There is a very popular phrase
that says, “Nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes.” As long
as humanity has walked upon this Earth, every person who has lived has
eventually died. The inevitability of life is death. But, if you are a child of
the Living God, that inevitability might not be certain.
There
is an event that I, and many others, believe in that could cause us not to
experience death. That event is what many English-speaking Christians call The
Rapture. It is a Biblically prophetic event that has not yet happened.
Therefore, if you believe in the Bible, it will happen in the future.
Now,
there is some debate related to this prophecy in Christian assemblies. Some
groups believe that it is a symbolic event, while some believe it is literal.
As with other Biblical prophecies, both fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled, I
believe it will be a literal event—it will actually happen! Among those who
believe it is literal, there is a debate as to timing. Some think it will
happen at the end of The Tribulation. Some think it will happen at some point
during The Tribulation. Some think it will happen before The Tribulation.
Let
me take a slight detour here to address this other event I have brought up, The
Tribulation. I will not cover it here exhaustively, because it is too large a
concept to cover in this blog, which is about The Rapture. But I will cover it
in other blogs, specifically as I continue the study on the Book of Revelation.
In brief, however, The Tribulation is another event in Biblical prophecy, also
yet future (to us), when the Antichrist is on the scene and God’s judgment is
being poured out on His enemies. It has many names among theologians, such as
Daniel’s 70th Week, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, The Tribulation,
and the Great Tribulation. It is a period of 7 years (some who are more precise
like to point out that it is technically only the final portion of the 7 years
known as Daniel’s 70th Week) where the Antichrist rules over most of
the Earth and Israel experiences heavy persecution. Immediately following the
end of The Tribulation, Jesus returns to Earth to establish His Millennial
Kingdom (1000-year reign). Again, there is debate about all of this in
Christian assemblies. The aforementioned description is the traditional
“Premillennial” perspective. “Postmillennialists” believe Jesus returns to
Earth at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. “Amillennialists” believe that all
of these events are figurative or symbolic of spiritual things.
Let
me say right now that I am a Premillennialist. I believe these prophecies are
literal, therefore the amillennial view is out. I also believe that the
Millennial Kingdom is Christ’s Kingdom on Earth, and that He will be ruling the
Earth as the King of Kings in His kingdom, which wouldn’t be the case if He
returned at the end of the Kingdom Age, therefore the postmillennial view is
out. No more time will be spent here regarding the Millennial Kingdom and this
debate, as in my mind the debate is settled; but I will cover it more and prove
my position in other blogs like the Revelation study.
Getting
back to the Rapture debate, those who believe the Rapture will happen before
the Tribulation are referred to a “Pre-tribulational.” Those who believe it
will happen at the end are “Post-tribulational.” Those who believe it will
happen at some point during are “Mid-tribulational.” Let me point out that
within the mid-tribulational camp there are those who believe it will happen
right in the middle of the 7-year period, when the Antichrist, also known in
the Bible as the Beast, actually sits on the top of the Ark of the Covenant
(the whereabouts of which are not currently known to be known), which is called
the Mercy Seat, within the Holy of Holies (inner sanctum) of the Holy Place
(inside) the re-built Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem (which presently does not
exist, but for which preparations are being made by the modern State of Israel
to build). There is another group within the mid-tribulational camp that
believes the Rapture will happen at some point during the second half of the
seven years, after the midpoint, but prior to the final outpouring of God’s
wrath upon the Earth for the wickedness of humanity. This group believes in what
they call the “pre-wrath” view of the Rapture happening just prior to what they
identify as the Great Tribulation, which is that final part of the seven years
that I just mentioned.
I
am not going to spend much time disproving the views I don’t agree with.
Instead, I am going to focus on proving the view I hold. Let me say clearly
that whatever a person’s view is regarding the timing of the Rapture in God’s
prophetic calendar, it is a non-critical doctrine related to salvation. We can
discuss and debate, but when it comes to someone’s position in Christ as a
redeemed Child of the Living God, whatever one’s view of the Rapture is not a
factor. That said, I do think that having the proper view is helpful in
understanding God’s prophetic plan, as well as His calling for, and the destiny
of, the Church and Israel.
I
do not agree with the post-tribulational or traditional midpoint
mid-tribulational views for many reasons. But the simplest reason of all, as I
will show from Scripture later in this writing, is that the Bible clearly tells
us that no one on Earth knows the day or the hour of the Rapture. If the
Rapture happened at the midpoint or especially the end of the Tribulation, then
at least the day could be predicted, if not the hour. The midpoint might be
harder to pinpoint, but based upon other events that are to happen during this
7-year period, such pinpointing could be possible. Of the views I don’t agree
with, I think the pre-wrath view has the most merit, but for reasons that will
be made clear, I don’t hold this view either. I do believe in the
pre-tribulational view of the Rapture.
Now
let’s back up a little. All these big theological concepts have been
introduced, but I haven’t yet explained what the Rapture is, or why I believe
it means that some people won’t experience that inevitable event—death. The
English word “rapture” is defined by Webster’s online dictionary as: “1: an
expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion; 2a: a state or experience of
being carried away by overwhelming emotion; b: a mystical experience in which the
spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things; 3 often capitalized: the final assumption of Christians into heaven
during the end-time according to Christian theology.” The English word
“rapture” has its origins from the Latin word “rapturos/rapturo/rapturus” which
comes from the Latin “rapio” which means “snatch” or “carry off” in English. It
is used in Latin Bibles to translate the Greek word “harpazo” which means
“caught up” in English as is used in the original Greek text of the New
Testament in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which I will quote later.
Now let me
explain what I mean when I discuss the Rapture event. According to the
premillennial (and often postmillennial) position regarding Biblical prophecy,
whether one is pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath, or post-trib, the rapture event
is defined as a moment when Christ Jesus physically comes to the Earth, but
doesn’t necessarily touch the Earth itself (comes into the atmosphere), and
gathers His Church (the Bride of Christ; Christians) to Himself and takes us
out of this world for a period of time. When the Rapture occurs, Christians are
removed from this Earth, and this life, both in body and spirit. We don’t die,
we simply cease to be as we are now; we vanish from wherever we are and
whatever we are doing. When the Rapture occurs, our bodies are transformed
(some say translated) into new, perfected (and for some, resurrected, which I
will explain as we go on) bodies, like the body Jesus had upon His
resurrection. Also, the presence of our sin nature is removed from us and our
spirits will exist in a perfect state and perfect communion, or fellowship,
with God. Most exciting of all, we will physically be in the presence of our
Lord and Savior. We will never sin again, nor will our new bodies ever die, and
we will always be in harmony with the Lord. Those Christians who are alive when
the Rapture occurs will never experience death. Those who are dead will be
resurrected. More to come on all of this!
At
this point in my writing, the most important question for someone who bases
their beliefs on the Word of God should be, “Where is the Rapture discussed in
the Bible?” Great question! (If I do say so myself. And I did.) Let me show
you.
The
most often referred to passage is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to
be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like
the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen
asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede
those who have fallen asleep. 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. 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. Therefore
encourage one another with these words. (New International Version)
It’s always a good idea when
formulating doctrine or interpreting Scripture to look for a concept to be
found in more than one place in the Bible. The following passage is 1
Corinthians 15:51-58:
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not
all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself
with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has
been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the
saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and
sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the
work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
(New International Version)
Here we see the Rapture event
described. At the time of the Rapture, living Christians will not die, but will
be “caught up” from Earth to meet the Lord, and in an instant will be
transformed from a corruptible state to one of incorruption. Dead Christians
will be resurrected from death. This should not be confused with the
resurrection of the unredeemed which takes place later. The resurrection of
dead Christians at the time of the Rapture is explained more in the following
passage, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the
dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came
through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in
Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ,
the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (New
International Version)
And the resurrection bodies of
the redeemed are described from 1 Corinthians 15:39-50 as follows:
Not all flesh is the same: People have one
kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are
also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the
heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and
star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the
dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown
in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man
Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual
did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first
man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the
earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so
also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the
earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you,
brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (New International
Version)
Compare those passages we just
read with the following regarding the resurrection of the unredeemed at the
time of the Final Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who
was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there
was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they
had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of
fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book
of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (New International Version)
For more information on
resurrected bodies, see my previous blog entitled “After Death.”
Look
forward to Part 2 to continue our study of The Rapture, coming soon!
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