If you are one who doesn’t believe the bride will be taken before the tribulation, there is a serious question you need to answer. Please read this, and then explain why you believe what you believe.
Since the events of Acts 2 (the giving of the covenant on the Feast of Weeks), the “few” who have been added to the bride are those who have been “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). He is the New Covenant of marriage (“ketubah”) to Messiah—the eternal seal of redemption, the circumcision of the heart that makes one a true Jew in the Father’s eyes (Romans 2:29).
Also, since the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb on Passover, the barrier separating physical Jews and Gentiles (clean vs. unclean) was broken down—abolished. So, there is no longer a distinction between physical Jews and Gentiles in Messiah (the bride), which means that both physical Jews and Gentiles can be sealed by the Holy Spirit right now, as He is still the New Covenant being placed within the bride, regardless of any physical heritage. The vast majority of the bride, however, are physical Gentiles.
Now, within the many flavors of christianity, there are some who believe that the bride will still be on the earth during the tribulation—that there is no event at which those of the bride who remain on earth will be transported to heaven before the tribulation begins. But, this is the question those folks need to answer: If the bride is still here during the tribulation, then why are we told about 144,000 physical Jews who are sealed by the Spirit?
If everyone of the bride is being sealed by the Spirit—both physical Jews and Gentiles, why does scripture tell us about 144,000 who are specifically physical Jews who are virgin men and will be sealed by the Spirit? Why would there be any difference in them and the bride?
We are told about the 144,000 because there will be no other people on the earth during the tribulation who are sealed by the Holy Spirit. When the bride is removed on the Feast of Trumpets, the seal of the Holy Spirit is in her, and He will be removed with her. There no longer being anyone sealed by the Holy Spirit on the earth, it is then a momentous matter that we’re told about a specific group of people who become the only ones on the earth who are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
If everyone who will believe during that time were to be sealed by the Spirit, as scripture teaches the bride is, then it would make no sense to single out 144,000 physical Jews as being sealed—all who are believers would be sealed. But, that is not the case.
They will be the only humans sealed by the Spirit during the tribulation—the rest who believe will have to “endure to the end,” which means they will not receive the Spirit’s covering until their deaths, and “wheat” must be cut open physically before being winnowed. The “come up hither” statement in Rev. 11:12 ends the wheat harvest, just as it ends the barley harvest in Rev. 4:1.
Now, there are many things that will be happening during those times, and every single one of them is shown in the Father’s traditions—and, if you don’t know those traditions, then you don’t even know what to look for in the scriptures. You can’t see what you don’t know. It doesn’t matter if you think you know the scriptures, if you don’t know the Father’s traditions, then you don’t understand the scriptures.
Who are barley, who are wheat, and who are grapes? If you cannot answer that, then you actually don’t know the coming things—it doesn’t matter how strongly you believe what you believe. If your beliefs aren’t aligned with the Holy Spirit’s truths, they are false, and the Spirit’s truths are always fully aligned with the Father’s traditions.
Messiah said that the Holy Spirit would be the One who tells believers of the coming things. If you reject the traditions, then you reject the Holy Spirit’s truths, for the traditions show the prophetic calendar, and they reveal the meanings of the prophetic texts—and the Holy Spirit confirms those things to those whom He leads.
If you hear something different, then it’s not the Holy Spirit you are hearing.
For more information: Will There Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?