why a Pretribulation rapture?
1st Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
The Bible plainly states when the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will happen... exactly 3 1/2 years AFTER the Antichrist proclaims himself to be god from the temple in Jerusalem (Mark 13:14; Daniel 9:27). So it will be KNOWN exactly how much time remains before the Second Coming, once the Antichrist declares himself to be god from the temple in Jerusalem. If you study the King James Bible at face value, you can only conclude a Pretribulation Rapture.
This fact alone proves a Pretribulation Rapture. Once the Antichrist claims to be god from the temple, and demands that the world worship his image or be killed (Revelation 13:15), it will be 3 1/2 years until the Second Coming. The first temple was destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The second temple was destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. The 3rd temple is in the process of be planned. When an announcement is made to build the 3rd temple, you can rest assure that the trumpet is out of the case and the Lord's return extremely near. The Christian world is eagerly awaiting and watching.
In fact, the Lord may return before the temple in built. It wouldn't take more than a couple years for the temple to be built. Certainly, it could be built during the first 3 1/2 years of the 7-years Tribulation Period. It is at the center of the 7-years Tribulation Period that the Antichrist will announce that he is god and demand worship from the world. This blasphemous event in the Scriptures is called THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Daniel 9:27)
Will you be caught up in the Rapture when Jesus returns? Or will you be LEFT BEHIND with the wicked? The choice is yours alone to make. “Ye must be born again,” Jesus said (John 3:1-7). If you want to be saved, then acknowledge your guilt of sin and come to God on that basis alone, believing on Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, to forgive your sins. We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33), i.e., by the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:5-6; 10:3-4). We have no self-righteousness of our own to offer God. This is why Jesus paid our sin debt with His own blood (1st Peter 1:18-19). The only way to have eternal life is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Jesus is our righteousness (1st Corinthians 1:30).
Revelation 1:7, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
