The Timing of the Rapture of the Church continued
copyright by Arthur Manning, 2002
Luke
Luke 12:35-48 also deals with end-time events. In verse 36 Jesus told His
disciples to be "...like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will
return from the wedding...." Some may consider this to indicate that in
the last days there will be Jews who convert to faith in Christ (after
the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church) who must wait for Christ to
return with His raptured Church. In this scenario the pre-tribulation
raptured Church is considered to be the wife of Christ portrayed in
Revelation 19:7-9. After this, in Revelation 19:11-21, Christ returns to
earth executing the wrath of God. There is no exact statement as to the
amount of time between "...the marriage supper of the Lamb..." (verse 9)
and the wrath of God described in verses 11-21. However, the statement
that "...the marriage of the Lamb is come..." (Verse7) comes after verses
two and three which declare that the "great whore" has been judged. The
great whore is dealt with in Revelation chapters 17 and18. Chapter 16
deals with the wrath of God, so it seems rather safe to assume that
chapters 17 and 18, the judgment of the whore, takes place about the time
of the wrath of God, not three and one-half or seven years earlier. So if
the judgment of the whore is about the time of the wrath of God and the
marriage of the Lamb occurs after the whore's judgment, then the marriage
of the Lamb cannot be a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation event. In
addition, Revelation 17:16 tells us that ten horns (ten kings - cf. verse
12) shall be associated with the beast and shall devastate the whore. The
beast is in authority the last three and one-half years of the last seven
years (Revelation 13:5), so it seems most likely that the whore will be
devastated in the last three and one-half years. Since the marriage of
the Lamb apparently takes place after the judgment of the whore, it seems
unwarranted to assign the marriage of the Lamb to a pre-tribulation or
mid-tribulation time period. At any rate, there is no indication that the
marriage of the Lamb comes before the last seven or before the last three
and one-half years. Perhaps the Church is raptured 1260 days (three and
one-half years) after the abomination of desolation (which occurs in the
middle of the last seven years), then Christ and His Church enjoy the
marriage supper of the Lamb for 30 days or 75 days, and then return to
earth to finish up the wrath of God at 1290 days (1260 + 30) or 1335 days
(1260 + 75) ( see Daniel 12: 11, 12).
Finally, back to Luke 12: 36. First of all, it is not clearly stated that
this is in reference to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Second, if it
does refer to the marriage supper of the Lamb, it gives no indication of
when that supper begins.
Luke 12:38 is interesting in that it states the possibility of the Lord
coming in the "second watch" or the "third watch". Could this be an
analogy to Christ's possible coming after 1290 days or after 1335 days?
The remainder of Luke 12:35 - 48 consists of exhortations and warnings to
watch, to be ready, and to be faithful and wise stewards; as well as
reminders that Christ's return will come when we do not expect it.
Luke 17:24-37 is another discourse in this gospel regarding end times.
Verses 26 and 27 compare Christ's return to the time of Noah, as in
Matthew 24. But verses 28 through 30 also compare our Lord's coming to
the time of Lot. Notice in verse 29 that "...the same day that Lot went
out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them
all." Christ tells us that His coming will be "...as it was in the days
of Lot." (Verse 28). Lot was rescued just before the wrath of God came
down. As we have clearly seen in Matthew 24, the wrath of God occurs
"...immediately after the tribulation." Since Lot was rescued the same
day that God's wrath occurred and our Lord uses this account to let us
know what His coming will be like, the most reasonable of the three
rapture possibilities would have to be the post-tribulation, pre-wrath
rapture.
In verses 34 through 36 of Luke 17 we find an expansion of Christ's
description of His coming in Matthew 24:40-41. In Matthew 24 we read
about two in the field, one of which is taken, and the other left; and
two grinding, one of which is taken and the other left. In Luke 17 both
of these cases are mentioned, plus a third: "...in that night there shall
be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be
left" (verse 34). This is a fascinating addition. The first two
activities (being in the field and grinding) usually take place during
the day. However, the additional activity, mentioned in Luke 17, usually
takes place at night. When the instantaneous rapture occurs half of the
world will be in daytime and the other half in nighttime. It is doubtful
that Luke, the writer of this gospel, would have imagined that the world
was round and that people live all around it. Here we see an indication
of divine inspiration of the Scriptures.
The final passage in Luke dealing with the end times is in chapter 21.
Verses 6 through 24 include general information about end time conditions
and the destruction of Jerusalem. Verses 25 and 26 describe fearful
conditions, then verse 27 describes our Lord's return in glory. Prior to
this there is no mention of any rapture. Verses 28 and 31 are not
specific in regard to timing, but they tell us that we can tell when
Christ's return draws near. Verses 34 and 35 relate how "...that day..."
shall come unexpectedly. In the context, our Lord must be referring to
the day of His glorious return (verse 27) which comes, according to
Matthew 24, "immediately after the tribulation...." Verse 36 tells us to
watch and pray "...that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." This
verse may be interpreted to imply a pre-tribulation rapture, but the
means of escape is not mentioned; so we do not know that the rapture is
the means of escape. That is only an assumption. Perhaps the means of
escape is what is described in Revelation chapter 12 where we read about
a woman who "...fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared
of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days" (Revelation 12:6). This is equal to three and one-half
years, the amount of time from the beginning of the great tribulation to
the wrath of God, as has already been discussed. Revelation 12:14-16 also
describes this woman in the wilderness. Another possible means of escape
from great suffering is mentioned in Isaiah 57:1 : "The righteous
perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart : and merciful men are taken
away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to
come." Doubtless, many will escape the intense suffering of the great
tribulation by means of death. Revelation 7:9-17 describes "a great
multitude" "...before the throne, and before the Lamb..." "...which came
out of great tribulation." If these people did not die in the tribulation
then how did they get before God's throne? Certainly not by a
pre-tribulation rapture.
John
The Gospel of John does not include Christ's discourse on the end times
recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Nevertheless, there are
references to Christ's return in this gospel also. Four times in John
chapter six Jesus tells us that He will raise up His believers "...at the
last day" (verses 39, 40, 44, and 54). This term, "last day' could
possibly apply to a pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation
rapture; but, perhaps it is easiest to apply to a post-tribulation,
pre-wrath rapture. In I Thessalonians 5:2 Paul told the Thessalonians
that they knew that "...the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night." How did they know this? Quite possibly through their having read
or heard Matthew chapter 24 in which Christ compares His coming to that
of a thief (verses 42-44). As has already been discussed, this comparison
refers, in the context of Matthew chapter 24, to Christ's
post-tribulation coming. So since Paul tells us that the day of the Lord
comes as a thief in the night and in Matthew chapter 24, Christ's
post-tribulation coming is compared to the coming of a thief, then His
post-tribulation coming must be the day of the Lord. Since the day of
Christ comes at His post-tribulation return, then that day will also be
the last day of Satan's rule of this world. The following is an example
to clarify this reasoning. If Christ would come and gather His elect on
Thursday at 3:00 p.m., eastern time, then that same day would be the last
day of Satan's rule over earth. In this sense "the last day" of Satan's
rule would be the day of Christ's gathering of His elect referred to four
times in John, chapter six; and would occur, according to Matthew 24,
after the tribulation.
Jesus discussed the resurrection in John chapter 5, verses 25, 28, and
29, but gave no indication of a time reference. Also, in John 14:3 He
prophesied His departure and return, but again made no statements
indicating the time frame.
I Corinthians
In I Corinthians 1:7 Paul states that the Corinthians were "...waiting
for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." The word translated "coming" in
this passage is the Greek term, apokalupsis, meaning revelation. It is
translated as "appearing" in I Peter 1:7. There it refers to the
appearing of Jesus Christ. Further on, in I Peter 1:13, it is translated
as "revelation" of Jesus Christ. However, there is no indication of the
time of that appearing / revelation in the context of these verses in I
Peter. If Christ's appearance is at the same time as His mid-tribulation
"coming" (see Matthew 24:30), then the Corinthians(1:7) waiting for His
appearing are waiting for a post-tribulation event. Adherents to the
pre-tribulation view, therefore, separate His appearing and His coming by
the last seven years. This seems to be a rather strange thing to do. In
normal experience when someone comes to a place, that is when they
appear. An exception to this would be if someone is far away and may be
seen before he actually arrives at his destination. Adherents to the
pre-tribulation view often refer to the rapture as a time when Christ
only appears to His believers. So, according to this view, the Church
meets the Lord in the air, and then the Lord and the Church depart to
heaven for seven years after which the Lord returns to earth with His
Church. It seems rather strange to call this scenario the appearance of
Christ. Actually what supposedly happens is the disappearance of the
Church from earth and the appearance of the Church in the presence of the
Lord at which time the Lord appears to the Church. This seems to be a
rather strange usage of the word appearance. It would seem more
reasonable that Christ's appearance would take place when "...all the
tribes of the earth...shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven..." (Matthew 24:30). This happens "...immediately after the
tribulation of those days..." (Matthew 24:29). In addition, II
Thessalonians 1:7 tells us about "...when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed...." The word "revealed" is the same Greek word, apokalupsis,
that is translated "coming" in I Corinthians 1:7 and "appearing" in I
Peter 1:7. In the II Thessalonians 1:7 passage it goes on to say "...when
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." This usage of apokalupsis
sounds very different from the appearance of Christ only to His Church in
heaven advocated by those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. This
sounds more like "...the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he (anyone who worships the
beast ) shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" (Revelation 14:10). As has
already been explained, the wrath of God comes after the great
tribulation. If apokalupsis is used in II Thessalonaians 1:7 to describe
what is apparently the post-tribulation wrath of God, then it seems
reasonable that in I Corinthians the term also applies to the
post-tribulation wrath of God and concurrent gathering of His elect. So
the appearing (apokalupsis) of our Lord that the Corinthians were waiting
for apparently occurs after the great tribulation, when everyone sees
Him, when He gathers His elect, and when He pours out His wrath (Matthew
24:29-31). At any rate, there is no indication from the context of I
Corinthians 1:7 concerning when the "apokalupsis" occurs. In addition,
there is certainly no indication that it is a separate event, seven years
or three and one-half years before His actual return.
The main passage in I Corinthians treating the rapture is found in
chapter fifteen. The first part of the chapter deals with Christ's
resurrection and the future resurrection of believers. Verse 23 indicates
(see context of verses 21 and 22) that those who belong to Christ will be
resurrected at "...his coming". The Greek term here rendered "coming" is
"parousia" which, as has already been stated, does not automatically
indicate an event distinct from His "coming" (erchomai) which, we are
told in Matthew 24:29-31, occurs after the tribulation. This is the case
since "parousia", as used in II Thessalonians 2:8, evidently refers to
the post-tribulation destruction of the beast (and/or false prophet). So
in I Corinthians 15:23 we are told that the resurrection of believers
will occur at Christ's "coming", a term that is used in II Thessalonians
2:8 in reference to an event that occurs after the tribulation.
I Corinthians 15:51-54 is one of the major biblical descriptions of the
rapture. First of all, verse 51 assures us that we shall all be changed,
not only spiritual Christians (I Corinthians 2:15), but the carnal (I
Corinthians 3:1) as well. This is evident since Paul is writing this
letter to the Corinthians, who seemed to have quite a problem with
carnality (I Corinthians 3:3). Verse 52 describes the suddenness of the
resurrection: " In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...." Then this
verse tells us when this shall occur: "...at the last trump...." The rest
of the verse reinforces this statement: "...for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
This is an obvious reference to the resurrection of the dead Christians
and the rapture of the living Christians. When shall this occur? "At the
last trump...." The Greek term here for "last" denotes final. In other
words, there will be no more trumpet calls after the one that takes place
at the time of the rapture. Yet, according to Matthew 24:31, Christ's
elect are gathered together unto Him "...with a great sound of a
trumpet...." This occurs, according to Matthew 24:29, "...immediately
after the tribulation of those days...." Since the rapture happens at the
time of the last trumpet call and a trumpet call occurs after the
tribulation, the rapture must take place after the tribulation.
In addition, the book of Revelation describes seven trumpet calls. Six of
these are dealt with in Revelation 8:2 through 9:21. The seventh trumpet
call is dealt with in Revelation 10:7 and 11:15-19. This final trumpet
heralds the wrath of God (Revelation 11:18). Since the trumpet in Matthew
24:31 also heralds God's wrath, as has already been explained, it is
certain that these two trumpet calls are the same. So the Matthew 24:31
trumpet call that occurs "...immediately after the tribulation of those
days..." (Matthew 24:29), is the same as the last of the seven Revelation
trumpet calls. Therefore the Revelation seventh trumpet call takes place
"...immediately after the tribulation of those days..." (Matthew 24:29).
If the last trumpet call which coincides with the rapture (I Corinthians
15:52), comes before the tribulation, then it comes before the trumpet
call which occurs after the tribulation, and would therefore not be the
last trumpet call. It is more reasonable to identify the last trumpet
call of I Corinthians 15:52 with the trumpet call of Matthew 24:31 (and
also with the Revelation seventh trumpet call), which occurs after the
tribulation.
Colossians
The next New Testament passage which gives an indication of the time of
the rapture is Colossians 3:4, "When Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Most would
understand our appearance with Christ in glory to be the rapture. This
shall happen when Christ appears. The question is: is Christ's appearance
before, during, or after the tribulation? This verse gives no definite
statement in this regard. However, when Christ comes after the
tribulation He shall be seen by "...all the tribes of the earth..."
(Matthew 24:30). This is certainly an appearance, and would easily
qualify as a prime candidate for the time. Those who believe in a
pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture must believe that Christ will
appear twice, once at the rapture and a second time at His coming after
the tribulation. However, the Scriptures give no statements about Him
appearing twice. The statement, "...when he shall appear..." is most
easily understood to mean a one-time event. If the Author wanted us to
understand that Christ is to appear twice (once at the rapture and again
at His return), then perhaps this verse would have been worded in such a
way as this: "the next time Christ appears." This would give the
impression that there is more than one appearance in the future. In
addition, advocates of the pre- and mid- tribulation rapture views
usually describe the rapture as a time when all Christians disappear from
earth. If that is the case perhaps this verse would have been better
worded as, "When we shall disappear, we shall also appear to Christ in
glory." The pre- and mid- tribulation rapture advocates usually explain
the rapture as a disappearance of Christians on the earth, with those who
are left behind wondering where the Christians went, since they saw
nothing. According to this thinking, the Church disappears at the rapture
and then re-appears with Christ at His return. So, in this scenario, at
the rapture Christ does not appear to the world, but only to His raptured
Church. And the raptured Church does not appear to the world, only to our
Lord in heaven. If this is the case, this verse would be better rendered,
"When we shall appear before the Lord, then he also shall appear to us."
However, the actual verse contains no qualifiers about to whom the
appearance is made. In addition, the actual verse states that "...ye
shall appear with him...." If the rapture were an event not seen by the
world, then the more reasonable wording would be "ye shall appear to
him." Since Christians are to appear "with" Christ at the rapture it
seems unreasonable that no one would witness this appearance, as
advocated by those of the pre- and mid- tribulation rapture persuasion.
I Thessalonians
In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians he refers to the coming of the Lord in 2:19, 3:13, 5:23, and in a major passage of scripture: 4:13 through 5:11. In each case the word "coming" is used, and in each case the Greek word is "parousia." In 3:13 we read of "...the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." The adherents to pre- and mid- tribulation rapture views speak of Christ's coming "for" His saints at the rapture and a subsequent coming "with" His saints when He returns to earth. I Thessalonians 3:13 must refer to the post-tribulation event of Christ's return since it is worded "with" all His saints, not "for" all His saints.
In I Thessalonians 5:23 Paul prays for the Thessalonians to be "...preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This word, "coming", is the same as that used in 3:13. Since the 3:13 "coming" is definitely a post-tribulation event, it seems reasonable that the 5:23 "coming" is a post-tribulation event, as well. But if the Church gets raptured seven or three and one-half years earlier, then there would seem to be no need for prayer for preservation up to the time of Christ's return to earth. One would think that if the rapture takes place before Christ's post-tribulation return that Paul's prayer would be worded similar to the following: "...be preserved blameless unto the resurrection." If there is a need for the Church to be "...preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ", then it seems unlikely for the rapture to occur before that post-tribulation coming.
I Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:11 is the main passage in this letter
which deals with the rapture. The word "coming" in 4:15 is from the same
Greek word, "parousia", which is also translated "coming" in 3:13. The
3:13 passage is definitely a post-tribulation event since it is a coming
"with all his saints", not "for all his saints". Therefore there is good
reason to believe that the 4:15 "coming" is also a post-tribulation
event. Verse 16 tells of the Lord descending from heaven. This certainly
sounds like His return to earth. However, those who believe that this
passage describes a pre- or mid- tribulation rapture have to add to this
account that after Christ descends to the atmosphere He calls the Church
to Himself and then re-ascends back to heaven with His Church. This
scenario is not described in this passage nor any where else in the
Bible. It is an assumption made by those who hold to a pre- or mid-
tribulation rapture. Verse 16 mentions the trump of God. This, as has
been shown in the discussion of I Corinthians 15, is indicative of a
post-tribulation event. In verse 16 the "...dead in Christ..." are
resurrected and in verse 17 the living Christians are "...caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air...." This
mention of clouds is reminiscent of Matthew 24:30, when the Lord comes
"...in the clouds of heaven...", after the tribulation. So, according to
Matthew 24:29-31, after the tribulation Christ will return in the clouds
of heaven with the sound of a trumpet and gather together His elect; and,
according to I Thessalonians 4:16, 17, the Lord shall return in the
clouds, with the sound of a trumpet and meet His saints. These two
passages certainly seem to be describing the same event, which ,
according to Matthew 24, occurs after the tribulation. In addition, it
seems rather curious that, according to the adherents of the pre- and
mid-tribulation rapture, the resurrection of the dead in Christ into
their glorified bodies and the change of the living in Christ to their
glorified bodies shall take place in the atmosphere where they meet the
Lord; yet, apparently no one on earth will notice this. Perhaps there
will be too many clouds or perhaps it will happen so quickly that the
Lord and His saints go from the air to heaven before anyone notices them.
If the Lord wanted to take His Church to heaven without anyone else
noticing it, why would He not just call them directly up to Heaven,
similar to what happened to Elijah? Why would He come to the atmosphere
to meet them just to turn around so quickly and go back where He came
from before anyone would notice Him? Perhaps the most likely reason that
no one on earth will notice this event is that it is not the way things
will happen.
After describing the resurrection and rapture in I Thessalonians 4:16 and
17, Paul tells us to "...comfort one another with these words" (verse
18). In the next verses (5:1,2) Paul states, "But of the times and
seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night." In the context, the "...times and seasons..." must refer to the
timing of the previously described resurrection and rapture. Then the
next sentence, beginning with "For", also relates to the previous verses.
So the resurrection and rapture will take place "...as a thief in the
night." This is how Christ describes His coming in Matthew 24:43,
referring back to His previously described post-tribulation coming. This
is further evidence that the rapture occurs after the tribulation. In the
verse following Paul's description in 5:2 of Christ's coming "...as a
thief in the night..." he states, "For when they shall say, Peace and
Safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape" (5:3). The first word, "For", in
this sentence does not appear in the Greek, nevertheless there is an
implied relationship to the previous statement ( the analogy of the
"thief in the night" in verse two is carried forth with the "sudden
destruction" mentioned in verse three). So when Christ comes there will
not only be a resurrection and rapture of Christians, but a destruction
of sinners. Continuing in this passage we find that the destruction of
the sinners is called the wrath of God in verse nine. So this entire
passage ties in the resurrection/ rapture with the Lord's coming in
wrath, just as we see in Matthew chapter 24. This is contrary to the pre-
and mid-tribulation rapture views in which God's wrath follows the
rapture by three and one-half or seven years. Perhaps this is why some
Bible students consider the tribulation to be synonymous with God's
wrath. The inadequacy of this interpretation has already been discussed.
In addition, God's wrath in this passage results in sudden, inescapable
destruction. This is not the nature of tribulation. Even the pre- and
mid-tribulation proponents typically speak of many people getting saved
during the tribulation. That does not sound like what will be happening,
however, in the coming time of sudden, inescapable destruction. Also, it
should be emphasized that "...God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:9).
The Timing of the Rapture of the Church part one
The Timing of the Rapture of the Church continued
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