Among those fundamentalists who accordingly agree that the final return of Jesus Christ takes place before a literal millennium begins, there are three basic positions regarding the timing of the rapture of Believers itself. The most commonly held view among fundamentalists is that the rapture takes place at the beginning of the tribulation, the position I hold. However, good men have proposed that the rapture takes place at the midpoint (mid-tribulation rapture position), and others have determined that Believers will go all the way through the tribulation (post-tribulation rapture position) making the second coming of Jesus Christ the same as the rapture.

Having carefully studied all three positions, I conclusively reject the post-tribulation rapture position as too inconsistent with other New Testament passages (such as I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I Corinthians 15:51-54, II Thessalonians 2, I Thessalonians 5 and others). While the advocates of the mid-tribulation-rapture position make some good points, the pre-tribulation rapture seems to fit more consistently with all the other scriptures regarding this period of time. The pre-tribulation rapture of Believers is the most widely held view among fundamentalists.