Kathy S. Asks: Why can’t Pre-Tribbers cite a single verse that explicitly states that the resurrection occurs at the beginning of the Tribulation, whereas [at] the seventh trumpet, the “Pre-Wrath” position can cite several?

Dear Kathy: Simple, single-verse answers to complex biblical questions are misleading, at best. For example, I do not believe that the seventh trumpet of Revelation is the “last trump” referred to in I Cor. 15:52. But my full explanation for this takes several pages. I believe that Rev. 3:10, in which the Lord says, “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation [testing] which shall come upon all the world,” is the promise of a Pretribulation rapture. Others vigorously argue that this is not the case. When (in Titus 2:13) Paul writes that we are “… looking for that blessed hope,” I believe that this is the hope of being taken home before the Tribulation. Others disagree. He also addresses the Pretribulation rapture as a comfort to believers in the context that the world will be severely judged. Twice in I Thessalonians, he tells us to “comfort one another” with the thought that we will not be required to endure the rigors of the Tribulation (the greatest cataclysm in the history of the world, in which billions will die horrible deaths). This, I routinely do. In II Thessalonians, Chapter 2, Paul tells us that the Tribulation won’t arrive until after a great apostasy (departure from the faith) and the revealing of the Antichrist. Presently, we are witnessing a growing apostasy, but the Antichrist hasn’t been revealed. The Tribulation may be close, but it still hasn’t arrived. It will begin when the Antichrist signs the seven- year covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27. That hasn’t happened yet. If you are waiting for the Tribulation to begin, you should carefully watch for this signal event.

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