According to Scripture, the rapture is a supernatural removal of the church of Jesus Christ out of the world. Jesus first speaks about this removal from the world to his disciples the night before his crucifixion in John 14:1-3. Jesus said, in these verses, that he himself will go and prepare a place for his followers in his Father’s house and will come again and receive them to himself.
This is the blessed hope of the believer. Their future hope is to return to the Lord in glory (Titus 2:13) because their citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). They eagerly wait for their Savior to receive them to him and change their physical bodies into spiritual, glorious bodies (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:51).
The main passage about the rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Here, Paul informs the brethren that Christ will suddenly come back and receive his own to himself. Paul gives this encouraging passage because the believers thought Christ was coming back in their lifetime. They were worried that those who died before Christ’s return would not be able to be with Christ. Paul said that “if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
Purpose of the Rapture
The purpose of the rapture is because believers are not meant to face God’s wrath on the world during the Tribulation period. There are varying views for when the rapture will take place during this seven-year tribulation, known as the Seventieth Week of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9). The more widely held belief by Christians and theologians is the pretribulation view. This view has more support from Scripture than other views and believes that Christ will rapture the Church before the tribulation begins. But when it will begin is unknown.
This rapture event will happen suddenly and without warning or signs. The anticipation of the unknown event is why Paul and John urged the believers to always live their lives in holy and dedicated service to God (1 Corinthians 1:7; 1 John 3:1-3). Jesus also talks about the servant who didn’t know when his master was returning and didn’t obey him, in his end times speech to his disciples in Matthew 24:42-51.
Pretribulation View
The Pretribulation rapture has seven major points which support its view:
- The Distinction between the Church and ISrael
- The Purpose of the Tribulation
- The Church Is Excluded from the Wrath of God
- The Imminent Coming of Christ
- The Distinction between the Rapture and the Second Coming
- An Interval of Time Is Needed between the Rapture and the Second Coming
- The Lack of Scriptural Evidence for the Church’s Presence in the Tribulation.
The Distinction between the Church and Israel
Because the Church was a mystery in the Old Testament, and was established in Acts 2 at Pentecost, the Church and the nation of Israel are two distinct groups in God’s salvation plan for the world. The nation of Israel is an ethnic group which God established by Abraham (Genesis 15). God gave promises to him through his physical seed (Israel) and through a spiritual seed (the Church).
The Church Age began when Christ ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of believers. Believers are a part of the “spiritual seed” of God’s inheritance to Abraham as having received the New Covenant promise of salvation. This shows that the two distinct groups of God’s people are separate and will be dwelt with separately at the end of the age. For more information on the difference between Israel and the Church, check out this article here.
The Purpose of the Tribulation
Probably the greatest purpose of the Tribulation is to prepare the nation of Israel for the Messiah and the millennial kingdom. The Tribulation is viewed as the “time of Jacob’s trouble”. The second purpose is to execute God’s wrath and judgement on the wicked and take back the earth from Satan.
The focus during this seven-year period has a Jewish appeal and is concentrated mainly on the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:30; Daniel 12:1; Ezekiel 20:37; Zechariah 13:8-9; Matthew 24:15-20). The Church is not mentioned in these passages. This is one reason why pretribulationists believe that the Church has been raptured already.
The Church Is Excluded from the Wrath of God
Israel, as a nation, has not yet become partakers of the new covenant. They have rejected the Messiah, even though some Jews have become believers in Christ. The wrath of God will come to all unbelievers of Christ at the time of the Tribulation. Since the Church has been saved from their sins because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, the future wrath of God is not reserved for them. In fact, Paul writes that “God has not destined us for wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9); but rescues us from the wrath to come (1:9-10).”
Many argue that the Church will simply be protected during this period and that is why Christ will gather up his “elect” at the end of the Tribulation (Matthew 24:31). The question then falls to who are the “elect?” It is Israel since the focus is on them during the tribulation, but here is an article which may help shed more light on that question.
God’s wrath is seen in all the judgments written upon the scrolls in Revelations 4-5. This is a world-wide judgement, and no one is exempt from it. Since the Church is not destined for wrath because of the saving power of Christ’s sacrifice, there would be nowhere for them to be on the earth during this time. Thus, they have already been removed from the earth beforehand. Another passage is Revelations 3:10, which are Christ’s words to the Church at Philadelphia saying that he will keep them from the hour of testing which will come upon the entire world.
The Imminent Coming of Christ
Although the word “imminent” is not found in Scripture, its concept is expressed in the theological idea of “Christ’s coming at any moment.” As mentioned above, Christ will appear “soon” but that time is not known. The apostles encouraged the believers to live holy lives as if the groom was coming for his bride within their generation (Matthew 25). There are no signs warning of Christ’s coming; but the sign of the Tribulation is the appearance of the Antichrist and the setting up of the Abomination of Desolation (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Matthew 24:15).
5. The Distinction between the Rapture and the Second Coming
The rapture is seen as being before the tribulation because believers are not destined for wrath. During the rapture, Christ appears suddenly and receives his Church. His stay is not long at all (1 Corinthians 15:52). Believers from the past will be resurrected with glorified bodies, and those present at that time will receive glorified bodies. They will all participate in the marriage feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-10). The earth, at the beginning of the tribulation, will have no believer in Christ on it.
Christ’s Second coming takes place after the Tribulation. He will reign on the earth with his bride for 1,000 years. The Second coming has no mention of people receiving glorified bodies. In fact, this coming will first result in the death of many before all are resurrected and judged (Revelation 19:11-20:15). However, before Christ returns, the Gospel message will be proclaimed by an angel in Revelation 14:6. Whoever survives to the end of the tribulation, will stay on the earth for the messianic kingdom.
An Interval of Time Is Needed in between the Rapture and the Second coming
There needs be time for people to hear the message of salvation. Otherwise, who would enter into the messianic kingdom? Those with glorified bodies will not be able to populate the earth during this time. It is vital for those without glorified bodies to inhabit the earth at that time (Isaiah 65:20-25).
There must be time for rewarding the saints and the marriage of the Lamb during the Tribulation (1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 19:8; 22:12). This is because the Church will appear at the Second Coming of Christ in her full glory. The rewarding and marriage ceremony must take place to prepare the Church for her descent with Christ. This is another reason why the Church is raptured up before the Tribulation.
The Lack of Scriptural Evidence for the Church’s Presence in the Tribulation
One of the most important passages about the Tribulation is Daniel 9:24-27. This passage specifically talks about Daniel’s people, Israel, and his home city, Jerusalem. There is no mention of the Church in this passage.
Revelation 6-19 provides in-depth detail about the Tribulation period; however, it does not mention the Church (ekklesia). Other terms referring to the Church — “the bride of Christ” (Ephesians 5:22-33) and “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12) — are also not mentioned.
Even though John talks about the seven churches in Revelation 1-3, the “church” is not mentioned again until the benediction in 22:16. The text of Revelation does mention “the elect” or saved people, but it never refers to them as (1) Christ’s body, (2) the bride, or (3) the Church.
The Old and New Testament does refer to Israel and Gentiles, but it does not refer to the Gentiles as being the Church. They are simply called the “nations of the earth”. These are the Gentiles who will receive the Gospel and will get saved during the Tribulation. They may get martyred for that faith or make it to the end alive.
If you want to know how you can be saved from the wrath to come, check out The Ultimate Guide to Salvation in Jesus Christ.
For Further Study
(Amazon Affiliate links below)
What Is the Difference between Israel and the Church?
Matthew 24:22 – The Cutting Short of Days — Thomas Ice https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/ice_thomas/Mat24-25/Mat24-25_Part17.cfm
Understanding the End Times Prophecy — Paul N. Benware – Buy it here!