Both Christians and non-Christians talk about “the rapture” when referring to the end of the world. Sadly, many unbelieving scoffers only bring up the topic while mocking Christians. What may be even more sad, however, is the number of self-proclaimed Christians who talk about “the rapture” without even fully understanding what it is they believe or why they believe what they believe. The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word raptura, but is ultimately derived from 1Thessalonians 4:15-17, which says, “15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
The English phrase “will be caught up” is the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα harpagēsometha, which is derived from the word ἁρπάζω [G726] harpazō (har-pad’-zo), which means to seize, to snatch, to claim for oneself, or to carry off/away.
Unbelievers mock Christians about “the rapture” mainly because Christians can’t seem to come into agreement about this topic. Christians know and agree that there will be a great tribulation caused by the Antichrist (Matthew 24:9-31; Revelation 7:9-17; 13:7-10); however, Christians can’t seem to come into agreement about the Lord’s second coming in regards to timing.
Pre-tribulationists hold that the rapture happens before the great tribulation begins, which would prevent the church from experiencing the pain, suffering, and trauma of that tribulation period.
Mid-tribulationists place the rapture at the midpoint of the tribulation. Both of these views see a two-part second coming: first, Christ returns secretly to remove his bride (church); then, He returns visibly at the end of the tribulation.
Post-tribulationists, however, see the church remaining throughout the entire tribulation period, protected from GOD’s wrath, yet experiencing intense persecution from the world.
So, which view is correct? The purpose of this article, as a committed follower of Christ Jesus and adherent to GOD’s Word, is to investigate with integrity all available evidence within Scripture and come to a conclusion I’m convinced is true based on the evidence of what is written.
Harpazō / apantēsis:
In regards to being “caught up,” is the word harpazō used elsewhere in Scripture? If so, can the proper contexts of each passage provide us with clues as to how this word should be interpreted in regards to the rapture? The word is used 14 times in the New Testament (Matthew 11:12; 12:29; 13:19; John 6:15; 10:12,28,29; Acts 8:39; 23:10; 2Corinthians 12:2,4; 1Thessalonians 4:17; Jude 1:23; Revelation 12:5).
In Matthew, the word harpazō is always used to describe the action of seizing and claiming for oneself. In John 6:15, after Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men plus women and children, the word is used to highlight the fact that people wanted to seize Jesus, claim Him as their own, and make Him King. In John 10:12, the word describes the action of a wolf snatching sheep, but then 10:28-29 describes how no enemy is able to snatch the Lord’s children out of His hand. In Acts 8:39, the word is used to describe how after Philip baptized the eunuch, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, the eunuch never saw Philip again, yet the eunuch went on his way rejoicing that he had been baptized in the name of the Lord. In Acts 23:10, the word describes being led, guided, or taken away to a different location. In 2Corinthians 12:2,4, Paul uses this word to describe being taken and led away by the Lord to Heaven in a vision. Jude 1:23 uses this word to describe Christians saving unbelievers by snatching them from the fire of GOD’s judgment. And Revelation 12:5 uses this word to describe how the dragon wanted to devour the male child (Jesus) yet the child was taken up to GOD and to His throne.
Some Christians believe Acts 8:39’s description of Philip being snatched away from the eunuch describes a supernatural teleportation of Philip’s physical body to a different physical location instantaneously, much like Elijah had been taken by GOD into Heaven, never to be seen again (2Kings 2:11). The only problem with this interpretation is that Elijah had been taken into Heaven as the completion of his journey, never to be seen again, whereas that was not the case with Philip. The Greek can easily be describing how the Holy Spirit merely took Philip away from the eunuch so that the eunuch never saw Philip again. It is never a good idea to create a belief based off a single obscure verse. Does the Bible anywhere else ever teach that physical human bodies can supernaturally teleport to different physical locations? No. For even Jesus Himself was seen walking on water across a lake in order to go to the other side when His disciples saw Him (Matthew 14:25-27). Therefore, it is best to interpret Acts 8:39 as meaning the Holy Spirit took Philip away from the eunuch so that Philip could continue on his journey. In fact, 8:40 says, “Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.” Thus, Scripture tells us that Philip had been traveling while preaching to all the cities until he arrived at Caesarea. And in Acts 23:10, the word harpazō describes Paul being taken or led away from the angry crowd by the soldiers. Further, in 2Corinthians 12:2,4, Paul uses this word to describe being taken and led away by the Lord to Heaven in a vision. Therefore, when Philip successfully completed his assignment of baptizing the eunuch, the Holy Spirit took or led him away from the eunuch in order to fulfill his other assignments of preaching in all the other cities. Philip was not “raptured” to Heaven, but he had been taken or led away to a different location.
Now, in the scenarios involving Elijah being taken up to Heaven permanently (2Kings 2:11), as well as Paul being taken up to Heaven temporarily in a vision (2Corinthians 12:2,4), both of them had been “caught up” in the sense that they had been taken to a different realm not accessible here on this earth. So, is that description the best interpretation for “the rapture”? A couple things need to be taken into consideration. Let’s again examine what is written in 1Thessalonians 4:16-17: “16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
From what is written, we know that the Lord will descend (from above), then the dead will rise, and then those still living will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; therefore, from that point on, we will always be with the Lord. However, Paul did not inform us as to how much time passes between each new event. Again, it is the timing that is not fully understood. How much time passes between the dead rising and those who were still alive being taken up to meet the Lord? After all, doesn’t GOD’s Word talk about a millennium reign on earth? When is that timeframe? And how could that be if all believers get raptured into Heaven? The topic of the millennium will be discussed soon enough, but we must first fully examine the act of believers being caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
It is written that believers will get “caught up” in the clouds. Whether the “clouds” mean the typical rain clouds we are accustomed to seeing or the clouds of glory that surround the presence of GOD, I do not know, but either way the Lord’s descent will be from above where the clouds can be seen from ground level on earth (cf. Exodus 13:21; 33:9-10; 40:38; Numbers 12:5; 1Kings 8:10-11; Psalm 97:2; Daniel 7:13; Matthew 17:5; Mark 13:26; Acts 1:9; Revelation 14:14). But after being “caught up,” it is written that we will meet the Lord in the air. The phrase “to meet” is the Greek word ἀπάντησις [G529] apantēsis (a-pawn’-tay-sis), which is often used of an important dignitary’s reception by the inhabitants of a city, who come out to greet and welcome their honored guest with fanfare and celebration, and then accompany him back into the city. In Matthew 25:6, this word is used in the parable of the ten virgins to show how the ones with oil will be ready to go out and meet the Bridegroom (Jesus). In Acts 28:15, this word is used to describe how when Paul was coming to Rome, the brethren traveled about 40 miles out to meet him and then they accompanied him into Rome. A related term ὑπάντησις [G5222] hupantēsis (hoo-pawn’-tay-sis) is used in John 12:13 where it describes how the people, hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, “took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.’ ”. Therefore, what Paul describes in 1Thessalonians 4:17 might indicate that the subsequent movement of the saints after meeting Christ in the air conforms to Christ’s direction of descent, thus in a downward motion back toward the earth. If true, then we would be seized, claimed as His own, meet Him in the air, praise Him in the air, and celebrate as we descend back down to earth with Him. Therefore, as Paul wrote, from that point on, “we shall always be with the Lord.” But of course, we would only return back down to this earth if the Lord intends to return in order to start His millennium reign; otherwise, we would be raptured from earth to be judged elsewhere.
Millennium:
Regarding the millennium reign, there again exists disagreement about timing.
Premillennialists believe that Christ’s return will be before the millennium, and
postmillennialists believe that His return will be after the millennium.
Amillennialism, taken literally, is the belief that there is no millennium, although it is more accurate to say that amillennialists deny the kind of literal millennium associated with either premillennialism or postmillennialism.
Premillennialism asserts that Christ returns in order to establish His millennial kingdom. Since this millennium is a direct work of GOD, it is a golden age, totally different from anything experienced previously on earth. Quite literally, “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).
Dispensational premillennialism has become perhaps the leading view here, with its sharp distinction between Israel and the church. GOD was actively at work with Israel in the Old Testament era but then shifted His attention to the church in the church age. At Christ’s return, GOD will shift His attention back again to a Jewish-oriented tribulation and millennium, fulfilling the remaining Old Testament prophecies made to Israel.
Historic premillennialists, on the other hand, do not share this sharp distinction between Israel and the church, but see themselves as being in continuity with the early church in their view of a future golden age inaugurated by Christ.
Postmillennialism has had a significant following throughout most of church history, but in more recent years it has become a minority view. Here the idea is that GOD will gradually build His church over a millennium prior to Christ’s return. This approach is built on more than simply the idea of human progress; normally, there is a high view of the supernatural transforming power of the Gospel whereby “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The millennium here is a silver age involving unprecedented advances of the Gospel throughout the world. However, those who hold to this view are divided over whether this is literally a thousand-year period and if it has already begun.
Amillennialists believe in a different kind of millennium. There seem to be two different kinds of views. Some believe that those reigning with Christ in Revelation 20 are believers in this present life who experience the intimacy of Christ’s presence, as described in texts such as Revelation 3:20: “I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” The other view is that this thousand-year period of reigning with Christ specifically involves departed believers who are currently reigning with Christ in the intermediate state between death and Christ’s return. Here, the millennium is not the golden age of the premillennialist, nor is it the silver age of the postmillennialist; it is spiritual life in the present. Most believe that the “thousand” years is the same period as this present church age, and that there will be no future “millennium” before Christ returns for the final judgment. Most also believe that Satan was bound through Jesus’s death and resurrection and was prevented from deceiving the nations and hindering the Gospel’s spread during the church age (Revelation 20:2-3; cf. Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 10:18; John 12:31-32). At the end of this age, Satan will be released for a final onslaught against the church (Revelation 20:7-9). Then Christ will return to judge the wicked, vindicate His children, and usher in the new creation.
In summary, several factors orient people toward one view or another. Those who approach Scripture more literally tend to be premillennialists, while those who approach it with more openness to figurative language and symbolism tend to be postmillennialists or amillennialists. Those who give greater weight to potentially unfulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament tend to be premillennialists, while those who give greater weight to the explicit teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament tend to be postmillennialists or amillennialists. However, the key deciding factor may well be one of personality, especially of how one looks ahead to the future. Those who are more pessimistic (things are getting worse and worse) tend to be premillennialists, while those who are most optimistic, especially in the sense of focusing on GOD’s power to transform this present world, tend to be postmillennialists. Amillennialists focus on other issues, and they are neither unduly pessimistic nor optimistic.
The millennium (a thousand years) is described in Revelation 20:1-6. The Davidic Covenant promised Israel a king from David’s line who would rule forever and give the nation rest from all their enemies (2Samuel 7:10–13). Regarding Christ’s return, Zechariah 12:10–14 says, “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” Isaiah 11:4; Psalm 2 and Revelation 19:11-16 describe the second coming as the Conquering King with His rod of iron. On that Day, Israel will be converted and restored to the land under the rule of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Romans 11). The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as a perfect environment physically and spiritually. It will be a time of peace (Isaiah 32:17–18; Micah 4:2–4), joy (Isaiah 61:7,10), and comfort (Isaiah 40:1–2). The Bible also tells us that only believers will enter the millennial kingdom. Because of this, it will be a time of obedience (Jeremiah 31:33), holiness (Isaiah 35:8), truth (Isaiah 65:16), and the knowledge of GOD (Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14). Christ will rule as King (Isaiah 9:3–7; 11:1–10). Nobles and governors will also rule (Isaiah 32:1; Matthew 19:28), and Jerusalem will be the political center of the world (Zechariah 8:3).
Left Behind?:
A notion that became popular in recent years is that when the rapture happens, all the believers will be taken to Heaven and all the evil people will be left behind on earth. But is that what Scripture says? In Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Jesus told His disciples the parable of how the enemy sowed tares among the wheat: “28 The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
According to Jesus, the righteous will not be raptured with the wicked left behind; rather, the parable makes it clear that both the righteous and wicked will be gathered at the same time so they can be separated at that time. While explaining the parable to His disciples, Jesus said, “40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Therefore, if anything, the wicked will be gathered before the righteous. And then Jesus told another parable in Matthew 13:47-50 which further refutes the “left behind” theory: “47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
In Matthew 24:3, Jesus’s disciples asked Him what the sign will be of His coming and the end of age. Examine His response in 24:9-41: “9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 32 Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.”
Therefore, according to Jesus, the abomination of desolation by the Antichrist happens first (along with the mark of the beast), then the great tribulation will occur with terrible persecution against the children of GOD, then false Christs will attempt to lure believers out from hiding, then the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the heavens will be shaken, the stars will fall from the sky, and then the Lord will return and the great Harvest (rapture) will happen. Therefore, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that Christ’s second coming will be after the great tribulation, and this is the category known as post-tribulationist. This means that believers will be on earth to experience the great tribulation and persecution against them. The only two statements that could cause confusion exists in 24:34 regarding “this generation” and 24:40 in regards to who will be taken and who will be left. Well, according to 24:31, the “elect” will be gathered, but according to 24:39 (and previous parables discussed), the wicked will be taken away from the righteous. So, who will be taken and who will be left?
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus declares that all the nations will be gathered before Him; He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. To the goats on His left, He will say, “46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So, yet again, it appears that both the wicked and the righteous will be gathered at the same time and then separated. But if one will be taken and one left (24:40-41), who will be left behind? The one who will be rejected. However, Scripture makes it plain that the future rapture (Harvest) will not be a secret rapture where the wicked get left behind; rather, the Harvest will involve all people and all people will know. Thus, it is possible that when the angels gather together His elect (24:31), that is referring to the moment when His children will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds (1Thessalonians 4:17).
But we also have another clue: Passover. The plagues of Egypt and the subsequent exodus into the promised land that followed telescopes into Revelation with the judgments to be poured out on the wicked and the “exodus” will be the righteous leaving this earth and going to the New Earth (Revelation 21-22). But what happened during the plagues against Egypt? Had the Israelites been taken away during that time? No. The Israelites had been present to experience tribulation and persecution from the Egyptians. However, when it came time for GOD’s wrath to be poured out on the wicked, all of GOD’s children were exempt from receiving GOD’s wrath. It is written that the Lord made a distinction between His children and the wicked (Exodus 9:4; 11:6-7). Therefore, a post-tribulationist view seems to be the biblically accurate interpretation.
But as for the perceived problem of “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34), that can be explained by a simple word study, which I explained in my other article, “Recognizing The Season.”
And finally, it is written that when Christ returns, He will be The Avenger and rule over people with a rod of iron while purging the wicked here on this earth (Deuteronomy 32:35-43; Psalm 2:9-12; Isaiah 63:1-6; 66:15-17; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30-31; Revelation 19:11-16). Only then will the Lord take His children to the New Earth under the new heavens (Isaiah 65:17-24; 66:18-24; 2Peter 3:13; Revelation 21-22).
Conclusion:
Scripture seems to clearly state that Christ will return after the great tribulation, His children (who are sealed by the Holy Spirit) will be claimed as His own, will be caught up to the clouds with Him, and then descend back down to earth with Him. On this earth, Jesus will reign as King, purging the wicked and establishing order. Once the people are finally separated as sheep or goats, the wicked will act as the Levitical scapegoat, take all sin and punishment upon themselves, and be cast out. After that, Christ’s Bride will be taken to the New Earth under the new heavens and this earth will be consumed by fire. Therefore, according to what is written in GOD’s Word, I do not believe there will be a “secret rapture” where the wicked will get left behind without knowing where the righteous went. I do not believe the Lord will act out His judgment and salvation in secret. Not only is it written that everyone will see His glorious coming, but it is also written in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” And again in Luke 12:2-3, “2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.” The King of kings has no need to act in secret.
Quest For Truth 