THE DOCTRINE OF RAPTURE

 WILMINGTON'S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE

I.      The Rapture of the Church.

A.      The meaning of the word "rapture." The term is derived from the Latin verb rapere, which means "to transport from one place to another." Thus the next great scheduled event predicted by the Bible will take place when the Lord Jesus comes in the air to catch up his own. Several key passages bring this out:

"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall 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, and thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:15-17, NASB). "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

B.      The participants of the rapture. For whom will Jesus come? It is the view of this theological summary that Christ will come again for his church, which is composed of all saved people from Pentecost up to the rapture itself. The actual participants of the rapture include:

1.      The Lord Jesus himself.

2.      The archangel (perhaps Michael; see Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev.
12:7).

3.      The bodies of dead believers: "for this corruptible must put on incorruption."

4.      The translated bodies of living believers: "and this mortal must put on immortality."

C.      The false views of the rapture.

1.      That the rapture is the same as the Second Coming of Christ. False. At the rapture Jesus comes for his church in the air, while at the Second Coming he comes with his people to the earth. See Jude 14, 15; Revelation 19:11-16.

2.      That the rapture will include only "spiritual" Christians, and that carnal Christians will be left behind to endure the tribulation. This theory is refuted by one little word in 1 Corinthians 15:51, where Paul says that "we shall all be changed." This false view is often called the "partial rapture" theory.

3.      That the rapture will not occur until the middle of the tribulation, thus forcing the entire church to go through the first three and a half years of God's wrath. This theory is called mid-tribulationism, and is refuted by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, where he says, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath...."

4.      That the rapture will not occur until the end of the tribulation. This is known as post-tribulationism, and is refuted by 1 Thessalonians 5:9 and Revelation 3:10.

The New Testament pictures the Church as the body and bride of Christ. If the mid-tribulation or post-tribulation view were correct, then a part of this body would suffer amputation, and a section of the bride would be left behind. In addition to this, one would be forced to conclude that all bodies of carnal departed Christians would likewise be left in the grave. This simply is not the clear teaching of the Word of God.

The Bible teaches that the rapture is pre-tribulational in nature and includes all believers. See Romans 5:9 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10. Perhaps the strongest proof of this statement is the fact that up to chapter 6 of Revelation the church is mentioned many times, but from chapter 6 to chapter 19 (the period of the tribulation) there is no mention whatsoever of the church on earth. In fact, the only godly group which Satan can find to persecute is the nation Israel! See Revelation chapter 12. In Revelation 4:1 John declares, "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither...."We are told that Christians are God's ambassadors on earth (2 Cor. 5:20) and that he will someday declare war on this earth. The first thing a king or president does after he declares war on another country is to call his ambassadors home! Thus we conclude that the church will escape the tribulation.

D.      The purpose of the rapture.

1.      To judge and reward the church of God.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body...whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).

2.      To remove the Spirit of God.

"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:7, NASB). Many theologians believe the "he" in this verse is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Thus the Spirit of God has been acting as a divine dam, faithfully holding back the waters of sin. But at the rapture his blessed influence will be removed to a large extent in order to prepare the way for the tribulation.

E.      The mystery of the rapture. In 1 Corinthians 15:51 Paul declares, "Behold, I show you a mystery...." What is this secret of the Savior? Let us suppose you began reading the Bible in Genesis chapter 1, and read through 1 Corinthians chapter 14. If you stopped your reading here, you would already have learned about many important facts, such as creation, man's sin, the flood, Bethlehem, Calvary, the resurrection, and of the existence of heaven and hell.

But you would be forced to conclude that a Christian could get to heaven only after physically dying. You would of course note the two exceptions of Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Ki. 2:11), but apart from these it would be clear that believers have to travel the path of the grave to reach the goal of glory.
But now the secret is out, and here it is: millions of Christians will someday reach heaven without dying. "Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51). This, then, is the mystery of the rapture.

F.      The trumpet of the rapture. In at least three biblical passages concerning the rapture, a trumpet is mentioned (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 4:1). How are we to understand this? Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost writes, "The phrase 'the trump of God' is significant, for in the Old Testament the trumpet was used for two things-to summon to battle and to summon to worship." (J. Dwight Pentecost, Prophecy for Today, p. 30) Which of the two meanings, however, is involved at the rapture? Dr. Pentecost suggests that both meanings are in mind, one directed toward angels and the other to believers.

1.      To angels the trumpet blast will mean "Prepare for battle!" According to various New Testament passages (Jn. 14:30; Eph. 6:12; 1 Jn. 5:19) this present world lies in the hands of the evil one, the devil, and the very atmosphere is filled with his wicked power and presence. Satan will obviously resist believers being caught up through his domain and becoming freed from his wicked worldly system. Therefore, the trumpet commands the angels, "Prepare for battle! Clear the way for the catching up of those resurrected bodies and those living believers!"

2.      To all believers the trumpet blast will mean "Prepare to worship!" In Numbers 10:1-3 we read, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Make thee two trumpets of silver...that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly... and when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle....'" Regarding the rapture trumpet, Numbers 10:4 seems to be especially significant:
"If they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee." At the rapture only one trumpet is sounded, suggesting that in God's sight all believers occupy a place of utmost importance. We are all "head princes" in the mind of God.

G.      The Old Testament foreshadowing of the rapture.

1.      Seen in Enoch, who was taken from the world before the Flood judgment (Gen. 5:24).

2.      Seen in Lot, who was removed from Sodom before the fire judgment (Gen. 19:22-24).

H.      The challenge of the rapture. Because of this glorious coming event, the child of God is instructed to do many things.

1.      He is to attend the services of the Lord regularly. "...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25).

2.      He is to observe the Lord's Supper with the rapture in mind. "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26).

3.      He is to love believers and all men.

"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men... to the end he may stablish your hearts...at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" (1 Thess. 3:12, 13).
4.      He is to be patient. "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5:8).

5.      He is to live a separated life. "...we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself..." (1 Jn. 3:2, 3). "...denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:12, 13). "And now, little children, abide in him, that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 Jn. 2:28).

6.      He is to refrain from judging others. "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God" (1 Cor. 4:5).

7.      He is to preach the Word. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word..." (2 Tim. 4:1, 2). "Feed the flock of God... and when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Pet. 5:2, 4).

8.      He is to comfort the bereaved. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven... wherefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:16, 18).

9.      He is to win souls. "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire..." (Jude 21-23).

10.     He is to be concerned with heaven. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).

I. The effect of the rapture. What will be the reaction of a sin-sick society when millions of people suddenly disappear? Certainly the believers will be missed. It is evident from the Bible that the sudden disappearance of both Enoch and Elijah (two Old Testament types of the rapture) caused considerable confusion and alarm among their friends. How much more confusion and alarm will come from the sudden and mysterious disappearance of literally millions of men and women, boys and girls!

Information provided by a wonderful book called Wilmington's guide to the Bible.