The Rapture Theory claims, in short, that the Lord will come secretly to resurrect only faithful Christians before the coming of the “Great Tribulation” on the Earth. After the seven years of Tribulation on the Earth, all people will be resurrected and brought before the Judgment Seat to receive either eternal life with Christ or eternal damnation with Satan.
That so many believe and promote this Rapture Theory, one might think that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture has always been the doctrine held by the Church since its founding. However, this is false.
John Nelson Darby first proposed and popularized the Pre-Tribulation Rapture in 1827. Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, including William Eugene Blackstone's book Jesus is Coming, published in 1878, which sold more than 1.3 million copies, and the Scofield Reference Bible, first published in 1909 with periodic up-dated editions.
During the 1970s, belief in the Rapture became popular in wider circles, in part due to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth, which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies, and the movie A Thief in the Night.
In 1995, the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series of books, selling tens of millions of copies and many made into several popular movies.
Thus, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture was not taught and believed during the Church's first 17 centuries. On the contrary, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine is a relatively modern doctrine.
Let's examine the Biblical passages that purportedly support the Pre-Tribulation Rapture -
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say 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 and remain will be caught up [Raptured] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Teachers and believers of the Rapture Theory claim that this passage speaks of a secret resurrection of Christians (those who had died and those who are alive) apart from the resurrection and punishment of the wicked. Are these couple of points really taught here? I say no!
A. How can this resurrection or Rapture' be said to be 'secret' when it is preceded and announced “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God”? The fact is, when Christ returns, no one will miss the spectacle.
B. How can it be said that this event will be accomplished apart from the resurrection and punishment of the wicked when the next chapter talks about this whole event being the “Day of the Lord” which also brings doom to the wicked unbelievers?
The message of the Apostle Paul on the resurrection does not conclude in 4:18. Rather, Paul's message continues through Chapter 5:1-6, “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
From this passage, we learn (1) that the resurrection of the righteous is part of the “Day of the Lord” in which sinners will be destroyed, (2) We don't know when the “Day of the Lord” will come, but He will come “just like a thief in the night.” Thus, the resurrection of the righteous will happen the same “Day” as the destruction of the wicked; therefore, this passage does not teach there is a time period between the resurrection of Christians and the destruction of the wicked....it occurs on the same Day.
Not only will this all happen on a single “Day”, but Jesus stated that this will all happen in “an hour” (John 5:28-29). Both the resurrection of the righteous and sinners will come during the same “Day” and “hour”.
So, we cannot use Paul's instruction in 1 THESSALONIANS 4 & 5 to support a secret Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
But, there's more....
Another Scripure that is supposed to support a secret Rapture or resurrection of the righteous is MATTHEW 24:40-41, “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.”
Without considering context, I can see how one might come to the opinion that this describes a sudden resurrection of worthy individuals in the midst of their daily routine. But, not considering the context can lead to confusion and even heresy.
Understanding comes when we connect this passage with Jesus' commands in verses 15-18, where we read that when Christians see the “abomination of desolation....standing in the holy place”, they must immediately “flee to the mountains.” Jesus commands, in verses 16-18, “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.”
The point Jesus is making is that Christian Jews must abandon whatever they are doing or where-ever they find themselves and flee to the mountains ASAP. Imagine the scene. Two men are working in the field, one being a Christian while the other is not. When the Christian field worker sees the “abomination of desolation...standing in the holy place”, he will drop his tools and immediately 'flee to the mountains'. Two women are grinding at the mill, one being a Christian while the other is not. When the Christian woman sees the “abomination of desolation...standing in the holy place”, she suddenly abandons her grinding and 'flees to the mountains'. The non-Christian field-worker and mill grinder will carry-on in their labors, wondering where their partners have gone!
To bring even better clarity, we need to identify the “abomination of desolation”? Supporters of the Rapture Theory have speculated on who or what this is. However, there's no need to speculate because Luke's parallel passage provides the answer, LUKE 21:20-22, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.”
So, we see that the “abomination of desolation” refers to pagan armies besieging Jerusalem. Christians in Judea are to flee from Jerusalem and its environs with great haste running to the mountains. That this is to be fulfilled in our future is totally false. See LUKE 21:32, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.” Jesus is explicitly saying that the “abomination of desolation” would transpire in the lifetime of those who heard Him speak this prophecy. Did Jesus tell the truth? Did this occur in the lifetime of that generation? Absolutely!
All of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 & 21 transpired during that generation leading up to AD 70, when the Roman armies conquered Galilee, Judea, and eventually the city of Jerusalem (with its Temple). The terrible years, leading up to this destruction, is referred to as the “Great Tribulation” (MATTHEW 24:21; MARK 13:19). One has only to read the historical eyewitness account of the Jewish civil war and then the Roman conquest, in the works of Josephus, to understand how this period really was a “Great Tribulation” for the unbelieving Jews. Jesus says, furthermore, that the “Great Tribulation” will never again be repeated at the same magnitude of the suffering experienced by that generation of unbelieving Jews. Therefore, we are not to look forward to a “Great Tribulation” in the future. Those who teach of a future “Great Tribulation” make Jesus a liar. They contort the plain statements of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse and are false teachers.
Where do Rapture believers come-up with a 7 year Tribulation period? They assert that this 7 year period of Tribulation is prophesied in DANIEL 9:24-27. Let's read and glean the meaning of this prophecy, commonly refered to as the '70 weeks of Daniel' - “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Very few Bible students reject that a day in this prophecy represents a year. 70 weeks, therefore, represents a period of 490 years. At the time that this prophecy was given to Daniel, the Jews were in captivity in Babylonia. With those facts in mind, let's note the following points found in this passage – (1) The seventy weeks (490 years) concern Daniel's people (Jews) and the holy city (Jerusalem). (2) The beginning of the seventy weeks is the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, which we know is the decree by Artaxerxes I in 458/7 BC recorded in Ezra 7. (3) The rebuilding of Jerusalem will take seven weeks or 49 years after the decree. (4) The rebuilding would be done so “in times of distress”, which we can read about in Ezra, Nehemiah and Zechariah. (5) After the 49 years of rebuilding, there will be a period of 62 weeks (434 years), after which the Messiah will appear. (6) Therefore, at the end of the 69th week or the start of the 70th week, the Messiah makes His appearance. Indeed, the math brings us to approximately AD 27, when Jesus was baptized and began His ministry. (7) In the middle of the 70th week, the Messiah is cut-off – crucified – which will “put a stop to [animal] sacrifice and grain offering.” You may remember that at the moment Jesus died, the 60 feet high and 4” thick curtain or veil separating the Holy and Most Holy Places was ripped top to bottom, marking the end of the Temple sacrificial system – Matthew 27:51. (8) Throughout this 70th week, the Messiah makes “a firm covenant with the many.” We know that Jesus came to establish the New Covenant. During His ministry, He spoke of it coming. At His death, He established the New Covenant. During the last half of the 70th week. Christ's Apostles appealed to the Jews to accept the New Covenant. The stoning of Stephen indicated the Jews' negative response. They had rejected Jesus during His ministry and they still rejected the Gospel after His resurrection. (9) After the 70th week, in response to the Jews' rejection, “the prince who is to come” will bring war and desolation to Jerusalem & the Temple; which was fulfilled when the Roman Emperor's son, Titus, did destroy Jerusalem & Temple with a flood of Roman legions and brought the Jewish Nation to an end in AD 70. (10) Take note of what is associated with the coming of the Messiah Jesus - “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”
DANIEL Chapter 9 presents the 490 years as an uninterrupted period. This prophecy is incredible for its detailed description of the history of the Jews from the return from Babylonian Captivity to the final destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Romans. There simply is not a week here that is yet future. It has all been fulfilled. To God be the glory.
In conclusion, the Bible simply does not teach of a secret Rature or resurrection of Christians. It does not teach about a future 7 year Great Tribulation followed by the Coming of Christ in Judgment. We all should be readying ourselves for the coming “Day of the Lord.”
