The Rapture … When?
As I’ve mentioned in a previous article, I believe that you and I are living in the last days and that Jesus will return within our life times. In a future article I’ll discuss the season I believe He will return, but in this article I want to discuss the rapture. I’m assuming that you have some knowledge of the Bible so this will only contain scripture references just to keep it short.
There are a handful of different possibilities that people talk about, but the ones I want to discuss are:
- Pre-tribulation rapture
- Mid-tribulation rapture
- Post-tribulation rapture
The tribulation consists of the 7 years before Jesus Christ returns and it is during these 7 years the Antichrist comes on the scene and Armageddon (from the book of Revelation) happens and all hell breaks loose here on Earth. The Bible talks about Christians being “taken up” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) so the question is when will Christians be “taken up” (raptured)?
Most Christian’s believe that the rapture will occur “pre-trib”. That is before this 7 year period starts. Others believe the rapture will occur “mid-trib”, in the middle of this 7 year period, while others believe it will occur “post-trib”, at the end of this 7 year period.
I’ve personally held all 3 views and there are good arguments for all 3, but right now I believe that if there is to be a rapture the evidence points to a mid-trib (or near mid-trib) rapture.
Many believe in the pre-trib rapture saying that God has not called His Church to go through the wrath (which I agree with) and since the “wrath” starts at the beginning of these final 7 years the rapture must occur at the beginning of these 7 years. The problem with this is that in reading Daniel and Revelation it is clear that there are two distinct periods within the final 7 years. The final 7 years starts out with a time of tribulation where “tribulation” is Antichrist’s persecution of the Saints. It is near the middle of the 7 years (the 6th Seal) that God’s wrath is first mentioned not before. So if God has not called His Church to go through the wrath and the wrath starts near the middle of the 7 years, then it is here that I believe the rapture will occur.
If that weren’t enough, I do not believe in the pre-trib rapture because I believe it would make God inconsistent since none of Jesus’ disciples were “raptured” and all, but one, had horrific deaths. Why would God rapture you and me so that we wouldn’t have to go through the tough time but not rapture the men who actually walked with Jesus when they were about to go through their tough times? Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and since He didn’t rapture Jesus’ disciples, I don’t believe we will be raptured before life starts to get rough.
As I mentioned above, I’ve held all 3 views (pre, mid, post), but my reason for believing in pre-trib and post-trib was actually based on partial and incomplete analysis of Scriptures where I was picking and choosing which Scriptures to use to support my conclusion. Unfortunately this also meant that I was ignoring other key Scriptures that disagreed with my conclusion. As I’ve re-read Revelation and looked at all Scripture together (not excluding anything), I’ve come to the conclusion that the rapture will occur near the middle of these final 7 years. The above two points are the real key issues for me coming to that conclusion.
In a future posting I’ll talk more about “when” I believe the 7 years will start (at least the season of when it will start), but for now I’ll end with this.
Are you just hoping (and wishing) that you will be raptured at the beginning of these final 7 years and you won’t have to worry about anything? What if you are wrong and you have to live through the first half of these final 7 years? Are you prepared, or will you be caught unaware like when a thief in the night comes when you are asleep? Don’t be caught asleep and don’t take my word for it. Investigate the Scriptures for yourself. Read Revelation for yourself. Remember that the only place in scripture that says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” is found in Revelation 1:3.
2 Comments
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April 26th, 2011 at 4:17 AM
You are a talented writer! Your thoughts are very clear and the flow is quite nice. As for the message, I hold no opinion about when the rapture will occur, I probably should… That said, your thoughts are clear, seem well supported and your call to action, “study scripture for yourself,” is wise advice.
Keep writing! 🙂
April 27th, 2011 at 4:19 AM
Thank you Melissa. Funny you should say that I’m a talented writer when English was my worst subject in school and the one I struggled with the most. So any talent is not mine, but the Lord’s. You answered wisely when in Haiti and you were asked about the end days. How would you answer, though, if that same person asked you about the rapture and whether it was pre, mid, or post tribulation? Maybe a subject to investigate when you’ve time 🙂