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What Is the “Rapture?”
by V. Glenn McCoy

A young Christian mother recently came into my office with her two children and said, “Will you please explain to my children what the ‘Rapture’ is?” Her children had been exposed to the “Rapture” through some of their friends and they were left confused. Most of us have seen bumper stickers that refer to the “Rapture” by saying something to the effect: “In case of Rapture, this car will be empty.” Those who have not been indoctrinated by the proponents of this doctrine scratch their heads in wonder as to what this could mean. Denominational programs on television present the “Rapture” as a doctrine that all should believe. Members of the Lord’s church are not always prepared to discuss this subject with their religious neighbors. Although there are some variations in beliefs about the “Rapture,” in this article, we will discuss the most commonly held views.

Not a Bible Subject
Many are surprised to learn that the “Rapture” is not a biblical subject. The Scriptures say nothing about it. It is a concept that has been around for some time, but was highly promoted by Hal Lindsey in his book, The Late Great Planet Earth, first published in 1970. According to the proponents of the theory, at the end of the “church age” Jesus will raise the righteous dead and take them, along with the righteous who are living, to a special place, presumably like heaven, for seven years where they will be given rewards and positions. They teach that those people who remain on the earth will not know where the saints have gone. They will realize they are gone, but will not be able to explain their disappearance. They will see the open graves that have been abandoned by the resurrected bodies, but they will have no explanation. While this “Rapture” is going on in heaven for seven years, the “great tribulation” supposedly takes place on the earth. This is to happen primarily during the last three and one-half years of the seven-year period. During that time there will be fear, anxiety, and death on a massive scale. Further, those who advocate the “Rapture” teach that at the end of the seven-year period the righteous will go to Jerusalem with Christ and reign with Him for a thousand years. Then, at the end of the thousand-year reign the wicked will be resurrected and condemned to eternal punishment.

What Is Wrong With the “Rapture?”
Is there a Bible basis for the “Rapture” doctrine? No! Will there ever be such a thing as the “Rapture?” Absolutely not! Is there a conflict between “Rapture” teaching and the plain teaching of the Bible? Absolutely! Please notice some of the things wrong with the teaching of the “Rapture.”

1. The “Rapture” requires too many comings of Jesus. They have Him coming the first time to take the righteous away for seven years. They have Him coming again seven years later to go to Jerusalem to reign a thousand years. Then at the end of the thousand years they have Him raising the wicked and judging them. Jude 14-15 pictures Jesus coming to execute judgment on the ungodly. So, according to the “Rapture” proponents, another coming of the Lord is required for judgment upon the wicked.

How does all this fit with Bible teaching? The answer is, not at all. The Bible says that when Jesus comes he will execute judgment “upon all,” not some now and some later, but all at one time. His coming will not be in stages with years between the comings. “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 14-15).

2. The proponents of the “Rapture” say that only a part of humanity will see Jesus when He comes the second time. Only the righteous dead and the righteous living will see Him. The remainder of the living will not see Him for at least seven years. Those among the unrighteous dead will not see Him until the thousand-year reign is finished. This cannot possibly be correct because Revelation 1:7 states that when Jesus comes “Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.”

3. The “Rapture” is in conflict with Matthew 25:31-46. Unlike the “Rapture” theory, Matthew 25 has “all the nations,” the wicked and the good being judged at the same time in the same judgment. The “Rapture” has some of the dead being raised while others are left in the grave. However, the Bible says that Jesus will come to judge all the living and dead, the wicked and the good, all in the same judgment. There will be a great separation. The wicked are placed on the left and the righteous on the right. Those on the left will be sentenced to punishment in hell, while those on the right will get to enjoy the bliss of heaven. There is no room in Matthew 25 for a “Rapture” period, or the “great tribulation,” or the thousand years between the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked.

Paul states in 2 Timothy 4:1: “I charge thee there-fore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” Paul said that Jesus will judge those who are living and those who are dead at His coming. Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that the judgment will contain both the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, all the wicked who are dead as well as those who are living will be judged. At the same time, all the righteous who are living as well as those who are dead will be judged. In contrast, the “Rapture” has Jesus coming with no universal judgment, with only part of the dead being raised, while others are left in their graves.

4. The “Rapture” theory is in contradiction to the clear and positive teaching of the Lord in John 5:28-29: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” While the “Rapture” has multiple judgments, the Bible says that all humanity will be judged at the same time, the good as well as the wicked.

5. The “Rapture” does not fit the Bible teaching of the “last day.” “This is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. ... No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:39-40, 44). “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:54). “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Jesus taught in John 5:28-29 that the resurrection of both the good and evil will take place in the same hour. That resurrection and judgment will take place in the last day. The “Rapture” theory has not just days but a thousand years separating the resurrection and judgment of the good and evil.

6. The “Rapture” is in conflict with 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10: “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

In the above passage Paul spoke of two groups. The first group is composed of those who have been troubled and persecuted. These are the obedient. The other group is described as those who do not know God and have not obeyed the gospel. He also talks about two compensations. To the afflicted He will give rest, but to the disobedient He will bring punishment. The rest for the righteous and punishment for the disobedient will occur in “that day” when Jesus comes with His angels. The “Rapture” does not have the wicked receiving their punishment in “that day” as Paul declared, but a thousand years later! According to the “Rapture” doctrine, the righteous will be in the air and the wicked will still be on the earth.

7. The “Rapture” conflicts with 2 Peter 3:10-14: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

This passage refers to the Second Coming of Jesus. When that happens, the earth and all in it will be burned up. But, the “Rapture” demands a continuation of the earth after the Lord comes. They say the earth will continue seven more years until Jesus returns to Jerusalem, and then a thousand more years after that. They teach that the earth will be renovated to be the resting-place for those who are not among the fortunate 144,000 who will be in heaven. Compare this far-fetched theory with the Bible that clearly says the earth and all in it will be burned up at the Lord’s Second Coming.

Two Primary Passages
There are two primary passages that the advocate for the “Rapture” use in an attempt to support this imaginative theory. Neither Rapture nor the teaching of it is to be found in either one. They both refer to the Second Coming of Christ with no reference whatsoever to a “Rapture.”

The first passage “Rapture” advocates use to support their theory is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. One does not have to look very long to realize that this passage it no way verifies the “Rapture.” The proponents of the “Rapture” say that Jesus will come in secret, but this passage tells us that when Jesus comes it will not be in secret. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God” (v. 16). The coming of Christ mentioned in this passage is the same as the one mentioned in Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him.” There is no secret coming discussed here. These Scriptures say that there will be shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and every eye seeing Jesus when He comes again.

The second passage that the advocates of the “Rapture” use is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. It is equally lacking in support for the theory. Verse 52 dispels the idea of a secret coming when it tells us that the sound of a trumpet will accompany the Lord. There is more in this passage that does not fit the “Rapture.” When Jesus comes, immortality will begin (v. 53). Death will be destroyed at His coming, “swallowed up in victory” (v. 54). In contrast, “Rapture” proponents say that life and death will continue on earth during the time the righteous are with Jesus. These passages do not verify the “Rapture,” but in fact, they repudiate this false doctrine.

The theory of the “Rapture” is false because it is not taught in the Bible. It came from the mind of men.

The Ruse of the Rapture
by Dudley Ross Spears

Maybe you have seen the bumper sticker that reads, “In case the Rapture occurs, this car will be driverless.” With tensions building in the Middle East, expectations are being sharpened in those who believe that the Rapture is about to take place. The Rapture is an intriguing topic and we will study it today - please stay tuned. First, let me mention some other matters.

The doctrine of “The Rapture” is espoused by a large segment of the Protestant denominational world. Possibly you have listened to your own “Pastor” speak of it as if it is certainly taught in the Bible. It might surprise some to know that the term “Rapture” is not in the Bible. And it is also surprising that even the idea of a “Rapture” is not in the Bible. The doctrine of a secret rapture is part of a very serious defection from Bible teaching known as dispensationalism or premillennialism. It is a deceptive set of doctrines that lead many astray.

But just what is meant by “The Rapture?” Let’s let an authority tell us. From Mr. Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” comes this definitive statement. “Someday, a day that only God knows, Jesus Christ is coming to take away all those who believe in Him. He is coming to meet all true believers in the air. Without benefit of science, space suits, or interplanetary rockets, there will be those who will be transported into a glorious place more beautiful, more awesome, than we can possibly comprehend. Earth and all its thrills, excitement, and pleasures will be nothing in contrast to this great event.

“It will be the living end. The ultimate trip.” (page 126).

Mr. Lindsey is an authority among dispensationalists and premillennialists. He tells us that the word “Rapture” means “to snatch away or take out.” The dictionary uses words such as ecstasy to describe it. This taking out of the world is supposed to be in direct relation to a series of events that will culminate with a return of Christ (with those taken away in the rapture) to launch a thousand year reign on earth with His headquarters in Jerusalem. All of this is the result of speculative fantasy and has absolutely no basis in the Bible.

Some have tried to figure this time table out and have set dates when the rapture was to begin. Who can forget the stir caused by Mr. Edgar C. Whisenant, right here in our own community, when his book was widely distributed. That book, “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988” predicted that Jesus would come back and snatch His own people away. Either the Lord had no people in our area, or the prediction was false. The latter is true — there was no rapture in 1988. In fact there never will be one. No man can set God’s clock.

Mr. Lindsey also tried to find the date for the rapture. In his book he commented on Jesus’ statement, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34 NASB), and said, “What generation? Obviously, in context, the generation that would see the signs - chief among them the rebirth of Israel. A generation in the Bible is something like forty years. If this is a correct deduction, then within forty years or so of 1948 (the date he assigned as the birth of Israel), all these things could take place.” (Page 43). That computes to 1988 — but this is 1990 and none of the things mentioned in Matthew 24 have occurred. One simple answer to it all is that the signs of Matthew 24 happened a long time ago when Jerusalem was destroyed by the crunching power of the imperial army of Rome. Mr. Lindsey joins those who have erroneously tried to set God’s clock.

The error of this Rapture theory is quite obvious. Those who hold the error claim the Lord will take the saints off to some exotic rendezvous somewhere in the clouds. A few years ago a man said to me, “I am thankful that when the tribulation begins, I won’t be here.” I asked, “Where will you be?” He said, “With the Lord in the Rapture.” I asked further, “Where will that be?” He answered, “Somewhere in the heavens where all is beautiful.” I asked, “Will that be better than heaven?” He thought a little and answered, “About the same, I suppose.” “But,” I replied, “you will then have to return for the battle of Armageddon and then finally live with Christ on earth during the millennium.” Think about this a moment — the Lord allegedly returns secretly, takes all the saints away for a short period of either 3 1/2 years or a full 7 years (depending on whose theory of the Rapture you believe), come back and engage in the most awful carnal warfare of history, then go to Jerusalem and set up a millennial earthly kingdom. I like what the man said who heard all this and gibed, “If I ever get headed off this planet in the right direction, I certainly don’t intend to return to it and fight a war.”

The doctrine of this imaginary Rapture doesn’t fit plain Bible teaching relative to the next appearance of Christ. Consider this: where will the Lord take the believers during the seven year period? He cannot take them somewhere in space, or to another planet. Neither can He take them somewhere on earth in a secret hideaway, because Peter tells us that the universe will be totally destroyed when the Lord comes the next time. Listen: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements (planets, marginal reading) shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Peter 3:10).

This statement clearly shows that when the Lord returns it will be anything but silent and secret. It will be noisy and open. But the fact is there is really no place on earth or in space where the raptured can go. There is really only one place left and that is Heaven itself. The word the rapturists use for their doctrine is the verb “caught up” found in I Thessalonians 4:16, 17. It reads, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up (Greek harpadzo) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

If you didn’t have a pet theory to defend how could you ever conclude that the being “caught up” with the Lord would be only a temporary Rapture? And you would never conclude that the place was anything other than Heaven itself. So, the doctrine fails the first test the Bible has for it.

This fictitious thing called the Rapture is allegedly to follow what is called “the Great Tribulation.” Have you ever wondered where these preachers get all these terms? Anyway, they tell us that just about the time when this tribulation begins the countdown has also begun. Allow me to read once more from Mr. Lindsey. “Most prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled concern events which will develop shortly before the beginning of and during this seven-year countdown. The general time of this seven-year period couldn’t begin until the Jewish people re-establish their nation in their ancient homeland of Palestine.” (Page 32).

This is another figmentary imagination from an hyperactive speculative mind. God has made no promise to Israel concerning the land of Palestine which has not long since been fulfilled. There is not a single promise today that is made to Jewish people that is not equally made to every race of mankind under the heavens. Can you think of one promise God has given one nation that does not include all nations? If so, what is it? Every promise God made in regard to restoring Israel to the promised land has been fulfilled. Listen to Joshua 21:43. “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers and they took possession of it.” And verse 45 concludes, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” That seals it, does it not?

This theory also claims that there will be an increased amount of wickedness and the conditions just preceding the coming of Christ will be terrible - much like what is about to happen in the Middle East now. Matthew 24:20-22 is cited. “And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath; for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved.”

This passage cannot refer to any phase of “the Rapture.” According to that doctrine the saints won’t be on earth to experience any tribulation. The passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and thus they were to pray that their flight from the burning city not be on the Sabbath day or in winter when travel was restricted.

Finally, Jesus taught His disciples in parables. In Matthew 13:24-30 He taught them about the kingdom by using an example from a farmer. He said that while a farmer slept, an enemy (and he means the Devil) sowed tares in his wheat field. When this became evident the reapers (angels) requested permission to remove the tares. But the owner (who represents God) said, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Jesus said the harvest is “the end of the world” (verse 39). The tares are the “sons of the evil one” (verse 38). That means that the wicked are to be gather up first. But the doctrine of the Rapture has the saints being gathered first. The Scofield Bible makes this comment on verse 30. “At the end of the age, the tares are set apart for burning, but first the wheat is gathered into the barn.” The Scofield Bible is oriented in all the comments in it toward this false view of the end of time. Which would you rather accept as fact — Christ or Scofield? Christ or Lindsey?

The doctrine of the rapture is a ruse — not a reality. It promises things God has never mentioned. It offers a false hope, denies plain Bible teaching, and is contradictory to the New Testament teaching on the end of time. Reject it and accept only what you can read and understand from plain language in your own Bible.

“People Love To Have It So”
The Rapture
by Gary McDade

Human nature has changed very little since Bible times as is evidenced by comparing a statement in the Book of Jeremiah with a seemingly unabated infatuation with a contrived doctrine commonly known as “the Rapture.” In the sixth century BC Jeremiah said, “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer. 5:30-31).

“The Rapture” is contrived from the footnotes contained in the Scofield Reference Bible that was edited by C.I. Scofield, copyrighted, and first published in 1909. The 1917 edition is infamous for its propagation of the false teaching known as premillennialism with “the Rapture” being a popular part of that system of belief. This system of belief holds forth the view of multiple “comings” and judgments and resurrections that are separated by a great span of time, e.g., 1,000 years (cf. pp. 1226-1228 -comments on I Cor. 15; pp. 1350-1351 - comments on Rev. 20). Yet, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of his coming and the final resurrection and the judgment occurring in the same day and hour! In Matthew 24:36 he said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” He spoke of his second coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment as happening in “that day and hour.” When he compared his second coming to the days of Noah he spoke of “the day that Noah entered into the ark” and said, “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (v. 39; emphasis added). As he spoke of the two women grinding at the mill, one taken in a prepared state the other left unprepared, he said, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (v. 42; emphasis added). The good man of the house who was robbed illustrated “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (v. 44; emphasis added). The evil servants who began to riotously behave were told, “The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of” (v. 50; emphasis added).

Anyone who is honest with the inspired text of the straightforward statements of the Savior in John 5:28-29 must admit that Scofield and his followers like John Walvoord, Hal Lindsey, Adrian Rogers, and Charles Stanley have gotten it wrong. Scofield and his students affirm many centuries between the resurrection and judgment of the righteous and the wicked (cf. the pages of the Scofield Reference Bible mentioned earlier), but the Son of God said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (emphasis added). Notice that both the righteous and the wicked are resurrected in the same hour. This is not what the men listed above teach!

Scofield’s followers-use the word “Rapture” even though they know and admit that it is not a Bible word. Listen to Hal Lindsey, “Sometimes misunderstood terms provide the red flag an unbeliever needs to turn him from the simple truth of God’s Word. ‘Rapture’ may be one of those words. It is not found in the Bible, so there is no need to race for your concordance, if you have one” (The Late Great Planet Earth, p. 137). Observe that Lindsey admits that using words not found in the Bible may turn unbelievers away “from the simple truth of God’s Word,” but he went ahead and used such a word anyway! Observe further that when novices today intimate that the word “Rapture” is in the Bible, they stand corrected by their own guides.

Charles F. Stanley, President and Publisher of In Touch monthly magazine, wrote, “When the Bible says that believers will be ‘caught up’ in the air with the Lord, the literal Greek phrase calls for us to be ‘snatched away.’ Our term ‘Rapture’ is the derivative of this wording” (February 2003, p. 25). Observe that he called “Rapture” “our term.” He got the term from Lindsey and Scofield (p. 1349). “Rapture” is not a Bible term, but premillennialists would “love to have it so.”

Premillennialists talk about this word the KJV renders “shall be caught up” in I Thessalonians 4:17 as if that is the only time it appears in the Bible. Rest assured it is not! The Greek word in I Thessalonians 4:17 is from harpazo and is found fourteen times in the New Testament. Examples include Acts 8:39, “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing” (emphasis added); II Corinthians 12:2-4, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (emphasis added); and Revelation 12:5, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne” (emphasis added). Consider Stanley’s definition “snatched away” for this Greek word, and see how it works in these passages. You would have the Spirit “snatching away” Philip following the conversion of the Eunuch. The man Paul knew who was transported to heaven would have been “snatched away” to paradise. And, the reference in Revelation 12:5 is to the Lord himself ascending to the throne of God. Compare the account in Acts 1 of Christ’s ascension, and see which fits the context better “caught up” or “snatched away.” For certain, “Rapture” will not work in any of the fourteen passages where this Greek word is found. Even the premillennialists, who are desperate to hold on to the word “Rapture” as it has descended from their guide Scofield, would not take such a position because then they would have to explain how the Bible teaches not one so-called “Rapture” but fourteen! Was Philip “Raptured” in Acts 8:39? Was the man Paul knew “Raptured” in II Corinthians 12:2-4? Was the Lord “Raptured” when he left the earth? The premillennialist will not so suggest because although his system contains multiple “comings,” resurrections, and judgments, he wants only one “Rapture.” Again, “a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land ... and my people love to have it so.”