's warnings concerning His coming, the thought of immanency is always implied. The word "immanency" means an event is "impending." The idea intended is that we should be ready for His coming at any moment. An example of many such texts is found in Mark.

Mark 13:35-37: Watch therefore: for you know not when the Master of the house will come, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping (spiritually). And what I say to you I say to all, Watch.

Apparently from this, as well as many other similar statements by the Lord, there will be an element of surprise in the coming of Christ. Those who believe the Rapture of the Christians occurs after the Tribulation, eliminate the thought of immanency. For example, we do not consider the Great White Throne Judgment to be imminent, for we know that the thousand year Millennium must happen first. Likewise, if the Great Tribulation must occur before any Rapture takes place, then there cannot be the element of immanency. Indeed, if that were the case, then we would not be watching for Christ's coming, as He warns us to do, but rather our attention would be directed to watching for the rise of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. If we are to watch for the Lord's coming only after the Tribulation, only after we have counted off the seven year Tribulation which starts with Israel signing a seven year peace treaty, and only after the 1,260 days of the Antichrist's reign, and only then could we expect the Rapture to take place, then we would not be warned over and over again to WATCH! The strongest support of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture lies in the fact that Jesus repeatedly warned the church to be on the alert for His coming.

Matthew 24:29-30: Immediately after the Tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened . . . and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven... (His Second Return to earth with His Saints)

Christ words on His coming surely imply immanency. The Rapture and Resurrection after the Tribulation cannot be imminent. On the other hand, the first-fruit Rapture, that takes place before the Tribulation, can be said to be imminent. This harmonizes with the words of Jesus when He said...

Mark 13:32: But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

2. The Out-Resurrection Of The Old Testament Saints.

The Scriptures speak of an out-resurrection of the Old Testament saints. The verses that refer to it are often passed over as not of special significance. Actually, they have an extremely important bearing on our subject:

Matthew 27:51-53: And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after His Resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

These verses declare there has already been an out-resurrection of the Old Testament saints. In other words, the precedent of an out-resurrection was established at this time. Moreover, this proves that the first resurrection is not an event that must all transpire at one given instant. True, the general resurrection of the righteous dead takes place at the end of the age after the Great Tribulation. But here is a resurrection of Old Testament saints that occurred right after Christ's resurrection! Not all the Old Testament saints, but " ... many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection . . ." Since there was a First-Fruit resurrection of Old Testament Saints, then the pattern or precedent is set for a First-Fruit resurrection of New Testament Christians, which we believe the Scriptures show takes place before the Great Tribulation. And with this First-Fruit Resurrection, there will be a simultaneous First-Fruit Rapture.

3. Paul Taught That There Was An Order To The Resurrection.

I Corinthians 15:22-23: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his Own order: Christ, the First fruits: afterward they that are Christ's at His Coming.

Here Paul shows that there is an order to the first resurrection, if every believer were resurrected at the same instant, there would be no order to the resurrection, and the above Scriptures would be meaningless: "Christ, the First fruits: afterward they that are Christ's at His Coming." (There are no commas in the original Greek text, and they must be supplied by the translator.) Although Christ is the First of the First-Fruits, He is not all of the First-Fruits.  

Revelation 14 clearly teaches that there will be a relatively large company of First-Fruit Saints, which it would appear, correspond to the First-Fruit Resurrection of Old Testament saints.

Revelation 14:4: These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the First fruits to God and to the Lamb.

There is an order to the first resurrection (1) Christ First; (2) A First-Fruit Resurrection of Old Testament saints; (3) A First-Fruit Resurrection and Rapture of New Testament Christians; (4) The final Harvest Resurrection after the Tribulation.

4. Paul speaks of a First-Fruit Rapture and Sought To Be In This Out-Resurrection

Paul put his all into reaching for this prize and he highly encouraged all Christians to do the same.

Philippians 3:11, 14: If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead (from among the dead) . . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Study both the text and context carefully. Paul declares he was putting forth every effort to be in the out-resurrection. The Greek original reads "the resurrection from among the dead." It was a prize that Paul eagerly sought. But was all this effort put forth by the apostle simply that he might be in the general resurrection of the righteous in which every saved person will participate? "No." Paul's salvation was settled long ago. As to his personal salvation and assurance of a part in the first resurrection, he said...

II Timothy 1: 12: For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.

Paul was not seeking salvation by some strenuous and prolonged effort so that he might have a part in the general resurrection. Paul was after the prize of the out-resurrection! Of this, he says...

Philippians 3:8: I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (rubbish), that I may win Christ ... that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection...

We too may seek for the prize of the Out-Resurrection, or Out-Rapture. Christ is coming for His Bride! Paul was running the race to obtain an imperishable crown!

1 Corinthians 9: 24-27:  Do you not know that they who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain it.   And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate (self controlled) in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible (perishable) crown; but we to obtain an incorruptible (imperishable Crown).   I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air:   But I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.