The doctrine of the rapture
The three primary views in eschatology are pre-tribulational (the rapture occurs before the tribulation), mid-tribulational (the rapture occurs at or near the mid-point of the tribulation), and post-tribulational (the rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation). Other end-time positions, such as preterism, amillennialism and post-millennialism are not part of this study. For those who may be interested in those three other positions could read my analysis here.
This study focuses on the question whether there will be a rapture and the question where in God's end-time scenario the rapture will take place. An important aspect in eschatoloy is despensationalism. Bolow, is a schematic expression of events that will take place in several dispensations and on the edge of them. At the far left we see the church age dispensation, where we live in now. God's focus is on the church. At the end of that age the New Testament saints (believers that have died and believers that are still alive) will be taken up in the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and will spend 7-Jears in heaven. They will experience the rewards judgment and the wedding with the bridegroom Jesus, the Lamb. Non-believers remain those 7-years on earth and will experience the tribulation period. In the tribulation dispensation God's focus is on the Jews and Israel in unbelief. The rest of the graph is for another study.
Watch the video below, where pastor Jack Hibbs teaches in depth on the doctrine of the rapture.
worksheet 1 - Tribulation
Worksheet 2 - Rapture