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THE RAPTURE (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The word “rapture” is not an evil term in and of itself.  It simply involves the idea of transporting an individual from one sphere to another.  The word is derived from the Latin term, “rapture,” which means “to be snatched or caught away.” 

            The premillennial doctrine called “The Rapture” is an evil concept.  Some believe that it dates back as far as The Shepherd of Hermas (ca, A.D. 140).  In this writing, the author alludes to the idea that Christians will not be part of the great tribulation.  The rapture doctrine teaches that Christians will not be involved in the seven-year tribulation because the Lord will come secretly and rapture His saints from the earth to be with Him during this period.  “Modern pretribulationism gained rise in the seventeenth century with the Puritan preachers Increase Mather and Cotton Mather.  It was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren and was further promoted in the United States through the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20th century” (www.wikipedia.com, “Rapture”).  Modern-day preachers and educators who have espoused the doctrine of the rapture are familiar names like Jimmy Swaggart, J. Dwight Pentecost, Tim LaHaye, J. Vernon McGee, Perry Stone, Chuck Smith, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, Chuck Missler, Gran Jeffrey, Thomas Ice, David Jeremiah, John F. MacArthur, and John Hagee.

            On The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, there is a page called “Answers.”  One of the questions on the site is:  “What is the rapture?”  Here is the answer the association provides:

 

                        “There are many Christians who believe that the second coming of Jesus                                                            Christ will be in two phases.  First, He will come for believers, both living                                                          and dead, in the ‘rapture’ (read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).  In this view, the                                                        rapture – which is the transformation and catching up of all Christians,                                                 dead or alive, to meet Christi the air – will be secret, for it will be unknown                                            to the world of unbelievers at the time of its happening.

 

                        “The effect of this removal, in the absence of multitudes of people, will, of                                                          course be evident on earth.  Then, second, after a period of seven years of                                                          tribulation on earth, Christ will return to the earth with His church, the                                                             saints who were raptured (Matthew 24:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:13,                                         Revelation 1:7).  He will be victorious over His enemies and will reign on                                                           the earth for 1,000 years (the millennium) with His saints, the church”                                                   (https://billygraham.org/answer/what-is-the-rapture/).

 

Simply explained the doctrine of the rapture teaches that Jesus will secretly return for His saints, both the dead and the living, before the great tribulation.  These righteous individuals, we are told, will be “caught up,” that is “raptured” unto Jesus until the end of the tribulation.  Jesus will then return to earth with all of these saved individuals and establish His millennial kingdom on the earth.

            This teaching comes from two primary passages of Scripture, I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Matthew 24:37-42.  Let’s read two verses from I Thessalonians 4:13-18.  In the text, Paul is informing the Christians at Thessalonica about the fate of dead believers when Jesus returns.  “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  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” (v. 16-17).  Notice Paul refers to the living believers being “caught up” to be with the dead who are resurrected to be with Jesus.  In the Latin, the words would be a form of “raptura” from which we get the word “rapture.”

            The second text involves Jesus’ discussion of the Fall of Jerusalem and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in the Last Day.  His teachings about the Second Coming begin in verse 36 and continue to the end of the chapter.  Let’s look at verses 36 through 42. 

                        “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my                                       Father only.  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son                                        of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and                                           drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into                                         the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall            

also the coming of the Son of man be.  Then shall two be in the field; the one

shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill;

the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Watch therefore; for ye know not                               what hour your Lord doth come.”

 

Verses 40 and 41 are important for those who teach The Rapture.  Two are in the field.  At the rapture, one is taken and one is left behind.  Two women are grinding at the mill.  One is raptured and one is left behind.  This is what they believe will happen when Jesus comes secretly for His saints prior to The Great Tribulation Period.  Tim LaHaye has an entire set of books entitled:  “The Left Behind” series.

            In this article, we have set before you the basic concept of “The Rapture.”  In our next article, we will refute this doctrine.  It is a false teaching that, if true, would alert all of the lost to exact date of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.