In Matthew 24:32-44 in verse 36 Jesus is talking about the Rapture and says of that Day and hour knows no man,no,not the angels of heaven,but my Father only. We will not know the day and hour but we will know “close” to when the Rapture is going to happen.
When a woman is about to give birth she does not know the exact moment the child will be born. However, she knows when it is close. The Holy Spirit will give a witness to every believer that the Rapture is close.
In John 14:1-3 Jesus said He is going to prepare a place for us. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. When Jesus said He will come again He is talking about the Rapture.
First Corinthians 15:50-58 verses 51-52 tells us when the Rapture takes place we shall be changed. Verse 53 tells us we shall go from having a body that is corruptible and mortal to a body
that is incorruptible and immortal. This will happen a split second before the Rapture because these bodies cannot meet the Lord in the air where the Rapture will take place.
Philippians 3:20-21 says we are citizens of heaven and waiting for the Savior which is referring to the Rapture. It says Jesus will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is one of the best passages about the Rapture because it gives us so much detail about what will occur.
It says Three Things will occur before the Rapture. First the Lord Himself will descend from heaven. I love this because the Lord is not delegating this to an angel but the Lord Himself is coming back for us just like He said. Second there will be a Shout with the voice of an archangel. Third there will be a Trumpet of God. I believe this Shout and Trumpet will be heard around the world! Then it says we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
What a blessed hope the Lord has left us with! Last in verse 18 it says comfort one another with these words. This truly is a comfort to know.
Only a Pre-Tribulation Rapture would be a comfort. A Mid-Tribulation Rapture is not a comfort. A Post Tribulation Rapture is not a comfort.
First Thessalonians 5:1-9 continues to talk to us about the Rapture. In verse 4 it says this day will not overtake us as a thief. This goes back to what I said earlier. We may not know the day or hour but we will know close to when the Rapture occurs because this verse just said this day will not overtake us as a thief.
Verse 9 says God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation. This is another confirmation that the Rapture is a Pre-Tribulation event.
In Luke 19:13 Jesus said, Occupy until I come. So we need to be busy doing the will of God so He says to us Well done good and faithful servant !
You have been faithful over a few things now I will make you ruler over many.
A Pre-Tribulation Rapture means it is “before” the Tribulation, A Mid-Tribulation Rapture means it is in the “middle” of the Tribulation, A Post-Tribulation Rapture means it is “after” the Tribulation.
Some have used Revelation 12:7-12 as a basis for a Mid-Tribulation Rapture by saying verse 7 is the Rapture and the devil started a war in the heaven to stop the Church from being Raptured. The problem with this interpretation is nothing is said about the Church in this passage. Actually the Church is never mentioned again in the Book of Revelation after John is Raptured in Revelation 4:1.
Others have used Revelation 20:4-6 as a basis for a Post Tribulation Rapture. It says, “And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgement was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received is mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” The problem with this interpretation it is only “one witness”. Some Tribulation Saints are surely being Raptured in this passage. However, in order for something to be an established biblical principle it needs to be in the Word two to three times to be established. Second Corinthians 13:1 says, …”In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
Genesis 6:13-18 and Genesis 7:11-24 and Genesis 8:13-16 is the story of God delivering Noah and his family “before” the flood.
Genesis 19:1-28 is the story of Lot and his family being delivered “before” the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Revelation 4:1-3 is the story of John a representative of the Church being Raptured before the Tribulation begins.
As you can see based upon the above three passages God delivered His people “BEFORE” the destruction began.
Three Witnesses is a much more stronger position that the other views. Plus Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 both say that the Lord does not change and he is the same yesterday, today and ever. So what God did yesterday is what he will do in the future. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the strongest position of the three.