Theological Digression: Pre-Tribulation Rapture

One thing I want to be clear about is that I do not believe the Church will have to go through the Tribulation. Instead I think that the Lord will return to Earth and take His Church home at some point before the Tribulation begins. This is not the same thing as the Second Coming, which happens after the Tribulation. The Rapture is a separate event – it’s when we are all caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. I believe this happens before Israel signs the seven-year covenant with the Antichrist.

There are a number of reasons why I believe this, but let’s start at the beginning. After the Last Supper took place and Judas left to betray Jesus, the Lord told His disciples that He was about to leave them. He told them not to be afraid, however, because He had a reason for this:

John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

In other words, Jesus was going away so He could prepare a place for His disciples. Once He had finished this work He would come back to Earth and get us so that we could be with Him forever. In ancient Jewish courtships, after the bride and groom were engaged the groom would leave his bride-to-be and go to prepare a home for the two of them to live in. After he completed it he would return for his bride and they would be married. Jesus is doing the same thing for us, who make up the Church, His beloved Bride.

In verse 6 Jesus tells us the way:

John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The only way to make peace with God, obtain forgiveness for our sins, and get to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. As Jesus said, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. The world today does not want to hear this, but it is the truth. There is no other way to be saved. Jesus is the only way.

In verse 28 Jesus tells us where He is going:

John 14:28: “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”

In these verses Jesus simply says that He is going to His father, and one day He would come back and get the Church. Nothing more is said at this point. This should be very straightforward: Jesus left the Earth to prepare a home for us and one day He will come back and get us. There is nothing complicated about this.

The next passage of interest is found in I Thessalonians:

I Thessalonians 4:13: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 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 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
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.”

This passage goes into more detail about the time when Jesus will return for His Church. Without repeating everything the passage says, those of the Church who died before the Lord returned will be raised from the dead – their bodies will be brought back to life. (That is what “resurrection” means; in order to have a resurrection you first must have something that died, and it then has to come back to life. When we die the only part of us that stops living is our bodies. That is what gets raised from the dead when Jesus returns.) After the dead saints have been resurrected the living saints will then be translated – in an instant they will become immortals, and all that is sinful or unclean will be banished forever. Then everyone will meet Christ in the air, after which we will “ever be with the Lord”.

So here we see a picture of what it will be like when Jesus returns for the Church – there will be a resurrection of the dead, a putting on of immortality, and a grand meeting in the air. After this has happened we will “ever be with the Lord”. This passage adds a lot of detail to Christ’s return but it doesn’t give us any information about its timing. Where does this happen in relation to the other end-times events? Based on this passage alone we cannot say, but there are other verses that provide some context for the Rapture.

Incidentally, the word “rapture” comes from verse 17. The phrase “caught up” in Latin is actually “rapture” (or something very close to it). For centuries the only version of the Bible that was available was the Latin version and that is where this word came from. When people speak of the Rapture they are merely speaking of the time when the Church will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air. (This is why it is unfair to say that the word “rapture” never appears in the Bible; it actually does appear in Latin Bibles because it’s a Latin word.) There really should be no debate among Christians about whether or not there will be a Rapture; the Bible is quite clear that one day we will be “caught up” (or “raptured”) to meet our Lord in the air. As far as I know this is not a point of doctrine that believers debate. The only question is one of timing – when does this happen? Is this the same thing as the great Second Coming that is spoken of in Matthew 24 (which happens after the Tribulation) or is it separate from that? That is where the debate lies.

The next passage can be found in I Corinthians:

I Corinthians 15:50: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

This passage also speaks of the details regarding the resurrection. Those who have believed in Jesus but died before His return will be raised from the dead (meaning, as we said earlier, that their dead bodies will be raised back to life), and then those who are still alive will be translated – the mortal will put on immortality and we will be changed. (Some more details about this can be found in the preceding verses, I Corinthians 15:35-49).

I Corinthians 15 makes six points about this resurrection body:

1. It is incorruptible (v42)
2. It is glorified (v43)
3. It is a body of resurrection power (v43)
4. It is a spiritual body (v44-6)
5. It is a heavenly body (v47-9)
6. It is an immortal body (v53)

These teachings are quite clear and are not tied to any particular interpretation of end-times. The verses above simply teach that the Lord will return and get His church and they will forever be with Him. This still does not answer our question: just when does this occur? Does this happen before, during, or after the Tribulation?

First, it should be noted that the Church began on the day of Pentecost and will be completed at the Rapture. Before Pentecost there were the Old Testament saints, which are not a part of the Church. After the Rapture the Lord will have gathered the Church to Himself and it will be gone. It’s also interesting to note that the Church appears in Revelation 1-3, which takes place before the Tribulation, and in Revelation 19-22, which takes place in Heaven at the end of the Tribulation, but there is no mention of the Church being on Earth in Revelation 6-18, which deals with the Tribulation itself. There are saints mentioned in chapters 6-18 but they are Tribulation saints, not Church saints (just as the saints in the Old Testament were not Church saints). The Church is only found before and after the Tribulation. Nowhere does the Bible speak of the Church going through the Tribulation.

This, however, is not the strongest evidence that the Rapture takes place before the Tribulation begins. In Luke 21 Jesus says this:

Luke 21:34: “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

This passage is one of the strongest evidences for placing the Rapture before the Tribulation. The Lord is talking about the Tribulation at this point and says that it will be a snare to all those who dwell on the whole Earth. In other words, everyone who is on Earth will be forced to suffer through it. However, the Lord tells us to watch and pray so that we can escape this time of suffering that will afflict everyone on the entire planet. If it afflicts everyone on the planet with no exceptions, but we should pray so that we can escape it, then we must be praying that we won’t be on the planet when it happens! Logically there’s just no other way. This implies that the Rapture will occur prior to the Tribulation and remove the Church from Earth, so that they can escape it.

Some people get upset at Christians who teach a pre-Tribulation Rapture and accuse them of being easy-living Christians that just don’t want to suffer or get their hands dirty for Christ. It’s worth noting that Jesus commands His disciples to pray that we won’t go through this period. He did not want His children to endure it. I think that says it all right there. Praying to escape the Tribulation isn’t evidence of a weak will; it’s obedience to the command of Christ.

There are others who say that “watch and pray” means that only the “worthy” will escape the Tribulation and all backslid Christians will have to endure it. That is not what Jesus is talking about. The Lord is not going to leave part of His Bride behind for any reason; when the Church is complete all of it will be brought home. What Jesus is talking about here are people who think they are saved but are not. Jesus spent a lot of time warning people to examine themselves to see if they were in the faith. All of those who are saved will be in the Rapture – but not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is among the saved. That is the point.

I Thessalonians expands upon this idea of a pre-Tribulation Rapture:

I Thessalonians 5:1: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

First of all, it’s important to note that in the beginning of this passage Paul is talking about the “day of the Lord”, which is not Judgment Day. The two are entirely different. The “day of the Lord” is a phrase used throughout Scripture that refers to the Tribulation. (Many Old Testament passages talk about the Tribulation, but that is outside the scope of this discussion.) Paul is warning the Thessalonian church that the Tribulation will catch the lost world by surprise and they will not escape. However, Paul goes on to say that the Church is not in darkness and will not be surprised. While the world will be caught up in the Tribulation the Church will not, for it was not appointed to wrath. In this context the word “wrath” is not referring to Judgment Day (since that is not what’s being discussed!); it is talking about the wrath that God pours out upon the Earth during the Tribulation.

In verse 9 Paul mentions the “hope of salvation”. This is not salvation from our sins – after all, that is not a hope (our sins have already been forgiven; that’s not something we’re still waiting on Christ to accomplish), and second, that’s not what’s being discussed in this passage. The “hope of salvation” is salvation from the wrath that’s mentioned in the first verses of this chapter – the wrath of the Tribulation. This passage provides clear, direct evidence that God has not appointed His Church to suffer through the wrath of the Tribulation; instead He will deliver them from it – and since the Tribulation will afflict everyone on the whole Earth, He must be planning to take His Church out of the Earth before the Tribulation begins. Since the Marriage of the Lamb takes place in Heaven before the Tribulation ends, that is even more evidence that the Church must be in Heaven during the Tribulation. Therefore, since the Rapture is the event that takes the Church to Heaven, the Rapture must happen before the Tribulation.

Another mention of this same idea can be found in Revelation 3:10:

Revelation 3:10: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

In this passage, the hour of trial that will try everyone that dwells upon the Earth is the Tribulation. Notice that this passage does not say that the Church will be kept safe during this hour of trial, but that it will be kept from the hour of trial altogether. Given that the verse goes out of its way to explain that the Tribulation impacts all the world, to afflict everyone that lives on the Earth, this is more evidence that the Church will not be on the Earth when the Tribulation happens.

Some have said “Oh, that just means the Church will be protected from persecution during that period”. If you read the rest of Revelation you can see for yourself how ludicrous that statement is – God gives the beast the power to make war with the saints and overcome them, and the beast kills millions of believers. There is no possible way that “being kept safe” means the same thing as “the antichrist will hunt all of you down and behead you”. The Church is kept safe because it’s not on Earth anymore and the antichrist can’t hunt it down. However, all those who came to Christ after the Rapture are not a part of the Church and are not kept safe; they are hunted down and brutally murdered.

How close are we to the Rapture? Well, the Bible teaches that the Rapture can happen at any moment. For example:

Romans 13:11: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

The salvation mentioned in this verse cannot be referring to salvation from sins, for that was finished when Christ died in the cross. Salvation from sins is not something that we are still looking forward to in the future. This salvation is salvation from the Tribulation and being saved from the hour of wrath that will come upon the whole Earth. That salvation is “nearer than when we believed”. The imagery in these two verses depicts something that is drawing closer and is near at hand. You can almost hear Paul saying “It won’t be long now”. Nowhere does he say that it’s a long way off or that other things must happen first. It can literally happen at any moment.

James 5 also speaks of this:

James 5:7: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Judge standeth before the door.”

Like Paul, James says that the coming of the Lord is drawing near and urges us to be patient until He comes. James goes so far as to say that “the Judge standeth before the door”. If He is standing at the door then He is very near indeed! Revelation also makes this same point:

Revelation 22:20: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen, Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Even Jesus says that He is coming quickly! This can only be true if the Rapture happens before the Tribulation. If the Rapture happens in the middle of the Tribulation then it is always at least 3.5 years away. If it happens at the end of the Tribulation then it’s at least 7 years away. In neither case is the Rapture imminent. It is only imminent if it occurs before the Tribulation.

The Bible does not say exactly when the Rapture will happen. What it does say is that the coming of the Lord is drawing near and we should be sober and watch for it. Amen!