    Both of the above passages appear to me to be in harmony with Luke 17:26-27, "And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." This emphasis on the same day is also repeated in Luke 17:28-29, "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."  Both of these passages appear to me to be emphasizing that the very day the rapture of God's people occurs [deliverance...Noah escaping the flood by entering the ark and Lot being bodily removed from Sodom] will be the same day the Tribulation begins.
    Brother, a truth that is often overlooked in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is that the Greek word, harpazo [caught up], is set in a Greek tense which literally means "to snatch out of the path of imminent danger." A crude but perhaps suitable illustration would be a situation where a huge truck is bearing down on a child who has darted out into the street. At the very last instant someone reaches out and snatches the child out of the path of the truck, thereby saving the child from destruction. So this passage indicates that at the very last moment before the destruction of the Tribulation comes upon humanity, our Lord is going to reach down and snatch [rapture] His people to glory. Both Luke 21:36 and Revelation 3:10 harmonize with this truth.
    I would remind you that in Genesis 41 "the seven years of dearth" immediately followed "the seven years of plenteousness," 41:53-54.  There was no "time gap" between the two sets of years. The seven good years were good right up to the last day, and the next day the seven evil years began and they were evil right from the day they began to the day they ended.   Most prophecy
students would agree that the seven evil years typify the seven year Tribulation. There is no gap between the two sets of seven years.
    Also, I find no "time gap" stated nor implied between the end of the church age as set forth in
Revelation 3:14-22 and the beginning of the Tribulation as set forth in Revelation 4:1-2.
    Some have speculated that there may be a 7 day gap, a 10 day gap, a 40 day gap, etc., but it is all speculation. There is no Scriptural proof for such theories. Until I receive some actual Scriptural proof of a gap between the rapture and the Tribulation, then I will just have to stay with what the Scriptures actually state and teach.  If this displeases some folks, they can stay displeased, get over it, or take it up with the Lord.  By God's grace I am going to go by what the Word actually says and teaches, rather than by what some would like to make it say.
    Brother, I have been asked this question many times previously. I have repeatedly told people that world conditions will worsen swiftly as the end of this present dispensation approaches. They are! Some have even told me they think we are already in the Tribulation. Hogwash! Jeremiah told the Jewish people, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?..," Jeremiah 12:5. I have no idea how much worse world conditions are going to get before our Lord comes to rapture His people, but I know that such conditions are in no way comparable with what humanity will have to face beginning with the first day of the Tribulation.
I have told folks [my own speculation] that it is possible that the very day God's people are raptured out of this world nuclear bombs [or worse] will be exploding on earth as we are sweeping upwards through the sky. Read Luke 17:29 again.  Now look at the present world situation.  Is such a scenario hanging over the heads of humanity today? Such could happen at any moment now, and every person willing to honestly face reality knows it.  It is my conviction that when judgment by fire comes upon humanity, such will mark the beginning of the Tribulation, Revelation 8:5-7.
No brother, I don't see any significant gap between the rapture [the end of this present dispensation] of God's people and the beginning of the Tribulation. One thing is certain; all of God's people [those truly saved] are going to find out soon! Glory!
    Thank you for writing. Pray for me. God bless you, dear brother.

                   Pastor F. M. Riley


-----Original Message-----
From: Tom DiEmidio
To: F M Riley
Sent: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 3:01 pm
Subject: Question