Are Catholics into the Rapture?
Is a Pre-Trib more biblical?

Pretrib Rapture verse	2nd Coming verse
“translation / resurrection coming” Jesus comes for the saints (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17)	Christ’s Second Advent. Jesus comes with His saints (Church=Rev. 19)

Catholic view: The plain reading of these passages is that Jesus will come with his angels in heaven for his saints on earth. Rev 19 says "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” which means he is coming "for" his Church at the 2nd coming.

Pretrib Rapture verse	2nd Coming verse
Comes for His church, taking her to His Father’s house (John 14:3)	Sets up His Messianic Kingdom (Zech 14:4-5; Mat 24:27-31).

Catholic view: We agree that Zech 14:4-5 prophesies the Era of Peace, but not a Kingdom that Jesus will rule in the flesh. We have a separate article on the Era of Peace. We agree that Jn 14:3 is a different event from Zech 14:4-5, but not a Pre-Trib Rapture. The passage "in my Father's house there are many rooms" is a common reading at funerals. It also speaks of the Final Judgment.

Pretrib Rapture verse	2nd Coming verse
Paul speaks of the Rapture as a “mystery” (1 Cor. 15:51-54), that is, a truth not revealed until it was disclosed by the apostles (Col. 1:26).	Was predicted in the Old Testament (Dan. 12:1-3; Zech 12:10; 14:4).

Catholic view: Certainly the Rapture is a Mystery, (1 Cor 15:51-54) but its a stretch to map this to Col 1:26, which is talking about how Paul's sufferings are making up for what was lacking in Christ's suffering. If anything, this is an anti Pre-Trib passage because it shows the value of a suffering Church.

We propose that these are artificial distinctions between the Rapture and the Second Coming, and certainly don't indicate a Pre-Trib Rapture.

4) Distinction between Israel and the Church?

We have a separate article on the relationship between the Church and Israel. Below is a partial summary.

The Evangelical book "The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism", written by a Pre-Trib Christian describes how classic Dispensationalism has fallen out of favour and is not taught in many Evangelical Bible schools anymore. The concept that Israel does not include Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles has been abandoned.

Pre-Trib and Mid-Trib Rapture theories stem from the Dispensational views below:

Dispensational View:

• The Church is not Israel.
• Old Testament prophesies are for Israel alone, not for the Church which didn't exist when the prophesies were given.
• Some prophesies were not fulfilled in Bible times
• Therefore they apply to the modern nation state of Israel because God is faithful to his promises.

Catholic View:

• The Church was born at the Pentecost to Jews (Acts 2:1-4).
• Israel includes both unconverted Jews (older brother) and the Church (younger brother). The Bible gives younger brothers preference (Abel, Jacob, Joseph, David, etc).
• This is not Replacement Theology because Israel includes all Jews and Christians.
• Paul says "A person is a Jew who is one inwardly... by the Spirit" (Rm 2:28-29)
• The State of Israel (1948), is a fulfillment of part of the prophesies, which speak of the land of Israel and the national identity of the Jewish people but modern Israel has only 2 tribes out of 12, Judah and Benjamin. The 10 lost tribes are assimilated into the gentiles, lost forever as an identifiable people. (2 Kgs 17:22-23, Hos 1:6-7) Therefore, this part of prophesy can only be fulfilled via the Church, where the lost tribes have been grafted back into Israel to "share in the nourishing sap from the olive root" (Rm 11:17-24), which is the heritage and promises of the Jews. Also (Eph 2:11-2 , 1 Pt 2:9-10).
  
• See full article here
  

Doesn't God need to wait until Christians are taken from the earthly stage (Raptured) before He deals with Israel?

While we agree the Jewish people will convert "en masse" before the Second Coming, we see no biblical evidence that the promises of God to the Jewish people are dependent on the Christian people being raptured before the Jews accept Jesus as their Saviour.

That would be like a parent who takes the good children out of the room and then gives the bad children a spanking (Tribulation) and a chance to repent, after which he brings the bad kids who repented back into the other room to join the good kids.

Christians were never meant to be completely free of suffering. Jesus suffered to save the world and we suffer also. (Jn 15:20, Col 1:24)

Jesus said he accomplished what he came to do (Jn 17:4, 19:30). The Church was not a backup plan for an unrealized attempt to convert the Jewish people. The Church is integral to the plan.

 The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus... (Catechism 674)

The 6 core arguments for a Pre-Trib Rapture with Responses

After providing the 4 foundational underpinnings of the Pre-Trib Rapture (covered above), Professor Thomas D. Ice, continues with a 6 point proposal for a Pre-Trib Rapture. Let us turn to the 6 core theories that "necessitate" a Pre-Trib Rapture.

1) Time needed between comings

In this rationale, Biblical events from multiple Gospels, Epistles and the Book of Revelation, are dropped onto a timeline. Some of these events are on Earth and others in Heaven. Heaven is outside of time. It is unsustainable logic to line up battles and circumstances in Heaven with events on earth.

One of the arguments for a Pre-Trib is that the time between the Rapture and the 2nd coming is necessary because it "takes time for Jesus to judge Christians" as if God couldn't judge every human that is living and has ever lived on earth in an instant, outside of time.

Early Christians were expecting the Lord to return in their lifetimes, and they didn't believe in a "Pre-Trib" Rapture which didn't show up among Christians until 1830.

2) The Imminent Coming of Christ

Those in favour of a Pre-Trib Rapture claim that imminence is the one of the most compelling reasons to expect a Pre-Trib Rapture. Prof. Ice cites the following Biblical passages: 1 Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thes. 1:10; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; 1 Peter 1:13; Jude 21

See these passages

1 Cor. 1:7 you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Phil. 3:20  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Thes. 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Titus 2:13  while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Heb. 9:28  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

1 Peter 1:13  Therefore prepare your minds for action;[a] discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.

Jude 21  keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

None of these passages demonstrate that "Jesus coming" doesn't include God's wrath that precedes it.

Jesus was adamant that his followers be watchful and alert for these signs. (Mat 24, Mar 13, Lk 21) The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the imminence of his coming.

673 Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent,566 even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority."567. This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are "delayed".568 [emphasis added]

3) The Nature of the Tribulation

Prof. Ice says:

While the church will experience tribulation in general during this present
age (John 16:33), she is never mentioned as participating in Israel's time of
trouble, which includes the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and the
Wrath of God.

There are many clear references to the Church in Revelation.

“Fellow servants and their brethren” to be killed (Rev 6:11) 

“Great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” who had “come out of the great tribulation” Rev 7:4) 

The “brethren” who were victorious over Satan “because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:10-11)

“Children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev 12:17) 

“saints” on whom the beast (Antichrist) wages war (Rev 13:7)

“saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus” who persevere (Rev 14:12)

Some who propose a Pre-Trib say there is a distinction in the Book of Revelation between “the church” and “the saints” to explain how the saints can still be on earth after the church has been raptured to heaven. But saints in these passages are clearly Christians as in other places in the New testament (e.g. 1 Cor 14:33, 1 Cor 1:2, 1 Cor 16:1, 2 Cor 1:1, Rom 15:26). The word “saint” simply means holy one, as in “set apart for service to the Lord“.

4) The Nature of the Church

Prof. Ice says:

Only pretribulationalism is able to give full biblical import to the New Testament teaching that the church differs significantly from Israel.

We demonstrate above that the Bible says Israel includes unconverted Jews AND Christians who have been grafted into Israel (Rm 11:17-24). Modern day Israel only has 2 of the 12 Tribes. The Church includes the 10 lost tribes, who are necessary to fulfill the prophesies. Evangelical Bible schools have largely abandoned this the Dispensationalism theory that Israel doesn't include the Church.

5) The Work of the Holy Spirit

Prof. Ice says:

Interpreting the restrainer of evil (2:6) as the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit at work through the body of Christ during the current age, supports the pretribulational interpretation. Since "the lawless one" (the beast or anti-Christ) cannot be revealed until the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit) is taken away (2:7-8), the Tribulation cannot occur until the church is removed.

This is a circular logic argument. The proposal is that the Restrainer is the Indwelling Spirit, and then this assertion requires a Pre-Trib.

There are many theories about who the Restrainer is. One would think that if it was significant to the conversation about the timing of the Rapture then God would have made it explicit. Indeed some Church fathers proposed the Restrainer was the Holy Spirit but none suggested a Pre-Trib return of Jesus, so it doesn't require a Pre-Trib.

6) A Pre-Trib Rapture inspires people to Evangelize and get holy

Long before the introduction of the Pre-Trib rapture and Dispensationalism in 1830, countless Christians suffered martyrdom to evangelize and preserve the faith. Christians have been ordered by the Great Commission to:

... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Mat 28:19-20)

Hopefully, we wouldn't need the urgency of a Pre-Trib Rapture to motivate us. This would be a "works" based model which most Evangelicals would reject.

Other Bible passages cited for a Pre-Trib Rapture

Here are some other verses used to advance a Pre-Trib theory. If you know of any other biblical justifications for a Pre-Trib Rapture that we've left out, feel free to let us know.

The pronouns in 1 Thes 5:3

Pastor Phil Hotsenpiller, a pretrib rapture advocate, claims we need to look at the pronouns of this passage as well as the content to determine a pretrib.

For when they say (Greek: λέγω) ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them (αὐτός), as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they (ἐκφεύγω) shall not escape. But you (ὑμεῖς), brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

While we agree that the pronouns is an "us" (Christians) and "them" (Pagans) scenario, his assertion that this applies to a pretrib rapture depends throughly on the assumption that 1 Thes 2:14-16 is about a pretrib rapture, which is cyclical reasoning. The pronouns mean its a pretrib rapture because 1 Thes 2:14-16 is about a pretrib rapture.

This passage certainly speaks of the Lord's return but it doesn't speak of a Pre-Trib return. It follows the discussion of the Trumpet blowing for the Lord's second coming in Chapter 4 above.

"Destined us not for wrath" in 1 Thes 5:9

For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes 5:9)

A careful reading of the entire chapter shows that this passage is speaking about the wrath of eternal damnation, not the wrath of the tribulation. This passage is only half of a sentence which finishes with "...who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him."

"I will take you to myself" in John 14:1-3

Do not let your hearts be troubled ... And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. (Jn 14:1-3)

Here, Jesus was speaking to Peter and the apostles, almost all who were brutally martyred. So this actually speaks against the idea that faithful Christians will be preserved from persecution (or the Tribulation). Later in the passage Jesus says:

"If they persecuted me, they will persecute you;" (Jn 15:20)

and

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)

These all point to Christians being subjected to the Tribulation. There is much Biblical evidence that persecution and suffering have a solid place in the Kingdom and that it can be a witness to the unfaithful. Persecuted Christians converted pagans to the early Church.

Jesus was speaking on many levels in this passage. He was reassuring the apostles after telling them "I will be with you only a little longer." (Jn 13:33). The passage is also a reassurance to all Christians of any period of time. It is a frequently read passage at funerals in ALL denominations. It is certainly not limited to those who will be taken out of this world when He returns, and has no mention of the timing of that.

The 24 elders in Revelation 4:1-5

Evangelical pastor John McArthur claims the Book of Revelation is chronological and the elders are in heaven before the tribulation, so they are pretrib raptured Christians. In the whole history of Christianity, this was never the reading of this passage until Thomas Darby.

There are many interpretations of the the elders around the throne in heaven. To say that they are raptured Christians is a stretch, because the number 24 would have little significance. The mainstream interpretation across denominations is that they are the representative of all of God's people, from the Old and New Testament, the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. Saint John Paul II spoke about this in his General Audience of Jan. 12, 2005.

The Twinkling in 1 Cor 15:51-52

A scripture that is used to justify the silent and secret rapture is:

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,[a] but we will all be changed, 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. 1 Cor 15:51-52

Twinkling in this passage is referring to the speed with which it will come. We have another trumpet reference in this passage. A plain reading of this Bible passage would be a loud and public fanfare that will be witnessed by all, not a secret and silent event.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev 11:15

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Mat 24:27)

We propose that there is a cyclical rational where Dispensationalism, a 150 year old theology, requires the Pre-Trib Rapture which in turn requires Dispensationalism.

On the other hand, the Bible needs neither Dispensationalism or a Pre-Trib Rapture in order to make complete sense and to be prophetic.

"Come up here" in Rev 4:1-2

Does "Come up here" before the Tribulation narrative means a Pre-Trib Rapture

A plain reading of this passage is that it was a discussion between John and the Angel. It was not speaking about the whole Church. John was takenin prayer to the throne at that moment.

Rev 4:1-2 1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

Didn't God ALWAYS deliver his people when wrath was poured out?

Harvest Ministries, a popular Evangelical Church had this on their Rapture page

In any instance where God’s wrath was poured out, He delivered His people ... Noah and his family were rescued from world judgment while Lot and his family were rescued from the destruction of a city.

Both Noah and Lot were not taken out of the world, but they were preserved in the world, so these passages are better defenses for a Post-Trib Rapture where God will preserve a Remnant through the Tribulation (although many of us may be martyred).

The Jewish people were delivered from the wrath of Pharaoh but had a rough time in the desert. The early Christians were thrown to the lions. There were more martyrs in the 20th century than all the other centuries combined.

The history of Christianity is riddled with wrath and persecutions, and although He has preserved us as a people, a lot of Christians and Jewish people have suffered. We have to be careful not to drift into a prosperity Gospel.

We discuss end time passages in our other articles in this series.

The Tribulation means harvest-time!

Perhaps we will win many converts to Christianity during the tribulation. Most humans (including me) are more disposed to a conversion of heart when things are bad. Nothing creates an open mind and opens someone to a personal relationship with Christ more than suffering. During the tribulation people will be looking for answers. They will be "ripe" for conversion. This is the only value of the tribulation. The Bible says:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Rm 10:14-15)

If all the "good Christians" are taken out of the world during the tribulation, who will be left on earth to convert the poor souls who are looking for answers during that time?  Would Jesus leave humans on earth for the devil to ravage but remove all the Christians who can convert them? This would limit the spreading of the Gospel during that time. If he did that he would be condemning these non-Christians before the judgment day. (Mat 11:22)

Those who advocate a Pre-Trib say there will be many converts during that time. But who among us was an atheist and then woke up on a sunny day and said "I believe in Jesus" in a vacuum? We were witnessed to, we were shown compassion, we came to Christ with the help of Christians.

Other reasons we don't agree with a Pre-Trib¹

It defeats the purpose of Christ’s admonitions to be watchful and alert for the signs of the end times 

Jesus gave us several signs to watch for in Mat 24. Then, he was adamant that his followers should be watchful and alert concerning these signs Mat 24 32-33, 42-44, 46) . Jesus gave parables regarding the need to be prepared (e.g. the “Ten Virgins” in Mat 25:1-3, a the “Servants” in LK 12:41-48. Why would Jesus give us these signs to look for and instructions for dealing with them if Christians won’t even be around when these signs appear?

The Rapture wasn't mentioned as a sign?

If the rapture occurs at the beginning of the Tribulation, one would think Jesus would say something like “When you see the sudden disappearance of many saints…”?

No scriptural support or logic for separating pre-rapture and post-rapture Christians 

According to the pre-tribulation view, there is some future “cut-off day” (which will otherwise be like any other day) in which all the people who had already become Christians will be raptured from the earth, and all those who had not yet become Christians will remain on earth and experience the great tribulation and the wrath of God (e.g. Rev 16:1). This idea that Christians shall be divided into separate groups for no reason other than some arbitrary “rapture cut-off day” defies reason, and it is unsupportable with scripture.

Conclusion

Catholics think Scripture is clear that Jesus will only come one more time and on that day the faithful Christians will be "caught up in the air", raptured. Catholics do not see any Biblical evidence as to why Christians should be "spared" the tribulation of the evil one. The Catholic Church feels that all Biblical evidence points to the contrary - that Christians will undergo great persecutions and tribulation. Catholics believe that history bears witness that the Church thrives under persecution.

To our Evangelical friends, we pray that you will start prepping for a rough persecution and its associated hardships. We hope to be close to our Evangelical brothers and sisters during that time. If the Pre-Trib is not in God's plan, the Remnant believers in Jesus, from ALL backgrounds, will need to cooperate. Our enemies will not distinguish us. We should probably start cooperating now.

On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares, have grown up together in the course of history. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 681