One of the main pre-tribulation arguments goes like this: No one knows the date and the hour of the rapture. If the rapture happened after the tribulation, it would be easy to calculate the date with reasonable accuracy. Therefore, the rapture must happen before the tribulation.
In this chapter we will show that this is simply not the case.
Context is key
That the following verses refer to the rapture is not at all controversial, the pre-tribbers themselves quoting them extensively in their arguments. Indeed, “one will be taken and one left” is one of the clearest references to the rapture.
[Matthew 24:36-44] 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. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
First, we cannot read into the Bible more than what is written, which is that no one knows the day and the hour. These verses don’t say that we cannot know the year or the month or even the week!
Second, let’s look at the immediate context. Going back a few verses and skipping over the lesson of the fig tree (Matt 24:32-35), we arrive at the event whose day and hour no one knows.
[Matthew 24:29-31] Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
As we can see, the context of “no one knows the day and the hour” is clearly “after the tribulation of those days.” There is no way to deny this. So the only reasonable conclusion is that the rapture, the event whose day and hour no one knows, happens after that tribulation.
Even from the wording of the above verses, it’s quite clear that the event described is the rapture: “They (the angels) will gather his elect from the four winds.” We can see that these believers are caught up in the air.
This contradicts the pre-trib rapture theory, which says that those believers who survive the great tribulation remain on the earth when Jesus comes back visibly at the end of the great tribulation.
Other rapture verses
Note how similar the above event is to the one described in these well-known rapture verses.
[1 Thessalonians 4:16-17] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
I don’t know about you, but to me “with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” is not something that can be said about a supposedly secret rapture.
Note the expression “we who are alive, who are left.” To me that sounds like “we who are left alive” or “we the survivors,” which means that something happened that caused most others to lose their lives.
Also note how a trumpet sound is also mentioned in another well-known rapture verse:
[1 Corinthians 15:52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
Not a surprise for believers
Now let’s take a closer look at the expression “as in the days of Noah” and the way it’s interpreted by pre-tribbers. Since the days before the rapture will be like the days of Noah, the pre-tribbers argue that the rapture must be something unexpected and therefore occur before the tribulation.
The flood was indeed unexpected, but it was unexpected for the unbelievers, not for Noah and his family. The Bible tells us that Noah knew exactly when the flood would happen:
[Genesis 7:4] In seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. … And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
Likewise, the rapture won’t be a surprise for those who walk closely with God.
In another well-known rapture passage addressed to believers, the Bible says:
[1 Thessalonians 5:4-5] While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
It’s very clear that the rapture won’t be a surprise for the true believers.
No second chances
Pre-tribbers claim that those who miss the rapture will have another chance at salvation during the tribulation. But that’s not what happened when the flood came. Those “left behind” didn’t get a second chance. All of them perished.
[Genesis 7:21-22] And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
[Matt 24:37-39] As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The flood was God’s “great reset” on that wicked generation. Only Noah and his family were saved. Everybody else perished. None of those “left behind” got a second chance. And something similar will happen again.
God’s second “great reset” is coming soon on this wicked generation. The time to get on the ark is NOW. Once the door of the ark is shut, there will be no second chances. Do not be deceived by those who tell you otherwise.