THE RAPTURE

END TIME PROPHECY—THE RAPTURE

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-10, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,² That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.³ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;⁴ Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.⁵ Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?⁶ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.⁸ And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

INTRODUCTION:  There are at least four major doctrines revealed within the initial 10 verses of 2 Th. 2:  first, there is the doctrine of Christ’s coming and the rising of the saints to meet Him; next, the doctrine of the day of Christ; third, the doctrine of the church as the hinderer of the Antichrist’s revelation; and finally, the doctrine of the Antichrist. 

To understand the “Rapture” of the church we must understand the meaning of the term “day of Christ.”  This term, as well as “the day of the Lord” refers to the day that the Lord will return to vindicate His holy name, exact vengeance upon the heathen for their treatment of His people, and to cast down all earthly powers.  The Apostle Paul sought to assure the Thessalonians that the Second Coming would not take place until the Rapture and the revelation of the Antichrist.  First, he told them that Christ would come, and we would be gathered to Him (the Rapture), and then he said that not until we were removed could the Antichrist be revealed.  Identifying who the Antichrist might be is hardly worth speculating about since we believe that the Church will not be here once he begins his reign of sacrilege.

That there shall be a catching away of the saints before the end comes is clear from not only the above text, but Paul mentions in this text that he had taught them about the Rapture in a previous visit (verse 5, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”), and in his first letter to their church he explained how it would unfold:  “¹⁵ 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.¹⁶ 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:¹⁷ 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” (1 Th. 4:15-17).    It is true that the English word "rapture" is not in the Bible, but it comes to us through the writings of William Shakespeare from the Latin "raptus", meaning to seize or transport. According to W.W. Skeat’s "Etymology of the English Language, 1879", the word "rapture" was coined by William Shakespeare. The English word "rapture" that he coined means "to be transported by a lofty emotion or ecstasy".   In 1 Thess 4:17, the Church is said to be "caught up" to meet Christ in the air, at the last trump. The Greek word there is "harpadzo" meaning to remove, seize, or take away. So, to me, the English "caught up" and Latin "rapture", as well as the Greek word "removal" in the Bible text are all three good descriptions of the removal of the Church from earth by Jesus in 1 Thess 4:17.

So, if there is an event known as “the Rapture,” who will be affected by it, when will it take place, and what are signs of its occurrence?

 

1.  THE RAPTURE IS FOR THE SAINTS ONLY.  In His messages to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2-3), Jesus addressed the church of Philadelphia, telling them: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Re. 3:10).  Added with Paul’s encouragement to the church in 1 Th. 5:9-10, “⁹ For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,¹⁰ Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” a clear promise is made that the church will not go through the time of great tribulation that will precede Christ’s Second Coming. 

Also, as the hinderer of the revealing of the Antichrist (2 Th. 2:7), it will be necessary for the Church to be removed before he can appear on the scene:  “he who now letteth (Gr. hinders) will let (hinder) until he be taken out of the way”.  In our text Paul stated that the day of Christ and “our gathering together unto Him” are two separate events.  “The day of Christ” as stated before is when He returns at Armageddon, and “our gathering together unto Him” is when He comes to meet us in the air at some previous time.  However, this is not obvious to all.  Some theologians believe that the restraining force which keeps the Antichrist from being revealed is the Holy Spirit alone.  They conclude therefore that He shall be “taken out of the way” to allow for the Antichrist to make his true intentions known.  The problem with this assumption is that Jesus promised the Church that the Spirit shall never be taken from us.  It is also the Spirit that draws people to God.  His removal would mean that no one can be saved during the Great Tribulation.  Additionally, doctrines of this magnitude must be confirmed in the mouth of two or more witnesses.  No other Scripture implies that the Holy Spirit will be removed.  Yet, several do state that believers will be removed.  The question remains:  when shall that time be?

 

2.  THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE.  In Daniel 9:24-27 the angel Gabriel gave Daniel a time frame for the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity, for the crucifixion of the Messiah, and for the consummation of the ages.  In this vision of seventy weeks 490 years were determined for these things to take place.  Described in three stages:  7 weeks (49 years), 62 weeks (434 years), and 1 week (7 years), these weeks of years detailed the three events just mentioned.  The first two took place as described, but the final week of 7 years has not yet been fulfilled.  Between the crucifixion of the Messiah and the final seven years of this age is the time known as the Church Age.  We believe the Church Age will end at the Rapture, and that the Rapture will signal the beginning of the 70^th week of Daniel, at which time the Antichrist will rise to power, confirming a covenant with Israel.  The whole world, since the rebirth of Israel have been focused upon securing a treaty of peace in the Middle East between Israel and her Arab neighbors.  Many people have attempted through many means to broker this treaty.  It seems evident that no one will be successful until the Antichrist does so.  It was in reference to this peace treaty that Gabriel informed Daniel “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Da. 9:27).  Forty two months shall expire, and then the Antichrist will renege on his covenant.  The remaining 42 months according to Scripture are known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, or the Great Tribulation (Da. 9:27 “in the midst of the week”, Re. 13:5 “power was given unto him to continue forty two months”, Re. 11:2 “the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”, Re. 12:7 “it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people…”  All these passages describe the final 3 ½ years of this age.

There are three theories concerning the time of the Rapture; (1) that it will take place seven years before Armageddon, (2) that it will take place in the middle of the last seven years, and (3) that it will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation.  This final theory we will discount altogether for too many reasons to go into at this time.  However, there are logical reasons for accepting either of the other two.

I believe that the Rapture will take place to begin the 70^th week of Daniel.  Otherwise, there is no indicator of the beginning of that period as with the other two periods in Daniel’s Vision of Seventy Weeks.  However, the promise to the Church is that we are not appointed to wrath, and that our catching away will allow for the revelation of the Antichrist.  As stated before, the wrath of God (the Great Tribulation) does not take place until the middle of the week, and the nature of the Antichrist is not revealed until then.  Ergo, it is possible that the Rapture will not occur until the final 42 months commence.  What we all agree upon is that the Rapture will occur, and that it will precede the Millennial Reign of Christ.

 

3.  THE SIGNS OF THE RAPTURE ARE THOSE THAT ALSO SIGNAL THE SECOND COMING.  We believe that the Rapture is imminent (it can happen at any time).  However, there are certain signs that must take place before the Second Coming.  As we begin to see these signs materialize we should expect that the Rapture is upon us.  Prophecies that point to the Second Coming do not have to be fulfilled before the Rapture; however, we may observe the preliminary events that will lead to the fulfillment of these prophecies.  For instance: 

    A.  The Temple must be rebuilt before the Second Coming.  Numerous sources report that the building materials for the Temple, the utensils for the resuming of the sacrifices and oblations, and the training and supplying of the Levitical priesthood have all been secured.  In a matter of months the Temple can be built, and all aspects of worship can be resumed.

    B.  The nations of the earth will attack Jerusalem.  The European Union, the United Nations, most, if not all, Islamic nations, and even the United States are actively working to coerce Israel to give up land for peace.  Even the ancient nations spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezk. 38-39) are in current treaty agreement for mutual protection and trade.  Ezekiel said that Turkey, Libya, ancient Ethiopia (modern Sudan), ancient Persia (modern Iran) and the region of southern Russia (Magog) would invade Israel in the last days.  Conspicuously absent in this alliance are Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  At present, both Saudi Arabia and Egypt are opposed to the political extremism of the Muslim Brotherhood in their nations.  Also, notable about this invasion, and subsequent destruction of this confederation, is that Israel will take the spoil of them, using their weapons as fuel for the next seven years (Ezk. 39:9, “And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years”).  Seven years is significant, of course, because it is the exact length of time of Daniel’s 70^th week.  This invasion could well then be the event that will signal the Rapture of the Church.

    C.  There are many signs that point toward the end.  Here are a few of the most prominent:

           (1) Mt. 24:7, “…there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
            (2)  Mt. 24:14. “…this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
          (3)  2 Th. 2:3, “that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first”; Mt 24:12, “…the love of many shall wax cold.”

 

CONCLUSION:  Jesus is coming!  Be ready.  Repent, be baptized, and sanctify your lives.  He is coming for a glorious church, adorned for her bridegroom.