THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE – BENJAMIN NOLOT Page 15
the timing of the rapture
I. the relevance of the rapture
A. In many circles the subject of the end times has mostly been reduced to the doctrine of the rapture. And that seems appropriate in many settings since it is believed that the Church will not be here during the most crucial events. The subject of the end times is then reduced to a matter of speculative interest. This is unfortunate. There are three key reasons why understanding the timing of the rapture is critical:
1. Revelation – Our view of the rapture dramatically affects our entire approach to the subject of the end times. When I came to IHOP–KC God opened my eyes to an entirely new realm of His character through studying the end times. The subject of the end times offers us a vast resource of treasure concerning the knowledge of God. But the primary doorway into this storehouse is through our view of the rapture. Most people are just typically not as interested in something they’re not a part of.
2. Preparation – Both Jesus and the apostles warned that a wave of deception would crash over the planet in the end times. If the Church is here during the final seven years of this age, understanding what the Bible says about the end times is a critical part of our personal preparation so that we are not deceived or overwhelmed.
In the very same context in which Jesus describes the time of the Great Tribulation He says, “See, I have told you beforehand” (Mt. 24:25). Being forewarned is being forearmed. It is an act of God’s grace that He would instruct the Church with detailed information concerning the Great Tribulation to come. The Church has been given adequate information to prepare ourselves to stand as witnesses for Christ in the hour of the earth’s greatest trial. I believe the book of Revelation is a gift from God to prepare the Church for the most excruciating time of pressure the earth will ever experience.
3. God said it. If God said it, it is relevant. Oftentimes people draw back from this discussion in hopeless despair because they have seen it argued in ungodly ways. While I understand this, this posture fails to acknowledge the emphasis Christ placed on the subject. We must know what we believe and why we believe it. There is plenty of grace and room for people to wrestle with this issue. The important thing is that we are ultimately seeking to discover the scriptural perspective. It requires great humility to let go of our sentimental convictions and allow the truth of God’s Word to shape our beliefs.
II. What is the rapture?
A. What is the rapture? The rapture describes what happens to the saints worldwide when Jesus appears in the sky at His Second Coming.
For the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air… (1 Thes. 4:16-17)
1. Greek – The Greek words for “caught up” are arpazw harpazo (Strong’s 726). This means, “to seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force), gather.”
2. Latin – In Latin the term “caught up” is translated rapio. It is from rapio that we get the word rapture.
3. Meeting Jesus in the sky – Paul understood that being caught up meant meeting Jesus in the air.
B. The parousia of Christ – The Greek word parousia is the most popular word used to describe Jesus’ Second Coming.
1. This idea of being caught up to meet Jesus in the air, from a post-tribulation perspective, has been questioned as illogical since Jesus is returning to the earth after the tribulation.
2. Historical usage – Historically this word was commonly used to describe the visit of a king to a city in his domain. As the king would approach the city he would be met some distance outside of the town by a select group of dignitaries and close relatives, who would then accompany him in his procession through the city gates to be seen by the resident population.
3. NT usage – The historical usage of the word parousia clearly pictures what the New Testament describes as occurring at the Second Coming. Believers, both those who have died and those who are still living, will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes. 4:17) and accompany Him on the last part of his journey back to earth.
III. when will the rapture occur?
A. The big question that has been debated for the better part of the last 100 years is: when will the rapture take place? This is the question I hope to answer.
1. For many, the answer to this question is a foregone conclusion. Typically people’s view differs based on what stream of the Body of Christ they grew up in.
2. I grew up in Calvary Chapel so my view was shaped by the pretribulation perspective. In fact, so much so, that it even affected the way I interpreted my dream life. One night I had a dream that I was in the midst of the Great Tribulation leading someone to Christ as chaos was happening all around. When I awoke I was terrified because I thought, “Oh no, I must fall away from the Lord in the future, and therefore am left behind.”
IV. framing the discussion
A. There is almost a universal conviction among premillennial scholars that the final week of Daniel is the timeframe that concludes this age. In other words, human history in this age will end with a unique seven-year period of time. The discussion concerning the rapture involves discerning at what point before, during, or after this seven years the rapture occurs.
B. Views on the rapture – There are four different views on the timing of the rapture according to those who subscribe to premillennial eschatology.
1. Pretribulation – Views the rapture as occurring seven years before Jesus’ Second Coming.
2. Midtribulation – Views the rapture as occurring 3 ½ years before Jesus’ Second Coming.
3. Pre-wrath – Views the rapture as occurring at an undefined period of time after the 3½-year mark of the Tribulation and before the end of the Tribulation. This view sees the rapture as occurring at the sixth seal in the book of Revelation (Rev. 6:12-17).
4. Posttribulation – Views the rapture as occurring after the Tribulation at the Second Coming of Jesus.
C. How many “comings” of Jesus and “resurrections” of the saints? – Three of these views (pretrib, midtrib, and prewrath) stand or fall on the basis of two basic premises: 1) Are there two Second Comings of Christ? 2) Are there two resurrections of the saints? If it can be accurately shown that there are, then distinguishing when the rapture occurs would be extremely difficult, and basically be an arbitrary judgment. If there is not, then these views are inconclusive, and ultimately the product of mere speculation. In my observation and understanding of Scripture there is no explicit evidence to support the conclusion that there are two, separate Second Coming events, nor two resurrections of the saints.
D. The best place for us to begin to answer the question “when does the rapture occur?” is by identifying what we know to be true about the Second Coming and the rapture. The five truths I am going to present directly contrast three of the four rapture views.
V. Truth #1: the second coming is a singular event occuring after the tribulation
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Mt. 24:29-31
A. Jesus describes His Second Coming as a singular event occurring after the tribulation. At no point in His teaching ministry does he ever reference another timeframe for His return.
B. After His resurrection Jesus spent forty days with His disciples. When He finally ascended into heaven two angels appeared to the disciples and informed them: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) The angels described a singular event in which Jesus would come back from heaven to the earth.
C. Some point to 1 Thes. 4:15-18 to validate a view that Jesus Christ returns momentarily in the sky to rapture the church seven years before His Second Coming. However, there is no doubt that Paul’s views were formed by Christ’s teachings. If he was introducing a new view concerning a subject as important as an entirely separate Second Coming event, I imagine he would have said so.
1. Paul’s teaching harmonizes perfectly with what Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain [perileipomenoi] until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [perileipomenoi] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. – 1 Thes. 4:15-18.
Nowhere in the text is precedence given for a time frame other than the one already established by Jesus.
2. Consider the parallels in the two passages:
a. In Matthew 24 we see that Christ is descending from heaven with angels and a trumpet gathering together His followers.
b. In 1 Thes. 4 we see that Christ is descending from heaven with angels and a trumpet, gathering together His followers.
D. The noun used for the word “come” (parousia) in the NT means arrival or presence. The verb tense of this word implies continuous and progressive action. When Jesus returns, He is coming to establish His manifest presence and initiate an indefinite mission upon the earth.
E. Conclusion – Any position subscribing to a view that necessitates two Second Coming events is rooted in theory not Scripture. This is an important distinction to make. Nowhere does the Bible delineate between two separate Second Coming events. However the Bible does emphatically describe one event, which occurs after the Tribulation, not at any point before it.
VI. Truth #2: The rapture occurs after the tribulation
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather (episynagō) together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Mt. 24:29-31
A. Jesus describes the rapture as an event that is synonymous with His Second Coming.
1. The apostle Paul also describes the Second Coming and the rapture as one synonymous event.
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering (episynagō) together to Him…” – 2 Thes. 2:1
a. Both Jesus and Paul use the same word for “gather,” episynagō.
B. The only explicit time frame given to understand the return of Christ and rapture of the saints is “after the tribulation.”
C. If the rapture occurs after the tribulation what does that mean? It means the Church is here during the tribulation. Jesus, in fact, prefigures the presence of believers during the tribulation.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’… And pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, since has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be… Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it… Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out… For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Mt. 2...
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