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The Rapture: What is it and when will it occur?
In John chapter 14, Jesus gave His disciples a promise that became the
greatest hope of every believer in every age. Let us read it:
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there
ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know". (John 14:1-
4)
This is a reference to the rapture given by Jesus himself. Notice that He
promised that He would prepare a place for His disciples promising also that
they would be with Him wherever He was. Jesus was going to heaven ,so this
means that He will be back to take His followers to heaven to be with Him.
In order for the Rapture to be understood, one must first understand the
background of the Jewish marriage system which was present in the days of
Jesus.
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a Jewish scholar explains:
"First ,the father of the groom made the arrangements for the marriage and
paid the bride price. The timing of the arrangement varied. Sometimes it
occurred when both children were small, and at other times it was a year
before the marriage itself. Often the bride and groom did not even meet
until their wedding day.
The fourth step, the marriage feast, would follow and could last for as many
as seven days. Many more people would be invited to the feast than were to
the marriage ceremony. In the Marriage of the Lamb all four of these steps of
the Jewish wedding ceremony are evident. First, God the father made the
arrangements for His Son and paid the bride price, which in this case was the
blood of the Messiah .Just a long period of time (always at least one year)
often transpired between the first and second steps of the Jewish marriage
arrangement, this has been the case here. Almost two thousand years have now
passed since the first step occurred. But in 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18,discussed earlier in this chapter, the second step will occur. The
Rapture is the fetching of the Bride. Jesus will come in the air in order to
fetch His bride to His home, which is in Heaven. Only God the Father knows the
timing of this event (Mat.26:36).Furthermore, it will only happen once the
place of residence has been prepared.'' (John 14:1-3)[1]
The Rapture event requires a translation of believers in Christ from earth
to heaven. Paul the Apostle expands on this subject in his epistles to the
Corinthians and to the Thessalonians saying that it is the event in which
the Lord will come back for His church. Let us read what he says to the
Corinthians:
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality".(I Corinthians 15:51-53).
In this passage, Paul exhorts the Corinthians who had lost their hope in the
resurrection of the body saying that there was no resurrection. But Paul
writes to them saying that if Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits,
we also shall raise in His coming. (Verses 22-23.)
In 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica
who were concerned thinking that they were already going through the Great
Tribulation because of the persecution they were facing and sad because of
their relatives that had died before the coming of the Lord. In response,
Paul comforts them with these words:
''But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the
Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.'' (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
In this passage Paul explains that the believers that had died before the
coming of the Lord would not be left aside, for they would be risen by the
Lord Himself, and we who remained alive would be caught up (RAPTURED) with
them in the air ,in other words,Christians will suddenly vanish from planet
earth to be with Jesus in heaven.
Some deny the Rapture by saying that the word Rapture does not appear in the
Bible.That is because they never read the Latin Bible which translates the
Greek word Harpazzo as Rapturo,Raptus and Rapiemur as is the case in 1
Thessalonians 4:17.The Italian Bible translates the word as Rapito.
The doctrine of the rapture has caused more confusion in the body of Christ
than any other.The students of eschatology are not in agreement about when
this event is going to take place, whether before the tribulation, in the
middle of the tribulation or at the end of the tribulation.The problem is
with the distinction between Israel and the Church in the plan of God for
the events of the future.
The distinction between Israel and the church is essential to understand the
future events that God has prepared to deal with the world. If that
distinction is not made as is the case of many Bible commentators, a great
confusion arises in the prophetic stage in regards to the Great Tribulation.
In our
Great Tribulation study we see that the church was not present in the
first 69 weeks of Daniel 9; therefore the church will not be present in the
70th week, for this period concerns the Jewish people. But what about those
who prove from the Bible that the church will go through this horrible
period of persecution caused by this political leader who will come from the
European Union? They are called Post-Tribulationists.The say that the church
is the new Israel of God,therefore the Church will go through the Great
Tribulation.
We find in the Bible itself people who were Pre-tribulationists.
Enoch,the first Pre-Tribulationist.
In Genesis 5 ,we find a list of people who were born and died before the
Flood.But Enoch did not die,in fact he was Raptured before the Great
Tribulation of a worldwide flood.(Genesis 5:24).Enoch is a type of the
church which will be Raptured before the Great Tribulation of a worldwide
judgement from God just like the flood was.
Abraham,the second Pre-Tribulationist.
In Genesis 18,we find that God decides to bring judgement on Sodom and
Gomorrah for their wickedness.Before God pours out His wrath against these
two cities,Abraham asks the Lord if He would destroy the righteous with the
wicked and the Lord says that He would not destroy the righteous with the
wicked just as He will not judge His church with the wicked during the Great
Tribulation.(Genesis 18:20-33).The intercession of Abraham for the righteous
of Sodom and Gomorrah in this passage shows us that God does not destroy His
followers with the wicked when He pours out His wrath.
Lot ,the third Pre-Tribulationist.
In Genesis 19,we read of God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Just before
He utterly destroys the cities with fire and brimstone, He sends angels to
warn Lot and his family and tells them to leave the city so that God can
bring His judgement against the wicked people of these cities.(Genesis
19:1-29)
In this passage of scripture, Lot and his family are a type of the church
being Raptured before God pours out His wrath on a sinful world. Peter even
makes a comment on this passage. He says:
''And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them
with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live
ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the
wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing,
vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds; The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:'' (2 Peter 2:6-9)
But what about Noah and his family who lived through the worldwide flood?
Aren't they a type of the church going through the Great Tribulation that is
yet future? No. They are a type of the 144.000 Jews of Revelation chapter 7
who will be protected by God through the worldwide destruction of the Great
Tribulation. Post-Tribulationists point to the fact that Jesus said to His
disciples that they would have tribulation in this world. They overlook the
fact that Jesus is referring to Satanic attacks against Christians, but The
Great Tribulation is something totally different, it is God's wrath being
poured out upon a Christ rejecting world even though Satan is used as one of
God's instruments to pour out His wrath.
Post-Tribulationists spiritualize the prophecies that refer to Israel as if
they applied to the church. This doctrine is called Reconstructionism or
Replacement Theology.Reconstructionists say that after Israel rejected the
Messiah, the Messiah in turn rejected Israel making all the promises made to
Israel fall on the church. The problem with this teaching is that it makes
God a liar, for when God promised the land of Palestine to Abraham and his
descendents, the promise was unconditional. In Ezekiel, we read that God
would bring His people back to their land, not because of them, but because
of the oath that He had taken saying that Israel would be His people forever
and because of His holy name. Let us read what he says:
''Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the
house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way
and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed
woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed
upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I
scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the
countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged
them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they
profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the
LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name,
which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not
this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which
ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my
great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in
the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the
Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will
take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and
will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your
idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of
your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save
you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will
increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of
the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more
reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil
ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your
own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes
do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and
confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In
the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also
cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the
desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all
that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become
like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are
become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about
you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that
was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the
Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do
it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock,
as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be
filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.''(Ezekiel
36:16-38)
After a statement like this, I think it is impossible to think that God has
forsaken His people.
There are those who say that Israel is no longer the chosen people of God.
Let us read what God Himself has to say about this:
''Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun
for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a
light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD
of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the
LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me
for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the
foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the
seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.''(Jeremiah
31:31-37)
Here God says that if the sun, the moon and the stars stop shining, Israel
will no longer be a nation before Him. Have you ever seen the sun, the moon
and the stars stop shining? I believe that the answer is NO. Do not confuse
the departing of these ordinances with the cosmic events of Matthew 24:29
that will be a divine judgment from God as we shall see below.
The Post-Tribulationists use the text of Matthew 24 to prove the church will
go through the tribulation. It states in Matthew 24:
''Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the
sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other.'' (Matthew 24:29-31)
In Mark 13 we read the same:
''But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and
the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall
he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.''
(Mark 13:24-27)
They say that the "ELECT" of Matthew and Mark are the believers who will go
through the Great Tribulation and will then be gathered together (raptured)
from the four corners of the earth. What they fail to realize is that Jesus
is quoting several passages of the Old Testament which refer to the
re-gathering of the Jews from the whole world to the land of Israel at the
end of the Great Tribulation. Let us examine these passages:
''And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the
blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call
them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven
thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice
according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn
thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather
thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If
any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence
will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:''
(Deuteronomy 30:1- 4)
In this passage, God promises to bring back his people to their land from
the uttermost parts of heaven as we see Jesus quoting this verse in Matthew
24:31.
''And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand
again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and
from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the
sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.'' (Isaiah 11:11-12)
Again we see that the elect of Matthew 24 are the Jews who are scattered to
the four corners of the earth.
''And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the
children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will
gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king
shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither
shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they
defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable
things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of
all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them:
so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant
shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall
also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they
shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein
your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their
children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall
be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with
them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them,
and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do
sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for
evermore.'' (Ezekiel 37:21-28)
Notice that God said He will gather the Jews from every side as Jesus said
in Matthew 24 and He even goes on to say that it is He who sanctifies Israel
in verse 28.
''Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east
country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be
their God, in truth and in righteousness. . .Yea, many people and strong
nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray
before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come
to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations,
even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go
with you: for we have heard that God is with you.'' (Zechariah 8; 7-8,
22-23)
Notice that in the last verse all the nations will ask a JEW to take them
with him for they will know that God is in the midst of the JEWS again.
When we examine the context of Matthew 24,we see that Jesus is referring to
the Jews and not the church. In verse 15 He mentions the Abomination of
Desolation which will occur in the Jewish temple that will be built in
Jerusalem. In verse 16 He mentions those who are in Judea will flee to the
mountains, which is a reference to the Jews who will be living in Israel at
that time. Verse 20 mentions the Sabbath, a reference to the sabbatical law
of the Old Testament that will be observed by the Jews when they return to
Palestine.I watched a video entitled 25 Messianic Signs in Israel Today, and
the narrator said he had to turn off the camera because the Sabbath was
about to begin. The Israeli authorities would not allow the camera to keep
recording.
On the other hand, Jesus tells His disciples the following words:
''Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son
of man.'' (Luke 21:36)
The prophetic sermon of Luke 21 is basically the same as Matthew 24, but
here in Luke, Jesus is speaking to His disciples who had put their faith in
Him before the period of the Great Tribulation after having spoken about the
destruction of the Jerusalem and the Diaspora of the Jews in 70 A.D.
In verses 20-24, He speaks about the cosmic events and natural disasters of
the seven years of the tribulation period. In verse 25-26, He speaks about
His second coming. In verse 27-28 He speaks about the parable of the fig
tree and in verses 29-33 He exhorts His followers to be watching so they
will stand before Him before the events of the tribulation which is a
reference to the rapture.
The problem of not knowing the prophetic passages of the Old Testament or to
spiritualize them as if they were for the church causes too much confusion
in interpreting the prophetic passages of the New Testament. Paul the
Apostle gives us some information about this in the book of Romans:
''I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an
Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not
cast away his people which he foreknew . . .For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness
of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is
written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob:'' (Romans 11;1-2,25-26)
And in this same chapter, Paul warns the gentiles not to boast against the
Jews for having obtained salvation:
''For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which
are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but
life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy:
and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them,
and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not
against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be
grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou
standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the
natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.'' (Romans 11:13-21)
These branches are the Jews and the wild olive tree is the gentiles. Here
Paul warns the gentiles not to boast against the branches (the Jews), for it
is not the gentiles that bear the root, but the root (God) bears the
branches. At the end of verse 16 he says the branches are holy. It is
amazing the number of Christian denominations that reject the branches (the
Jews) saying they were cast out forever. But Paul says that the branches
(the Jews) will be grafted again:
''Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell,
severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still
in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graff them in again.
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert
grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall
these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive
tree?'' (Romans 11:22-24)
The Church Will be in Heaven at the Time of the Tribulation
Before we start, I want to make it very clear that the term CHURCH here
implied, does not refer to a building or a denomination as we think when we
speak about the church. The word church here refers to those people who are
followers of Jesus and who trust only in His redemptive work on Calvary’s
cross regardless of any denomination, be it Baptist, Presbyterian,
Methodist, Catholic etc.. With the exception of the Roman Catholic Church
which teaches its members that Mary and the Saints are alternate ways to
salvation, something which contradicts the Bible. I Timothy 2:5 says that
Jesus is the ONLY mediator between God and men, all the other denominations
agree that Jesus is the only way to God as Jesus Himself told his followers
in John 14:6. Nevertheless, there are many people in denominations that
never come to a full knowledge of the truth, and are not born again. Jesus
said in John 3 you must be born again and Peter confirmed a new birth which
takes place in someone's life through the Word of God acting in the hearts
of the listeners.( 1 Peter 1:23).
There are many people in all these denominations that have an appearance of
religiosity but never become born again and experience a relationship with
Christ. These people usually trust in their good works, rituals, sacraments
and legalism, things which do not count for salvation, for the Bible says
that no one will be justified by works, no one will boast before God for
having obtained salvation, but only by faith in the redemptive work of Jesus
which is the only thing accepted by God for justification for sins.
Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:11 and the entire book of Romans.
The book of Revelation has a divine outline given by the author (God) which
divides the book in three chronological sessions.
''Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the
things which shall be hereafter;'' (Revelation 1:19)
1- The things which thou hast seen: The vision of the glorified Christ in
chapter 1
2- The things which are: The things of the church in chapters 3 & 4
3- The things which shall be hereafter: The visions of chapter 4 through 22
The phrase "hereafter" in verse 19 in the Greek is META TAUTA. In chapter
4, the first phrase contains "After this" which is the same phrase META
TAUTA in the Greek.
After this (META TAUTA) I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:
and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with
me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter (META TAUTA). (Revelation 4:1)
Therefore we see that the phrase "hereafter" and "after this" which is the
same in the Greek, refers to the things of the church in chapters 2 and 3,
re-appears in chapter 4 indicating that the things of the church have come
to an end, thus bringing church history to a close here on earth and now the
vision points to heaven in chapters 4 and 5 and comes back to the earth in
chapter 6.
In recent decades, some scholars have discovered that the seven churches
found in Revelation 2 and 3, represent prophetically seven eras of the
church here on earth. What is interesting is that there were hundreds of
churches at that time including the churches of Corinth, Galatia, Philippi,
Rome and Thessalonica, but Jesus for some special reason chose these seven.
If the order of these churches was inverted, the prophetic aspect would not
fit as we will see.
Church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7)
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