Our
modem world in the twentieth century has provided an amazing combination of
events and situations that compare to the end times predicted in the Bible.
Major
events of the future begin with the rapture of the church, referring to the
catching up of the church from earth to heaven. But significantly, the
Bible
never mentions a specific sign for the rapture itself, because it is always
presented as an imminent event that could take place at any moment.
What
can be the meaning, then, of talking about signs of the rapture? Being enacted
before our eyes in this twentieth century is a preparation of the World's
stage
for events which will follow the rapture. These are detailed in both the Old
and New Testaments, providing a panoramic view of the tremendous climax
of
human history leading up to the second coming of Christ. But the rapture comes
first, and this event has no specific signs preceding it. What the world
is
seeing today is the preparation for events that will follow the rapture.
Logically, this means that the rapture itself could be very near. This is the
point
of all the discussion concerning current events which are viewed as prophecy
being fulfilled today.
Paramount,
however, in all the evidence for the coming of the Lord is the fact that the
Scriptures themselves provide the details for what is necessary
to
support the conclusion that Christ is coming for His own. Fulfillment could be
any day. A study of the prophecies concerning the coming of Christ is
still
our best proof for the imminence of these earthshaking events.
In
the exercise of interpreting prophecies of the Bible, there has been a woeful
neglect of basic rules of interpretation. This has resulted in prophecies
being
wrongly claimed as currently being fulfilled, as well as other important
prophecies being ignored. It is amazing to see books on the end times that
just
skip, for example, the rapture and proceed as if we are already in the great
tribulation. To avoid this interpretive error, we must understand clearly
the
rules of interpretation of prophecy.
First
of all, the context of any prophecy needs to be thoroughly explored and
understood. Second, it is most important to examine the details of the prophecy
and
carefully go over each aspect of the prophetic interpretation. Third, it is
necessary to understand that prophecy is usually literal and given in plain
statements
of Scripture. To be sure, symbolic and apocalyptic presentations of prophecy
appear in many passages, but even here the Bible itself interprets
these
symbols as prophetic predictions. It simply is not true that prophecy is a
hopeless puzzle that no one can understand.
The
main points of prophecy are clearly written in the scriptural record. Once the
facts of prophecy are determined, then the practical application of the
prophecy
can be attempted. In the case of prophetic interpretation, this emphasizes the
importance of being ready for the coming of the Lord. If His coming
is
truly imminent, it is of utmost importance to have assurance of salvation,
commitment of life and property to the Lord, and a life of purity and devotion
to
the Lord. As given in Scripture, prophecy always has a practical context. In
other words, it is intended not only to teach but also to exhort.
In
carrying out these basic rules of interpreting prophecy, it is necessary first
of all to examine carefully the Old Testament to see what it reveals and
what
it does not reveal and then to continue in the new revelation given in the New
Testament as well. A careful search of all prophecies reveal that there
are
at least a thousand basic passages on prophecy in the Bible, some single verses
and some whole chapters; of these thousand passages, 500 have already
been
literally fulfilled. This provides a reasonable and intelligent basis for
assuming that prophecies yet to be fulfilled will likewise be literal in
their
fulfillment. With these facts in mind, it is very important then to ask: Mat
was intended by the prophecy? To whom was it given? And what would be
the
normal comprehension of it?
In
the Old Testament, not only are there hundreds of prophecies, but many of these
are of major impact upon the history of the period. Beginning in the
Garden
of Eden, God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die if they partook of
the forbidden fruit. When they sinned against God and partook of the
fruit,
they died spiritually immediately and ultimately physically.
The
major predictions of the flood were literally fulfilled. Abram received
extensive prophetic revelation, much of which has already been precisely
fulfilled.
Abram
became a great man in history and in the Bible. He was the progenitor not only
of the nation of Israel but of many other ancient nations as well.
Through
him came the line that led to Jesus Christ and provided blessing to all the
world. This is summarized in three very important verses in Genesis
12:1-3.
To
Abraham also was given the important promise that his descendants would inherit
and possess the Promised Land (Genesis 12:7). One of the major mistakes
of
prophecy is to refuse to take this literally and instead try to equate this
land with heaven. Throughout the Old Testament, every use and reference
to
the word "land" refers to real estate: what is commonly known as the
Holy Land, extending from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates, as
detailed
in
Genesis 15:18-21.
The
departure of the children of Israel to Egypt was predicted in Genesis 15:13,14,
and their return was literally fulfilled. Though they wandered for 40
years
in the wilderness, they eventually conquered at least a major portion of the
land.
As
long as Israel obeyed the law, God blessed them in the land. But it was freely
predicted by Moses that if they disobeyed the law, they would be scattered
and
driven out of the land (Deuteronomy 28:58-68). This was tragically fulfilled,
first by the Assyrian invasion of the land in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17:5-8),
when
the ten tribes were carried off captive. Later, in 605 B.C., Jerusalem was
conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, and subsequently captives from Judah were
carried
to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16).
In
the midst of Israel's apostasy, Jeremiah the prophet, who had predicted the
Babylonian conquest of Judah, predicted that after 70 years God would bring
the
captives back from Babylon to Israel (Jeremiah 29: 10). This was literally
fulfilled after the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon. Though their history
was
troubled, the Jewish people eventually built the temple. In the time of
Nehemiah they built the wall, and then in the years following Nehemiah they
rebuilt
the city of Jerusalem, replacing its ancient ruins. In all of these predictions
there was literal fulfillment of the many prophecies that dealt
with
the nation of Israel as well as the nations that surrounded them.
Throughout
the Old Testament, however, there also was prediction of the coming of the
Messiah. The prophecies of the coming of the Lord as the Jewish Messiah
and
King of the line of David are interwoven with the major prophetic revelations
of the Old Testament. As early as Genesis 3:15 it was predicted that
the
coming Son of the woman would destroy Satan. In the promise to Abraham, the
Coming One was not only indicated to be the son of Abraham but it was also
predicted
that He would be a blessing to the entire world. This was fulfilled in Christ's
death, as mentioned previously in Genesis 3:15. Intimately related
to
all of this was the fulfillment of the promise of the land as Israel's
everlasting inheritance.
Later
in the Old Testament, in the covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:12-16), God
promised to perpetuate the kingdom of David, which ultimately would be
fulfilled
by
the coming of the Messiah. Psalm 89 repeats and reiterates the unconditional
nature of this promise that is related to the second coming of Christ.
In
connection with Israel's restoration, there is a time of terrible trouble
spoken of as the great tribulation (Daniel 12: 1), which would be ended,
however,
by
the restoration of Israel (Jeremiah 30:5- 11).
The
fact that Israel would be restored to her land in connection with the
fulfillment of the Davidic covenant is the major theme of Jeremiah 31. In
Ezekiel
39:21-29
the promise is given that all Israelites would be re-gathered to their Promised
Land at the time of the coming of the Messiah except for those
who
are purged out. In Ezekiel 20:33-38 it is clear that the rebels are unbelievers
who will be purged out in that re-gathering. Only those who have come
to
trust in their Messiah will enter the Promised Land. Ezekiel 48 pictures the 12
tribes of Israel, each with its own inheritance in the Promised Land
following
the coming of the Messiah.
The
prophecy of a Messiah who would suffer and die, as predicted in Isaiah 53 and
Psalm 22, alongside these promises of glorious restoration, puzzled the
rabbis
as they attempted to interpret the Old Testament. This is mentioned in I Peter
1:10,11.
It
is most important to realize that the Old Testament in its prediction spoke of
both the first and second comings of Christ, but no one understood that
they
were two separate events. The first coming would involve His sufferings and
death and resurrection, while in the second coming He would conquer the
world
and reign gloriously on earth. Interpreters of the Old Testament, however,
never understood that there were two comings, and they attempted to merge
these
two conflicting predictions into one major prophecy. Though they gave various
explanations, probably the most popular one identified the sufferings
of
Messiah with the sufferings of the nation of Israel but predicted the glorious
reign of Christ as being brought about by His first coming. As far as
Scripture
reveals, nobody in the Old Testament or in the gospel period, except for Christ
Himself, understood that there were two separate comings of Christ.
This
is most significant in considering the problem of separating the rapture from
the second coming, except that this time thousands of people can see
the
difference.
It
is most important to understand that the Old Testament, in its presentation of
the coming of the Messiah, was universally misunderstood. The result was
that
the disciples came to follow Christ anticipating the fact that He would be a
glorious reigning Messiah but ignoring the fact that He had to die first.
And
Christ did not immediately correct the disciples' anticipation. It is doubtful
whether they would have followed Christ if they thought He was going
to
die and not fulfill His role of leadership. However, in the events leading up
to His death, He predicted on several occasions that He would be crucified
and
die and then be resurrected (Matthew 12:38-42; 16:21-23; 17:22,23; 20:17-19;
Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34).
The
disciples immediately rejected this concept and so thoroughly erased it from
their minds that when Christ actually died they did not recall His predictions
of
His death and resurrection. By contrast, the enemies of Christ remembered; they
appointed soldiers to watch the tomb and sea] it to make it impossible
for
anyone to steal the body. Their attempts only added to the certainty of the
fact that Christ actually rose from the dead in spite of the efforts to
prevent
removal of the body. The disciples were not credulous and eager to believe the
fact of His resurrection; instead, they required solid proof-as
given
in the tomb and the appearances of Christ-that He was actually raised before
they would accept this important miracle in fulfillment of prophecy.
In
view of the many attempts to interpret Scripture as not teaching an imminent
return of Christ in the rapture, it is a common interpretation by post tribulationists
(who
put the rapture at the end of the tribulation) and amillennarians (who ignore
the rapture) also to insist that the disciples knew all about the rapture
and
therefore understood the predictions of the second coming as referring to the
rapture. Actually there is not a scrap of evidence anywhere that indicates
the
disciples understood anything about this. How could the disciples understand
the doctrine of the rapture as distinct from the second coming when they
had
not even comprehended the difference between the first and second comings of
Christ?
In
interpretation of prophecy, it is most important not only to observe in great
detail what is said but also to carefully examine what is not said, and
there
is no mention of a rapture anywhere in the Gospels until the prediction in John
14. The fact that the disciples could not distinguish the first and
second
comings of Christ explains how some today have difficulty in distinguishing the
rapture and the second coming. The reason these two events are properly
distinguished,
however, is based upon the biblical facts concerning them as two events that
are totally different in what they accomplish. Also, the context
of
what precedes the rapture and the events that follow are in sharp contrast.
As
the public ministry of Christ had moved on to more than three years, the
disciples were beginning to despair whether His promises of a glorious reign
were
going to be fulfilled as they had anticipated. They saw instead a weakening of
His followers, with many disciples turning away, and they were aware
of
the activities of the leaders of Israel to capture Christ and put Him to death.
All these problems did not indicate any progress toward their goal of
a
glorious reign of Christ on earth. This was the reason they came to Christ in
Matthew 24 and asked the questions concerning the signs of His coming and
the
end of the age.
As
the disciples gathered in the upper room on the night before His crucifixion,
Christ seized the opportunity to give them what hope He could. Their problem
was
that Christ told them He was to leave them and they could not follow Him. Also,
one of their number was going to betray Him. They could not understand
any
of these predictions because they did not fit into their scheme of Christ
gloriously reigning on earth. In the context, John 14 records the first
revelation
of
Christ's coming to take His own out of the earth.
The
entire fourteenth chapter of John is directed at the anxiety of the disciples.
It gives them assurance that God is on the throne and will certainly
fulfill
His plan and purpose for the world and for His own. Christ exhorts them not to
be troubled. The first thing He mentions is the fact that He would
be
going to heaven to prepare a place for them, and then come back to receive them
to Himself: "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not
so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where
I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2,3 KJV).
It
should be quite clear that the disciples did not have the slightest idea as to
what Christ was talking about. There was nothing in their understanding
of
end time prophecy that involved Christ coming to take His own out of the world.
What they were anticipating was the kingdom on earth, in keeping with
the
Old Testament prophecies of Christ gloriously reigning on earth. Had not the
Lord also assured them that they would sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes
of
Israel (Matthew 19:27-30)?
Christ
made no attempt to explain the doctrine of the rapture to them or even to
correct their misunderstanding of His future kingdom. The dark days that
followed
as they watched Him die on the cross were left without relief until He rose
from the dead and the disciples were assured of His resurrection.
It
is doubtful that even then they understood the difference between the first and
second comings of Christ.
Later,
when they saw Christ ascend into heaven, it apparently gradually dawned on the
disciples that His sufferings and death had to do with His first coming,
and
that His second coming was to be fulfilled in a future event when He would
return. They probably had no idea how long this period would be (which has
now
stretched to almost 2000 years). They anticipated the possibility that He might
come back to establish His kingdom while they were still living.
The
doctrine of the rapture was given by revelation to Paul. While undoubtedly the
other disciples heard about it, it is not clear from the New Testament
whether
all the apostles understood that Christ would come for them first before He
came to establish His kingdom.
When
the apostle Paul was arrested in his mad course of persecuting Christians on
the road to Damascus, he ultimately went through an experience of being
taught
by the Lord in special revelation the great truths that characterized his later
writings. He was indoctrinated into the truth of grace, which apparently
he
had not completely understood in his life as a Pharisee, and in addition he was
given the great revelation of Christ's next coming to take His own out
of
the world.
In
his missionary journey, Paul incorporated these two main doctrines into his
preaching, teaching first that Christ had come, died for our sins, and rose
again,
and is now able to save all those who put their trust in Him. This was coupled
immediately with the truth that Christ might come at any time to
take
His own out of the world.
This
truth is detailed for us in Scripture in connection with Paul's ministry to the
Thessalonian church. Acting on divine instruction, he had left Asia
Minor
and gone over to Greece to preach at Philippi and then later at Thessalonica
(Acts 16:8-10).
Paul's
painful experience at Philippi, where he was beaten and placed in prison, did
not deter him from preaching the gospel boldly at Thessalonica. As
was
his custom, he had gone to the synagogue there and preached the gospel to both
Jews and Gentile converts for three Sabbath days (Acts 17:1-4). However,
because
of threats on his life on the part of those who rejected his message, he
thought it best to leave.
Later,
while in Athens, Paul had sent Timothy, his young disciple, to the Thessalonian
church to see how they were getting along. Timothy found them standing
true
to the faith in spite of terrible persecution, and he did what he could to
reassure them and encourage them. However, they had some important doctrinal
questions
which Timothy could not completely answer. So Timothy took those questions back
to Paul for his consideration. One of the questions concerned
some
of the Thessalonians who had already died: If the Lord came for those living in
the rapture, would they have to wait for some future time before their
loved
ones would be resurrected? In his first epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul
expressed his joy at their standing true to the faith, but he also answered
their
theological questions and gave them more detail than anywhere else in the
Scriptures concerning what would happen at the rapture of the church.
As
stated earlier, it is most important to pay close attention to what is said and
what is not said. So many wrong interpretations of the rapture come from
neglect
of the details or refusal to accept the revelation itself. As stated in I
Thessalonians 4:13, Paul said, "I do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren,
concerning
those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope."
God has a purpose in giving prophecy. If one- fourth of the Bible
was
prophetic when it was written, it certainly is evident that God does not want
us to neglect this important truth, as many do today. It is also essential
to
listen carefully to what God says because there are no inaccuracies in His Word
and nothing is omitted that is important to us. God does not want us
to
be ignorant or uninformed.
In
Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, he addressed them as "brethren."
Belief in the rapture is not essential to salvation, as there are thousands of
Christians
today
who are ignorant of this great truth. Salvation relates to the first coming of
Christ and what Christ did for us on the cross. There is an important
reason,
however, for understanding this truth of the rapture: Paul does not want us to
have hope without content. While many Christians believe they are
going
to heaven, they are practically at a loss to state anything about this event or
what their state would be or when this would occur. Paul makes it
clear
that it is God's purpose not to keep us ignorant or uninformed but to give us a
wonderful hope, in contrast to a world with no hope at all.
This
wonderful hope is particularly brought out in a Christian funeral. On one
occasion I attended the memorial service of an 11 -year old girl who had
died
of leukemia. Her parents were prominent Christian workers. The church was
packed with well- wishers and sympathizers. It was a glorious occasion,
however,
as the girl's family and friends recounted the wonderful hope that they would
see their loved one again. When Christ comes, the family will be
reunited.
What a difference if the little girl had not been a Christian and the parents
had not been Christians! What could extend any hope or comfort
to
those left behind? In proportion as our future with the Lord is real and our
personal love for the Lord and desire to see him is real, so will prophecy
become
real for us as we attempt to understand what God has predicted in His Word.
In
1 Thessalonians 4:14 the absolute certainty of the rapture is revealed:
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with
Him
those who sleep in Jesus." The death and resurrection of Christ was a
major subject of Old Testament prophecy. Implied in all the passages of His
glorious
reign
is that after His death He would need to be raised from the dead. Now that
Christ has come, however, and has died and been resurrected, it is prophecy
fulfilled.
There is absolutely no uncertainty about the prophecy having a literal
fulfillment.
From
the divine point of view, prophecy is just as certain as history. From the
human point of view, however, it is reassuring to see that predictions are
literally
fulfilled. Today we can believe with certainty that Christ died and rose again.
Paul's argument is that, just as the death and resurrection of
Christ,
a central doctrine of the Christian gospel, is true, so the rapture is also
absolutely certain and absolutely true. In describing this event he
is
predicting what actually will happen.
When
the rapture occurs, Christ will take the souls of Christians in heaven and
bring them with Him as He comes back to the earthly sphere. When a Christian
dies,
a medical doctor can declare a person dead because the signs of life are
absent. Theologically, a Christian who dies experiences death when the soul
leaves
the body and goes immediately to heaven, as indicated in 2 Corinthians 5:8. It
is customary, however, to put the body of Christians who have died
in
the grave. When the rapture occurs, Christ will bring the souls of these from
heaven back to the earthly sphere with the obvious purpose of causing
them
to be raised from the dead, and the soul will reenter the resurrection body.
Paul
follows this with a detailed description of exactly what is going to happen on
the occasion of the rapture. As stated in I 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 coining 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.
First
of all, Paul points out that this is not a revelation of the Old Testament, and
he does not quote Old Testament passages dealing with the second coming;
rather,
it is a new truth given by direct revelation. He then describes the scene:
Christians who are alive at the time of the rapture will not precede
those
who have died. One of the problems of the Thessalonian church was that they
were concerned that, when those who were living were raptured, their
dead
brethren would not be raised. But Paul replied that there was no need to worry
about this issue because their resurrection would precede by a moment
the
translation and rapture of the living Christians. He then described how the
Lord would bodily descend from heaven to the air above the earth.
Though
Christ is everywhere, omnipresent in His divine deity, in His resurrected human
body He can be in only one place at a time because this is the nature
of
a body. At the rapture He will come bodily from heaven as a token of the
importance of this event. He will issue a shout which is also a command of
resurrection
to Christians all over the world who have died. Their souls will reenter their
bodies. He will command living Christians to be caught up and
meet
Him in the air. Living Christians will experience what Paul later described in
his first letter to the Corinthians indicating that our present bodies,
which
are subject to death and corruption and sin, will be exchanged for bodies that
are suited for heaven. Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:51-53:
Behold,
I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must
put on immortality.
Taken
with 1 Thessalonians 4, the 1 Corinthians passage gives a complete picture of
what will happen on the occasion of the rapture.
When
the trumpet sounds, not only will the dead be raised with new bodies that will
be suited to be in the presence of the Lord forever, but the living
Christians
who now have sinful bodies and experience mortality and age will be instantly
changed into bodies which will last forever without sin and without
corruption.
Three
basic problems of the human body will be settled instantly. First, our present
bodies have a sin nature, as indicated in Ephesians 2: 1, and they
are
not suitable for the presence of the Lord. Second, our bodies grow old, and we
need a body that does not deteriorate. Third, our bodies are subject
to
death, and we need bodies that are immortal. All these changes will take place
instantly when the trumpet of the rapture sounds.
Christians
who died would be resurrected a moment before Christians who are living are
translated. According to I Thessalonians 4:17, we will be caught
up
or raptured with those resurrected. There is no record that Christ's feet will
ever touch the earth at the time of the rapture. Instead, Scripture predicts
that
we will be forever with the Lord.
John
14:1-3 indicates that when Christ comes for us He will take us to the Father's
house, which is heaven. In other words, we will not be floating around
in
space right after the rapture, but will go immediately into the presence of the
Lord. This is anticipated, for example, in I Thessalonians 3:13, which
teaches
that we will be presented before God our heavenly Father.
The
reference to the clouds could refer to atmospheric clouds, which would also
characterize the second coming. Some believe that the reference is to the
multitude
or "clouds" of those who are resurrected or translated, similar to
Hebrews 12: 1, which speaks of a cloud of witnesses. From then on we will
be
wherever the Lord is, whether in heaven in the Father's presence during the
terrible time of tribulation, on earth during the millennial earth, or in
the
new heaven and new earth (and the new Jerusalem) for all eternity. The
assurance of this plan of God is a comfort to us because these promises are
given
as something that could occur at any time. It is a reminder of how our present
time of suffering and bereavement may be suddenly cut off by that
trumpet
sound from the blue.
It
is most important to realize that the scriptural rapture is totally different
from the picture of the second coming as given in Revelation 19:11-16.
Here
Christ comes back to the earth with the purpose of judging the world and
bringing His kingdom to bear upon the earth. He is accompanied by the armies
of
heaven, including the angels and the saints, and the church, which had
previously been raptured. They all come to be with Christ during His
thousand-year
reign
on earth. While many questions are left unanswered, the main facts are
perfectly clear for anyone who will accept what the Scriptures say. At the
time
of the rapture there is no judgment on earth and there is no heavenly host accompanying
Christ, for His purpose in this event is to take the church
to
heaven. In contrast, His purpose in Revelation 19, where He comes from heaven
to earth, is to bring His judgment and power to bear upon a wicked earth.
The
fact that no intervening events are ever mentioned between the present moment
and the rapture gives assurance to believers, even if they differ on
many
other points of prophecy, that Christ could come very soon.
After
the rapture is described as an imminent event, it is only natural to ask: Men
will it occur? First Thessalonians 5 deals with this issue. In this
connection
a new term is introduced: "the day of the Lord." Most expositors hold
that the reason the day of the Lord is introduced is that it begins at
the
time of the rapture. This is commonly held not only by pre-tribulationists but
also by post-tribulationists.
The
problem then becomes the question, Mat is the day of the Lord? An examination
of the Old Testament reveals that the day of the Lord refers to any period
of
God's intervention in the affairs of man in judgment. The day of the Lord
sharply contrasts the present time, which is the day of grace. Frequently
God
brought upon Israel invaders, failure of crops, drought, pestilence, and other
difficulties referred to in the Scriptures as a "day of the Lord."
Typical
is
the passage found in Joel 1: 14-20:
Consecrate
a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of
the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the
Lord.
Alas
for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction
from the Almighty. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness
from
the house of our God? The seed grain shrivels under the clods, storehouses are
in shambles; barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. How
the
beasts groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep suffer your punishment.
0
Lord, to You I cry out; for fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame
has burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also cry out
to
You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open
pastures.
Joel
goes on to speak of the day of judgment as the day of the Lord. Frequently in
the Old Testament, the prophecy goes beyond the immediate judgment of
God
to the ultimate day of the Lord which precedes the second coming. This is the
content of Joel 2: 1 - 11. Also in the same chapter is the dramatic passage
of
2:30-32:
I
will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before
the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass
that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in
Mount
Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among
the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Here
are the promises that a day of divine deliverance will come at the second
coming of Christ. Most of the book of Joel is occupied with not only the
theme
of judgment but also the theme of deliverance, as in chapter 3. Some of the
historic applications to Israel are also found in Amos (see 5:16-20).
The
theme is also picked up in Isaiah 13:6-16. All of this forms a dramatic
background for the declaration that the future day of the Lord will begin at
the
rapture.
Some
of the particulars of the period of judgment following the rapture are itemized
in 1 Thessalonians 5. The day of the Lord is declared to come as a
thief
in the night, just as the rapture occurs. That is, there are no warnings and it
can be expected at any time. In I Thessalonians 5:3, the proclamation
of
peace and safety which follows the covenant of Daniel 9:27 at the beginning of
the seven years is interrupted as the great tribulation begins when the
covenant
is broken and sudden destruction comes upon the people. Christians are
described as those who live in the light not in the darkness, whereas those
who
live in that future period are described as living in darkness.
An
important fact is presented in I Thessalonians 5:9: "For God did not
appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ." In
contrast
to the day of the Lord, the time of divine wrath, Christians are not appointed
to that day. In other words, we are appointed to a different time
frame,
namely, the period before the day of the Lord. If the day of the Lord is
fulfilled in the period preceding the second coming of Christ, then it
should
be obvious that the rapture of the church also precedes this time of judgment
when the day of the Lord will begin.
An
important and additional predictive revelation is found in 2 Thessalonians 2.
Here the context is very important. It is clear from 2 Thessalonians 2
that
between the two epistles false teachers had come in who were legalizers and who
had told the Thessalonian church that the sufferings which they were
going
through in their persecution were those of the day of the Lord. In other words,
the day of the Lord had already begun. They claimed that this was
the
teaching of Paul and that they had manuscripts and special messages from him to
this effect.
When
Paul heard of this, he was of course indignant that the Thessalonians church was
alarmed. Were they going to go through the day of the Lord, or had
they
missed the rapture and therefore were already in the day of the Lord? In either
case, they had reason for alarm.
In
chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, Paul addressed this problem directly. He began by
reminding them of his teaching which they had heard when he was there.
In
2 Thessalonians 2:1 he wrote, "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you." He was
specifically
speaking about the coming of Christ and our gathering or rapture on that
occasion. He followed in verse 2 by observing that they are not to
be
disturbed, as if there had been a message from God by a spirit or by word or by
letter from Paul. He stated that they should "not ... be soon shaken
in
mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as
though the day of Christ had come." (In many texts the word
"Lord" is
used
instead of Christ.") Paul stated in verses 3 and 4:
Let
no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling
away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
who
opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped,
so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he
is
God.
The
expression "that Day will not come" is of course added to the text.
It is not in the original, but it brings out the point of what is being
discussed
in
the sentence. Two things in particular are mentioned as having to occur before
the day of the Lord can come: a falling away, referring to doctrinal
apostasy,
and a revelation of the man of sin, who is the future Antichrist and world
ruler and who is described in verse 4 as the one who in the great
tribulation
occupies the temple and is worshiped as God. Paul reminded the Thessalonians
that he had taught them about this when he was with them.
What
does it mean when the day of the Lord comes? This point is often obscure in
current exegeses of this passage. Note that the passage does not say when
the
day of the Lord begins. As a time period, it begins at the rapture but comes
when the major events take place. To illustrate this concept, consider
the
statement "When the Fourth of July comes we will have a parade." This
does not refer to 12:01 A.M. on July 4; it refer to 10 A.M., the time of the
parade.
The day begins at 12:01 but it comes at 10 A.M. In other words, he is referring
to the first major event after the day of the Lord begins, and
this
is the revelation of the man of sin.
Prophecy
here requires reconstructing the major events of the end times in their
chronological order. This is commonly neglected in most works on prophecy
but
is essential to understanding the period.
When
the rapture occurs, several Scriptures indicate that either immediately before
the rapture or immediately afterward there will be a revival of the
ancient
Roman Empire in the form of ten countries, as predicted in Daniel 7:7. As
pointed out in previous chapters in this book, Europe is ripe for just
such
an arrangement because the countries of Europe for the first time in centuries
are on a friendly basis in which they can easily get together politically,
as
they are currently attempting to do in the common economic market.
When
they are formed as a ten-nation group, a dictator will rise, described as the
little horn of Daniel 7:8, and he will apparently conquer three of the
ten
countries. From then on Scriptures regard him as the ruler of all ten, though
no explanation is ever given as to why the other seven capitulate. It
is
obvious that when he conquers the three countries, he will already be
identified as the man of sin and the future dictator and Antichrist, and when
he
conquers all ten, this will be further confirmed.
From
his position of power, the man of sin will bring about the covenant of Daniel
9:27, which describes the last seven years leading up to the second coming
of
Christ. It is the final seven years of Israel's prophesied prophetic program, 483
years of which were completed before the crucifixion of Christ. The
present
age has intervened. The last seven years will be resumed when this covenant is
signed. According to Daniel 9:27, the first 3 1/2 years will be
a
period of relative peace, though it may include the invasion of Israel and the
sneak attack by six nations as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. In the
middle
of the seven years, however, the covenant will be broken and the leader of the
ten countries will assume control over the entire world by proclamation.
This
will begin the world government of the end times, of which the Antichrist will
be the head.
Scripture
describes him as being aligned with Satan (Revelation 13:1-4). His supernatural
powers apparently come from Satan himself. He will demand that
everyone
worship him at the pain of death. Those who do not worship the world ruler as
well as Satan will be put to death (Revelation 13:15). The full
revelation
of his character and evil attributes will appear when he breaks the covenant with
Israel at the beginning of the last 3 1/2 years. It should
be
obvious, however, that this is the final climax rather than the beginning of
the revelation of who he is. Actually he is identifiable as soon as he
has
control of the three countries of the Roman Empire, and then the ten countries
later. When he makes the covenant with Israel for seven years, he is
certainly
the same person who at the middle of the seven years becomes the world ruler
aligned with Satan.
What
Paul is teaching in 2 Thessalonians 2 is that the man of sin cannot be revealed
until after the rapture. If he is revealed more than seven years before
the
second coming of Christ, then the rapture has to occur before the seven years,
and this wipes out all the contenders for post-tribulationism, partial
rapturism,
or mid-tribulationism, leaving only the pre-tribulational view as that which is
in harmony with the Scriptures.
Paul
further supports this idea of a pre-tribulational rapture by calling attention
to the fact that the day of the Lord cannot begin until the restrainer
of
sin is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7). While there is debate as to
who this person is, obviously the suggested powers for good such as human
government
do not exist in the end times because the government is wholly evil. It
certainly is not Satan himself, and the historic answer based on Genesis
6:3
is that the ultimate One who restrains sin is the Holy Spirit. As He is
indwelling the church prior to the rapture, the Holy Spirit is not free to
be
"removed." But if He is removed, the church would have to be removed
with Him. This does not mean that He is entirely taken out of the earthly
sphere,
but
that He is removed in the same sense as when He came on the day of Pentecost.
He will still be in the world; people will still be able to be saved
by
Him, but He will lift the restraint of evil that now exists because the church
indwelt by the Holy Spirit influences the world with its moral principles.
It
may fairly be concluded that it will be impossible to remove the Holy Spirit in
the sense given in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 unless the church is also raptured.
Accordingly,
Paul offers two major arguments here. One, they are not in the day of the Lord
because the man of sin has not been revealed; and two, the restrainer
has
not been removed. This effectively presents a scriptural basis for the pre-tribulational
rapture which is no longer just an inference but the result
of
biblical exegesis.
The
fact that Christ could come any day and remove His church from the world is a
dramatic fact of our current civilization. If there are many evidences
in
the world that the world scene is set up for precisely what the Bible predicts
for the days after the rapture then it is also clear that the rapture
itself
is not only imminent but that it could be very soon. This has tremendous
practical implications.
First
of all, it raises the question for everyone concerning personal salvation. Only
those who are born again and who have the life of Christ in them will
be
raptured. They are the ones who are in Christ by the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. It may be debated whether the Old Testament saints are raised at the
same time or later at the second coming, but it is clear that the rapture of the church is imminent. If it is true that our lives may suddenly be cut short,
it
makes time very precious. The challenges of full commitment to Christ, proper
use of our opportunities for witness, and proper investment of our substance
in
the Lord's work all become very acute and important.
The
Bible does not suggest radical means of approaching this commitment, such as
giving away all our property or making no plans for the future. Even Paul,
who
believed in the rapture of the church, made plans for the future until he knew
for sure that he was going to be executed before the rapture. Instead,
Scripture
calls for a "far view" as well as a "near view" of the
future. In other words, we should be living in such a way that we will have no
regrets
if
the Lord should come any day; on the other hand, we must have a reasonable plan
for the extension of our lives to their normal limits in case the Lord's
coming
does not occur in our lifetime.
Few
doctrines of the Scriptures are more dramatic, more practical, and more
applicable to the challenges of our present life before the Lord. John recorded
all
the dramatic prophecies that deal with the second coming, including the
millennium and the eternal state, but ended his treatment of it with a prayer:
"Even
so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20). This sentiment could also be
applied to the whole scenario of Christ's second coming, but John, like other
Christians,
anticipated that before these events would take place he would have the joy of
being caught up to heaven if the Lord came in his lifetime.
We
too can be looking up to the blue, waiting for that joyous event of the coming
of the Lord and the trumpet sound that will signal the end of our earthly
pilgrimage
and the beginning of our glorious experience in the eternal presence of our
Savior.