Question:  Greg,

            I happened to catch you on the radio last night and you were essentially telling a questioner that there is no Rapture coming for the church.  My question is therefore multi-part:

1.      If there’s no catching away, what is 1 Thessalonians 4:17 talking about?

2.      Do you believe in the coming of a 7-year Tribulation?

3.      If so, do you see the existing church at that time going through that Tribulation and experiencing the same plagues and wrath as unbelievers?

4.      If your answer to that is “yes”, how do you reconcile that with the fact that

God (who is presumably the same yesterday, today and forever) has previously removed or protected his people before pouring out his wrath on unbelievers (Noah, Lot, and Israel living in Goshen during the plagues on Egypt)?

5.      Since the wrath being poured out in Revelation is actually the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:16 ), how unfair and unjust would it appear for Jesus, who claimed he was taking the punishment for our sins, to pour out punishment on those of us who trust in him?

            Thanks for any clarification.

            John

 

Answer:  Dear John,

            Thanks for joining our family of listeners.

            In answer to your questions: I believe that the event spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is when those dead and alive in Christ rise to meet him, in the air, at his Second Coming.  However, I fail to see any teaching in this passage that his Second Coming will be before the Tribulation.  I do not see any firm biblical indication that there will be a 7-year period of time called the Tribulation.  I see nothing in the New Testament that promises a physical, “save-your-neck” reward for those whom God saves spiritually by his grace.  How unfair would it be for believers to suffer?  Well, I suggest you take a look at present and past reality.  One estimate is that 70 million Christians have died for their faith since the 1st century.  Again, the same estimate places 45 million of those in the 20th century.  Perhaps God is not promising health and wealth and physical safety to those who follow Jesus.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht