Will the Church Face God’s Wrath or Be Rescued? The Pretribulation Rapture is the most hermeneutically precise position when applying a consistent, literal, and grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture. 1. The Church and Israel Are Distinct. A literal interpretation of prophecy distinguishes God’s plan for Israel from His plan for the Church (1 Corinthians 10:32). The Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week) is a time of judgment and refining for Israel (Jeremiah 30:7, Daniel 9:24-27). The Church was not appointed to wrath but to salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9). 2. The Rapture Is Imminent—It Can Happen at Any Moment “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13) “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20) “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3) Imminence: •Prosdechomai (προσδέχομαι) – “eagerly waiting” (Titus 2:13), implying expectancy, not delay. •Apekdechomai (ἀπεκδέχομαι) – “to await eagerly” (Philippians 3:20), focusing on Christ, not tribulation events. 3. The Church Is Absent During the Tribulation “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10) The Greek “ek” (ἐκ, “out of”) means the Church will be completely removed, not merely protected within the Tribulation. Revelation 6–19 describes the Tribulation, yet the Church is never mentioned on earth. 4. The Restrainer Must Be Removed Before the Antichrist Is Revealed “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed.” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8) The restrainer (the Holy Spirit working through the Church) is removed before the Antichrist is revealed. If the Church remained on earth, the restrainer would still be present, contradicting this passage. 5. Biblical Patterns of Deliverance Before Judgment Noah – Taken into the ark before the flood (Genesis 7). Lot – Removed from Sodom before destruction (Genesis 19, Luke 17:28-30). The Church – Raptured before God’s wrath falls (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9). 6. The Wedding of the Lamb Occurs in Heaven Before the Second Coming “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7-8) If the rapture were posttribulational, there would be no time for the wedding feast before returning to earth. 7. Jesus Promised to Take the Church to Heaven, Not Immediately Back to Earth “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2-3) A posttribulational rapture would contradict this, as believers would go up and immediately come back down. A literal, grammatical-historical approach best supports a pretribulation rapture. It maintains imminence, distinguishes Israel and the Church, removes the Church from God’s wrath, and aligns with biblical patterns of deliverance. Any other view (midtrib, posttrib, pre-wrath) introduces inconsistencies in interpretation.