Let’s begin by acknowledging that there is no need for a Christian to accept the term “Rapture” at all. It is not biblical, and was only coined out of convenience, as a shorthand, to lump together passages that seemed related, but were still a mystery to those who began to use it. There was a certain scriptural topic they wished to explore, and it is tiresome to discuss a complex subject without a label for it.
There are several false beliefs about the event commonly called the Rapture:
It happens to the Gentile Church;
God will take people up to Heaven;
It could happen any day now.
Let’s explain why these misunderstandings happen.
Gentiles aren’t the endgame
The (Gentile) Church likes to assume that it is the sole focus of God’s prophecy from now on. They ignore the mountains of prophecies from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel which point to Israel’s redemption being the goal of God’s plans. They think that because the Jews rejected Jesus the first time, God has given up on them and chosen the Gentile believers as his people forever. The New Testament specifically debunks this.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come from Zion;
He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
And this is My covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
(Romans 11:25-29)
Believers who do remember these passages and the older prophecies tend to fall for the deception that the State of Israel is the fulfillment of those prophecies, and so they become mere Zionists instead, which is also an error.
The reality is that God has been using the salvation of the Gentiles “in the hope that I [by God’s urging] may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them.” (Romans 11:14) And we see clearly (in Rev 7:3-8) that there is a remnant of Israel which will be redeemed at the very end, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. Only God knows who these people would be, if they are alive today, but we do know that all of them will be males, and all of them will be virgins (Rev. 14:1-5). These are known as the 144,000 Israelites, or the “Remnant”. They receive a spiritual “mark” in their foreheads which seals their allegiance to God, and they are miraculously protected from the plagues and destruction which afflicts the rest of mankind in the final days of cataclysm.
They don’t get taken to Heaven
Read the following passage and see if you can find a description of believers being taken up to Heaven, the spiritual realm of the heavenly host.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so they which sleep in Jesus [ie. dead Christians] will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven [exit Heaven and return] with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first [meaning the First Resurrection happens before the Rapture]:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)
Now think about it carefully: we see clearly that the Lord descends from Heaven to return to earth before the either the Resurrection or the Rapture happens. This is very important, because the triumphant return of Jesus (ie. with a shout and trumpet) is something we can find in other passages of prophecies, creating a “hyperlink” of sorts. This situates the “Rapture” event at a very particular time in the future. It is all related to the “Day of the Lord”. It’s a time of judgment against the wicked world, and the establishment of Zion, which becomes the Millennial Kingdom. What does this mean in regards to the Rapture logic? It means those who are “caught up” to be “ever be with the Lord” will first need to experience everything leading up to the Day of the Lord, which involves all the crazy cataclysms described in Revelation, but it also means that they will not be taken up to Heaven—since Jesus is not going to be there! He’s coming down to be on the earth for 1,000 years!
In this same passage, the resurrection of the dead is also mentioned, which is another “hyperlink”. It links us directly to Revelation 20, when Satan is bound for 1,000 years and the martyrs are given thrones to rule the world. It is called the First Resurrection, and it is part of the Day of the Lord. These passages are not collected into a single section of the Bible, but they are all hyperlinked.
Timing will remain a mystery
By now you can see misconception #3, which is that it could happen any time. In my book Maybe Everyone Is Wrong: Revelations, Conspiracy, and the Kingdom of Heaven, I provide a new comprehensive study of end time prophecy. One of my biggest discoveries was the meaning and scope of the “Day of the Lord”, and the linear series of events we should expect leading up to it. Yes, there are passages in the Bible that talk about the Lord returning “like a thief in the night” and that nobody can know the “day or the hour” of when it will happen. This is true, because we don’t know when these things will happen, even if we can describe the order of events. Plus, Christ’s return will be sudden and shocking to those who are still alive on earth at that time. The Church will be killed by that point. We’ll be relaxing in Heaven as we wait for the Day of the Lord. “Those who are alive and remain” will not be Gentiles or traditional Christians, but a special Remnant that meets the “two witnesses” and sees the success of the Satanic World Government. The Man of Sin will appear to have overcome the promises of God. The world will be deceived. The 144,000 will not trust the Man of Sin or believe that the promises are broken, but that doesn’t mean they will understand the timing either. So it will be a mystery until the end.
The point is, Pre-Tribulation Rapture for the Gentile Church is an error. I suggest you share this post with others to help them understand this more clearly, as it will become an increasingly important topic going forward.
We don’t need a Rapture
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you whenever they revile you, and they persecute you, and they say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matthew 5:10-12 EMTV)
Why do Christians hate the idea of persecution? Are we so soft, lukewarm, and out of touch with the teachings of Jesus that they think being attacked by Satan’s conspiracy is the same as God’s wrath? Do we not realize how important it is for us to have trials and tribulations, so that we can be proven by fire, like gold which is refined by heat? As Gentiles, we are invited into the promises of Israel and have a special opportunity to show the Lord that we belong in His covenant. And it’s not even “we” who do the hard work, because the Holy Spirit is what keeps us faithful and gives us strength.
The New Testament is clear that there are special rewards for martyrs. It’s nothing to be afraid of. We go to Heaven the old fashioned way!
The Rapture will happen for the Remnant, the 144,000 Israelites, because they are the penultimate Chosen Ones at the climax of Satanic world power, showing that even the most evil time imaginable cannot overwhelm Israelites who put their trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. They will be Christians, but not like us. They will be firsthand witnesses to the most important prophetic events since Jesus came the first time. Let us rejoice that Jesus has not abandoned the 12 tribes of Israel. It is not only the Jews (Judah) who receive this promise, but many people who probably will not be recognized as Israelites when the time comes. It’s fascinating to think about God marking certain people who may not even realize they belong to the tribes, and showing his love and committment to them in the darkest of days.
Our job, until then, is to proclaim the Gospel and stand as sheep among wolves.
“For Your sake we are killed all day long,
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:36-39)
Amen.
If you find this Bible study helpful, don’t keep it to yourself!
Excellent, Thank you!!
Very well written, thank you. It still begs the question about the marriage supper, timing and there is then no room for people to become born again after ‘the church’ is killed in the last days?
Death will come quickly to the church globally when the anti-Christ is removed and they will escape Gods wrath and outpouring as they won’t be there? I do however struggle to understand how entire Christian families with their young children will be able to stand strong in this. It has happened for 100’s of years but seems to me this will be done on a massive, global scale never seen before.
My other question is first the restrainer will be removed (generally understood to be the Holy Spirit) before the anti christ is revealed. Is the restrainer then perhaps the spirit filled body of the church that is removed?