LESSON 4 Eschatology The Rapture
LESSON 4
A LOOK AT THE RAPTURE
EVERY “PRE-TRIBBER” CHRISTIAN THAT HAS DIED UP TO THIS DAY, HAS DIED BEFORE THE RAPTURE.
EVERY “POST-TRIBBER” CHRISTIAN THAT HAS DIED UP TO THIS DAY, HAS DIED BEFORE THE TRIBULATION.
EVERY “NON-TRIBBER” CHRISTIAN THAT HAS DIED UP TO THIS DAY, HAS DIED BEFORE THE TRIBULATION.
NOT ONE OF THOSE CHRISTIANS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT HAVING MISSED IT!
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
(PHILIPPIANS 1.21)
Just a little chart on the Rapture and the Resurrection:
ESCHATOLOGICALLY – The Purpose for the Rapture:
To remove the church for the onset of “Jacobs Trouble” (The Remnant of Israel)
To Cause “Jacob” to carry the mantle of the gospel to the world instead of the church… This is the 144,000… (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes)
Jeremiah 30.7
‘Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he will be saved from it.
Dan 9.27; Matt 24
Another purpose for The Rapture is associated with the Resurrection of Believers…more than an eschatological event.
It is more of a “PASTORAL” comfort about which Paul reveals to brand new Christians than a theological-eschatological dissertation.
The Rapture and the First Resurrection (Stage 2) are wedded together.
There is NOT only one “General” resurrection of all the dead at the end of the world.
The following verse is misinterpreted by those who would say that there is only one resurrection:
. . . All that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29).
This is the same Voice but is at different times and they are different events. (To be covered later in a lesson)
When men are raised, not all will be raised at the same time nor in the same condition. There will be two resurrections for two classes of men.
One will be raised to eternal life and immortality, while the other will be raised to condemnation and banishment from the presence of the Lord.
We cannot really address the Rapture without addressing the Resurrection. They are inseparable. First let's take a look at the Resurrection.
There is a “resurrection of life” (First Resurrection) and a “resurrection of damnation” (Second Resurrection).
The First Resurrection is a three-stage event: See depiction above.
(1) When our Lord was crucified on the Cross, we read:
“And, behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose” (Matthew 27:51-52).
There were “many”, maybe OT Saints, maybe a combination of OT, maybe not, maybe Intertestamental period and more recent deaths.
MANY. Don’t know how many but many. Could be enough for OT saints…maybe not…I don’t know.
But some believe that the OT saints will be resurrected during the 3rd stage of the first resurrection…AFTER the church era...most likely.
(2) There is the second stage of the First Resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:16), when the bodies of all true believers who have died are raised at the RAPTURE, the first appearance of Christ. These individuals have already been with Christ in heaven and are now receiving their resurrected bodies.
If not during the first stage, this could also be a time of OT saints joining the NT saints in glorified bodies.
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
We see for the first time at the First Resurrection the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of Heaven to rapture all of the saints to Himself. Here we must distinguish between Christ’s coming for His own before the millennium and His coming again to raise the rest of the dead (unbelievers) who remained in their graves during the thousand years.
There is at least a one-thousand-year interval (The Millennium) between the First and the Second Resurrection.
To this we add the Apostle Paul’s word in First Corinthians: “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” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
The Second Stage is the … End of the Church Age.
(3) The third and final stage of the First Resurrection occurs about seven years after the resurrection of saints at Christ’s coming at The Rapture. It should be after the Tribulation.
It is AFTER the “Church Age”.
“Those resurrected near the close of the seven years’ period of the tribulation are the multitude of believers who were led to the truth through the witness of the 144,000.” Because they would not receive the mark of the beast in their hands and foreheads, they were martyred. These are brought forth from the dead at the end of the Tribulation just before Christ comes to earth to reign for one thousand years. (REV 20.4)
Additionally, there are those who believe this is when the OT Saints will be resurrected.
The Old Testament saints are not raised, according to Daniel 12.1-2, until after the Great Tribulation Period when they are raised to enter the kingdom here on this earth with the resurrection of the tribulation saints, and that ends the first resurrection.
You have, therefore, three definite groups included in the first resurrection:
Stage One: The Many with Christ,
Stage Two: The Church Rapture, and last,
Stage Three: the Old Testament saints together with the tribulation saints.
Then you have the second resurrection — those who had rejected Christ. This resurrection will be at the Great White Throne Judgment, which occurs at the end of the Millennium.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished). This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4-5). There you have it.
The final (Second) resurrection occurs,
Rev 20.5 … But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
John says: “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; . . . The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:12, 14).
…but whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire. They shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death (Revelation 20:15; 21:8).
Think of the “Second Resurrection” as those resurrected unto the “Second Death”.
BUT… “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:6).
Who will be judged here?
The answer is that there will not be one single believer in Christ that will appear before the judgment of the Great White Throne. Only the unsaved will be there, appearing in a physical body to be condemned to Hell. The unsaved would not have wanted to go to God’s Heaven.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE RAPTURE AND THE RESURRECTION
THE RAPTURE AND THE FIRST RESURRECTION IS PROVIDED MORE FOR PASTORAL COMFORT THAN FOR A THEOLOGICAL ESCHATOLOGY.
It’s a very special, very private, very personal ministry of the Spirit of God to comfort troubled believers about their future.
What is most interesting about it is if you look at the great eschatological passages of the New Testament, Matthew 24 and 25, and the book of Revelation, you don’t find a gathering together, this specific event, in either one of them. It’s almost like this was reserved as a point of comfort.
It fits into the whole scheme, but those books which give you a sort of chronological flow of eschatological events do not focus on this specific event. Here it comes in a pastoral way.
The Rapture and the First Resurrection, Stage 2, come together.
LETS LOOK AT FOUR MONUMENTAL TEXTS THAT ARE FOUNDATIONAL AND DISPUTED FOR THE RAPTURE…They could fall on either side of the argument, but for me, they always fall on my side of the fence.
MATT 24.29-31
2 THESS 2.1-5FF
1 CORINTHIANS 15.51-52
1 THESS 4.13-17
1. MATT 24.29-31
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with POWER and GREAT GLORY. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Matt 24 or the Olivet Discourse, IS NOT THE RAPTURE…THE RAPTURE is a time of COMFORT, REJOICING AND DELIVERANCE.
Matt 24 REFERENCES THE SECOND COMING…A TIME OF MOURNING AND FEAR FOR MANKIND.
2. 2 THESS 2.1-5FF
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ AND our gathering together to Him, …
DO NOT CONFUSE “THE GATHERING TOGETHER” OF THE BODY OF CHRIST DURING THE RAPTURE/FIRST RESURRECTION WITH THE EVENTS OF “THE SECOND COMING” …
“that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed”(v2)
These are TWO separated events!
Don’t confuse the two.
The “Gathering” in the New Testament is used referencing the Rapture:
John 14.1-3
1 Thess 4.13-18
Heb 10.25 – a gathering to encourage one another looking forward to the rapture.
Paul was addressing a confusion in the Thess church. They thought that the Day of the Lord was upon them since the world was getting worse and worse.
This caused them to worry that they had missed the “Gathering” or “Rapture”.
They knew the Rapture was going to happen before the Day of the Lord, but everything looked like they were in the tribulation and had missed the rapture.
Paul reminds them in the following verses that the apostasy must come, then the man of lawlessness and lists the extent of his evil.
Paul tells them since this has not taken place then the Day of the Lord is not upon them…
THUS…THEY HAVE NOT MISSED THE RAPTURE!
DON’T BE CONFUSED WHICH IS WHICH.
Paul had previously encouraged them to look forward to the “Gathering”
1 Thess 1.10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.
1 Thess 3.13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1 Thess 5.9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul then tells them to stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught (v15). There will be a gathering.
1 Thess 2.19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
1 Thess 3.13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1 Thess 4.15 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, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thess 5.23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. 1 CORINTHIANS 15.51-52
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
This is referencing the second and third stage of the resurrection Rapture.
The focus here is NOT about eschatology, it is about what happens to the Christian when they die.
It refers to the RESURRECTION– which is the concurrent rapture in one of its resurrection stages.
For the Christian, when we “die”, our body goes into a “repose” or sleep state.
ONLY OUR BODY! JUST OUR EARTH SUIT. WE WON’T NEED IT IN HEAVEN.
However, we will be reunited with it at the Rapture because we will need it in the Millennium and in the New Heavens and Earth. Remember, Heaven is a real literal place where Jesus is in His resurrected body.
Until then, our spirit goes to be with the Lord!
Again, for the Christian, when we “die”, our body goes into a “repose” or sleep state.
ONLY OUR BODY! Our spirit goes to be with Christ!
Examples:
Acts 7.59-60
They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
There are many verses referring to the body of the Christian that dies as “sleep”.
The term “sleep” or the concept of sleep does not refer to the soul. There is no such thing as souls sleeping. When Stephen was dying, he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
2 Corinthians 5.8… the apostle Paul looks at death for a believer and he says, “To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.”
There’s no purgatory,
there’s no intermediary condition,
there’s no state of unconsciousness or semi-consciousness,
there’s no spiritual coma.
To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 the apostle Paul says, “Far better to depart and be with Christ.”
You’re either here or literally with Christ.
There’s no intermediary condition for the saved.
They go to be received into the presence of Jesus Christ.
But while that spirit of that “dead” Christian goes immediately into the presence of Christ, that body is asleep, it is in repose, it is in rest, it is in a dormitory, as it were, and THE BODY of a Christian in a graveyard is just sleeping in the dorm, nothing more.
What about those bodies that have been lost at sea, burned to ash, scattered to the four winds?
Our Great Creator knows what He is doing. Not one cell or molecule is lost to Him. He will fetch every bit of “you” in the twinkle of an eye!
Jumping ahead to 1 THESS 4.14-15
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
Our resurrection and our gathering together at His coming is predicated on His resurrection.
The resurrection of us all is linked to the resurrection of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
John 14:19, Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also.”
WE SHALL NOT “SOUL SLEEP”. WE WILL ALWAYS BE 100% ALERT AND AWAKE EITHER IN THE BODY OR WITH CHRIST.
1 Corinthians 6:14 says it directly. “God has not only raised the Lord but will also raise us up through His power.”
2 Corinthians 4.14 says the same thing: “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with You.”
That’s our hope.
4. 1 THESS 4.13-17
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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, will 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 will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Paul is Pastorally consoling the Thessalonians. They were worried that those who had died would miss the rapture or resurrection.
What’s he saying?
“Look, dear friends, you aren’t going to miss anything. Even the people who die aren’t going to miss it. Based on the death of Christ and its perfect work, based on the resurrection of Christ and the Father’s will, God is going to bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
With Him means with Christ.
And, it says later that we meet in the air, and so that God will bring down from heaven their souls to meet the resurrected bodies coming up, and there’ll be a joining together at that point.
Some people say it means God will bring with Christ back to glory all those gathered together, living and dead. Once they’re gathered, God will bring them back to glory.
When Christ comes in His glory to gather His people, those who have fallen asleep are going to be there. That’s the answer to the question. Now, what is this little phrase, “God will bring with Him?” With Him means with Christ, but what do you mean God will bring? Some say it means that God will bring with Christ from heaven down the spirits of dead Christians to join their bodies.
Which is true? Well, probably both.
John 14.1-3 see the answer:
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
I’m going up there to the Father’s house and I am going to fix a place for you, and then I’m going to come and get you, and I’m going to take you to the place I fixed for you where I
am. That must be heaven.
So, we conclude then that when Jesus gathers believers together, which way are we going?
We're going Up.
We meet in the air and we continue the heavenward movement. Yes, it’s fair to say that our spirits, the spirits of Christians who have died, come down to meet those bodies, but once the meeting takes place, we are gathered together to Christ. He gathers us to Himself, and He takes us to where He is, which is clearly in the Father’s house in heaven where He’s been preparing a place for us.
There has to be, then, some time interval before we return to earth for the establishment of the Kingdom.
And so, when Jesus comes, he says God’s going to bring along all the gathered-together, including those who have fallen asleep, God’s going to bring them all to Himself, along with Jesus Christ. That’s the gathering together. That’s the event.
And he says that those who have fallen asleep aren’t going to miss it, so don’t grieve for those who are dying, and for yourself should you die.
One can see the blending of the rapture and the resurrection together.
V17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
It’s a rescue of the first order, sudden, instantaneous. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “In the twinkling of an eye,” that’s not how fast it is to blink, that’s how fast it is to see light flash on the pupil.
It is a rescue but not from suffering. All those in Christ will suffer. I can’t understand those Christians who belittle the idea that Christ wants to rescue His church. For some reason they think that those who hold to a rapture aren’t worthy of Christ. They accuse the Christian who hopes for the rapture to be a weak, marginal Christian who faints at the thought of suffering. Well, if they think they can earn brownie points for living a masochistic life, then more power to them. Christ knows when and how and from what to save His saints.
As Paul then unfolds to them the Rapture, remember his purpose is not to cover everything that could be said about this event, his purpose is to cover a specific issue to bring comfort to their troubled hearts.
“Will those who died before the Rapture miss the Resurrection and the Gathering together in the air”?
As Paul then unfolds to them the Rapture, remember his purpose is not to cover everything that could be said about this event, his purpose is to cover a specific issue to bring comfort to their troubled hearts.
John 14 is just a glimpse about what Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians.
John 14.1-3, the only place in the gospel record where the Rapture is discussed.
Again, the only mention of the Rapture specifically is just a very simple statement that Jesus said, “I’m coming back,” and reiterates it again in a pastoral way to the Thessalonians rather than trying to cover all the eschatological theology of it.
But beyond that, there are no specifics about the Rapture in the gospels to which Paul could be alluding.
When Paul addresses the Thessalonians, we can’t say that Paul is referring to anything in the gospels, because nothing states the things that he talks about here.
LIKE….
Doesn’t it talk about a trumpet here?
And doesn’t it talk about a resurrection here?”
Yes, but they’re very different than those times in the Olivet Discourse of Matt 24f.
For example,
In Matthew, the Son of Man comes down on the clouds.
In 1 Thess, believers ascend into the clouds.
In Matthew, the angels gather the elect from the four corners of the world.
In 1 Thessalonians, Jesus Christ Himself gathers them to Himself.
In the Olivet Discourse, particularly in Matthew, there is no record of the order of the ascent. That is the principle issue here in Thessalonians.
To the Thessalonians, Paul doesn’t say “Jesus said it”.
He doesn’t directly quote anything that Jesus said in the gospels, and he doesn’t specifically say that Jesus said this.
He just uses that rather general term: it was a word from the Lord.
Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15.51, Paul is beginning a discussion there about the Rapture, he says,
“Behold, I tell you a mystery.”
Mystery means something hidden that is now revealed. Paul is saying I am now going to reveal something that has been hidden, which leads us to the conclusion that Jesus never did reveal the details of the Rapture.
It was a mystery until Paul opened it up.
And here again, if Jesus had taught this, and it had been common knowledge that He taught it whether recorded or not recorded, surely then Paul would have unfolded it to the Thessalonians.
But here they are in complete confusion about this event called the Rapture, and Paul again must give to them some new truth from the word of the Lord.
When would this rapture take place?
Paul continues to include himself in the rapture.
He continually uses “WE” when he addresses them. He thought he would be caught up, too.
He believed it could happen in his lifetime.
It was not an eschatological event!
It was what it meant to be “IN CHRIST”.
It was normal for a Christian to think this way.
Paul was not pushing this event off into a future generation. It could be in his lifetime.
It had nothing to do with “The End Times”.
This rapture was a resurrection event that was to be a normal expectation of the believer.
There are other indications that he believed that.
In Romans 13:11, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed…The night is almost gone, and the day is near.”
The day is at hand; at hand means next. The night is almost over. It will be soon.
In 1 Corinthians 6.14
He says, “Now, God has not only raised the Lord but will also raise us up through His power.”
Did he believe he’d be in that resurrection? Did he believe that he would be in that future resurrection? It seems on the one hand at one point he believes it’s going to come in his lifetime.
On another hand on the other point, he believes he may be in the grave.
Even if Paul was looking to the “End Times”
1 Corinthians 10.11, “Now, these things happened to us as an example, they were written for our instruction.”
“Our instruction,” listen to this, “upon whom the end of the ages have come.”
He believed he was living in the end of the ages, the Messianic times. And I’m sure he had no idea they would be as long as they have been already.
Further, Look at 1 Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone doesn’t love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha.” You know what that means? “O Lord come, O Lord come.”
Christians naturally look for the coming of the Lord! If they don’t, then they aren’t Christians.
They are unbelievers who will be “accursed”.
1 Thessalonians 1:10, “They were waiting for His Son from heaven.” …This is Normal Christian living.
1 Thess 3.13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
He’s assuming that they may be alive when He comes and they’re to be unblameable when that happens.
1 Thessalonians 5.23
“May the God of peace sanctify you entirely, may your spirit, soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now, the only way your body could be without blame and complete at His coming would be to be alive when He got here. He anticipated that Jesus could come in his lifetime.
Titus 2.13, he said he was looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was looking for Christ; he believed that it could happen in his lifetime
1 Thessalonians 5.10, he says, “He died for us that whether we are awake or asleep we may live for Him.”
And he uses “we” there. He might be awake; He might be asleep when Jesus comes. But either way we’ll live together with Him, either way.
In 1 Corinthians 15:52 he says at the Rapture we shall be changed. And he puts himself at the scene.
And yet in Philippians 1 he says Christ shall be exalted in my body, whether it be life or death, to me to live is Christ, to die is gain, having a desire to depart and be with Christ.
And in 2 Timothy 4 he says, I have finished the course, I’ve kept the faith, I’ve fought the good fight. The time of my departure is at hand. And he sensed his own death.
Why all of that?
He believed it could happen in his lifetime. He lived in that anticipation. And you hear the hope in his heart as he talks about “we” and “us” at that great event.
But on the other hand, he knew it might not and that he might die before it happened. So, he really associates himself with both possibilities. And that’s the way the church has always lived: with expectation and anticipation that it could come in my lifetime. And he’s using the “we”, because at the time he was one of the ones alive and remaining. And if Jesus had come, he would have been in that group. So, he conveys to the Thessalonians his own heart of anticipation
If they thought it was going to be 2,000 or 3,000 years away, then the Thessalonians wouldn’t have been grieving because they would have known not to expect it.
But Paul had anticipation of it and so did they. And what does he say then?
We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, the Parousia, when He comes for His own, shall not precede. What does that mean? Go before. Gain an advantage over. Those who have fallen asleep.
Now, that’s what they wanted to hear. The people who are alive on the earth when Jesus comes aren’t going to have any advantage over the ones who have died, that’s his simple point.
The living will not go before the dead; they will not gain an advantage. And that sums up all their questions. Would they be lesser saints? Would they be eternally disembodied spirits? Would they miss the Rapture? Would they be tag-ons?
No. All Christians alive and dead when Jesus comes will be at the Rapture, nobody will be left out. Nobody.
More specifically about the Rapture…
4.16 - “For the Lord Himself,” …stop ...
Not an angel, not a lot of angels, not a substitute, the Lord, emphatically in the Greek, Himself.
He is coming for His bride. He is the bridegroom coming to take His bride.
This again, in contrast to Mark 13:26 and 27 where the gathering of the elect saints is done by the angels. This is Christ Himself coming for His bride: the church. And it’s Himself, emphatically.
And notice the second element, “He will descend from heaven.” Why?
Because that’s where He’s been. When He ascended, He went to the right hand of the Father.
In Hebrews 1.3 it’s very, very clear that He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
v16, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.”
It’s a word of command, it’s a military term. It’s as if the troops are all at ease and the command is, “Fall in.” It could mean a call to the church to stand up. The church has been in repose, the bodies of the saints have been in the graves. And there’s coming a time when Jesus comes, descending out of heaven, and He shouts for those bodies to stand up. And they fall into rank, they fall into line, they fall into order from being at ease and repose to filling up the ranks, taking their stand.
Philippians 3.21, “When He comes, He will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of His power.” In a moment, we’re transformed into a glorified body like the resurrected body of Christ. Snatched from the grasp of Satan. Snatched from the fallen world and the decaying and decayed flesh. Snatched out of the grave. Snatched away from the coming wrath of God. It’s a rescue operation. “Together with them.” What does that mean? We’ll all be there. Everybody will be there. We’ll all have a part in the gathering together. The church triumphant joins the church militant to become the church glorified.
Once we reach heaven, verse 17 says, thus we shall always be with the Lord. Always, always, always.
Never again to be separated from Him, always in His presence. Why? Because He purified for Himself a people for His own possession, His eternal possession, Titus 2:14.
V18, “Therefore do,” what? “Comfort one another with these words.” He doesn’t say, therefore would you please write out a large eschatological chart. No. He just says comfort each other. This is a comfort passage, exactly like John 14 was. The Rapture always appears shrouded in mystery because it is seen always from the pastoral viewpoint as the great comfort of the believer that Jesus is coming for His own. Don’t worry about the ones that die, don’t worry about the ones that are alive. We’ll all be there when He comes. The God of all comfort will send Christ, and we are thus comforted. No need to grieve. No need to sorrow.
Let’s address the “Trumpet” issue that some associate with the 7 Trumpet judgments of Revelation…
Trumpets are all over the Bible, they have all different kinds of meanings. But we know there’s a trumpet at the Rapture.
1 Corinthians 15:52 “The trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise.” The trump of God. So, there is a trumpet at the Rapture. Trumpets were used in Israel for all kinds of things.
They were used for festivals, celebrations, convocations, judgments. They were used for triumphs. They were used any time anybody wanted to get a crowd together to say anything to them for public announcements, proclamations.
But in Exodus 19.16-19, a trumpet called the people out of the camp to meet God. It was a trumpet of assembly.
The “rapture” trumpet is a trumpet of assembly.
In Zephaniah 1:16 and Zechariah 9:14, a trumpet was used as a signal of the Lord’s coming to rescue His people from wicked oppression. It was a deliverance trumpet.
And the “rapture” trumpet on that day is an assembly trumpet and a deliverance trumpet. When the trumpet blows, it is to assemble the saints who have been called out of the graves to life with the living saints, and it is also to call them out, to rescue them out from among those who oppress them, men, and demons. There are many other trumpets associated with the end times; they tend to be trumpets of judgment, primarily as in Revelation 8 through 11.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” - there’s that same trump we saw in 15 - “and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
Again, there’s no judgment here, this is not a judgment event, this is not the return of Christ in judgment, neither was John 14, neither is 1 Corinthians 15.
Now when it says the last trumpet, it doesn’t mean the absolute last trumpet that will ever sound in all of God’s redemptive history, because even after the trumpet that is the last trumpet before the resurrection, even after that, we know during the time of the tribulation period after we’re already caught up and raised to glory, we know there’s a tribulation period on earth, and we know that God will judge the earth, and those judgments will be the outflow of seven seals, and out of the seventh seal will come seven trumpet judgments.
So, there will be more trumpets. But this last trump is the last trump that the church identifies as the moment of its transformation and resurrection.
It is called in 1 Thess 4:16, the trumpet of God. There will be a shout from the Lord. There will be the voice of the archangel. There will be the blast of that trumpet, and in the sixth of a nanosecond the dead will rise, and we’ll be caught up, and all of us changed on the way to heaven.
Well, when you see a phrase like “the last trump,” you don’t have to assume that it’s the last trumpet that will ever be blown forever. It certainly is the trump that ends the end of the Church Age.
It is the trump that ends the end of the struggle with death. It is the last trump in the sense of its relation to resurrection.
It is the final summons.
“ALL ABOARD!”
This Trumpet can never be associated with a Trumpet of Judgment as in Revelation.
It is a Trumpet of deliverance and victory!
Additionally, The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John in 96 A.D.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about 50-52 A.D. and the Corinthians about 53-54 A.D.
Most likely when Paul was referring to a Trumpet, even the last trumpet, he was referring to the historical uses of a trumpet, not the Apocalyptic trumpets…since the Revelation was not to be written for nearly 40+ years after his writings.
SUMMARY
Overall, the Rapture is to remove the church for the onset of “Jacobs Trouble”.
As was meant to be from the beginning to cause “Jacob” to carry the mantle of the gospel to the world instead of the church… This is the 144,000…
The Rapture is associated with the Resurrection of Believers…more than an eschatological event.
There are Two Resurrections.
The First is in Three Stages for believers
The Second is for Judgment of Unbelievers.
The Rapture and The First Resurrection are meant to be in harmony with one another. They are together.
Matt 24 or the Olivet Discourse, IS NOT THE RAPTURE…
IT REFERENCES THE SECOND COMING.
2 THESS 2.1-5FF
The Thessalonian church thought they were in the Tribulation because things were so bad.
They thought that the Second Coming was next and that they had missed the Rapture.
Then Paul comforts them that they have not missed it and lists the things of the Tribulation that have not happened.
DO NOT CONFUSE THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST DURING THE RAPTURE WITH THE EVENTS OF THE SECOND COMING…
“with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him”
These are TWO separated events!
Don’t confuse the two.
1 CORINTHIANS 15.51-52
This is referencing the second and third stage of the resurrection Rapture.
The focus here is NOT about eschatology, it is about what happens to the Christian when they die.
It refers to the RESURRECTION– which is a rapture in one of its resurrection stages.
For the Christian, when we “die”, our body goes into a “repose” or sleep state.
There’s no purgatory,
there’s no intermediary condition,
there’s no state of unconsciousness or semi-consciousness,
there’s no spiritual coma.
To be absent from the body, to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 the apostle Paul says, “Far better to depart and be with Christ.”
1 THESS 4.13-17
Paul is Pastorally consoling the Thessalonians. They were worried that those who had died would miss the rapture or resurrection.
What’s he saying?
“Look, dear friends, you aren’t going to miss anything. Even the people who die aren’t going to miss it. Based on the death of Christ and its perfect work, based on the resurrection of Christ and the Father’s will, God is going to bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
With Him means with Christ.
In all, the completion of God's unilateral covenant to Israel is still looming. The church must be snatched up in order for the remnant of Israel to repent and be restored to their Messiah and for the full blessings of the Millennium to be realized.
Now, apart from all the biblical basis for the rapture, we've got to spend a little time refuting those who malign the rapture view and its historical roots.
Let’s refute some of the anti-dispensational/rapture rhetoric that is out there. To begin, most positions on any disputed doctrine begin with confirmation bias. One studies and collects data on the preferences they endear. And from what I’ve observed, most of the data is from secondary sources. Few people can be an expert on more than one issue and few people have the time and patience to endure the exhaustive and relentless pounding of an expert who promotes his bias. So, this will be a “short” look from one who is neither an expert nor an academician. What is most difficult, is what not to include.
First, there are many who refer to the pre-millennial/pre-tribulational rapture view as a “SECRET RAPTURE”. No one who holds to a rapture view refers to it as such. That is simply a pejorative term. The only thing “Secret” about this rapture is its timing. It is imminent and many Christians hold to the imminency of the coming of Christ. Any other meaning for the term is just caustic.
Second, there are three names to introduce at the onset. Margaret MacDonald, Dave MacPherson, and John Nelson Darby.
Dave MacPherson is probably the point man for starting the big lie that John Darby pilfered a pre-tribulational view from Margaret MacDonald. MacPherson hates the pre-tribulational rapture view and takes aim at Darby because he gained great momentum in the late 1800’s promoting the Premillennial/Pre-Tribulational Rapture view. MacPherson forces the speculation that Darby developed all his work from MacDonald’s vision, consisting of a two-stage coming of Christ.
Margaret MacDonald was a 15-year-old teenager who lived in Scotland in the early 1830’s who supposedly had a revelation that there would be a rapture of the church before the tribulation.
MacPherson asserts that Margaret MacDonald started the pre-tribulation rapture view. This myth is widespread. Critics of the rapture declare that MacDonald received her vision from demonic origins, and that she then passed on the message of that vision to infect the Church. Further, having been influenced by MacDonald, Darby produced a systematic approach of the pre-trib rapture. Darby was in league with MacDonald to mislead the church.
Here is an excerpt from her “vision”:
“…all must, as Stephen was, be filled with the Holy Ghost, that they might look up, and see the brightness of the Father’ s glory. I saw the error to be, that men think that it will be something seen by the natural eye but tis spiritual discernment that is needed, the eye of God in his people. Only those who have the light of God within them will see the sign of his appearance. No need to follow them who say, see here, or see there, for his day shall be as the lightning to those in whom the living Christ is. Tis Christ in us that will lift us up—he is the light—tis only those that are alive in him that will be caught up to meet him in the air. I saw that we must be in the Spirit that we might see spiritual things John was in the Spirit, when he saw a throne set in Heaven it is not knowledge about God that it contains, but it is an entering into God. I felt that those who were filled with the Spirit could see spiritual things, and feel walking in the midst of them, while those who had not the Spirit could see nothing.”
Elements of her vision:
(1) Stephen saw into heaven; he was not raptured or taken to heaven.
(2) The sign will be seen only by the spiritually enlightened. It will not be a natural or physical sign, but one perceived by "spiritual discernment."
(3) She is discussing "the sign of his appearance," not His actual appearance. The sign is spiritual discernment…nothing to do with a rapture.
(4) Once a person has been so enlightened, he will not need direction from others. He will be guided directly by "the living Christ."
(5) The emphasis is on seeing: "John was in the Spirit, when he saw" "those who were filled with the Spirit could see".
Macdonald's "prophecies made it plain that the return of the Lord depended upon the proper spiritual preparation of His Church." She did not promote a pre-trib rapture. She promoted a post-tribulation rapture at the Second Coming.
Further:
. . . now shall the awful sight of a false Christ be seen on this earth, and nothing but the living Christ in us can detect this awful attempt of the enemy to deceive. . .. The Spirit must and will be purged out on the church, that she may be purified and filled with God. . .. There will be outward trial too, but 'tis principally temptation. It is brought on by the outpouring of the Spirit and will just increase in proportion as the Spirit is poured out. The trial of the Church is from the Antichrist. It is by being filled with the Spirit that we shall be kept. I frequently said, oh be filled with the Spirit—have the light of God in you, that you may detect satan—be full of eyes within—be clay in the hands of the potter— submit to be filled, filled with God. . .. This is what we are at present made to pray much for, that speedily we may all be made ready to meet our Lord in the air—and it will be. Jesus wants his bride. His desire is toward us.”
So, she saw the church ("us") being purged by Antichrist through the tribulation. The tribulation is happening now. She was an historicist. All future prophecies have happened or are happening now. MacPherson reads this as meaning the church will be raptured before Antichrist, ignoring the "us". In reality, she saw the church enduring Antichrist's persecution of the Tribulation days.
Her vision was an historical, post-millennium position with NO rapture. The church would go through the Tribulation. This is hardly the beginnings of PRE-tribulationism!
MacPherson produces an impressive amount of research, but no scholar believes he made any connection between Darby and MacDonald. In fact, with many quotes from MacDonald, he misrepresents the “vision” wrongly to discredit Darby and all who believe in a pretrib rapture. It was intentional. Following is probably the reason why MacPherson pursued his combative quest to discredit a pre-trib rapture. From many post-trib or amillennium pulpits today, the pre-trib rapture view is the product of a little demon possessed girl from 1830. She may have been a demon-possessed girl with a vision or maybe not. I do not know, nor do I care. She is irrelevant to the pre-millennium rapture view.
Dave Macpherson
Author of "The Rapture Plot", "The Incredible Cover Up", "The Great Rapture Hoax", "Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin" and "Late Great Pre-Trib Rapture."
Dave MacPherson has dedicated his life to disrupting belief in the pre-tribulation rapture, since, according to his interpretation, it has been the cause for great disruption in his own life.
"Back in 1953, I had a jolting encounter with the Rapture," is the first sentence in one of MacPherson's books (The Great Rapture Hoax).
This is a reference to his expulsion from Biola Christian college in California for propagating views that conflicted with the Pre-Tribulational view. He suggests that this experience was so devastating that it accounts for a setback in his Christian life. Because of his discouragement, MacPherson and a friend went on a drunken, fornicating binge in Mexico. MacPherson says this was a brush with death because of the many dangers that could befall someone in that condition in Mexico. Later he was involved in a wreck with a car while riding his motorcycle, and he almost lost his left arm. But these were not the beginnings of his nor his family's troubles because of the Pre-Tribulational rapture.
In his book, Looking for the Blessed Horrible Holocaust, Robert L Sumner has noted that MacPherson had a bad habit of attributing all kinds of personal tragedies to the pre-trib teaching.
It attributed to his mother's death, his sister’s inability to have more children, leading to her early death, his father’s ministerial woes of losing his church, and his own failure to follow through on his calling as an evangelist, and many other matters. Dave goes so far as to blame hundreds of thousands of deaths in Communist China to the rapture view. Every distress in his life was due to his fracas with pre-tribulationalism.
Sumner also states that MacPherson's lovable dog, Wolf, apparently became demon possessed just about the time MacPherson was about to write his first anti-pretribulation book, savagely biting his writing hand several times, delaying his writing for six months (Hope? Or Hoax? The Biblical Evangelist).
In the final analysis, Dave MacPherson’s scholarship consists of nothing more than hate filled attacks from assumptions underwritten by a daisy chain of vastly unknown bibliographical references all underwriting him and his dubious sources. What’s equally troubling is his rowdy refusal to be civil by insisting everyone disagreeing with him is by default in league with Lucifer. Nastiness notwithstanding, here’s a small list of unimpeachable Biblical scholars MacPherson by default consigns to heresy if not to Hell purely and simply for disagreeing with his crass, clumsy conclusions:
Isaac Watts, JN Darby, CI Scofield, John Gill, Morgan Edwards, DL Moody, RA Torrey, Clarence Larkin, Lewis Sperry Chafer. William R. Newell, J. Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah, Lehman Strauss, Merrill Unger, Dave Reagan, Sir Robert Anderson. Charles Swindoll, Jerry Falwell, Jack Hyles, John Walvoord, Charles Ryrie, Dave Hunt, Noah Hutchings, J. Dwight Pentecost, Zola Levitt, J. Randall Price, Dave Breese, Jimmy DeYoung, AC Gaebelein, MR DeHaan, JR Church, HA Ironside, Gary Stearman, Tommy Ice, Hal Lindsey, Ed Hindson, Grant Jeffrey, Chuck Missler, Jack Van Impe, and many more.
It is sad that to this day, many amillennialists have joined the chorus with the likes of MacPherson in order to demean and embarrass those who hold to a pre-trib/rapture view by linking them to a demon possessed little girl from Scotland in 1830.
John Nelson Darby
Darby was born in London in 1801. He was of great stock. He was a nephew of Admiral Henry D’Esterre Darby who served with Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile, and it was in recognition of this family connection that John was given his middle name.
Darby was educated at Westminster and Trinity College Dublin where he graduated Classical Gold Medalist in 1819. Darby embraced Christianity during his studies.
The future Bishop of Meath and evangelical Joseph Singer tutored him at Trinity. He, therefore, chose ordination as an Anglican clergyman in Ireland. In 1825, Darby was ordained deacon of the established Church of Ireland and the following year as priest. He was a staunch defender of Calvinism, election, and predestination.
He was a Master Scholar, able in every field of study, fluent in multiple languages, producing translations of the Bible in German, French, a Dutch New Testament, and one in English. He traveled widely all over Europe and authored multiple other works and his presence and influence persisted until his death in 1882 where he was buried in Dorset, England.
In October 1827, he fell from a horse and was seriously injured. While convalescing in his sister’s home, he devoted himself to the study of God’s Word and specifically, ecclesiology. He stated that it was during this time that he began to believe that the "kingdom" described in the Book of Isaiah and elsewhere in the Old Testament was entirely different from the Christian Church.
Darby himself claims the illumination of the rapture came to him when he realized the distinction between Israel and the church. He has been labeled a dispensationalist. If so, he is a two-point dispensationalist. 1) The Church, and 2) Israel are not the same and God has and will dispense two distinct future dispensations for Israel and the Church.
Darby reported that he discovered the rapture teaching in 1827, three years before MacDonald had her vision.
It is impossible to believe that a man of this caliber could have ever been duped by or pilfered the “demonic” vision of a 15-year-old Scottish girl. There is zero connection between the two.
There are also works of conjecture that key elements of the doctrine of the Pre-tribulational rapture originated with either Edward Irving (1792–1834) or the broader Irvingite movement and then stealthily incorporated into the theology of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and the Brethren. The Irvingites were predominately historicists, believing that future prophecy had already come about. Anyone who is interested in pursuing this trail may do so, but I will neglect building upon this connection for the sake of brevity and relevance.
No pre-trib person would ever say, “I believe in the rapture because Margaret MacDonald told me so.” I have not met any pre-trip/rapture persons who have even heard of her.
The Catholics revere Mary. The Mormons revere Joseph Smith. The Jehovah Witnesses herald Charles Taze Russell and the Scientologist, L. Ron Hubbard. Yet, there is no tribute to Margaret Macdonald for a pre-tribulation rapture from the pre-trib community, none.
There is no evidence whatsoever that points to MacDonald as the source of pre-tribulationism. Every major prophetic author alive today claims the Word of God as the foundation for belief in the rapture. Both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul made statements that clearly establish the rapture doctrine. Jesus said, in Matthew 25:13, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Paul affirmed in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: “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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Last, a little on the dating of the pre-millennium/pre-trib view.
This following piece turned out a little longer than expected, but it is very informational and comforting to know that the pre-millennialist/pre-tribber is not alone. (And thanks to Tommy Ice for his contribution).
Those who attack the pre-trib view state that it is a relatively new position that has not been held prior to the 1830’s. This statement is more false than true. It was Darby, for sure, that systematized the pre-mil/pretrib view, but prior to that it was mostly oral tradition since during the reign of the Roman Catholic Church, it was certain death to espouse any other doctrine or beliefs that contradicted the Catholic Church.
Since imminency is considered to be a crucial feature of pre-tribulationism by scholars, it is significant that the Apostolic Fathers, though somewhat post-tribulational, at the same time just as clearly taught the pre-tribulational feature of imminence. Since it was common in the early church to hold contradictory positions without even an awareness of inconsistency, it would not be surprising to learn that their era supports both views. Larry Crutchfield notes, "This belief in the imminent return of Christ within the context of ongoing persecution has prompted us to broadly label the views of the earliest fathers, 'imminent intra-tribulationism.'"
Expressions of imminency abound in the Apostolic Fathers. Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, and The Shepherd of Hermas all speak of imminency. Furthermore, The Shepherd of Hermas speaks of the pre-tribulational concept of escaping the tribulation.
Evidence of pre-tribulationism surfaces during the early medieval period in a sermon some attribute to Ephraem the Syrian entitled Sermon on The Last Times, The Antichrist, and The End of the World. The sermon was written sometime between the fourth and sixth century. The rapture statement reads as follows:
“Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? . . . For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”
This statement evidences a clear belief that all Christians will escape the tribulation through a gathering to the Lord. How else can this be understood other than as pre-tribulational? The later second coming of Christ to the earth with the saints is mentioned at the end of the sermon.
The Medieval Church
By the fifth century A.D., the amillennialism of Origen and Augustine had won the day in the established Church- East and West. It is probable that there were always some forms of premillennialism throughout the Middle Ages, but it existed primarily underground. Dorothy Def Abrahamse notes:
“By medieval times the belief in an imminent apocalypse had officially been relegated to the role of symbolic theory by the Church; as early as the fourth century, Augustine had declared that the Revelation of John was to be interpreted symbolically rather than literally, and for most of the Middle Ages Church councils and theologians considered only abstract eschatology to be acceptable speculation. Since the nineteenth century, however, historians have recognized that literal apocalypses did continue to circulate in the medieval world and that they played a fundamental role in the creation of important strains of thought and legend [emphasis added].[7]
It is believed that sects like the Albigenses, Lombards, and the Waldenses were attracted to premillennialism, but little is known of the details of their beliefs since the Catholics destroyed their works when they were found.”
It must be noted at this point that it is extremely unlikely for the Middle Ages to produce advocates of a pretrib rapture when the more foundational belief of premillennialism is all but absent. Thus, the rapture question is likewise absent. This continued until the time of the Reformation, when many things within Christendom began to be revolutionized.
The Reformation Church
Premillennialism began to be revived as a result of at least three factors.
First, the Reformers went back to the sources, which for them was the Bible and Apostolic Fathers. This exposed them to an orthodox premillennialism. Specifically significant was the reappearance of the full text of Irenaeus' Against Heresies, which included the last five chapters that espouse a consistent futurism and cast the 70th week of Daniel into the future.
Second, they repudiated much, not all, of the allegorization that dominated mediaeval hermeneutics by adopting a more literal approach, especially in the area of the historical exegesis.
Third, many of the Protestants came into contact with Jews and learned Hebrew. This raised concerns over whether passages that speak of national Israel were to be taken historically or continued to be allegorized within the tradition of the Middle Ages. The more the Reformers took them as historical, the more they were awakened to premillennial interpretations, in spite of the fact that they were often labeled "Judaizers."
By the late 1500's and the early 1600' s, premillennialism began to return as a factor within the mainstream church after more than a 1,000-year reign of amillennialism. With the flowering of biblical interpretation during the late Reformation Period, premillennial interpreters began to abound throughout Protestantism and so did the development of sub-issues like the rapture.
It has been claimed that some separated the rapture from the second coming as early as Joseph Mede in his seminal work Clavis Apocalyptica (1627), who is considered the father of English premillennialism. Paul Boyer says that Increase Mather proved "that the saints would 'be caught up into the Air' beforehand, thereby escaping the final conflagration (the burning destruction of the end times) - an early formulation of the Rapture doctrine more fully elaborated in the nineteenth century."
Whatever these men were saying, it is clear that the application of a more literal hermeneutic was leading to a distinction between the rapture and the second coming as separate events.
Others began to speak of the rapture. Paul Benware notes:
“Peter Jurieu in his book Approaching Deliverance of the Church (1687) taught that Christ would come in the air to rapture the saints and return to heaven before the battle of Armageddon. He spoke of a “secret” Rapture prior to His coming in glory and judgment at Armageddon.”
Philip Doddridge's commentary on the New Testament (1738) and John Gill's commentary on the New Testament (1748) both use the term rapture and speak of it as imminent. It is clear that these men believed that this coming would precede Christ's descent to the earth and the time of judgment. The purpose was to preserve believers from the time of judgment.
James Macknight (1763) and Thomas Scott (1792) taught that the righteous will be carried to heaven, where they will be secure until the time of judgment is over.
Frank Marotta, a brethren researcher, believes that Thomas Collier in 1674 refers to a pre-tribulational rapture, but rejects the view, thus showing his awareness that such a view was being taught.
Perhaps the clearest reference to a pretrib rapture before Darby comes from Baptist Morgan Edwards (founder of Brown University) in 1742-44 who saw a distinct rapture three and a half years before the start of the millennium.
The Modern Church
As futurism began to replace historicism within premillennial circles in the 1820's, the modern proponent of dispensational pre-tribulationism arrives on the scene. As previously mentioned, Darby claims to have first understood his view of the rapture as the result of Bible study during a convalescence from December 1826 until January 1827. He is the fountainhead for the modern version of the doctrine.
The doctrine of the rapture spread around the world through the Brethren movement with which Darby and other like-minded Christians were associated. It appears that either through their writings or personal visits to North America, this version of pre-tribulationism was spread throughout American Evangelicalism. Two early proponents of the view include Presbyterian James H. Brookes and Baptist J. R. Graves.
The rapture was further spread through annual Bible conferences such as the Niagara Bible Conference (1878-1909); turn of the century publications like The Truth and Our Hope; popular books like Brookes' Maranatha, William Blackstone's Jesus Is Coming, and The Scofield Reference Bible (1909). Many of the greatest Bible teachers of the first half of the twentieth century help spread the doctrine such as Arno Gaebelein, C.I Scofield, A.J. Gordon, James M. Gray, R.A. Torrey, Harry Ironside, and Lewis S. Chafer.
In virtually every major metropolitan area in North America a Bible Institute, Bible College, or Seminary was founded that expounded dispensational pre-tribulationism. Schools like Moody Bible Institute, The Philadelphia Bible College, Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA – from where MacPherson was expelled), and Dallas Theological Seminary taught and defended these views. These teachings were found primarily in independent churches, Bible churches, Baptists, and a significant number of Presbyterian churches.
Around 1925, pre-tribulationism was adopted by many Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God and The Four-Square Gospel denomination. Pre-tribulationism was dominate among Charismatics in the 1960s and '70s.
Current Status
Although still widely popular among Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, dominance of pre-tribulationism began to wane first in some academic circles in the 1950s and '60s. A decline among Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Evangelicals began in the 1980s as the result of a shift toward greater social concern emerged. Pre-tribulationism is still the most widely held view of the day, but it cannot be taken for granted in many Evangelical, Charismatic, and Fundamentalist circles as it was a generation ago.
The doctrine of the rapture has not been the most visible teaching in the history of the church. However, it has had significant advocates throughout the last 2,000 years. The rapture view has surfaced wherever premillennialism is taught, especially when literal interpretation, futurism, dispensationalism, and a distinction between Israel and the church is highlighted. Regardless of its history, belief in the rapture has been supported primarily by those who attempt a faithful exposition of the biblical text.
Recent Challenges to Pre-Trib Origins
A few years ago, pre-wrath advocate Marvin Rosenthal wrote that the pre-trib rapture was of Satanic origin and unheard of before 1830. "To thwart the Lord' s warning to His children, in 1830," proclaims Rosenthal, " Satan, the ' father of lies,' gave to a fifteen-year-old girl named Margaret McDonald a lengthy vision." Rosenthal gives no documentation; he merely asserts that this is true. However, he is wrong. He is undoubtedly relying upon the questionable work of Dave MacPherson, who had already made his attacks.
Another thing amazing about Rosenthal' s declaration is that a few paragraphs later in the article he characterizes his opposition as those who "did not deal with the issues, misrepresented the facts, or attempted character assassination." This description is exactly what he has done in his characterization of pre-trib rapture origins. Why would Rosenthal make such outlandish and unsubstantiated charges about the pre-trib rapture?
Some early Church Fathers:
Irenaeus – 130-202 AD
Irenaeus taught two separate comings of Christ – a rapture followed years later by the revelation. Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp. Polycarp learned his Christian faith from the apostle John, “...the disciple whom Jesus loved...” (John 21:7). As well as writing the gospel that bears his name and a number of early letters, John wrote the Book of Revelation. Irenaeus later became bishop of the church in Lyons, France and is famous for his five-volume treatise, Against Heresies, which described and challenged all false teaching from the emerging cults of his day.
Irenaeus believed in the three-and-a-half-year reign of the Antichrist as ruler of the world before the Second Coming of Christ. He also believed in a literal millennial reign of Christ on earth following the Second Coming and in the resurrection of the just.
Irenaeus also believed in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church occurring apparently about mid-way in. In Against Heresies 5:29 he wrote: “And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, ‘There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.’ For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome, they are crowned with incorruption.”
Note Irenaeus’ use of the “caught up.” It is the exact same Rapture terminology used in 1Thessalonians 4. The word used is 1 Thessalonians 4, is “harpazo”, meaning to be “caught up.” Irenaeus believed that the Rapture of the Church occurred prior to Israel’s Tribulation. Emphasizing that his position was in 130-202 AD.
Ephraem the Syrian – 306-373 AD
As early as the 4th century a Pre-Trib rapture exponent nicknamed Pseudo-Ephraem wrote this:
“All the saints and elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation, which is to come, and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins.”
Actually, Ephraem the Syrian was not alone in interpreting Bible prophecy literally in his day.
He was living one generation from the era of Augustine (354-430), whenever there was a dramatic change.
When Ephraem died in 373, Augustine was 19 years old. It was in the era of Augustine that allegoricalism widely replaced the previous method of interpretation. Prior to this, it was common among Bible believers to interpret prophecy literally. They believed that Christ would return literally (and imminently), bind Satan, and establish a literal millennial kingdom (see end time’s kingdom in Dan. 2:44; 7:13-14) on earth.
This is attested to by scholars and historians:
William Newell says: “The early Church for 300 years looked for the imminent return of our Lord to reign, and they were right” (Newell, Revelation).
Phillip Schaaf said, “... the most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age [prior to
AD 325] is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment” (History of the Christian Church, 8 vols, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960, 2:614).
Dr. Henry Thiessen says, “It is clear ... that the Fathers held not only the pre-millennial view of Christ’s coming, but also regarded that coming as imminent. The Lord had taught them to expect His return at any moment, and so they looked for Him to come in their day. Not only so, but they also taught His personal return as being immediately, with the exception of the Alexandrian Fathers, who also rejected other fundamental doctrines” (Thiessen, Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 477).
Dr. Thiessen further states: “The early Church was keenly interested in the doctrine of the return of Christ. The Apostles had held out the possibility of His returning in their day, and the next generations kept alive the “blessed hope” as something that was imminent.
Not until the third century was there any great exception to this rule; but from the time of Constantine onward this truth began to be rejected until it was finally entirely set aside.”
Although these and many more Pre-Trib writings exist, you’ll NEVER get ardent Pre-Trib rapture antagonists to admit it or be honest with their content since the crux of their hook or crook book campaign is based on allegations of a satanic conspiracy occurring in the
early 19th century between a group of unlikely victims no one has ever linked together.
Paradoxically, while their battle boasts strict Biblical auspices it hasn’t been waged sola scriptura. It has risen instead on the back of untruthful accusations disguised as “scholarship” from disgruntled men conflating God’s plan for Israel with His plan for the church that over time has proven to be part of an irrational but profitable scheme with impure motives first surfacing about 40 years ago.
Round-Up…The Pre-Trib Rapture Teaching is NOT NEW
After author and apologist Doc Marquis wrote, “The blatant lie (knowingly or unknowingly) that the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” of the Church is a new concept that can only be traced back to 1830 is simply that ... a lie! I shall now present to you good people another literary list and, this one will prove, once and for all, that the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” of the Church is “not” a new concept, but was a teaching that came directly from the Apostles themselves (dating back) “before” 1830” . . . to the 1st Century A.D.” (The following list are more prominent figures with some repetition from above)
1) 1792 – Thomas Scott – he taught that the righteous will be carried to Heaven where they will be secure until the time of the judgment is over.
2) 1763 – James Macknight – he also taught that the righteous will be carried to heaven until the judgment is complete.
3) 1748 – John Gill (Commentary on the New Testament) – teaches of the imminent return of Christ, first in Rapture, and then He will return again to judge the earth (Armageddon).
4) 1744 – Morgan Edwards (founder of the Ivy League School, Brown University) wrote of his “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” beliefs.
5) 1738 – Phillip Doddrige (Commentary on the New Testament) teaches along the same lines of John Gill; a “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” perspective.
6) 1687 – Peter Jurieu – (“Approaching Deliverance of the Church”) Christ would return during the Rapture and take His saints to Heaven and later return at the Battle of Armageddon.
7) 1674 – 1748 – Isaac Watts (known as the Father of the English Hymn) wrote of his “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” belief. (As a side note, Isaac Watts was solely responsible for writing over 1,000 Christian hymns. His life was truly a miraculous one by all definitions of the word).
8) 1674 – Thomas Collier – makes reference in the belief to the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture”.
9) 1532 – 1591 – Francisco Rivera wrote of his “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” of the Church beliefs
10) 431 – 1500 – Any mention of Pre-Tribulation (Millennial) Rapture of the Church perspectives are outlawed by the Catholic Church and deemed heretical and punishable by death!!!
11) 431 – The Council of Ephesus; the Catholic Church decrees and condemns Pre-Millennial views as heresy. Books and such are destroyed or altered.
The following all wrote of the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” of the Church:
12) 354 – 430 – Augustine, Bishop of North Africa
13) 306 – 373 – Ephraem of Nisibus
14) ? – 204 – Victorinus, Bishop of Petau
15) 200 – 258 – Cyrian
16) 170 – 236 – Hippolytus of Rome
17) 150 – 272 – Apocalypse of Elijah (an Extra-Biblical book)
18) 120 – 202 – Ireaneus (“Against Heresies”)
19) 36 – 108 – Ignatius of Antioch, the Third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch (who as a student of John the Apostle) – His “Letters of Extra-Biblical works are:
1. Letter to the Ephesians
2. Letter to the Magnesians
3. Letter to the Trallians
4. Letter to the Romans
5. Letter to the Philadelphians
6. Letter to the Smyrnaeans
7. Letter to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
20). ?– 99 A.D. – Clement of Rome, “Letter to the Corinthians” also known as “I Clement” (an Extra-Biblical book).
So, the next time your premillennial-rapture view is challenged by someone who says that your belief originated in the 1830’s from a 15-year-old, demon-possessed Scottish lass in 1830, you can relax.
You may even challenge his intellectual integrity. He gave credibility to a 15-year-old Scottish demon possessed girl in Scotland from the 1830’s who parallels his own post/millennium view. Will he now recant his view and join you?
Link to
LESSON 5 PART 6 ESCHATOLOGY DANIELS'S 70 WEEKS (SHORT VERSION)
https://walkingtruth.blogspot.com/2022/09/lesson-5-part-6-eschatology-danielss-70.html
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