I’ll try and make this as short and to the point as I can. Yes Virginia, there will be a rapture of the Church. “For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:15-17) (NASB)
Now, let’s address the timing. There are four basic positions on rapture timing. Pre-Trib, occurring before the seven-year Tribulation, Mid-Trib, exactly at the mid-point of that period, Pre-Wrath, sometime in the middle but the exact timing undetermined – and Post-Trib occurring at the end of the Tribulation. The Post-Trib position has a bit of a problem with the Sheep and Goats Judgement found in Matthew 25:31-46. It describes a judgement by the returned Christ, of the nations and people who lived through the Tribulation. The problem with the Post-Trib position is this. If the Church is taken up at the last moment, just before the Second Coming – and then set on horses and return with Him: Where do we get the sheep – the righteous people for the judgement? There would be no people left to populate the Earth during the Millenium, Christ’s thousand-year reign. But now, let’s talk about the reasons for the Pre-Trib position.
- First, there is the Doctrine of Imminence. Christ could return at any time. Jesus taught, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36) And in 1Thessalonians 5:2, Paul wrote: “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.”
- Israel and the Church are distinct entities. Jeremiah 30:7 talks about that time of judgement for the Nation of Israel. “Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.” [Jacob, is of course, another name for Israel.] When we read Daniel 9:24-27, we come to understand that the Tribulation is all about Israel and the rebuilt Temple. The Church has a separate role during that time. After the rapture, God’s attention shifts back to Israel and completing His plan for that nation. Zechariah 12:10, describes how at the end of the Tribulation, they will recognize Jesus who they have pierced and mourn for Him as a son. Paul sums this up in Romans 11:26. “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.’”
- Scripture tells us the Church is NOT appointed to wrath. (1Thessalonians 5:9) Revelation chapters 6-19 describe the outpouring of God’s wrath. The Church is not mentioned. In Revelation 4:1, the Apostle John is called up to Heaven – and the Church is not mentioned after that.
- The Restrainer is removed. The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit living within Christ’s Body, the Church. “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (2Thessalonians 2:6-8) The Holy Spirit is holding back the Antichrist, preventing his appearance. When the Church is gone, it allows him to come to power.
- This is summed up in something called “the blessed hope.” It is found in Titus 2:13. Got Questions explains it this way. “The word hope does not communicate uncertainty, as in “I hope that something might occur”; rather, it is the glad assurance that something will take place. Jesus is our hope, and no one can take that hope away.” 1Thessalonians 4:18 sums up its’ description of the rapture like this. “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
- The Biblical Pattern of God’s Protection. God has a history of protecting his chosen ones – those He has called into a relationship, no matter how imperfect they were. God had Noah prepare the Ark to save him and his family from the Flood. He brought Lot out of Sodom before its’ destruction. The Rapture will be a similar event, in line with the pattern.
- Jesus’ Promise to the faithful Church of Philadelphia. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10) (KJV) Just to reiterate the point: Strong’s Concordance gives the meaning of the word “from” as ‘out from’ or ‘out of.’ This is NOT about protecting His Church through the trial.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb must occur before Christ’s Return. “‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” (Revelation 19:7-9) Just a few verses later, Jesus’ return is described. The “He” in verse 13 refers to Christ. “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” (Revelation 19:13-14) The saints are the armies accompanying Jesus. It logically follows that we must already be in Heaven in order to return with Him. We are His bride and we naturally will be part of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
To sum up. There is a difference between the Second Coming and the Rapture. In the Rapture Christ comes for His Church. In the Second Yeshua comes with His Church as part of the Armies of Heaven. John records this promise of Jesus to His disciples. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:1-3) (NLT)
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