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Session 5
The Rapture
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The rapture is the great "catching away" of all
those who have trusted Christ - living and dead. The word "rapture" is not found in scripture. It is from the Latin Vulgate (ancient
Latin translation of the Bible) "rapere" which means to "catch up."
In 1 Thess 4:17 the Bible states that we will be "caught up" and
this is the phrase where the Vulgate used the word "rapere."
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 is the definitive passage
that describes the event we call the rapture.
1 Thess 4:15-18 (NIV) According to the Lord's
own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till
the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have
fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from
heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and
with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left
will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. {18}
Therefore encourage each other with these words. (emphasis added)
The fact that the saints will be raptured is clear
in scripture and there has not been much debate on that fact.
However, the timing of the rapture has been hotly debated for
centuries. So, the question is, when will the rapture occur?
There are three major views as to when the rapture
will occur. They are depicted below.
The Pre-Tribulation position is that the rapture
will occur at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week. In fact, those
that hold to this view see the rapture as initiating the 70th Week.
The Mid-Tribulation position is that the rapture will occur at the
mid-point of the 70th Week when Antichrist demands the world worship
him. The Post-Tribulation position is that the rapture will occur at
the end of the 70th Week. This position is that the second coming is
exactly that - the second coming, that Jesus will return at the
battle of Armageddon and rapture his saints. Let us look at each of
these views in greater detail in reverse order.
Post-Tribulation Rapture
According to the Post-Tribulation view, the rapture will happen
at the battle of Armageddon. All during the 70th Week, God's wrath
will be poured out upon this world.
There are some scriptural problems with this view.
The first problem is that according to this view, God's people
endure His wrath. There are many scriptures that teach the
opposite...
Romans 5:9 (NIV) Since we have now been
justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God's wrath through him! (emphasis added)
1 Thess 1:10 (NIV) and to wait for his Son
from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues
us from the coming wrath. (emphasis added)
1 Thess 5:9 (NIV) For God did not
appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ. (emphasis added)
Rev 3:10 (NIV) Since you have kept my command
to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of
trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test
those who live on the earth. (emphasis added)
Luke 21:36 NIV) Be always on the watch, and
pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to
happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of
Man. (emphasis added)
There is also a problem about the timing of the
rapture. According to the scripture, no one knows the day or the
hour when the rapture will occur - not even Jesus - only the Father.
Now if the rapture occurs at the battle of Armageddon, then the
day is predictable. Once the 70th Week begins one must only wait
7 years plus 30 days.
Mark 13:32 (NIV) No one knows about that day
or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.
A third problem is the mere fact that there is not
one scripture that clearly specifies this timing for the rapture.
A fourth problem is that there is a conflict in the
timing of the Bema Judgment and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that
will follow the judgment. If God's saints are still on earth - how
can they participate in the Bema Judgment or the Marriage Supper?
A fifth problem is also a conflict in timing and is
indicated in 1 Thessalonians 3:13.
1 Thess 3:13 (NIV) May he strengthen your
hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence
of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with
all his holy ones. (emphasis added)
If God's people are in His presence WHEN Jesus
returns with His holy ones, then it is impossible for His people to
be on the earth when Jesus returns!
The resulting problems are pictured below:
Mid-Tribulation Rapture
The Mid-Tribulation rapture position was actually a
response to the problems created in the Post-Tribulation view.
Because the scripture is so clear about God's people not enduring
His wrath, some chose to see the rapture happening at the mid-point
of the 70th Week. And this position DID solve some of the problems.
If the rapture occurred at the mid-point, then God's people would
not suffer God's wrath and the conflict in timing of the Bema
Judgment and Marriage Supper of the Lamb are solved - as well as the
conflict in 1 Thess 3:13.
However, this position still did not solve the
predictability problem. One must still only count 1,260 days after
the beginning of the 70th Week. Also, again there is no scriptural
basis for the rapture occurring at the mid-point of the 70th Week.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
By far, the most popular view is the Pre-Tribulation
position. This is what has been called the "left-behind" view.
According to the Pre-Tribulation view, Jesus will rapture His people
at the beginning of the 70th Week. God's people are completely
absent from the earth during the 7 years (except those who are saved
during the 7 years) while they are going through the Bema Judgment
and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Meanwhile, on earth God's wrath
is being poured out upon mankind. Many see God's people returning
with Jesus at the battle of Armageddon.
During the 70th Week or what is more commonly called
"the tribulation period," this view teaches that some very specific
things are happening on the earth. There are three significant
events that are specific to this view. First, this view sees the
seals, trumpets and bowls as all signifying God's wrath and that
they are poured out upon mankind during the entire 7 years. Second,
the 144,000 Jews spoken of in Revelation chapter seven are seen as
Jewish evangelists who will usher in the greatest revival in history
- which is the third significant event.
Revelation 7:3 (NIV) "Do not harm the land or
the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the
servants of our God." {4} Then I heard the number of those
who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. {5}
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben
12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, {6} from the tribe of
Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of
Manasseh 12,000, {7} from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from
the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, {8}
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. {9} After this I looked
and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,
from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and
were holding palm branches in their hands.
These evangelists and the revival explain the
multitude that follow in verse 9. Now the Pre-Tribulation view is
the only view that has the proper scriptural balance between the
deliverance of God's people and the punishment of the ungodly
through the pouring out of the wrath of God.
Because the scripture declares that God's wrath will
punish the wicked, but God's people will be "rescued from the coming
wrath."
There are six assumptions that form the basis of the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture view. These assumptions are defined as
follows:
The first assumptions is that the 70th Week is
only for the Jewish Nation: Israel and the church are separate
entities and God cannot work with both at the same time. The
Old Testament is for Jews only. I have heard it stated that
when Jesus arose from the dead the Jewish clock stopped and the
Gentile clock started. When the 70th Week arrives, the Gentile clock
will stop and the Jewish clock will start once again. This
assumption is based on the scripture in Luke 21...
Luke 21:23 (NIV) How dreadful it will be in
those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be
great distress in the land and wrath against this people. {24}
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all
the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
(emphasis added)
This is an assumption because this reasoning does
not hold out in scripture. For instance, on the day of Pentecost,
the Apostle Peter spoke to the crowd and applied Old Testament
prophecy to describe what was going on with the people who would
become the new Christian church.
Acts 2:15 (NIV) These men are not drunk, as
you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! {16} No, this is
what was spoken by the prophet Joel: {17} "`In the last days,
God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old
men will dream dreams. {18} Even on my servants, both men and
women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will
prophesy. {19} I will show wonders in the heaven above and
signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
{20} The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. {21}
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Furthermore, he quotes the Old Testament prophecy
regarding the Day of the Lord - which should be an exclusively
Jewish prophecy - and states that on that day "everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved."
The second assumption is that Matthew chapter
24 was written specifically for the Jews. This is an
assumption because it is not explicitly stated in scripture and it allows the
reader to ignore this passage as irrelevant. We would not allow anyone
to blatantly ignore any other passage in this same way. The third
assumption is that Revelation 4:1 signifies the rapture.
Rev 4:1 (NIV) After this I looked, and there
before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had
first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here,
and I will show you what must take place after this.”
The Apostle John is exiled on the isle of Patmos,
and Jesus appears to him in visions and instructs him to write down
what he sees. In chapter four, John is told to "come up here" to
heaven where his vision continues. Most who hold the
Pre-Tribulation view see the words "come up here" as signifying the
rapture - the catching away into heaven. The door is open in heaven
and the voice is like a trumpet. The problem is that this too, is an
assumption. The scripture does not indicate, in any way, this
symbolism..
In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the "one who holds him back"
is mentioned (in the KJV he is called the "restrainer") as one who
holds back the Antichrist from being revealed until the proper time.
2 Thess 2:6-8 (NIV) And now you know what is
holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
{7} For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but
the one who now holds it back will continue to do so
till he is taken out of the way. {8} And then the lawless one
will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath
of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (emphasis
added)
Those who hold to a Pre-Tribulation view adamantly
insist that the "restrainer" is the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, at the rapture He is taken out of the way with the church
allowing the Antichrist to be revealed to the world. This, too, is
an assumption because scripture does not identify this one "who
holds back."
We have already mentioned the fifth assumption, it
is that the 144,000 Jews sealed in Revelation 7 become
evangelists. This is an assumption because nowhere is this
stated.
The last assumption is the because of the Jewish
evangelists, the greatest revival in history takes place
during the 70th Week. This is an assumption because nowhere
is there any indication that this revival takes place. It is assumed
to explain the presence of the multitude that follows.
Rev 7:9 (NIV) After this I looked and there
before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and
in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding
palm branches in their hands.
Rev 7:13-14 (NIV) Then one of the elders
asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they
come from?" {14} I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said,
"These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.
All of these assumptions make sense and fit
together. Each assumption can be explained and reasoned - but the
shear number of assumptions causes questions, and promotes the
conclusion that this is a view that is forced to fit together.
Pre-Tribulation Problems
In addition to the assumptions, there are some
scriptural problems with the Pre-Tribulation view. The first is that
scripture mentions explicitly that the return of Christ will
be unmistakable. According to the Pre-Tribulation view, the
rapture will be only known to those taken to heaven. The rest of the
world will know only that multitudes have disappeared. However,
scripture indicates on several occasions that when Christ returns it
will be obvious.
Mat 24:26-27 (NIV) So if anyone tells you,
'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in
the inner rooms,' do not believe it. {27} For as lightning
that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the
coming of the Son of Man.
Luke 17:23-24 (NIV) Men will tell you, 'There
he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. {24}
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which
flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.
Rev 1:7 (NIV) Look, he is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and
all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it
be! Amen.
If the rapture is a "secret" to the world, how could
these scriptures be relevant? Some have explained that they are
speaking of Jesus' return at the battle of Armageddon. Even with that
reasoning, why would Jesus make the distinction of not believing if
someone tells you "there he is" or "here he is."
Furthermore, why would Christ have not explicitly
told his followers that in the last day they would be raptured,
and then God's wrath would be poured upon the world?
Why is the pre-tribulational rapture missing from end-time
passages?
Another problem is that according to this view,
the Holy Spirit will be absent from the world having been "taken out
of the way" by the rapture of the church. Therefore, how do we
explain the greatest revival in history and the great
multitude saved when the Holy Spirit is no longer in the world?
Furthermore, scripture tells us that rather than a
multitude saved, God will cause those who reject Him to be deluded
into delighting in wickedness...
2 Thess 2:10-12 (NIV) ...They perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved. {11} For this
reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe
the lie {12} and so that all will be condemned who have not
believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
We are also told in the book of Revelation that even
after suffering God's wrath people will still not repent.
Rev 9:20 (NIV) The rest of mankind that were
not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of
their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold,
silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or
walk. (this is after the 6th trumpet has sounded)
Rather than a great revival taking place, it seems
that people will dive more into wickedness and rejecting God than
ever before.
Another problem is the application of Matthew
24 to only the Jews. The reasoning is as follows:
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Predicts persecution of God’s people, therefore has
to apply to Jews & converts during Tribulation Period
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The Disciples were Jews and so He was speaking to
them as Jews
But...
If there is a pre-tribulational rapture, then
according to Matthew 24, there must be two raptures...
Matt 24:29-31 (NIV) Immediately after the
distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the
heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ {30} At that time the sign
of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the
earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
of the sky, with power and great glory. {31} And he will send
his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect
from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
The Son of Man in the clouds, loud trumpet call,
send his angels, gather his elect... it sounds a lot like the
rapture does it not? Therefore, if the rapture has already happened,
there will be another very similar event - supposedly directed at
the Jews. The scripture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 also poses a problem.
2 Thess 2:1,3 (NIV) Concerning the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him… {3}
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come
until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed,
the man doomed to destruction.
This passage begins "concerning the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him..."
Does this sound like he is speaking of the rapture? Then he goes on
to say that "that day" will not come until the "man of lawlessness"
(the Antichrist) is revealed. So what comes first? The Antichrist or
the rapture?
Last, there is simply no scriptural evidence of
Jewish evangelists, revivals, or for the timing of a pre-tribulational
rapture.
All of the Pre-Tribulation problem
points can be argued…
But the entire picture is still one where all the pieces seem to be
forced to fit together!
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