Both thlipsis and tribulum suggest a harvest implement for separating the wheat from the chaff (or the wine from the grapes). It suggests the Tribulation as a time of separating the men from the boys, or the true believers from the non-believers. If the believers are not present, then what is there to separate?
[...]or that the Tribulation separates those who come to belief after the Rapture.
[...]or that the Tribulation separates those who come to belief after the Rapture.
The CONTRAST between the two distinct "beliefs" people will come to embrace FOLLOWING "our Rapture/'THE Departure'," and that God (knowing their hearts / mindsets), the passage says (in part) "SHALL SEND *THEM* [that is, certain ones] STRONG DELUSION, THAT they should believe the LIE/the FALSE/the pseudei..." (which is FOLLOWING "our Rapture/'THE Departure'"), whereas OTHERS will come to believe what is TRUE (about "what just happened" and about "Christ" Who we've been corporately "proclaiming" on the earth up until "our Rapture/'THE Departure'" of us...)
It's not that "believers" [/"saints"] won't be "present on the earth" at all then, but they will have "come to faith" FOLLOWING our Rapture (and "our Rapture" event is a primary IMPETUS that is what will point Israel [esp'ly] to HIM/their MESSIAH... but many will take an opposite stance, and instead "believe the LIE / strong DELUSION"... at that time). This is one of the PURPOSES for "our Rapture" (as just such an "impetus" prior to His "RETURN" to the earth at Rev19, FOR the promised and prophesied EARTHLY Millennial Kingdom, see--which "rapture-event-as-IMPETUS" for them, is to be understood as a GOOD thing, and for their sakes).
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