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Introduction: We cannot live in our society
today without hearing someone talk about the Rapture. There are
books about it, movies about it, sermons about it and even bumper
stickers about it. While not all denominations hold the Rapture
theory as their creedalized position, the majority of people today
who claim to be Christian accept it. And in their minds, to
question the Rapture is to question the very fabric of
Christianity. Is the modern Rapture theory really in the Bible? I
do not believe so. Discussion: I.
What is the modern Rapture
theory? A.
There are variations in modern Rapture theory typically
regarding the expected time of the Rapture. But, all believers in
the Rapture believe our world is hurtling toward the so-called
Great Tribulation (based on a misunderstanding of Matthew
24:29 and Revelation 7:14). This Great Tribulation
will last seven years and will end with Christ’s Glorious
Appearing. At which time Jesus will establish His kingdom, ruling
for 1000 years on earth (based on a misunderstanding of just about
every prophetic passage in the Bible). B.
Somewhere in relation to the Great Tribulation, Christ will
return in the air to “Rapture” His church. In the Rapture,
Jesus will resurrect all the dead saints and translate all the
living saints into imperishable, spiritual bodies, catching them
up to be with Him forever. The rest of the dead will be left in
the graves and the rest of the living will be left behind on the
earth. C.
The variations of this Rapture theory all have to do with
when the Rapture will take place in relation to the Great
Tribulation. Some believe it will happen following the so-called
Great Tribulation (post-tribulation Rapturists). Some believe it
will happen sometime in the middle of the Tribulation
(mid-tribulation Rapturists). Most believe it will happen before
the Tribulation (pre-tribulation Rapturists). But all of them
agree that at some point Jesus will call the saints to Him leaving
others behind on the earth. Then Jesus will come in His Glorious
Appearing and set up a kingdom on the earth in which these saints
will reign on the earth for 1000 years. Thus, modern Rapturists
see two phases of Christ’s Second Coming. In the first phase,
Christ returns in the air to Rapture His church. In the second
phase, called the Glorious Appearing, Christ returns to the earth
to establish a physical kingdom. Because most Premillennialists
accept the pre-tribulation view, that is the one we will discuss
in this lesson. However, by the end of our lesson, we will
actually have demonstrated the falsehood of each of these
theories. II.
Why is this theory so successful? A.
It is not successful because it is in the Bible. Never
forget Jesus’ words in Matthew
7:13-14. Few find the truth. That many accept this
doctrine does not mean it is Biblical. B.
This doctrine is successful for the very reason so much
false doctrine is successful. Following in the devil’s footsteps
in Matthew
4:6, the purveyors of this error use Bible passages, but
they misuse Bible teaching. When those who listen, dig no further
than a casual glance at a verse that uses the same kind of
language as the false teachers, they will easily be duped. C.
Finally, it is popular because the teachers of this
doctrine are out teaching it. Though they don’t have the Bible
to back them up, they are talking louder than we are and are
convincing people that the Bible is on their side. These false
teachers have cornered the “prophecy market” and Christians
sit back idly, afraid to discuss the issues. III.
Upon what is the modern Rapture theory based? A.
According to Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left
Behind series, in his books, Will
You Escape The Tribulation? Rapture [Under Attack] and Are
We Living In The End Times?, there are three main
“supporting scriptures”: John
14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians
15:51-58. B.
John
14:1-3
is part of the conversation Jesus had with His apostles on the
night of His betrayal. In this passage, Jesus claims He is
preparing a place for them in His Father’s house. Since He is
preparing a place for them, He must be planning to return for them
that they may be with Him. C.
I
Thessalonians 4:13-18
states that on some day in the future, Jesus will descend with a
shout of the archangel and the sound of a trumpet. At that time,
the dead in Christ shall rise and those believers who are still
alive will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord. By the way,
lest you fall into the trap of claiming “Rapture” is not found
in the Bible, LaHaye makes a big deal out of the fact that
“Rapture” comes from the Latin term used to translate the
Greek word for “caught up”. D.
I
Corinthians 15:51-58
teaches Christians will not all die, but will all be changed in
the twinkling of an eye to imperishable, spiritual bodies. This
will occur at the last trumpet. E.
The crux of the argument is that these passages all refer
to one future event. But this event must be separate from what is
called the Glorious Appearing because none of these passages
contain accounts of dead unbelievers being raised. Nor do they
contain any reference to unbelievers being taken to judgment.
Additionally, these verses do not contain other events Rapturists
believe will occur when He comes in the second phase of His
return, such as the establishment of a kingdom or Jesus again
being on the earth. IV.
Do these passages really teach the modern Rapture theory? A.
Having read these passages you can probably already tell
some of the problems this theory has. All these passages teach is
that some time in the future, those who have submitted to Jesus
will be either resurrected or translated to be with Christ
forever. This will occur at the last trumpet when Jesus descends
in the clouds. While nothing is said in these passages about dead
unbelievers being resurrected or judged, the Rapturist must also
admit there is nothing said about unbelievers being left behind.
In fact, these verses don’t say anything about the unbelievers
at all. Why? Because when Jesus spoke in John
14 and Paul wrote in I
Thessalonians and I
Corinthians, they were not explaining step by step what would
happen at the end, they were providing hope for Christians. What
happens to unbelievers at that time had no bearing on the points
they were making and, therefore, was not discussed in those
passages at all. Thus, these passages cannot be used to support
modern Rapture theory, they can only be used to support that
Christians will be called to be with Jesus for eternity some day. B.
Interestingly, LaHaye admits, “One objection to the
pre-Tribulation Rapture is that no one passage of Scripture
teaches the two aspects of His Second Coming separated by the
Tribulation. This is true” (Rapture
[Under Attack], p 75). In other words, even LaHaye admits
that no one passage refers to two different events in Christ’s
second coming. Based on this he determines, “Our task is to
carefully study all the second-coming passages to see if they are
talking about the same event.” LaHaye’s assertion is that when
we look at all the passages that teach on Christ’s Second
Coming, we will notice some speak of one event, while others speak
of a second event. Thus, the Second Coming must actually encompass
two distinct and separate events that make up the one Second
Coming. One of the phenomenal aspects of this is, after making his
admission, LaHaye then tries to find both events in one verse. The
verse is Titus
2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Allow me to explain why this is so striking. In the books, Rapture
[Under Attack] and Are
We Living In The End Times?, LaHaye assures us that the
Bible calls the Rapture our Blessed Hope and calls the final phase
of Christ’s Second Coming His Glorious Appearing. To read
LaHaye’s books, you would expect to find these two phrases used
repeatedly throughout the Bible. Guess what? Not only is Titus
2:13 the only verse where these two phrases are mentioned
together. This is the only verse where these two phrases are used
period! However,
LaHaye assures us the Bible is filled with teaching on these two
events and they are separate events. I hope you can see from this
verse, that the blessed hope is not an event separate and apart
from the glorious appearing of Christ. Rather, our blessed hope is
the glorious appearing of Christ when He “shall appear a second
time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly
await Him” (Hebrews
9:28). I trust you can see the absolute subjectivity and
manipulation of scripture when Titus
2:13 is used and abused in this way. Sadly, this is the
way Rapturists must treat scripture to defend their doctrine. C.
A careful study of the Premillennialists’ position
demonstrates that they are not careful and consistent with the
Bible at all, but are subjective and manipulative. That is, they
come up with two events because they want two events, not because
they use scripture consistently. Consider the following quote from
Rapture [Under Attack],
which explains why John
14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians
15:51-58 must teach about an event considered distinct
from Jesus’ Glorious Appearing. “Notice
what is missing in the Rapture events. Christ does not come to the
earth with power and the holy angels as He promised. Instead, He
comes in the air, which is defined as ‘in the clouds’ (I
Thessalonians 4:16-17). Nor does He set up His earthly
kingdom, for He gathers His translated church into His Father’s
house. He does not deal with the Antichrist or bind Satan, nor
does He destroy the kings of the earth who are gathered at
Jerusalem to oppose Him.” This
statement demonstrates what was said earlier. John
14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians
15:51-58
must teach about an event distinct from that final Glorious
Appearing because of all these things that are not mentioned. If
they were consistent with this approach, their position might have
merit, but look at a passage of scripture, which, LaHaye assures
us, refers to the Glorious Appearing. Notice how much this passage
sounds like the supposed Rapture passages. Then you tell me if
these Rapturists are being honest or manipulative. “But
immediately after the tribulation of those days … the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on
the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send
forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to
the other” (Matthew
24:29-31). In
this passage, Jesus comes in the clouds and does not come to the
earth. Nowhere in this passage does Jesus set up an earthly
kingdom. He gathers His saints. He does not deal with any
Antichrist, nor does He bind Satan. There is no destruction of
earthly kings gathered at Jerusalem to oppose Him. Yet, in several
charts in both of LaHaye’s books, we are told this is not the
Rapture, it is the Glorious Appearing. Why? Because vs.
29 mentions a tribulation and to LaHaye, as a
pre-tribulation Rapturist, the Rapture cannot come after the Great
Tribulation. Do you see the point? Suddenly this passage, which
reads just like the Rapture passages is not about the Rapture.
Why? Because interpreting the events in each passage the same way,
messes up their timeline. From the Premillennialists’
perspective, consistency would demand these passages all talk
about the same event. However, to really believe in a
pretribulation Rapture demands they talk about different events.
They must either quit being consistent or quit believing in two
phases of the Second Coming. Guess which one they decided to give
up? They gave up consistency and decided to continue being
Premillennialists. (By the way, a careful study of Matthew
24:29-31 demonstrates it is not about the Second Coming at
all, but about the destruction of Jerusalem. But that is for
another sermon.) D.
Not only do we learn that the Premillennialists’ use of
scripture is inconsistent, subjective and manipulative, we learn
from a consistent look at scripture that Jesus’ Second Coming
has only one event. LaHaye admits that no one Bible passage
teaches two phases of Christ’s second coming. But he does not
want to admit that some Bible passages declare all the dead will
be raised at the same time, disallowing this two phase return. John
5:28-29 declares a coming hour in which all who are in the
tombs will be raised, those who submitted to God will be raised to
life, those who were wicked will be raised for judgment. In other
words, when all in the tombs hear His voice at the coming of the
Lord, there will be no one left to resurrect some time later. To
believe in the modern two phase return of Christ, we have to
perform plastic surgery on this text in the same way LaHaye did on
Titus
2:13. Somehow, we shove not just seven years of
tribulation but also 1000 years of earthly kingdom between these
resurrections. Yet Jesus said, “an hour is coming.” If Jesus
said an hour is coming in which everyone will be resurrected, in
what way can we fit a millennium there? How does this affect our
understanding of I
Thessalonians 4 and I Corinthians 15? Now we
understand that those passages were not telling the whole story.
They simply explained what will happen to Christians at end. John
5:28-29 explained what will happen to the wicked at that
time. They will not be left behind in the graves, they will be
resurrected also. E.
The modern Rapture theories based on these three passages
cannot really fit with the timelines set up by the
Premillennialism with which they are said to coincide. Keep in
mind that, according to pre-tribulation Rapturists the Rapture
will take place, then the events of Revelation
4-19 occur during the tribulation, then comes the Glorious
Appearing. Notice in I
Corinthians 15:52 (a supposed Rapture passage), this
calling home of the church takes place at the “last trumpet”.
However, in Revelation
4-19, seven more trumpets are sounded. Additionally, in Matthew
24:31 (supposedly the Glorious Appearing) another trumpet
will sound. So, these Rapturists have eight trumpets following the
last one. Keep in mind, these guys want to claim they are the only
ones that take prophecy literally. But they have a last trumpet
that is not a last trumpet. LaHaye tries to cover this up by
saying it is “His last trumpet for the church” (Rapture,
p 35). But that is his manipulation; my Bible just says it is the
last trumpet. F.
The long and short of all this is, an examination of these
passages and what the Rapturists teach about them and other
passages demonstrates that you can not get their theory of Rapture
and be consistent. V.
What does the Bible say about the end? A.
I
Thessalonians 4:13-5:3
says that the church will be called to be with Christ when the
Lord descends with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet (no
doubt, the last trumpet of I
Corinthians 15:52). But that day of the Lord is coming
like a thief. Those walking in darkness will be saying, “Peace
and safety” and suddenly they will be destroyed. Notice that the
Christians are to prepare and be ready for that day of the Lord (5:4-8).
To fit with modern Rapture theory, since the Christians are to be
ready for this day of the Lord, it can only correspond with that
time when the church will be called home just discussed in the
previous verses. What happens on that day to the ones who walk in
darkness? They are not left behind to suffer a lengthy
tribulation. They face “sudden destruction” (KJV). B.
II
Thessalonians 1:5-12
teaches there will come a day when the Lord is revealed from
heaven. On that day, He will be glorified and marveled at among
all who believe. Just looking at vs.
10, we might think that Rapturists claim this as a Rapture
passage. After all, surely the day in which Jesus is glorified in
His saints and marveled at by those who believe is on the day when
they meet Him in the clouds. But no, according to LaHaye, this is
talking about the Glorious Appearing. And there is a good reason
for this, because on that day God will come in flaming fire,
dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and did not
obey His gospel. Their punishment on that day is not the beginning
of a seven-year tribulation. Rather it is eternal destruction.
Therefore, it is very detrimental to the whole “left behind”
concept to make this passage the Rapture. Now, you tell me. Does
this passage fit a two-phase system wherein the saints are called
to meet Jesus in the air and then some time later come back with
Jesus to destroy those who did not believe? Or does this fit a
one-time event when Jesus is revealed to believer and unbeliever
alike? On that day, He is glorified and marveled at by those who
believe and He destroys those who disbelieve. Which interpretation
fits with the passage we read in I
Thessalonians? C.
For our last scripture to have its full effect, we must
couple it with two quotes from LaHaye’s books, Understand that
these books were written to defend that the Rapture is to occur
before the supposed “Great Tribulation” against those who
believe it will occur during or at the end of the Tribulation. I long have
been mystified that good brethren who love the Lord and His return
accept the mid- or post-Trib position when it destroys a central
teaching of our Lord—that “in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh” (KJV) and, “Of that day and hour no one
knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew
24:36). There is no secrecy about His coming, in their
views. Anyone can calculate precisely when He will come. He will
return 1,260 days after the signing of the covenant with the
Antichrist (if the mid-Trib view is right) or seven years after
that event (according to the post-Trib position). Both views
effectively destroy imminency! (sic)
Only the pre-Trib view retains the constant expectation that
Christ could come at any moment (Rapture
[Under Attack], p 72). The context of
this passage [I
Thessalonians 1:9-10] is the Rapture, for Christians are
not waiting for the Glorious Appearing. … No, the Christians in
Thessalonica were awaiting the coming of Christ for His
church—that is, the Rapture. They already knew the Tribulation
(or “wrath to come”) would follow the Rapture, and that is the
part that God has promised to keep the Christians “out of” (Are We Living In The End Times?, p 111). I
recognize that LaHaye didn’t quote a “thief in the night”
passage in this paragraph. However, his quote from Matthew
24:36 is in the context of one (Matthew
24:42-44). From LaHaye’s own admission, if an event is
to occur during or at the end of the so-called “Great
Tribulation” it cannot be something which occurs as a thief in
the night, because it can be calculated exactly by those who
understand the prophecy. Keeping that in mind, read II
Peter 3:10-13. Like a thief in the night, the day of the
Lord will come. On this day of the Lord, the earth will be
destroyed. If you couple this passage with LaHaye’s arguments
against his mid-Trib and post-Trib opponents, you find that LaHaye,
and his Rapture-believing cohorts have shot themselves in the
foot. You see, in Are We
Living In The End Times?, LaHaye claims this passage
refers to the Glorious Appearing, which is to come at the end of
the tribulation. In modern Rapture theory, the Glorious Appearing
can be exactly calculated. It cannot possibly be a “thief in the
night” event, for the very same reason LaHaye condemns his
opponents, he is proven false. Additionally, you will notice that
Peter claims the Christians are to be looking for this day. Were
you aware this Greek term is elsewhere translated “wait for” (Luke
1:24; 8:40; Acts 10:24)? But in the Rapture system,
Christians don’t wait for the Glorious Appearing because they
will not be here. Interestingly, read on to II
Peter 3:14, notice Peter’s instruction to be found by
Jesus on that day in peace, spotless and blameless. In other
words, this day is the day Jesus comes back to find His church.
What else happens on that day? The world is destroyed. There is no
room for anyone to be left behind after that day because there is
no earth on which to be left behind. So, in reality, this passage
doesn’t fit with either aspect of the Premillennial Second
Coming. Since the earth is destroyed it can’t be the
“Rapture” as already demonstrated. But it cannot be the
Premillennial Glorious Appearing either, because there is no earth
on which to establish a physical kingdom after that day. (This, by
the way, demonstrates that falsehood of the Mid- and Post-Trib
Rapture systems as well.) D.
What conclusion must we draw about Jesus’ return? He is
coming. But we do not know when. It will happen as a thief in the
night. It could happen tonight. It could happen tomorrow. It could
happen 100 years from now. But when it happens, that is it. There
will be no one left behind. There will be no earth for them to be
left behind on. There will be a resurrection of all the dead. A
changing of all the living. And a judgment of all mankind. Those
who are of the light will be preserved from the wrath of God and
will be with the Lord forever. Those who are of the darkness will
suffer eternal destruction. It’s really quite simple. Conclusion: Not only is the catching up of the church going to happen as a thief in the night, so is the destruction of the world and everything in it (II Peter 3:10-13). You will get no second chances when that day arrives. I encourage you to follow Peter’s advice. Live a holy life, conducting yourself in all godliness, having become one of God’s children by obeying His gospel (II Thessalonians 1:8). Then you will escape the wrath that is to come. Then you will be with the Lord forever.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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