Reason Five for a Pre-Tribulational Rapture
In Matthew 25:31–32, Jesus said:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
Here is the problem: If the Rapture is post-tribulational and not pre-tribulational, then when the Lord comes back to the earth, there not going to be any sheep to separate from the goats. That separation would have already taken place at the Rapture. The Rapture is the “catching up” of all believers to meet the Lord in the air. Once that occurs, there will be only be non-believers left on the earth. Therefore, no separation would be necessary. Who, then, are the sheep that are separated from the goats, if they are not the Church? The sheep are those people who come to faith during the Tribulation period, not part of the Church, but people who come to faith after the Rapture of the Church. They live through the Tribulation period. They will choose not to receive the mark of the beast. They are the ones of whom Jesus said:
For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. (Matthew 25:35–36)