My thesis: The Rapture takes place after the anti-christ comes into power and happens simultaneously as the second coming of Christ.
Lets first define the word Rapture. The word "rapture" is from Latin meaning "to snatch, to carrying off.."
Rapture isn't actually a word used in scripture but is pulled from a concept that the scriptures seem to present.
It comes from a phrase found in 2 Thes 2:1 which says, "gathering together to Him." And also, and maybe more directly, from 1 Thes 4:17 which uses the phrase, "caught up."
1 Cor 15 tells us that we will be receiving a body the is, as we say, glorified. Verses 35-55 explains in detail relating our future resurrected bodies to different natural things to help us understand. Verse 49 is a basic summary of the passage; "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man." 1 Cor 15:49.
Later in the passage its said like this, "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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor 15:51-54.
This is the resurrection that Paul so confidently preached about in Acts. (Acts 24:15)
So when does the Rapture take place?
Starting with 1 Cor 15:51-54 we see that Paul says the Rapture will take place at the "last trumpet."
1 Thes 4:13-18 says,
"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words."
We learn from this passage that a trumpet will be sounded and the dead in Christ will rise then those who are still alive in Christ will be caught up together with the dead into the clouds and meet the Lord in the air.
We can conclude that the trumpet talked about here is the same "last trumpet" Paul talks about in 1 Cor 15. We can also conclude that we will receive our heavenly bodies at this point.
Here are some other verses on Jesus returning on clouds:
Matt 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."
Rev 14:14-16, "Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat Onelike the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."
Rev 1: 7, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen."
From these verses we learn that Jesus is coming on clouds. We also learn that every eye we see Him.
Now lets look at some verses that give us some timing for all this.
2 Thes 2:1-4, "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed(anti-christ), the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
This passage tells us that Jesus won't return until two things take place.
1. The falling away takes place first.
2. the man of sin or anti-christ is revealed and comes into power.
Jimmy Swaggart "Expositor's Bible" commentates that verse 3 should be translated differently. They say that 'falling away' should be more 'correctly' translated 'the departing away'. They say that this actually reefers to the rapture and that according to this verse that the rapture happens before the anti-christ is revealed.
Lets take a look at some of the major translations out there to see how they translate it.
(NIV) "Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."
(KJV) "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
(NLT) "Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction."
(Holman) "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For [that day] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction."
(ESV) "Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,"
I'm not sure where the "Expositor's Bible" received its information but these other translators disagree with their findings.
Now putting all these verses together we can see that Jesus won't return until the apostasy, falling away or rebellion occurs and after the revealing of the anti-christ. We also see that He will be returning on clouds, at the last trumpet. We also learn that Christians who are dead and alive will be raised to meet with Jesus in the clouds.
All these verses make it pretty obvious. Lets tackle some verses that are a little more obscure.
Many use the metaphor Jesus uses comparing the days of Noah to the coming of the Son of Man to support the pre-trib rapture theory. Heres what Jesus says:
Matt 24:36-44, 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 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, 39 and did not know until the flood came and TOOK them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will begrinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Here people say that Jesus is telling us that many will be 'taken' or raptured before the tribulation happens. If we look closely at the passage we find that Jesus liken to ones taken to the ones taken by the flood. That as is the days of Noah people were doing basic normal life stuff and weren't watching for the flood to come. Neither were they listening to the cry of Noah. So when the flood came it TOOK them. Like wise if we are not keeping watch the tribulation will come on us and we will be taken or killed by the judgments being released.
Mark 13:32-36, 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 LEST, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Here Jesus tells us that we don't know the hour in which He is coming. But He then instructs us to WATCH and PRAY. He says in verses 35, 34 to watch, lest the master will come suddenly. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's always sent warning to His people and given them insight to what His plans are. Jesus is telling us that we don't know the hour but if we'll watch we won't be taken off guard.
We must WATCH and PRAY!
In Luke 17 Jesus gives the same example of Noah but in Luke's account Jesus gives the comparison of the time of Lot as well. In this example Lot is removed from the city, which in a way could represent the rapture but it seems that Jesus' point is that the judgement released (flood or fire and brimstone) came on people unexpectedly. And not the removal of the righteous.
Another passage that some people use to support the pre-trib rapture theory is Matt 24:27, " For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." Linked with 1 Cor 15:52, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." They use these verses to explain that Jesus comes quick in a moment, fast as lightning and no one sees Him. To explain the verse in Rev 1, "all eyes will see" they say that Jesus has two comings. One that is secret before the tribulation and one that all will see after the tribulation.
I believe that the verse in 1 Cor 15 has nothing to do with how fast Jesus' return is. Paul is telling us how fast we will be changed from our mortal bodies into our immortal bodies. "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet."
As for the verse in Matt 24 that people again use to explain how fast Jesus will return I believe is talking about the exact opposite. Consider the verses:
Matt 24: 23-28, “Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. 24"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25"Behold, I have told you in advance. 26"So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. 27"For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28"Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
Luke 17:23-24, "And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day."
In context Jesus is saying that we shouldn't be deceived when people say that the Christ has come because it will be obvious! Just as lightning is clearly seen across the sky or if if you see a corpse you know that vultures will be near by.
Conclusion: The Rapture and the Second coming of Jesus are one time events that happen simultaneously, with Jesus returning on clouds and collecting His elect; After the anti-christ has come into power. [I would say 1260 days into the Great Tribulation. (This part was undiscussed.) ]
Mark 13:32-36, 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 LEST, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Here Jesus tells us that we don't know the hour in which He is coming. But He then instructs us to WATCH and PRAY. He says in verses 35, 34 to watch, lest the master will come suddenly. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's always sent warning to His people and given them insight to what His plans are. Jesus is telling us that we don't know the hour but if we'll watch we won't be taken off guard.
Luke
says it this way: Luke 21:34-36(NAS), 34"Be on guard, so that your hearts
will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries
of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a
trap; 35for it will come upon
all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36"But keep
on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all
these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of
Man."
Jesus
tells us here that the judgments will be coming, that is inevitable. But if our
hearts are alert them it won't come on us suddenly.
We must WATCH and PRAY!
In Luke 17 Jesus gives the same example of Noah but in Luke's account Jesus gives the comparison of the time of Lot as well. In this example Lot is removed from the city, which in a way could represent the rapture but it seems that Jesus' point is that the judgement released (flood or fire and brimstone) came on people unexpectedly. And not the removal of the righteous.
Another passage that some people use to support the pre-trib rapture theory is Matt 24:27, " For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." Linked with 1 Cor 15:52, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." They use these verses to explain that Jesus comes quick in a moment, fast as lightning and no one sees Him. To explain the verse in Rev 1, "all eyes will see" they say that Jesus has two comings. One that is secret before the tribulation and one that all will see after the tribulation.
I believe that the verse in 1 Cor 15 has nothing to do with how fast Jesus' return is. Paul is telling us how fast we will be changed from our mortal bodies into our immortal bodies. "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet."
As for the verse in Matt 24 that people again use to explain how fast Jesus will return I believe is talking about the exact opposite. Consider the verses:
Matt 24: 23-28, “Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. 24"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25"Behold, I have told you in advance. 26"So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. 27"For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28"Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
Luke 17:23-24, "And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day."
In context Jesus is saying that we shouldn't be deceived when people say that the Christ has come because it will be obvious! Just as lightning is clearly seen across the sky or if if you see a corpse you know that vultures will be near by.
Conclusion: The Rapture and the Second coming of Jesus are one time events that happen simultaneously, with Jesus returning on clouds and collecting His elect; After the anti-christ has come into power. [I would say 1260 days into the Great Tribulation. (This part was undiscussed.) ]
