Rapture: Jesus will not subject His own bride to His wrath (“the wrath of the Lamb”) meant for her enemies. He will instead protect her, both the 144,000 redeemed Israelites by sealing them (Rev. 7:1-4) and the Gentile church (Rev. 7:9-14) by bringing them out of the great tribulation[1] and into His presence in heaven. This second act is the biblical idea of the rapture.[2] Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am [i.e., heaven], there you may be also” (John 14:3) as did Paul (1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:50-53), that the Lord Jesus will translate into heaven His redeemed at the rapture, both dead and living. This imminent and unpredictable[3] coming of Christ for rapture is the biblical anticipation of the church. We will indeed be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air, and “so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).
Graciousness: There are areas of doctrine and theology where Christians can amicably differ. Not every issue is a hill to die on, and a graceless insistence on being right should not be confused with contending for the faith (Jude 3). The servant of God must not quarrel, but be kind (2 Tim. 2:24-25). He who waits for the imminent return of Christ is to exhibit benevolence, not belligerence (Phil. 4:5). It is a mockery to the word of God to fight tooth and nail for pre-tribulationism, when its reality should yield gentleness. Euodia and Syntyche needed to learn to live in harmony in the Lord (Phil. 4:2-3). Likewise, we must abandon our sense of superiority and suspicion in favor of humility and acceptance (Rom. 14:1; Eph. 4:2-3). Be not spineless, but gentle and strong.
[1] To “come out of the great tribulation” means to come out of the place of the great tribulation. That wrath of the Lamb begins after rapture at 8:1. Jesus Himself rescues us from that coming wrath (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
[2] “Rapture” comes from the Latin verb rapio from the Latin version of the Bible. It is a biblical term.
[3] Imminence is seen in the language of near (or “at-hand” from ἐγγύς and ἐγγίζω) in Rom. 13:12; Phil. 4:5; 1 Pet. 4:7; Rev. 1:3; 22:10. Unpredictability is seen in the unknowability of the times (χρόνος, chronological time) and epochs (καιρός, the kind of time; time marked by signs) in Acts 1:7; 1 Thess. 5:1-2.