(2.4) THE RAPTURE

DEFINITIONS

Before going any further, there are some important definitions/descriptions below.

THE RAPTURE

The rapture is an event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (harpazō), Matthew 24:30-31, and several other passages. At the closing phase of the current age, Christians, both dead and alive, will be gathered to Christ in the heavens.

7-YEAR PERIOD

In Daniel 9:24-27, 70 prophetic weeks are decreed. Pre-millennialists believe that 1 prophetic day is equal to 1 ancient calendar year. This conclusion is based on several passages such as Genesis 29:27, Leviticus 25:8, Numbers 14:34, and Ezekiel 4:6. They also believe that 1 ancient calendar year is equal to 360 days. Thus, the final week of Daniel is believed to be a 7-year period with each year consisting of 360 days.

NOTE (2): With regard to the 7-year week, 360-day year interpretation, there’s more information to consider in the notes section—ADDITIONAL NOTES (2).

Pre-millennialists believe that of the 70 prophetic weeks decreed in Daniel 9, 69 have been fulfilled. It is thought that just prior to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in 70 CE, the 69th week ended (see Daniel 9:25-26).

After the conclusion of the 69th week, it is believed that the final week is on hold until the closing phase of the current age (a future timeframe). In other words, it is believed that the final week of Daniel is the same eschatological period that will feature the Antichrist and the return of Jesus. It is believed that the man described in Daniel 9:27 (this verse takes place during the 70th/final week) is the Antichrist, the same man described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

NOTE (3): There is an elaboration on a previous post, about the 7-year period, in the notes section—ADDITIONAL NOTES (3).

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

The Great Tribulation is a timeframe within the 7-year period when the Antichrist unleashes a severe, unparalleled persecution against Christians and Jews.

DAY OF THE LORD

The “day of the Lord” is the appointed time of God’s wrath on earth (e.g., Isaiah 13:9-11, Zephaniah 1:14-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 2 Peter 3:10, etc.) On the day of the Lord, prior to the commencement of God’s wrath, Christians are raptured off the planet (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

INTERPRETATIONS OF THE RAPTURE

PRE-WRATH RAPTURE

The belief that the rapture will take place at some unknown point during the 7-year period, on the day of the Lord (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2), after the Antichrist has been revealed (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4), but prior to God’s eschatological wrath (see 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and Isaiah 26:20-21). This places the rapture at the very beginning of the day of the Lord.

According to Matthew 24:36, the exact day and hour of the rapture is unknown. However, based on what’s said in Matthew 24:32-33 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, it seems that it will be possible to know when the rapture is drawing near.

According to the pre-wrath model, the day of the Lord begins after the 6th seal is opened. It is believed that Matthew 24:29-30 and Revelation 6:12-17 describe the same eschatological events.

Shortly after the portents and Jesus’ arrival on the clouds, the saints are raptured. The rapture occurs at Matthew 24:31, and the “multitude” in Revelation 7:9 are the raptured saints (see Revelation 7:13-14 for further identification of the multitude). Thus, the rapture occurs after the 6th seal is opened, at the beginning of the day of the Lord, but prior to the opening of the 7th seal.

According to pre-wrath, the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls unfold progressively, and the 7’s unfold into 7’s—the 7th seal commences the 7 trumpets, the 7th trumpet commences the 7 bowls.

Pre-wrath teaches that the second coming of Jesus Christ is a complex series of events that will transpire in phases.

The day of the Lord is not a literal 24-hour day. There is a considerable duration involved with the day of the Lord. For instance, the 5th trumpet judgement is associated with a 5-month period (see Revelation 9:5). This does not mean that the day of the Lord will carry on for an extensive period of time. However, the day of the Lord will not be an overnight event either. People believe that the day of the Lord ends with the battle of Armageddon.

PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

The belief that the Church will be raptured at some point prior to the 7-year period. People who hold to this view also believe in a doctrine called “imminence.” Imminence teaches that the rapture can take place at any moment, without any warning or indication beforehand.

Objections

|| I disagree with the view that the Church will be raptured prior to the 7-year period. 2 Thessalonians is an epistle written by Paul to the Church in Thessalonica. It provides a timeline of events.

* According to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, the rapture will occur on the day of the Lord.

* Given what is said in Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, and 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Christians are exempt from God’s wrath on the day of the Lord.

* According to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the day of the Lord does not arrive until after the Antichrist has been revealed.

* Given the above information, we can conclude that the rapture takes place at the beginning of the day of the Lord, after the Antichrist has been revealed. Given that the Antichrist features with the abomination of desolation during the 7-year period (see Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15-16, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), we can conclude that the Church will be on earth during a portion the 7-year period. The Church will not be raptured off the earth prior to the 7-year period.

|| Over the years, 2 Thessalonians 2 has been used to present a strong case against the pre-tribulation rapture position. With that said, pre-tribulationists will try to counter the case by claiming that the rapture occurs in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul mentions a “rebellion.” This rebellion is understood by most as a defection from the Christian Church. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the original Greek for “rebellion” is “apostasia.” Pre-tribulationists will argue that the Greek word apostasia can refer to a departure in the physical sense. They will then go on to say that the apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is the rapture. I disagree.

* Nowhere in the Bible does apostasia ever refer to a physical departure (see Acts 21:21, 2 Thessalonians 2:3).

* According to scholars, “apostasia” was never used to describe a physical departure in any ancient Koine Greek literature.

* 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 places the rapture ON the day of the Lord, not before. Therefore, the rebellion/apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 cannot be referring to the rapture, because Paul places the rebellion/apostasia BEFORE the day of the Lord.

|| Pre-tribulationists believe that the entire 7-year period is the day of the Lord. They believe that the day of the Lord includes all 7 seals of Revelation. They believe that all 7 seals of Revelation are part of God’s eschatological wrath. There seems to be several inconsistences with this view.

* According to various passages throughout the Bible, Christians will not suffer God’s eschatological wrath (see Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9). The opening of the 5th seal is characterized by Christians being attacked (see Revelation 6:9-11). Thus, it seems contradictory to label this stage of the seals as part of God’s eschatological wrath. Notice too, how at this stage, a statement is made to the effect that God’s judgement and vengeance have yet to begin...

“They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Revelation 6:10, ESV)

If God’s eschatological wrath has already started, then why are people speaking as though it hasn’t?

* As we know, God’s eschatological wrath does not commence until the day of the Lord. In Revelation 6:12-14, eschatological signs/portents manifest immediately after the opening of the 6th seal. These signs seem to correlate with the signs related to the day of the Lord in other passages (compare Revelation 6:12-14 to Isaiah 13:9-10, Isaiah 13:13, Joel 2:30-31). In Joel 2:31, some of the signs are described as occurring BEFORE the day of the Lord. Thus, assuming that the sun and moon signs of Joel 2:31 are the same sun and moon signs of Revelation 6:12, the day of the Lord does not begin until after the 6th seal is opened—and everything that precedes the opening of the 6th seal cannot be God’s eschatological wrath.

|| As far as imminence goes, there are several reasons why I disagree with this doctrine. First, there are several obvious signs/events leading up to the rapture. Second, Paul says that Christians will not be surprised by the day of the Lord (see 1 Thessalonians 5:4).

* According to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, the rapture will occur only after the Antichrist has been revealed. Assuming “forty-two months” is a literal rendering of time in Revelation 13:5 (I believe it is), the Antichrist features with his revealed identity for a very short period of time. Therefore, the rapture is in close proximity to his disclosure.

NOTE: Matthew 24:22 should be taken into consideration when assessing Revelation 13:5.

* As previously discussed, Joel 2:31 describes signs that seem to correlate with the signs described in Revelation 6:12. The signs in Joel 2:31 happen before the day of the Lord and can serve as indicators.

“The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” (Joel 2:31, ESV)

* In 1 Thessalonians 5:4, Paul says that the day of the Lord will not come as a surprise to Christians.

“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4, ESV)

* How can there be a pre-trib doctrine of imminence if Christians can anticipate the day of the Lord? Why would Jesus tell Christians to watch for His coming (see Matthew 24:42)?

POST-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

The belief that both the rapture and the day of the Lord commence at the end of the 7-year period. Post-tribulationists believe that the “last trumpet” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is referring to the 7th trumpet of Revelation 11:15. They believe that the day of the Lord is a literal 24-hour day. They also believe that the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls are the same 7 eschatological episodes being described from different perspectives; they adhere to the concurrent recapitulation interpretation.

Objections

I disagree with all the post-tribulation views just listed. I will address each point specifically, but in a different order.

|| The 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls are not the same 7 episodes being described from different perspectives.

* As an example, there are similarities between the 2nd trumpet and the 2nd bowl, however, they are not the same. In Revelation 8:8-9, the 2nd trumpet kills a third of the creatures in the sea. In Revelation 16:3, the 2nd bowl kills everything in the sea.

* The 7 seals unfold progressively, and the 7th seal commences the 7 trumpets (see Revelation 8).

* The 7 trumpets unfold progressively. The 7th trumpet is blown in Revelation 11. I believe there is an interlude from Revelation 12 to 14. The 7 bowls are introduced in Revelation 15, right after the interlude. The 7 bowls unfold progressively.

* In contrast to the 7th seal, the 7th bowl is described as the final event in the final septet (compare Revelation 8:1-6 to Revelation 15:1 and Revelation 16:17-21).

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.” (Revelation 15:1, ESV)

“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’” (Revelation 16:17, ESV)

* When observing the correlations between the book of Joshua and the book of Revelation, there seems to be support for the progression model of the septets, with 7’s unfolding into 7’s.

|| The day of the Lord is not a literal 24-hour day that commences at the end of the 7-year period.

* Revelation 15:1 seems to imply that God’s eschatological wrath has already started prior to the bowl judgements. If that’s the case, then the day of the Lord begins prior to the bowl judgements, not at the end of the 7-year period.

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.” (Revelation 15:1, ESV)

“After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” (Revelation 15:5-8, ESV)

* Revelation 9:5 describes a period of time, during the day of the Lord, which lasts 5 months. Thus, the day of the Lord is not a literal 24-hour day.

* The Bible teaches that the day of the Lord will come as a surprise to those who are not elect Christians.

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, ESV)

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39, ESV)

Post-tribulationists believe that the initial appearance of Jesus Christ, on the day of the Lord, occurs at Revelation 19:11. They believe that Revelation 19:11 is the beginning of the battle of Armageddon.

The battle of Armageddon cannot occur prior to the 6th bowl, because the battle is being prepared throughout the 6th bowl. However, God’s eschatological wrath has been ongoing prior to the 6th bowl, and according to Revelation 16:11, people seem to know that they’re being judged by God.

“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 16:10-11, ESV)

Given the severity of the judgements prior to Armageddon, as well as the reaction described in Revelation 16:11, it is difficult to see how an unexpected arrival of Christ, described in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 and Matthew 24:37-39, can be applied to the outset of the battle of Armageddon.

I believe that the initial appearance of Christ occurs when the world is without genuine and/or immediate expectation—not at the battle of Armageddon. Notice that in Revelation 6:12-17, people are cowering in shock and fear of Christ—they seem surprised and unprepared.

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:15-17, ESV)

In Revelation 19:19, which is believed to be the assembly for the battle of Armageddon, people have come together for a war against Christ. These people were gathered through a premeditated sequence of events, which means that a battle is anticipated beforehand.

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.” (Revelation 19:19, ESV)

|| The rapture does not occur at the end of the 7-year period.

* In short, the rapture does not occur at the end of the 7-year period for many of the same reasons that the day of the Lord does not commence at the end of the 7-year period.

The rapture occurs at the beginning of the day of the Lord (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, and Isaiah 26:20-21), which occurs after the 6th seal is opened but before the 7th seal is opened. The timeframe in-between the 6th and 7th seals comes before the 7th trumpet and before the battle of Armageddon. The 5th trumpet judgement takes place after the rapture, but before the battle of Armageddon, and it’s associated with a 5-month timeframe.

* Some post-tribulationists believe that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 represent the Church. Thus, they believe that the rapture occurs when these two witnesses are brought up to heaven in Revelation 11:12. However, this is inconsistent with their belief that the rapture occurs at the 7th trumpet of Revelation. The two witnesses are brought up to heaven before the 7th trumpet is blown.

The two witnesses conduct their ministry during the time of God’s eschatological wrath. As discussed earlier, the Church is raptured prior to the outpouring of God’s eschatological wrath.

NOTE: I believe the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will be two literal people.

In Matthew 11:13-14, John the Baptist is described as Elijah. However, in Matthew 17:10-11, after John the Baptist has died, Elijah’s return is described as a future event. Thus, there seems to be multiple fulfillments of Malachi 4:5, with another fulfillment still to come. With that said, I think it’s possible that Elijah might be one of the two witnesses.

Enoch and Elijah were both very important prophets. Both of them arrived in heaven without dying (see Genesis 5:24, 2 Kings 2:11, and Hebrews 11:5).

Enoch lived in the pre-flood world. Elijah lived in the post-flood world. Neither of them died. I have no idea if Enoch and Elijah will be the two witnesses of Revelation 11, however, I think it’s a possibility.

|| The “last trumpet” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is not referring to the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11:15.

* When Paul mentioned the “last trumpet” in 1 Corinthians 15, the book of Revelation did not exist yet. Thus, I doubt Paul’s immediate audience would have known what he was talking about unless he was referring to a trumpet system from the Old Testament—a trumpet system other than the one found in Revelation 8 to 11.

In the Old Testament, there were various trumpet systems that functioned in an official capacity for Israel. These trumpet systems and their contextual significances would have been known to an ancient audience.

When Paul says “the last trumpet” in 1 Corinthians 15:52, I believe he is referring to the final use of an Old Testament trumpet system in this current age.

THE RAPTURE—CONCLUSION

I believe that the PRE-WRATH interpretation is the most biblically consistent pre-millennial position. I believe that the other two positions are incorrect.