THE TRIBULATION SAINTS

THE TRIBULATION SAINTS: (WHY THEY ARE BEHEADED AFTER THE RAPTURE - A FULL BIBLE STUDY.) One of the clearest yet most misunderstood truths in Bible prophecy is the identity of the Tribulation saints and why Scripture says they are beheaded. The Bible does not leave this vague. When the passages are allowed to speak for themselves, a consistent picture emerges. This study will show: The Church is removed before the Tribulation begins. A new group of believers appears after the rapture. These believers face mandatory worship of the Beast. Refusal results in execution, specifically beheading. Their resurrection is distinct and occurs at Christ’s return. THE CHURCH IS REMOVED BEFORE THE TRIBULATION: The catching away of the Church is described as sudden, global, and not connected to judgment. 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” This is not the Second Coming. Jesus does not touch the earth. There is no judgment. There is no wrath. Paul then immediately clarifies the timing. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Tribulation is repeatedly called the wrath of God. Revelation 6:17 “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” The Church is promised exemption from this period. Revelation 3:10 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” AFTER THE RAPTURE, NEW BELIEVERS APPEAR: Immediately after the Church is seen in heaven in Revelation 4–5, a new group is introduced on earth. Revelation 7:9 “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb…” John is told exactly who they are. Revelation 7:14 “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” These are not the Church. They come out of the Tribulation, not before it. THE MARK OF THE BEAST BECOMES MANDATORY: During the Tribulation, worship becomes enforced by law. Revelation 13:15–17 “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark…” This is a global system. There is no neutrality. There is no middle ground. REFUSAL LEADS TO EXECUTION: Scripture does not say they are imprisoned. It does not say they are exiled. It says they are executed. Revelation 20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands…” The method is specified. Beheaded. This aligns historically with capital punishment under authoritarian regimes and prophetically with the speed and visibility of public execution. WHY BEHEADING? The Bible emphasizes the head because allegiance is being tested. Christ is the Head of the Church. The Beast demands head-level allegiance. Revelation 13:16 “...to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads” Those who refuse the mark lose their physical head but keep their eternal life. Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul…” THEIR RESURRECTION IS DISTINCT: The Church is resurrected before the Tribulation. Tribulation martyrs are resurrected after it. Revelation 20:4–5 “…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” “First” here means first in kind, not first in time. Scripture shows resurrection in stages. Christ the firstfruits. The Church at the rapture. Tribulation martyrs at Christ’s return. 1 Corinthians 15:23 “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” WHY THIS MATTERS TODAY: The Tribulation saints are not lesser believers. They are not rejected by God. They are redeemed through faith in Christ during the darkest period in human history. But the Church is not appointed to this wrath. The pre-Tribulation rapture is not escapism. It is a promise rooted in the character of God. Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” SUMMARY: The Bible clearly teaches: The Church is removed before the Tribulation A new body of believers arises afterward They refuse the mark and worship of the Beast They are executed, specifically beheaded They are resurrected to reign with Christ This is not speculation. This is Scripture, line upon line. - More Joy Ministries - Tony Campbell #morejoyministries