If the rapture occurs midway through or at the end of the tribulation, the answer to why Christians are present during this horrific period is evident. But if Jesus removes all believers from the earth before the seven-year tribulation begins, why are some still present during the antichrist’s rule? Does Jesus purposefully exclude some believers from the rapture to endure the tribulation? Or does their presence on the earth nullify a pre-tribulation rapture? Why would Scripture call for saints to persevere and not take the mark of the beast if the rapture occurs before the great tribulation begins?
These are all fair questions, especially when Scripture speaks of believers on the earth during the seven-year tribulation. For example, Revelation 20:4 speaks of Christians who were beheaded for refusing to worship the beast or take his mark. It says, “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
Another example is Revelation 7:14, where John recorded the words of an elder in heaven who identified a multitude in white robes standing before God’s throne. He told John, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
An additional example of believers going through the tribulation is in Matthew 24:21-22. While on the earth, Jesus told His disciples about this horrendous period, explaining how those days would be cut short for the sake of believers. He said, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
Given these biblical facts, the answer to why believers are on the earth during the antichrist’s rule is surprisingly simple: These believers were not born-again at the time of the rapture but saved sometime afterward.
I hope this information provides clarity on this curious question. Feel free to email me if you have questions.
