Thank you for the eschatology question, “When is the tribulation and rapture in the Bible?”
In giving my understanding to this question, my answer does not represent other Christians or churches. For one consideration of the timeline, when, the tribulation and rapture begins.
A. The Tribulation will not begin until the Gospel has been preached throughout the whole world.
Acts 1 says this, “He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NIV).
Romans11 says this, “25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way[e] all Israel will be saved” (NIV).
Matthew 24 says this, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.“ (NIV).
I believe God is gathering his sheep throughout the ages to part of his family of God. Once the Gospel has reached all people group and those individuals come to faith in Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ will return for his Church. This will signal the end of time will come upon the Earth.
B. Christians think that the “rapture” of the Church is drawing near as they interpret the world events.
The return of Israel to the Promised Land, the formation of the United Nation, the rise of the World Court, the World Monetary Policy, the digital age of a chip or the Mark of the Beast is now viable, the Temple Mount be spacious enough to accommodate both Jews and Muslims, and the European Union are seen as the preparatory stage for the rise of the Antichrist and the Rapture of the Church.
C. The Rapture of the Church is viewed as BEFORE the Tribulation Period.
Jesus declares that he is preparing a place for them. He assures his followers that he will return to take his followers so that they will be where he is at.
John 14 says this, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (NIV).
I Thessalonians 4 says this, “14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (NIV).
The Apostle Paul states that the Lord will return with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first and then those alive will meet the Lord in the air, not in Jerusalem. It is only the dead in Christ are resurrected, not the Old Testament Jews.
D. The Seven Year Tribulation will begin soon after the “rapture” of the believers in Christ.
The Judgments of God will begin to fall on the Earth as described in the Book of Revelations. It is worthy to note that Christians are not mention after chapter 4 until chapter 21.
E. At the Seven Year Tribulation comes to a close, the Jewish people will cry out for their Deliverer, the Messiah to rescue them from the persecution of the Antichrist.
Matthew 24 says this, “15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. (NIV).
During that Tribulational Time Period, the suffering is unequal in Israel’s past but is yet to come. There are Christians who believed that Matthew 24 was fulfilled when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple was desecrated in 70 AD. The counterargument is that the Jews were exiled from Israel but the Jews in the Roman Empire were not severely persecuted nor the description of Revelation’s judgment occurred.
There is not just the persecution of Jews but of all religious groups that they must worship the Antichrist or face death. There will rise the one world religion on earth of the Antichrist who claims that he is the deliverer of the world.
F. At the end of the seven years, the Messiah will return on Earth to Jerusalem with the heavenly beings to rescue the Jewish people.
The Jewish people will recognized that it is the Messiah is the Christ whom they have rejected through the centuries. He will bring an end to reign of terror by the Antichrist and install the Millennial Kingdom. The deceased Old Testaments saints will be resurrected to enjoy the Promised Land. At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Jesus Christ will judge the unbelievers based on the deeds of their life
Revelations 19 says this, “11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will [d]rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the [e]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (NIV).
Revelation 20 says this, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose [g]presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and [h]books were opened; and another [i]book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the [j]books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if [k]anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (NIV).
There are Christians who believe that the Christians will go THROUGH the Tribulation. My belief is that that Christians will be taken up, raptured, BEFORE the Tribulation.
Reading the various perspectives and coming to one’s own conclusion is important on the Rapture and the Tribulation. We are called to compare Scripture with Scripture. There is no disagreement among Christians that they believe that Jesus Christ will return, it is a matter of how they see the eschatological event unfolds.
SUMMARY: The Tribulation Period will occur when the Gospel is preached to every people group whereby Jesus Christ will rapture the dead in Christ before the seven years of Tribulation begins.
For more perspectives:
https://www.quora.com/When-is-the-tribulation-and-rapture-in-the-Bible