The Rapture Of The Church And When Will It Occur
In the following article I will explore the timing of the removal of Christian believers physically from the earth which is commonly referred to as the Rapture. This article will assume that you understand what the rapture is and will only address the timing of the event. Within the Christian community there are several views on this subject. Many believe that this event will be a “pretribulation rapture”, an event that likely occurs at some point before the four horsemen of the book of Revelation are released. Some believe that this rapture will be a “pre-wrath” event meaning that it will occur around the 6th seal of the book of Revelation. Still others, like me, believe that this event will occur at the “last trump” which I believe the Bible clearly teaches.
Over the last 25 years I have read many books and articles from many self-described experts on the subject and a large portion of experts attempt to prove a pretribulation rapture by way of a buffet approach. Take a verse from here and one from there and eventually you can arrive at a pretribulation rapture. I have thought of most of these teachings as little more than a mass of confusion based on fear and the wishful thinking of the writer. The deeper one reads into the book of Revelation the more frightening it becomes so find a way out before the events occur. It may certainly make you feel better but does nothing to prepare you for what you may face in your lifetime. However, I feel that it would take a blind man not to clearly see what the Bible teaches on the timing of the rapture which we are about to explore. And if by the end of this article you are not convinced on the timing and still believe that the rapture will occur in some sort of “pretribulation” fashion, ask yourself, “if I am wrong where will this leave me, if I wake one morning and discover that we are already in the middle of the tribulation period”? If you are a pastor who preaches a pretribulation rapture how much credibility would you have left? You were wrong about this pastor, how much more were you wrong about?
The timing of the rapture, I believe, can be easily proven with just the next few verses. No buffet needed. Below we see 1st Corinthians chapter 15 starting at verse 51. Most, like me, consider this the gold standard rapture verse. What is the timing in this verse? It’s at the “last trump”. Verse 51 also describes the event as a “mystery”. Now up to Revelation chapter 10 verse 7. What does it tell us about this last days “mystery of God”? It tells us that it will occur when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet which is “the last trump”.
Rev 10:7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
1Co 15:51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–
1Co 15:52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
If we look at verse 52 we see the two words, the “last trumpet”. In order for there to be a last trump there must be at a minimum a first trump or perhaps a series of trumps. If we allow the Bible to interpret the Bible then we must find a first or series of trumps within it. This only occurs in the book of Revelation, the seven trumpets. I have read several arguments contrary to this which included such things as trumpets used by racing Roman soldiers or the use of other non-biblical information to explain the text. Once again I believe this is done out of fear and wishful thinking.
The next credible argument is what is generally referred to as the “pre-wrath rapture”. This argument believes that the rapture will occur before God’s wrath comes upon the earth. This argument is based on the next two verses where we are told that the believer will not be subject to God’s coming wrath. So if you can determine where God’s wrath begins you should be able to determine the time frame of the rapture.
1Th 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So if this argument is correct, where is the first mention of “wrath” in the book of Revelation? It’s in chapter 6 starting at verse 15. This is at the beginning of the opening of the 6th seal. This is already very deep into the book and the first 5 seals have given us many terrifying events. What we see here are kings, great and rich men that believe that God’s wrath is now coming on the earth. As we will see in the next section it may not be so.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
In this next section we also see that wrath has come. There are 24 elders seated on their thrones before God. The timing of this heavenly event is in verse 15, the seventh trumpet. It’s at this point that the 24 elders believe that God’s wrath has come.
Rev 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Rev 11:16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
Rev 11:17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
Rev 11:18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small– and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
Rev 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
Who gets to be the authority in deciding when God’s wrath has come? The kings and other worldly figures from Rev 6:15 or the 24 elders who are before God? The time gap between the 6th seal and the 7th trump is likely an extended period time of months to years. It appears that what is being described in verse 18 is a present tense event in that wrath, judging the dead, rewarding the servants and for destroying those who destroy the earth are all coming at once. The only argument here is that the wrath of verse 18 actually started months or years before this event.
So in this article I’m not going to explore the information associated with the pretribulation rapture. There are truckloads of books and articles associated with that theory and if you have made it this far you are probably already aware of most of that information. The only thing that I ask is that you remember is that God is not the author of confusion and that when comparing various rapture theories consider if the theory arrives at its conclusion based on very complex methods or in a very simplistic and understandable way.
Jeff
12/22/23