PRE-RAPTURE TRIBULATION
There are four basic elements to pre-rapture tribulation:

First there is the tribulation of living with an evil-impure heart. Most people might think that it is an exaggeration to call this tribulation, but what they think does not matter. What matters is that God uses the term tribulation to symbolically represent this condition to represent people who cannot hear his spoken voice. Using the term tribulation will seem like hyperbolic language to people who have not yet heard God’s spoken voice. This will be their attitude until they experience rapture when they do hear his voice. Then the language will no longer be hyperbolic.

Second, there is the matter of living without God’s laws written on the heart. This is a condition of spiritual famine and separation from God which creates all kinds of internal stress that God calls tribulation and death.

Third, there are the constant conflicts that exists within and between  religious communities. Peace does not exist because religious leaders are always scheming and maneuvering to maintain their personal kingdoms. Sometimes God calls this injustice, slavery and oppression, and sometimes he calls it tribulation.

STUDY TIP: See Religion is the Enemy,  Gods at War and Sibling Conflict for understanding of religious conflict. Also see this link and this link for parallels to the symbolism of Revelation.

Fourth is the process of being humbled when an individual recognizes that he/she has been deceived by religion. The term “end times” describes the kinds of tribulations (i.e. internal struggles of evil, impure hearts) that people go through while being humbled. This period is a period dying to religion, which is not an easy process.

It is difficult for religious people to accept that God hates the religion you thought was so good and loved so much. Tribulation is a good word to describe the struggles of holding on to your religious life in the face of truth that it was all a deception. It is not easy to sacrifice the tangible rewards of being religious for the intangible rewards of hearing God’s voice. These sacrifices are represented in the Old Testament as blood sacrifices and burnt offerings which symbolically represent the act of putting to death fleshly religious activity.

This process that can also be compared to getting sober from an addictive, toxic substance or habit.

STUDY TIP: See Pride, Arrogance, Boasting, Power and Humility for understanding of what it means to be humbled by God. Also see ADDICTED TO RELIGION AND AFRAID TO QUIT.

When an individual has been humbled to the point that he/she is willing to totally quit practicing religion, that person gains forgiveness from sin, deliverance/salvation from enemies, and eternal life. This happens because he/she has stopped listening to the voices of false prophets and begins to learn how to hear God’s spoken voice. When this happens, the end of the age (i.e. period) of religion for that individual has come, and the beginning of the age of worship in spirit and truth begins. He/she has responded to God’s call to come out of religion. He she has transitioned from Old/First Covenant religion to being a New Covenant disciple.

These are the kinds of tribulations that Old/First Covenant religionists go through before they are raptured (i.e. hear God’s spoken voice) and become New Covenant disciples.