I remember sitting in an auditorium listening to a woman who was supposed to be an expert on the second coming of Jesus Christ. She had charts and a very large painting of Jesus returning to the earth. She was explaining how the church (the believers and followers of Jesus) would be “raptured” out of the world, and everyone else would be left to endure the Great Tribulation that was to come on all the earth. She talked about the shock and terror of the unbelievers as they witnessed their family members and neighbors flying through the sky while they were left behind. Then she calmed the concerns of some by saying, “Don’t worry, if you are driving your car, the Lord will give you time to pull over and get out before he takes you up.” I thought it was hilarious at the time, and still think so. That was several years ago, but evidently the idea is still around, because I keep seeing bumper stickers that say, “In case of rapture, this car will be abandoned.”
I preached about The Di Vinci Code recently, because it is a book of fiction that is being taken as a historical reality, and the movie version was just released last week. But there is another book, or series of books, that are equally entertaining and fictitious, with more than one movie to compliment the series. The authors have made millions of dollars, just as Dan Brown has. The series is called Left Behind. The underlying ideas in the books come from the same school of thought as the woman I first mentioned. The idea is that God is going to judge the earth and bring about a time of testing and tribulation, but before he does, he will whisk true believers away to heaven. This is the secret rapture of the church, and when the tribulation is over, Jesus will return again to bring the world to a close. So actually, there are three comings: Jesus’ original appearance on earth at his birth, his appearing at the rapture (or taking the church out of the world to heaven), and then a third appearing at the final judgment. This is a doctrine that has gained wide acceptance in the church, and many in this room today probably believe this is the way things will happen. But let’s take a look at the historical and biblical origins of this doctrine.
If this is true, and there are many who teach this today, then it is a theory completely unknown to the early church Fathers, the scholastics of the Middle Ages, the Reformers and all believers until the 1830’s — less than 200 years ago. It all began with a young Scottish woman who was a prophetess in the Catholic Apostolic Sect. Her name was Margaret McDonald, and she claimed to have a special revelation that a select group of believers would be caught up to meet Christ before the days of the Antichrist. A young man named John Darby began to be a student of hers, and in 1830 he published her theory. Darby was a leader of the Plymouth Brethren, and the father of a theological system called “Dispensationalism.” Margaret McDonald had said that only a select group of believers would be taken at the rapture, but Darby expanded this to include all believers. He spent much of his time speaking, traveling, and writing about this new theory, which was very controversial at the time. But the idea of a rapture of the church really became popularized when C. I. Scofield published his Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. Which means that less than 100 years ago most Bible believing Christians knew nothing about a pre-tribulational rapture. But it was not long until Scofield’s notes promoting Dispensationalism, and the pre-tribulational rapture in particular, became nearly equal with Scripture for many. In recent years Hal Lindsey has published several books like The Late Great Planet Earth making the theory even more widely known and accepted. More recently, the Left Behind series has continued the stir.
Many people assume that Christians have always believed this, and are surprised to know that belief in a rapture of the church prior to the tribulation is a very recent development in Christian history. The Bible is very clear about the reality of the second coming of Jesus Christ. You will remember that after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the disciples stood there with their mouths open as they watched Jesus rise into heaven before them. But two angels suddenly appeared and said to them: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). And we could cite many more verses regarding what the Bible says about the Second Coming. But the rapture (that is, the taking up of the church before the Great Tribulation) has very little, if any, biblical support.
Two main passages are mainly cited by those who teach a pre-tribulational rapture. The first is Revelation 3:10, where Jesus is speaking to the church of Philadelphia and says, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” But this verse says nothing about a rapture or taking believers out of the world. He simply promises to keep them from being adversely affected or harmed by the coming events.
The second Scripture that people point to in support of a rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” This verse does refer to the second coming of Christ, but it is describing his coming just prior to the great Judgment. It really says nothing about Christ coming only for the church prior to the end of the world.
Why is it important to talk about this? First of all, because there is no clear teaching in Scripture at all concerning a secret coming of Christ where the church will be removed prior to the final judgment and escape persecution. If this was true, why would the book of Revelation say concerning the difficulties of the last days: “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Secondly, because I believe Satan could easily use this teaching to discourage sincere Christians in a time of persecution and trial. Recent events indicate a growing animosity toward Christians all around the world. What happens to the church in America if persecution comes and we have been believing all along that God will spare us from any and all harm? Would we be ready to face the stress and danger of those days? How can we tell the church in China, the Sudan, India and other parts of the world that it is not God’s will for them to suffer persecution?
It is interesting that this is a particularly American doctrine. It is not as accepted in other places. How do we tell Christians in other countries where they are being tortured, losing their homes and laying down their lives for Christ, that Jesus will spare the faithful from persecution and end-time suffering? But it sells well in the United States where we think everything should be easy and painless. We like things that promise us comfort, and see no redemptive value in suffering.
What is the truth, and what does the Bible teach? The Bible does teach that Jesus Christ is returning to earth. The Scripture today encouraged Christians to: “wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Jesus said, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). When we take communion we often quote 1 Corinthians where it says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Is Jesus returning to the earth? Absolutely. Is there a time of trial and trouble coming for the world, and persecution for Christians? That is the clear teaching of Scripture. And will the end of all things be the return of Christ, the final judgment and the setting up of Christ’s Kingdom on earth? As sure as we are sitting here!
But it is important not to accept a doctrine just because it appeals to us, or because it is popular with many Christians. The “health and wealth” gospel was popular with many Christians, and it is most certainly unbiblical. We want to be biblical Christians. I would love to believe that we will all be taken out and spared from all trouble and suffering; I just see no evidence in Scripture that we will be removed from the earth and spared from these things. I also see no evidence in history that God has taken his people out of the presence of suffering and persecution — which many in other parts of the world are going through at this very moment.
Let’s look at the purpose of the second appearing of Christ and the final judgment. Why is this called the “blessed hope”? It first means: God is in control. God will bring the world to a conclusion in his time and for his purposes. The apostle Paul was making his case before the Greek intellectuals and philosophers at the Athenian Areopagus. As he stood before them, he said: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:24-31).
Just when it appeared that all was lost and Jesus was taking his last breath on the cross, God was carrying out a plan to dramatically change the world and the people in it. It is the central point of history. God has been patiently carrying out his plan from the beginning of time. There has not been a single moment in time when God was not completely in control of history, patiently moving the world toward his conclusion. And the marvelous thing is that God is using our lives to bring this about, working with us and through us. Peter wrote: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:11-13).
In the end, the Bible says, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The end of the world is great news for Christians who have suffered in this present world. For those who have had enough of pain, failure, betrayal, injustice, fatigue, heartache, grief and loss, the end of the present world system is very good news indeed.
Secondly, the Second Coming means that: There will be final justice. Evil will be answered. This is God’s world, and he will see that things are made right. The Bible speaks of this frightening reality: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). No one is getting by with anything. Paul gave hope to the persecuted Christians of his day saying, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).
Third, this means: We have hope. Evil cannot win. We serve a sovereign God who rules the universe and is in charge of the world — no matter how things may appear. This is the God who cares for us and will deliver us and be with us in the time of trial. We are the children of the Creator of the universe. We do not live in despair as those who believe that there is no loving God at the center of the universe, and no purpose to life. We are not helpless against the power of evil. Jesus prayed to the Father about us saying, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15). In a fallen world full of injustice, pain and evil, Jesus promised: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. . . . Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:31-41).
Finally, it means: We have the power to overcome. We do not do this in our own strength and cunning, this power comes through the Spirit of God. The Bible says, “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). It goes on to say, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him” (1 John 5:18). All this is from God, for Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In the third century, Cyprian wrote to his friend, Donatus: “This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs, misery and selfishness. It is really a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians. . . and I am one of them.”
While trials are not things we want to think about, it is absolutely vital that we are prepared. Maybe it will never happen in our lifetime — may God let it be so! But we cannot deceive ourselves into thinking that the biblical cautions about persecution don’t apply to us. It was Jesus who said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 28, 2006
Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
