I have the opportunity to visit a number of churches each year, often in two or three different states. One thing I have seen is that many churches make particular beliefs about the timing of the rapture, the "catching up" of the Church.

Many of them believe the rapture will occur before the tribulation, or time of trouble that will come upon the world. We call this the "pre-trib" viewpoint. That's is great, if it happens, but what if they are wrong?

Yes, there are some scripture verses that imply that it could happen before the tribulation. There are also verses that indicate that it will occur after the tribulation ("post-trib"), and a few that sound like it could be somewhere in the middle ("mid-trib"). Rather than making a doctrine about the timing of the rapture, we need to respond appropriately:

1. Always be ready, whenever it happens.
2. Be prepared to persist through whatever hardship is ahead.

I personally believe that the rapture will occur at least part-way through the tribulation. But I would not want to make a doctrine about it. If I am wrong and you have built your life upon my teaching, you might not be ready for a pre-trib rapture. Likewise, if I make a doctrine that the rapture is pre-trib and it happens later, you might not be prepared to hang on through thick and thin, which could endanger you if the rapture occurs later than you expected.

Obviously, the root of this comes from making rigid doctrines out of things that are not clearly specified in scripture. As believers and as leaders, we want people to be ready to go and ready to stay through hardship. Anything else is dangerous at best.