The Scriptures vs. The "Rapture"

In Acts 17:11 we read that the Bereans who Paul and Silas ministered to were noble in character, “for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” In the same way, let us examine the Bible to see if the things that modern leaders are teaching are true. This is especially necessary when reviewing the teaching that a rapture is coming, which will take God’s people away to Heaven until Jesus returns to the Earth. While it seems clear that God's people will make a short ascent into the sky as they are gathered to their returning King, I see no Biblical evidence that we will then be taken away to Heaven from there.

Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 13:24-30 about a man who sowed seeds in his field, and waited for them to produce a crop. While the man was waiting, his enemy came and planted weeds (or tares) in the soil, to grow alongside the good crops (the wheat). After the plants had all sprouted, the man sent out his servants into the field to harvest his crops. When the servants came, they first plucked up all the weeds and burnt them, and then they gathered the good crops into the sower’s barn.

In Matthew 13:36-43 Jesus explains this parable: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Notice in Jesus’ explanation that He said the lawless men will be removed from the world before the righteous men are gathered to Jesus. Matthew 13:30, “At the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Matthew 24:37-42 says, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”

In this passage, Jesus tells us that His return will be like the days of Noah. Well, the flood in Noah’s day “took” the wicked men, so we can therefore assume that in the end-times the wicked will again be “taken.” In fact, when Jesus told this same parable in Luke 17, His disciples asked in verse 37, “Where will they be taken?” Jesus replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Apparently this is a place of death.

It seems that our Father will wipe out the wicked men in judgment, and only the righteous will be saved. The Word affirms this in verses such as:

Psalms 10:30, “The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.”
Psalm 37:9-11, “For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”

Proverbs 11:6, “The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.”
Proverbs 12:7, “The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.”
Proverbs 2:21-22, “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.”
Isaiah 13:9, “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger...and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of [the earth].”

The Lord Shall Protect Us

Another verse that people use to support rapture theology is Revelation 3:10. It says, “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” In the Greek, the word used here for “keep” means “to guard by watching, holding, or even detaining.” So, if we used this word in its correct context, Revelation 3:10 would translate more correctly as, “I will also keep you in the midst of the hour the Tribulation.”

Also note that this word for “keep” is the same word used in John 17:15, where Jesus said, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take [My followers] out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil one.” In other words, Jesus desires not for us to be removed from trials, such as those that will come upon the whole earth in the Great Tribulation, but to be strengthened and protected during them. Nahum 1:7-8 says, “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in Him. But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue His enemies.”

We'll All Come Through

A different verse in Revelation that is often misunderstood is Revelation 7:14. In this passage, John says he saw a great multitude of people worshiping God at His throne, and John asked an angel who the people were. The angel answered, “These are they which came out of great tribulation.” Readers often think therefore that this verse is referring to the rapture, when men come out of the tribulation together. Yet according to notes in the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, edited by Jack Hayford, this scripture reads in the Greek, “These are they which are coming out of the great tribulation.” It is a process. The note expounds, “[this Greek word for “coming” is] a present participle, expressing a continuous and repeated action, not a once-for-all action... Therefore, tribulation is to some degree taking place throughout the entire church age.” In other words, we are to pass through these hardships. This explains why we are are warned in Isaiah 26:20-21, “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.”

This is also what Romans 5:9 means when it says, “we shall be saved from God's wrath,” and 1st Thessalonians 1:10 when it says Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Get Ready for What's Coming

Yet another verse used to validate teaching the rapture is Luke 21:36. It says, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” These things that Jesus said we would need to escape are clearly the events He prophesied earlier in the same chapter, in verses 20-26. They are traumatic events that God's people will have to run from to escape (vs. 21), and Christ said “men's hearts will fail them from fear.” If you understand this, then it makes sense that the NU version of the Bible says in Luke 21:26 “pray that you will have strength to escape all these things,” (italics mine). This is also why Ephesians 6:13 exhorts us, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you will be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Mark 13:19-23 says of this traumatic time, “those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has shortened them.” That means that the Lord's elect, His Christians, will be going through the Tribulation. And without God shortening those days, we would not survive.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 reads, “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 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.” This verse is often used as Scriptural support for the rapture teaching, and is clearly talking about the same event described in Matthew 24:30-31. “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.”

Since it appears that this event is the same in both Scriptures, let’s look closer at Matthew 24. It says in verse 29 that the Son of Man will not come until “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...”

If Jesus is not returning until after the Tribulation, and we are not going to be gathered together by His angels until after that (vs. 31), then it seems as if no rapture will occur. At least not a rapture to save us from this season of great trials.

Luke 21:28 reads, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Many take this to mean that Christ is coming to save His people from the tribulations they are experiencing on Earth. Yet the verse directly before this one says, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” So our redemption is coming with Christ as He ascends in a cloud, which we have determined from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Matthew 24:30-31 happens after the Tribulation. We will be redeemed before the testing is too great for us to bear, but not until the Second Coming of Jesus.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 the Bible says we who are alive will go with the resurrected believers to “meet the Lord in the air.” There is one very important thing I would like to make clear about this meeting. The Greek word here used for “meet” is apantesis¹, which refers to a crowd welcoming a newly arrived magistrate. It does not refer to leaving with the magistrate, but going out of one's city to greet the dignitary as he returns from war or some other long trip. So basically, the Bible tells us we will be gathered up to host a welcoming party for Jesus in the air. It does not state, however, that we will leave this world and go off to Heaven.

“Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Notice that verse 52 here states that “we shall be changed at the last trumpet.” The last trumpet, one would have to assume, is the final blast to sound in the end-times. This occurs in Revelation 11:15: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” This all takes place after the seven tribulations (or “seals”) of Revelations 6-8, and the first seven judgments (or “trumpets”) of Revelation 8-11. So we as God’s people will be going through both before we are changed at the sounding of this horn.

Christians regularly claim that because the rapture is coming, God’s people must work overtime to share the Gospel of salvation with their neighbors. Yet the Bible does not exactly say this. It says to preach the Gospel of the kingdom. Matthew 24:14, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” You see, salvation only gets people into Heaven. But coming into the Kingdom is when entire lives are brought under Christ’s dominion, which takes more time to accomplish. As Apostle Jonas Clark said, “It seems that many are rapture focused and far fewer are dominion focused.”

Obviously the Scriptures are the only solid source of validation for teaching that there will not be a rapture. I have provided the following quotes from mature leaders in the Body of Christ though, to offer authoritative support for my viewpoint. These comments also do a fine job of explaining the dangers of putting too much emphasis on escapist theology.

“Based on the biblical testimony, there will not be a pretribulational rapture of the church (nor a midtribulational for that matter). This is very important to emphasize. For whether the tribulation is what all Christians are called upon to endure to the very end, or a great tribulation occurring worldwide, the Lord will see His people through whatever happens. There will be much persecution, to be sure, even martyrdom ahead (Jesus promised that), and many coming judgments on the world (from which true believers will be protected). Whichever way, there will be tribulation until the day Christ returns in glory.

“I am afraid too many today are being lulled into thinking that when things get really bad, we as believers will be suddenly snatched out of it all ("the great snatch," the rapture is sometimes called). This is indeed poor preparation for what is yet to happen—and a serious misreading of the prophetic message. We will go through whatever tribulation may yet come, and in the midst of it and on the other side, give God all the glory!”

“If we were going through great persecution and were being killed and tortured, half-starved to death, and looked like we had no hope or future, [the rapture teaching] would be encouraging.
Rapture teaching is one of the most faith deadening teachings ever preached. It has the most neutralizing affect on a Christian's aggressive growth process. We have a lot to do in this Earth and there is going to be a lot of stuff that we need to do in eternity.
If you don't have a big comprehensive vision, both restorationally and eternally, then what motivation is there to do much except try to win a few souls to get a big reward in heaven?

“Focusing on a rapture has caused many to lose their burden for the lost. This escapism mentality has caused lethargy in the church because they are waiting to be caught away from the claws of the Anti-Christ. However, if Jesus is Lord and He taught us to seek 'first' the Kingdom of God, then why should we focus our attention on the removal of the righteous, who carry the Kingdom within them (Luke 17:21)?”

“Jesus is coming back (Mt. 10:23; 16:27; 23:39; 24:27; 25:31; Jn. 14:1-3; Acts 1:6-13; 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Thes. 1:10; 2:3; Heb. 10:37). In what sense is He coming? He is not merely making a temporary appearance in the sky, but He is literally coming to earth to stay permanently to establish His Kingdom. It is a common mistake to conclude that Jesus is only “appearing” in the sky to catch up the saints without actually 'coming to earth' to accomplish a long-term mission.”

“Jesus’ Second Coming by definition is a 'coming' to earth the second time, not merely a brief appearing in the sky. His 'coming' requires a prolonged mission on earth, as in His first coming.”

Mike Bickle has also said the following of Dispensational Pre-Millenialism (the view post people have of the End Times, which includes as belief in the rapture)⁶ :

“The common response [resulting from this way of thinking] is escapism (why bother if we will soon be raptured), along with fatalism and defeatism (society cannot be effectively changed). This view usually sees the Church's mandate as being like a life-raft limited to delivering people from drowning (preaching only salvation) while abdicating the rest of society to the devil with its overly pessimistic future.

The Bible makes it plain, at least in a great deal of circumstances, that God's will is to protect His people throughout hardships. It is not to keep them exempt from rough times. There are many Scriptures that have been used to say the opposite, but all can be challenged with strong arguments. It seems useless to try and hold to a belief in the rapture, at least the type of rapture that happens before Christ's return. And the evidence is weak that when we do ascend, Christians will ever be removed from this sphere of the world.

Besides, why would we want to leave? We have spent years praying, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done – on Earth as it is in Heaven.” We want the curse of the Fall to be lifted, and our planet to be brought back under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This cannot happen though if God removes His “salt and light” from this plane of existence.