Post by Paddy by Grace on Dec 5, 2009 15:53:12 GMT -7
This could be one of the most important pieces of literature you will ever read. Why? Civilization is on a collision course with unprecedented world trouble. Global problems will soon grow much worse, culminating in the Great Tribulation, followed by the year-long Day of the Lord, concluding with the Return of Christ. The vast majority of mankind is blissfully unaware of—and therefore utterly unprepared for—what lies ahead.
You can be an exception!
According to professing Christianity, a secret rapture is coming. Only those who are “saved,” “born again,” and have “accepted Jesus in their hearts” will be secretly whisked away without warning—regardless of where they are or what they are doing—to the safety of heaven. This supposed event, signaled by the sudden vanishing of millions, will “shock the world.”
All “unbelievers”—including the billions who have never even heard the name of Christ, much less understood why He came to earth—will remain to suffer through “7 years” of Great Tribulation. The antichrist will rule over those who are left behind, who missed out on their chance to be “vacuumed” into heaven, at Christ’s “secret” second coming. During this time, war, disease, famine and religious deception will proliferate throughout the world. The rapture theory also states that the antichrist will allow the Jews to build a temple in Jerusalem, which, 3½ years into this tribulation, he will turn on and destroy.
At the end of this period of turmoil, Christ will return—supposedly His third coming—but this time He will bring final defeat to the antichrist and his forces.
Try to imagine these headlines after the widescale confusion, caused by Christ’s initial “rapturing” away of His saints: “Driverless bus crashes—hundreds killed,” “Schools in chaos: Where are the teachers?,” “Hundreds killed when pilot-less airplanes collide,” “200-car traffic jam: ‘Where did all the drivers go?,’” “Factory employees gone, management wondering—‘Why?,’” “Baseball game canceled: The Boston Angels are missing”—the possibilities are endless. Many have become so consumed by this doctrine that there has developed a series of movies and best-selling books, including board games, about the aftermath of such a worldwide vanishing act!
A “Christian” group has created a “Rapture Index,” which they have termed a “Dow Jones Industrial Average of end-time activity” and a “prophetic speedometer.” Supposedly, by calculating world conditions, this index can closely forecast when the Return of Christ will take place. “The higher the number,” this group’s website states, “the faster we’re moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture!”
Another group has even gone so far as to program a “post-rapture” email chain letter, which would automatically be sent to family and friends after the rapture. The letter states, “Dear Friend, This message has been sent to you by a friend or a relative who has recently disappeared along with millions and millions of people around the world. The reason they chose to send you this letter is because they cared about you and would like you to know the truth about where they went. This may come as a shock to you, but the one who sent you this has been taken up to heaven…”
The email continues, “I am sure that there will be a lot of speculation as to what happened to all these people. The theories of some scientists and world leaders will have so much credibility that most of the world will believe them. It will sound like the truth!”
Incredibly, great numbers of sincere people have remained trapped in this fictional thinking! Are you among the millions who believe the rapture theory? Have you gone along with this idea, simply because it also “sounds like the truth”? Have you placed your hope in this belief without taking the time to prove what the Bible teaches?
God’s inspired Word—the Bible—reveals the truth about what is to occur at Christ’s Second Coming. Much is at stake in this teaching. In fact, your life depends on it!
History of the Rapture Theory
While many may believe that the rapture theory has always been a teaching in the Christian faith, they will be surprised to find this is simply not true. This idea came into existence much more recently than most admit. It was unknown to the world before the sixteenth century.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, reformers such as John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther and John Huss campaigned against the dominant, forceful Catholic Church. These reformers shook Catholic theology to its core, even identifying the Catholic Church as the antichrist! Previously, this church would have followed its established tradition of forcing its beliefs, traditions and teachings on those who disagreed. However, the opposition building behind these reformers was mounting, as was the public undermining of Catholic power and authority, and the church was almost forced to comply.
To counter this, the church at Rome called for reconciliation, and convened a council in the city of Trent in 1545. From this council sprang the “counter-reformation” teachings of three Jesuit priests, Joseph Ribera, Cardinal Bellarmine and Alcasar (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, “Antichrist,” John McClintock, James Strong).
In the 1600s, Ribera wrote a personal commentary on the book of Revelation. To remove the church’s “burden” of being labeled antichrist, Ribera spawned the belief of futurism, meaning that the prophecies of Revelation only applied to the last seven years of mankind’s history. Thus, the Catholic Church simply could not be the antichrist because this role was yet to be fulfilled—in the time immediately preceding Christ’s Return!
This planted the seed of the rapture theory.
In view of this Catholic acceptance of new teachings and tradition over biblical truth, read the following quote: “A rule of faith, or a competent guide to heaven, must be able to instruct all the truths necessary for salvation. Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practice…” (Faith of Our Fathers, Cardinal Gibbons, p. 89, 1917).
The Catholic leadership did not hide their claim that tradition outweighed Scripture. In theory, the Council of Trent supposedly gave tradition equal authority to the Bible. In order to justify such teachings as futurism, and to accommodate the growing tide of Protestant reformers, Catholicism had to look somewhere other than Scripture.
Less than 300 years after Ribera began this theology, futurism found itself in the heart of Protestantism, starting with Anglican preacher John Nelson Darby.
Darby, known as the father of the rapture doctrine, picked up where Ribera left off and invented a form of interpreting the Bible known as dispensationalism. Darby taught that Christ would secretly collect His followers at His Second Coming, and then return to defeat the antichrist seven years later—at His third coming. From Darby, this teaching continued through one of his disciples, Cyrus Scofield, who assembled the Scofield Bible.
In Heralds of the Dawn, John A. Anderson records the extent of what originally was simply Catholic “counter-reformation” theology: “The Catholic Apostolic Church had its beginning in 1830. It was founded in Britain…by men who claimed divine inspiration. They said the Holy Spirit revealed to them that the last days had come, that the Lord was about to return, that first He would ‘rapture’ the believers who were ready, at a secret coming, that other believers would be left to pass through the great tribulation, after which Christ would come in manifested power.”
Since the sixteenth century, countless millions of professing Christians have blindly accepted the rapture theory—fearing what might happen if they do not follow suit. This doctrine originated in the minds of Catholic priests—not the sacred teachings of God!
In I Corinthians 14:33, the apostle Paul states, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” Verse 40 states, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” What could possibly be orderly or peaceful about millions of people suddenly vanishing from beds, workstations, automobiles, airplanes, etc.? The obvious result would be utter confusion and chaos!
Let’s state this plainly! The rapture is a doctrine of chaos, and makes God and Christ the authors of confusion.
In addition, could so many theologians and religionists all be inspired to come up with new ways of interpreting the Bible and revealing “truth” nowhere found in God’s Word?
Since God is perfect in all His ways, and is the wisest and most intelligent Being in the universe, then surely He does not require man to invent endless theologies, such as futurism or dispensationalism, simply to understand His Word! By following the first rule of Bible study—let the Bible interpret itself—one can easily understand the sequence of events surrounding the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
What Will Really Happen?
Matthew 24 is a prophecy from Christ (often referred to as the “Olivet Prophecy”), describing the Great Tribulation and other end-time events that will precede His Return.
In verses 37 and 38, Christ refers to the Tribulation occurring when society is “as the days of Noah were.” In the time of Noah, the world was “filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11), and people were going about their daily business when disaster came upon them—just as it will be at “the coming of the Son of man” (vs. 39).
People in the end time will be so caught up in their daily lives, seeking pleasure and personal gain, that the Tribulation—called the worst time of trouble ever (vs. 21)—will take the world by surprise. II Peter 3:4 states, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
In Luke 21:35, Christ refers to the Tribulation, “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Ecclesiastes 9:12 states, “For man also knows not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time [the end time], when it falls suddenly upon them.”
The Olivet Prophecy primarily deals with the siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem, possibly including a restored temple in Jerusalem. This destruction of Jerusalem is referred to as “the abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). While most Bible prophecies have a dual fulfillment, this prophecy actually has a third realization of Daniel’s original prophecy in Daniel 12:11. (To learn more about world conditions preceding Christ’s Return, read our free article What Is the “Abomination of Desolation”? and our booklet Are These the Last Days?)
The first fulfillment occurred in 167 B.C., when Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes offered a pig upon an altar to the Greek god Zeus directly on the temple mount in Jerusalem. The second fulfillment is a type of what Christ referred to in Matthew 24:15, occurring when the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The third fulfillment is yet to occur in the very near future, and is the main fulfillment of Matthew 24:15.
A short time before Christ returns to earth, armies will again surround Jerusalem and another “abomination” will take place. At that time, God’s people are commanded to flee to safety (Matt. 24:16-22; Luke 21:20-27).
Matthew 24:16 states, “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” When the third fulfillment of this prophecy occurs, immediately before the coming Great Tribulation, God promises that His people will literally flee (Rev. 12:14). The coming Great Tribulation is real—as is God’s promise to protect His people. But, different than the rapture theory, the Bible reveals that there is a designated place on earth—not heaven, behind the “pearly gates”—where His true Church will be safe during the 3½ (not 7) years of Tribulation. Matthew 24 also reveals that the surrounding of Jerusalem by foreign forces is the event that signals when God’s people should flee—not be raptured away to heaven! (Part Two covers this in detail.)
Jesus was concerned for His people, and warned them of this time of great trouble, and their inevitable need to flee invading armies and escalating wars. He knew that, in all three instances, those with small children, and especially those with nursing babies, would have particular difficulty escaping (vs. 19). He also warned us to pray that the time of flight not be in winter—meaning, wintry conditions, because a different very specific timing prophecy points directly to a winter flight—or on the Sabbath (vs. 20). The inclement weather of winter and the sanctity of the Sabbath would make flight more difficult.
Consider: Why would Christ instruct us to pray concerning the time of our flight if we were simply going to be supernaturally carried away? Also, why would He have given the following admonition?: “Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house” (Matt. 24:17; Mark 13:15). This would require a conscious decision to actively do something. The belief in the rapture bypasses the need for personal responsibility!
Rapture “Proof Texts”
Rapture supporters commonly cite the following five verses as supposed “proof texts” of their theory’s validity as a biblical teaching.
(1) Daniel 9:27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Due to the muddled prophetic understanding of rapture theorists, they claim that the phrase “one week,” refers to the last seven years, or seven “prophetic days,” of mankind’s history. But this is not so!
This verse actually refers to the abomination of desolation (Dan. 12:11), when occupying forces make an end of the Jews’ daily sacrifice at the Temple. Daniel 9:27 also addresses the final week of the 70 weeks prophecy and shows that Christ would be cut off in the middle of the week, after the 3½ “days”—actually 3½ years—of His earthly mission.
I Corinthians 15:50-53: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Rapture supporters use these verses to show the rapidity of events in Christ’s “second, secret coming.” However, notice the phrase “the last trump.” This refers to the seventh—last—trumpet, which announces Christ’s Return to the entire world. This last trumpet is also referred to in Revelation 11:15 and I Thessalonians 4:15-16, and sends an immense, reverberating shrill sound that all inhabitants of the earth will hear.
Notice Matthew 24:30-31: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
This cannot describe Christ’s “secret” coming—because there is no such event! This seventh and last trumpet blast announces Christ’s Return, and it is then when He gathers His people. At this point, Christ’s true followers will be changed into perfect, immortal, incorruptible beings. This last trumpet also announces the First Resurrection, when the “dead in Christ” will also be raised to spirit-begotten immortal life.
(5) I Thessalonians 4:15-17: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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.”
Again, this verse describes Christ’s Second Coming, which is announced by the seventh and last trumpet blast. There can only be ONE last trumpet—ONE seventh trumpet. To state that Christ will return a third time suggests that He lied about His prophesied Coming! If Christ returns to earth a third time, there must be another trumpet blast, which would make it the “eighth trumpet,” and the seventh and last trumpet really the “second-to-the-last-trumpet.” This is utterly ridiculous! In effect, the rapture theory makes Christ a liar—and the perpetrator of one of the greatest acts of confusion in history!
After examining the plain words of the Bible, the above “proof texts” used to promote rapture theology actually prove the falsehood and deceitfulness of this doctrine!
“Astrape” and “Parousia”
In Matthew 24:27, Christ describes His Second Coming: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
There are two Greek words used in this verse, astrape and parousia, which are commonly misapplied and altered to change Christ’s clearly intended meaning.
The word astrape is the word from which “lightning” is translated. This word means, “lightning, glare, bright shining.” Would anyone dare suggest that people will not be able to see lightning that is to occur worldwide? However, some suggest that all the inhabitants of the world will not see Christ’s Return, even though it is foretold to be as a glare and bright shining that “comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west.”
The word translated “coming” comes from the Greek word parousia, meaning “being near, coming, presence.” But rapture supporters claim that it really does not mean “coming,” but instead, a “secret nearness” or “invisible presence.” This is plain dishonesty with Scripture. Christ said exactly what He meant. If He had meant “secret nearness,” would He not have plainly told His disciples that He would secretly sweep them away to heaven? Instead, Christ said “coming”—parousia. This same Greek word is used in various other scriptures (Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; I Cor. 15:23; 16:17; II Cor. 7:6-7; 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12; I Thes. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15). In all the passages where parousia is used, they refer to the same meaning—not some mysterious “secret nearness.”
Revelation 1:16 describes Christ appearance as “the sun [that] shines in his strength.” In the context of Matthew 24:27, Christ’s parousia is His shining bright and trumpeted Return!
Christ’s Second—Final—Coming
As we have seen, the rapture theory has some truth mixed with much error. The difference between this teaching and what God’s Word really says about Christ’s Return is astounding.
The Bible reveals that there will be a final fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” in the near future, when a religious-political force stops the daily sacrifices in Israel. This destruction will be one of the two aspects of the sign for God’s true people to flee, again, as you will learn in greater detail in Part Two, to a physical place of protection. Soon after this, the Great Tribulation will strike the world, to the surprise of all earth’s inhabitants.
This is explained in I Thessalonians 5:2: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” II Peter 3:10 further states, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
This worst time of trouble in history will last for 3½ years, until the last trumpet announces Christ’s Return. Acts 1:9-11 states that, just as Christ had departed to heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection, He will return on a cloud. Revelation 1:7 adds, “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.”
Zechariah 14:4 further reveals a location on earth where Christ will stand: “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
With a shout, “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (I Thes. 4:16) and true Christians will be changed into spirit beings. All the world’s inhabitants will witness this climactic event.
Matthew 24 adds, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds [the “dead in Christ” will be resurrected—not raptured—from their graves], from one end of heaven to the other” (vs. 30-31). Christ and His saints will then rule for 1,000 years, in the established kingdom of God. This is the plain truth about what will occur as the end is reached.
Do not be fooled by teachings claiming that Christ has already returned a second time, or that He is returning in secret. Matthew 24:23-27 clearly warned, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if…possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Christ emphatically warned that many false teachers would arise, deceiving most people about His Second Coming. Do not be fooled by such misguided doctrines as the rapture. This teaching is not found in the Bible—it is a manmade fiction aimed at giving false hope to the unwitting and unsuspecting!
The Bible records the unmistakably LOUD and BRIGHT Coming of Christ. His Second—final—Coming will mark the end of the 3½-year period of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord, and will inaugurate the 1,000-year reign of Christ and His saints on the earth.
Will you reject the teaching of the rapture—and accept the truth of what God really promises, as taught in your Bible?
You can be an exception!
According to professing Christianity, a secret rapture is coming. Only those who are “saved,” “born again,” and have “accepted Jesus in their hearts” will be secretly whisked away without warning—regardless of where they are or what they are doing—to the safety of heaven. This supposed event, signaled by the sudden vanishing of millions, will “shock the world.”
All “unbelievers”—including the billions who have never even heard the name of Christ, much less understood why He came to earth—will remain to suffer through “7 years” of Great Tribulation. The antichrist will rule over those who are left behind, who missed out on their chance to be “vacuumed” into heaven, at Christ’s “secret” second coming. During this time, war, disease, famine and religious deception will proliferate throughout the world. The rapture theory also states that the antichrist will allow the Jews to build a temple in Jerusalem, which, 3½ years into this tribulation, he will turn on and destroy.
At the end of this period of turmoil, Christ will return—supposedly His third coming—but this time He will bring final defeat to the antichrist and his forces.
Try to imagine these headlines after the widescale confusion, caused by Christ’s initial “rapturing” away of His saints: “Driverless bus crashes—hundreds killed,” “Schools in chaos: Where are the teachers?,” “Hundreds killed when pilot-less airplanes collide,” “200-car traffic jam: ‘Where did all the drivers go?,’” “Factory employees gone, management wondering—‘Why?,’” “Baseball game canceled: The Boston Angels are missing”—the possibilities are endless. Many have become so consumed by this doctrine that there has developed a series of movies and best-selling books, including board games, about the aftermath of such a worldwide vanishing act!
A “Christian” group has created a “Rapture Index,” which they have termed a “Dow Jones Industrial Average of end-time activity” and a “prophetic speedometer.” Supposedly, by calculating world conditions, this index can closely forecast when the Return of Christ will take place. “The higher the number,” this group’s website states, “the faster we’re moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture!”
Another group has even gone so far as to program a “post-rapture” email chain letter, which would automatically be sent to family and friends after the rapture. The letter states, “Dear Friend, This message has been sent to you by a friend or a relative who has recently disappeared along with millions and millions of people around the world. The reason they chose to send you this letter is because they cared about you and would like you to know the truth about where they went. This may come as a shock to you, but the one who sent you this has been taken up to heaven…”
The email continues, “I am sure that there will be a lot of speculation as to what happened to all these people. The theories of some scientists and world leaders will have so much credibility that most of the world will believe them. It will sound like the truth!”
Incredibly, great numbers of sincere people have remained trapped in this fictional thinking! Are you among the millions who believe the rapture theory? Have you gone along with this idea, simply because it also “sounds like the truth”? Have you placed your hope in this belief without taking the time to prove what the Bible teaches?
God’s inspired Word—the Bible—reveals the truth about what is to occur at Christ’s Second Coming. Much is at stake in this teaching. In fact, your life depends on it!
History of the Rapture Theory
While many may believe that the rapture theory has always been a teaching in the Christian faith, they will be surprised to find this is simply not true. This idea came into existence much more recently than most admit. It was unknown to the world before the sixteenth century.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, reformers such as John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther and John Huss campaigned against the dominant, forceful Catholic Church. These reformers shook Catholic theology to its core, even identifying the Catholic Church as the antichrist! Previously, this church would have followed its established tradition of forcing its beliefs, traditions and teachings on those who disagreed. However, the opposition building behind these reformers was mounting, as was the public undermining of Catholic power and authority, and the church was almost forced to comply.
To counter this, the church at Rome called for reconciliation, and convened a council in the city of Trent in 1545. From this council sprang the “counter-reformation” teachings of three Jesuit priests, Joseph Ribera, Cardinal Bellarmine and Alcasar (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, “Antichrist,” John McClintock, James Strong).
In the 1600s, Ribera wrote a personal commentary on the book of Revelation. To remove the church’s “burden” of being labeled antichrist, Ribera spawned the belief of futurism, meaning that the prophecies of Revelation only applied to the last seven years of mankind’s history. Thus, the Catholic Church simply could not be the antichrist because this role was yet to be fulfilled—in the time immediately preceding Christ’s Return!
This planted the seed of the rapture theory.
In view of this Catholic acceptance of new teachings and tradition over biblical truth, read the following quote: “A rule of faith, or a competent guide to heaven, must be able to instruct all the truths necessary for salvation. Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practice…” (Faith of Our Fathers, Cardinal Gibbons, p. 89, 1917).
The Catholic leadership did not hide their claim that tradition outweighed Scripture. In theory, the Council of Trent supposedly gave tradition equal authority to the Bible. In order to justify such teachings as futurism, and to accommodate the growing tide of Protestant reformers, Catholicism had to look somewhere other than Scripture.
Less than 300 years after Ribera began this theology, futurism found itself in the heart of Protestantism, starting with Anglican preacher John Nelson Darby.
Darby, known as the father of the rapture doctrine, picked up where Ribera left off and invented a form of interpreting the Bible known as dispensationalism. Darby taught that Christ would secretly collect His followers at His Second Coming, and then return to defeat the antichrist seven years later—at His third coming. From Darby, this teaching continued through one of his disciples, Cyrus Scofield, who assembled the Scofield Bible.
In Heralds of the Dawn, John A. Anderson records the extent of what originally was simply Catholic “counter-reformation” theology: “The Catholic Apostolic Church had its beginning in 1830. It was founded in Britain…by men who claimed divine inspiration. They said the Holy Spirit revealed to them that the last days had come, that the Lord was about to return, that first He would ‘rapture’ the believers who were ready, at a secret coming, that other believers would be left to pass through the great tribulation, after which Christ would come in manifested power.”
Since the sixteenth century, countless millions of professing Christians have blindly accepted the rapture theory—fearing what might happen if they do not follow suit. This doctrine originated in the minds of Catholic priests—not the sacred teachings of God!
In I Corinthians 14:33, the apostle Paul states, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” Verse 40 states, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” What could possibly be orderly or peaceful about millions of people suddenly vanishing from beds, workstations, automobiles, airplanes, etc.? The obvious result would be utter confusion and chaos!
Let’s state this plainly! The rapture is a doctrine of chaos, and makes God and Christ the authors of confusion.
In addition, could so many theologians and religionists all be inspired to come up with new ways of interpreting the Bible and revealing “truth” nowhere found in God’s Word?
Since God is perfect in all His ways, and is the wisest and most intelligent Being in the universe, then surely He does not require man to invent endless theologies, such as futurism or dispensationalism, simply to understand His Word! By following the first rule of Bible study—let the Bible interpret itself—one can easily understand the sequence of events surrounding the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
What Will Really Happen?
Matthew 24 is a prophecy from Christ (often referred to as the “Olivet Prophecy”), describing the Great Tribulation and other end-time events that will precede His Return.
In verses 37 and 38, Christ refers to the Tribulation occurring when society is “as the days of Noah were.” In the time of Noah, the world was “filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11), and people were going about their daily business when disaster came upon them—just as it will be at “the coming of the Son of man” (vs. 39).
People in the end time will be so caught up in their daily lives, seeking pleasure and personal gain, that the Tribulation—called the worst time of trouble ever (vs. 21)—will take the world by surprise. II Peter 3:4 states, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
In Luke 21:35, Christ refers to the Tribulation, “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Ecclesiastes 9:12 states, “For man also knows not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time [the end time], when it falls suddenly upon them.”
The Olivet Prophecy primarily deals with the siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem, possibly including a restored temple in Jerusalem. This destruction of Jerusalem is referred to as “the abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). While most Bible prophecies have a dual fulfillment, this prophecy actually has a third realization of Daniel’s original prophecy in Daniel 12:11. (To learn more about world conditions preceding Christ’s Return, read our free article What Is the “Abomination of Desolation”? and our booklet Are These the Last Days?)
The first fulfillment occurred in 167 B.C., when Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes offered a pig upon an altar to the Greek god Zeus directly on the temple mount in Jerusalem. The second fulfillment is a type of what Christ referred to in Matthew 24:15, occurring when the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The third fulfillment is yet to occur in the very near future, and is the main fulfillment of Matthew 24:15.
A short time before Christ returns to earth, armies will again surround Jerusalem and another “abomination” will take place. At that time, God’s people are commanded to flee to safety (Matt. 24:16-22; Luke 21:20-27).
Matthew 24:16 states, “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” When the third fulfillment of this prophecy occurs, immediately before the coming Great Tribulation, God promises that His people will literally flee (Rev. 12:14). The coming Great Tribulation is real—as is God’s promise to protect His people. But, different than the rapture theory, the Bible reveals that there is a designated place on earth—not heaven, behind the “pearly gates”—where His true Church will be safe during the 3½ (not 7) years of Tribulation. Matthew 24 also reveals that the surrounding of Jerusalem by foreign forces is the event that signals when God’s people should flee—not be raptured away to heaven! (Part Two covers this in detail.)
Jesus was concerned for His people, and warned them of this time of great trouble, and their inevitable need to flee invading armies and escalating wars. He knew that, in all three instances, those with small children, and especially those with nursing babies, would have particular difficulty escaping (vs. 19). He also warned us to pray that the time of flight not be in winter—meaning, wintry conditions, because a different very specific timing prophecy points directly to a winter flight—or on the Sabbath (vs. 20). The inclement weather of winter and the sanctity of the Sabbath would make flight more difficult.
Consider: Why would Christ instruct us to pray concerning the time of our flight if we were simply going to be supernaturally carried away? Also, why would He have given the following admonition?: “Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house” (Matt. 24:17; Mark 13:15). This would require a conscious decision to actively do something. The belief in the rapture bypasses the need for personal responsibility!
Rapture “Proof Texts”
Rapture supporters commonly cite the following five verses as supposed “proof texts” of their theory’s validity as a biblical teaching.
(1) Daniel 9:27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Due to the muddled prophetic understanding of rapture theorists, they claim that the phrase “one week,” refers to the last seven years, or seven “prophetic days,” of mankind’s history. But this is not so!
This verse actually refers to the abomination of desolation (Dan. 12:11), when occupying forces make an end of the Jews’ daily sacrifice at the Temple. Daniel 9:27 also addresses the final week of the 70 weeks prophecy and shows that Christ would be cut off in the middle of the week, after the 3½ “days”—actually 3½ years—of His earthly mission.
I Corinthians 15:50-53: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Rapture supporters use these verses to show the rapidity of events in Christ’s “second, secret coming.” However, notice the phrase “the last trump.” This refers to the seventh—last—trumpet, which announces Christ’s Return to the entire world. This last trumpet is also referred to in Revelation 11:15 and I Thessalonians 4:15-16, and sends an immense, reverberating shrill sound that all inhabitants of the earth will hear.
Notice Matthew 24:30-31: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
This cannot describe Christ’s “secret” coming—because there is no such event! This seventh and last trumpet blast announces Christ’s Return, and it is then when He gathers His people. At this point, Christ’s true followers will be changed into perfect, immortal, incorruptible beings. This last trumpet also announces the First Resurrection, when the “dead in Christ” will also be raised to spirit-begotten immortal life.
(5) I Thessalonians 4:15-17: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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.”
Again, this verse describes Christ’s Second Coming, which is announced by the seventh and last trumpet blast. There can only be ONE last trumpet—ONE seventh trumpet. To state that Christ will return a third time suggests that He lied about His prophesied Coming! If Christ returns to earth a third time, there must be another trumpet blast, which would make it the “eighth trumpet,” and the seventh and last trumpet really the “second-to-the-last-trumpet.” This is utterly ridiculous! In effect, the rapture theory makes Christ a liar—and the perpetrator of one of the greatest acts of confusion in history!
After examining the plain words of the Bible, the above “proof texts” used to promote rapture theology actually prove the falsehood and deceitfulness of this doctrine!
“Astrape” and “Parousia”
In Matthew 24:27, Christ describes His Second Coming: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
There are two Greek words used in this verse, astrape and parousia, which are commonly misapplied and altered to change Christ’s clearly intended meaning.
The word astrape is the word from which “lightning” is translated. This word means, “lightning, glare, bright shining.” Would anyone dare suggest that people will not be able to see lightning that is to occur worldwide? However, some suggest that all the inhabitants of the world will not see Christ’s Return, even though it is foretold to be as a glare and bright shining that “comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west.”
The word translated “coming” comes from the Greek word parousia, meaning “being near, coming, presence.” But rapture supporters claim that it really does not mean “coming,” but instead, a “secret nearness” or “invisible presence.” This is plain dishonesty with Scripture. Christ said exactly what He meant. If He had meant “secret nearness,” would He not have plainly told His disciples that He would secretly sweep them away to heaven? Instead, Christ said “coming”—parousia. This same Greek word is used in various other scriptures (Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; I Cor. 15:23; 16:17; II Cor. 7:6-7; 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12; I Thes. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15). In all the passages where parousia is used, they refer to the same meaning—not some mysterious “secret nearness.”
Revelation 1:16 describes Christ appearance as “the sun [that] shines in his strength.” In the context of Matthew 24:27, Christ’s parousia is His shining bright and trumpeted Return!
Christ’s Second—Final—Coming
As we have seen, the rapture theory has some truth mixed with much error. The difference between this teaching and what God’s Word really says about Christ’s Return is astounding.
The Bible reveals that there will be a final fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” in the near future, when a religious-political force stops the daily sacrifices in Israel. This destruction will be one of the two aspects of the sign for God’s true people to flee, again, as you will learn in greater detail in Part Two, to a physical place of protection. Soon after this, the Great Tribulation will strike the world, to the surprise of all earth’s inhabitants.
This is explained in I Thessalonians 5:2: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” II Peter 3:10 further states, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
This worst time of trouble in history will last for 3½ years, until the last trumpet announces Christ’s Return. Acts 1:9-11 states that, just as Christ had departed to heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection, He will return on a cloud. Revelation 1:7 adds, “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.”
Zechariah 14:4 further reveals a location on earth where Christ will stand: “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
With a shout, “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (I Thes. 4:16) and true Christians will be changed into spirit beings. All the world’s inhabitants will witness this climactic event.
Matthew 24 adds, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds [the “dead in Christ” will be resurrected—not raptured—from their graves], from one end of heaven to the other” (vs. 30-31). Christ and His saints will then rule for 1,000 years, in the established kingdom of God. This is the plain truth about what will occur as the end is reached.
Do not be fooled by teachings claiming that Christ has already returned a second time, or that He is returning in secret. Matthew 24:23-27 clearly warned, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if…possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Christ emphatically warned that many false teachers would arise, deceiving most people about His Second Coming. Do not be fooled by such misguided doctrines as the rapture. This teaching is not found in the Bible—it is a manmade fiction aimed at giving false hope to the unwitting and unsuspecting!
The Bible records the unmistakably LOUD and BRIGHT Coming of Christ. His Second—final—Coming will mark the end of the 3½-year period of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord, and will inaugurate the 1,000-year reign of Christ and His saints on the earth.
Will you reject the teaching of the rapture—and accept the truth of what God really promises, as taught in your Bible?
