Perry Stone - Evidence for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Summary:
Speaking from the Valley of Armageddon, Perry Stone teaches that the Rapture—Christ coming to catch away overcoming believers—will occur before the seven-year Tribulation, based on principles of God separating the righteous from the unrighteous, providing escape from wrath, and the church’s absence in Revelation’s tribulation chapters. He contrasts this pre-tribulation view with mid- and post-trib positions, citing Scriptures like 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, Luke 21:36, and patterns of biblical escapes (Noah, Lot), while noting separations like wise/foolish virgins and sheep/goats. Ultimately, he urges believers to live as overcomers ready for Christ’s imminent return, planning for both rapture and potential endurance.
Greeting from the Valley of Armageddon
Well, once again we’re coming to you. Look, I’ve been doing this for 14 years right from this hill, about two programs every trip—you’ve seen it before. But look! I have a different outfit on; that’s how you know it’s a new program. I tried—I used to wear the same jogging outfits every year because that’s what I had—man, that got old. That’s a rerun; that’s a rerun, though it wasn’t a rerun.
So, I’m trying to buy new shirts so that you’ll know it’s new. But anyway, everybody here—what did we say a minute ago? Out of 200 people, 20 have been here before; 180 have not. How many of you would come back here if you had a chance? Raise your hand. Look at that! And this is only their third—what? Second day? Or third day of being here? Third day of being here.
We haven’t even gotten to the big stuff! Oh, look at that; it’s all over. We haven’t even gotten to the big stuff yet. I’m serious, man; y’all are in for it. Okay, tell them, Megiddo. You know where I’m at—probably Valley of Armageddon. Behind it, every time you come to this valley, you think of one thing: Jesus, Revelation chapter 19—He will return from heaven with the armies of Heaven to this place and defeat all the armies of the world.
Christ’s Return and the Millennium
And that day will be the day when Satan will be bound, and He will set up His kingdom that will last for 1,000 years. We’re not going to deal with that specifically, but what we’re going to deal with for the next few moments I think you’re going to find intriguing. There are a lot of people that write me; there’s a lot of people on this trip, I’m sure, that probably have different beliefs about what I’m going to share with you.
But a lot of people write me and they say, «Okay, Perry, we believe that there is coming a tribulation.» You can prove it from the Old Testament prophets—Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24—you can prove it from the Book of Revelation. We also know that Jesus will come again, but during that seven-year time frame that’s mentioned in the Bible, will Jesus come somewhere at the beginning of the seven? It’s called pre-trib. In the middle of the seven, which is called mid-trib? Or does He come, as some people are teaching, at the very end of the age—at the end of the tribulation?
Views on the Timing of the Rapture
Now, here’s the interesting thing, and I want to admit this to you: pre-trib people have great arguments; mid-trib people have certain arguments that they key in on. Post-trib people have arguments they key in on. And now I’m not saying this to brag because a lot of other ministers study a lot more than I have, but God has blessed me with 100,000 hours of studying the Bible.
I have studied with an open mind every view, and I am still convinced, after studying every view, that the coming of the Lord for the overcoming believer happens at the beginning—some point or just prior to the seven-year tribulation. I don’t say that haphazardly; I don’t say that just arrogantly. I say that very sincerely. I’ve got some of my closest friends in the world that are post-trib; some of my closest friends are mid-trib. But I told myself when I’m going up, I’ll wave bye to you, and I’ll see you when we come back. So, I say that jokingly.
Scriptures on Christ’s Return
So, let’s look at this. Here we go—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 trumpet of God; the dead in Christ shall rise first. We who 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. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.»
Now let us look at the New Testament scriptures to show you there is a return of Christ to the earth. John 14:1-2: «Jesus said, ‘If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.’» Acts 1:11: «Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you have seen him go.»
Matthew 24:30: «They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.» Matthew 24:27: «As lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.» 2 Thessalonians 2:8: «Christ will destroy the Antichrist with the brightness of His coming.» James 5:7: «The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.» Zechariah 14:4: «His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives in that day, and it shall cleave in two parts—one part to the east and the other part to the west.»
Old Testament Prophecies
Then Jude 14: «One of the prophecies from the oldest prophet, the oldest prophet of the Bible was Enoch. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon the earth.’» You cannot read the New Testament and even the Old Testament without realizing in the Old Testament that King Messiah is coming to rule the planet one day, and you can’t read the New Testament without realizing who the King Messiah really is.
King Messiah is Jesus Christ, and Jesus has promised us that if He’s gone to Heaven, He’s going to come and get you that where He is, there you may be also. One guy teaches on TV; he’s a good man of God, but he teaches this. He said Jesus will come, sound a trumpet, we will rise in the air, do a U-turn, and come right back.
Not a Quick U-Turn
I’ve got news for you, my brother; there’s a marriage supper in heaven somewhere in that U-turn, and there’s also a judgment seat of Christ called the Bema somewhere in that U-turn. So, it’s not going to be a U-turn. I’m going up and staying a while; I’m going up to heaven when He comes, I’m staying a while, then I’m going to come back with Him a while.
So, let’s look at some of the things. If you don’t believe that He’s coming again, then you just don’t believe the promises of the Bible. So, there’s no way of me convincing you if you don’t believe it. I’ve heard people say, «Well, I’ve heard this for years. My grandfather, my grandmother, and all the way back they taught us the Lord’s coming; He hasn’t come back yet.»
Delay Like in Noah’s Day
What about Noah? Noah preached for at least a hundred years that a flood was coming—nothing happened. And even when Methuselah died, Methuselah’s great-grandfather’s name was Methuselah, and when he dies, it comes. Methuselah died; nothing happened. I’m sure the people of Noah’s day thought, «Noah, you made a fool out of yourself now because when Methuselah dies, something was supposed to happen.»
You know what God said? «For seven days, I’m going to wait until the rain comes on the earth.» God waited seven days so Noah could bury Methuselah—so Noah could grieve for him. And at the end of seven days, God shut the door, and the rain came. So, the point I want to make to you is this: just because people walk around and say they don’t believe in the Bible, they don’t believe in the word of God, the Bible says, «Shall your unbelief make the Word of God of none effect? Yea, let God be true, but let every man be a liar.» Jesus is going to absolutely come again.
Principle of Separation
So, let’s take a look at some of the ideas about some of the important things. Number one, I believe that the Lord’s going to come before the timing of the tribulation because of a principle that I call separating the righteous from the unrighteous. Now, look at this: everything I’m going to read to you happens at the end of the age, okay? The end of the age is the time of the end, and it can be prior to the return of Jesus, or it can be when Jesus returns to earth, okay? It can go both ways.
Look at this: Matthew 25, verse 33—the sheep are separated from the goats. When? When does that happen? When the Son of Man comes. Matthew chapter 13: 47-48—the good fish are separated from the bad fish. When does that happen? It says, «When the end of the age comes.» The wheat are separated from the tares—Matthew 13:30. When does that happen? At the end of the age.
Here’s another separation: the five wise and the five foolish virgins—Matthew 25. The five wise remained; the five foolish remained, and the five wise were allowed into the wedding supper because they had oil in their lamps. When does this happen? At the return of the bridegroom, and the return of the bridegroom is not when He returns to earth; it’s when He takes us to the Father’s house for the marriage supper.
Separations in Scripture
All right, then we discover there’s the unprofitable and the profitable servant—Matthew 25:30. That is a judgment which takes place when He separates those that have done things for Him versus those who did nothing for Him. Now, there are three major separations. First of all, there is prophetically a separation at the Rapture of the church—that’s the separation of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins.
I’ve heard people say to me, «I believe the church is going through the tribulation.» I said, «I do too—the backslidden one.» Let me explain: in the Book of Revelation, there are seven churches that are addressed. Five of those churches are rebuked by Jesus, and every one of them are told, «If you don’t repent, something bad’s going to happen to you.» One of them said, «I’m going to remove your candlestick.» The Lord said to one of them, «I’ll cast you into great tribulation.» But two of those churches are commended and bragged on, and God said, «I’ll keep you from the hour of testing which is coming upon the earth if you’ll do my will.»
Overcomers and the Rapture
In fact, in the Bible, it says seven times to those seven churches, «To him that overcometh.» To him that overcometh! You see, there is a catching away for the overcomer. What do you overcome? The world, the flesh, and the devil. What do you overcome? You overcome the power of darkness. What do you overcome? You overcome selfishness; you overcome greed; you overcome unforgiveness; you overcome bitterness.
And those who are willing to overcome and love the Lord with all their heart and follow Him, they will be caught up when the Lord comes. Somebody say praise the Lord for that now! That is the separation that happens at the Rapture. That would be the five wise virgins who are ready for Him. They’re looking for Him; they’re prepared; they enter into the kingdom. Remember in the Bible, it says the bridegroom shuts the door, and there are five that remain.
There will be people who are not overcomers. There will be people who were Christians in name only, but they didn’t serve the Lord. There will be people who had a knowledge of God. Just because you have a knowledge of God—listen: having a knowledge of God doesn’t make you any more a Christian than driving yourself into a barn makes you a cow. You see, you’ve got to have a relationship with Jesus Christ for you to know that you’re born again; you’re an overcomer.
Second Separation: Judgment of Nations
All right, the second separation happens when Jesus returns with the saints of God in Revelation 19, Zechariah 14, and with the armies of Heaven, and He comes back to earth. Now this is the verse that we need to talk about for a moment. «When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, and He shall set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand.»
So, there is the separation called the Judgment of the Nations in Joel chapter 2. It happens in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Our group has not seen this valley yet; it’s called the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, and that’s where the nations are going to be gathered together. God’s going to judge the nations; God’s going to separate the sheep from the goats. And Matthew explains to you the difference between the sheep and the goats; we won’t get into that now.
Third Separation: Mark of the Beast
The third separation that happens is the separation in Revelation 19:20 with the Beast, the false prophet, the Antichrist, and those who worshiped the Beast—those who followed the image and took the mark. It’s very important that you understand something: there’s still a mystery as to what will be the mark of the Beast. I have my theory; I have my ideas. Other ministers have their theories and their ideas, but the point is simply this: if you ever get to the point where Christ comes and you’re left on this planet, and a system arises where they try to put a mark in your right hand somewhere or in your forehead and you can’t buy or sell without the mark, you need to totally refuse that.
Here’s the reason why: anyone that receives the mark has to worship the religion that that mark comes from. And I’m going to stand here publicly and tell you on TV that the Antichrist is not a Jew from the tribe of Dan. The Antichrist is not the head of the United Nations. The Antichrist is not the head of the EU. The Antichrist will be a Muslim that rises out of Syria, Iraq, and the Lebanon area—the old Babylonian territory. Isaiah 14 bears that out and other scriptures that we don’t have time to get into because I’ll get sidetracked if I start talking about that.
But when Jesus comes back and He sits there in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and He begins to judge people, He has to separate those that have the mark of the Beast and those that worship the Beast from those who survive.
Surviving the Tribulation
Now, we don’t like to talk about people surviving in the tribulation. I’ll tell you why: because we’re afraid that if our family members don’t serve God, then maybe they’ll be given a second chance. So, we like to scare the devil out of them. Now, I’m serious; we want to scare the devil out of them now and say, «You better get right now because if you don’t, you never know what’s going to happen!»
Let me tell you something: it’s not just about going through the tribulation; you might die before the tribulation ever happens. That’s why you’ve got to serve God, because you could die before the tribulation ever gets here. But we want to frighten—and I’m not saying this negatively; we want to frighten them now to get them into the Kingdom. Because we say, «But wait a minute! Maybe they think they’re going to be one of those that survives.»
I had a girl tell me one time, «If I miss the Rapture, I’m not worried about it.» I said, «Why not?» She said, «Well, first of all, there’s a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God.» And she says, «When that happens, I’ll have enough time to repent.» I said, «You haven’t read your Bible properly.»
No Time to Repent at the Rapture
I said, «One time God spoke from Heaven and said, ‘This is my Son, Jesus.’» The Bible said some thought it was thunder; some said it was an angel; and others said it was God. I said, «There were three different voices heard. The people close to God knew it was God; the people that were spiritual but weren’t real close to God thought it was an angel; and the people who didn’t have a relationship with God thought it was thunder.»
I said, «Sister, when Jesus comes, and that trumpet sounds, it’s going to sound like thunder and look like a flash of lightning; and you’re not going to participate in it.» She said, «Dear Lord, I never thought about that.» I said, «We’re going to be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That is so fast you don’t even have time to say, ‘Forgive me, Jesus! ’ By the time you say, ‘Forgive me, Jesus, ’ I blinked three times!» Y’all will get that in a minute—twinkling of an eye! Okay, blink three times. It took a little while there.
My point is that you cannot live this way and hope that you’re going to have time to get right when the time comes. I have a teaching—I’m sidetracked here for a minute; I might as well be. But I have a teaching—I’ve taught my kids this: «In the morning, ask Jesus to help you start your day; before you go to bed at night, ask Him to forgive you of anything you’ve done that you shouldn’t do.»
Daily Repentance and Overcoming
Someone says, «Well, don’t you think God gets tired of me saying I’m sorry?» Do you really think God gets tired of hearing you say, «I’m sorry»? Do you get tired of hearing your kids say, «Mommy, I’m so sorry; I want you to help me not—I know, Mommy, I shouldn’t have done it, but I really am trying»? Do you get tired of them? No, you love to hear them.
Now, you get tired of when they say, «I ain’t going to listen to you. Who do you think you are? What are you telling me?» Oh, that’s when you get real tired of them. But Jesus said to forgive your brother seventy times seven. You think if God tells me to forgive somebody who oughts against me seventy times seven—that’s 490 times—that He’s going to get tired of somebody who really sincerely, and I’m not talking about people just being goofy, but really sincerely wants to be in the Kingdom and is trying? Come on!
So, how many of you know people have addictions? People struggle with pornography. People struggle with drug addiction. They struggle with alcohol addiction. And there are some people who are trying and trying and trying. I’m going to tell you—keep trying. One of these days, God’s going to help you, and it can happen instantly; it can happen gradually; it can happen according to your faith, but I believe He’s going to help you. But the point is that’s what the Lord’s looking for in people today—people that will remain faithful to Him, overcome, keep their eyes on Him, knowing He’s going to return.
Righteous and Unrighteous Together Until the End
All right, so there’s a separation. He’s not going to let the people that worship the Beast or have the mark of the Beast rule on earth with Him during that thousand years. That’s the third separation that’s going to take place. So, here’s my point: in the law of separation, He separates the righteous from the unrighteous. That’s the bottom line. So, the righteous are caught up as the overcoming remnant, and they’re caught up into Heaven to be with the Lord, and the unrighteous remain on the earth.
All right, let’s go to number two. No, no—I have another note here. Yeah, oh, this is good. Please notice this: in what I just said, the sheep and the goats are in the same field till the time of the end. The good and bad fish are in the same net till the time of the end. The wheat and the tares are in the same field till the time of the end. All the virgins are together till the time of the end, and all those servants are working in the same estate till the Messiah returns.
So, the point is the Rapture is not just the resurrection of the dead in Christ bringing them in and the living saints being caught up. It is to separate off of the earth righteousness from those who will go through the wrath of God.
Escape from Wrath
The Bible says in Nahum that He appointed His wrath for His enemies. I am not an enemy of God, and Paul even said God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through His Son. It is Jesus that said, «Pray that you be accounted worthy to escape all these things and to stand before the Son of Man.» By the way, in the setting of that verse, He’s talking about the tribulation period and the time of the end and all the cosmic signs that are going to take place.
So the second thing I want to tell you, which is very important, and we’re talking about here the pre-tribulation Rapture catching away and why I believe in it, one of the other reasons is there’s a principle of escaping from wrath, and I mentioned this a moment ago. I gave you the verses, but follow me very carefully. «Watch ye therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man» (Luke 21:36). Nahum 1:2; He reserves—God reserves His wrath for His enemies. Romans 1:18: The wrath of God is revealed against the ungodly. 1 Thessalonians 5:9: The righteous are not appointed to wrath.
Now look at the following verses that deal with escaping from wrath. This is important—escaping from wrath! Isaiah 13:9: «It’s the day—the day of the Lord comes; He will destroy the sinners out of it, not the righteous.» Nahum 1 and 2: He reserves vengeance for His adversaries and He reserves His wrath for His enemies. Matthew 3:7: «Who has warned you?» He’s talking about the Pharisees, the hypocrites, to flee from the wrath to come. John 3:36: «Whoever believes not on the Son, the wrath of God abides on him.» Romans 1:18: «The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness.» Ephesians 5:6: «The wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience.»
Biblical Escapes
So, the point is that the wrath of God is the judgment of God that comes to the entire earth during the tribulation period. Now, if you look at the Book of Revelation, it’s really interesting some of the wording there because the wrath of the Lamb is alluded to when the seven seals are broken. So, it’s like the first 42 months and the last 42 months are called the wrath of God. So, I don’t want to just say that one is the wrath of the Lamb, one is the wrath of God, but yet the first 42 months is what the Bible says, and the last 42 months is what the Bible says. So, in other words, in the entire seven years of tribulation, it is a time of wrath.
Now look at the escape. I talked about the righteous escaping. Look at the escape in the Bible. Noah escaped from the flood—Hebrews 11:7; Lot from the fire—2 Peter 2:9—from the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah. The judgment in Exodus chapter 12—the Hebrews were protected from the death angel because of the blood of the Lamb—Hebrews 11:31. Rahab was protected because she stayed inside the house where the blood had been applied to—I’m sorry, the red thread had been put in the window.
Luke 21:21: «At the destruction of Jerusalem Jesus said, get out of the city and flee.» Now that’s an escape! He’s telling them when it comes, «You can get out; you have a way of escape; you have a way of getting out.» The country of Jordan—Daniel 11, chapter 41: in Petra, there’s a picture of Petra on the screen there; it’s believed to be the place where a Jewish remnant will flee during the tribulation period and also Revelation 7:3 deals with that as well.
Church Not Appointed to Wrath
Now so point number one: there’s a law of separation. God does not allow the righteous to go through the same thing that the unrighteous go through. Number two: He makes a way of escape. And number three: His wrath is not intended for the church. I heard a guy say this one time: «Well, the church is so backslidden that God’s going to have to put us in the tribulation and cut our heads off to purge the church.»
Wait a minute! Stop right there—since when did my blood purge anybody? My blood can’t purge a person! My blood can’t purge me! In your Bible, it plainly tells you whose blood purges what. It’s the blood of Jesus that purges you and cleanses you from unrighteousness. You hear me? And so, some of the ideas that people say might sound right, but weigh it in line with the scripture, and it kind of falters there.
Church in Revelation
Here’s what I want to tell you, though: number one, the church is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation after chapter 3. And in chapter 4, verse 1, there’s a whole transition that carries you all the way to the end of the book. Number two: in Revelation chapter 4, when the horsemen are released and the seals are broken, you start seeing Jews—144,000 from 12 tribes. Those are not 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses. They used to teach that until they got 144,000 and one members, and they had to change. Those are Jewish men from Israel. Then you see the same number in Revelation 14 appearing in heaven singing the song of Moses.
Folks, the Book of Revelation starts dealing with Israel and the Jewish people and the rise of the Antichrist and the false prophet and the mark of the beast and the judgment on Gentile nations, and Israel is the theme of there. And let me say something about the Book of Revelation: what it deals with—it’s the summary of all the Old Testament prophets that predicted what would happen at the tribulation. It’s the picture of all their prophecies at one time, showing you what Isaiah, what Jeremiah, what Joel said—bam! There they are, happening during one time frame—everything they predicted about the time of the end.
Saints in Heaven During Tribulation
And number three—real important here—the saints of God are receiving rewards in heaven in Revelation 11:18. They are at a marriage supper in Revelation 19, and it’s in heaven. It is not happening on earth. That judgment does not happen on earth; it happens in heaven. If we are in heaven, we’ve been resurrected. If we’re in heaven, we who are alive have been caught up. We are there in chapter 11. The Antichrist breaks into the world scene in chapter 13, so we’re in heaven, we have worshiped in the early part of Revelation, then we’re at the Bema, then we’re at the marriage supper, then we come back with the Lord.
And I believe that helps show you as well what I call pre-tribulation. I’m not going to argue with you; you can send me your 50-page outline. I’ve already studied the 50-page outline, and I’m not being arrogant about this. I’m open to discussion, but I will tell you I do believe from the sound doctrine of the scripture—if we tie it all together, the ancient Jewish wedding is another example that in this pre-tribulation Rapture, but here’s how you live: live like Jesus is coming tomorrow, but you better also plan like hell’s going to break loose. Just do it both ways: get ready and geared up to go up, but get ready if you have to stay for a while and go through some stuff to endure to the end, and you’ll be all right! You’ll be all right if you’ll live that way. Amen.
Closing Praise
All right, we’re done with the program. Don’t you go anywhere; I’ve got something brand new I have to show you. We’re excited about it. Let’s give the Lord a hand, everybody! Come on! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!