The Rapture
(November 26, 2009) The most controversial End-Times event is the Rapture. The controversy involves two main issues. The first is when will the Rapture take place in relation to other prophesied End-Times events.
The Tribulation Period
Both Jesus and and the prophet Daniel spoke of a future time of horror coming upon the earth and its inhabitants:
“21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” - Matthew 24:21-22
“1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12:1
Some have stated that these two prophecies refer to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D. However, if the Holy Spirit was referring to that event then both prophecies would have been rendered inaccurate. The key phrases in these two passages speak of this future trouble as having never occurred at any time in history. That is not true for the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Six hundred years earlier the Babylonians destroyed the first Jewish Temple and took the Jewish nation captive. One could probably make a case for the two World Wars in the Twentieth Century as being the worst destruction and devastation in human history (aside from the Flood). Thus the time of trouble or Tribulation Period as Christians refer to it is yet future and will be unlike and other time in history.
The timing of the Rapture revolves around the Tribulation Period which will last seven years. It will occur just prior to the Tribulation or sometime during the seven years or at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth to judge the nations and set up His Millennial kingdom. Those who hold to a particular viewpoint on this issue usually are very passionate for their position and can quote scripture to support their belief. Because of this I don’t know when the Rapture will occur, only that it will occur because the apostle Paul prophesied it would in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. If it was clear when the Rapture would take place there wouldn’t be the divisiveness among Christians concerning this issue. These same Christians would agree that a person is saved only through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ. They would agree that Jesus was born of a virgin. They would agree that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. They would agree that God raised Jesus from the dead. They would agree that Jesus ascended back into heaven. Why would they agree? Because God’s word is absolutely clear on these issues. Why don’t they agree on the timing of the Rapture? Because the Bible is not clear when it will take place. The fact that there is disagreement on this issue is proof that the Bible is not clear on the subject. (For further discussion on the timing of the Rapture please see Ch. 8 – The Rapture Mystery from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times )
Here is a video from a church that believes in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture:
The Rapture, this Generation?
The second issue concerns when will the Rapture take place in God’s plan for humanity (and thereby all the End-Times prophesied events). There have been attempts by people in recent history to specify a date for the Rapture (contrary to Jesus’ statement that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” - Matthew 24:36). I remember one example that occurred in 1988. Edgar C. Whisenant published a booklet titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Obviously the Rapture did not occur that year or any other year in history. One day the Rapture will occur. The apostle Paul declared in his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Greece:
“13 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. 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. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
He elaborated on the Rapture teaching in his letter to the Christians in Corinth, Greece:
“51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
In the first passage Paul was answering the Thessalonian Christians’ fear that they had missed the return of Jesus. He goes on to tell them that Jesus will descend from heaven and call His children to come up to Him in the air. The words “caught up” are translated from the Greek verb harpazo which means to seize suddenly or snatch away. The implication (as alluded to in the Corinthian passage which states this will occur in the twinkling of an eye) is that believers will be snatched up to Jesus (as in zoom up) in the air. When a Latin version of the Bible was created the word harpazo was translated into the Latin word from which we get the English word rapture.
Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age. He responded by giving them signs to look for in Matthew ch. 24 and said, “33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” – Matthew 24:33-34 Thus, the generation that see the prophetic signs that Jesus gave will be the generation that experiences the Rapture.
Is the current generation the one that will see the End-Times come to pass? The Bible gives other prophecies concerning the End-Times. One of them declares that God will return the Jews to the land of Israel (Ezekiel ch. 37-39; Amos 9 – For further discussion on this subject please see ch. 18 – God’s Timepiece:Israel from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times). Another one states that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Daniel 9; Matthew 24; 2 Thessalonians 2 – For further discussion on this subject please see my article 2 Thessalonians 2:4 – A Literal Third Temple). Both of these prophecies involve End-Times events. The fact that God returned the Jews (see my article Does the land of Israel belong to the Jews) in 1948 and that they have recreated the utensils and priestly garments that are to be used in Temple worship services indicate that God is not far off from implementing His End-Times plans. Globalization of economies and communications further suggest that the eschatological prophecies could be fulfilled in this current generation. However, only God knows when it will happen and wants His followers to keep living their lives for Him and watching for the signs that He said would occur at the end of the age. Whether we see the tomb or experience the zoom we are to keep our eyes on the Lord and keep “13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” (Titus 2:13-15)
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- Islam and End-Times Prophecy (February 22, 2010) Is Islam going to be the one-world religion spoken of in End-Times prophecy? Is the Mahdi or Guided One (an Islamic messianic figure) the Antichrist? Is the Mark of the Beast a badge of submission to Allah? Is Jesus Christ returning to earth to wage war against...
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Tags: 1 Thessalonians 4, Apocalypse, Israel, Jesus Christ, Matthew 24, The Rapture, Third Temple
(Any reaction to these quotes I ran into on the net? Neville)
FAMOUS RAPTURE WATCHERS – Addendum
by Dave MacPherson
(The statements in my “Famous Rapture Watchers” web article appeared in my 1983 book “The Great Rapture Hoax” and quoted only past leaders. The following names include other leaders who were quoted in that original printing.)
Oswald J. Smith: “…I am absolutely convinced that there will be no rapture before the Tribulation, but that the Church will undoubtedly be called upon to face the Antichrist…” (Tribulation or Rapture – Which?, p. 2).
Paul B. Smith: “You are perfectly free to quote me as believing rather emphatically in the post-tribulation teaching of the Bible” (letter dated June 9, 1976).
S. I. McMillen: “…Christians will suffer in the Great Tribulation” (Discern These Times, p. 55).
Norman F. Douty: “…all of the evidence of history runs one way – in favor of Post-tribulationism” (Has Christ’s Return Two Stages?, p. 113).
Leonard Ravenhill: “There is a cowardly Christianity which…still comforts its fainting heart with the hope that there will be a rapture – perhaps today – to catch us away from coming tribulation” (Sodom Had No Bible, p. 94).
William Hendriksen: “…the one and only second coming of Christ to judgment” (Israel in Prophecy, p. 29).
Loraine Boettner: “Hence we conclude that nowhere in Scripture does it teach a secret or pre-tribulation Rapture” (The Millennium, p. 168).
J. Sidlow Baxter: “…believers of the last days (there is only one small part of the total Church on earth at any given moment) will be on earth during the so-called ‘Great Tribulation’ ” (Explore the Book, Vol. 6, p. 345).
Merrill C. Tenney: “There is no convincing reason why the seer’s being ‘in the Spirit’ and being called into heaven [Revelation 4:1-2] typifies the rapture of the church…” (Interpreting Revelation, p. 141).
James R. Graham: “…there is not a line of the N.T. that declares a pre-tribulation rapture, so its advocates are compelled to read it into certain indeterminate texts…” (Watchman, What of the Night?, p. 79).
Ralph Earle: “The teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture seems first to have been emphasized widely about 100 years ago by John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren” (Behold, I Come, p. 74).
Clarence B. Bass: “…I most strongly believe dispensationalism to be a departure from the historic faith…” (Backgrounds to Dispensationalism, p. 155).
William C. Thomas: “The return of Jesus Christ, described by parousia, revelation, and epiphany, is one single, glorious, triumphant event for which we all wait with great eagerness!” (The Blessed Hope in the Thessalonian Epistles of Paul, p. 42).
Harold J. Ockenga: “No exegetical justification exists for the arbitrary separation of the ‘coming of Christ’ and the ‘day of the Lord.’ It is one ‘day of the Lord Jesus Christ’ ” (Christian Life, February, 1955).
Duane Edward Spencer: “Paul makes it very clear that the Church will pass through the Great Tribulation” (“Rapture-Tribulation” cassette).
J. C. Maris: “Nowhere the Bible teaches that the Church of Jesus Christ is heading for world dominion. On the contrary – there will be no place for her, save in ‘the wilderness,’ where God will take care of her (Rev. 12:13-17)” (I.C.C.C. leaflet “The Danger of the Ecumenical Movement,” p. 2).
F. F. Bruce: “To meet the Lord [I Thessalonians 4:17]…on the final stage of…[Christ's] journey…to the earth…” (New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 1159).
G. Christian Weiss: “Some people say that this ['gospel of the kingdom' in Matthew 24:14] is not the gospel of grace but is a special aspect of the gospel to be preached some time in the future. But there is nothing in the context to indicate this” (“Back to the Bible” broadcast, February 9, 1976).
Pat Brooks: “Soon we, in the Body of Christ, will be confronted by millions of people disillusioned by such false teaching [Pre-Tribism]” (Hear, O Israel, p. 186).
Herman Hoeksema: “…the time of Antichrist, when days so terrible are still to arrive for the church…” (Behold, He Cometh!, p. 131).
Ray Summers: “Because they [Philadelphia] have been faithful, he promises his sustaining grace in the tribulation…” (Worthy Is the Lamb, p. 123).
George E. Ladd: “[Pretribulationism] may be guilty of the positive danger of leaving the Church unprepared for tribulation when Antichrist appears…” (The Blessed Hope, p. 164).
Peter Beyerhaus: “The Christian Church on earth [will face] the final, almost superhuman test of being confronted with the apocalyptical temptation by Antichrist” (Christianity Today, April 13, 1973).
Leon Morris: “The early Christians…looked for the Christ to come as Judge” (Apocalyptic, p. 84).
Dale Moody: “There is not a passage in the New Testament to support Scofield. The call to John to ‘come up hither’ has reference to mystical ecstasy, not to a pretribulation rapture” (Spirit of the Living God, p. 203).
John R. W. Stott: “He would not spare them from the suffering [Revelation 3:10]; but He would uphold them in it” (What Christ Thinks of the Church, p. 104).
G. R. Beasley-Murray: “…the woman, i.e., the Church…flees for refuge into the wilderness [Revelation 12:14]…” (The New Bible Commentary, p. 1184).
Bernard L. Ramm: “…as the Church moves to meet her Lord at the parousia world history is also moving to meet its Judge at the same parousia” (Leo Eddleman’s Last Things, p. 41).
J. Barton Payne: “…the twentieth century has indeed witnessed a progressively rising revolt against pre-tribulationism” (The Imminent Appearing of Christ, p. 38).
Robert H. Gundry: “Divine wrath does not blanket the entire seventieth week…but concentrates at the close” (The Church and the Tribulation, p. 63).
C. S. Lovett: “Frankly I favor a post-trib rapture…I no longer teach Christians that they will NOT have to go through the tribulation” (PC, January, 1974).
Walter R. Martin: “Walter Martin finally said…’Yes, I’m a post-trib’ ” (Lovett’s PC, December, 1976).
Jay Adams: “Today’s trend is…from pre- to posttribulationism” (The Time Is at Hand, p. 2).
Jim McKeever: “Nowhere do the Scriptures say that the Rapture will precede the Tribulation” (Christians Will Go Through the Tribulation, p. 55).
Arthur Katz: “I think it fair to tell you that I do not subscribe to the happy and convenient theology which says that God’s people are going to be raptured and lifted up when a time of tribulation and trial comes” (Reality, p. 8).
Billy Graham: “Perhaps the Holy Spirit is getting His Church ready for a trial and tribulation such as the world has never known” (Sam Shoemaker’s Under New Management, p. 72).
W. J. Grier: “The Scofield Bible makes a rather desperate effort…it tries to get in the ‘rapture’ of the saints before the appearing of Antichrist” (The Momentous Event, p. 58).
Pat Robertson: “Jesus Christ is going to come back to earth again to deliver Israel and at the same time to rapture His Church; it’s going to be one moment, but it’s going to be a glorious time” (“700 Club” telecast, May 14, 1975).
Ben Kinchlow: “Any wrath [during the Tribulation] that comes upon us – any difficulty – will not be induced by God, but it’ll be like the people are saying, ‘The cause of our problems are those Christians in our midst; we need to get rid of them’ ” (“700 Club” telecast, August 28, 1979).
Daniel P. Fuller: “It is thus concluded that Dispensationalism fails to pass the test of an adequate system of Biblical Interpretation” (The Hermeneutics of Dispensationalism, p. 369).
Corrie ten Boom: “The Bible prophesies that the time will come when we cannot buy or sell, unless we bear the sign of the Antichrist…” (Tramp for the Lord, p. 187).
Francis Nigel Lee (eleven earned doctorates!): “Dave MacPherson, in his various books, has made a major contribution toward vindicating Historic Christian Eschatology. The 1830 innovations of the disturbed Margaret Macdonald documented by MacPherson – in part or in whole – immediately spread to Edward Irving and his followers, then to J. N. Darby and Plymouth Brethrenism, and were later popularized by the dispensationalistic Scofield Reference Bible, by Classic Pentecostalism, and by latter-day pretribulationists like J. F. Walvoord and Hal Lindsey.”
[In light of II Tim. 3:14 which says that we can't know too much about Bible teachers (Dave MacVersion), I invite you to read my article "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty" which can be found on the "Powered by Christ Ministries" site. My book "The Rapture Plot" (available online) has more documentation on the 179-year-old history of the famous pretrib rapture than any other book - and I guarantee it!]
This is quite an impressive list of those who believe in a post-Tribulation Rapture. I bet there are Christians who believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture who could quote an equally impressive list of famous Christians and theologians who believe the Rapture will come before the Tribulation Period. Thus, my assertion that the Bible is not clear on when the Rapture will take place is still valid. I surmise that all those persons listed in your post believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, His atoning death for our sins, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension into heaven. Likewise, a list of pre-Tribulation Christians would also believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, His atoning death for our sins, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension into heaven. Why would they agree on those foundational Christian doctrines? Because the Bible is clear on those issues. Why do they not agree on the timing of the Rapture? Because the Bible is not clear on this issue. The proof for my assertion is the fact that both sides see the Rapture occurring at opposite ends of the Tribulation Period. If the Bible was clear on the timing of this event there would be no disagreement just as there is no disagreement on the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
Hi.
I found your Web Site by Google
And I wish you the best you can get,
the peace of God through Jesus Christ.
Welcome to visit my Site.
Allan Svensson, Sweden
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/INDEX.HTM
The Bridegroom comes, Come out to meet him. Matt. 25:6.
From where shall we go out? We shall go out of the great
Babylon, the great whore. Rev. Chapter 17 and 18. This
command of the Lord in Rev. 18:4 is now highly topical.
Never before we have been so nearly Jesus’ coming as we
are now, but how are God’s people prepared? How is the
unity in the faith? Sorry, very bad! God’s people are more
divided now than ever before. Instead of following what
the Bible teaches about the Assembly of God, they have
followed Satan’s false assembly doctrine. They believe
that the Assembly of God is constituted of church systems
and many religious organizations.
Most Christians have not yet begun to prepare for Jesus’
coming. They can speak and write that Jesus shall come,
and about the signs of the time, yet they do not make any
preparation to meet Jesus. How can we make a preparation?
To make preparation and be ready for Jesus’ coming, God’s
people must get the knowledge of the Assembly of God.
All God’s people must in the first hand begin to study what
the Bible teaches about the Assembly of God. What we
need now before the restoration of the Assembly of God,
it is humility before God’s word and a forgivable disposition
to each other.
The Assembly of God is no Pentecostal church. Please,
consider what this expression “the Assembly of God” in the
reality implies. The Assembly of God must be the same as
the Greek word “ekklesia”, and the Body of Christ. 1 Cor.
12:12-31. Then it is easy to understand that this has nothing
to do with the Pentecostal Movement. Pentecostal churches
have existed about 100 years, but the Assembly of God has
ever existed since Jesus baptized his first disciples by the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them the new life in Christ
so that they became born anew. Then the Assembly of God
was born.
The Bridegroom comes, Come out to meet him
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/CRY.HTM
Evil spirits in the churches
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/SPIRITS.HTM
The great falling away
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/MESSAGE.HTM
What does hinder the Antichrist to appear?
What is the Restrainer?
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/MESSAGE.HTM#Antichrist
KJV, “the best English Bible” but not perfect
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/KING.HTM
Why did the Pentecostal Revival take an end?
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/CRISIS.HTM
The truth of the baptism by the Holy Spirit and the new birth
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/CRISIS.HTM#baptism