|
by Benjamin Nolot, of the International House of Prayer
I.
The Relevance of the Rapture
A. In many circles the subject of the end times has mostly been
reduced to the doctrine of the rapture. And that seems appropriate in many settings since it is believed that the Church
will not be here during the most crucial events. The subject of the end times is then reduced to a matter of speculative
interest. This is unfortunate. There are three key reasons why understanding the timing of the rapture is critical:
1. Revelation – Our view of the rapture dramatically affects our entire
approach to the subject of the end times. When I came to IHOP–KC God opened my eyes to an entirely new realm of
His character through studying the end times. The subject of the end times offers us a vast resource of treasure concerning
the knowledge of God. But the primary doorway into this storehouse is through our view of the rapture. Most people
are just typically not as interested in something they’re not a part of. 2. Preparation
– Both Jesus and the apostles warned that a wave of deception would crash over the planet in the end times. If the Church
is here during the final seven years of this age, understanding what the Bible says about the end times is a critical part
of our personal preparation so that we are not deceived or overwhelmed. In the very same context in which Jesus
describes the time of the Great Tribulation He says, “See, I have told you beforehand” ( Mt. 24:25). Being forewarned is being forearmed. It is an act of God’s grace that He would instruct the Church with
detailed information concerning the Great Tribulation to come. The Church has been given adequate information to prepare
ourselves to stand as witnesses for Christ in the hour of the earth’s greatest trial. I believe the book of Revelation
is a gift from God to prepare the Church for the most excruciating time of pressure the earth will ever experience. 3.
God said it. If God said it, it is relevant. Oftentimes people draw back from this discussion in hopeless despair because
they have seen it argued in ungodly ways. While I understand this, this posture fails to acknowledge the emphasis Christ
placed on the subject. We must know what we believe and why we believe it. There is plenty of grace and room for
people to wrestle with this issue. The important thing is that we are ultimately seeking to discover the scriptural
perspective. It requires great humility to let go of our sentimental convictions and allow the truth of God’s
Word to shape our beliefs.
II. What is the Rapture?
A.
What is the rapture? The rapture describes what happens to the saints worldwide when Jesus appears in the sky at His
Second Coming.
For the Lord will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air… (1 Thes. 4:16-17)
1. Greek – The Greek words for “caught up” are arpazw harpazo
(Strong’s 726). This means, “to seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force), gather.”
2. Latin – In Latin the term “caught up” is translated rapio. It is
from rapio that we get the word rapture.
3. Meeting Jesus in the sky – Paul understood
that being caught up meant meeting Jesus in the air.
B. The parousia of Christ –
The Greek word parousia is the most popular word used to describe Jesus’ Second Coming.
1. This idea of being caught up to meet Jesus in the air, from a post-tribulation
perspective, has been questioned as illogical since Jesus is returning to the earth after the tribulation. 2.
Historical usage – Historically this word was commonly used to describe the visit of a king to a city in his domain.
As the king would approach the city he would be met some distance outside of the town by a select group of dignitaries and
close relatives, who would then accompany him in his procession through the city gates to be seen by the resident population.
3. NT usage – The historical usage of the word parousia clearly pictures what the New
Testament describes as occurring at the Second Coming. Believers, both those who have died and those who are still living,
will “meet the Lord in the air” ( 1 Thes. 4:17) and accompany Him on the last part of his journey back to earth.
III. When Will the
Rapture Occur?
A. The big question that has been debated for the better part of the last 100
years is: when will the rapture take place? This is the question I hope to answer.
1. For many, the answer to this question is a foregone conclusion.
Typically people’s view differs based on what stream of the Body of Christ they grew up in.
2.
I grew up in Calvary Chapel so my view was shaped by the pretribulation perspective. In fact, so much so, that it even
affected the way I interpreted my dream life. One night I had a dream that I was in the midst of the Great Tribulation
leading someone to Christ as chaos was happening all around. When I awoke I was terrified because I thought, “Oh
no, I must fall away from the Lord in the future, and therefore am left behind.”
IV.
Framing the Discussion
A. There is almost a universal conviction among premillennial scholars
that the final week of Daniel is the timeframe that concludes this age. In other words, human history in this age will
end with a unique seven-year period of time. The discussion concerning the rapture involves discerning at what point
before, during, or after this seven years the rapture occurs.
B. Views on the rapture – There are four different views on the timing of the rapture according to those who
subscribe to premillennial eschatology.
1. Pretribulation – Views the
rapture as occurring seven years before Jesus’ Second Coming. 2. Midtribulation – Views the rapture as occurring 3 ½ years before Jesus’ Second Coming. 3.
Pre-wrath – Views the rapture as occurring at an undefined period of time after
the 3½-year mark of the Tribulation and before the end of the Tribulation. This view sees the rapture as occurring at
the sixth seal in the book of Revelation ( Rev. 6:12-17). 4. Posttribulation – Views the rapture as occurring
after the Tribulation at the Second Coming of Jesus.
C. How many “comings”
of Jesus and “resurrections” of the saints? – Three of these views (pretrib, midtrib, and prewrath) stand
or fall on the basis of two basic premises: 1) Are there two Second Comings of Christ? 2) Are there two resurrections of the
saints? If it can be accurately shown that there are, then distinguishing when the rapture occurs would be extremely
difficult, and basically be an arbitrary judgment. If there is not, then these views are inconclusive, and ultimately
the product of mere speculation. In my observation and understanding of Scripture there is no explicit evidence to support
the conclusion that there are two, separate Second Coming events, nor two resurrections of the saints.
D.
The best place for us to begin to answer the question “when does the rapture occur?” is by identifying what we
know to be true about the Second Coming and the rapture. The five truths I am going to present directly contrast three
of the four rapture views.
V. Truth #1: The Second Coming is a Singular Event Occuring After
the Tribulation
“Immediately after the tribulation
of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth
will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His
angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven
to the other.” – Mt. 24:29-31
A. Jesus describes His Second Coming as a singular event occurring after the tribulation.
At no point in His teaching ministry does he ever reference another timeframe for His return.
B.
After His resurrection Jesus spent forty days with His disciples. When He finally ascended into heaven two angels appeared
to the disciples and informed them: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner
as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) The angels described a singular event in which Jesus would come back from heaven to the earth.
C.
Some point to 1 Thes. 4:15-18 to validate a view that Jesus Christ returns momentarily in the sky to rapture the church seven years before His Second Coming.
However, there is no doubt that Paul’s views were formed by Christ’s teachings. If he was introducing a
new view concerning a subject as important as an entirely separate Second Coming event, I imagine he would have said so.
1. Paul’s teaching harmonizes perfectly with what Jesus taught in the
Olivet Discourse. For this we say to you by the word of
the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain [perileipomenoi] until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who
are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [perileipomenoi] shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one
another with these words. – 1 Thes. 4:15-18. Nowhere in the text is precedence given for a time frame other than the one already established
by Jesus.
2. Consider the parallels in the two passages:
a. In Matthew 24 we see that Christ is descending from heaven with angels
and a trumpet gathering together His followers.
b. In 1 Thes. 4 we see that Christ is descending
from heaven with angels and a trumpet, gathering together His followers.
D. The
noun used for the word “come” (parousia) in the NT means arrival or presence. The verb tense of this word
implies continuous and progressive action. When Jesus returns, He is coming to establish His manifest presence and initiate
an indefinite mission upon the earth.
E. Conclusion – Any position subscribing
to a view that necessitates two Second Coming events is rooted in theory not Scripture. This is an important distinction
to make. Nowhere does the Bible delineate between two separate Second Coming events. However the Bible does emphatically
describe one event, which occurs after the Tribulation, not at any point before it.
VI. Truth
#2: The Rapture Occurs After the Tribulation
“Immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather (episynago) together His elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Mt. 24:29-31
A. Jesus describes the rapture as an event that is synonymous with His Second Coming.
1. The apostle Paul also describes the Second Coming and the rapture
as one synonymous event. “Now, brethren, concerning
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering (episynago) together to Him…” – 2 Thes. 2:1
a. Both Jesus and Paul use the same word for “gather,” episynago.
C.
If the rapture occurs after the tribulation what does that mean? It means the Church is here during the tribulation.
Jesus, in fact, prefigures the presence of believers during the tribulation.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’… And pray that your flight
may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, since has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be… Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’
or ‘There!’ do not believe it… Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do
not go out… For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of
Man be.” (Mt. 24:15, 20-21, 23, 26-27)
1. The clear emphasis of Jesus’ teaching prefigured the presence of
believers on earth during the Great Tribulation. Dispensationalists would speculate that Jesus was speaking to Jews
here, and so it is the Jews who will be present during the tribulation, while the Church has been raptured. If one is
consistent with their logic then they must at least acknowledge it is “believing” Jews who Jesus is speaking to.
So are we now meant to understand that though the church has been raptured, Jewish believers are left behind because of their
ethnicity? Are they then not members of the Church? This train of logic is a theological train wreck. I
do not have time in this session to develop how preposterous this scenario is. The fact is that Jesus is preparing the
leaders of His Church with important information pertaining to their survival during the great tribulation.
D.
Believers are also pictured as present during the Great Tribulation throughout the book of Revelation. Once again dispensationalists
would redefine this truth by pointing out that though the term “saints” is used, the word “ecclesia”
or Church is not used in Rev. 4-19. Their conclusion then is that the Church must not be here and that the saints that
are written about are a new group of believers who were saved during the Tribulation but are not members of the Church.
1. Once again the logic employed here is not consistent. Revelation
4-19 illustrates what is occurring on earth AND in heaven. If the term ecclesia is the technical word that we use to
decipher the presence or lack thereof of the church, and the conclusion is that since ecclesia isn’t used in Rev. 4-19
the Church cannot be on the earth, then doesn’t it stand to reason that the Church cannot be in heaven either?
This presents an irreconcilable quandary, and therefore cannot be considered tenable. 2. Indeed
the term ecclesia is not the technical word by which we decipher the presence of the Church. In fact six NT epistles
do not use the term ecclesia (2 Tim., Titus, 1 & 2 Peter, 2 John, and Jude) but do use the term saints, a term used throughout
the book of Revelation. Even more striking, the word Church is also missing from those passages directly dealing with
the rapture when Christians see Jesus again ( Jn. 14:1; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thes. 4-5). It is not even in the description of the new heaven and new earth or the New Jerusalem (Rev.
21-22).
E. The idea that the Church is here during the Tribulation has been cause
for opposition by the pretrib camp on another front as well. They present the “doctrine of comfort” as reassurance
that the saints will not endure the Tribulation because it is a time of God’s wrath. I will give a summary response
to this because I do not have time in this message to belabor the technical implications involving ecclesiology verses soteriology,
which are massive.
1. First in regards to tribulation. Believers are never promised that
they will be kept from tribulation, but rather that they will go through it: …In the world you will have tribulation… – Jn. 16:33 …They will deliver
you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. – Mt. 24:9 Yes and all who desire to
live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. – 2 Tim. 3:12 …No one should be
shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when
we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. – 1 Thes. 3:3-4 And when they had preached
the gospel to that city and made many disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through
many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” – Acts 14:22 Beloved, do not think it
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. – 1 Pet. 4:12
2. Secondly, in regards to the doctrine of comfort, I agree and affirm that
God is a God of comfort, but again, I think the pretrib camp has made an unbiblical application of this paradigm. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we might be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through
Christ. … And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you
will partake of the consolation. – 2 Cor. 2-5, 7 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – Jn. 16:33 3. Third – In regards to the subject of God’s wrath – Foundational
to the pretribulation rapture view is the belief that the Church must be raptured before the Tribulation begins because Christians
are not appointed unto wrath. The pretribulation view holds that the present age is characterized by grace and that
the Tribulation is characterized by wrath, therefore the Church cannot be here during the Tribulation. Walvoord clarified
this position: “The only way one could be kept from that day of wrath would be to be delivered beforehand.” There
are several points in this view that require discussion. First of all, Romans 1 reveals that God’s wrath is already
being revealed. The difference between the wrath manifested now and the great tribulation is one of degree not kind.
It is a fabrication of Scripture to suggest that we are currently in an age of grace and yet the Tribulation is one of wrath.
Evidences of God’s grace and His wrath permeate history and will continue to all the way through the Great Tribulation
at which time the largest harvest of souls in history will take place. Does this mean that Christians are appointed to wrath? Absolutely not.For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ… - 1 Thes. 5:9 Much more then, having now
been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. – Rom. 5:9 The bible teaches the wrath
of God is directed toward the wicked, not the righteous. (Rev. 14:9-11; Eph. 5:6) …Because of these
things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. – Eph. 5:6 The difference in the two views concerns God’s method of deliverance from wrath. The biblical
precedence for the deliverance of God’s people from His wrath is always through protection or redirection – never
by being raptured. Protection – In the book of Revelation we are given insight into God’s method
of deliverance for the righteous. In 7:3-4 144,000 are sealed, and consequently protected from the wrath of God.
This is consistent with God’s means of protection for His people throughout the OT, for example: the people of God in
Egypt during the plagues, Rahab in the midst of the downfall of Jericho, Noah and his family in the ark during the midst of
the flood, Daniel in the lions’ den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were,
for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood… – Isa. 26:20-21 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm
the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our
God on their foreheads. – Rev. 7:2-3 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen,
in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst
of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people… – Ex. 8:22-23 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction,
it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house.... – Josh. 6:17 Redirection – God directs His people away from coming judgment (Rev. 12; 18:4). When the morning
dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you
be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand,
and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
– Gen 19:15-16 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come
out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. – Rev. 18:4 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she
has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days… But the woman
was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time
and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. – Rev. 12:6, 14 There are several examples from the OT that pretribulationists use as illustrations to prove that the
Church must be raptured before the tribulation begins. These examples include: Lot at Sodom, Rahab at Jericho, Moses
from Egypt, Noah from the flood, and Daniel from the fiery furnace. The one thing that all of these examples have in
common is that the saints were never removed from the earth to protect them from God’s wrath – they were protected
or redirected.
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which
shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. – Rev. 3:10
1. There are two ways we must view this verse in order to get a proper understanding
of the meaning: 1) in its historical context and 2) in the original language of Greek. 2. Historical
Context – The letters to the seven churches were written to real churches to address real issues in seven different
geographic regions throughout the Roman Empire in the first century. What was Jesus’ intended meaning to the church
of Philadelphia, to whom this letter was written 2,000 years ago? The “hour of trial which shall come upon the whole
world” was a clear reference to the impending danger to the church in Philadelphia of the imperial persecutions that
spread through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries, “testing” the known “world” at
that time. Today the church of Philadelphia no longer exists, so there can be no fulfillment of this prophecy if it
is related to the Great Tribulation, and would have been meaningless in its original communication to the church of Philadelphia.
Further more, there is nothing said of a “secret rapture,” but that God would protect his people in the midst
of trial, which is exactly what He did with the church of Philadelphia. 3. Proper Greek –
There are several keywords in Rev. 3:10 that are important to understand in order to fully develop the meaning of this verse. Looking at the original language
of Greek is the most insightful way to unlock these words.
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep (tereo) you from (ek) the hour of trial which shall
come upon the whole world, to test (peirasmos) those who dwell on the earth. – Rev. 3:10
The Greek word for “keep” is tereo, which means “to guard, watch over, or keep.”
Tereo carries the idea of protecting someone while he is within a sphere of danger, not that of keeping him away from the
danger altogether. Only those who are within a specific sphere of danger need to be watched over or guarded.
“From”
is transliterated from a Greek preposition, ek, which means to “come out of the midst of something.” The
Greek preposition apo means “to be kept out of or away from.” In Revelation 3:10, had the writer meant that those who follow the teaching of Christ concerning perseverance would be kept outside of the hour
of testing, the Greek preposition apo would have been used. Tereo ek, used in conjunction, can only refer to guarding
or protecting those who persevere while they are within the sphere of danger, and then bringing them safely out from the midst
of that danger. Thus, the meaning of the text is clear. Tereo ek should be translated, “a watchful protection
within the sphere of danger, with a safe deliverance out from the midst of it.” This perfectly describes a posttribulation
rapture scenario.
Consider how ek is used in an end-times context. John is told that the great multitude
standing before the throne of God “are the ones who come out of (ek) the great tribulation” (Rev. 7:14b). This great multitude of believers is not spared the tribulation, but is delivered “out from the midst of”
it, once again picturing exactly what the Greek text intended in Rev. 3:10 (having the same context, the same Greek preposition, exactly the same meaning).
The same combination of tereo and ek is used in John 17:15. “I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but “to keep them from (tereo and ek) the evil one.”
The Greek word
translated “testing” is peirasmos, which comes from the root, peira. The Greek word for tempted in James 1:13 is peirazo, which also comes from the root peira.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted (peirazo) by God”; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. – James 1:13
Also consider the use of
peirazo in 1 Thes. 3:5; 1 Cor. 7:5; and Mt. 4:1. Each one of these verses have the same thing in common – peirazo is never used to describe the wrath of God.
In each case peirazo describes the “testing” that comes from Satan.
For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith,
lest by some means the tempter had tempted (peirazo) you, and our labors might be in vain. – 1 Thess. 3:5
Do not deprive one another
except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan
does not tempt (peirazo) you because of your lack of self-control. – 1 Cor. 7:5
Then Jesus was led up by
the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (peirazo) by the devil. – Mt. 4:1
Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift him like wheat. Then Jesus said that He prayed for
Peter that his faith would not fail. I believe Revelation 3:10 presents a similar context. The church of Philadelphia was going to experience a time of “testing.”
Jesus encouraged them that if they remained faithful he would “keep” them through the midst of the testing, and
then deliver them out of it. This was a historically accurate scenario concerning the church of Philadelphia’s
preservation during the imperial Roman persecutions.
The time of testing that will come upon “the whole
earth” during the Tribulation will certainly present a test to every believer. Jesus soberly warned His disciples
not to be “deceived” in Matthew 24. This is the critical issue at the end of the age. Not whether
or not we will experience attack from Satan – we know that we will. He is granted to “make war with the
saints and to overcome them” (Rev. 13:7). The real issue is having a persevering faith – this is what I believe Jesus intended to communicate to the church
of Philadelphia, hence the “command to persevere.”
G. In addition to the near
identical descriptions that Paul and Jesus gave about the Second Coming and rapture, Paul uses a word that I believe gives
us some insight into the nature of the rapture event.
For
this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain [perileipomenoi] until the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
[perileipomenoi] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall
always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. – 1 Thes. 4:15-18.
1. The word remain helps define what is meant by the term the living
in this text. “Remain” in the Greek is perileipomenoi. Strong’s concordance defines this word
as “to…survive.” Perileipomenoi is only used twice in the entire NT – both times occur in this classic
rapture passage. What the apostle Paul is saying is that at Christ’s Second Coming the dead will be raised first,
and then we, the living – the surviving, will be caught up together with them (the dead) in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air.
If the “living are those who have just survived through something, then the text begs
the question, what have they just survived through? This can be a reference to none other than the Great Tribulation.
Consider again the words of Jesus:
“Immediately
after the tribulation …the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with
a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
– Mt. 24:29-31
Paul’s final exhortation
to “comfort one another with these words” are of significant value to those who have endured persecution throughout
history, but they will have pronounced meaning to those who will endure through the Great Tribulation, knowing that their
redemption is drawing near (Lk. 21:28).
VII. Truth #3: The Resurrection Occurs After the Tribulation
A.
Both Daniel 12 and Revelation 20 reveal that the resurrection of the saints occurs after the Tribulation. The apostle John
calls this the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6). It is not tenable that this post-tribulation resurrection could be called the "first resurrection" if another one just
occurred seven years earlier.
VIII. Truth #4: The Last Trumpet Occurs in Context to the Second
Coming
A. Again, the two parallel passages of Mt. 24:29-30 and 1 Thes. 4:15-18 indicate that a trumpet is sounded at the return of Christ signaling the simultaneous resurrection and rapture of the saints.
1 Cor. 15:51-52 refers to this as the “last” trumpet.
“Behold,
I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed (given our resurrected bodies) – in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed.” – 1 Cor. 15:51-52
1. In a pretribulation rapture perspective, the last trumpet occurs seven
years before the posttribulation return of Jesus. It couldn't really be said that this is a "last trumpet," if Christ
is returning seven years later to the sound of a trumpet, now could it?
B. The last trumpet
recorded in Scripture is the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation. At that time we know that the nations come under Jesus
manifest leadership, the earth is judged, the saint are rewarded, and the mystery of God is completed (Rev. 10:7; 11:15-18).
"...in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel,
when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished..." - Rev. 10:7
We know that at least part of the "mystery of God"
is the resurrection and consequent translation of the saints according to 1 Cor. 15.
IX.
Truth #5: Jesus, the Apostles, and All the Early Church Fathers Had a Post-Tribulation View of the Rapture
The
Didache – Is one of the earliest pieces of Christian literature after the New Testament, dating from the first quarter
of the Second Century. The author warns the Church against the perils of the Antichrist and the tribulation; “[There]
shall appear the deceiver of the world as a Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders and the earth shall be given over into
his hands and he shall commit iniquities which have never been done since the world began. Then shall the creation of mankind
come to the fiery trial and many shall be offended and be lost, but they who endure in their faith… And then shall appear
the sign of the truth. First the sign spread out in Heaven, then the sign of the trumpet, and thirdly the resurrection of
the dead: but not all of the dead, but as it was said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him. Then shall the world
see the Lord coming on the clouds of Heaven.” The purpose of the Didachist in writing this exhortation was to prepare
the Church for the Great Tribulation, and to urge steadfastness.
The Shepherd of Hermas (circa 150 A.D.) –
Hermas sought to prepare the Church for the persecutions of the Great Tribulation; “Therefore do not cease to speak
to the ears of the saints. You have also the type of the great persecution to come.”
Justin Martyr (circa
150 A.D.) – “He shall com from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against
the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us Christians, who, having learned the true worship
of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the Apostles of Jesus, have fled for safety
to the God of Jacob and the God of Israel.”
Irenaeus (Disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle
John) – “In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord’s disciples what shall
happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules shall be
partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel, telling us that thus it had been said
to him. It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder
to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with
fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming
of our Lord.”
“But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign
for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds,
in the glory of the Father, sending this man [Antichrist] and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in
for the righteous [the Church] the times of the kingdom…For all those, and other words, were unquestionably spoken in
reference to the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of the Antichrist, and the destruction of all
nations under his rule; in (the times of) which (resurrection) the righteous shall reign on the earth, waxing stronger by
the sight of the Lord…and who have suffered tribulation.”
Hippolytus, a Bishop of Rome in the early
third century interprets Revelation 12 as: “the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall upon the Church from
the adversary.” The time and times and half a time refer “to the one thousand two hundred and three score days
during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church, which flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the
wilderness among the mountains.”
X. Conclusion
A. The
clear teaching of Jesus concerning a singular, and yet future return is set in context to the period of time "immediately
after the tribulation of those days” (Great Tribulation), thus inaugurating an indefinite mission on earth, entailing
"continuous progressive action.” This understanding is reinforced by the entire body of NT teaching concerning
this subject, including a single "first resurrection" occurring after the Great Tribulation (not before), and a single "last
trumpet" occurring at Christ's Second Coming (not third, fourth, or fifth). This Second Coming is taught as a cataclysmic
event including signs in the heavens, and drawing the attention of "every eye." These points were understood by the entire
body of early church Fathers, who were handed down an account of what was taught by the apostles.
B.
We Must Prepare – The clear purpose of the book of Revelation is to prepare the Church for what is to come. There
is no other logical reason that details concerning the Great Tribulation would be given if the Church is not going to be here.
The inclusion of chapters 6-18 would be a complete mystery.
1. Corrie Ten Boom, who suffered through the terrible atrocities of the German
concentration camps in WWII, had these sobering words to say about the Tribulation: “I have been in countries where
the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In China the Christians were told: ‘Don’t worry,
before the tribulation comes, you will be translated, raptured.’ Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of
Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a bishop from China say, sadly: ‘We have failed. We should
have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first.’ Turning to me, he said:
‘Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes – to stand
and not faint.’ I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation. Since I have gone already through prison for
Jesus’ sake, and since I met that bishop from China, now every time I read a good Bible text I think: ‘Hey, I
can use that in the time of tribulation.’ Then I write it down and learn it by heart.”
|
