The Rapture - Timing debates (Part 1 of 3)

Two-Edged Sword Ministries

Hopefully, by now, you understand the rapture and why it is different from the second coming of Jesus Christ. What we now discuss is the three main viewpoints as to when the rapture occurs. As you study prophecy, you realise that whilst many people agree on the essentials of prophecies and its given interpretation, timing always remains a hotly debated issue.

Ultimately, the scriptures provide for clues that should be drawn upon to determine what you believe is the timing of the rapture. We recap from our study of the rapture that there are three major viewpoints:

To sum up; the major theories are:

Before the seven year Tribulation even starts {Pre Tribulation theory}
In the middle of the Tribulation {Mid Tribulation theory}
At the end of the Tribulation {Post Tribulation theory}, in other words, either before the second coming of Christ or at the same time.

If you have missed any of these discussions on the website, we strongly suggest that you click on any of the following items that you have not uncovered, as you will not receive any benefit without a thorough understanding their significance ...

Of course, this would not be an advanced study if the scriptures it relates to were not pulled together. For the sake of simplicity, we bring the major scriptures regarding time-lines before we discuss these three timing viewpoints. As all these three theories on the timing of the rapture relate to the 7 year treaty between Israel and its neighbours, we first read the breakdown of what we have studied to date and then list the scriptures so we can critically analyse the three viewpoints:

Now its time for a diagram to convert these scriptures into a picture you can visualise and then answer the questions relating to each of the theories ...

Having this picture in mind and all of the rapture background, let us now consider the various timing debates as to when the rapture occurs ...

Two-Edged Sword Ministries - South Africa

Rapture Timing Debates - "The Pre-tribulation view"