A Mystery Revealed... Concerning the return of Christ in judgement, the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah present the most information. In the New Testament, the synoptic Gospels (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21) and the book of Revelation give the most information concerning the return of Christ in judgement, the Second Coming. But as for the revelation of the rapture, the 'taking away of the church" very little is given in the Gospels, St. Paul says it is a mystery. A mystery in scripture is something that has not previously been revealed. So to comfort the believers Paul writes:
Paul also wrote to the believers in Thesolonika because they thought that the return of Christ has already happened. They saw all the terrible things they were going through and believed it to be the great tribulation. In fact Paul wrote this epistle for that very reason: to let them know that not only were they not going through it, but to let all believers know that the Church will not go through it. Paul's later wrote:
Even at that time some came preaching and writing as if the Lord had already come. So Paul wrote this to show what must happen and prove that Jesus had not yet come:
Notice that Paul wants them to "comfort one another with these words." If Paul was teaching that the tribulation was an event that they would experience, how comforting would that be? Though not even Paul knew when Christ would return for His church, he was sure it did not occur yet because the believers were still there. So it is with us, though we experience many tribulations ourselves, we are to know that we are not going through the great tribulation because the church is still here on earth. Point #1: Great troubles in life are not an indication that we are going through the great tribulation. Just as the first century Christians were told not to be deceived in believing this, so are we, because the believers of the church are still on this earth. He is Taken Out of the Way So if we are not in the period of the seven year Tribulation period, the question is, "How can we know when we are? Now we need to understand that the prophesies that were given were to let those who are alive know what must first take place before Jesus returns. Saint Paul said this:
Several questions arise: 1) Who can this one be who must be "taken out of the way?" 2) What does it mean to restrain? 3) How will he be removed? 4) Who is the is the lawless one and when will he be revealed? Is the lawless one Satan? Certainly not because Satan would not restrain evil, but would promote it. Is it any person on earth? Some have said it is a high authority such as the Pope, but how can one man restrain evil? Others say it is a high ranking angel, perhaps Gabriel. But not only is there no scriptural justification for this, but Satan has been given temporary reign on this earth, not any other angel. So most understand that the one who will be taken out of the way refers to the Holy Spirit, who restrains much evil activity. The question is, how will the Holy Spirit be removed? To answer this, we need to look at John 16:7-13 where Jesus told His disciples that he must leave: *
Jesus previously said He would ask the Father and He would give the Holy Spirit to them:
So God chose to use His Spirit to indwell believers who in turn would do His work on earth. It is and has been God's plan to work through the believers of the Church in the present age. But when He is removed, evil will come in all it's fullness. Therefore, without the Spirit's influence chaos will reign. Point #3: The Holy Spirit of God will be removed from this world. The result will be that Satan will have more control. But how will the Spirit be removed? The Rapture - Harpaxis - of the Church The logical answer is that if the Church, the believers of Christ are removed, then the Spirit will (choose to) not have the resources as when the Church was present. The Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians believers:
The Bible uses the Greek term 'QñðÜæù' or 'caught up' to describe the church's removal from this world. So it stands to reason that if the Church is removed, evil will abound. Now who is the lawless one? Many call this individual the Antichrist, but in reality, in the four places this word is used, it refers to many antichrists, In Revelation, a better term is used, the Beast, who will be revealed before Christ comes for His Church and the Tribulation period begins. The working of the Holy Spirit could go on during the tribulation, but His influence would be diminished because of the missing Church. Lastly, the question, "Who is the lawless one?" must be answered. We look at this passage:
So we are told that the Day of the Lord will not come until the falling away (when the Holy Spirit is removed and true faith in God falls short) comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. He will oppose God and also exalt himself above God. Some call this man the antichrist as is stated in 1 John. Point #4: The Holy Spirit will be removed from restraining evil. This will be done when the believers (the Church) are 'caught up' to heaven to meet the Lord. Then evil will reign on earth through the 'lawless one' -- the antichrist or the beast (as revealed in Revelation). The Marriage Supper of the Lamb In Revelation, Jerusalem is likened to the Church as a bride:
In Luke 12:35-37 it states that when Christ returns, He will be returning from a wedding:
In Rev 19:7-8 we read about the marriage itself.
Before the marriage takes place, there is the marriage supper. According to Jewish custom, First the marriage contract is drawn up, often including a dowry. This parallels the act of faith we use when we trust Jesus to be our savior. The dowry is his life (The Gospel), which was used to purchase us:
When the time comes for the wedding to take lace, the groom goes to the bride's house unannounced, she comes out to meet him, and they both return to his father's house. This is an exact correlation of the events according to the pre-tribulation scenario. Jesus the groom comes down to earth, stopping short of actually touching the earth. The Church next rises into the air to meet Jesus. Both the groom and his bride return to the his father's house (heaven). The marriage supper will take place during the seven year tribulation. The Jewish feast, according to custom, would last seven days. This prophetically matches the seven year length of the tribulation. Finally, after the marriage supper, the bride and groom are presented to the world as man and wife. This matches the time when Jesus returns to earth with the Church. (Rev 19:14) Point #6: Jesus will return at a time no one knows and when He does, He will gather the church, that is His Bride to the marriage supper in the heavenly realm. The Time of Jacob's Trouble - a time of Tribulation So, when the Holy Spirit is removed, the 'lawless one' will have full reign for a period of time. In a number of places, the Bible refers to the tribulation as a time of trouble for the Jews. The phrase "Jacob's trouble" pertains to the descendants of Jacob. But it will be a time of great tribulation for all on earth. In Jeremiah 30:7 it tells that this time of trouble will come just before the Lord returns to save His people.
How long this period will last is revealed in Daniel:
Here a 'time' is a year. 'Times' are two years. A 'half time' is a half year. Adding this up, we have 3 1/2 years. So the tribulation period will last for seven years, half of which will be unbearable to the inhabitants of earth. Point #7: There will be a time of distress far greater than has ever existed in all history. Let no one deceive you!
Throughout the ages, there have been and there will be many claiming to be the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ. In general these were cultists that raised themselves beyond their 'flock' even to the point of claiming to be God. And most have been met with untimely deaths. But the time will come when a powerful individual will arrive on the scene claiming to be Christ and will indeed deceive many. There are many who think Christ will return as a meek kind gentleman, in the likeness of his first coming. But we will see that this is not true. When He returns it will be like a flash of lightening. The reference in verse 28 about eagles refers to the impending judgement as carried out by birds, which represent agents of God, as stated in Revelation 19:17-19. Point #5: Many will come claiming to be Christ. And a coming world ruler will appear. Wars and Rumors of Wars
Of course wars and rumors of wars have been occurring since recorded time. But two things are significant to end time revelation here. First the term 'in various places' which is sometimes translated 'in different or unusual places'. Second, the term 'beginning of sorrows.' So what I believe we are to learn here is that we will be witnessing famines, pestilences and/or earthquakes in places that were not previously known. When these things occur, then there will soon be a time of much sorrow, of tribulation and we are to know that the return of Christ is eminent. Point #2: Famines, pestilences, earthquakes will come in unusual places which will initiate the great sorrows and the eminent return of the Lord. "No one knows the day or the hour..." In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Though no one knows when that day will be, the Bible does give us clues so we may know what must first take place. Many prophets foresaw events that they expected to come to pass in the end times. These are written in both testaments. There needs to be the fulfillment of all these prophesies before Jesus returns. One thing that needs to be mentioned is that Jesus will be returning again; some believe perhaps even more than once. But when he returns, it will be for His saints who are dead and living. The apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians believers said this* :
Point #2: This clearly shows that Jesus will return for those who are in Christ (those who believe), both dead and living. Now why and how will this take place? And then the end will come?
Is the Teaching of the Rapture Historical? Many believe Jesus will return after the tribulation, not before. They say that the church has always taught this. The truth is, this teaching was actually taught by the Apostle Paul and by some church fathers over 1700 years ago: In AD 270, St. Victorinus, the bishop of Pettau, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation in which he said he saw another great and wonderful sign: "Seven angels having the last seven plagues, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the last time when the church shall have gone out of the midst." St. Victorinus was talking about the Rapture of the believers. And several years later, an early Christian writer and poet Ephraem the Syrian, who lived from AD 306 to 373, was a major theologian of the early Byzantine Church. To this day, his hymns and homilies are used in the liturgy of Greek Orthodox Churches. He also wrote a large number of commentaries that have never been translated in English. Concerning a pre-tribulation rapture he wrote: "All the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." And, there is more. In the sixteenth century there were also those who expressed absolute assurance of the Rapture. Hugh Latimer, burned at the stake for his faith in 1555, said, "It may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children's days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air and so shall come down with him again." Joseph Mede, the great sixteenth-century literalist, understood I Thessalonians 4:13-18 to teach the catching up of the saints and even used the word Rapture. These are but a few writings on the subject. Thought many believe that the teaching of the rapture of the church is a present-day innovation, we have seen it is not. It is indeed a doctrinal statement dating back seventeen centuries to St. Victorinus, and twenty centuries back to Jesus and Paul. (There are those who say that the pretribulational viewpoint began in 1830 and was propagated by Edward Irving, J. N. Darby, and Margaret McDonald, a retarded girl. But as we have seen, that is not so.) Why the Rapture must come to pass before the Tribulation. Many faiths reject the teaching of the rapture, or at least a rapture where the church is removed before the impending 'time of trouble'. But, if the rapture were not to take place, then the following circumstances could not take place either:
So if these things cannot take place, then the major teachings of the Bible would be wrong. |
