Tribulation

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Tribulation Summary

Pretribulationism view the tribulation is that Christ will take the church to himself prior to the tribulation while Posttribulationism is that Christ will take the church after the tribulation.

Several ideas held by pretribulationists are: a.) The nature of tribulation, there will be indeed a great tribulation b.) The Rapture of the church, Christ will come at the beginning of the great tribulation to remove the church from the world (c.f 1 Thess. 4:17). There will be three resurrections: the resurrection of the righteous dead at the rapture, there will be a resurrection of those saints who have died during tribulation, and at the end of the millennium, there will be a resurrection of unbeliever. c.)The Lord’s Return is imminent, d.) they maintain that there will be at least two judgment. The Church will be judged at the time of the rapture.

Prosttribulationists maintain that the coming of Christ for the church will not take place until the conclusion of the great tribulation. They are less literal interpretation of the events of the last times. Their understanding of the millennium is much more generalized in nature. Accordingly, the church will be present during and experience the great tribulation.

The postmillennialist draw a distinction between the wrath of God and the tribulation, the wrath of God is as coming upon the wicked. On the other hand believers will not undergo the wrath of God instead, that believers will experience tribulation.  

Posttribulationist acknowledge that speaks of believers who will escape or be kept from the impending trouble. They argue, then, that the church will be kept from the midst of the tribulation. Also, the posttribulationist have a less understanding of the last things. They viewed resurrection in two ways these are: the resurrection of believers at the end of the tribulation and the beginning of the millennium, and the resurrection of the ungodly at the end of the millennium.

Another view which called the mediating positions has been created. First, the midtribulational, holds that the church will go through the less severe part of the tribulation, but then remove from the world. Second, the Partial-Rapture view. this hold s that there will be a series of raptures and lastly, Imminent Posttribulationism, while the return of Christ will not take place until after the tribulation.