The great tribulation and the rapture are two very important events every Christian should carefully study and understand. These two events have generated so much unnecessary controversy among Christians in our time. The only thing all Christians seem to agree on concerning these two subjects is that they won’t happen concurrently. To some, the rapture will take place before the great tribulation, and to those on the other side of the divide, the reverse will be the case.

Because of the nature of these two events, understanding which one comes first is very important to help you prepare for what lies ahead.
Misunderstanding the timing and order of these two events will spell doom for you and I think this is why the devil is causing so much confusion and disagreement in the sequence of these events.

The belief that the rapture will take place before the great tribulation is one big lie straight from the pit of hell, concocted to keep Christians complacent and unprepared for what lies ahead. It is a lie by the devil, propagated by his agents to keep Christians in an uncritically satisfied state of spiritual laxity.

Satan will rather have you unprepared and ill-equipped for what lies ahead. Beware! This teaching is unbiblical.
There is no single verse in the Bible that substantiates the belief that the rapture will take place before the great tribulation. This belief stands against everything that Christ taught about end-time events.
What then is the position of the Bible on the subjects of the rapture and the great tribulation?
The rapture speaks of an event in which Christ will appear in the sky, in His glory, with the angels sounding the trumpet, and all Christians will be caught up in the air and taken to heaven where they will dwell with Him forever. This is vividly described in Matthew 24:30-31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Matthew 24:30-31
24:30 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 in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Also, read Mark 13:26-27.
The great tribulation, on the other hand, talks about a period of great persecution and trial in which men will suffer immensely in the hands of the devil revealed as the beast and the great dragon.
Now, who is this beast that is revealed as the great dragon?

The vision of the great dragon was first revealed to Daniel the prophet and recorded in Daniel chapter seven.
According to the book of Daniel, “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.” (Daniel 7:1). Now, I want you to carefully study Daniel chapter seven and pay very close attention to how the great dragon or the beast will be revealed.

Daniel continued, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.” (Daniel 7:2-3). He went on to describe the four beasts in his vision but the fourth beast was the most intriguing.

Daniel 7:7
7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns

This last beast in Daniel’s vision was dreadful, terrible and exceedingly stronger than its predecessors. It was far more vicious than the previous three and it was causing far more damage by tearing down things with its iron teeth. This beast had ten horns out of which three were plucked out and replaced by another new horn. This new horn had eyes all over it and a mouth speaking boastful words.
Immediately after the fourth beast was revealed, the Ancient of Days took His seat on His throne of judgment, the court sat and the books of judgment were opened.

This was a dreadful and fear-inspiring vision that Daniel had. He was terrified and “…wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet.” (Daniel 7:19).
The interpretation of Daniel’s vision is this: the fourth beast represents the last of four kingdoms that will rule the earth from Daniel’s time until the return of Christ. The ten horns represent ten Kings that will rise and form a very powerful alliance. Then, another kingdom will arise that will overcome and subdue three of the original ten. This last horn that will take the place of the subdued three is the antichrist and this is a summary of what he will do: “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them.” (Daniel 7:21).

When the antichrist is revealed, he will make war with God’s people, persecute and torment them for a time.
Now the question is this: if the rapture was to take place before the great tribulation, why does Daniel’s prophecy say that the antichrist will make war with the saints and prevail against them? From Daniels revelation of the antichrist, it is evident that God’s people will also go through the great tribulation before the rapture takes place.
The right order is that the great tribulation will take place before the rapture.

Daniel 7:21-22
7:21 I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,
7:22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

Here, we see that the saints of God, in Daniel’s vision, only possessed the kingdom and took their rightful place after the antichrist had made war with them. This clearly shows that the true sons and daughters of God will be revealed and raptured after the great tribulation has taken place.
A study of Daniel chapter seven reveals the following about the antichrist:

• He will speak pompous words against God.
• He will persecute the saints of the Most High.
• He will intend to change times and law.
• The saints will be given into his hand for a time, times and half a time (forty-two months) – Daniel 7:25

The last point above is key to understanding certain facts about how the antichrist will deal with the saints of God. The Bible says that the saints of God shall be handed over to his hand for a time, times and half a time. In this verse, time means one calendar year (twelve months), times means two calendar years (twenty-four months) and half a time means half a year (six months). This simply means that the reign of the antichrist will be exactly for forty-two months.

Daniel’s prophecy says, “But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.” (Daniel 7:26). After the antichrist is judged and his dominion taken away, “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.” (Daniel 7:27).

Comparing Daniel chapter seven and Revelation chapter thirteen, we see that just like Daniel, John also had a revelation of the beast and recorded it in great detail. The beast in John’s revelation is exactly like the one in Daniel’s vision except that the beast in John’s Revelation is a combination of all the beasts in Daniel’s vision.
According to the book of Revelation, the beast John saw was like a leopard, had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion (Revelation 13:2). He exercised great authority and had power handed down to him by the great dragon. Here’s what John wrote concerning the beast.

Revelation 13:5-7
13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
13:6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
13:7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Again, from John’s revelation of the beast (the antichrist), we see that:
• He will speak blasphemies against God.
• He will be given authority over the saints for forty-two months.
• He will blaspheme against God’s heavenly government.
• He will make war with the saints and overcome them.

The beast revealed in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 are the same. It is the antichrist that will persecute the Church before the rapture takes place. This is in line with what is recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (The Rapture), we ask you,
2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God, in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Paul was telling the Thessalonian church that they should not be worried about the second coming of Christ. He made it very clear that the rapture will not happen until the man of sin, the son of perdition (the antichrist), is revealed. And how will the antichrist be known? Paul said that the antichrist will exalt himself above God, taking the place of God and being worshipped as God.
Remember, in the book of Revelation, John wrote that, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him (the antichrist), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:.
This means that even though the sinners and the saints will both face the great tribulation, only the sinners, whose names are not in the book of life, will worship the beast and receive his mark.

In very clear terms, Paul asserted that the rapture will not happen until the antichrist is revealed and is given the power to persecute the saints of God. This fact agrees with the books of Daniel and Revelation.
But what did Christ Himself say about the order in which the great tribulation and the rapture will take place?
Towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples came to Him and asked what the signs of the end will be (Matthew 24:3). The first answer He gave them was “Take heed that no one deceives you.”

Before He told them what to expect towards the end, He, first of all, warned them to make sure they never let anyone deceive them concerning the order of events that will herald His second coming. This warning still applies to Christians today. This warning is crucial because we all need to be prepared for what lies ahead. We all need to be ready for the great tribulation.
Christ said, before the end, false prophets and teachers will arise, teaching malicious heresies and deceiving many. There will be wars and rumours of war; famines and pandemics as well as earthquakes in numerous places. The New Living Translation calls these events “the first of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:. And just like a woman in labour, these events will increase over time until the true sons and daughters of God take their place and reign with Christ.
There will be a great departure from the true faith. Betrayal will increase and because of the prevailing lawlessness, the love of God in the hearts of men will grow cold. All these are preparatory stages of the great tribulation. The thing Christ said will happen next is very important.

Matthew 24:29-31
24:29 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.
24:30 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.
24:31 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.

In these three verses, Christ unequivocally said that the tribulation will take place before the rapture.

One other Scripture that proves that God’s children will face the great tribulation is in Revelation chapter seven. This Scripture has been misunderstood by a popular denomination.
According to this denomination, only a specific number of Christians (144,000) will go to heaven and Revelation chapter seven, forms the basis of this belief. For the sake of clarity, we’ll like to do an in-depth analysis of this famously misunderstood Scripture.
Revelation chapter seven does not in any way imply that only a specific number of Christians will go to heaven. Taking a careful look at Revelation 7:1-8; you will see that God sealed a specific number of His servants from each tribe of Israel. The number He sealed from each tribe is twelve thousand. Multiplying that number by the total number of tribes in Israel (twelve), you will have one hundred and forty-four thousand. This number is only from Israel and does not include God’s servants from other parts of the world. Going by this, if you are to conclude that only 144,000 people will go to heaven, you will also be saying that no Christian from any other part of the world will go to heaven and this, my friend, is not true.
Right after the 144,000 were sealed, this is what John saw next.

Revelation 7:9-11
7:9 After these things (the sealing of the 144,000), I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
7:11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God,

If you read Revelation 7:1-8 alone, you might be tempted to think only 144,000 people will go to heaven but when you read further, John said he saw a great multitude that no one could number from every tribe, people and tongue, standing before God and all were clothed in white.
This shows that the innumerable crowd wasn’t a congregation of sinners awaiting judgment. These were the saints of God, standing before their God and worshipping Him in purity and true holiness together with the angels and the twenty-four elders.
God, in His infinite wisdom, didn’t just leave us with this piece of information. He decided to explain in clear detail, what John saw in that vision so He sent one of the Elders to John. The Elder came very close to John and said, “Hello brother John.” “Yes!” answered John.
“Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” he continued. (Revelation 7:13).
This question that the Elder asked John is indicative of the fact that these saints, arrayed in white, worshipping God in heaven were not originally inhabitants of heaven but came from somewhere and where else do humans live? Earth, of course.
In response, John said, “Sir, you know.”
John tactically pushed the question back to the Elder and the elder supplied the answer to this all-important question, giving details of how they got to heaven, where they came from and how they were going to spend eternity with God.

Revelation 7:14-17
7:14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me “these are the ones who came out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
7:16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
7:17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

To answer the question of who these heavenly worshippers, dressed in white were, the Elder said, “These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation.” Very clearly, the elder explained that the innumerable saints John saw in that vision were those who passed through the great tribulation and were then raptured. So, after all, not only 144,000 people will go to heaven but an innumerable number that has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. This is exactly what Paul referred to as “A great cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1).
Another reason why the tribulation-before-rapture ideology makes perfect sense is the fact that throughout the Bible, God has rarely pulled His children out when things are about to get rough but has always used persecution as a tool to equip, prepare, purge, cleanse, sanctify and humble His children. Now consider the following instances.

God let Joseph be sold into slavery and put in prison because these experiences were necessary even though they were uncomfortable. Joseph needed to go through the fire to come out pure and refined. God used his unfavourable circumstances to work out His perfect will in Joseph’s life.

Daniel had to be thrown into the lion’s den even though he was a faithful servant of God because he needed that experience to showcase God’s mighty hand of deliverance to the heathen society he lived in.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to go through the furnace for God’s purpose to be fulfilled in their lives and to show the Babylonians that our God can deliver those who trust in Him.

David was forced into hiding, living in caves and scavenging for food even though he had been anointed king because God saw that the experience was necessary for him to be equipped for the challenges of leadership.
In these few instances, God let His chosen people suffer persecution from their tormentors because it was all a part of His intricate plan for their lives just the same way that the great tribulation is a part of His plan for the end-time Christian.
Stop entertaining the delusion that Christians will be raptured before the great tribulation because this is a big lie from the pit of hell. Instead, equip yourself and let God prepare you for this event that will test the faith of all Christians who will be alive when the antichrist is revealed.
Whether you believe it or not, the great tribulation will come. It’s not a question of if but when. It will be better to be prepared for it should it come in our time than hope to be raptured before it comes and be caught unprepared.

Culled from the book, IN PURSUIT OF THE ETERNAL Copyright © 2020 by Minke-oyo Okoi
Get the full book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/minke-okoi