The Rapture

2021-12-12

Rapture is a term used to mean the Day of Christ. This is when the Lord Himself returns to the earth and gathers His people together. Whether you read Revelation, the Olivet Discourse (namely Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), or the Old Testament, the order of events is tribulation first (the fifth seal, not the entire seven years), then signs in heaven, then the rapture, then the wrath of God is poured out on the earth. Let us look at some of the passages concerning this.

The rapture is Jesus’ gathering of believers before He pours out His wrath on the earth. The reason is that as Christians, “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). (Remember that we are appointed to tribulation per 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4). When we, or whoever will be alive in those days, see the wonders in the heavens, “know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33).

Rapture Specifics

The word “rapture” is not in the Bible, but it is interchangeable with the phrase, the Day of Christ. The events are as follows: Jesus comes down from heaven, the voice of the archangel is heard, a trumpet is heard, the dead shall rise, and those who are alive will be all gathered to the Lord. These same events are listed in order in the Olivet Discourse and in 1 Thessalonians (Matthew 24:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

A lot of these particulars are missing in the account in Revelation 7:9-17. Here, a multitude suddenly appears in heaven, which is a believing remnant from all people groups in the world. They “came out of great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14).

When the events of the end times are restated in the second half of Revelation, we see some more of these particulars, like the accounts in the Olivet Discourse and 1 Thessalonians 4: Jesus descends from heaven, the voice of the archangel is heard, and the earth is reaped, which is the gathering of the saints (Revelation 14:14-16).

The Rapture in the Old Testament

The Old Testament records some of these events. In Isaiah 26:18-21, after great trials the dead are brought back to life, the saved are gathered into the Lord’s chambers, then God’s wrath is poured out on the inhabitants of the world. In Isaiah 27:1, Satan is punished.

Zephaniah also warns believers to seek the Lord before judgment comes, for “it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger” (Zephaniah 2:3).

Joel also speaks of the chronology of events: signs in the heavens, rapture, then the Day of the LORD, or the Lord’s wrath:

And I will shew 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 great and the terrible day of the LORD come. (32) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (Joel 2:30-32)

When we see the people being “delivered” as in Joel 2:32, we normally think of salvation in the soteriological sense (namely, we are saved from the penalty of our sins). This is true, but only part of what is meant. The original context shows us that the deliverance is from the wrath of God, or the Day of the LORD. Note that the same heavenly signs seen in the Olivet Discourse and Revelation 6 precede the rapture. The order is the same.

The rapture is salvation from the wrath of God, not from tribulation or persecution. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, we see that the Day of Christ, or the rapture, only comes after a great apostasy and the revelation of the Antichrist. We also see that God has “chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Think of this word “salvation” as in the same sense of “delivered” in Joel 2:32; we are saved from God’s wrath on this world.

The Rapture Cannot Happen at Any Moment

The rapture is not imminent. We are told certain events must come before it, multiple times. Jesus tells us, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). However, Jesus tells us right before this that though we do not know the day or hour, we do know the season. This is the purpose of the parable of the fig tree. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:32-33).

Most Importantly

The rapture is the wonderful event that will be the resurrection of those who have died in Christ, and those believers who are alive at His coming are gathered by the Lord Jesus to always be with Him. Keeping our eye on this wonderful event will change the way we live our lives here.