Just before the AD70 judgment(the Great Tribulation) began, the first tribulation ended. That first tribulation was the "Baptism of Fire," the time of testing of His followers, to see who would fall away from faith in Him, and revert back to their old ways, usually back to the sacrificial system. Those who didn't fall away, who endured to the end, were saved. Sorry to disappoint dispensationalists, but the Jews (and possibly some Gentiles) were raptured at that time. Those who were alive did not precede the ones who were dead. They all went up to meet the Lord in the air, to be ever with Him. Paul was one of those who were raptured. Also, at about that time, Daniel was fulfilled, and athe Old Testament Jews were taken to heaven. At the present time, and throughout the Church Age - the "Millennium" - the twelve Apostles are ruling the twelve tribes of Israel in heaven, in the New Jerusalem. The wicked, and the unbelieving Jews who rejected Christ ended up in the Roman holocaust, or were shipped off as captives to other nations.
Romans 11:32 tells us that all Israelites had been concluded in unbelief, the same as Gentiles so, technically and spiritually speaking, there are no "Jews" today. There are Semites, descendants of Israelites, but "Jew" is a religious designation, and God did away with that prior to AD70. We Christians should be very careful about encouraging "pseudo-Jews" to persist in their folly, rather than teaching them the truth of the Bible.

cpmac
www.tribulationhoax.com