Pretribulationists contend that the Church is never mentioned in the tribulation chapters of Revelation. It is never mentioned by name, so if the Church were there, it is at least peculiar. Gundry says:

None of the “mysteries” distinctive of the Church—such as the equality of Jews and Gentiles in one Body, the Church as the bride of Christ, and Christ’s indwelling of believers—are ever applied specifically to tribulational saints. But this acquires significance as an argument for pretribulationism only on the premise that the burden of proof rests on posttribulationists to show that tribulational saints will belong to the Church.

Because of the argument for the time of the Church given in part 5, the burden of proof does rest on the non-pretribulationist. On the other hand, if mid or post-tribulationists can show that the Church is referred to in these passages, it would disprove pretribulationism.

Before looking at the tribulation saints in Revelation, it is important to understand some implications. If the Church is on earth during the tribulation, there are two basic possibilities:

(1) every saint in the tribulation belongs to the Church; or

(2) there are saints on the earth outside of the Church.[1]

Historic Premillennialists generally say that there is one people of God, the Church, so this would remain true during the tribulation. Gundry too, says that the only saved persons during the tribulation belong to the Church.[2]

Douglass Moo considers it possible that the Church and Israel could exist alongside each other during the tribulation and argues that this should be an option even for those who maintain a sharp distinction between the two.[3] Gundry is willing to entertain this idea, but he recognizes:

It is not merely a matter of dealing with two groups at once. It is a matter of dealing simultaneously with, and through, two groups of redeemed people and witnesses. Will two diverse groups of saints, those who belong to the Church and those who belong to Israel coexist on earth and perhaps live according to different regulations? If so, will the tribulational Church be composed exclusively of Gentile believers? Will two distinct companies of witnesses preach the Gospel, maybe variations of it?[4]

God has worked with two groups of redeemed in the past, and according to the pretribulationist, He will in the future: the saved among Israel and the saved among Gentiles. However, saints taken out of nations and baptized into one body where national distinctions disappear are different from saints of nations. The unique qualities of the Church make this a difficult scenario. Will redeemed Israel be raptured alongside the Church, or will she remain mortal for the Millennium? What about Gentiles? The nations inhabit the Millennium too, are they saved outside the Church? Will the body of Christ become barren during this time, slowly dying, and never adding to her number through the preaching of the word? The strange entailments of this scenario might not be fatal, but they do make it a hard pill to swallow.

So, Gundry believes all the tribulation saints are Church saints. Consequently, his position entails that no remnant of Israel exists (as Israel) during the seventieth week, and not all of the wicked nations are killed but that many unsaved enter the Millennium.[5] To maintain this he “is forced” (his words) to place the sheep and the goats judgment (Matt. 25:31-46) at the end of the Millennium.[6] Posttribulationists like to argue that their view is the more parsimonious theory, but the difficulties produced by trying to account for mortals in the Millennium demonstrate the explanatory power of pretribulationism. Since the only reasonable option is that the Church comprises the sole body of believers, if the descriptions of tribulation saints in Revelation do not fit the Church, this will heavily favor a pretribulation rapture.

The 144,000

The 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14 feature prominently in this discussion. Historic Premillennialist and posttribulationist, Craig Blomberg, displays his ecclesiology when he says, “this is the church of Jesus Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of many promises to Israel, symbolically depicted as Israel.”[7] Others also take the 144,000 as symbolic and non-literal, to various degrees. If they are, then their identification as the Church is highly dependent on prior theological commitments. The only reason to avoid interpreting them as literally 144,000 Israelites, however, is to fit a certain theology. Taking them literally fits perfectly with pretribulationism, so the burden lies with those who would say they are non-literal.

If taken literally, the 144,000 are identified as Israelites, and based on good ecclesiology, this does not fit the Church. Gundry agrees with this and proposes, “What is more natural than to regard the 144,000 as forming that Jewish remnant, divinely preserved through the tribulation and converted at the end?”[8] On the contrary, what is more natural than to regard the 144,000 as the awakened remnant of Israel, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 24:14)? The only reason to suggest that these remain unsaved until the end of the tribulation is to preserve a certain theology.

The Two Witnesses in Revelation Chapter 11

 The Two Witnesses are individuals.[9] Nothing is said of their association to other saints, except that their ministry is related to the temple and contrasted with Gentiles (Rev. 11:2). Their powers and situation are also reminiscent of Elijah. So, their character is Jewish. If they are individuals of saved Israel, then Gundry’s proposal that Israel is not saved until after the tribulation ends is false. If they are of the Church, then their ministry is oddly focused.

Furthermore, as Malachi predicted, one in the spirit of Elijah would come before the Day of the Lord. In a sense, John the Baptist fulfilled that role, but Jesus indicated that Elijah is still to come (Matt. 17:11). He said that if they had received John, he would be that Elijah (Matt. 11:14). The Two Witnesses are likely the fulfillment of that expectation, and Jesus’s words imply that Israel will receive their testimony. Since the Church is a mystery, she cannot be the fulfillment of Elijah.

Revelation 13:7

At least some of the references to tribulation saints in Revelation are references to the same saints the Beast prevails against in Daniel 7:21, since Revelation 13:7 alludes directly to this verse in Daniel. If the Church does not replace or fulfill OT prophecies (because it is a mystery), then the saints the Beast persecutes in Daniel 7 are not Church saints. If the saints in the book of Revelation are the same saints described in OT references, then they are not Church saints. This also disproves the theory that Israel remains unsaved until the end of the tribulation. Since Daniel 7:21 and Revelation 13:7 describe an OT prophecy about tribulation saints, then Revelation 13:7 does not describe the Church.

The Martyrs and Persecuted in Revelation 6 and 12

The martyrs in Revelation chapter 6 are spoken of as individuals, not as a united body like the Church often is. The persecuted ones who have the testimony of Jesus in Revelation 12:17 are not identified as a united body, either, but are only named in contrast to the Woman, Israel, who hides in the wilderness, and in contrast to her Child who is caught up to heaven some time earlier. Neither of these groups of saints are obviously the Church, and their descriptions fit better with the proposal that these are saints of nations.

The Great Multitude in Revelation 7

 Speaking of saints of nations, the great multitude in chapter 7 is said to be “of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.” While the Church is formed out of every nation, these saints are identified as being of every nation. From the pretribulationist perspective, the significance of this passage is that during this seventieth week, as history culminates, God is finally beginning to redeem both Israel and Gentiles corporately (as families of the earth, fulfilling promises like Genesis 12:3).

None of the tribulation saints in Revelation make likely candidates for the Church. In fact, they have national identity markers, earthly ministries, and they fulfill OT prophecies about Israelite saints. If the Church is a mystery body, separate from Israel and the Nations, a third race so to speak, then these identity markers are positive evidence against the presence of the Church in the tribulation.

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[1] That is, while the Church is on earth. For the mid-tribulationist, this applies to the tribulation prior to the rapture.

[2] “The tribulation knows only one group of redeemed people, the Church.” Gundry, Church and Tribulation, 24, cf. 81-83.

[3] Moo, Three Views, 171.

[4] Gundry, Church and Tribulation, 23-24. Italics in source.

[5] Ibid., 163-167.

[6] Ibid 164, 166. Will there be naked, sick, imprisoned brethren of Christ during the Millennium? Cf. Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, 575-578.

[7] Craig Blomberg, “The Posttribulationism of the New Testament: Leaving ‘Left Behind’ Behind,” in A Case for Historic Premillennialism, eds. Craig Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 76-77.

[8] Gundry, Church and Tribulation, 83.

[9] While some believe them to be symbolic, like the 144,000, what they symbolize will be determined by prior commitments.