Are God’s Wrath And The Great Tribulation The Same?

Q

There are some Bible verses that seem to indicate that we (The Church) will be here during the tribulation or at least the first part of it. It also indicates that we are not appointed to suffer wrath. I always figured that God’s wrath and the tribulation were the same and the rapture would take place before. Some of the prophecy web sites I visit just add to my confusion but can make a good point that wrath and the tribulation are different events. I was wondering if you could shed some light on this for me.

A

Rev. 6:17 says that by the time of the 6th Seal judgment God’s wrath has already begun, and Rev. 15:1 indicates that the bowl judgments will complete God’s wrath. The 7th bowl is poured out at the end of Rev. 16, before the 2nd Coming. And don’t forget, the Great Tribulation is the last half of Daniel’s 70th Week and is the time during which the Bowl judgments are poured out. So you would be correct in saying that the Wrath of God covers just about all of Daniel’s 70th Week, whereas the Great Tribulation is just the last half.

If you do a word study on 1 Thes. 1:10, you’ll see it promises that Jesus will rescue the Church from both the time and the place of God’s wrath in a manner that requires our prior departure. If so, the church has to be gone before the seal judgments begin, and sure enough you can see the Church in heaven in Rev. 5 singing the song of the redeemed. No other group can fit the description given in Rev. 5:9-10.

I’m convinced, by the way, that the Bible only teaches one rapture view, and the strictest literal interpretation reveals it’s what’s known as the pre-tribulation rapture, but should more accurately be called the pre-70th Week rapture. All other views require their proponents to re-define grace, re-invent the church, and re-interpret the Scriptures to support their position.