It is widely taught today among Christians that there is a coming “Rapture” in which sincere Christians – “the church” – are destined to simply disappear without a moment’s notice! They’ll simply be gathered up to Jesus in the twinkling of an eye and disappear! It could even happen one second from now or while you’re reading this. Is this, however, really what the Bible teaches?
According to this teaching the Christians will be gone for seven years in heaven, while all hell breaks loose on the earth, involving Israel, a conflict in the middle east, and the anti-Christ or “man of sin” figure arising to prominence, etc. Then at the end of seven years Jesus will return gloriously with all his followers – “church” – from heaven to put an end to things and to collect any who became believers while on earth during that seven years. Interestingly enough, this idea was not taught among Christians for nearly 1800 years. Only since the early to mid 1800s, and much more pervasively since the mid to late 1900s has this idea been gaining ground. Had the Church missed something for all those years? What does the Bible really say? Let’s find out!
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 are commonly quoted as a reference to this teaching. These verses read, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (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: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
At this point the Lord will gather up all of His people! That is very clear from the above text! The “dead in Christ” will resurrect to life and then be caught up at the same time as the living Christians to the meet the Lord in the air. That is also very clear! Another thing that is clear is that it involves “a shout,” the “voice of the archangel” and “the trumpet of God.” That means that this event is most certainly not a silent or quiet event of disappearing into silence as many have suggested! It’s a very noticeable event as the dead in Christ are coming from their graves and going up visibly to meet the Lord in the air along with the other Christians who’ve never seen death! This is one of the primary texts quoted in favor of the rapture view since it includes the term “caught up” which in Latin is translated “Raptura,” meaning the same idea. It should be noted the text does present a bit of a different idea than a mere “silent” disappearance as many are expecting. Also, those who hold that there will be one grand, glorious, climactic coming (instead of a two part, Rapture and then a Glorious coming) also use this text with ease in favor of their view.
John 14:1-3 which is commonly referred to as a rapture text as well simply states that Jesus will return for His people and will gather them up. This text is easily understood also by those who support a one part all glorious coming because it says nothing of a two-part coming either. There is no unique distinction here to support the idea of a two part coming with the rapture occurring first.
Matthew 24:28-31 also pictures the return of Christ with the sound of the trumpet to gather His people! But it also pictures the wicked dying and mourning in terror at that time. Seems to match with 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 based on the trumpet call and all the gathering, but it says nothing of a silent rapture, and in fact in comes after what is called the “Tribulation.”
Let us consider also 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. This is probably one of the most compelling passages on the whole subject! “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (Emphasis added).
The Bible is here in 2 Thess. 2:1-3 talking about “our gathering together unto Him,” that is, when he comes with the trumpet to get or gather together His people. The Bible says do not be troubled or deceived by any sort of message “that the day of Christ is at hand,” in other words that it could just or simply come at any moment unexpectedly! Paul warns that some certain things must come first! That is (1) there would be a general falling away from the true message of God among His people (and certainly this item has already happened!) (2) the “man of sin” would be revealed. This “man of sin” is commonly referred to by all Christians as the “Anti-Christ.” The Bible says Christ will not come to “gather” His people until these items occur FIRST! We should believe no word other than that. This fact spells trouble for the rapture theory since many Christians have been taught to believe that Jesus will come to rapture away all the Christians in an instant and then that the anti-Christ will come afterwards during some “7 year” period to cause trouble. The Bible order is (1) Anti-Christ figure appears “first” (2) The real Jesus Christ will come to “gather” His people. The rapture theory is entirely backwards; rapture, then antichrist.
Finally, let’s consider Revelation 16:15 and its implications for these ideas. As the words of Jesus, it reads, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” The Christ coming as a “thief” concept is always associated with the idea of the “rapture” in the minds of every Christian who believes the theory. That is how it is taught! The belief is that Christ will come as a “thief” and rapture away all the sincere Christians before the time of trouble, the anti-Christ, and all the plagues of Revelation. However, this verse again, is a problem if one holds to that theory. The reason is that Revelation 16:15 is a prophesied proclamation which comes from Jesus Christ as an encouragement to His people to remain faithful. It comes towards the end of final plague number 6, just before the 7th and final plague. That means that Christ comes “as a thief,” for His people, after the plagues have already been occurring. This is contrary to the popular rapture theory of today. Not to mention, so is 2 Peter 3:10 which tells us that when Christ does come “as a thief” all the heavens will burn up and melt with fervent heat, even the elements will be on fire. That in no way fits the popular concept of the rapture!
Christ’s people will be here through the time of the plagues, just like God’s people were in Egypt through the time of the ten plagues anciently. And just as God kept them safe in ancient Egypt, while punishing the wicked who had been abusing them, God will also do the same at the end of the world. Read Psalm 91 and you will see how we are there to behold such punishment of the wicked but that “no plague” will “come near” to us because God is protecting us. And in the last plague, which is the most severe, involving an earth shattering earthquake, the Lord gathers us up into the air to meet Him! Do not buy into the fear tactics of popular preachers. We will be safe during this time if we are trusting in God!
Oh, and one more thing. Is the period of tribulation and plagues really “seven years” long? There is not a single verse in the Bible that ever says so. You cannot find it in Revelation (try though one might) and you cannot find it in Ezekiel, or even Daniel. The verse popularly used to get that period is Daniel 9:27. It never says the phrase “7 years of tribulation.” It does say that someone will “confirm a covenant with many” for a period of seven years. That someone is Jesus, Messiah, who confirmed the new covenant of His blood with His people, the Jews for a period of seven years (3.5 by His personal public efforts and 3.5 by His disciples to the Jews). Then on to the Gentiles. The offerings and sacrifices stopped because Jesus died on the cross for us as our lamb! (See Hebrews 10). That “seventy 7s” period (490 years) began in the days of ancient Persia (457 BC) and continued to the Messiah. It spoke of His ministry. The opposing power there was speaking of the Roman armies who soon after (in AD 70) tore apart the Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem (ref. Luke 21:20-24; Matthew 23:27-24:3,15,16; note there is also a last day application to these verses in terms of seeing God’s warnings and fleeing for safety in the final crisis). To rip off the last seven years and float it down at the end of time, applying it to some kind of antichrist figure is a perverse twisting and misuse of Scripture. The 490 year time prophecy began in the days of ancient Persia and naturally would have expired in the 1st Century BC at the time of Jesus, Messiah.
From all these scriptures we can see that the “rapture” theory is not really holding water. Perhaps we need to study our Bible’s more closely and to consider that just maybe the church really did have it right for 1800 years. And perhaps we need to be ready for what is coming and for all the deceptions that Satan has been putting in place. The devil is aiming to deceive us! Let us not be moved by “fear” and the popular gimmicks of famous (and often well-meaning) preachers but let us rather be moved by love and trust in the Almighty hand of God who will protect us in all things! Let us be ever careful not to buy into Satan’s last day false and popular teachings which would lead us to not prepare for what is coming, to be taken by surprise in a storm of trouble, and to be deceived by the antichrist who IS coming first before the return of Jesus to gather us!
