How Do Some Say the Church Isn’t on Earth During the Tribulation?

One claim of those who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture is that the church is not seen on earth during the tribulation period in Revelation chapters 6 through 18. By church, they mean the ekklesia (i.e. the body of Christ/believers in Christ). That is an interesting claim. Is it really valid?

The Book of Revelation uses the term ekklesia constantly in its first three chapters. This is no wonder since Jesus specifically addresses the seven churches of Asia in chapters 2 and 3. Though a specific church is not addressed afterwards in Revelation, this obviously does not mean that the body of Christ in general is not referenced again.

Consider that the word ekklesia is also not used in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 as the scene in heaven which John witnessed is recorded. That does not mean the ekklesia is not seen in these chapters. The 24 elders spoken of in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 obviously represent the ekklesia in heaven or are part of the ekklesia in heaven.

So how is it right to say that the ekklesia is not seen on earth in Revelation chapters 6 through 18 just because the specific word is not mentioned in these chapters? It is not right to conclude that. The ekklesia can surely be referenced without the exact word being used in the Greek text.

So does the Book of Revelation reference the ekklesia on earth in chapters 6 through 18? It sure does.

Revelation 6:9–11: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

Here we see the souls of slain believers in heaven crying to the righteous Lord for judgment and vengeance of their blood. We also see that they should rest until their fellow-servants also and their brethren should be killed as they were. Those killed as they were would obviously be members of the ekklesia on earth during the great tribulation period.

Revelation 12:15-17: “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. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Dispensationalists will say that the woman is Israel. Though that is not technically wrong here, the Dispensationalists still draw wrong conclusions from this passage because they don’t distinguish the faithful remnant of Israel which brought forth the Messiah from the unfaithful remnant of Israel which rejected the Messiah and was cast away. The remnant of the seed of the woman is composed of faithful believers in Jesus Christ. They are the children of God, the spiritual remnant of Israel (as is proven by Galatians 6:16). That is obviously the remnant of the woman’s seed which is referenced in Revelation 12:15-17. Verse 17 says that directly.

And contrary to the lies of Dispensationalism, God’s true people are those who keep His commandments by faith in hope of His mercy which has been revealed in Jesus Christ. That was so in the past, that is so now, and that will continue to be the case. The messages to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 had already been a reminder of this right within Revelation.

Revelation 13:4-10: “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. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

The pre-tribulation rapture defenders might claim that these saints whom the Beast makes war with all became believers in Christ after the alleged pre-tribulation rapture. What good proof do they have to back up this claim? They don’t have any (we’ll look at a few supposed proofs they might bring up before we conclude).

Revelation 14:8-12: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

These verses demonstrate that the saints referenced during the tribulation in Revelation chapters 6 through 18 are indeed believers in Jesus. They also prove that faith in Jesus must be obedient to God’s commandments in order to be effective. The preceding verses in Revelation had already made this clear.

Revelation 14:6-7: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

This is not a new gospel that pops up during the tribulation period like the most well known proponent of Dispensationalism Cyrus Scofield claimed. This is rather the everlasting Gospel. That is emphasized as Revelation closes.

Revelation 22:13-15: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

The offer of grace to mankind in Christ would simply be Humanism and license to sin apart from its Biblical context of calling people to repentance and subjection to God’s authority through Christ.

Revelation 15:1-4: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”

Here we see believers in Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God who came in line with the Law of Moses) who have gotten victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark, and over the number of his name. This is the ekklesia on earth during the great tribulation since this victory obviously happened on earth during the reign of the Beast.

Revelation 16:12-16: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.”

Only true Christians have garments that are worth keeping. They are also warned in Revelation 16:15 about how it is possible for them to fail to keep those garments.

In relation, note Revelation 3:4-6: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

The rapture of Christ’s people will take place on the same day as His second coming. Matthew 24:29-31 and Luke 17:26-30 confirm these things. They will be taken to Jerusalem on earth to reign with Him from there.

Let’s look at a few objections which pre-tribulation rapture defenders might make to these things.

Objection: Revelation 3:10 is a promise of rapture before the great tribulation.

Revelation 3:10 says: “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.”

The promise in Revelation 3:10 was specifically given to the church in Philadelphia. Consider that even if this was a promise to spare the church in Philadelphia from the great tribulation, others among the seven churches in Asia wouldn’t have been qualified for it anyways. Note the condition of the promise.

Yet the promise in Revelation 3:10 is by no means a guarantee that even faithful Christians will be spared from great tribulation. The message to the church in Smyrna, the only other church of the seven churches of Asia that was not rebuked at all, proves this. The faithful in Smyrna were told that they would have to face severe tribulation at the very same time that the Philadelphians were told that they’d be kept from the hour of temptation which would come upon all the world.

Revelation 2:8-11: “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

Moreover, consider also that not even one member of any of the seven churches of Asia had to go through the great tribulation at the end of time. All the members of these churches died long ago! The hour of temptation which was to come on all the world, referred to in Revelation 3:10, obviously isn’t the great tribulation at the very end anyways.

Objection: The 144,000 sealed in Revelation chapter 7 prove the pre-tribulation rapture.

This is a common objection that involves a lot of assumptions. The pre-trib rapture people typically assume that these are literal Jewish people who come to faith in Christ right after the rapture happens and right as the tribulation begins. They assume that this will be an army sent out to evangelize the world- despite not having any training from good teachers (who would all be raptured already); and without even having much time to study on their own.

Those who use Revelation 9:4-6 to try to strengthen this objection (look it up, you’ll see what I mean) also assume that no Gentile will come to faith in Christ for at least 5 months after the tribulation- even though 144,000 Jews will immediately come to faith in Christ (despite Jews being a small fraction of earth’s population).

Does the Lord even distinguish now between Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ? No. Faithful believers in Jesus are God’s children, the true Israel in His eyes, whether they are naturally Jews or Gentiles (see Romans 9:6-8, Galatians 3:26-29, Galatians 6:16, Ephesians 2:11-22, etc). Since Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ and make up His ekklesia, and since His ekklesia is the true Israel (as is proven by the scriptures just referenced), then why would these 144,00 have to all be naturally Jewish people? They wouldn’t have to be.

Moreover, there is no reliable way to track who is a natural descendant of each tribe of Israel now anyways. 10 of the 12 tribes were mostly lost through the Assyrian captivity (in the 8th century BC).

Consider also the amazing coincidence of exactly 12,000 believers from each of the tribes of Israel coming to faith in Jesus at the very same time. The tribes of Israel listed in Revelation chapter 7 don’t even include the Tribe of Dan.

All of these things taken together make it common sense that the number of 144,000 sealed in Revelation chapter 7 is a symbolic number of the believers in Israel’s Messiah. It is obviously not reasonable to consider 144,000 to be a literal number representing 12,000 natural descendants of each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

There is sufficient reason to say that the 144,000 who are sealed simply represent every one of the servants of the true God who enter into the tribulation period. When the wrath of God is poured out upon the world during the tribulation, these will be protected from the wrath of God- along with anyone who comes to faith in Christ during the tribulation period. Yet we have seen evidence already that they will be persecuted by the Beast, by the ungodly overall, and many of them will be killed.

The multitude that no man could number in Revelation 7:9 could be a reference to those of the symbolic 144,000, and those who believed in Christ after the tribulation began, who endured in faith during the tribulation period and inherited salvation (as Revelation 13:10 and 14:12 speak of).

That at least makes a lot more sense than the wacky assumptions made in relation to the 144,000 by the pre-tribulation rapture teachers which don’t even align with the rest of what is written in Revelation and in the rest of the Bible.

Objection: But 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Though the ekklesia is on earth during the tribulation, it is not facing the wrath of God- as the children of Israel were being spared from the plagues that came directly on Egypt- even though they were facing tribulation due to persecution from the Egyptians and from being in the midst of a society in chaos.

While 1 Thessalonians 5:9 does prove that the Bible teaches Lordship salvation (which Dispensational theology does not teach), it doesn’t mean that faithful believers in Jesus Christ won’t be tested and face tribulation in the world. The Book of 1 Thessalonians itself shows how the Thessalonian Christians were undergoing tribulation already through the persecutions and overall affliction which they were suffering (see especially 1 Thessalonians 2:11 to 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

It is also seen in 1 Thessalonians that a truly converted Christian can fall away from Christ. That is also heresy to a pre-tribulation rapture believing Dispensationalist. Yet it is a reality that the Apostle Paul accounted for.

Jesus has not promised an easy life for anyone on earth- especially not for those who side with Him and obtain His grace. The Bible rather guarantees tribulation in the world for the true ekklesia of Christ. It speaks of the need to endure tribulation faithfully in order to continue in His grace and be prepared to meet Him.

Acts 14:21-22: “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”