The Rapture

 

The Rapture is eagerly anticipated by Christians around the world. It is the incredible event when the dead in Christ will be resurrected and those still alive in Christ will be caught up to be with the Lord forever (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). It is a mystery that is almost inconceivable. That much we all agree upon. Unfortunately, though, there is a whole lot of false teaching about the rapture. Christians are being misled into a false sense of security and bliss.

Christians are told that the rapture is the next thing on God’s agenda. Not so -- suffering and turmoil comes first. The rapture is not a blissful escape before tribulation, rather, it will be a rescue, a blessed redemption from the midst of great suffering.

Christians are told that the rapture is when Jesus will return for His church, while the Second Coming is when He will return with His church. Not so -- nowhere does the Bible say that the second coming of Jesus will be split into two parts, first in hover mode, then seven years later to plant His feet on the Mount of Olives. Jesus didn’t say that, Paul didn’t even hint at that, nor the Apostle John in all of Revelation.

Christians are told that the rapture is not mentioned in Revelation, because Revelation is all about the unbelievers who are left behind to endure the Great Tribulation. Not so -- Paul said that the rapture would occur at the last trumpet (I Cor 15:52). And there it is, in Revelation 14:14-15, exactly like Jesus described His second coming (Mt 24:30-31). And there it is again in Revelation 16:15, right before the seventh bowl, which parallels the seventh trumpet. I really think a person has to be somewhat blinded, or brainwashed, not to see the rapture in Revelation.

Christians are told that they are not destined for the judgment of God, so Jesus raptures the Church prior to the judgments of the Great Tribulation. Not so -- that is wishful thinking, predominant only in America. Jesus wants a pure bride, not a lukewarm, idolatrous bride. Only suffering will produce that. If the Jews were never exempt from judgment, why would we expect God to spare the Church (I Pet 4:17)? Furthermore, the trumpets are not judgments upon wicked unbelievers, during a fictitious Great Tribulation. They are warnings to all mankind of impending doom and destruction, and they are already happening.

And there you have it. The rapture is not an early installment of Christ’s second coming, a blissful escape before suffering and tribulation unfolds in the last days. That is a fabrication, in partnership with the Great Tribulation hoax. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you need to know the truth.