Christ stated that the end will be "as it was in the days of Noah". He also stated that the end will be like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Never does He compare it to the time of the Exodus when the Jews were present during the wrath of God.
In the case of both Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah, the innocent, righteous, people were removed from the area of wrath. This will be the same in the end when the Rapture will take the church from the earth. Also, the "one who restrains" will also be removed.
There is no third coming. The second coming is when Christ returns and stands on the Mount of Olives. He does not do that at the "catching up". At that time He meets us in the air. Not on the earth.
But, you do believe in a third coming. Here is your doctrine's second coming:
1 Thess 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
And Here is your doctrine's third coming:
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
As for a scripture that says "The rapture comes before the Tribulation" There isn't one. This topic has been argued ad nausium by people of far greater theological knowledge than me... from both views.
There are many passages which speak of Christ coming again to gather His believers and destroy all the wicked when He comes. Yet, there are none that speak of Him coming to gather His believers and then that being followed by a period of tribulation, followed by Him coming again to destroy His enemies. So, why do you side with the view that has no evidence to support it instead of the view that has overwhelming evidence to support it?
So, it is my belief that the Rapture will come before the tribulation. One fact that supports this is the simple fact that the entire population of the world will be demanded to take the mark of the beast or they will not be able to buy or sell... under penalty of decapitation.
Why would that mean the rapture has to come before that? That is not evidence for a pre-trib rapture whatsoever.
Revelation 2:10 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. 11
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.
Why would Jesus say something like this if there would be a time when we no longer would need to be faithful unto death? Scripture never teaches that we would need to be removed from the earth to avoid persecution.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and
all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
So, how many Christians do you think can survive 7 years, at the longest or 3.5 years at the shortest.. without food, travel, shelter, income, or anything like that.. all the while everyone hates them and is right ready to turn them in for death..
This would mean that those who are "caught up" after the "dead in Christ who rise first" may be nobody. Nobody would be left.
So, God is incapable of protecting any of His people on the earth during times of tribulation? There is no indication that all Christians would die in that type of scenario.
John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Was Jesus just giving lip service here or did He know that the Father is able to protect us from evil if He wants to? But, if we get killed for our faith, so be it. We end up in a far better place.
The scripture also says to comfort each other with these words. Are you comforted... knowing that all your loved ones, all your Christian friends... your grandmother, your 12 year old daughter... is going to face decapitation?
First of all, it's not true that all believers alive at any point will all be killed. You are being overly dramatic here. But, even if that were to happen I am comforted by the fact that they would all be resurrected when Christ returns and caught up to meet Him in the air and then be with Him forever. That is our future hope.
Why worry about whether or not you would survive a future time of tribulation when you are guaranteed eternal bliss if you stay faithful unto death?