Understanding the Rapture: A Biblical Perspective

The term 'rapture' is not found in the Bible, but it describes a concept from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.

The rapture is believed to occur at the last trumpet, which is at the end of the Great Tribulation.

Pre-tribbers believe in a secret rapture, but this is not supported by the Bible.

The rapture is described in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4, and it occurs after the tribulation.

The term rapture cannot be found in the Bible, but it has been used to identify something described best in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. Here it is. 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. 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. It seems that no aspect of Bible prophecy has been more hotly contested than that of when the rapture will occur. The debate is over whether it will happen before or after the time of great trouble, often referred to as the Great Tribulation, or just the Tribulation. The most obvious explanation for all the heat that this has generated is because if it happens after the time of great trouble, Christians could be facing the worst persecution that has ever happened in the history of the world. No one wants to contemplate such a thing. So it is popular to teach and believe that we will never have to face such a test that the rapture will happen before all the hard stuff starts. Those that think that it will happen before the tribulation are called pre-tribbers and those who think that it will happen after the tribulation are called post-tribbers. The pre-tribbers, of course, have the most to lose if they are wrong, and so they cling tenaciously to their teaching, having been told that their salvation depends on them never doubting that God is going to let them do anything they like and still get to heaven, because Jesus did it all for them. The post-tribbers, on the other hand, often find themselves in panic for their pre-trib brothers and sisters convinced that they will be lost eternally if they cannot at least consider the possibility that God would ask them to die for their faith. So, which side is right? As a young man in my early twenties, I asked an elderly pastor for whom I had a lot of respect When would the rapture occur? And he asked me a question. How many trumpets are there after the last trumpet The question made no sense to me at the time The answer was obvious There cannot be any trumpets after the last trumpet But what did it mean? And how did it relate to the timing of the rapture? Some time later, I learned that there is universal agreement that the last eight verses in the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians are talking about the rapture. As it happens, there is also universal agreement that the seven trumpets mentioned in the 8th and 9th chapters of the Revelation refer to the period we know of as the Great Tribulation. So, working from there, I read the description of the rapture from 1 Corinthians 15, and this is what it said, Behold, I show 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." At the last trumpet, there it was, the answer to the riddle that old pastor had posed for me. How many trumpets after the last trumpet? None. So this rapture being described was to happen at the last trumpet. at the end of the Great Tribulation. So incredibly simple. How could anyone have missed it? But that is when I discovered that pre-tribus think there is another trumpet. Well, seven more trumpets yet to be sounded after the last trumpet mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. The passage says that the rapture comes at the last trumpet, but they see that as just allegorical or irrelevant. Hyperbole! A vague suggestion of some other trumpet that sounded for the last time before the other seven could even get started. Well, as you can see, it takes more effort to believe their twisting of the passage than to just read it as it is written. We find this to be the case with one false doctrine after another. People don't believe false doctrines because they're taught in the Bible. They believe them because the doctrines suit their own selfish inclinations. So many people approaching the study of Bible prophecy for the first time assume that all of the disagreements between various factions are well thought out interpretations, each of which has equal support, depending on your point of view. That may be true of some of the details but not when it comes to the timing of the rapture when we ascend to heaven to meet Jesus in the sky And here is an equally blunt statement about when the rapture happens It comes from Jesus himself, in the 24th chapter of Matthew, verses 29-31. Jesus says, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with the sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. After the tribulation, with the sound of a trumpet, Jesus comes down. We go up. I think the pre-tribus say that this is talking about something entirely different, even though it too features a trumpet and matches the descriptions in 1st Corinthians and 1st Thessalonians. So what do the pre-tribbers give as support for their claims? Well, sometimes the pre-trib rapture is described as a secret rapture, and that is to distinguish it from this other thing where every eye sees him coming in the clouds, where all the tribes of the earth see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. This is not the rapture, they say. It's something else. The rapture, they say, has to be secret. And how have they come to that conclusion? Well, here it is in Luke's account of what Jesus predicted. You've probably heard it before. I tell you, that in that night there shall be two men in one bed. One shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Taken. The whole doctrine stands or falls on that one word. We have been told over and over that taken means these people will just instantly disappear and no one left on earth will know where they went. It's all secret. Well, yes, the passage they are referring to is secret, or at least as secret as God and we can make it, and it does come at the start of the tribulation, but it's not the rapture. Listen to Matthew's account of the same event. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time Does this sound like someone being sucked up to heaven? Or could it maybe be talking about someone being quietly led by God's Spirit to flee into a hiding place that he has prepared for them? These obedient Christians instantly follow the Lamb wherever He leads. I don't really have to say more than this. It's so much easier to teach the truth by comparison to teaching a lie. The truth tends to jump right out at you, whereas lies require a lot of wrestling and twisting and squirming to make things fit. But people will still believe the lies because they're so much easier. Well, easier now, but it's going to be a lot harder when reality hits, whether it's the tribulation itself or eternal punishment for not having what it takes to stand firm when the time comes. And I think it will happen because your whole spiritual walk has been characterized by doctrines which repeatedly justified selfishness, laziness, greed, pride and indifference. The pre-trib rapture doctrine is part of a package deal, one that gives wholesale indulgence to disobedience and faithlessness in every area of your life. It never arose from anything that Jesus taught. It is a lie, and it will not save you. You got it from false prophets, false teachers, false anointed ones. They're like blind leaders of the blind. Unless you leave them and turn to the only begotten Son of God, you will perish with them. Isn't it time you became a real Christian? Isn't it time that you opened your Bible and read what the real Jesus taught and stopped putting false hope in false prophets? Please write to me today if you want to make this change and I'll do what I can to put you in touch with people who really are trying to follow Jesus. We're very few and we're very scattered, but we have the real thing and we'll do what we can to help you walk the narrow path as well, if you'll let us. My address is on screen. I look forward to hearing from you today. May God bless you. you

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