Please Accept My Apologia - the rapture

The Rapture

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3)

Two essential rules for studying the end times:

1)      Don’t Americanize bible prophecy

2)      Don’t worry – God is in control and wants us to stay on mission

The rapture is a specific point in time when God physically removes both the living and dead in Christ from the earth; Christ gathers his bride to himself. This event is not the same as Christ’s return to establish his kingdom on earth by overthrowing the anti-Christ. To study the rapture, we must also understand God’s promise of a time of tribulation as prophesied in Daniel 9:24-27. The tribulation is the final 7 years of Daniel’s timeline after the fulfillment of Messiah. During this time the anti-Christ (the abomination that causes desolation, the beast) will make a seven-year covenant of peace with Israel but will break it half-way through (3 ½ years). The final half is also called “the great tribulation.”

·         Jesus removes the church (all believers) from the earth

·         The rapture will be instantaneous

·         Our bodies (both the dead and living) will be changed into everlasting bodies

Revelation 6-11

·         7 seals – these appear to be spread throughout a long period of time, possibly across the 7 years of the tribulation; the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (the first is the anti-Christ); martyrs during the tribulation

·         7 trumpets - the seven trumpets are the “contents” of the seventh seal; the seventh trumpet ushers in the 7 bowls of wrath (this seems different than the “last trumpet” sounding at the rapture, ref. 1 Cor. 15:42)

·         7 bowls of wrath – includes 7 plagues upon mankind; the battle of Armageddon

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

1 Corinthians 15:50-54

Revelation 3:10

Daniel 9:20-27

Joel 2

Revelation 6-22

Three views on the rapture (in relation to the Great Tribulation):

1)      Pre-Trib: The rapture takes place immediately before the tribulation (the rapture is the catalyst for the commencement of the tribulation). Once the church is taken to heaven, the anti-Christ is revealed and the 7 years of tribulation commence to be immediately followed by Jesus returning to reign on earth for 1,000 years. According to this view, the church does not experience any of the tribulation.

Strengths: According to this view, the church does not experience any of the Tribulation. 1 Thess. 5:9 - For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The church of Philadelphia was promised to be kept from “the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world” (Revelation 3:10). The word “church” appears nineteen times in the first three chapters of Revelation, but, significantly, the word is not used again until chapter 22. In other words, in the entire lengthy description of the Tribulation in Revelation, the word church is noticeably absent. Pre-Trib is the only theory which clearly maintains the distinction between Israel and the church and God’s separate plans for each. The seventy “sevens” of Daniel 9:24 are decreed upon Daniel’s people (the Jews) and Daniel’s holy city (Jerusalem). This prophecy makes it plain that the seventieth week (the Tribulation) is a time of purging and restoration for Israel and Jerusalem, not for the church. This view also matches other biblical examples of God’s salvation including Noah, Lot and Rahab.

Weaknesses: One perceived weakness of pre-trib is its relatively recent development as a church doctrine, not having been formulated in detail until the early 1800s. Another difficulty facing the pre-trib view is the fact that there will obviously be saints in the Tribulation (Revelation 13:7; 20:9). It is also unclear at which stage during the tribulation that the nation of Israel will recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

2)      Mid-Trib: The rapture occurs half way through the tribulation (3 ½ years into the 7 years of great tribulation). At that time, the seventh trumpet sounds (Revelation 11:15), the church will meet Christ in the air, and then the bowl judgments are poured upon the earth (Revelation 15–16) in a time known as the Great Tribulation. In other words, the Rapture and Christ’s Second Coming (to set up His kingdom) are separated by a period of three-and-a-half years.

Strengths: the body of Christ (the church) is present during the first half of the tribulation but taken up before God’s wrath is poured out (as seen in the bowls of wrath judgment in Revelation 15-16); this would match 1 Thess. 5:9 which states that God has not destined us for his wrath. This view also matches the chronology of 2 Thess. 2:1-3 (1) apostasy, 2) the revelation of the Antichrist, and 3) the Day of Christ). In Matthew 24, Jesus mentions the beginning of the great tribulation and his return for the elect after the abomination of desolation foretold in Daniel (the midpoint of the 7 years of tribulation).

Weaknesses: the 7^th trumpet of the judgments in Revelation may not be the same as the last trumpet sounded at Christ’s return. The questions remain about the interaction of “the church” and the nation of Israel during the end times.

3)      Post-Trib: The rapture occurs at the end of the 7 years of tribulation, coinciding with the return of Christ physically on earth. At that time, the church will meet Christ in the air and then return to earth for the commencement of Christ’s Kingdom on earth. In other words, the Rapture and Christ’s Second Coming (to set up His Kingdom) happen almost simultaneously. According to this view, the church goes through the entire seven-year Tribulation.

Strengths: Jesus’ declaration of the rapture of the elect occurs after his description of great tribulation; the book of Revelation mentions only one coming of the Lord and that after the tribulation; there will be saints alive during the tribulation; Rev. 20:5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection).

Weaknesses: the chapters in Revelation that describe the Lord returning to earth clearly describe his return as King to reign on earth; many people will come to faith in Christ during the tribulation including the nation of Israel (specifically 144,000); 1 Thess. 5:9 states that God has not destined us for his wrath, which would seem to contradict the wrath of God poured out during the great tribulation.