According to some brothers the rapture will happen before the great tribulation, however in the Bible there are clear passages that tell us we will have to stand the tribulation till the end:
2 Thessalonians 2
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him (RAPTURE), we ask you, brothers,
2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness
[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
And Jesus our Lord and Saviour said: "He who endures till the end will be saved". Besides if Jesus and his disciples went through such a hard persecution and suffering. Why shouldn´t we?
I think it is best to be ready for either. But my opinion is that the church will be raptured before
the tribulation. We as God's children are saved by grace and not appointed for wrath. Paul also
said as God's Children, the sudden destruction of the return of Christ will not surprise His Children.
1 Thess 5: 3-4
The original Greek word used is ek in the Bible which means "complete exemption". Since Christ removed
our sins and Christ only punishes the wicked and not His Children, I believe we will not be here
during the tribulation. 1 Thess 5:9
Also if you remember, angels were sent to remove Lot from Sodom so it could be destroyed. There
is no where in the Bible - Old Testament or New Testament - where God's Children are not warned
prior to a destruction taking place. In keeping with this "nature of God", it is reasonable to conclude
His Children will not be under punishment in the tribulation since punishment is for those not of Christ
and not His saved elect.
The purpose of the tribulation is not to punish Christians. It is to turn Israel back to God. But this time,
God is not sending a servant (Jesus), He is returning as God in Power to judge. Since Israel has been so
stubborn to rebel against God by killing Jesus and ignoring the entire New Testament which means
they do not accept Christ's death, God will deal with them as Israel wishes. Israel says their God
will return in Power not as a servant like Jesus. Since Israel won't listen to Christ and do things the
easy way, God will return as they wish in Power but He will be judging them at the same time.
But in either case, we have no say so it is best to be prepared for anything.
I'm not aware of any verses that say we have to stand till the end of the tribulation. There are verses
that say we have to stand for God till the end of our life but this is in regard to whether your life ends
due to natural death or if you are called upon to give your life for Christ.
I do not agree the tribulation has started simply because in the first 3 1/2 years, there will be peace on
earth - which there isn't - the right hand man of satan will be in control and have all the right answers
so it seems - he is not in power - and this 3 1/2 years will be a time of plenty - which is not the case
right now either. Obama is not satan's right hand man.
As far as suffering, we will. Jesus said the world hated me, they will hate you too. Jesus also said
they will kill you in My Name. There is much persecution going on in the world except for here in
the US where we have safety as a blessing from God.
Here in the US, God has blessed us with safety and His Word is freely everywhere but has little to no
value. In other countries, His Word is held in high esteem and difficult to find due to being beaten or
killed if you seek it but God's Word means everything over there to the point that some must offer
their life as a sacrifice to God just minutes or days after finding Christ.
In the US, we think we are persecuted if someone just tells us to shutup. No one is shooting at us,
beating us, torturing us, imprisoning us, hanging us or setting us on fire.
I do find it odd that if one soldier is killed abroad, it is all over the news. Yet the hundreds of
Christians (US Citizens) killed every week abroad are of no concern to our govt.
The number of Christians killed for Christ in just the 20th century is higher than the combined total
of all centuries prior to the 20th century. If you think being a Christian is safe, just go to another
country and in less than a few minutes you will know it isn't.
Our southern neighbor Mexico will kill any Christian in their country telling others about Christ. All
you need to do is visit Mexico and you will see the only reason we are not attacked in the US is
because of our Freedom of Religion Laws. Those laws do not exist in other countries.
Our time will come. Till then, lean on God and learn to access His Power so you are ready for anything.
Then it doesn't matter what happens. Just like Paul said, "Don't concern yourself with these things".
Instead of worrying about end times, it is better to worry about today and how we will tell others
about Christ today. As God says, "Do not concern yourself with tomorrow. Today has enough troubles
of its own to worry about".