NOTE: This Bible study on the end times comes from the perspective of a pre-tribulation Rapture.
In our last study we looked at the Seven Churches of Asia to arrive at the conclusion that we are now entering the last days. There is a succession of events that must take place during the last days, and we will begin looking at these events tonight, starting with what is commonly called the Rapture. So, go ahead and be finding your place in Revelation chapter 4. This chapter is where we encounter the passage that is most commonly seen as describing the point at which the Rapture occurs.
The word “rapture” is defined as “ecstasy” and “violence of a pleasing passion” (Webster, 1828), which many of us understand in the sense of describing the intimacy between a husband and wife. The word “rapture” is not actually found in the Scripture; however, the Christian community uses this term to describe the event in which Christ transports believers directly from earth into heaven.
Tonight, we are going to look at the two most prominent views on when the Rapture will occur. These two views are the Pre-tribulation Rapture and the Post Tribulation Rapture. However, before we can make any sense of tonight’s lesson we must briefly touch upon the subject of the Tribulation.
The Tribulation is the period of persecution described in the Book of Revelation. This period is about seven years in length, with the first 3 ½ years being somewhat uneventful as the Antichrist covertly makes his way to power. The most difficult part of the Tribulation period will occur during the last 3 ½ years, and then we come to the Battle of Armageddon; and after this great and final battle between Christ and the forces of the devil, then the reign of Christ will begin.
If you are curious about the 3 ½ year reference for the last half of the Tribulation period, which involves severe persecution, it is found in Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 as 42 months; and it’s also found in Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 as 1,260 days. 42 months and 1,260 days are each equal to 3 ½ years.
As we get started, keep in mind that Pre-tribulation is the view that Christians will be raptured before the Tribulation, and Post Tribulation is the belief that believers will actually go through the Tribulation.
(Refer to Handout: “Two Views on the Rapture”)
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 4:1:
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
• What do you think is the phrase that some people see as heralding the Rapture?
The answer is the phrase “come up here.” You might also add to this how John stated, “The first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me,” reminding us of 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
Tim LaHaye, in his book Revelation Unveiled, says that John’s “elevation to heaven is a picture of the Rapture of the Church just before the Tribulation begins.” Granted, there’s not a lot of information here to easily draw the conclusion that there is going to be a Rapture; however, this is the verse to which Bible scholars point as signaling the Rapture, so we are going to discuss this matter more depth. We are going to begin here by first looking at what is said about a Pre-tribulation Rapture.
Pre-tribulation Rapture
I have found two main arguments for the Pre-tribulation view of the Rapture, and they are very brief. The first argument comes from a verse found in Revelation that seems to suggest that Christians will not go through the Tribulation.
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 3:10:
10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
This verse says that God will “keep” those who have persevered (the Church) from the hour of trial (the Tribulation).
The second argument is this: Tim LaHaye says, “The absence of any mention of the Church in the rest of Revelation indicates that it is not on the earth during the Tribulation. There are sixteen references to the Church in Revelation 1-3, whereas chapters 6-18 . . . do not mention the Church once.” In fact, in chapters 4-5, John was speaking of the Church as being located in heaven.
Post Tribulation Rapture
Let’s now move on to the Post Tribulation view of the Rapture. I have found three main arguments for this view. The first argument is derived from a verse found in Revelation that seems to suggest that Christians will endure the Tribulation.
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 2:10:
10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
This verse says that some will be tested and thrown into prison (the Tribulation). We even see the specific word “tribulation” used here, with the statement, “Some of you . . . will have tribulation ten days.” Then immediately after this testing and tribulation period, they will receive the crown of life (heaven).
However, instead of referring to the Tribulation, this verse might be describing the period of increasing birth pains leading up to the final days. In Matthew 24:4-8, Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (NIV).
The second argument is based on the connection of the Rapture with the sounding of the final trumpet.
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The “last trumpet” (v. 52) is equated with the seventh trumpet, as seen in Revelation 11:15, which takes place near the end of the Tribulation. This verse says, “Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’”
The third argument comes from a passage found in Matthew that seems to suggest that Christians will go through the Tribulation.
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Matthew 24:9-14:
9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
These verses seem to be an obvious example of believers enduring the Tribulation, and the phrase “he who endures to the end will be saved” (v. 13), seems to suggest being raptured after this period of persecution. However, William W. Menzies and Stanley M. Horton dispute the belief that Matthew 24 describes a Post Tribulation Rapture, stating that “Matthew 24 does not give events in the order of their occurrence . . . The words ‘at that time’ in Matthew 24:30 translate a very general Greek word (tote), meaning that these events will all occur in the same general period of time, but not necessarily in the order given.”
So, tonight you have been presented with the two main viewpoints concerning the Rapture; so, which will it be: a Pre-tribulation or a Post Tribulation Rapture? Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” The bottom line is that no one knows the exact day of the rapture, not even the specifics concerning whether it will happen before or after the Tribulation. What should matter the most is that Christ is indeed coming to take us home; that is, if our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. What should really matter to us is that our hearts are prepared for that Day, whenever it might be.
I will be approaching the remainder of this study from a Pre-tribulation Rapture standpoint; but before we move on, I wish to conclude by reading a few verses from Matthew, warning us to be prepared for the Rapture:
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Matthew 24:36-44:
36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
I am going to close tonight by reading the lyrics of the song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready,” by Larry Norman: “A man and wife asleep in bed; she hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone. I wish we’d all been ready. Two men walking up a hill; one disappears and one’s left standing still. I wish we’d all been ready. There’s no time to change your mind; the Son has come and you’ve been left behind.” Are you ready for the Rapture? Have you confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your Life?
