One may present evidence of postribulationism held by the majority of Church Fathers, exegetical analysis of biblical texts supporting postribulationalism, and even draw clear distinctions between general tribulation and persecution promised for all believers (2 Tim. 3:12) and the wrath of God (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 1 Thess. 1:10) promised for unbelievers. Yet, invariably, the question of suffering and enduring "God's" wrath during the Great Tribulation is raised. It's usually phrased this way: "Don't you know that God has not appointed us to wrath? (1 Thess. 5:9); He would never place us in circumstances so awful nor allow us and our families to undergo something so horrible! God intends to rescue us from wrath, not involve us in it!" Not only does this reveal a misunderstanding of true wrath and persecution, such reasoning betrays the crux of the matter for many Christians. Namely, they are dreadfully fearful of suffering for the name of Jesus! Persecution, real and horrible persecution is not something most Christians are prepared for and the thought of undergoing suffering or hardship for the kingdom tends to be unpleasant! Why not be raptured, spared from tribulation of any sort! After all, that's the hope of the Church, isn't it?! So say our pretribulationists friends. Postribulationists, on the other hand, maintain that the hope of the church is the Christ's glorious coming, not a secret rapture and while true believers will undergo persecution (perhaps even sever persecution under the hands of Antichrist), they will not be subject to God's wrath, which is something quite different. Moreover, postribulationists would argue even if the church is present during the Great Tribulation, God is capable of both preserving and protecting them just as he did the Israelites during the plagues of Egypt!

And so we enter this discussion with this in mind: emotions must not be the deciding factor as to what is truth or not. Our standard, our appeal must be God's Word- what does it reveal? If in fact it reveals that the Church will go through the Tribulation, will we accept it or reject it because of how we feel? As the Apostle Paul stated on occasion, "God forbid!" We would suggest that questions of theology should never be decided by our likes or dislikes but by the teachings of Scripture! Let God be true and every man a liar!

POSTRIBULATIONALISM: the case for tribulation; not wrath!

In order to answer the question of whether believers will undergo the wrath of God, we need to understand, briefly, postribulationalism in general (see Pre, Mid, Post Rapture Theories, p.3).¹ Having looked at the basic tenants of postribulationalism, we will now focus our attention on the important question of believers and the wrath of God.

There can be no question that the Bible states in many places that Christians will experience tribulation or persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ (John 16:33; Acts 14:21,22; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:35-39). And clearly, the Bible teaches that those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be spared the wrath of God that is reserved for those who reject his saving grace (Rom. 1:18; 5:9; Eph. 2:3; 5:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). Why then, do Christians confuse the two? In reality, while pretribulationists often confuse the two concepts, the distinction between tribulation and divine wrath couldn't be greater. Le me explain. As just mentioned, the Scriptures clearly state that believers will experience tribulation. What does the Bible mean when it makes this assertion? Simply this: all true believers will undergo some kind of hardship, ridicule, physical threat, verbal abuse, and even death because of their faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, the Greek word ² and the corresponding verb refer to tribulation that all true believers endure. General speaking, tribulation is something believers experience as a result of the attacks of the wicked, by Satan and his emissaries, or even by Antichrist during the Great Tribulation! This tribulation or persecution though, is not to be confused with God's wrath! God's wrath is reserved for the ungodly and the unbelieving, not for God's people! The Greek word (wrath) is spoken of in Scripture as coming upon the wicked and is just punishment by God for all those rejecting his great love(Rev. 6:16,17; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15)!

Having said the above, pretribulationists raise the obvious question, "If Christians are expected to go through tribulation and quite probably, the great tribulation, how are they going to manage to escape wrath? Again, persecution at the hands of Antichrist, is not divine wrath, but Satan-inspired wrath! Moreover, it is the contention of postribula-tionists that in the event we survive tribulation and persecution and remain during the outpouring of divine wrath upon the wicked, God will supernaturally protect or guard believers from the impending danger rather than delivering them. In essence, believers will be preserved, guarded, and unaffected by the things (wrath) coming upon the world.³

CONCLUSION

A substantial number of believers support a pretribulational view of the return of Christ. Ours is not to judge their motives nor their sincerity for holding such a view. Most postribulationists would prefer the pretrib view – and why not! Who in their right mind wants to face Antichrist! But, as stated above, the Scriptures leave us no option. The bigger question is who will be prepared? The Scriptures say a lot about watching and in fact admonish believers time and again "to be sleepless" or "wakeful," and "to be vigilant." And interestingly enough, in many cases, the context is in reference to those who would be experiencing tribulation or would be in the midst of tribulation (1 Thess. 5:3-5). The admonishment to watch, therefore, is not with reference to a secret rapture but with reference to the day of the Lord, the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation!

Our prayer is that true believers reexamine the Scriptures and hold fast to pure doctrine. It can't be stated too strongly that if the postribulation view is correct, Christians must begin preparing both mentally, spiritually, and even physically for the events that will soon come upon the world! The Enemy would like nothing better than to find believers ill-prepared to face his last assault upon the Church at the end of the ages!

May the Lord give us courage, boldness, and great grace to be the witnesses he has called us to be!

Dan