Vanishing People?

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NLT)

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NLT)

One of the most controversial topics in the church today is the concept of the “rapture” – a time when millions of Christians will literally vanish from earth and go to be with Jesus.  Sadly, many churches don’t even try to look at this topic, some even dismissing it as myth or the delusions of “wackos”.  Yet, the verses above clearly talk about this topic.  

For some, the problem is that they don’t see the actual word “Rapture” in the Bible.  While there are a lot of words not in the Bible (dinosaur, computer, trinity), the word “Rapture” actually comes from one of the earliest translations of the Bible, the Latin Vulgate, written in 382 AD.  There 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the word “rapiemur” (a verb tense of “rapturo”) which is translated as “caught up”.  In Greek, the word is “harpazo” which means to snatch or take away.

Others dismiss the entire concept of the “last days”, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial kingdom.  Many churches sadly still teach that we are in the millennial kingdom, but if we are, that is a very sad thing.  The Bible clearly describes that time as one of peace, safety, and lack of crime.  Further, it says that wild animals will no longer be any threat to us or to each other.  Clearly, no matter how some may try to allegorize that, this world isn’t that!  The millennial kingdom is also not Heaven but a renewed earth with Jesus in charge.

  

This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 

Revelation 20:5-10 (NLT)

Several things are clear from these verses.  1,000 years is mentioned twice.  Heaven is eternity, not limited to 1,000 years.  Satan’s release, deception, an army declaring war on God and fire from Heaven – clearly this is not talking about Heaven.

Finally, there were over 300 prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ – all of which were literally fulfilled.  There are over 1,000 prophecies of his second coming.  There is absolutely no reason to believe that they will not also  be literally fulfilled.  The bottom line is that if you choose to allegorize all of this, you will need to jump through a lot of hoops and eliminate about one-third of the Bible.  This is something I’m simply not willing to do.  (For further discussion about the legitimacy of the Bible, please see the article, “How Do We Know Christianity is True”, “Biblical Contradictions”, and “Is the Bible Still Relevant?” For an extensive discussion on the last days, please see the article “How Does the World End?“)

With regard to the Rapture, there are other instances of people being “caught up” or taken directly to Heaven.  

• Enoch disappeared because God took him.  (Genesis 5:23-24)
• Elijah never saw death but was taken in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:9-11)
• The 2 Witnesses during the tribulation are raised from the dead and called to Heaven.  (Revelation 11:3-12)
• In the Revelation of Jesus to John, after the discussion of the church, John hears a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast telling him to “come up here”.  This is symbolic of the rapture.  (Revelation 4:1-2).

Add these to the two verses above, and we can see that there is significant evidence in the Bible for the idea that one day, the true church (all believers who have made Jesus Christ the Lord of their life) will be called to meet him in the clouds.  This is not the second coming of Christ since he does not physically return to earth, but it is a calling up of the saved to him in the clouds.  

The next controversy surrounding the rapture or “catching up” is the timing.  There are three general views. Please note that from this point on, any reference to “the church” is a reference to all born-again believers that have made the decision to follow Jesus, regardless of whether they are of Jewish descent or non-Jewish descent.  This does not include everyone who attends church or who belongs to a church.  Sadly, many church-goers will find themselves left behind because they never truly made Jesus the Lord of their life, no matter how many “good” things they think they have done.  Jesus addressed this in Matthew 7:

“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 

Matthew 7, 21-23 (NIV)

It is of critical importance that each one of us evaluates our lives to make sure that we will be counted among those in the true church of Christ.

The three different timing views are as follows:

• Pre-tribulation:  the church is caught up before the seven-year tribulation and is  not on earth for any part of it
• Mid-tribulation:  the church will be here for the first 3 ½ years but not the last
• Post-tribulation:  the church will have to endure the tribulation and will not be caught up until the very end

From a careful study of scripture, I strongly believe that a pre-tribulation view is the only one that does not require a compromise of scripture or the nature of God. 
Here are my reasons for this belief.

1. This is the only view that is “encouraging” or “comforting”.  In 1 Thessalonians 4:18 noted above, Paul tells the believers to “encourage each other with these words.” Other translations read “comfort each other”.  In Matthew 24:21, Jesus describes this time as a period of greater anguish than ever before.  “‘For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.’” (NIV) In Revelation we see war, famine, disease, death, and hail mixed with fire, one-third of the sea destroyed, one-third of the rivers and streams destroyed, one-third of the sun darkened, demonic locusts, and millions of people killed in just the first 3 ½ years!  It only gets worse from there.  The thought of being around for any part of this seven-year nightmare is certainly not comforting or encouraging.  
   
2. God has not appointed us to wrath. “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”(1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, NIV) Yes, we will have “tribulation” or trouble.  As long as Satan is around, he will make trouble, especially for Christians.  But this is not the same as the seven years of judgement and wrath.
   
3. Jesus tells us to watch and pray for escape. ^“‘Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.  For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.’” (Luke 21:34-36, NIV). Other translations say, “that you may be counted worthy to escape”.  On our own, we can never be “worthy”.  Here, Jesus is emphasizing the need to make absolutely certain that we are “born again” – that we have made the decision to follow Jesus and put old, worldly ways behind us.  While it is true that true believers still sin, the difference is our attitude toward sin.  Those who have made Jesus the Lord of their life see sin as something to be avoided.  The “casual Christian” takes a more cavalier attitude toward sin and has not really committed fully to Christ.  For that person, this day will come suddenly like a trap.
   
4. The order of the book of Revelation suggests a pre-tribulation rapture. In Rev 1:19, Jesus says this to John:  “‘Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.’”  (NIV) Chapter 1 talks about what has happened (Christ’s death and resurrection), Chapters 2 and 3 are present times (the seven churches, all of which also represent current church eras as well as churches of John’s day), and chapter 4 talks about the future.  In Revelation 4:1, Johns writes this:  “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’” (NIV) The Greek word for “after this” is “meta tauta” which translates to “after these things”.  Since the seven churches correlate to the history of the church age, this verse suggests that all of this will happen at the end of the church age.   John then hears a voice like a trumpet telling him to “come up here,” which suggests the catching up of Christians.  Chapters 4 and 5 are a vision of Heaven and the opening of the scroll, which will signal the commencement of the tribulation period.  Although many will become believers during the tribulation, the church is never mentioned after this point.
   
5. The tribulation is the time of “Jacob’s Trouble”.  (See Jeremiah 30:7) Jacob was also called “Israel”.  Although there will be unbelieving non-Jews in the tribulation, the focus of this time is on the Jews. In Daniel 9:24, the angel Gabriel tells Daniel that there were 70 periods of 7 years (490 years) determined for his people, meaning the Jews, to end their rebellion, put an end to sin, atone for their guilt, and usher in righteousness.  The first 483 years were focused completely on the Jews and went from the order to rebuild Jerusalem until the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey just before his crucifixion.  After the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, the clock stopped, and we entered the “church age”.  It only makes sense that the focus of the final 7 years would also be on the Jews, after the church is removed.  In Romans 11, Paul reminds us that God has not forsaken the Jews or “replaced” them with the church.  He tells us that their hearts have been hardened until “the full number of the Gentiles” has been reached.  God has a number in mind of how many will become believers during the church age.  Once this number is reached, he will turn his attention back to the Jews. They will come to know Jesus as their Messiah and be saved during the tribulation period.  
   
6. God doesn’t destroy the righteous with the wicked.  Examples from the Old Testament paint a picture of the righteous escaping judgement. Enoch was “caught up” prior to the flood.  Noah went through the flood as a picture of God protecting the Jews during the tribulation.  Daniel’s friends were in the fire and God protected them through it,  but Daniel wasn’t there.  He was already “removed” from that situation.  In Genesis 18 & 19, we see the story of the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah. When the plan was revealed to Abraham, he asked if God would destroy the righteous with the wicked, and the answer was no.  Lot was the only one found to be righteous in the entire city, and he and his family were removed before judgement fell.  

7. The Trumpet of God. In both the 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians verses above, it talks about the trumpet of God.  Although there are several trumpets blown during the tribulation, all of them are trumpets of angels, not of God.  That would suggest that none of these are the trumpets Paul is discussing. 
   
8. Rescue. Paul told the Thessalonians that they would be rescued from the coming wrath.  “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10, NIV) 
   
9. This is the only view that allows for imminence.  “‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.’” (Matthew 24:36-41, NIV). This verse talks about a time when people are going about their business as usual.  The tribulation will certainly not be a time of “normalcy” in any way.  This verse suggests an event where some disappear and take people by surprise. 
   
10. The Holy Spirit is holding back the Antichrist.  In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul is correcting the Thessalonians about a false teaching, saying that the tribulation had already begun.  He reminds them that the Antichrist (here referred to as the “man of lawlessness”) was being held back by the Holy Spirit and that Antichrist would continue to be kept hidden until the Holy Spirit was “taken out of the way.”  The Holy Spirit lives in every true believer.  In order for him to be taken out of the way, he would either need to abandon believers or believers would need to be taken out of the way.  

The Jewish Wedding

One of the most fascinating studies on this topic from me is the study of the Jewish wedding in the days of Christ.  In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was described as the wife of God.  Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is described as the “bridegroom” and the church is described as the bride of Christ.  If we look at a traditional Jewish wedding, there are some remarkable similarities to the relationship of Christ to the church.  There were several components to the Jewish wedding.

1. The father of the groom would go out to find a bride for his son.  If the father was not able to go, he would send a trusted servant such as when Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for Isaac.  Today God sends his servant, the Holy Spirit, to invite all people to be the bride of Christ.
   
2. The consent of the bride to the arrangement was considered to be important.  Before Rebecca returned to be Isaac’s bride, she was asked for her consent.  The Holy Spirit is a gentleman.  He will not force anyone to choose Jesus. 
   
3. Once there was an agreement, the groom would pay a “bride price” to show the bride how valued she was.  Jesus paid our price with his own life, demonstrating how much he loves and values us. 
   
4. It was common for the bride and groom separately to take a ritual immersion symbolic of cleansing themselves in preparation for marriage.  Jesus was baptized, even though he committed no sin.  As Christians, we are baptized as a symbol of dying to our old sinful way of life and raising to a new life in Christ.
   
5. The couple would enter the formal betrothal period by publicly expressing their intentions and sharing a cup of wine.  Before going to the cross, Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper, and today we celebrate communion with bread and wine. 
   
6. The son would return to his father’s home to prepare a place for his bride, which was typically an addition to his father’s home.  This is what Jesus referenced in John 14:2-3 when he said he was going to prepare a place for us in his father’s home. 
    
7. During the betrothal period, (at least a year or more) the bride and groom lived separately, abstained from sexual relations, and remained faithful to each other.  It was a covenant that required an act of divorce to terminate.  As Christians, once we commit ourselves to Jesus, we demonstrate our faithfulness to him by turning away from sin and false religions.  He is faithful to us in that when we do go astray, we are justified by the finished work of Jesus on the cross so that we can be blameless before God.  (Ephesians 5:25-27)
   
8. Before returning to get his bride, the son needed to complete their home to his father’s satisfaction.  (The understanding was that the home should be better than the one the bride came from.)  Because of this, the bride and groom could know the approximate time for the wedding, but they would not know the specific day or hour. This is what Jesus was referencing in Matthew 24:36 when he said that no one knew when Jesus would return except the Father.  As Christians, we can look around and see signs that the return of Christ is approaching, but we don’t know exactly when.
   
9. While the groom was away, the bride would learn all she could about being a good wife and mother and preparing her bridal garments.  As Christians, we should commit ourselves to studying God’s Word and practicing good works.  Good works do not save us, but they are a natural result of loving our Savior, and they make up our bridal garments.
   
10. Because she didn’t know when her groom would return, the bride was always prepared.  Jesus used this analogy in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.  Ten virgins took lamps and waited for their groom, but he took a long time.  Half of them didn’t have enough oil and it ran out.  They missed the groom when he arrived.  There are many half-hearted “Christians” today that are more interested in what the world has to offer than what Jesus does.  They will not be ready when he calls his bride.
    
11. Once the father gave the word, the groom would go to claim his bride. Typically, one of the groomsmen would go ahead and shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!” and blow a trumpet called a “shofar”.  He would take her to the marriage ceremony.  When Jesus calls his bride, it will be with the blowing of the shofar and a call to come up to meet him in the air!
    
12. The Jewish wedding ceremony lasted a full seven days.  During this time there would be food, dancing, and celebration.  It would culminate in the final marriage supper. During the seven-year tribulation, the bride of Christ will be celebrating their marriage to Jesus.  It will culminate with the marriage supper of the lamb as recorded in Revelation 19:7-9.

When we look at the Bible as a whole and the culture of the day, it strongly suggests that as believers, we can look forward to meeting our Savior in the air and dwelling there safely with him during the judgment of a Christ-rejecting, sinful world.  We can take comfort in this and focus on preparing for his return.  This means keeping our hearts and minds on Christ and being a light to others in this dark world.  

“The End:  The Rapture” sermon from Pastor Brett Meador, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship.

“4 Signs of the End Times” by Dr. David Jeremiah

“What if the End Really Is Near?” by LuAnne Barnet

“How” by LuAnne Barnet

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