1 Thessalonians 4:14

We could translate "If" "Since." This word introduces a first class condition in the Greek text, which in this case is a condition true to reality. The death and resurrection of Christ are among the best attested facts of history. [Note: See Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone?] Furthermore the Scriptures predicted these events before they occurred. Therefore we can be equally certain that the events of the Rapture, which Paul predicted here, will also happen. Paul told his readers that God would bring the spirits of Christians who had died back with Jesus when He returned for the saints still living on earth. It is only those who have died "in Jesus" (saints "in Christ," i.e., Christians as contrasted with all the saved of all ages) who will accompany our Lord. The terms "in Christ" and "in Jesus" when used of believers consistently describe believers who are members of the body of Christ, the church.

Pretribulationists identify this return of Christ with the Rapture that, we believe, will occur before the Tribulation. Posttribulationists contend that this return of Christ (the Rapture) will occur at the end of the Tribulation just before the second coming of Christ.