The Rapture of the Church
Even though many groups deny the rapture, the Bible clearly teaches that there is a rapture of God’s people when Christ returns. I can understand why there is a debate as to when the rapture will occur, but I can’t identify with groups who deny the rapture will happen at all. I have had people tell me that the word ‘rapture’ is not found in the Bible therefore it is unbiblical. The word ‘sermon’ also is not found in the Bible, but preaching a sermon is clearly taught in the Bible. There are many words that are not found in the Bible but we use to represent biblical principles that are taught in the Scriptures.
I realize that many people have predetermined not to believe certain biblical doctrines that do not align with the beliefs they cling to, however, many people don’t believe simply because they have not been exposed to the Bible’s teaching on this topic. My hope is that in this message we will gain a deeper understanding of this teaching of scripture and also avoid the pitfalls of putting doctrine into a box that we have created. We all come to the table with ideas and beliefs, therefore, we need to understand the importance of drawing our doctrine from scripture and not overlaying scripture with our beliefs. When we lay our beliefs onto scripture, we filter out anything that doesn’t fit our mold. When we overlay scripture, we interpret scripture based on predetermined beliefs instead of allowing scripture to interpret scripture and shape our beliefs.
It is difficult to avoid forcing scriptures into our mold if we stay on the superficial level. We need to dig deep into God’s word and allow the Bible to teach the meaning of scripture. No scripture stands alone. We should not hold one single doctrine that is derived from a single passage; the Bible is one complete revelation. From Genesis to Revelation, God is revealing His character, His plan, and our role in His plan. If we cannot confirm a doctrine with two or more supporting passages in their proper context, then we should avoid that doctrine.
This is especially true in prophecy. What God reveals about the future will always agree with what He has already done in the past. God does not change. In prophecy, either God has been teaching mankind His coming plan from the beginning or God is working future events just as He has done in the past as revealed in the Old Testament. The coming of Christ was first revealed in Genesis. From Genesis to Malachi, God continuously revealed more about His Son so there could be no mistake at the time when Jesus presented Himself to the world bodily. The second coming is taught in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament. In Revelation, He is unveiled so clearly that only His appearing could add to it.
1 Thessalonians 5 instructs us:
20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
The test of all things is the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the scriptures are given to us for doctrine, reproof, correction and for instruction. Teachers may present doctrine as truth, but the scriptures are our measuring stick to determine what is true and what falls short – or as D. L. Moody once said, “Let us lay down the straight truth of scripture and by this all that is crooked will be revealed”. Scripture reveals where we fall short and corrects our focus. The mysteries of the Bible are interpreted by the scriptures within the Bible. The scriptures are interpreted by the Holy Spirit who works within us (1 Corinthians 2:14). With these things in mind, let’s examine the doctrine of the rapture of the church.
The Rapture Taught in Scripture
The first reference to the second coming of Christ in the clouds as a specific event is found in Daniel 7:13. Two passages in the New Testament spell out the rapture doctrine in unmistakable terms. Look at these passages:
1 Thessalonians 4:
15 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 by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
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.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
It is an indisputable fact that the rapture is taught in the Bible. The word ‘rapture’ simply means ‘to be caught up’ or ‘snatched away’. This is exactly what 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is teaching. The phrase ‘caught up’ comes from the Greek word, ‘harpozo’. This word means: to carry off by force; to claim for one’s self eagerly; or to snatch out or away. In reality, the word rapture is found in the Bible by definition. A Greek word with the exact same meaning refers to the church’s catching away. The Lord will return for we who have placed our hope in Him and will claim us eagerly for Himself. One can’t deny the rapture of the believer without denying the reliability of scripture. If someone simply chooses not to believe, that is one thing; but to say it is not found in the Bible is a false statement. It is specifically spelled out twice in the New Testament and taught many other times as well.
The scriptures above spell out that the rapture is for the believer alone. The unredeemed will not be caught up with the Lord in the clouds. Yet if we look at Daniel 12, we see another valuable piece to this mystery. Look at Daniel 12:
1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
This is at the very end of the Anti-Christ’s rule. He is destroyed and the dead are raised. Daniel’s passage also agrees with Revelation 20, which foretells of the dead being raised to be judged. This is a separate event than the rapture. As we will see later in this Revelation study, many people will be saved during the Tribulation period and many of those saved will be killed for their faith. I believe the rapture at of the church and the resurrection after the tribulation are two events. There are other passages that show this to be true. A few weeks ago we studied Israel’s future in prophecy. At the end of the Great Tribulation, Israel is on the verge of annihilation. Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, creates a valley of escape and delivers the remnant of Israel (Zechariah 14). At this time, Jesus physically returns to the earth and begins His thousand-year reign. There is no rapture when He returns at this event. We know that because He delivers the saints. Many Jews during this time will understand and instruct many; they will evangelize the world for Christ (Daniel 11:33). There are dozens of references to Jesus’ return to end the Anti-Christ’s reign. Not one of them even remotely implies the rapture. It is equally worth noting that the passages that teach the rapture do not deal with the anti-Christ nor do they deal with Jesus’ physical return to the earth. We are told that we will return with Him, but we are not told that we will be caught up during this return.
At the second coming for the Jews, Jesus destroys the army of the enemy of His people with a great burning heat. If the rapture occurred at this point, the physical victory against their enemies would have little significance for the saints. Once they are raptured, no army could harm them. Revelation 14:1-4 makes it clear that the 144,000 Jews were redeemed by the Lamb. They are Christians called out to evangelize the world in Revelation 7. Here in Revelation 14, they are still on the earth and inheriting their reward. They survived the Tribulation and were not caught up with the Lord in the air. If the rapture comes at the end of the tribulation period, then all who will become Christians would already be saved and we would all be caught up together as the Bible states. Therefore, if Jesus returns to the earth to meet the saints, then this is not the same event spoken of in 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians.
The confusion about prophecy occurs when we can’t see the bigger picture. People assume that events predicted together must be fulfilled together. We have seen previously that this clearly is not the case. People assume that prophecy is always sequential. Many times it is not sequential. An example of this is seen clearly in Daniel 7. Daniel sees a vivid vision and describes the anti-Christ’s kingdom, its fall, and then comes back again to describe other details not previously mentioned. Daniel describes the kingdom of the beast and its power to destroy and then trample those who have been destroyed. His kingdom comes to an end by the might of the Ancient of Days (verse 9). In verse 11, the beast is slain and thrown into the burning flame and the kingdom has now come to an end. Yet, 10 verses later in Daniel 7:21, the same beast and the same mighty kingdom is making war against the saints and prevailing against them.
We see this type of explanations of the visions of Revelation as well. In Revelation 12 we see the fall of the dragon and the 1/3 of the angels that fell with him. This is past history. Then John sees a vision of a woman who gives birth to a male Child who will rule the earth with a rod of iron. This is Jesus Christ. When the dragon failed to destroy the Child who was then caught up to the throne of God, he then set out to destroy the people who gave birth to this child. This is the nation of Israel. Revelation 1-11 gave futuristic details, then 12 is out of sequence by referring to the past so we can understand the events about to be described that will again take place in the future. When we understand that the details are a supplement and not a separate event, then prophecy is easily understood. The confusion occurs when we try to put two events together that do not belong together or when we take descriptions of the same event and try to make them into separate events. This is why it is so important to take scripture as a whole and allow scripture to interpret prophecy for us.
In the scripture, there are two elects – the church and the nation of Israel. God deals with both based on the same principles of scripture yet separate from each other. When people try to merge the two, it creates confusion. Many events in prophecy have been fulfilled in the church and are yet to be fulfilled with Israel while at the same time, prophecies specifically addressed to Israel do not fit the church. Yet people try to ‘shoehorn’ them into the church even though they can’t explain why it doesn’t coincide with scripture. One clear example of parallel prophecy is one that we have already discussed earlier but is worth mentioning again. Look at Matthew 17:
10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.
12 "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."
In this account, John the Baptist is already dead by the order of King Herod. Yet, Jesus said that he is indeed coming and WILL restore all things. What will he restore? I believe it will be the gospel that has been corrupted by compromise with the world. Jesus then goes on to say that Elijah has already come. In Matthew 11:14 Jesus set the qualifications for Elijah’s coming. To those who ‘receive it’ (the gospel), John the Baptist is Elijah to come. Here we have a parallel between the church and Israel. Before Messiah comes, Elijah must come first. For the church (those who trust in Christ), John was our Elijah. For Israel, Elijah will come to prepare their hearts for the coming of Jesus in the end.
Now look at Malachi 4:
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
This is not the same event as Jesus’ coming to establish the church. For the church, the coming of Christ was not a dreadful day of the LORD, but for the world at His second coming it will be. Joel 2 gives one of the many descriptions of the Day of the LORD. It begins by warning the earth’s inhabitants to tremble in fear for the Day of the LORD is at hand. This passage then describes the assembling of armies and the great battle that will make the earth tremble; the color will drain from men’s face for fear; there will be pain and suffering like man has never seen. The description follows up by saying, “For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” The ‘Day of the LORD’ is always judgment. The coming of the Lord in the gospels is not the great day of the Lord. It was a day of deliverance from sin. The coming of the Lord for His saints is not the same event for Israel as it will be for the church. This graphic illustrates some of the parallels between the church and Israel that should not be confused as one event:
For the church, Elijah has come; for Israel, he will come. For the church, the Messiah has come; Israel is still waiting for Messiah to be revealed. For the church, Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives to present Himself as King and establish the Kingdom of God; for Israel, Jesus will descend from the Mount of Olives to present Himself as King over the whole world. The Kingdom of God was established in the church; the Kingdom of God will be established on earth for the 1,000-year reign of Christ to fulfill God’s promises to Israel. Jesus delivered the church from the principalities of Satan; Israel will be delivered from the kingdom of the Beast. For the church, Jesus will descend with a shout and we will meet Him in the air; for Israel, Jesus will descend with a roar, save them from their enemies and they will meet Him on the ground. When Jesus comes for the church, the dead in Christ are raised first; when Jesus ends the world system, all dead will be raised and judged. The parallels between the church and Israel end when both are united in proclaiming Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. At that time every knee will bow and tongue will confess Jesus as Lord.
The rapture is the hope of the believer and the physical return of Christ is the hope of the Jew and the believers saved out of the Tribulation period. When the church hears the shout of the Lord, it is the trumpet calling us to meet the Lord in the air. When Israel hears the shout of the Lord, they are to look up, knowing their redemption draws near. The church meets the Lord in the air; Israel is met by the Lord on the earth. The promise of the rapture was given to the church to be a source of comfort. The Epistle of Thessalonians was given to a group of believers who had been taught that the Day of the Lord had already come. In scripture, they were comforted by knowing that this Day would not pass unnoticed. If their feet were planted on the ground, the Day of the Lord has not come. It was also given as a comfort concerning those who died in Christ. For the Christian, hope does not end at the grave; instead, those who have died will be caught up first. We can see that the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church is clearly taught in scripture; the only real dispute is the question, ‘when will it occur’? In the remainder of this study, we will examine the scriptures that I believe give us a reasonable clarity on this question as well.
