End Times Prophecy ~ Rapture Study by C. Anderson

The resurrection of the “Dead in Christ” appears to mean those who have physically died prior to Jesus’ coming, but are being brought back to life in their resurrected bodies at His second coming. The resurrection and the “Rapture” are referred to in 1st Thessalonians, and in 1st Corinthians.

1TH 4: [15] According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (resurrection) [17] After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up (rapture) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1CO 15: [51] Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- [52] in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable (resurrection), and we will be changed (rapture)

So the first resurrection comes just before the rapture, and at the sound of the LAST trumpet of God   I think the last trumpet is also the seventh and last trumpet in the book of Revelation.

In Mathew 24:29-41, Jesus is talking about the time just after the tribulation.

MT 24:29 "Immediately after the distress of those days (Tribulation)    "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

MT 24:30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. [31] And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The trumpet that is sounded is after the Tribulation. It may as well be the “Last trumpet” referred to in 1st Corinthians, because it wouldn’t make sense to have the “Last trumpet” of the rapture be followed by still another trumpet. Then the trumpet of the rapture would no longer be the “Last trumpet”.   Also, the gathering of his elect seems to be the gathering of the Christians. In the following verses, it goes on to describe how the rapture would appear by saying “Two will be in the field …   one will be taken and one left”. This is after the tribulation, at the coming of Jesus. The reference to not knowing the day or hour is also after the tribulation.   And the verses go on to give a further account of the events that happen after the tribulation.

MT 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. [37] As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. [38] For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; [39] and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. [40] Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Here are some verses that sequence the rapture after the appearance of the Anti Christ:

2TH 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, [2] not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. [3] Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. [4] He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

In the above scripture, the coming of the Lord Jesus, and our being gathered to him is a reference to the resurrection/rapture. “That day” is a reference back to verse 1, (the coming of the Lord and our being gathered to Him.) The man of lawlessness is the antichrist of the tribulation. Paul goes on to say that there is someone who is holding back the antichrist who will be taken away. Some pre-tribulation people will usually say that the one holding back is the church, or the “Bride of Christ”.   But, the church, or bride, is referred to in the female gender. In Paul’s scripture he refers to that someone as “He”:

2TH 2:5 Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? [6] And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. [7] For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. “He” may be an angel. The antichrist comes up out of the abyss according to Revelation chapter 11 and chapter 17. At the sound of the 5th trumpet, the key to the abyss is given to a “Star” that had fallen from heaven. At that time he unlocks the abyss. That star may be Satan.

As for whether or not Christians will be in the tribulation:   Here are some scriptures that would have to be explained with a totally different interpretation if it does not mean that Christians will be in the tribulation. The first is from Daniel in the Old Testament.

DA 7:[25] He (the antichrist) will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. (tribulation time) Everyone agrees that “time, times and a half a time” is the 3-1/2 years of the tribulation.

MT 24:21] For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. [22] If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

REV 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. [10] And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God,   who sits on the throne,   and to the Lamb." ……..

REV 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" REV 7:14 I answered, "Sir, you know."   And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

You can’t come out of the grocery store unless you are first in the grocery store.   They are Christians who were in the great tribulation, and have come out of it. A large number of them.

More:

REV 13:[7] He (the antichrist) was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. [8] All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.    (Christian’s names are in the Book of Life.) REV 13:9 He who has an ear, let him hear. REV 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go   If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

REV 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, [10] he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. [11] And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." [12] This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

If all Christians are taken up before the tribulation, then where do all the Christians come from who are in the tribulation??   What is the event that happens after the tribulation that looks like a description of the rapture, where two are in the field and one is taken and one is left behind??

Finally, since the first resurrection is before the rapture, the following scripture seems to indicate that the first resurrection includes people who were martyred during the tribulation:

REV 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded (martyred) because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. [5] (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

In this case, a pre-tribulation resurrection would require a nonsensical explanation that would have the “Dead in Christ” being in a resurrection that comes before the first resurrection . So then, there would have to be a resurrection of the dead in Christ that would take place before the tribulation. And three and a half years later, there would be the “First resurrection” that would be for the Christians martyred during the tribulation. And finally a third resurrection at the end of the thousand years, that would have the non-Christians from the beginning of time, and perhaps those who were brought to salvation and then died during the thousand years of Christ’s reign.

“But scripture says we are not appointed to suffer wrath “you say.     The tribulation is not the wrath of God. It could be compared to Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, only greatly intensified, and world wide. It is from Satan, through Satan’s antichrist. Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble.” And we have had plenty of trouble. But we would not call it the wrath of God. God’s wrath comes after the last trumpet. “ In Revelation, the wrath of God is in the seven bowls. These come after the trumpets.

REV 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth."

Those who suffer the wrath of God in this part of the book of Revelation have no contrition, and only curse God during their punishment. These are those left after the rapture, non-Christians, I think.

REV 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. [9] They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

REV 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony [11] and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

“But no one knows the day or hour”, you say. But we can know the year and season,   I think.

1TH 5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, [2] for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. [3] While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 1TH 5:4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. [5] You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

Who wouldn’t want a pre-tribulation rapture??   For those who are hoping for some kind of escape, here are some verses that might help:

LK 21:34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. [35] For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. [36] Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
This scripture is in the context of the tribulation scriptures in Luke.

The scriptures that indicate that the days of the tribulation were cut short, so that the elect would survive through it, indicating that Christians will make it through. The multitude in white robes also seems to indicate the survival of many Christians. Some will be persecuted and martyred for sure, but their reward appears to be special.

Is there a downside for a pre-tribulation rapture?    Maybe the non-Christian children of Christian parents would be left behind to go through the tribulation without their parents. (Or grandparents) If that were the case, I am sure that some Christian parents would wish to be left behind in order to be there in the tribulation with their children. On the other hand, children that are in the tribulation with Christian parents could possibly become Christians during the tribulation because of the guidance and teaching of their parents. With a post-tribulation rapture, non-Christian children would be left behind at the rapture, but the tribulation period would be ending and the thousand year reign of Christ would begin. Then those children would presumably have the same opportunity to become Christians.   At this point, however, the Bible is mostly silent about the opportunity for salvation of normal humans after the tribulation. But it does say that Satan will be turned loose at the end of the thousand years in order to gather an army of people to try to make war with Christ’s government. Those people in that army would certainly not be Christians, and they could not be those who had been resurrected and raptured from one thousand years prior. So they may be normal, non-Christian human descendants of the surviving non-Christian humans from the end of the tribulation. But the Bible does not really give a clear explanation of how this is to take place.

One thing is for sure. God is sovereign. He can do what ever he pleases, and does not have to explain or justify his actions. Although the severity of the trouble suffered during the tribulation is greater than any before, God has allowed trouble in the past. This will be the last. Those who are convinced that they will not have to go through the tribulation are not going to be prepared for it. If we can recognize the beginning of the seven year covenant, we could possibly be prepared for the last half. There will be survivors.

Written by C. Anderson

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