Much of the concern over the end times comes from uncertainty
about what exactly will happen to Christians at the end of this
world. Will Christians go through the Tribulation? Will Jesus
Christ come and remove them before it begins? The answer to
these questions is important since it will affect our
understanding of the book of Revelation.
Before we can answer this issue, we must consider when the
Rapture occurs. The term rapture is not found in the Bible
but is a Latin word meaning "to be caught up." The rapture
idea is biblical. In I Thessalonians, Paul wrote
concerning those Christians who had died:
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 [precede] 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.
I Thessalonians 4:14-17
This act of being caught up at Jesus' coming is what the word rapture
refers to. The words caught up are used only in this passage, but this
does not mean this event has not received emphasis elsewhere. Jesus
promised, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself" (John 14:3; cf. vv. 23, 27, 28;
I Thessalonians 4:14-17; et al.).
Christians are divided as to when the Rapture will occur. There are
two major views concerning the timing of the Rapture of the saints.
The identification of the saints John wrote about in Revelation depends
on which view one holds. The two views are a pretribulation and a
posttribulation Rapture. The pretribulation view holds that the Rapture
will
occur before the Tribulation John wrote about in Revelation. The
posttribulation view holds that it will occur after it. I will give
the stronger arguments for both positions. Those holding to the
pretribulation view of the Rapture believe the following points
support their view:
1. The term church or churches is not found in Revelation from
chapters 4 through 21, a sharp contrast to its being found 18 times
in the first three chapters. Something must have happened between
chapters 3 and 4 to account for this difference. This change plus
the fact that the vision of heaven found in chapters 4 and 5 tells
of elders being present in heaven means that the Rapture of the
church must have occurred between chapters 3 and 4, and thus before
the tribulation period.
2. God promised the Philadelphia church that He would "keep thee
from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world,
to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10). This suggests
the church is raptured before the tribulation begins.
3. Daniel's seventieth week, the seven-year tribulation period,
follows the church age, which occurs between the sixty-ninth and
seventieth week. This is the time of "Jacob's trouble" and not
the church's troubles.
4. The Jews are seen as doing evangelization work in the tribulation
period (Revelation 7:1-4). Evangelism was the responsibility given
to the church in the Great Commission; thus a change must have occurred.
5. First Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 19:11-21 stand in
sharp contrast to each other. Their wording and overall messages
are different, and therefore must describe different events.
6.
Jesus said, "Pray . . . that ye may . . . escape all these things"
(Luke 21:36). Paul later adds concerning the time when "sudden
destruction cometh" that Christians have "for an helmet, the hope of
salvation [future]" because "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:3, 9).
These promises mean the Christian will be raptured before the
Tribulation.
Our next blog entry will focus on the Post Tribulation view of Rapture.