RAPTURE - What is the Timing?
PDF Printable VersionThe Rapture of the church; nothing seems to cause more division for the church than this issue. You really have four camps within the Christian community. The first and largest group is the Christians that believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. This is the largest group and they believe that scripture proves Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and "rapture" or catch up the true believers to be with him before the seven years of Tribulation that's talked about in the book of Revelation. Group number two among Christians are a much smaller group who believe the Bible speaks of a mid-tribulation rapture of the saints. They believe that they will go through the first half of the tribulation and then before it really gets bad, they’ll be caught up to be with the Lord and escape the last half of the tribulation. The third group are those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture. This is the smallest group by far as it requires the most from its believers. This small group believes that everyone, including Christians will be going through the seven year tribulation period. Only after these seven years of testing will the Lord know who are really His and rapture them up to be with Him. The fourth and final group of Christians are those who either do not know about a rapture or haven’t really thought about it. They know that Christ is coming back some day but haven’t really thought much about it.
Today we’re going to look at scriptures within the Bible that which give us a clear unmistakable indication of what the timing for the coming of Christ and the rapture of the church really is. I can sympathize with all four groups as I’ve been in them all. Over that past twenty plus years since being saved, I’ve went from not knowing or caring much about the rapture to then believing in a post-tribulation rapture, next a mid-tribulation rapture, and then finally a pre-trib rapture before. Only by the grace of God did He finally show me the real truth. Why did I believe what I believed? It’s because I listened to the doctrines of men and Bible verses they picked to justify their belief. When a Pastor gets up and preaches his sermon on the rapture, he’s very convincing and uses scripture to back it up. Yet, not until the Lord gave me understanding and the desire to look for myself into the Word, and only the Word of God, did I understand what the Lord has hid from the “wise and understanding” and shown to the “babes” in Christ. Jesus prayed, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes (Luke 10:21). What is the pattern that God uses throughout scripture? His pattern throughout the Bible is that the large masses of people do not follow truth and are always wrong. Only a small few find that truth, follow it and are saved. It happened in the days of Noah when all but eight souls perished on the entire earth. It happened in Moses’ day when all but two adults out of 600,000 men in addition to their wives died in the wilderness. It happened all throughout the days of the Judges and Kings when time and time again, the majority of people worshiped false gods and rebelled against God until He cast them out of His sight; all but a remnant were killed, taken captive or dispersed. God has always seemed to hide the truth from the “wise and understanding” only to “reveal them unto babes”. How about in Jesus’ day, did God “hide these things from the wise and understanding”, or what we would call the "religious" people back then? It seems the majority of “God’s people”, His "covenant people" rejected the truth and thus rejected Jesus Christ and were eternally lost.
Now if you were in the majority group of believers back in Noah’s day you would have perished both physically and spiritually, if you lived in the days of Moses you would have been with the majority and grumbled against God and died in the wilderness, if you lived in the days of the kings and been in the majority you would have worshiped the false God's and been killed or taken into captivity. In Jesus’ day by being in the majority you would have asked for Barabbas to be freed and shouted for the crucifixion of Christ. You would have been following the wrong crowd and would have perished eternally. Is it any different today? Far and above the majority of Christians, (today’s religious people, "covenant people" like the Jews of Jesus’ day) believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church while the smallest group is the post-tribulation believers who believe that we will have to go through much tribulation before Christ comes back. (Acts 14:22) “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God”. Are you in the majority that believes we’ll be spared from the trials of the Tribulation period to come? If so the biblical track record does not look good for you. Yes, for a time it always looks good when you’re in the majority but the end it's always the same. It was the same destruction for the majority who weren't in the Ark, it was the same destruction for the majority who died in the wilderness, it was the same destruction when the majority of God's children served other gods and were either killed or made slaves. It was destruction for the majority of God's people the Jews who didn't believe in Jesus and crucified Him. Now the Apostle Paul says that there will be a time just before Jesus returns that there will be a great falling away of God's people. (2 Thessalonians 2:1) Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him...(3) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first. Paul emphatically warns us to not let anyone deceive us (into believing Christ is coming for us before the Tribulation?) because there must first come a great falling away. Remember the Bible says that what has happened throughout the Scriptures is for our learning and to be an example for us not to make the same mistakes. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted ….Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come (1 Cor 10:6&11). Just like the three Hebrew children who were saved through the fiery furnace instead of being "raptured" out of it... just like Daniel was saved through the Lion's den instead of being "raptured" out of it, history always repeats itself because we do not learn from it and because of this God's people are destroyed not only physically but spiritually. (Hosea 4:6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me. For the majority who believe we will be raptured up to Jesus before the Tribulation begins, this is a very dangerous and you'll be well served to look at what's happened to God's people throughout Scripture. For more on this subject please read the article called Rapture - God's people delivered before the Tribulation? Also before you read this you may want to read Truth in the Scriptures to see how you can know if you have truth according to the Bible. Let’s now look to the scriptures to see what the real truth of the rapture really is.
(1 Corinthians 15:51,52) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. This is the rapture and it will take place when Christ returns, but what’s the timing of this spectacular event?
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (17) then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Here is the first key we have to the timing of the rapture. Both the dead in Christ, and we that are alive, that are left shall together with them be caught up in the clouds. So what is the first key to the timing? First the dead in Christ will rise, nothing can happen with you and I until the dead in Christ are risen. If some one tries to tell you that we'll be raptured before the dead in Christ rise, do not believe it! Secondly we who are alive at this time will be caught up TOGETHER with those who are dead in Christ and we will be with the Lord forever. This is the rapture and Paul has just shown us the keys to the timing of this rapture, the dead in Christ rise first and then those who are alive and remain go up together to meet the Lord in the air. Now if we can just find out when the resurrection of the dead is, then we can find out exactly when the rapture takes place, its as simple as that. This is the first and most important key to the timing of the rapture!
Let's dig a little more into finding out about the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:21-24) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. (24) Then cometh the end... Here we have another key to the timing of the rapture which we learned is first the resurrection of the dead and those who remain. It cannot be any more clear than this, “each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. "Then cometh the end”. We first had Jesus Christ the "first fruits" unto God resurrected some 2000 years ago. The next event is they that are Christ’s (both dead and alive) getting their resurrected bodies at Christ’s coming, after that is the end. Yet, a pre-tribulation rapture teaches that Christ was the fist resurrection, then comes Jesus in the clouds with a pre-trib rapture, then the Great Tribulation, then the final rapture and resurrection when Jesus comes a third time, then the end. This scenario just is not scriptural because there is only one resurrection and rapture; they happen together and then comes the end! Both the living and the dead in Christ together, meeting the Lord in the air and after that comes the end.
Why is this so important? To believe that we as Christians will be raptured out of here before the tribulation starts would mean that we have to go against the scripture above. We would have to add another resurrection because scripture says that we will NOT precede them that are dead in Christ but will be caught up together with them. "We that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep... we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air". This is a very plain and easy to understand scripture that cannot be added to, nor taken away from. If the rapture takes place at the beginning or before the Tribulation like the majority believes, then the dead would have to be raised before the Tribulation too and then the end would have to come. That would mean that not one other person could ever be saved during the entire Tribulation period, in fact how could we even have a Tribulation if the end comes after the pre-trib Rapture?
If there was ever a "smoking gun" as to the truth which ties all these scriptures together it would be this next one. (Revelation 20:4-6) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Please notice that these are Tribulation Saints of God who went through the Great Tribulation and died for the Lord and next comes the resurrection which we have been looking for and its timing. (5) The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. These Saints had died for Christ during the Tribulation, those beheaded…..not taking the mark of the Beast? These are Tribulation Saints who have come through the Tribulation and given their life for Christ during the Great Tribulation! Notice how scripture says this is the FIRST RESURRECTION. If this is the first resurrection then it's scripturally impossible for there to be a rapture before the Tribulation because they happen together and then the end. "The dead in Christ shall rise first then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord". If all the Saints will be with the Lord, how could you ever have a pre-trib rapture before the Tribulation or mark of the Beast? This rapture and resurrection can only happen at the same time after the Tribulation is complete.
If the Rapture where both the living and the righteous dead go to be with the Lord takes place before the tribulation starts, how do you explain the souls that were beheaded and those who died because they did not receive the mark of the Beast? You simply cannot, they were resurrected AFTER the tribulation and this was the first resurrection! This makes it scripturally impossible to have the Rapture come before the Tribulation. Remember they both take place together, both the rapture and resurrection of the dead, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:17 "The dead in Christ shall rise first then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds". If there is only ONE resurrection as stated in 1Cor 15:22-23 "But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. Then cometh the end...", how could those who gave their life for Jesus be resurrected later on in a second resurrection of the dead? Remember there’s only one resurrection of the righteous dead and then comes the thousand years of the saints ruling and reigning with Christ. (Rev 20:6) “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years”. What happens if you do not make it in the first resurrection? Verse 5, The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. The dead in Christ are now with Jesus, Those who were remaining at Christ’s coming are with Jesus and those who were not in the first resurrection lived not until the thousand years were over; they are shown here. (Rev 20:12-15) And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (14) And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. (15) And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. These dead were resurrected in order to stand before the throne of God, instead of being judged with Christ as their blood covering, they were judged by their works and thrown into the Lake of fire! This is the only resurrection that happens after the first resurrection of the righteous.
(Revelation 7:9,14) After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… (14)…And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Again, we see people coming out of the great tribulation who have died for Jesus, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. With only one resurrection of the righteous dead, how would these souls who came out of the Great Tribulation ever be resurrected if the Rapture and resurrection happen BEFORE the tribulation?
(John 6:37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (38) For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (39) And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. (40) For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. Again, what's the key to knowing when the rapture is? Knowing when the resurrection is because they happen together. When did Jesus say He would raise His people up AT THE LAST DAY! Now does this sound like Jesus said that the rapture and resurrection would happen seven years before the end or seven years before the Great Tribulation?
(Job 14:12) So a man lies down and rises not again till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. Read this carefully, God says that man is not raised “until the heavens be no more”. Yet, those who subscribe to a pre-tribulation rapture say that man will be raised seven years before the end which clearly goes against Scripture, here's a picture of when the "heavens be no more". (2 Peter 3:10-13) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (11) Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,(12) looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (13) But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. This is what the Lord spoke of in Job, when the heavens would be no more. Notice the day of the Lord is at the END and not the whole 7 year Tribulation as some say. Only in the Day of the Lord will the heavens pass away and the elements dissolve with fervent heat and that is when the resurrection and the rapture occur. Clearly this shows that the rapture cannot happen at the beginning of the Tribulation. Next we’ll read the words Jesus spoke when asked about His coming and the end of the world. Please read this very carefully because Jesus clearly explains the end times to us IN ORDER!
(Matthew 24:3) And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (First notice that the disciples are asking Jesus about His coming and the end of the world... they associate those two happenings as coming together at the same time. Also notice they did not ask Jesus when they would escape the Tribulation to come.) (4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. (6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. (8) But all these things are the beginning of travail. (9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. Let’s pause and understand what our Lord is saying here. The first thing Jesus says is to take head that no man lead you astray. This is really the topic we're discussing today as many Christians have been led astray into thinking that they’ll escape the coming trouble with an all fly away secret rapture. Notice that Jesus does not encourage us nor say that you’ll escape the times ahead, instead He warns us that you’ll be delivered up unto tribulation and they “shall kill you” and that you’ll be hated of all nations for the name of Jesus! So far, we see no talk from Jesus of a pre-trib rapture, but let’s be patient and let our Lord continue as to what will happen up until His coming. (10) And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. Let’s look at this very carefully, isn’t this what happened to Jesus and His disciples? Jesus came to His own, the covenant people called the Jews and they accepted Him not. They stumbled and fell away, they delivered Jesus up and later delivered up the disciples who were hated just like Jesus. Yes they were delivered up to be killed by the “religious” covenant people of that day. We know from scripture that history repeats according to (Ecclesiastes 1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Who is Jesus talking about in today’s day and age? Is it possible that when Jesus says that many will stumble and deliver you up and hate you, that He’s talking about the religious people of this day the Christians? Non-believers cannot stumble but believers can. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul says Christ’s coming will not come until a great falling away takes place first. "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first". Again, can a non-believer fall away? No, only believers can. Do you remember when Jesus said in (Luke 21:16) “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.” This will be a very hard time but Jesus warns us to expect it and says nothing about being delivered out of it. Let's continue with Jesus' reply in verse (11) And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. (12) And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. (13) But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Who will be saved? According to Jesus, those who endure to the end will be saved. The Greek word for endure is hupomenôwhich according to Strong’s means –to remain; figuratively to undergo, that is, bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere: - abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind. So clearly Jesus is not speaking of a pre-trib rapture when He says that we have to endure until the end in order to be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. This is the end and then Jesus recaps the same events leading up to His coming with more information and detail. (15) When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), (16) then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains: (17) let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house: and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. (19) But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! (20) And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath: (21) for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Yes, Jesus says there will be great tribulation, the worst there has ever been or ever will be and that if it weren’t for the elect, no flesh would be saved. We still have no mention of Christians rapture from the hard times to come. Now if you still believe in the pre-trib rapture, please explain how these elect or chosen of God are still around in the midst of the great tribulation? You simply cannot support a pre-trib rapture view when Jesus Himself says that His elect will go through the tribulation. (23) Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Again Jesus warns us of deception and false prophets and that His elect are still on earth and not yet raptured. (25) Behold, I have told you beforehand. (26) If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not. (27) For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. The pre-trib teaching on the rapture, such as the “Left Behind” books and movies teach that there is a secret rapture where all of a sudden the Christians are gone and everyone left behind wonders where they all went. Does that agree with what Jesus said about His coming? No, Jesus said that His coming will be like lightning that is seen from the east to the west; in other words, very visible to all and no secret left behind rapture! (28) Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (29) But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Can it be any clearer as Jesus says that “immediately after the tribulation of those days” the stars will fall and the sun will not give her light and He will send His angels with a “GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET” to gather His elect. This my friend is the last trump and rapture spoken of at the beginning of this article in 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. This is when the dead in Christ will rise and we’ll get our glorified bodies. Not at the beginning of the tribulation but at the end, at the great sound of the trumpet. If we set aside what we’ve been taught by our churches and look with our heart open, we can see Jesus methodically laying out the timing of His coming and no where do we see any hint of a pre-tribulation rapture! Please read it again if you like but not until verse 31 do we see the last trumpet and the elect gathered to meet Jesus! This is the timing of the rapture and what Jesus lays out fits perfectly with the timing of the first resurrection in Revelation 20. So what does Jesus say will happen up until the time of His coming? Sounds to me like a whole lot of tribulation of the Saints to me.
Jesus gives us another key as to when the rapture takes place, (Matt 24:29-31) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” So only AFTER the sun turns dark and the moon not give her light and stars fall does the rapture take place. This is another key the Lord has given us to determine it’s timing. Now that we have another key to the timing of the rapture, let’s read some other passages that talk about the Sun and Moon being darkened. You’ll notice that every time it’s mentioned in scripture, God is talking about the last day the “great and notable day of the Lord”. This Day of the Lord happens AFTER the tribulation. This is when the tribulation of the saints will end and the WRATH OF GOD will start! Although most Christians lump the two together, there is a difference in the two. The tribulation is indeed for the Saints to purify them and to refine them. You don’t harvest your garden until the fruit is ripe and only after the Tribulation will the Lord find out who has produced fruit and who has not. Those who have not produced fruit won’t be caught up to be with the Lord and will be lost having to endure the wrath of God! (John 15:2,6) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away… If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. Let’s look at just a few scriptures that talk about the wrath and the day of the Lord.
After the rapture comes the wrath of God and the day of the Lord. (Isaiah 13:9-11) Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. (10) For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. (11) “ I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. Tribulation is for the saints, wrath is for the sinners.
After the rapture comes the wrath of God and the day of the Lord. (Ezekiel 32:5-8) I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass. (6) ‘ I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, even to the mountains; and the riverbeds will be full of you. (7) When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. (8) All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land, ’Says the Lord GOD. Tribulation is for the saints, wrath is for the sinners.
After the rapture comes the wrath of God and the day of the Lord. (Joel 2:10) The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (11) The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; who can endure it? (30) “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
After the rapture comes the wrath of God and the day of the Lord. (Zephaniah 1:14-17) The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. (15) That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, (16) a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities And against the high towers. (17) “ I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.” Notice the trumpet at the beginning of the day of the Lord? Wasn’t the rapture signaled by a trumpet too? Once again the believers will not go through God’s wrath but they will go through the seven years of tribulation before God’s wrath is poured out.
This next scripture we are shown a vision of the martyred saints as the day of the Lord begins. Please observe that the resurrection of the dead has not taken place yet, and so we understand the rapture has not yet taken place either. Knowing the keys we’ve just read, gives us even more clues to the timing of the rapture.
(Revelation 6:9-13) And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: (10) and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (11) And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. (12) And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; (13) and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. Note what happens before the sixth seal when the sun becomes black and the moon as blood. Tribulation of the saints, for many will be killed at that time. Can you see that they have not been resurrected yet? Notice they need to wait until the number of their brethren have been killed for Jesus, just like they were. Does this sound like believers will escape in that pre-trib rapture we were taught to believe? Scripture clearly says that we are not appointed to wrath “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:9). What believers don't understand it that tribulation is not wrath. Jesus gave up His life at the hands of wicked men. All of the disciples were stoned, beaten, crucified upside down, boiled in oil, put in prison… they died a martyr’s death. Many early Christians have given their lives for the Lord and yet we have churches today preaching that we don’t have to “lose our life to gain our life”. The dead in Christ must wait a little while until all that will be killed for Jesus are killed, to fulfill their course. This scripture clearly says that the rapture and resurrection doesn't take place in the beginning but at the end.
Observe what happens when the sixth seal is opened, the sun becomes black and moon becomes as blood. Do you remember from what we read in Matthew 24 what occurs when this happens? What happens after the sun becomes black and the moon turns to blood and the stars fall from heaven? (Matthew 24:24-25) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” So there we see that the day of the Lord happens after the tribulation and that's when the Rapture occurs. After the tribulation and at the beginning of the Day of the Lord (The year of wrath for the Wicked). Let’s continue looking at more clues in scripture to see the timing of the resurrection and rapture of the Lord.
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-5) Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him; (2) to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand; (3) let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, (4) he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? Though we touched on this earlier, Paul clearly says that our Lord will not come until the falling away comes first. This is an event where there will be a great falling away. What could that be except for believers falling away from the faith? Has it happened before? Yes, when Jesus came the first time there was a great falling away of the believers back then. They were believers in God, covenant, chosen people of God and they fell away from God because of their unbelief in Jesus Christ. Today the believers are not the Jews but the Christians, and during this tribulation period God will test the hearts of the believers just like He tested the “believers” in Jesus’ day, just like He tested the children with Moses in the wilderness, and in the near future many will fall away and be rejected of God too. History continues to repeat itself. The other occurrence Paul says must happen before Christ returns is that the man of sin must be revealed, the one that exalts himself as God. We’ll save this topic of the antichrist for another time, but clearly we cannot have a rapture before the tribulation starts and the "man of sin be revealed".
(Matthew 13: 24-43) Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: (25) but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. (26) But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. (27) And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it tares? (28) And he said unto them, an enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? (29) But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. (36) Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. (37) And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; (38) and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; (39) and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.(40) As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. (41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, (42) and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. Do you see the order of this harvest? Read it again if you need to but nowhere do we see the righteous taken out of the world first. Instead we see the exact opposite, first the tares are gathered up to be burned and then the righteous are gathered into the kingdom! This doesn't sound to me like the rapture comes before the Tribulation but after. And who does the gathering? Not Jesus, the Angels do the gathering! When does this happen? “The harvest is the end of the world” verse 39. The Tribulation will separate the true believers from the "pretenders", those who are Christians by name only.
(Matthew 13:47-50) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: (48) which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. (49) So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, (50) and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Once again Jesus tells of the end and we see the Angels doing the gathering and the wicked being severed from among the righteous. What is the timing of this harvest? “So shall it be in the end of the world” Verse 49. Although some believers will be martyred, many true believers will make it through this time of testing as God will protect them and the sinners will die around them. This is part of the Psalm 91 Passover, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. (8) You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. (9) Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge—(10) no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. (11) For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (12) On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Nowhere do we read in scripture that the righteous are taken up before the wrath of God starts, it's actually the opposite. (Proverbs 10:30) The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth. Who is staying and who is removed? (Proverbs 2:21,22) For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; (22) but the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it. Just like we read in Matthew 13, in the harvest at the end of the world, the wicked will be cut from the righteous! Read verse 49 again and compare when the wicked are severed from the righteous.
(Revelation 14:9-19) And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, (10) he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: (11) and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name.(12) Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (13) And I heard the voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them. (14) And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand sharp sickle. (15) And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Why is the earth ripe? Because every believer who professes the name of Jesus has been tested and produced fruit in the tribulation period they just went through. There’ll be no “luke warm” believers as the Lord will have tried and tested them and they’ll either be hot or cold, they’ll have produced the fruit of Christ or they’ll be that bare branch that’s been gathered up and thrown into the fire. (16) And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (17) Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (18) And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.(19) And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. This is the same harvest described throughout Mathew 13 & 24! Truly this harvest and rapture of the church happens at the end of the tribulation and not before.
Another clue to Christ’s return and the rapture and resurrection of the church is the “last trump”, let’s see what scripture says about this. (1 Corinthians 15:51,52) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Here is one more key which the Lord gives us in Scripture for the timing of His coming. It won’t be the first trumpet but the LAST. (1 Thessalonians 4:15,16) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. So we can see that the rapture will not take place until the last trump, a shout, with the voice of the archangel and trump of God. Let’s look at when the last Trump is sounded and then we’ll understand when the rapture is. (Revelation 10:7) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished they mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets.
(Revelation 11:15-18) And the seventh angel sounded (last trump); and there followed great voices in heaven (saints), and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord… And the four and twenty elders… worshipped God, saying… thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came (day of the Lord), and the time of the dead to be judged (rapture and resurrection), and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, (rapture and resurrection) and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth. This is the last trump, the mystery of God that has been hid since the beginning of time and now it's being fulfilled, not at the beginning of the tribulation but after. Wrath from God is now ready to fall on the wicked while the righteous are ready to inherit their reward.
(Matthew 24:29-31) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The last trump is just that, the last trumpet. It's not the first trumpet, and it does not happen before the tribulation starts as many teach. If Jesus says that this trumpet is sounded "after the tribulation of those days" then we should believe Him, instead of what our church teaches us.
I hope this study on the timing of the rapture has been insightful and I pray that you respect the word of God enough to study this subject for yourself. Why is it so important? Because if you do not prepare yourself spiritually for the tribulation ahead and instead believe you'll escape before the real hard times come, then you just may find yourself being in the majority, those who fall away at the end and take the mark of the beast. You may think that would never happen to you but when your "Jesus" hasn't come for you and you've seen death and destruction all around, you just may give up your faith and fall away. It was Jesus Himself who said, “many are called but few are chosen” The Greek word for called means “invited” and all throughout scripture the word “called” is spoken of either Old Testament covenant Jews or to those who believed in Jesus. Please do a search yourself for the word “called” which in Greek is kaleô, it is never used of a lost person. So when the Lord said that "many are called but few chosen", He was not talking about the lost sinner but those who were saved. In today’s language Jesus would have said “Many think they are saved, but few will overcome and make it to the end ”. If you believe “once saved always saved and that you cannot lose your salvation, click here or read the article on this site called “Can you lose your salvation”?
To sum up our discussion on the rapture, we have some important keys that are essential to understanding the timing of the Rapture which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt as to when the Rapture is. So let’s review what we’ve learned.
1. The Rapture and the resurrection happen at the same time. One cannot happen without the other. (1Cor. 15:51-52, 1 Thess. 4:15-17) Once the Rapture and the resurrection happen, NO one will be saved from that point on! The Bible plainly states this if we look closely!
2. There is only one resurrection of the righteous dead. (1 Cor 15:23, Rev 20:5,6) If there is only one resurrection of the righteous dead, then it can only happen after the end of the tribulation. If it happens any time before that, those who die during the tribulation could never be raised from the dead, EVER!
3. This is the order of the Resurrection and Rapture. 1.Christ first 2. Dead in Christ 3. We that remain (1Thessalonians 4:15-17, 1 Cor 15:23) If you believe the Bible here, then there can only be one place that the Rapture takes place and that is at the end of the Tribulation. If not, how do you explain the people martyred during the Tribulation?
4. The resurrection will not happen until the LAST DAY (John 6:39-44, Job 14:12, 2 Peter 3:10-13, Matt 24:24-25). What does it mean when Jesus says we will be raised up on the last day? Does God really mean the last day or 7 years before the last day?
5. The Rapture will not happen until AFTER the Sun is Darkened and the Moon turns as blood. (Matt 24:29-31, Rev 6:9-13) Throughout Scripture this is described as the last day and the “Day of the Lord”. This will come AFTER THE TRIBULATION! Before the wrath of God!
6. The end of the world will consist of the great harvest. First the wicked will be destroyed, then the righteous will be taken (Matt 13:24-43, Matt 13:47-50, Rev 14:9-19). This happens at the END and not at the beginning of Tribulation! Jesus plainly gives the order of the harvest. First the wicked are taken and then the righteous.
7. The Rapture will not happen until two things happen 1. Falling away comes first 2. Man of sin be revealed who sits in Gods Temple setting himself as God (2 Thess 2:1-5, Matt 24:8-15). Now if you read these scriptures you will see that this does not happen until a minimum of half way through the tribulation.
8. The Angel’s are the ones to gather the saints and not Jesus.(Matt 13:39-41& 49, Matt 24:31, Mark 13:27, Rev 14:19) A Pre-tribulation Rapture says that Jesus is the one that gathers all Christians when we can plainly see that it’s the Angels that do the gathering.
9. Saints are gathered at the last Trump. (1 Cor 15:52, 1 Thes 4:16, Matt 24:31, Rev 10:7, Rev.11:15-18) The last trumpet clearly means the last trumpet. To make this last trump into something that happens at the beginning is at best naïve and at worse deceitful.
There is a Rapture coming, the Bible says this clearly. What people do not understand is that God is the same today, as He was yesterday, as He will be tomorrow. God does not change! When the doors to the Ark were shut, not one was saved but Noah and his family. When Lot took his family out of Sodom, not one was saved out of Sodom and it burned. When the Rapture occurs, the door will be shut and not one more soul will be saved!
You must really study God’s word on this and instead of what you've been taught. You must begin to prepare yourself for the things that are to come. The only way to do this is to SPIRITUALLY prepare for the destruction and persecution that is coming; you need to SPIRITUALLY prepare to give your life for Christ. You need to SPIRITUALLY prepare for the unexpected, the likes of which you’ve never seen, nor imagined. The time ahead will be the hardest time of your life; will it start tomorrow, next year, fifty years from now? No one knows, but Jesus warns us to watch and be ready. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” and “therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming”.
We must learn to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and He will protect us during these very hard times ahead. If you choose to believe most pastors and churches today, if you choose to believe the “Left Behind” books and movies, you may find yourself wondering what happened to your Jesus and why He’s not saving you out of all the tribulation around you. If you’re expecting a pre-trib rapture that never comes, then you may be angry at God and your church, you may even give up your faith, thinking that if the rapture is a lie, maybe the whole Bible is a lie. Do you see how dangerous this is to Christians and how it could be the catalyst that causes the great falling away?
This tribulation that’s coming is from God and it will be carried out by Satan, designed to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Tribulation is for the Saints and it’s coming from God to perfect His children. You'll either produce fruit, or prove to be unfruitful and fall like God’s children who escaped out of Egypt, only to be tried and tested and fallen in the wilderness. So the choice is yours, my suggestion is to pray for wisdom, understanding and an open heart in this matter. After you’ve done that, then you'll need to search for yourself these scriptures and any others on this subject. Please, do not blindly listen to your Pastor or some Left Behind book and assume he's correct. You're responsible for your own soul! It's you that will stand before God to give account for all you've done and what you've left undone. You will not be able to blame any one but your self, for God has already told us. (Hosea 4:6). My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…
God bless,
Mark, a servant of the Lord, www.HeavensHelpers.org
Questions/Feedback - email me: mark@heavenshelpers.org
