THE RAPTURE: TO BE CAUGHT UP?
The Rapture of the church is a term in common usage today to describe an event that is linked to the Second Coming of Christ and the End-Times. The term “Rapture” is not in the bible but refers to those who will be caught up together with the dead in Christ in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-18). The event is the taking up of true believers (church) by Christ from the earth to be with Him in the sky. It is most commonly used to describe what happens to believers that are alive at the time of Christ’s return: the physical body being taken up in the twinkling of an eye to be with Christ in heaven with a new spiritual body given as flesh and blood bodies cannot enter heaven (1 Cor. 15: 35-52).
That there will be a Rapture is not in question for most Christians, the argument is over the how and when. The how involves the term “Rapture” and how the word describes what is to believed take place. The word rapture can mean a feeling of intense pleasure or joy; the state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy. The origin of the word is from the Latin raptus (Medieval Latin raptura): “a carrying off, abduction, snatching away. The earliest attested use in English is of women: the taking of women and sometimes meant rape. (Dictionary.com)
What is implied by the term Rapture is the carrying off of the church (bride) by Christ (bridegroom). The popularized versions in today’s media (books, movies), is that of a sudden disappearance of Christians in everyday life. This could be an airliner moving through a storm when the pilot and co-pilot are taken up leaving innocent passengers to face the destruction unprepared. The unsaved perish in a fiery crash because they did not heed the warnings. The only reminder of the taken ones is the clothes that are left behind. The question of who is worthy to be taken is debated amongst various church denominations with no clear consensus. In general, true believers will be taken up to be with Christ leaving behind the unbelievers to face the wrath of God.
The question of when the Rapture will take place can be a thorny debate amongst the denominations that teach to expect it to take place. There are basically three scenarios: Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and Post-tribulation. The key to understanding the difference is the word tribulation, or a time of great distress. The term “Tribulation” is used to describe a seven year period of time and the term ”Great Tribulation” is the last 3 ½ years of the seven that ends with the battle of Armageddon. The word tribulation or (great) distress is used in the bible to describe a time of affliction and great suffering (Matt. 24:21) or a time of testing. The seven year timeframe comes from Daniel 9:27 and is described as a time of distress in Daniel 12:1.
The seven year tribulation time is believed by many to be broken into two periods of events with the middle being of great importance. The first period of 3 ½ years is believed to be a time of a false peace established by the Antichrist. After this he is revealed to be the Antichrist and the next 3 ½ years is a time of war known as the Great Tribulation. It is these divisions in the Tribulation that give rise to the three basic beliefs in the timing of the Rapture.
The Pre-tribulation exponents or “pretribs” as they are sometimes called are in the largest camp of believers. They contend that the bodily rapture will take place prior to the tribulation time and this event sets in motion the end-time scenario. The true and faithful church body will be caught-up to be in the sky to be with Jesus leaving behind the unbelievers. It is this event that sets the stage for the rise of the Antichrist as he makes peace following what is a tragedy for those left behind. Jesus will then come with the raptured church at the time of the end. Those that are pretrib cite many bible passages to support their belief. Among them are: Matthew 24, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4, 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 4:1.
Those that believe the Rapture will take place at the time the Antichrist is revealed are Mid-tribulation exponents, also called “midtribs.” The argument for this minority view is that there is no need for the church body to be raptured up until the time of trouble begins which is in the middle of the seven year Tribulation. The time of peace leading up to the Great Tribulation is a time to prepare the saints in the manner of Noah.
The Post-tribulation proponents or “posttribs” believe that the Rapture can only come at the End: otherwise there would be two “Raptures,” as the Second Coming of Christ will include a rapture of true believers. They also argue that 2 Thessalonians describes the Antichrist as being revealed before the Rapture. They contend that the church will go through the Tribulation but will be spared the Wrath of God (seventh seal).
The case for a bodily rapture of the church has been made by many individuals, church organizations and bible scholars since John Nelson Darby originated it in 1830. Darby (1800 – 1882) is credited with originating “the secret rapture” theory known today as the “Rapture.” He is also known as the father of “dispensationalism” that was later spread by others like Cyrus Scofield’s Scofield Reference Bible. The term dispensationalism is used to describe the belief that history is divided into eras or dispensations. The idea is that God is dispensing His will through different ages in bible history. Darby said that there were seven like the seven days of creation.
In simple form they are: Paradise, Noah, Abraham, Israel, Gentiles, The Spirit, and The Millennium.
Scofield Reference Bible: Innocence (before the Fall), Conscience (Fall to Noah), Human government (Noah to Abraham), Promise (Abraham to Moses), Law (Moses to Christ), Grace (Church Age), Kingdom (the Millennium)
(Research: Wikipedia; Armageddon A to Z by Jim and Barbara Willis)
All of this study matters as the prophets of the bible and later prophets describe the End Times as a series of events that are devastating for mankind. Ideally, it would be good to find an escape from the terrible destruction that awaits those alive when the prophesied events take place. The pre-tribulation and the mid-tribulation theories provide a way out for believers: but is it advisable to count on a belief so debatable? What if the rapture takes place at the end of trouble as the post-tribulationists believe? Of course all positions are debatable and only when the time comes can anyone say for certain what is to take place. Prayer will not determine which belief is to take place for what God has decreed to take place will take place. We should, however, pray for insight and to be prepared for what is to come.
Can we look to the bible for examples other than the most commonly quoted scriptural passages? In the bible, only two are said to be with God without dying: Enoch and Elijah. Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” 2 Kings 2:11 “…suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.” Out of all the great heroes of the bible, only two were taken to be with God. However, an argument can be made for the taking of two as setting a precedent. But this just raises another question of who is worthy.
Christ is another example of being taken up. Mark 16:19 “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up to heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.” However, prior to his being taken up, he was tortured, crucified, died and rose from the dead. He suffered for us, but in doing so he also set an example for the church body. Those that choose to follow Christ could suffer as he did. This is what a leader of the people does, he leads by example. The disciples understood this and they in turn suffered a similar fate as their leader.
The last example is that of the two witnesses. Revelation 11:7 “Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.” Rev. 11:11 “But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those that saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.” In this instance they too die before be taken up to heaven.
There is much debate over who the two witnesses are. Many believe that they are of the spirit of Moses and Elijah. They could be the spirit of Enoch and Elijah. If it is the latter, then the two who did not die before will now die a symbolic death. Even in the case of Moses being one of the witnesses, there is a question about his death. Jude 1:9 “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil over the body of Moses….”What the dispute was about is not known but what matters is that his body is in an unknown state. Who the two witnesses represent is just speculation, but that two would die before being taken up is another example to be considered.
It is good to believe that true believers could be spared the horrors of war by being taken off of the battlefield of earth. Those that are true believers could be spared some of the Tribulation horrors that are prophesied to take place and will be spared the wrath of God that is reserved for Christ’s enemies. The true believers will not be counted in with those that are to receive God’s judgment, those that receive the mark of the beast. I believe that this is what is meant by escaping these days.
The call of God and Country comes with a price:
When Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met in August 1941 on the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to agree the Atlantic Charter, a church service was held for which P.M. Churchill chose the hymns. He chose “Onward, Christian Soldiers” and afterwards made a radio broadcast explaining this choice:
We sang “Onward, Christian Soldiers” indeed, and I felt that this was no vain presumption, but that we had the right to feel that we were serving a cause for the sake of which a trumpet has sounded from on high. When I looked upon that densely packed congregation of fighting men of the same language, of the same faith, of the same fundamental laws, of the same ideals… it swept across me that here was the only hope, but also the sure hope, of saving the world form measureless degradation. – Winston Churchill (Wikipedia)
One of the last surviving Medal of Honor recipients from WWII, Walter David Ehlers (Born May 7, 1921) died on February 20, 2014. Before his passing he had this to say: He grew up doing farm work, but in 1940 he wanted to join the Army with his brother. Because he was underage at the time, he needed a parent’s permission and sought it from his mother. “She said, I won’t sign unless you promise me you’ll be a good Christian soldier,” Ehlers said in a 2010 O.C. Register interview. “I never drank and I never smoked all the time I was in the service.” (David Colker, L.A. Times, Feb. 23, 2014)
2 Timothy 2:3 - “Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”