Comment: Notice that this verse says that this group of people will be kept from the time of testing (the Tribulation), not just protected through it.

Dear Gary,
I would like your opinion on the pre wrath stance. For many years I was a firm believer in the pre-trib. teachings but have after much study gone over to pre wrath. I do know that our salvation does not depend on where we stand in regards to the rapture, but being prepared is very important.  I am just curious as to what you believe.  By the way I am new to your site and I love it!!! 
Toni Tanksley

 Dear Toni, 
You are right that our salvation does not depend on our understanding of the timing of the Rapture, whether at the beginning of, at the middle, or at the end of the Tribulation, thank God!!! There are many good and godly people who differ on this issue. Neither should we use our understanding of the timing of the Rapture as a test of fellowship between Christians! This is just not an issue that we should divide over! The saints of all ages will spend eternity together whether they were pre, mid, or post. 

As you have probably discerned already, I am a proponent of the 
Pre tribulation Rapture, meaning that I believe that the Rapture of the Church will occur before the Tribulation begins. 

The pre wrath stance in my opinion, popularized by Marvin Rosenthal, has a serious flaw! That flaw rests in the fact that Brother Rosenthal defines only the seventh seal of Revelation, the last part of Daniel's 70th week, as the "wrath" of God. He reasons that since the Church has been promised deliverance only from the "wrath" that is to come (Rom 5:9, I Thess. 1:10. I Thess. 5:9), then defining that "wrath" will determine the timing of the Rapture.  

The strongest refute to this reasoning can be found at Revelation Five.  Jesus is found poised in history in Revelation 5 ready to take a scroll that is sealed with seven seals from God the Father. When He does, He breaks the first seal of this scroll and the result is the Tribulation.  In fact, during the first four seals, which occur during the first half of the Tribulation, 25% of the world's population dies as a result of the war, plagues, and famine. If this were to occur today, it would mean that 1.5 billion people would die. Because Jesus is the one initiating this carnage by breaking the seals Himself, I conclude that all of the Tribulation is the "wrath" of God, not just the seventh seal. 

Accordingly, if all of the seven year Tribulation can be called the 
"wrath" of God, and the Church has been promised deliverance from the "wrath" (Rom. 5:9, I Thess. 1:10, I Thess. 5:9), then the pre tribulation Rapture position is a natural conclusion. 

I am convinced that the Church, regardless of our individual persuasions on this issue, should be joining hands and saying to the world that people should be ready for the Rapture whenever it occurs and that the day is drawing very near!

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