The Return Of Jesus, Tribulation, and The Rapture.

When will Christ come to gather his people? The end times speaks about the pouring out of bowels, breaking of seals, and opening of scrolls and that can intimidate the most seasoned believer. It’s no surprise that so many Christians subscribe to the belief they will be raptured out of all of it. But is the return of Jesus before or after tribulation and what does the bible say about it.

The Return Of Jesus

At the beginning of Matthew 24, it says Jesus was sitting on Mount Olives and his disciples came up to him and asked him about his return. The apostles wanted to know when he would be coming back and what signs would be apparent.

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3.

Tribulation

Whenever there is talk about the return of Jesus, another topic undoubtedly emerges. A topic that has long been debated and remains disputed to this day, The Rapture. Mention the rapture and you will hear about pre-tribulation, post tribulation, resurrection, and the millennial reign. Focusing on tribulation, the pre-tribulation refers to Jesus coming to rapture the church before tribulation effectively rescuing believers from any of the end times persecution and suffering. Post tribulation refers to the view that Jesus will not return for his people until after the tribulation of the end times. Like all biblical topics, we go to the word of God to figure out when Jesus will return for the church.

Most Christians subscribe to a pre-tribulation rapture and I can’t help but question why this is when evidence points to a post tribulation rapture. I guess as humans it is much easier to believe that we will not have to brave persecution and suffering. It appears the enemy uses the doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture to give lukewarm believer’s a false security. Confident they will not have to do much of anything because they will be rescued out of the chaos of the end times. Well, isn’t that just convenient?

Think about it, if believers knew they were going to face tribulation before being caught up they just might walk with more diligence and truly seek the face of God. The bible tells us clearly that Jesus will return after tribulation but before the wrath of God. This is an entire teaching in itself,  understanding the difference between tribulation, the day of the Lord, and the wrath of God. If you are interested in doing a deeper study into these topics, I will link recommended sources at the bottom of the page.

Examining Matthew 24:29-31

Matthew 24:29-31 says,

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

If we are going by scripture, Matthew informs us that certain things must transpire before the return of the son of man. Let’s look at information we are given in this passage to see what conclusions we can draw from it. 

• Let’s start off at the beginning, verse 29; Immediately after the tribulation. Telling the reader the return of Jesus will come immediately after the tribulation, meaning we are here for tribulation. Right at the beginning, it gives us an anchor point that sets up the sequence of events. 

• Directly after that, the reader is given a visual of what those days will be like saying, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. This verse has literal and metaphorical significance, as much of the bible does. This will be the scene after the tribulation and immediately before Jesus physically appears before all of creation.

• Jesus taught these things to his disciples to establish the truth with them, to prevent them from being deceived by any false christ. Likewise, to tell them of the signs and symbols that will give confirmation. Verse 30 says, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all of the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:29-31 depicts the return of Jesus as an event that will be observed by all people. So then why would the world mourn at the return of Jesus like the verse mentions? Well, in my opinion the answer is two-fold; people are mourning because they didn’t believe and chose not to follow Jesus. In that moment I assume there will be overwhelming revelation to all those who didn’t believe. The faithful followers of Christ will mourn with relief, joy and reverence, as they finally see their savior coming in the clouds.

Other Verses

Something else to note is when Jesus was on Mount Olive with his disciples telling them of things to come. Jesus repeats twice, just before the passage were currently examining in Matthew, instructing them not to go to where people say he is. (Matt 24:23-27)

Matt 24:23-27

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

Again we can conclude from the text the return of Jesus will be a spectacular event witnessed by all. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. We are told this so we are not deceived by people saying Christ has returned and they know where he is. Everyone will know he has returned at the exact same moment.

Revelation 20: 4-5

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

This passage is referring to the resurrection of the tribulation saints. If we were not going to be here for tribulation, already being raptured, how then would there be tribulation saints? Believers martyred for their persecution, suffering and death during tribulation. These are just a few examples of scripture pointing to a post tribulation rapture. There is a ton of studying that can be done on this subject, but for now I just wanted to get people thinking about these things. Sometimes people over complicate scripture, adding more to it rather than taking it for what it says at face value.

Recommended Sources

Summary and info on Post Tribulation 

Chris White Video On Rapture