The word rapture is used to describe a transformation of believers who will be taken from the earth prior to the millennial reign of Christ. It is a central tenet of Premillennial doctrine. It also is lacking in any scriptural basis.
The problem is not in the idea that at Christ’s second coming the righteous will meet HIm in the air. In fact, this truth is taught clearly in scripture. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
“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 by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
The problem is that many seek to differentiate this event from the resurrection of the wicked to eternal condemnation. The Premillennial view is that the righteous will be snatched away, and the wicked will remain on the earth, to be judged at a later time. This is demonstrably untrue.
First, note the context of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. His essay was an answer to a question they were asking. They wanted to know what would happen to those who die before Christ’s coming. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (vs. 13).
There is no mention of the wicked in 1 Thessalonians 4 because the question directed to Paul regarded only the righteous. In that day, both the living and dead who are righteous will be caught up together in the air.
Jesus taught about His second coming in judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. There He clearly tells us that the granting of an eternal reward for the righteous will occur on the same occasion that God sentences the wicked to the “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (vs. 41). His conclusion regarding the wicked, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The idea of the wicked being left behind, with tribulation, a physical reign, great battles and another coming of Jesus yet future, is found only in the imaginations of men.
This is clearly established by Peter, who also wrote about Jesus’ coming. Read 2 Peter 3:10-13:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
The second coming of Christ is certainly a rapturous event for the righteous. However, the idea of a rapture as a separate event that takes place long before the ending of the physical universe is not true! When Christ comes, that will be the end! Rapture for the Christian. Grief for the wicked. Destruction for the physical universe. That is the event to which Paul refers in 1 Thessalonians 4.
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The problem is not in the idea that at Christ’s second coming the righteous will meet HIm in the air. In fact, this truth is taught clearly in scripture. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
“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 by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
The problem is that many seek to differentiate this event from the resurrection of the wicked to eternal condemnation. The Premillennial view is that the righteous will be snatched away, and the wicked will remain on the earth, to be judged at a later time. This is demonstrably untrue.
First, note the context of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. His essay was an answer to a question they were asking. They wanted to know what would happen to those who die before Christ’s coming. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (vs. 13).
There is no mention of the wicked in 1 Thessalonians 4 because the question directed to Paul regarded only the righteous. In that day, both the living and dead who are righteous will be caught up together in the air.
Jesus taught about His second coming in judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. There He clearly tells us that the granting of an eternal reward for the righteous will occur on the same occasion that God sentences the wicked to the “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (vs. 41). His conclusion regarding the wicked, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The idea of the wicked being left behind, with tribulation, a physical reign, great battles and another coming of Jesus yet future, is found only in the imaginations of men.
This is clearly established by Peter, who also wrote about Jesus’ coming. Read 2 Peter 3:10-13:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
The second coming of Christ is certainly a rapturous event for the righteous. However, the idea of a rapture as a separate event that takes place long before the ending of the physical universe is not true! When Christ comes, that will be the end! Rapture for the Christian. Grief for the wicked. Destruction for the physical universe. That is the event to which Paul refers in 1 Thessalonians 4.
To see The Patternists Page on Facebook, click here, and Like!
