Editing Rapture (section)

=== Premillennialist views ===

In the earliest days of the church, [[Premillennialism|chiliastic]] teaching (i.e., early premillennialism) was the dominant view.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Christian Churches|last=Schaff|first=Philip|publisher=WM. B. Eerdmans|year=1976|isbn=0-8028-8048-7|volume=2: Ante-Nicene Christianity|location=Grand Rapids|page=614}}</ref> Eusebius wrote, "To these [written accounts] belong his [<nowiki/>[[Papias of Hierapolis]]] statement that there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in the material form on this very earth. [...] But it was due to him that so many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion, urging in their own support the antiquity of the man; as for instance [[Irenaeus]] and anyone else that may have proclaimed similar views."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The History of the Church|last=of Caesarea|first=Eusebius|year=313|pages=Book 3:39:11–13}}</ref>

The 19th-century scholar Schaff notes that, "The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millennarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment."<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Christian Churches|last=Schaff|first=Philip|publisher=WM. B. Eerdmans|year=1976|isbn=0-8028-8048-7|volume=2: Ante-Nicene Christianity|location=Grand Rapids|page=482}}</ref>

Over time, however, a clash surfaced between two schools of interpretation, the Antiochene and Alexandrian schools.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/dr-thomas-ice/message/the-nature-and-result-of-literal-interpretation/read|title=The Nature and Result of Literal Interpretation|last=Radmacher|first=Earl|work=Pre-Trib Research Center|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref> The Alexandrian school's roots can be traced back to the influence of Philo, a Hellenized Jew who sought to reconcile God's veracity with what he thought were errors in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics: A Guide to the History and Practice of Biblical Interpretation|last=Couch|first=Mal|publisher=Kregel|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8254-2367-3|location=Grand Rapids|pages=97–98}}</ref> Alexandrian theologians viewed the Millennium as a symbolic reign of Christ from Heaven.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics: A Guide to the History and Practice of Biblical Interpretation|last=Couch|first=Mal|publisher=Kregel|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8254-2367-3|location=Grand Rapids|page=99}}</ref> Through the influence of Origen and Augustine—students of the Alexandrian school—allegorical interpretation rose to prominence, and its eschatology became the majority view for more than a thousand years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Christian Church|last=Schaff|first=Philip|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans|year=1976|isbn=0-8028-8048-7|location=Grand Rapids|pages=618–620}}</ref> As a reaction to the rise of allegorical interpretation the [[School of Antioch|Antiochene school]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Bible Truth|last=Zuck|first=Roy B.|publisher=David C. Cook|year=1991|isbn=978-0-7814-3877-3|location=Colorado Springs, CO|page=37}}</ref> insisted on a [[Historical-grammatical method|literal hermeneutic]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Christian Church|last=Schaff|first=Philip|publisher=WM. B. Eerdmans|year=1976|isbn=0-8028-8048-7|volume=2: Ante-Nicene Christianity|location=Grand Rapids|page=815}}</ref> but did little to counter the Alexandrian's symbolic Millennium.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Premillennial Theology|last=Couch|first=Mal|publisher=Kregel|year=1996|isbn=0-8254-2410-0|location=Grand Rapids|page=258}}</ref>

In the twelfth century futurism became prominent again when [[Joachim of Fiore]] (1130–1202) wrote a commentary on Revelation and insisted that the end was near and taught that God would restore the earth, the Jews would be converted, and the Millennium would take place on earth.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pre-trib.org/pretribfiles/pdfs/Larsen-SomeKeyIssuesInTheHistoryOfPremillennialism.pdf|title=Some Key Issues in the History of Premillennialism|last=Larsen|first=David L.|work=Pre-Trib Research Center|access-date=11 December 2019|page=5}}</ref> His teaching influenced much of Europe.

Though the Catholic Church does not generally regard Biblical prophecy in texts such as Daniel and Revelation as strictly future-based (when viewed from the standpoint of our present time), in 1590 [[Francisco Ribera]], a Catholic Jesuit, taught [[Futurism (Christianity)|futurism]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of the Apocalypse|last=Negru|first=Catalin|publisher=Catalin Negru|year=2018|isbn=978-1-387-91116-5|location=Raleigh, NC|page=186}}</ref> He also taught that a gathering-of-the-elect event (similar to what is now called the rapture) would happen 45 days before the end of a 3.5-year tribulation.

The concept of the rapture, in connection with [[premillennialism]], was expressed by the 17th-century [[American Puritanism|American Puritans]] [[Increase Mather|Increase Mather]] and [[Cotton Mather]]. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on earth, and then the [[millennium]].<ref name="r-Kyle-1998"/><ref name="r-Boyer-1992"/>
Other 17th-century expressions of the rapture are found in the works of Robert Maton, [[Nathaniel Holmes (theologian)|Nathaniel Holmes]], John Browne, [[Thomas Vincent (minister)|Thomas Vincent]], [[Henry Danvers (Baptist)|Henry Danvers]], and [[William Sherwin (minister)|William Sherwin]].<ref>William Watson (April 2015). ''Dispensationalism Before Darby: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century English Apocalypticism'' (Lampion Press, 2015), ch.7.</ref>

The term ''rapture'' was used by [[Philip Doddridge]]<ref>{{Cite book
| title=Practical Reflections on the Character and Translation of Enoch
| last=Doddridge
| first=Philip
| author-link= Philip Doddridge
| date= 9 March 1738
| type= sermon
| publisher=Northampton : Printed by W. Dicey and sold by ...R. Hett ... London, J. Smith in Daventry, Caleb Ratten in Harborough, J. Ratten in Coventry, J. Cook in Uppingham, Tho. Warren in Birmingham, and Matt. Dagnall in Aylesbury
| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-wMDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA329
| access-date= 13 March 2015
| oclc= 30557054
}}</ref> and [[John Gill (theologian)|John Gill]]<ref>{{Cite book
| title=An Exposition of the Revelation of St. John the Divine
| last=Gill
| first=John
| author-link= John Gill (theologian)
| year= 1748
| publisher=Printed for [[John Ward (academic)|John Ward]]
| place= London
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QbcHAAACAAJ
| access-date=17 May 2011
| oclc=49243272
}}</ref> in their [[New Testament]] commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on earth and Jesus' [[second coming]].

An 1828 edition of [[Matthew Henry]]'s ''An Exposition of the Old and New Testament'' uses the word "rapture" in explicating 1 Thessalonians 4:17.<ref>{{cite book|last= Henry |first= Matthew |author-link= Matthew Henry |title= An Exposition of the Old and New Testament |volume= 6 |year= 1828 |page= [https://archive.org/details/expositionofoldn06henr/page/617 617] |publisher= Edward Barrington & George D. Haswell |location= Philadelphia |url= https://archive.org/details/expositionofoldn06henr |quote= At, or immediately before, this rapture into the clouds, those who are alive will undergo a mighty change, that will be equivalent to dying.}}</ref>

Although not using the term "rapture", the idea was more fully developed by [[Edward Irving]] (1792–1834).<ref name="r-Tregelles-1864"/> In 1825,<ref name="r-Oliphant-1862"/> Irving directed his attention to the study of [[prophecy]] and eventually accepted the one-man [[Antichrist]] idea of [[James Henthorn Todd]], [[Samuel Roffey Maitland]], [[Robert Bellarmine]], and Francisco Ribera, yet he went a step further. Irving began to teach the idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. Edward Miller described Irving's teaching like this: "There are three gatherings:&nbsp;– First, of the first-fruits of the harvest, the wise virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth; next, the abundant harvest gathered afterwards by God; and lastly, the assembling of the wicked for punishment."<ref name="r-Miller-1878"/>

==== Pretribulational premillennialism ====
The pretribulation position advocates that the rapture will occur before the beginning of a seven-year tribulation period, while the second coming will occur at the end of it. Pretribulationists often describe the rapture as Jesus coming ''for'' the church and the second coming as Jesus coming ''with'' the church. Pretribulation educators and preachers include [[Jimmy Swaggart]], [[Robert Jeffress]], [[J. Dwight Pentecost]], [[Tim LaHaye]], [[J. Vernon McGee]], [[Perry  Stone (minister)|Perry Stone]], [[Chuck Smith (pastor)|Chuck Smith]], [[Hal Lindsey]], [[Jack Van Impe]], [[Skip Heitzig]], [[Chuck Missler]], [[Grant Jeffrey]], [[Thomas Ice]], [[David Jeremiah]], [[John F. MacArthur]], and [[John Hagee]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Lindsey |first= Hal |author-link= Hal Lindsey |year=1983 |page= [https://archive.org/details/rapturetruthorco00lind/page/25 25] |title= The Rapture: Truth or Consequences |publisher= [[Bantam Books]] |isbn= 978-0553014112 |url= https://archive.org/details/rapturetruthorco00lind/page/25 }}</ref>

[[John Darby (evangelist)|John Nelson Darby]] first solidified and popularized the pretribulation rapture in 1827. Despite vague notions of this view existing in a few [[Puritans|Puritan]] theologians prior to Darby, he was the first person to place it into a larger theological framework .<ref name="r-Bray-1982" /><ref>Cf. Ian S. Markham, "John Darby", The Student's Companion to the Theologians, pp. 263–264 (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) ("[Darby] simultaneously created a theology that holds the popular imagination and was popularized very effectively in the margins of the Scofield Bible."), https://books.google.com/books?id=h6SHSAjeCrYC .</ref><ref>Carl E. Olson, "Five Myths About the Rapture," Crisis pp. 28–33 (Morley Publishing Group, 2003) ("LaHaye declares, in Rapture Under Attack, that “virtually all Christians who take the Bible literally expect to be raptured before the Lord comes in power to this earth.” This would have been news to Christians — both Catholic and Protestant — living prior to the 18th century, since the concept of a pre-tribulation rapture was unheard of prior to that time. Vague notions had been considered by the Puritan preachers Increase (1639–1723) and Cotton Mather (1663–1728), and the late 18th-century Baptist minister Morgan Edwards, but it was John Nelson Darby who solidified the belief in the 1830s and placed it into a larger theological framework."). Reprinted at http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5788 .</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=William C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1mryrQEACAAJ |title=Dispensationalism Before Darby: Seventeenth-century and Eighteenth-century English Apocalypticism |date=2015 |publisher=Lampion Press, LLC |isbn=978-1-942614-03-6 |language=en}}</ref> This view was accepted among many other [[Plymouth Brethren]] movements in England.<ref name="r-Blaising-Bock-1993" />{{Page needed|date=December 2022}} Darby and other prominent Brethren were part of the Brethren movement which impacted American Christianity, especially with movements and teachings associated with Christian eschatology and [[fundamentalism]], primarily through their writings. Influences included the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the [[Niagara Bible Conference]]. These conferences, which were initially inclusive of [[Historicism|historicist]] and [[Futurism|futurist]] premillennialism, led to an increasing acceptance of futurist premillennial views and the pretribulation rapture especially among Presbyterian, Baptist, and Congregational members.<ref name="r-Blaising-Bock-1993" />{{Rp|page=11}} Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the pretribulation rapture, including [[William E. Blackstone]]'s book ''Jesus is Coming'', published in 1878,<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Blackstone  | first = William E.  | author-link = William E. Blackstone | title = Jesus is coming  | publisher = [[Baker Publishing Group|Fleming H. Revell Company]] | edition = Third |year= 1908 | isbn = 9780825496165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=encXAAAAYAAJ&q=Jesus+is+Coming |orig-year=1878| oclc= 951778}}</ref> which sold more than 1.3 million copies, and the [[Scofield Reference Bible]], published in 1909 and 1919 and revised in 1967.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first= C. I. |editor-last= Scofield |editor-link= C. I. Scofield |title= [[Scofield Reference Bible]] |orig-year=1909 |year=1967 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-527802-6}}</ref><ref>''The Scofield Bible: Its History and Impact on the Evangelical Church'', Magnum & Sweetnam. pp. 188–195, 218.</ref>

Some pretribulation proponents, such as Grant Jeffrey, maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the pretribulation rapture is from a 7th-century tract known as the [[Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem|Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem the Syrian.]]<ref>Ephraem the Syrian, JoshuaNet, 27 July 2010. http://joshuanet.org/articles/ephraem1.htm & © 1995 Grant R. Jeffrey, Final Warning, published by Frontier Research Publications, Inc., Box 120, Station "U", Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5M4.</ref> Different authors have proposed several different versions of the text as authentic and there are differing opinions as to whether it supports belief in a pretribulation rapture.<ref name="r-Tim-Warner"/><ref name="r-note-pseudo-epraem"/> One version of the text reads, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."<ref name="r-Missler-1995"/><ref name="r-bpo-pseudo-ephraem"/> In addition, ''[[Apocalypse of Elijah|The Apocalypse of Elijah]]'' and ''[[Fra Dolcino|The History of Brother Dolcino]]'' both state that believers will be removed prior to the Tribulation.{{Cn|date=July 2023}}

There exists at least one 18th-century and two 19th-century pretribulation references: in an essay published in 1788 in Philadelphia by the Baptist [[Morgan Edwards]] which articulated the concept of a pretribulation rapture,<ref name="r-Marotta-1995"/> in the writings of Catholic priest [[Manuel Lacunza]] in 1812,<ref name="r-Hommel"/> and by [[John Nelson Darby]] in 1827. Manuel Lacunza (1731–1801), a [[Jesuit]] priest (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra), wrote an apocalyptic work entitled ''La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad'' (''The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty''). The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. In 1827, it was translated into English by the Scottish minister Edward Irving.<ref>{{cite book |title=Catalogue of the Theological Library in the University of Edinburgh|publisher=A. Balfour & Co|location=Edinburgh|date=1829|page=113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZNPAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>

During the 1970s, belief in the rapture became popular in wider circles, in part because of the books of Hal Lindsey, including ''[[The Late Great Planet Earth]]'', which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies, and the movie ''[[A Thief in the Night (film)|A Thief in the Night]]'', which based its title on the scriptural reference {{bible verse || 1 Thessalonians|5:2|KJV}}. Lindsey proclaimed that the rapture was imminent, based on world conditions at the time.

In 1995, the doctrine of the pretribulation rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's ''[[Left Behind]]'' series of books, which sold close to 80 million copies and was made into several movies and four real-time strategy video games.<ref name="booksite">{{cite news|title=Tim LaHaye, Evangelical Legend Behind 'Left Behind' Series, Dies At 90|date=July 25, 2016 |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/25/487382209/tim-lahaye-evangelical-legend-behind-left-behind-series-dies-at-90|access-date=April 11, 2021}}</ref>

According to Thomas Ice a belief in the imminence of Christ's return, key to modern pretribulation theology, can be found in various Church Fathers and early Christian writings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ice |first=Thomas |date=May 2009 |title=Myths of the Origin of Pretribulationism (Part 1) |url=https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=pretrib_arch |journal=Liberty University Article Archives |volume=114 |pages=1–2 |via=Liberty.edu}}</ref>

==== Midtribulational premillennialism ====

The mid-tribulation position espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the tribulation period, or during Daniel's 70th Week. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Midtribulationists hold that the saints will go through the first period (Beginning of Travail) but will be raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's wrath in the second half of what is popularly called the [[Great Tribulation]]. Midtribulationists appeal to {{bible verse || Daniel|7:25|KJV}} which says the saints will be given over to tribulation for "time, times, and half a time," – interpreted to mean 3.5 years. At the halfway point of the tribulation, the Antichrist will commit the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jerusalem temple]]. Midtribulationist teachers include [[Harold Ockenga]], James O. Buswell (a reformed, Calvinistic Presbyterian), and Norman Harrison.<ref>{{Cite book | title = Contemporary Options in Eschatology: A Study of the Millennium | last = Erickson | first = Millard J. | publisher = [[Baker Publishing Group|Baker Book House]] | location = Grand Rapids, Michigan | year = 1977 | page = [https://archive.org/details/contemporaryopti0000eric/page/164 164] | isbn = 0-8010-3262-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/contemporaryopti0000eric/page/164 }}</ref> This position is a minority view among premillennialists.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Hoekema |first= Anthony A. |author-link= Anthony A. Hoekema |title= The Bible and the Future |year=1994 |edition= revised |orig-year= 1979 |publisher= [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|Eerdmans]] |location= Grand Rapids, Michigan |url= https://archive.org/details/biblefuture0000hoek/page/164 |isbn= 0-85364-624-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/biblefuture0000hoek/page/164 164] }}</ref>

==== Prewrath premillennialism ====

The [[prewrath|prewrath rapture]] view also places the rapture at some point during the tribulation period before the second coming. This view holds that the tribulation of the church begins toward the latter part of a seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This latter half of a seven-year period [i.e. {{frac|3|1|2}} years] is defined as the great tribulation, although the exact duration is not known. References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence that this tribulation will be cut short by the coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of the rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after the sixth seal is opened and the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood.<ref>{{cite web|title= Welcome to the Pre-Wrath Consortium |website= Pre-Wrath Consortium |url= http://www.bibliology.org/PW |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041020000043/http://bibliology.org/PW/ |archive-date= 20 October 2004}}</ref> However, by this point many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the [[Antichrist]]. After the rapture will come God's [[Seven seals|seventh-seal]] wrath of trumpets and bowls (a.k.a. "the Day of the Lord"). The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of seven years.<ref>{{cite book |last= Rosenthal |first= Marvin J. |title= The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church |publisher= [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]] |year=1990 |isbn= 978-0840731609 |url= https://archive.org/details/prewrathraptureo00rose }}</ref><ref>Marvin Rosenthal, author of ''The Prewrath Rapture of the Church'', is a proponent for the prewrath rapture view. His belief is founded on the work of Robert D. Van Kampen (1938–1999); his books ''The Sign'', ''The Rapture Question Answered'' and ''The Fourth Reich'' detail his pre-wrath rapture doctrine.</ref>

==== Partial rapture premillennialism ====

The partial, conditional or selective rapture theory holds that all obedient Christians will be raptured before the great tribulation depending on one's personal fellowship (or closeness) between she or he and God, which is not to be confused with the relationship between the same and God (which is believer, regardless of fellowship).<ref>{{cite book|last1= LaHaye |first1= Tim |author-link1= Tim LaHaye |last2= Ice |first2= Thomas |author-link2= Thomas Ice |title= Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy |publisher= [[Harvest House]] |series= Tim LaHaye Prophecy Library |date= 2001 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ESz8LZW5d-gC |isbn= 978-0736901383}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Overview of the Partial Rapture Theory |series= Valley Bible Church Theology Studies |url= http://www.valleybible.net/AdultEducation/ClassNotes/TheologySurvey/Eschatology/PartialRapture.pdf |location= [[Lancaster, California]] |access-date= 1 April 2015 |archive-date= 20 October 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161020090829/http://www.valleybible.net/AdultEducation/ClassNotes/TheologySurvey/Eschatology/PartialRapture.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> Therefore, it is believed by some that the rapture of a believer is determined by the timing of his conversion before the great tribulation. Other proponents of this theory hold that only those who are faithful in their relationship with God (having true fellowship with him) will be raptured, and the rest resurrected during the great tribulation, between the 5th and 6th seals of Revelation, having lost their lives during.<ref>{{cite book|last= White |first= J. W. Jr. |title= The Partial Rapture "Theory" Explained: Escaping The Coming Storm |publisher= [[Xulon Press]] |year= 2008 |isbn= 978-1604776843 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N38FXiKInzoC}}</ref> Still others hold the rest will either be raptured during the tribulation or at its end. As stated by Ira David (a proponent of this view): "The saints will be raptured in groups during the tribulation as they are prepared to go."<ref>{{cite journal|last= David |first= Ira E. |title= Translation: When Does It Occur? |journal= The Dawn |date= 15 November 1935 |page= 358}}</ref> Some notable proponents of this theory are [[George H. Lang|G. H. Lang]], [[Robert Chapman (Plymouth Brethren)|Robert Chapman]], [[G. H. Pember]], [[Robert Govett]], [[David Morrieson Panton|D. M. Panton]], [[Watchman Nee]], Ira E. David, [[Joseph Seiss|J. A. Seiss]], [[Hudson Taylor]], [[Anthony Norris Groves]], John Wilkinson, [[G. Campbell Morgan]], Otto Stockmayer and Rev. J. W. (Chip) White Jr.

==== Posttribulational premillennialism ====
{{Main|Posttribulation rapture}}

In the posttribulation premillennial position, the rapture would be identical to the second coming of Jesus or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth before a literal millennium. The posttribulation position places the rapture at the end of the tribulation period. Posttribulation writers define the tribulation period in a generic sense as the entire present age, or in a specific sense of a period of time preceding the second coming of Christ.<ref>{{cite book |first= John F. |last= Walvoord |author-link= John Walvoord |title= The Rapture Question |publisher= [[Zondervan]] |year=1979 |orig-year= 1957 |edition= Revised and enlarged |isbn=978-0-310-34151-2 |page= 128}}</ref> The emphasis in this view is that the church will undergo the tribulation.<ref>{{Cite book | title = A Basic Guide to Eschatology: Making Sense of the Millennium | last = Erickson | first = Millard J. | publisher = [[Baker Publishing Group|Baker Book House]] | location = Grand Rapids, Michigan |year=1998 |edition= revised |orig-year= 1977 |page= 152 | isbn = 0-8010-5836-8}} Originally published in 1977 under the title ''Contemporary Options in Eschatology: A Study of the Millennium''.</ref> {{bible verse || Matthew|24:29–31|KJV}} – "''Immediately after the Tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect...''" – is cited as a foundational scripture for this view. Posttribulationists perceive the rapture as occurring simultaneously with the second coming of Christ. Upon Jesus's return, believers will meet him in the air and will then accompany him in his return to the Earth. 

In the [[Epistles of Paul]], most notably in {{bible verse|1|Thessalonians|4:16–17|KJV}} ("the dead in Christ shall rise first") and {{bible verse|1|Corinthians|15:51–52|KJV}}, a [[Shofar|trumpet]] is described as blowing at the end of the tribulation to herald the return of Christ; {{bible verse || Revelation|11:15|KJV}} further supports this view. Moreover, after chapters 6–19, and after 20:1–3 when Satan is bound, {{bibleverse || Revelation|20:4–6|KJV}} says, "and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This ''is'' the first resurrection. Blessed and holy ''is'' he that hath part in the first resurrection."

Authors and teachers who support the posttribulational view include [[Pat Robertson]], [[Walter Ralston Martin|Walter R. Martin]], [[John Piper (theologian)|John Piper]], [[George Eldon Ladd|George E. Ladd]],<ref>{{cite book |last= Ladd |first= George Eldon |author-link= George Eldon Ladd |title= The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture |publisher= [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|Eerdmans]] |year= 1990 |orig-year= 1956 |url= https://archive.org/details/blessedhopebibli00ladd |isbn= 978-0802811110 }}</ref> [[Robert H. Gundry]],<ref>{{cite book|last= Gundry |first= Robert H. |author-link= Robert H. Gundry |title= The Church and the Tribulation: A Biblical Examination of Posttribulationism |year=1999 |orig-year= 1973 |publisher= [[Zondervan]] |isbn= 978-0310254010}}</ref> and [[Douglas Moo]].