Dear Brother in Christ,
I was a Pre Tribber for the first 40 years or so of my life. My dad was a Baptist minister for 18 of those years. So, I just accepted what I was taught. The problem was I started studying the Bible and the idea of the Pre-Trib Rapture and there is NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE of it in the Bible. NONE.
To answer your question, the Judgment seat of Christ happens on the same day as the the "last day" AKA the "Day of the Lord." Let's see what the Bible actually teaches.
John 12
[SUP]48 [/SUP]
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
So clearly, the unjust are judged on the last day which is the same day when the Lord comes. Now turn to John 6.
[SUP]39 [/SUP]
This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. [SUP]40 [/SUP]And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” [SUP]54 [/SUP]Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
So the clear reading of the Bible is that there is only ONE second coming of the Lord, not two. The Lord judges and catches up His faithful on the last day.
Perhaps the most powerful passage comes from Paul in 2 Thes 2. If Jesus comes before the Tribulation, why the apostasy that Paul teaches us? This event would be so glorious and visible to the world and the world would all believe as they do when he comes after the Tribulation. Why would there be a falling away before the Anti-Christ is reveal is Christ just took his Church? Its the fact that the church is still here is what causes the Apostasy. That's what makes this false doctrine so dangerous. Christ speaks in great length and cautions not to be fooled by false teachings in the end days.
[h=3]The Great Apostasy[/h]2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, [SUP]2 [/SUP]not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ[SUP][
a][/SUP] had come. [SUP]3 [/SUP]Let no one deceive you by any means; for
that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[SUP][
b][/SUP] is revealed, the son of perdition, [SUP]4 [/SUP]who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[SUP][
c][/SUP] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
To support a Pre Trib Rapture several key things are needed.
1. Two separate COMINGS of the LORD, one before the Tribulation, one after.
2. Clear evidence that the believers on the earth during the Tribulation are new converts
3. A distinct passage that teaches that the Lord comes BEFORE the Tribulation
4. A separate plan for the Church and His chosen people of Israel.
None of the above are found anywhere in the Bible.
The idea of a Pre tribulation rapture is a man's idea (John Darby - 1830), it is not of God, and not taught in the scriptures. I don't want to offend you dear brother, but Satan is very deceitful, his lies sound so good but there is a purpose behind them. In this case I see 4 clear objectives:
1. Cause fighting and dissension in the church.
2. Cause weak Christians to fall when the Tribulation starts and there is no rapture. "falling away 2 Thes 1-3".
3. To cause Christians not to "watch" or prepare for going through the tribulation.
4. To cause Christians to turn against Christians to turn them in even to death.
All of this will make the beast and the Anti-Christ all that more easy and effective. Most Christians are weak and don't study the Bible. They will be easily swayed by Satan when told that he is the messiah.
Any time a new idea comes along, we need to really test the theory. The classical view has always been until 1830 that there is one second coming and it happens at the Last Day. The 1800s were a period of great deception. Evolution started then and many new denominations and religions. The Bible is the true source of God's word and it matters not what is popularly taught by man. Christ himself never mentioned HIS return to "rapture" the saints BEFORE the Tribulation when he was specifically asked by his disciples. Pre tribbers argue that the Lord was talking to the Jews. But these Jews were his believing disciples, not unbelieving Jews. Jesus would have told them not to worry if there was a Pre trib rapture. But instead he tells them they will suffer tribulation, that nations will hate them and in fact 11 of the 12 were put to death.
My eyes were opened to this huge lie and I pray that you open your mind, heart and eyes and turn to the actual Word of God for the truth because it is clearly told.