Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
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Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
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What is the Rapture? Q. Is the rapture in the Bible? Q. My church doesn’t believe in the rapture, is
that a big deal?
In a church there are a number of things
that are just personal preference. Do they light candles, use bread or crackers
for communion, wear robes or street closes, have a organ or drums, etc. We can
debate what is right, but this is not much better then the discussions of how
many Angels can fit on the head of a needle. God saves just as well whether the
church is a storefront, or a cathedral. It’s the message that is preached we
need to make note of. The Rapture isn’t one of those “minor” points. If the church you go to (or are looking at) doesn’t teach the rapture, just leave. Don’t try to over look the point, leave. The rapture is a bedrock principle that is non-negotiable. Salvation by faith alone, the Trinity, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and others are non-negotiable. No matter how nice the church is, if they fudge on the non-negotiable, you need to leave. Like the word “Trinity”, “Rapture” isn’t in the Bible. Both words are used to better explain ideas, concepts, and actions that are in the Bible. Just because the word isn’t used doesn’t mean it isn’t addressed. Many words we use now aren’t in the Bible, words come and go depending on our need to express a idea, or simplify a thought. Trinity and Rapture are words we use to simplify ideas the Bible covers more at length. The Hebrew language didn’t have a word for three Gods that were one, but we do and that is Trinity. But the Trinity is well evident in the Bible. The Rapture is much the same. The Spirit spells it out in word, and also in actions from the past. When translating from any language to another many words don’t have a perfect “sister” word that corresponds to the original. In transferring to English many men did the best they could, with much prayer and discussion. When translating 1 Thessalonians 4:17 they came across the Greek word “harpazo” (har-pad’-zo). In Greek it means to seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, or take (by force). Harpazo is derived from the Greek word “haireomai” which means; to take for oneself, prefer and/or choose. When looking at the Greek, “caught up” is a weak choice of words for harpazo, “rapture” is a lot closer, but rapture is Latin and because of the Roman Catholic use of, “Latin only” at that time, the last words they were about to use were Latin when translating to English, if they had a choice. Even the word rapture doesn’t include the idea of taking for oneself because of preference, and that it is a choice. Everyone pretty well knows the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In that fable a young Arthur comes across Excalibur imbedded in the rock. He sees it, he wants it, it was meant for him and with great force he “harpazo’s” it free. We Christians aren’t much like Excalibur’s, most of us are closer to dull butter knifes, but we our His, and our King is returning to free us from this rock we are imbedded in. So lets take 1 Thessalonians 4:17 with what we know of “caught up” (harpazo). We could then expound on it, maybe like; “Then we which are alive and remain shall be seized by the Lord and taken by force, up to meet Him in the air because we are the ones He preferred, and He had chosen: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. There are other verses that the rapture is address in but lets take a break before looking at examples. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that was a mystery? You’ve followed the story all way to the end and you think you’ve figured out, it was Mr. Muster, in the parlor, with the candle stick. You have read closely, kept notes, and have weighed all the facts, yep it’s Mr. Muster. You turn the last pages and find out its Dr. Catsup with the lava lamp in the ti-ki hut. Hey what’s up? Who’s Dr. Catsup, he hasn’t been mentioned at all, lava lamps haven’t been invented yet, and the house didn’t have a ti-ki hut. You feel cheated; you never had a chance to figure it out. It was a surprise ending because the information wasn’t there. It was unfair and deceitful. Our God isn’t unfair or deceitful, He can’t be, it’s against His nature. One thing that God can’t do (yes there is something God can’t do) is go against His nature. God can’t lie, cheat, steal, or do anything evil. God is Holy and good. God can’t deny Himself, or His nature. He wouldn’t be God, and God can’t be anything but God. God came to earth as His Son Jesus, humbled Himself more then we deserved, was crucified with all the pain and humility, for what, just to cheat us out of knowing his intentions? The Gospel is the “Good News”, not the "great secret". God wishes for all to be saved, and presents the facts that are related to that Salvation in print. We won’t be able to claim “I didn’t know”, God spells it out in black and white. As we look at this mystery of the end times we need to look for the facts and clues. God hasn’t gone to great lengths to hide them. In fact they’re pretty plain; man doesn’t see them because the facts don’t fit our preconceived ideas of what should happen. Man over looks them for fear they may have to rethink their position. God repeats Himself, in actions and deeds, as a way for us to know what may happen next. It’s also a way to put His signature on His actions. It’s to long for here but have you ever wondered why things happen in similar time frames? Multiples of forty years or why the repeating of the number seven? Because the odds of those happening by chance is astronomical. Its God way to say “Hey I’m in this”. God doesn’t change, He is the same today, as He was yesterday, and the same as He will be tomorrow. Knowing that about God would mean there is a good chance we can find the Rapture in the pass. What we look for is called “foreshadowing”. Jesus is foreshadowed, as is Salvation, in fact, if it is of great importance God either tells us or foreshadows it. The rapture is what I would consider important, so lets see. If a picture paints a 1000 words then the rapture is a novel. First we can take a look at Noah, that guy with the big Christ-Craft inboard (Gen. 6-8). At the time the people of the earth had pretty well put themselves in the toilet. What they had done, and were doing, left God with little options but to flush them, and that He did. But before he was about to drop the canopy on them and open the springs, He told Noah to build a boat. Noah was not perfect (no one but Jesus is) but he did find “grace in the eyes of the LORD” and “walked with God” (Gen. 6:8-9). His blood line hadn’t been tainted and He did listen. He didn’t know all the reasons why he was to build a boat or why God had chosen him and his family to survive, but he had faith in what God said, and faith that God would save them. Again before Jesus it’s faith that saves. Before the flood there was no rain, the earth was a big bio-sphere (like you use to make in science class). To flood the earth so much as to need a boat, nothing like this had been seen. It didn’t make sense to him but off to the woodshop he went, and spent a great amount of time making an ark. But the rains did come, God opened the springs of the earth and Noah’s family was lifted (raptured) above the waters. Like the coming rapture God gave forewarning and time to prepare. The date God was to flood the earth, Noah didn’t know, but he knew he was in the rainy season. Joshua came to Jericho to take the city down by Gods will. When they got to Jericho they found an insurmountable task from mans standpoint. When it’s out of mans hand and he can’t do it, that is when God lends his hand. Jericho was about to go though an urban renewal project the likes of which they never had seen before. But living in Jericho was a woman by the name of Rahab, she was a harlot (God forgives all by way of Salvation in Jesus, which is, what else, by faith). She also had a family, and she had faith in the God of Joshua, or at least in His power, for she hid the spies Joshua sent. The God of the Jews was rather well known by now among the surrounding nations, after all they had kick Egypt’s butt. But the city had faith in their walls, this woman had faith in Joshua’s God. So faith was about to save again from impending death. The walls would fall, the woman and her family were removed (raptured) from the city. After they were out, the plan went on to a smashing success. The woman didn’t know the hour the walls would fall, but she knew it was the right time to get moving (Jos. 6:1-27). Lot was a man who made some bad reality decisions and ended up in a shoddy neighborhood. To this day the names of Sodom and Gomorrah bring to mind less then ideal locations for raising a family. The closest maybe, is the Vegas strip and Bangkok. Again God was going to do some market corrections in the local neighbor. And again He sent notice of eviction. Abraham (who had a lot more guts then me, or that much love for his follow man) tried to save the cities and bargained with God for the lives of the people. All he needed to do was find a hand full of “good” people. Instead the men of the city wanted to rape the angels that had come to remove Lot and his family. By faith in God, Lot and his family followed the angels out of the city (raptured), and God laid the cities bare (Gen. 19:1-29). Lot was by no means perfect, far from it, but he did have faith in the LORD. And it’s faith that saves. When God is about to bring judgment He always saves His faithful. What about things like hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes? The earth is fallen and corrupt. This isn’t the earth that God designed; this is the earth that man remodeled by way of introducing sin. When Jesus was speaking about the 18 people who had died when the tower of Siloam had fell, he asked if they were “sinners above all men”, He said no (Lk. 13:1-5). When asked if the blind mans parents had sin, implying the blindness was a result of sin, He said no. But in his case it was so the works of God could be shown (John 9:1-3). It wasn’t that God made him blind, but He used it to show Himself. Most of the disasters that befall man are either the result of sins effects on nature, or just man being himself. When it is judgment from God, we’ll know it. However, the Christian isn’t made for judgment, and like in the past we will be removed. OK you may say all those people were saved from death at that time, but didn’t all those people in time die? They didn’t escape death in the end. We have two we can look at that didn’t die in their human form. First we can look at Enoch. Enoch was a Godly man who had faith in his God, he also “walked with God” (Gen. 5:24). He lived before the flood and one day he was gone, taken to heaven without dieing, saved from the judgment that the earth was to go though. Was Enoch the only one, the Bible doesn’t say if he and Noah’s families were the only ones absolutely, but it seems that way. However, even if they were the only ones, it still goes to show that God can, and will, take the faithful when He deems the conditions are right. Next, we have Elijah, one of my favorites from the Old Testament. Another that was taken alive to heaven, on the flaming chariot of God no less. High honor for a faithful servant (2 Kings 2:11). He was taken to wait for a return to earth. The return is to proclaim the return of Christ. He came once with Moses at the mount of transfiguration (Mt. 17:3). Israel deigned their Messiah and the two returned to heaven to wait for a future date. They were, and are, the two wittiness, one for the law (Moses), and one for the prophets (Elijah). The reason is the Christians will be gone (raptured) and the Jewish nation will once again be center stage. For the Christians, one can represent those who died and are called from the dead (Moses), like will happen just before the Church is raptured, and one to represent the living who are called a moment after the dead (Elijah). Just imagine, 144,000 super Jewish evangelism, like Billy Graham, Dwight Moody, and Billy Sunday all rolled into one and on steroids. Then add Moses, and Elijah performing the miracles they did before, while on earth, and taking on the mantel that John the Baptist carried for Elijah. I have to admit there is a small part of me that would like to take a hand in it. But this is Israel’s time to come to Jesus and take their rightful place after all these years, and I’ll return at the end with the Lord in His Glory (which is none to shabby for a sinner like me). So we have seen that raptures have happened in the past, that the living have been taken to heaven without earthly death, and there are many cases of the dead raised. Now you may say, most of those illustrations were from the Old Testament, maybe that’s how God dealt with them under the law. Really those are illustrations of Grace, Mercy, and Salvation by "faith" in the times of the law. They are the foreshadowing of things to come. But we can also answer that doubt in the New Testament. Rapture means to be taken quickly, to be snatched up as we have seen. I don’t know if kids play “jacks” any more, but if you remember you would take the ball, bounce it, and snatch all the jacks you could as quickly as you could? The first jacks will be the dead. A foreshadowing of this was right after Jesus died. Not only did He clear out the righteous from Sheol, many of the dead were reunited with their bodies (Mt. 27:52-53). Out of the tombs they came and walked the streets before heading to heaven. That must have made an impact on those in Jerusalem; I know it would have made me reconsider some of my long held beliefs if they weren’t right. These were the first fruits for Jesus. Just a side note. The earth is a closed system. Every atom that was here at the start is still here in some form. Be it carbon, or ash, transferred into energy, or converted into food and transformed into other molecules or cells. God knows were they all are. When the dead in Christ are returned to there bodies, God will have no trouble bringing them all back together, and then transforming them all into new perfect heavenly bodies. Salvation is by faith, not works. If we had to arrange for the care of our dead bodies to make it to heaven, then Salvation would depend on a work on our behalf, worst yet, it would depend on the works of others after we were dead. After we are dead no one can save you if you haven’t received the gift of Salvation. No prayers for the dead, no prayers for purgatory, and no amount of money or works by the living can change a person’s status once they’re dead. But some worry about what will happen to their bodies after death, or about loved ones that may have been cremated or lost. Life has enough worries, no need to worry about death, unless you’re not saved. If you’re not saved, you better worry or you will have an eternal lifetime to regret it. The inventor of the universe, DNA, light, atoms, and everything else can handle putting you back together, in about the twinkling of the eye. Don’t expect the graves to be opened. I know that the tomb of Jesus was opened after He rose, but that I believe was to let others in, not let Him out. One; we have the grave wrappings. They weren’t unwrapped, but were as if He was inside and just vanished, and that’s what happened. We also know that He walked thru walls. If that is how our bodies will act then six feet of dirt isn't much to transverse. Unless you dug the person up, I don’t believe there will be any evidence that the graves are empty. Not many if anyone will notice the dead have left. Besides what will happen next, if anything is noticed, will be more visual then that miracle. A moment after the dead rise (really the dead bodies rise to be reunited with the spirits. The dead bodies spirits are with the Lord now) comes a second bounce of the ball, the next jacks are the living. We who have received the gift of salvation will join them in the air. I said if anything is noticed because I’m not sure many will. Much has been made of the saved being called in the rapture. The left behind movies, and all those tracks of world pandemonium have given a idea that there will be mass hysteria. I remember drawings from those tracks of buses going off bridges, planes falling from the sky, cars going driverless, whole church congregations missing. Humor me here for a moment. What happens if almost no one notices? Many great, great teachers have made note, over the years, that they feel many of their followers weren’t saved. Many figure 75 to 90 percent of their congregations are lost, even under these great teachers. How many more that don’t go to church, or are falsely saved, are lost? I hate to say it but most of the TV, and many of the radio preachers will still be on the air. Many of the greats have already left us, but their tapes still play everyday. And will be replayed for a while after the rapture, warning the "left behind" of a rapture that has already happened. Leavening them to go on with their lives the way they always have. Would it be so hard to believe that God will arrange for the saved to be off from work, at home asleep, out of town, or otherwise in locations/situations, that the impact of their disappearance will be minimal? Now couple this with some form of disaster, earthquakes, hurricanes, maybe world wide terrorist strikes? Maybe something that takes down the power grids and the computer systems like solar flares. People will be so busy, will the authorities have the time, or interest, to follow up on Aunt Alice, who has come up missing? With the computers systems down, everyone will be missing to them. Panic to the point were some people leave the cities, or areas that they live in. Are they missing or just finding safer surroundings? God said He will send a great delusion to the unsaved so that they won’t know. If you have had a clear presentation of the Gospel and didn’t take the gift of Salvation, your chance will have passed. Those TV preachers in their crystal palaces, or on purpose driven stages will still be there come Sunday. Will there be rumors of rapture? Maybe, but fear not those preachers will lay the peoples doubts to rest. After all if there was a rapture they wouldn’t be there, right? Like after 9/11 the people will flock to the churches, but this time only wolves in sheep clothing will be waiting for them. When will this happen? Maybe before you get done reading this web page, I truly believe we are that close. But maybe not till tomorrow, next year, or a hundred from now, maybe more. But I’m looking for it at any second, and so should you. There are four major views on when the rapture happens, one is correct, one is close, and two are just way off. First we look at the two that are way off. I can’t name all the faiths and which they believe here, because it would take up to much space. I’ll go into it more under pages just for these faiths and cults. Here’s the four views 1. The rapture has already happened or was a spiritualized event in the past. Depending on which faith and religion you look at. Many of these people are big on replacement theology (the idea that the church has replaced the Jews in Gods plan…wrong, wrong and wrong). They find very vague ties to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., to outlandish events like the comet showers that fell in Russia in the recent past. These people take so much out of context it ain’t funny. Much of the Old Testament has to be ignored or rewritten. There is one preacher based in Florida that most would think is a fine man. Yet he also believes that we are in the Millennial Kingdom (the time Christ will rule). If this is the Millennial Kingdom, then God greatly exaggerates, which is a form of lying, and we all know God doesn’t lie. This minister is on radio everyday, TV on the weekends, and has done some great works. He may well be saved but some of his teachings on end times are skewed. He isn’t the only one, but one of the better known. By replacing Gods chosen people (the Jews) with the church, he mixes teachings meant for the Jews with teachings for the Church. Jews and Christians both play different roles in Gods plan. Replacement only muddles and confuses Gods Word leaving hope for a clear understanding lost. 2. Next is the post trib. This group believes that we will go though the tribulation. They also will mix promises and warnings meant for the Jews with Christian instructions, many times employing replacement beliefs. They also get some of this from misreadings of Revelation, “they who overcomes”, and other misquoted passages. They are also wrong for some of the same reasons as the next group. 3. Mid trib. They believe that Christians will go thru half the tribulation and then be raptured. They take the words “Great tribulation” and “tribulation” and divide them into two different time periods, leaving the church to go thru a “not so great tribulation”. 4. And lastly is the pre-trib. This is the group that is the most on track. And the reasons are, many of the reasons the others are wrong. There is a vast difference between punishment and the hard times we go thru in a sin corruptive world. What Christians are going to be raptured from is judgment and punishment. The tribulation is a reckoning. God is going to settle the bill this world has been putting on credit. For the Christian this bill has been paid for by the gift of salvation, in the blood of Jesus. For the rest of the world it’s closing time. There is a lot of trouble and pain in this world, that isn’t punishment. Sin has poisoned this world, has poisoned the earth (weather, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.), has poisoned man (pride, hate, sickness, death, etc.), has poisoned culture (art, film, entertainment, faith, etc.). Sins effects are so common that we don’t even notice it. Only when sins effects influence our health, money, or makes us uncomfortable do we then speak up. We ask God why, or blame Him, when its just consequents of living a life seeped in sin. The tribulation is a collection of debt long overdo, not the effects of a sin-laced environment. Before this collection comes, God is going to send notice of payment do. That we are starting to see now. We are to know these signs and we’ll cover them on another page, but it’s safe to say overdo notices are being given. These warnings are going to get worst and worst, the Christian isn’t promised to be free of them. It is going to get real rough here, but it’s nothing like what’s going to be like during the tribulation. That will be far worst then anything man has endured thru out history. Look into the past, all the wars, floods, plagues, etc. The tribulation will make all that look like a day at an amusement park. How do we know we will be raptured? Let us look. Back to our friend Paul (you think you have it rough, look at his life). Another verse that shows us the rapture is 1 Corinthians 15:50-52. Here he is talking about the dead and the living being changed and rasied (raptured). We all won’t die but those that are living will be taken and changed in the “twinkling of a eye”. Another verse for this change is Philippians 3:20-21. He also tells us to wait for the Son who delivers us from the wrath (tribulation) to come (1Thessalonians 1:10). We are delivered (raptured) from the wrath (tribulation) because “God hath not appointed us to wrath (tribulation)” (1 Thes. 5:9). We Christians have the “blessed hope”. We read in Revelations 3:10 “I (Jesus) will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth”. The next line is “behold, I come quickly” (Rev. 3:11). "Quickly" doesn't mean short in time, as in the near future. Quickly means “suddenly”, without warning. As a Christian we have God in the Spirit living in us. The Spirit won’t leave us, He is the “Comforter” that will abide with us for ever (John 14:16). The Spirit is the one who holds back “the man of sin”. The Spirit will do this till He is removed (2 Thes. 2:7). Since we have the Spirit for ever, if He is removed, then we are removed. Remember we learned that we are in the last church age? In Revelations Jesus tells us about the Church from chapter 2 to the end of chapter 3. In chapter 4 John is told to “Come up hither” and next he was “in the spirit” (raptured) (Rev. 4:1-2). After that John talks about heaven and what will happen in the tribulation. But it’s the world and the Jews that take center stage, the Church has now dropped off the radar screen. Again the Jews are Gods chosen people, don’t mix the church with them, they have their own (and very difficult) path to follow. The events we read in Matthew 24, & Revalations 4-19, are concerning the Jews. Remember to keep verses in context, In Matthew 24 Jesus is speaking to Jews, about Jews and what is going to happen to Israel. If we have the gift of salvation, Jesus has taken Gods wrath for us. To receive this salvation one has only to take it by faith. Faith in the death and resurrection, the shed blood, and the payment for your sins in those acts by Jesus on the cross. Salvation is the “Good News”, the bad news is if you don’t take this gift before the rapture, and have been given the a clear presentation of the Gospel (Good News) as in the pages of this web site, it may be too late after. God is going to send a great delusion (2 Thes. 2:11) and the only ones that will be saved after, will be those who clearly haven’t heard. This makes sense if you figure that those left in these dead (and purpose driven) churches will be the ones that merge with the other faiths, to make the last one world church of the anti-christ. The time to receive salvation is NOW! Please do it today, What is Salvation? Find out now. After the rapture the Jews take back the stage and salvation is going to be at the point of a sword for many. I believe many of those that will be holding those swords, will be people that have embraced this last church, you don’t want to be at either end of that weapon. To wrap up
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Last modified: 12/15/07For a FREE downloadable KJV Bible click here. Opinions or questions: Mail@SimpleBibleAnswers.com
Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
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