“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
The topic of the rapture can be a sensitive issue depending upon who you are conversing with in Christian circles. Some believe it is a relatively new idea promoted by Evangelical Protestantism while others adhere to the belief that it was understood by the very first believers, namely the Apostle Paul. In the 1830’s, John Nelson Darby popularized the theology of the pre-tribulation rapture and this position became widely held after it was included in the Scofield Reference Bible.
Today there is a significant percentage of believers who have bought into the notion of a pre-tribulation rapture and that the Church will be taken to heaven before the antichrist comes to power. While we are to live our lives as though the return of Christ were imminent as the disciples believed, (because Jesus said he would return like a thief and that no one knows the day nor the hour of his return in Mathew 24:36), scripture does provide evidence that believers should also be prepared to go through the Great Tribulation at the end of the age. Many Christians are not ready for the coming affliction that will test the inhabitants of all the earth.
It is counterintuitive to conclude that God will spare the end times Church from persecution after the last two thousand years during which Christians have been persecuted and martyred continually. Believers are not appointed to wrath however persecution is something entirely different. Jesus said we will be persecuted, “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Mathew 24:9.
Proponents of the rapture occurring prior to the tribulation often interpret Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his statement concerning the “restrainer” as meaning the true Church is holding the secret power of lawlessness back until he is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7). However, the fact that what holds him back is identified as “he” more logically must mean the Holy Spirit. Will true believers be left without the power of the Holy Spirit to endure the tribulation or are they “snatched away” when the restrainer is removed?
Furthermore, the letter to the Church at Philadelphia in the third chapter of Revelation that is directed at those who have kept the word of God and not denied his name states, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” Revelation 3:10. How the faithful are kept safe during the hour of trial is debatable. God spared the households that smeared lamb’s blood on their door posts for the first Passover in Egypt.
Does the “hour” of trial imply a short period of time during which God’s true Church is harbored from the dangers of the Great Tribulation? Will Christians be protected during the coming storm or will they be removed out of the coming storm? The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.” Isaiah 26:20-21.
Adding to the uncertainty, the Greek word apostasia, which Paul uses in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 can be translated as physical departure as well as apostasy or “falling away.” This verse could then be understood as, “don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the departure occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” Even this however, can mean simply departure from the faith.
When describing the events that would mark the tribulation, Jesus said, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Mathew 24:9-14.
The Bible’s revelations regarding the timing of the rapture are veiled and secretive intentionally so that Satan cannot calculate what will happen when, and thereby force him to maintain a reactive posture. Additionally, believers must rely on their faith to persevere and therefore build strength in their commitment to Christ through adversity as they guard their salvation and focus on the Lord. Each and every one of us will be tested at some point. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Mathew 16:25.
The apostle Paul wrote that the rapture would occur at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52). He also stated the rapture would not happen until the man of lawlessness was revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The person of the antichrist and what he represents will not be revealed until the time when he can no longer be stopped from a human perspective. This event will be marked by him setting up a statue of himself in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and demanding to be worshipped (the abomination of desolation).
God will call his people home before he pours his wrath out on the world. Paul wrote, “For God din not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. I don’t see anywhere in scripture that the rapture will occur before the tribulation, however, once the man of lawlessness is revealed and sets up the abomination of desolation (Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11, Mathew 24:15, Revelation 13:14-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), the seventh and final trumpet will sound and Jesus will fetch his bride (the Church).
