 THE
RAPTURE THEORY PART I
Who said rapture? Did Jesus, Peter, Paul, James,
John, and Jude say that the Church would be raptured out of the
tribulation? They did not! Not one person has ever found a single
scripture that says we will be raptured before the tribulation.
When scripture conflicts with tradition, which should we believe?
Those who hold what is called the "Dispensational"
interpretation of prophecy teach that the second coming of Christ
will be in two stages: first, the Rapture, His coming for the saints,
and then later His coming with the saints. The interval between
these two events is generally regarded as seven years (Daniel's
70th week). During this time, according to this view, the Anti-christ
will make a seven year covenant with the Jews in which he will allow
them to offer sacrifices in a rebuilt temple at Jerusalem. But then
after three and a half years, he will break his covenant and place
an Idol (the abomination of desolation) in the holy of holies of
the temple. The Jews will refuse to bow, and a great persecution
will result--the time of Jacob's trouble. Finally, at the close
of the tribulation period (the end of the age), Christ will return
in power and great glory, and then He shall send His angels to gather
together His elect.
There is a big difference between the Rapture and
the Resurrection. There are thousands of people who think that the
Rapture idea--with driverless cars and crashing airplanes--is nothing
but an emotion packed made up story with no Bible basis. But all
Christians agree that there will be a resurrection in the future.
The sensational display of the terror filled tribulation really
has nothing to do with when the resurrection will take place. We
are convinced that the Bible teaches that the resurrection will
take place at the end of the tribulation, not before it.
There will not be a rapture before the tribulation;
the resurrection will be at the end of the trouble. Let us reason
together. There is no scripture anywhere that proves that the rapture
is first. The note in Scofield's Bible is the biggest offender and
has done the most to project the error.
Noah was not raptured out of the flood water; he
went through the water. God said, "when thou passes through
the water, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee" (Isa.43:2). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saw the
fourth man and went through the fire. They were not raptured out.
Daniel was not raptured out of the Lion's den; he went through it.
God poured out His wrath in Egypt during the plagues but Israel
did not suffer from them. Just as God protected His people from
His wrath in Egypt, He will also protect His people from His wrath
in the end time. God has established a pattern of providing supernatural
protection for His people. Jerusalem, there is no question about
the brutality and complete overthrow of that city in 70 AD. Why
would He change His pattern for the last great tribulation? A mighty
supernatural deliverance was wrought by God for protecting all His
children in Egypt.
Matt 24:27-31
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be.28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles
be gathered together.29Immediately after the tribulation of those
days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rev 1:7
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and
they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall
wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
1Thes 4:16
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1 Cor 15:52
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be hanged.
Jesus placed the sign of His second coming "immediately
after the tribulation." The central event, "the Son of
man coming in the clouds." The appearance of the Son of man
is after that tribulation. Only the elect are gathered from the
four winds; there being no mention of the wicked. The judgment scene
one might expect is left out. The writer's interest is complete
on the nearness of the reward of the righteous. You may be sure
that He (the Lord) is at hand, at the very door.
The believers will be "caught up in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air." This verse explains where believers
will meet the Lord. The place of meeting will be just above the
earth--in the clouds, in the air. There is nothing in this verse
to indicate that Christ will then turn around and take the church
to heaven. Notice that believers will rise to "meet" the
Lord. The word that is here translated "meet" is a word
that was used in reference to the coming of a king or governor to
visit a city. As he approached, the citizens would go out to meet
him and then escort him on the last part of his journey into the
city. We believe it has precisely that same meaning here. As the
Lord descends from heaven, believers will rise "to meet the
Lord in the air" (1Thes.4:16-17).
But do the scriptures teach that the rapture will
be a secret, invisible, and quiet event? Let us look at the main
verse on the rapture and see in 1Thes.4:16-17. To us, this verse
indicates anything but a quite, secret rapture. Whether we take
the "shout," the "voice," and the "trump"
in literal sense or as having a figurative meaning; either way,
this passage does not convey the idea of a secret and quite event!
If anything, it would indicate that the coming of the Lord will
be a loud, noisy, open, and wonderous event. Amid the sound of the
Lord himself descending from heaven with a shout; the voice of the
archangel, and the trumpet of God, there will be the sounds of praise
and rejoicing from vast multitudes of saints as they are caught
up to meet the Lord! Where is any secrecy here? This is not the
description of a hidden and quiet event. Nevertheless, in spite
of every indication to the contrary, this verse is constantly used
as a text for sermons which describe the rapture as a secret, hidden,
and quiet coming of Christ.
The scriptures do teach, of course, that Christ
will return "as a thief in the night." This means that
the time of His coming is unknown. It will come as a complete surprise
to those who are not watching for His return. But the use of this
term never indicates in any way that the event itself will be secret
and quiet. The "thief" passages are found in the words
of Jesus, Peter, and Paul, no one will know the time of His return.
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