THE WORD RAPTURE does not occur in our English Bibles but comes from the Latin word raptus meaning “seized”. It is equivalent to the Greek word, arpagesometha which the Interlinear Greek New Testament translates as “shall be caught away” in 1Thess.4:17.
This passage of Scripture indicates that certain persons will be “caught away”, “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” and applies to the Christians, referred to as the “dead in Christ” and those referred to as “we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord”. In other words this scripture applies exclusively to all believers who have died since Christ rose from the dead and all those who will be living when the Rapture occurs.
Only Believers in Christ are Raptured
We can be sure about this because the Bible never described Old Testament believers as being “in Christ”. Neither does it describe the believers of the Tribulation or Millennial Kingdom as being “in Christ”. Only Church-age believers are in the body of Christ
In fact we know that all believers who died before Christ rose went to Paradise at death and their bodies were raised immediately after Christ rose. They “came out of the graves after His resurrection” (Matt.27:53) and when Jesus ascended they were led triumphantly into heaven (Eph.4:8-10).
Paradise is no longer located in sheol as described in Luke 16:19-31 but is now in heaven (2Cor.12:1-4).
About AD96 when John wrote the Revelation he was given a vision of the throne of God and he saw the 24 elders who David appointed leading the worship around the throne. They had been tranlated to heaven 64 years before when Christ ascended taking Paradise to heaven.
So who are these that will be “caught away” in the future? Who does the Bible refer to as being “in Christ”? They are believers who occupy a space in history after AD32 and before a period that Paul goes on to describe as “the Day of the Lord”.
Rapture Before the Day of the Lord
Having stated that those in Christ, both dead and alive, will one day be caught up in the clouds he addresses the timing of this event and says
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. … But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, … For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep (die), we should live together with him” (1Thess.5:1 -10).
Nothing could be clearer. The timing of the Rapture must occur before “the Day of the Lord” when God’s wrath is poured out on this world.
Throughout the Old Testament we have 26 references to the Day of the Lord and it describes a period in history when the wrath of God will be poured out. In some instances God’s wrath was poured out on past nations but in many instances it clearly refers to the last days. Isaiah wrote of the “last days” and he refers to the future “day of the Lord…when He shall arise to shake terribly the earth” (Isa.2:2,12,21).
Jesus warned us that before He comes to reign on the earth there will be a short period of “great tribulation”. The Olivet Discourse spoken just before Jesus went to the cross indicated there would be tribulation such that human life on earth would be in danger of extinction (Matt.24:22).
The Tribulation is for Israel
The Book of the Revelation from chapters 6 to 19 provides a detailed description of the Great Tribulation when this world will be shaken by earthquakes and distressed by every other calamity imaginable after which Christ will return to reign over the earth for 1,000 years (Rev.20:1-7).
It is significant that this period known as “the day of the Lord” is called “great tribulation” in Rev.7:14 and that there is not one mention of the Church or Christians on earth during the period of Tribulation.
Yet again and again throughout the Tribulation period we find Israel is seen as God’s witness on earth.
In 1Chronicles chapter 24 David appointed 24 elders to lead the worship in the temple that Solomon would build and those 24 elders were raised with Christ to continue their service around the throne in heaven! (Rev.4:4-11).
The Old Testament saints, now in heaven, were from “every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev.5:9) reaching back to before the Flood. But worship at the throne of God is led by the 24 elders of Israel.
The manner of the worship led by the 24 elders is not consistent with the Church age. These elders have incense and censors as they did in the Temple. Never do we find the Apostles using incense in any act of worship. Christendom has exalted ceremony and ritual as an act of worship as they seek to copy the Old Testament Temple rituals but no such practices were seen in the early Christian Church.
The period of the Tribulation is clearly defined as 7 years divided into two periods of 1,260 days. In the first 1,260 days there will be 144,000 Jewish men who will turn to Christ and will preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in all the world for a witness to the nations (Rev.71-8; Matt.24:14).
When Jesus came the first time He came to the nation of Israel and preached the Gospel of the kingdom (Matt.10:5-7). John the Baptist preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and the disciples were told to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom i.e. that the King had come and if Israel had sought the Lord the Kingdom would have been established.
In Luke 17 the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would appear and Jesus turned to the disciples and said that they would not see it but He must suffer first and His coming to establish the kingdom would occur when He appeared like lightning in the heavens (Luke17:24-25).
Jesus said that His coming to establish His kingdom would occur “immediately after the tribulation” (Matt.24:29).
The first half of the 7-year tribulation will see a temple built at Jerusalem and two prophets in the similitude of Haggai and Zechariah would minister at Jerusalem (Rev.11:1-14). Then at the mid-point of the 7 years, after 1,260 days (Rev.11:3), both of these prophets will be slain by Antichrist who will set up his idol image in the temple. This is referred to as the “abomination of desolation” and occurs at the mid point of the 7 years of tribulation (Matt.24:15; Dan.9:27). Daniel prophesied that this period of 7 years that will see the nation of Israel enter her golden age when she will
– finish the transgression,
– make an end of sins,
– make reconciliation for iniquity, – bring in everlasting righteousness, – seal up the vision and prophecy, – anoint the most holy (place).
There can be no doubt that the seven years mentioned by Daniel is the same seven years described by John in the Revelation and that the total absence of any mention of the Christians or the Church during this period is an indication that those who are described as being “in Christ” and caught up before the Day of the Lord are believers from the Church age between AD32 and the Tribulation. The seven years of tribulation are the last seven years of Israel’s prophetic history before Christ returns to reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem.
The Church must therefore be removed before the last seven years of Israel’s history which Daniel, a Jew, was told by the Archangel Gabriel, were “determined upon thy people (Israel) and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem)” (Dan.9:24).
If we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2Tim.2:15) then me must avoid confusing Israel with the church.
The Church is not Israel.
The Church did not exist prior to the day of Pentecost. In fact it was not known to the apostles until after Pentecost. Even 10 days before the day of Pentecost the disciples were expecting the kingdom to be retored to Israel! (Acts1:6). Then when the Apostles preached they called the nation of Israel to repentance and Peter indicated that if the nation repented, God would send Jesus back and there would be
“the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts3:21).
This world cannot experience the joys of the kingdom of God on earth while Israel is unrepentant but there are seven more years allocated by God in which there will be great tribulation and Israel will turn to Christ. At this time God will send Gog from the land of Magog (Russia) along with four Muslim nations to invade the land in the first half of the 7 years of Tribulation. The entire 7 years is about the nation of Israel; first to bring Israel to repentance and then to judge the Gentile nations. Therefore the Gentile believers from the Church age must be removed first before Israel can fulfil her role and before the throne of David is reestablished (Ezek.21:25-27; Acts15:16).
The Church is the Bride of Christ
The Rapture or “catching away“ relates to the Church and not to Israel. Israel is God’s earthly people with earthly covenants and promises but the Church is “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph.1:3).
Israel has a sacred city where God has placed His name (Deut.12:5,11,14…) but the Christian church is different:
“Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb.13:14).
Paul told the believers in Christ at Corinth that
“I have espoused you to one
husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2Cor.11:2).
And in Ephesians 5:25 he told husbands to love their wives “even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.”
Jesus is the King of Israel but He is the Bridegroom of the church and when He returns at the end of the Tribulation He will return with His bride.
When Jesus spoke to the nation of Israel about His second coming He urged the Jews to be watching for His return
“like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding” (Luke 12:36).
The Jews were told to “seek ye the kingdom of God” for it was “the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke12:32) but the Church is
to wait for the Bridegroom. The Church is the Bride of Christ and Israel will be the guests at the marriage supper of the Lamb when He returns after the wedding in heaven.
The wedding will take place in heaven but the marriage supper on earth after the Lord returns with His Bride. For the Bride to come with Christ she must first go to Christ and that will be the Rapture when she is “caught up to be for ever with the Lord”.
When John described the second Advent of Christ at the end of the Tribulation he saw the Bride with Him attired in white linen garments
“for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints”
(Rev.19:8).
Before the Bride of Christ comes with Christ she must first be caught up to heaven in resurrection power where she will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive her rewards for faithful service. The original Greek for righteousness is plural and refers to the “righteous acts of saints” that will be on display to the glory of Christ at His second advent.
It would be impossible for this to occur if the Church was not raptured before the Lord returns at the end of the Tribulation. While Israel is purified on earth and passes through the Tribulation fires of affliction on earth, the Church will be rewarded in heaven and the marriage of the Lamb will take place.
The guests at the marriage supper of the Lamb will be the Tribulation saints who stood fast against the Antichrist and survived to the coming of the Lord! These are described as “the sheep” who “inherit the kingdom” in the 75 days that follow the Lord’s return to earth (Matt.25:34; Dan12:12).
BY John Ecob
