THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

UNDERSTANDING BIBLE PROPHECY

Session 7: THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

Sequence, Details, Timing, and Purpose

(I Thess. 4:13-17; various passages)

The event called the rapture is the of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The rapture is the formal end of the period of .

It ushers in the period called .

Sequence and Details of the Rapture

The rapture is the future event when Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to do two things.

FIRST, Christ will .

“Those who are asleep…” (I Thess. 4:13) refers to:  

Paul logically connects to the belief of Christ’s death and resurrection the belief that will with Him when He comes. (I Thess. 4:13; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23)

Paul says living believers will not precede those who have died. Why is that important to the Thessalonians?

“Cry of command”: Resurrection happens by the of Jesus.

The “dead in Christ”: Limited to the .

This describes .

SECOND, Christ will .

“We who are alive, who are left”: .

“Caught up” in v. 17 is the Greek word harpazo, meaning:

As Christians are caught up, they are also . (I Cor. 15:50-53)

Our new resurrection bodies will be:

1. Like   (I John 3:2)
2.   (Luke 24:39)
3.  (I Cor. 15:43a)
4. Capable of  (I Cor. 15:43b; John 20:26)
5. and  (Luke 20:36; I Cor. 15:42)
6. Able to heaven and God (I Cor. 15:50-53; Exodus 33:20)

The rapture also carries the promise of .

Timing of the Rapture

The exact time is , except to .  (Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7)

The rapture will be .  (Matt. 24:42, 44; Rev. 22:20)

The rapture will be the . (Matthew 24:42, 44; Rev. 3:10; I Thess. 5:9)

Purposes of a Pretribulational Rapture:

1. from wrath to come. (I Thess. 1:9-10)
2. for the discipline of and the judgment of . (II Thess.2:1-4)

• • In II Thess. 2:1-3, Paul clearly considers the teaching that the church will go through the Tribulation to be .
  • II Thess. 2:11, 12: The of the unbelievers is initiated for .
  • The “restrainer of lawlessness” is the , manifested greatly through the .

Reasons to Believe in a Pretribulational Rapture:

1. Christ’s promise to prepare a place and return for us sharply with the Tribulation. (Jn. 14)
2. The rapture is a “” unrevealed until Paul’s letters; the Tribulation is in the OT.
3. Scripture describes Christ’s return as ; only a pretrib position supports this doctrine.
4. The Second Coming of Christ appears to be in _________ ______________, described very differently.
5. Distinction between and the demands a pretrib rapture.
6. The church is as being on earth in Revelation 4-22.
7. A rapture is if it follows the Tribulation.

Other Rapture Views

PARTIAL RAPTURE

Basics:

Only believers preparing for the Lord’s return will be worthy to escape the Tribulation via the Rapture. There will be several opportunities for rapture.

Objections:

Misunderstands meaning and significance of Christ’s sacrifice; denies unity of the Body of Christ; confuses teaching on rewards; carnal Christians be raptured.

MIDTRIBULATION

Basics:

Rapture is at the midpoint of the Tribulation (3 ½ year mark); in this view, only last half of 70^th week is Trib.

Objections:

No concept of imminence; midpoint marked by AC breaking the covenant (not rapture); much disaster already occurred by midpoint, making rapture questionable; once Trib begins, rapture easy to predict.

POSTTRIBULATION

Basics:

Rapture/glorious appearing are single event at end of Trib; Church is on earth to experience Tribulation.

Objections:

With rapture at the end of Tribulation, who populates the Kingdom?; conflicts w/ the doctrine of imminence; some say Scripture’s silent on a pretrib rapture, but there’s TOTAL silence on the church going through the tribulation.

PREWRATH RAPTURE

Basics:

Only the bowl judgments of the Trib reflect God’s wrath; hence, the church is on earth during the Seal/Trumpet judgments, to be raptured prior to the Bowl Judgments

Objections:

The “wrath” is not limited to Bowl Judgments. It’s clear from Scripture that the entire seven-year period is a time of God’s wrath.

Answering Objections to the Pretrib Rapture

“The rapture theory’s only been around since 1830, from questionable sources.”

“The Reformers never talked about the rapture.”

“I Cor. 15:52 says the dead will be raised at the ‘last trumpet.’”

“The church’s hope isn’t to be rescued; it’s to shine in the darkness. Isn’t the tribulation a time for the church to shine?”

“This is a theology that serves us. It’s a convenient theology for people who don’t deal with persecution.”