The key Bible verse that describes the rapture of the church is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which states that the Lord will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those who are alive being caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord. This passage emphasizes the hope and promise of believers being taken to be with Christ. The original Greek term used in the Bible for the concept of the rapture is ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpagēsometha), which translates to “we shall be caught up” or “we shall be taken away,” found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. This term derives from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpazō), meaning “to snatch away” or “to seize.”

There are different understandings of when this will happen in conjunction with the Second Coming of Christ and the Great Tribulation which precedes it. A common view is that it can literally occur any day and will happen before the Great Tribulation. However, this view (known as the “pre-trib” rapture) only emerged in the 19th century. It has no history in the historic church before the 19th century.

CRI (Christian Research Institute) has a podcast here arguing that the pre-trib rapture view is unbiblical. I agree with them. I have never been comfortable with this view, particularly after my seminary studies where I was exposed to the writings and teaching of the early church. My money is with the Ancient Church, those closest in time to the apostles, who were virtually unanimous in their affirmation that the church is destined to undergo persecution by the Antichrist – there will be no removal of the church prior to the Great Tribulation and the wrath of the Antichrist.

There is a post here that presents the view of the early church. As the author correctly notes,

“The timing of the rapture in relation to the great tribulation has been long debated in modern Christianity. Many evangelicals today hold a “pretribulational” view, where the Church will be removed from the earth before a seven-year period of suffering. However, the writings of the earliest Christian theologians reveals a different perspective. The early church and the generations of believers closest to the apostles believed that Christians would endure the great tribulation and be raptured at Christ’s second coming.”

He quotes Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD) who “explicitly placed the Church on earth to suffer through the tribulation. He did not see a separate destiny for the Church that would allow it to avoid this final conflict; rather, he saw the Church as the central protagonist that would face the Antichrist.”

He references Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD), a student of Polycarp (who was a disciple of John), Irenaeus is a close link to the apostolic era. His writings in Against Heresies describe the Church’s final, purifying trial as a necessary preparation for glory. He consistently portrays the Church as present for, and the central focus of, the tribulation. Irenaeus was very close in time to the apostle John. Some advocates of the pre-trib view try and ascribe a pre-trib perspective to him. However, anyone familiar with the writings of Irenaeus knows they are in error; JoelsTrumpet lays out the evidence here asserting that “the attempt to enlist Irenaeus as a pretribulational wigess is simply not supported by any authentic scholarship. Together his testimony and the academic consensus affirm that Irenaeus expected the Church to endure the tribulation and to be gathered to Christ after the Antichrist’s reign, at the Second Coming.”

He references Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170–235 AD), a prominent theologian in the church at Rome and is considered by many historians to be the most important Christian writer of the third century. “Like his teacher, Hippolytus saw the saints as the explicit targets of the Antichrist . . . Hippolytus’s detailed eschatology is entirely focused on the Church’s endurance through trial. His writings leave no room for a prior removal. For him, the tribulation is precisely the period defined by the persecution of the saints, and their endurance is the path to their glorification at the visible return of Christ.”

He references other early church writings such as the Didache, the oldest surviving Christian manual outside of the New Testament. As the author notes, “The Didache presents a clear sequence where the tribulation under the “world-deceiver” is a universal event that precedes the resurrection and visible return of Christ. The focus is on endurance and watchfulness through the trial, not a prior escape from it. Its timeline allows no room for a pre-tribulational rapture.”

Dr. Eitan Bar (born 1984, Tel Aviv) is a messianic Jew and Israeli-Jewish follower of Jesus with multiple advanced degrees in Bible and theology. His unique background as a Jewish native Hebrew speaker with advanced Christian education provides a timely perspective on Christian beliefs and doctrines. Here he refutes the notion that the early church taught a pre-trib rapture. Once again, he goes directly to the authoritative ancient sources to eastablish what the early church taught. He concludes, “Greg Laurie and others are mistaken when they claim that the Fathers taught a pre-tribulation rapture. Yes, Irenaeus and Cyprian used language of being “caught up” or “taken away,” but neither man envisioned the modern rapture doctrine. What they did emphasize was perseverance, holiness, and the hope of Christ’s coming. The early church’s message was not, “Don’t worry, you’ll escape tribulation,” but rather, “Endure faithfully through the tribulation.” To sum up, no clear evidence exists of a pre-tribulation rapture before the 19th century. When early fathers spoke of being “caught up,” they were simply reflecting Paul’s teaching (1 Thess. 4:17) and situating it at the climactic second coming, not as an escape seven years earlier.“

Key Bible verses about the Great Tribulation include Matthew 24:21, which states, “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.” Another significant verse is Revelation 7:14, which mentions, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The pre-tribulation rapture view is less common among Christians facing ongoing persecution, as they tend to prioritize readiness to endure hardship rather than an imminent rescue before tribulation. I did not encounter it in the underground, persecuted church in Saudi Arabia. It is noteworthy that this view is prevalent among the western church, particularly North America – a church that is the richest and most privileged in history. (It is also interesting that the false “prosperity gospel” is an export from quarters of the North American church.)

My concern with the pre-trib view is the effect on Christians holding that view when the Great Tribulation begins – and they have not been raptured. If they are wrong, will they be prepared to face the Great Tribulation? Will they then question everything they have been taught? Will they be among those who subsequently abandon the faith (1 Tim 4:1)? As TheologyInFive articulates here,

“If someone places their trust in Christ because they believe He will spare them from persecution, what happens when persecution comes? If they believe they will never face hardship because they were told Jesus would take them away first, what happens when tribulation knocks on their door? They may feel betrayed, confused, and even walk away from the faith. Not because Christ failed them, but because they were taught something He never said. Jesus was clear. “In this world you will have tribulation.” Paul said we must enter the kingdom of God through many hardships. Peter warned that fiery trials were not to be considered strange. The New Testament does not promise escape from trouble. It promises grace in the midst of it. Evangelism that hinges on evacuation instead of endurance is setting people up for a crisis of faith when the storms come.“

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Tim 3:12-13)