Q&A ON THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

There is confusion, even among Christians, about the return of Jesus Christ. There are those who do not accept the notion of the rapture (catching away) of the church or the 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth. I believe it is clear that you have to either ignore or re-interpret an awful lot of Scripture to come to those conclusions. That is what has happened. Certain areas of Scripture have been interpreted to mean something other than what they say. For example, those who believe this way would change the meaning of ‘Jerusalem’ in the Bible to mean ‘Heaven.’ They would also change the meaning of the word “Israel” to mean “Church.” In doing that they come to the conclusion that all prophecy has been fulfilled and the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth is fulfilled in the church on earth. No wonder they are confused!

The main principle of Biblical interpretation is to allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves and not push them to match up with whatever our agenda might be. So what does the Bible say about the coming of Jesus Christ to “rapture” or catch away the church? We will look at two sections of Scripture and ask; “What do they say; what do they mean; and how does this apply to my life?

The New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is the first we will look at. This is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Thessalonica, hence the name of the book. It is written: “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. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Q. So is this the return of the Lord to the earth at Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelation?

A. No. In that account the Lord comes to the earth and stands on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In this passage, the church meets Christ in the clouds. In the Revelation account Jesus is doing battle with the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet. This account of the rapture is clearly another mission altogether.

Q. Is the “trumpet call of God” the same as the “Last Trumpet” during the Great Tribulation in Revelation?

A. No. The Book of Revelation was written many decades after Thessalonians. Paul would not be referring to trumpet calls decades before they were revealed by the Apostle John and about which Paul had no knowledge.

Q. Is there anywhere else in Scripture where Jesus Christ, himself, mentions the rapture of the church?

A. Yes. Look at the Gospel of John 14:1-3. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, the infant church, about his impending death. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Q. What did Jesus say about the sequence of events? Did he say he would go and wait for them to come to him?

A. He said He was going and then would come back and “TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME.” Again, this is not the same as the account of Jesus Christ returning to deal with the Anti-Christ. This is the same sequence of events as described in Thessalonians 4.

Q. How do we know that the rapture of the church happens before the return of Jesus Christ at the battle of Armageddon?

A. Revelation 19 describes the return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth. Starting at verse 13-14; “He (Jesus) is dressed in robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God (see John 1). The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” Back in verse 8 those dressed in fine linen, white and clean are identified at “the saints” i.e. the church. If the church is following Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth to fight, then the church had to be taken up before Armageddon.”

So we have looked at what the Bible says and what it means concerning the rapture of the church. The next question, “What does it mean to my life” is the question you must answer for yourself. Each one of us is responsible to God on our own. No one can make a decision for you but you. I will tell you that the church is everyone who acknowledges their sin (rebellion against God), accepts Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as sufficient to pay the penalty for sin, and ask Jesus in to be Lord (Master) of your life. Romans 10:9 states “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you dilly dally in making this decision and the rapture happens, terrible times will follow. But, you may still be saved the same way. However, if you take the mark of the Anti-Christ, you will be forever damned. This is a decision to take very seriously. Forever is much longer than a very long time!