The Unscriptural Doctrine of the Rapture
The Unscriptural Doctrine of the Rapture
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. (Revelation 19:11)
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14)
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. (Revelation 19:19)
The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (Joel 2:11)
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. (Luke 17:24)
The five verses above tell us about the appearing of Christ and His armies in the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. There will not be a secret "rapture, in addition to the one coming of the Son of Man.
There is no scriptural basis for a special secret coming of Christ to bring His saints to Heaven to escape Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. We ought to know better than this!
The catching up of the saints, set forth in the Book of First Thessalonians, describes the army of saints, now in incorruptible bodies, rising to meet the Commander in Chief at the staging area in the air. There they will be mounted on white stallions.
Together with the army of angels they will descend with Christ to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.
This is the next appearing of the Lord Jesus to the world, the return of the Son of Man.
The teaching of an unscriptural secret "rapture" to Heaven of God's people, whether before or after the one coming of the Son of Man, is fanciful, unscriptural, and destructive of the spiritual maturing of the members of the Body of Christ. It is a myth, and should be abandoned by every Christian who is waiting for the coming of the Lord.
"With a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God."
Does that sound like a secret rapture to you?
We can understand the desire of Christians to be removed from the mess the world is in, but that is not an excuse to depart from the Scriptures and preach fables.
Since the fourth chapter of the Book of First Thessalonians is an important passage concerning the doctrine of the "rapture," let's see what it says.
First, why did Paul write this passage.</p>
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. (I Thessalonians 4:13)
Do you see any indication whatever that Paul was writing to inform the believers in Thessalonica that they need not worry about Antichrist or the Great Tribulation, because they will be carried up to Heaven before such events occur?
Or was Paul seeking to comfort Christians who had lost loved ones through death, by telling them that they would see their friends and relatives again—this time with the Lord Jesus in the Kingdom of God?
It helps to interpret the Bible accurately if the reader can gain a sense of what the writer wished to convey.
So our passage in Thessalonians is not directed toward Christians who are exposed to Antichrist and the Great Tribulation, being "raptured" to Heaven as a means of protecting them. As soon as those who are prepared to meet the Lord are changed into immortality, which will take place when Christ appears, there is no way in which Antichrist or the Great Tribulation could harm them. So a flight to Heaven for safety is not necessary.
To continue to preach this fable in a day when the Christian people need to prepare themselves to stand during the Divine judgment that is approaching our country is not pleasing to God. It signifies that the watchman is not alerting the people to the danger they are facing.
To proceed to tell the people that they have nothing to worry about is nothing short of criminal. Moral and physical chaos are approaching the United States; and there is no Bible basis whatever that we are going to be carried up to Heaven in order to avoid pain and trouble in the day of evil that is ahead of us.
Jesus is coming with a multitude of His saints, some of them having been in Heaven for thousands of years. They will shine with Kingdom Glory like the Lord on the Mount of transfiguration.
The Lord will remain in the air. The saints then will descend to the earth, pick up their bodies, and transform them with the Life of the Spirit of God.
They probably will remain on the earth in their glorified state for forty days, just as Jesus did, in a great time of fellowship. At that time the believers who had grieved over them will see them once again, just as Paul has promised.
At some point, the believers living on the earth who are qualified and competent will also be changed into incorruption.
Then the saints who had come with Jesus, and those of the earth who newly had been changed into immortal life, will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air—not in Heaven but in the air.
Since there is no scriptural basis for believing they then went to Heaven with Jesus, why are we teaching this?
We are giving people a false hope, and they are not preparing themselves for the difficult days that are ahead for our country!
Throughout history, the throne of Satan has been in the air. Therefore the new Governor, the Lord Jesus, will establish His authority and power in the air.
One of the preparations for Jesus' appearing will be the casting down to the earth of Satan and his angels. We see that happening in the following passage:
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (Revelation 12:9)
When we arrive where Jesus is in the air, we will mount our white war stallion. Then we will join together with the army of angels to prepare for the attack of Armageddon.
"With a shout, the voice of the Archangel, and the Trumpet of God." This is the great and terrible Day of the Lord.
Some say there will be a "rapture" before the catching up of the saints into the army of the Lord. Can you see what nonsense this is? Not only is there not one Scripture to support such a ridiculous notion, it is entirely illogical. The only reason it is preached is to make people feel good so they will attend church.
There will be no catching up of the saints until after the Great Tribulation. The Scripture is clear that the days of the Tribulation will be shortened because of the suffering of the elect.
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)
To claim that this is a Jewish elect is rendered incompetent in that it is the elect who are gathered to Jesus in that Day.
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Notice that the Great Tribulation takes place before the appearing of the Son of Man.
Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)
The heavenly signs announcing the soon coming of the Son of Man will take place "immediately after the Great Tribulation." I can think of no reason that Bible teachers would speak of a "rapture" taking place before the Great Tribulation other than seeking to alleviate the fears of the believers.
To compromise God's Word in order to please people always will have a destructive effect on the Divine plan of redemption.
At this time in our essay we are describing the Day of the Lord. There is only one Day of the Lord, and this is it.
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (I Thessalonians 5:1,2)
Inasmuch as the above two verses immediately follow the announcements in the preceding chapter, we understand that the passage in question (in First Thessalonians) is referring to the one Day of the Lord, not to a special mystical disappearance of the believers.
Notice further, in Chapter Five, and referring obviously to the passage in question in Chapter Four:
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:8,9)
We have to keep in mind that when Paul says "let us be sober," he is referring to believers who had presented their bodies to God as a living sacrifice that they might prove Gods will. They were far more consecrated than is true of the general population of church-attenders of our day.
If we are not prepared to be resurrected and caught up into the air to be with the Lord, we will be on the earth when the bowls of wrath are poured out.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth." (Revelation 16:1)
It absolutely is true and scriptural that God has not appointed us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation. But in order to be qualified and competent to participate in the first resurrection, when Jesus appears, we have to be living a victorious life in Christ. This is a far higher standard than is true of so many professing Christians of our day.
One may note that the promises of authority and eternal life are assigned, in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, only to the victorious saints.
This is a very important consideration. Only the firstfruits of the Church are eligible to go to meet the Lord in the air. The resurrection and catching up is not for everyone, only for a remnant of the Christian people.
The army of the Lord will be of great size, consisting of saints and angels. Still, those who are prepared to fight alongside Christ in the conflict of the ages will include only the most mature of the people of God throughout the ages.
Do you remember how Gideon started with 32,000 soldiers, and ended up with 300? This is a type of the Day of Christ.
To be eligible and competent to be resurrected when Jesus appears we have to be a new creation in Christ. We have to be new in mind, new in the Life by which Christ lives and we live, new in speech, new in behavior. Finally, when Christ comes, new, in body if we have met the other qualifications.
The idea today seems to be that every person who attends a Christian church will soon now be caught up to Heaven to do we know not what. Sing and shout and dance about, I suppose.
Do we have no idea of the purpose of the coming of the Lord? Have we never read how the Servant of the Lord (who is Christ—Head and Body) will bring justice and righteousness to the nations of the earth?
There is no scriptural basis for a "rapture" prior to the historic coming of the Son of Man; or a "rapture" after the qualified saints are caught up into the air to be with the King. Such an event is illogical; unthinkable; ridiculous!
Or do we imagine that the casual church attenders in America are ready to mount the white war stallions and descend with the army of angels to attack Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet, the rebellious angels, the demons, and the armies of Antichrist?
We American Christians in many instances are soft, undisciplined, careless, casual in our Christian service.
The Archangel will speak in thunderous tones; the trumpet of God will sound the attack; the two armies will shout for the battle; and the carnal church-goers of America will descend to face Satan?
Next Part Do we know any other fairy tales?