Can you give me a scripture that says Christ is coming before the tribulation?

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There is so much disagreement about when Jesus comes in relationship to the tribulation. Can you give me scripture that says he is coming before the tribulation?

Hey Paul, thanks for writing and hopefully I can point out some scripture that clarifies things a little bit. Let me answer your question quickly from my perspective that I don’t believe Yeshua comes before the tribulation, but rather soon after it starts. Now having said that, let me try to clarify with scripture. When I started to really study Bible prophecy for myself I decided that since there are so many prophecies throughout the Bible that I wanted to try and examine the end time by topic. I won’t get into the depth of some of the studies here in this email, but I have done so on the website and so I’ll throw some links in here if you really want to dig in deep.

There are several key words used that I didn’t feel I fully understood from a Biblical perspective yet. One of those terms is “the tribulation.” I think probably the most prominent quick description of the tribulation I hear is that it’s a period of seven years where the antichrist reigns and all hell breaks loose on the earth. This is what I accepted for some time until I really started digging in for myself from a topical perspective. One of the topics I started focusing on was the “great tribulation.” One of the key things to understand about the time of great tribulation is how long it is stated to be in scripture. Here are some key passages regarding the length: 

Daniel 7:23-25
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; [antichrist] and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, <-[abomination of desolation] and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they [saints/chosen people] shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

So starting with one of the oldest mentions, we see that the description of the fourth kingdom from that prophecy is of a king rising up against God, changing laws and going after the saints of God for 3½ years. This time-frame is mirrored in several other scriptures: 

Revelation 13:1-5
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

Here John speaks of a “beast” rising out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns, similar to the ten horns in Daniel, who is given his power and authority by the dragon. People worship this beast and are afraid to make war with him and he is given power to continue for 42 months, or 3½ years. 

Revelation 12:13-16
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, [abomination of desolation] he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. [Israel] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

There is another topic related to this time-frame I’ll just mention and that is the identity of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2. This is the reason the dragon is cast to the earth during this 3½ year period where he gives his power to the beast to go after Israel and those who hold the testimony of Christ. Here again in Revelation we see that same period of time where the woman is taken and nourished and protected from the dragon for 3½ years. You’re probably sensing a pattern here, but also understand who this woman is. There is a distinct division of two groups described during the end times I will get into later on.

Matthew 24:15-22
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Here is the key passage that begins tying things together. Notice that Matthew points back to Daniel the prophet regarding the description of the abomination of desolation. Notice also the specific geographic location where people are told to flee. The abomination of desolation is directly tied to events that will take place in the temple mount in a partially rebuilt temple. The actual temple building hasn’t started, but there are groups in Israel pushing for it and have already built most of the temple instruments the priests would need in a rebuilt temple. Coming events in the geopolitical landscape will make the seemingly impossible idea of Israel rebuilding a temple on the Temple Mount a reality, primarily Ezekiel 38 & 39.

At any rate, this time of great tribulation unseen before in history or the future where those in Judea are to flee from is triggered by the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, which leads us to the one passage in scripture speaking of a seven-year period.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Note this “week” is a week of years, or seven years and it is in the midst of that week that the abomination of desolation is triggered and we saw from the above passages that this also triggers the start of the time of Jacob’s trouble and the time of great tribulation. We also know from the above passages that the reign of the beast, or the man of sin starts at that point when the dragon is cast out of heaven for a short time, gives his power to the beast and that time he’s given to reign is 42 months, 3½ years or as stated in Daniel 12:11, 1,290 days

Daniel 12:11
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

So I mentioned before that there are two groups of people described during the end times. One has been touched on in the passages above and again in the following passages. It is key to note that the beginning of the time of great tribulation is focused squarely on Israel. Zechariah 13:8,9 speaks of 2/3 of Israel being wiped out and the 1/3 part of them being refined through fire. There are promises made to the nation of Israel that are not yet fulfilled and for the most part they have not yet recognized the Meshiach Nagid they have been looking for who came almost 2,000 years ago. During this time they will be refined through fire and will come to recognize Yeshua as their Messiah and call on Him.

Jeremiah 30:4-10
And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

This brings me to the other group, those who are believers in Yeshua now and through history. In Daniel 12 we see that same unparalleled time in history and the delivery of Daniel’s people (1/3 are taken to safety in the wilderness for 3 ½ years).

Daniel 12:1-4
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy [Daniel's] people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy [Daniel's] people shall be delivered, ["great tribulation" or "time of Jacob's trouble"] every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

In addition we see a curious aspect of people sleeping in the dust of the earth will awake around this time of great tribulation, which sounds curiously similar to the depictions of the catching away to meet the Lord in the air of the dead and alive together.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [G726 harpazo] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

This brings me to my perspective of the timing of the harpazo, or catching away. I hold a pre-wrath perspective that you can understand in greater depth at the link, but quickly I’ll review some key points. Basically the Day of the Lord is another topical study you should check out as it seems to clearly define a time in which God’s wrath begins to be poured out and this is key to understanding the timing of the harpazo.

Isaiah 13:6-13
Howl ye; for the day of the LORDis at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.

Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Matthew 24:36-39
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

There are many other passages that link the day of the Lord with the time just after the abomination of desolation, with signs in the sun, moon and stars and shaking of the heavens at a day and hour nobody knows.

Matthew 24:37-42
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

So the point is that Christ is coming with great wrath that will be poured out during the 3½ year reign of the man of sin. Israel is protected in the wilderness and that just leaves the group that rises from the dust and the earth to meet the Lord in the air at His coming. Note that there are two distinct depictions of Christ’s coming, one where He comes with great wrath and gathers His bride to himself and leaves and another where He sets His feet on the Mount of Olives and takes the kingdoms to reign for 1,000 years. What we’re focusing on here is His coming with wrath.

So we see Israel protected in the wilderness for 3½ years during the pouring out of God’s wrath, so what about believers, the bride of Christ? First, I highly recommend reading both Chuck Missler’s article The Rapture, A Wedding Model and some excerpts from the book Lost In Translation: Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots to Our Faith, which I highly recommend reading. It brings a whole new light to the relationship of the church to Christ during the time when He comes. However the focus is on the timing of our gathering to meet Him in the air and I believe scripture points to that being the same time when He comes with great wrath just after the abomination of desolation and a little less than 3½ years before He comes and takes the kingdoms to reign for 1,000 years.

Revelation 3:10-12
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Luke 21:34-36
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

I believe all these scriptures together paint a picture of a time when Lucifer is cast out of heaven and with great wrath goes after God’s people, initially those in Judea at the time of the abomination of desolation. 2/3 are wiped out, but 1/3 that flees is protected in the wilderness for the remainder of the reign of the man of sin (3½ years). When the dragon can no longer get the woman, he goes after those who he can that follow after God. At some point after the abomination of desolation that we don’t know the timing of, Christ returns in the clouds bringing great wrath on the earth. Simultaneously He gathers His bride from the four corners of the earth, dead and alive translating them into their eternal bodies to go to the marriage of the Lamb at the Father’s house with many mansions during the time of God’s Wrath being poured out in the trumpets, vials and thunders. After the marriage and wrath is completed, Christ returns in glory to defeat the armies gathered at Har Megiddo and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives to take rulership of the earth for 1,000 years. After His return the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place.

This brings the question, if there are people persecuted by the man of sin during that 3½ years and all the believers are caught up before that can happen, who are those left on the earth to be persecuted? I believe the answer to that is both in the idea that being caught up isn’t the last chance to come to faith and that there are those who call themselves followers of Christ today who are not. There are several passages about wolves in sheep’s clothing and even performing miracles in His name who He doesn’t really have a relationship with.

Matthew 25:1-13
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

Matthew 7:13-23
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Revelation 2:22
[speaking to the church in Thyatira] Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Being the bride of Christ isn’t the only group who will inhabit eternity, just a subsection who lived by faith before the clarity that God’s meant what He said in His Word was so apparent in the events of the end. And I think the key to knowing who is the bride and why there’s a difference is mirrored in what we experience in our relationships.

Romans 7:1-4
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:29-32
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

2 Corinthians 11:1-3 (Paul speaking to the church)
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Ephesians 5:22,23
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

There’s a special bond between husband and wife, that doesn’t mean the husband doesn’t have friends that are around him as well, but that special bond between husband and wife is built on faith and trust and a desire by each to be with each other to the extent that they are one. There is a time when the bridegroom will come to get His bride according to Hebrew tradition and those with the oil in their lamps, I believe referring to the Holy Spirit living in them, will go out to meet Him and go to the marriage while His wrath is poured out on the earth. So why does this group escape? We are promised that in scripture and that promise is available to anyone now who accepts Christ and obeys Him, living for Him now.

So if you’re still reading this I can’t give you a scripture that says Christ is coming before the tribulation, but rather several that point to Him coming after it has begun to punish those left behind and unprotected. I believe our promised escape is tied directly to the timing of His sudden wrath, both unexpected events tied to Christ coming in the clouds. I hope this answered your question, it’s difficult with prophecy to not get into the side roads to better understand other aspects and get a more complete picture. I know I’m still learning myself. As always, don’t take my word for it, but do as the Bereans and search the scriptures to see if it is so. My goal is to present the scripture itself as much as I can to let God speak for Himself, but inevitably personal opinions creep in because we don’t have all the answers. God bless you and keep watching!