Lesson 14: The Rapture
LESSON 14: THE RAPTURE
Darryl Nunnelley & David R. Reagan
FACT: The Church is promised deliverance from this world before the Tribulation begins.
Key Scripture: "Because you have kept the word of My perseverance. I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth"
(Revelation 3:10).
The Rapture is a glorious event which God has promised to the Church. The promise is that someday very soon, at the blowing of a trumpet and the shout of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the sky and take up His Church, living and dead, to Heaven.
The Word
The term, Rapture, comes from a Latin word, rapio,
which means to catch up, to snatch away, or to take out. It is, in turn, a translation of the Greek word, harpadzo.
Rapture is a Biblical word that comes right out of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The word is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In the New American Standard Version, the English phrase, "caught up," is used. The same phrase is used in the King James and New International versions.
A promise to the Church
The concept of the Rapture was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets because it is a promise to the New Testament Church and not to the saints of God who lived before the establishment of the Church. Jesus will return as a bridegroom for His bride, and the bride consists only of Church Age saints.
The saints of Old Testament times will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and not at the time of the Rapture of the Church. Daniel reveals this fact in Daniel 12:1-2 where he says that the saints of that age will be resurrected at the end of the "time of distress."
Biblical References
The first clear mention of the Rapture in Scripture is found in the word of Jesus recorded in John 14:1-4. Jesus said, "I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the Rapture is given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. He says that when Jesus appears, the dead in Christ (Church Age saints) will be resurrected and caught up first. Then, those of us who are alive in Christ will follow "to meet the Lord in the air."
Paul mentions the Rapture again in 1 Corinthians 15 - his famous chapter on the resurrection of the dead: "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (verses 51 and 52).
Paul's reference here to being changed is an allusion to the fact that the saints will receive glorified bodies that will be imperishable, immortal and perfected (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50-55 and Isaiah 35:5-6).
A Summary
To summarize, these passages teach that the shout of an archangel and the blowing of a trumpet will herald the sudden appearance of Jesus in the heavens (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The dead in Christ will be resurrected and rise up to meet the Lord in the sky. Then, those saints who are alive will be "caught up" to the Lord. Paul concludes his description in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 by encouraging his readers to "comfort one another with these words."
And truly the Rapture is a comforting thought! Consider the promises contained in the concept of the Rapture. Jesus will bring with Him the spirits of those who have died in Him (1 Thessalonians 4:14). He will resurrect their bodies in a great miracle of re-creation; He will reunite their bodies with their spirits; and He will then glorify their bodies, making them immortal. And those believers who are living will not even taste death. Rather, they will be caught up to the Lord, and in transit, they will be translated from mortal to immortal.
A Return in Two Stages
There are two detailed descriptions of the Lord's return in the New Testament, one written by the Apostle Paul and the other by the Apostle John.
The passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 presents a scene of love, mercy, and grace. The picture that is painted by Revelation 19 is one of vengeance and wrath. In the Thessalonian passage, the Lord appears in the sky, but does not descend to the earth. In the Revelation account, He comes to the earth. Zechariah 14 says He will return to the Mount of Olives from which He ascended into Heaven.
One of the most significant differences between the two passages relates to the Church. In the Thessalonian account, the Lord comes for the purpose of taking His Church, both the dead and living members, out of this world. In Revelation, by stark contrast, He returns with His Church. This is indicated in Revelation 19:14 where it says that "the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean were following Him on white horses." We know these people constitute the Church, because the same group is described a few verses before (verses 7 and 8) as being the "bride" of Christ.
Thus, in Paul's description of Lord's return, he is portrayed as coming for
His Church, to deliver believers from the "wrath that is to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10). But in John's description, Jesus is portrayed as returning with His Church in great wrath. In Thessalonians, Jesus returns as a Deliverer. In Revelation, He comes back as a Warrior. In one scene He is coming to claim the righteous; in the other, He returns to condemn the unrighteous.
A Problem in Reconciliation
What is going on here? How could these two passages be talking about the same event? How can they be reconciled?
There is really only one way to reconcile them and that is to conclude that they are describing two separate events. That, in turn, implies rather clearly that there are going to be two future comings of the Lord.
One of those - the one described in 1 Thessalonians 4 - will be more of an appearing than a coming, for the Lord will not actually return to the earth. He will, instead, appear in the heavens and supernaturally draw the Church, living and dead, to Him.
The Post-Tribulation Rapture
Amillennials and some Premillennials have tried to deal with these two conflicting descriptions of the Lord's return by combining them at the end of the Tribulation into one event. Their concept is that the Lord will appear in the heavens, the Church will be caught up to Him, and then He and the Church will immediately return to earth.
There are some serious problems with this concept which has been described as a "Yo-Yo Rapture." The first problem is that it destroys the imminence of the Lord's return. Over and over in the New Testament we are told that the Lord's return is imminent and that we should therefore always be ready for His return (Matthew 24:36,42,44,50 and 25:13).
Imminence means it could occur at any moment. But that is impossible if you combine the Rapture with the Second Coming because there are too many prophecies that must be fulfilled before the Second Coming can occur. For an event to be imminent, it must be capable of occurring at any moment.
A second major problem with the Post-Tribulation concept of the Rapture is that it eliminates a population to enter the Millennium in the flesh. Just think about it - if the Rapture and the Second Coming occur together at the end of the Tribulation, then all believers are glorified at that point and all unbelievers are consigned to death and to Hades. Where are the people in the flesh that will occupy the earth during the Lord's reign?
A third problem with the Post-Trib Rapture is that it makes no sense in view of the many New Testament admonitions that we are to live looking for the return of Jesus. Paul, for example, told Titus we are to live "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Titus 2:13). If we are not going to see Jesus until the end of the Tribulation, then we should be living looking for the Antichrist and not Jesus Christ.
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture
It is only when you place the Rapture before the Tribulation that you end up with a population for the Millennium. That population will consist of all those, both Jew and Gentile, who accept Jesus during the Tribulation and live to the end of that terrible period.
A Pre-Tribulation Rapture solves another problem as well. The Bible teaches that believers are immune to the wrath of God. And since the seven years of the Tribulation constitute the pouring out of God's wrath from beginning to end, the Church must be taken out of the world before that period begins. And that is exactly what the Scriptures teach. Go back to the beginning of this lesson and read the opening verse taken from the book of Revelation. Then, consider 1 Thessalonians 1:10 which says that we are "to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."
Jesus Himself said that when we see the end times signs "begin to take place," we are to "keep alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all the things [the events of the Tribulation] that are about to take place . . ." (Luke 21:35)
An Objection
One of the major objections to the Pre-Trib Rapture concept is that "it is too new to be true." This objection is based on the belief that the concept did not come into being until the early 19th Century. But recent research has revealed that the concept existed in a variety of denominations in England dating back as far as the 17th Century.
The important point to keep in mind is that the date of doctrine is really irrelevant. The only thing that matters is whether or not it lines up with what the Bible says. In the 16th Century, When Martin Luther revived the true Gospel of salvation by grace through faith, his critics dismissed his new idea as "too new to be true," despite the fact that it was clearly one of the fundamental truths of the New Testament.
Further, it should be kept in mind that both Jeremiah and Daniel were told that Many end time prophecies would not be understood until the time came for them to be fulfilled (Jeremiah 23:20, Jeremiah 30:24 and Daniel 12:8-9).
Hope or Terror?
To summarize, we should be looking for two future comings of the Lord - one at the beginning of the Tribulation, the other at the end. The first, The Rapture, will be the appearing of the Lord for His Church. The second, the Second Coming, will be the return of the Lord to the earth to "judge and wage war" against the enemies of God (Rev. 19:11).
A Comparison of the Rapture with the Second Coming
The Rapture
1 Thessalonians 4
Jesus appears in the heavens
Jesus appears for His Church
Jesus appears as a Deliverer
Jesus appears in Grace
Jesus appears as a Bridegroom
The Second Coming
Revelation 19
Jesus returns to earth
Jesus returns with His Church
Jesus returns as a Warrior
Jesus returns in Wrath
Jesus returns as a King
Lamb & Lion Ministries www.lamblion.com