IN THIS BOOK YOU WILL FIND THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS. "Will the church have to endure the time of great tribulation?" "Should we make preparations or rely upon God to take care of us? This book does not contain any secret or heretofore unrevealed truths and there are no special revelations given only to the author. I simply look at the plainly spoken and universally acknowledged teachings of Jesus and His disciples and I look at the timeless principles of God shown to us throughout the Old and New Testaments. That's why I've called this book the "Layman's Guide." You don't have to be a Bible scholar to understand anything in this book, and you can follow along in whatever version of the Bible you prefer. FOUR DISTINCT VIEWS ON THE RAPTURE Pre-tribulation says that the church will be removed from the earth before the tribulation - seven years before the return of Christ. Mid-tribulation says the church will be removed halfway through the tribulation 3 1/2 years before the return of Christ. Pre-wrath differentiates itself by redefining the term "great tribulation" but is really about the same as mid-tribulation without specifying the time. Post-tribulation says the rapture of the church takes place after the great tribulation at the coming of Christ to establish His millennial kingdom. Of these four versions the first three are very similar in that they all say the church will be removed from the earth at some point either before or during the great tribulation. Only the post tribulation view says that the church will remain on earth until the end of the great tribulation. So for all intents and purposes what you really have is two views: pre-tribulation (with variations) and post tribulation. That is how I have addressed them in this book."
