Whenever I begin a study on any given topic or passage of Scripture, one of the first things I do is to define the key words that I�m working with so that I have a clear understanding of the words and not a 21st century understanding. So let�s begin by defining first of all the word �rapture� that is actually not used in Scripture.
1) An expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion
2) A state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion. A mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things.
3) The final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end-time according to Christian theology
Ok, so now we have a complete definition of the word we are working with. It is a word used by many Christians to describe the �catching up� of the saints. It is taken from the Greek word �harpazo in the following passage:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thess 4:17
The Greek word �harpazo� means: to seize: catch (away, up) pluck, pull, take (by force). In other words, it�s a rescue operation!
The passage that is often referred to as being a description of the rapture is Matthew 24:40-44
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
The first question I have, which may seem like an obvious answer, is who are the ones �taken� and who are the ones that are �left�? Since the text doesn�t specifically tell us who�s who, we just assume it must be the Christians that are taken. But as soon as we start assuming things, that�s when we get into trouble and then the scripture becomes one�s �own private interpretation.�(2 Pet 1:20) So let�s look for clues in the text itself that might tell us which group is which? And then after that we will look at the larger context.
In verse 42 we are told to �watch� because we don�t know when our Lord is coming. (The word �watch� means to �keep awake, be vigilient� - Gk 1127). In verse 43 it compares this �watching� with that of a �thief� that would come and break up your house. What do thieves do?
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10
So a thief comes first to �steal� or �take� things and then to kill and destroy. So the emphasis is clearly on being ready for our Lord�s return by being �watchful, wide awake and vigilient�, otherwise the thief will come to steal, kill and destroy!
So from the immediately context, it would appear that the group referred to as those who are �taken� are not the ones that are saved or left alone, but the ones that the thief carries away that will then be killed and destroyed. Yikes! Are you sure you want to be in that group?
Now let�s take a look at the verses that immediately precede this to an illustration Jesus uses to compare this event with the story of Noah and the Flood:
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matt 24:37-39
Who were the ones who �knew not� and who were the ones that were �taken away�? Was it Noah and his family? Certainly not, as they had been preparing for this event for 120 years and warning the world of it�s coming destruction!
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thess 5:4-6
It was the wicked that were �taken� away, killed and destroyed, and Noah and his family that were �left�. There were only 8 people that remained alive from that old world before the flood.
Now let�s look at another comparison Jesus makes in Luke 17:
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Those who were not ready and living in sin, were all �destroyed� and the only ones that were left were Lot and his two daughters because they had �went out of Sodom�.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Rev 18:4
Lot did not leave the earth, but because he came out of Sodom and his two daughters were all that �remained� alive from the city of Sodom.
The other thing to notice from the passage in Luke is that the wicked were destroyed and righteous Lot was taken to safety on �the same day�! There was no �7 year or 3 � years lapse of time in between those two events, they happened on the same day. Jesus said his coming would be just like that and just as it was in the days of Noah.
Now look at an interesting question posed by the disciples after he describes several groups of people that would be �taken and others that would be �left� in Luke 17:34-36.
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
The disciples are asking �where Lord�? In other words, where will they be taken to? Is it to heaven? What his answer? Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
This is not sounding too good for the group that is �taken�! Sounds like they are about to be �supper for the birds!�
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matt 24:28
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. Rev 19:17, 18
So it appears these passages that refer to ones who are �taken� are not the righteous but the wicked! Now let�s focus on the other group for a moment, the one�s who are �left�. The ones who �remain�, who did not suffer their house to be broken into by the thief!
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. Isaiah 4:3, 4
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. Prov 2:21, 22
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Isaiah 24:6
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16 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: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thess 4:15-17
What we learn from these passages is that the ones who �remain� are called �holy�. They will dwell in the land and will be �few� in number that are �left� once all the wicked are destroyed. Then �we which are alive and remain shall be �caught up� in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
The Lord is indeed coming like a thief but not to those of us who are wide awake and watching for his return. But to the wicked who are unprepared, he comes as a thief! And notice in this next verse that as soon as he comes as a thief, everything in this world will be burned up with fervent heat, even the heavens will pass away! There is no 7 or 3 � year period in between him coming as a �thief� and his next coming.
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. 2 Peter 3:10
When the Lord comes �as a thief in the night, there will be �sudden destruction�, not peace and safety.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1 Thess 5:1-3
When the Lord comes as a thief, this world as we know it will be completely burned up and �few men left�. Those who are left and remain will then be caught up in the air to meet the Lord. They will be �raptured� away.
Now notice this passage in Revelation 16:
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Rev 16:15
If you read the whole chapter you will see that this statement is made in between the 6th and 7th plagues! How could that even be possible if the rapture takes place before the 7 last plagues and the tribulation? Six of the seven bowls of God�s wrath have already been poured out on the wicked when he makes this statement.
Let�s consider now these two groups, those who were ready to meet the bridegroom and those who were not, the wheat and the tares. Notice in the following passage what Jesus says concerning these two groups and which ones are dealt with first.
Let both grow together until the harvest: in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matt 13:30
Now when does the harvest take place?
The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. Matt 13:39
So you senicee the tares are gathered up first, not the wheat. Once they are dealt with and thrown in the fire, then �we which remain and are left�, are caught up to be with our Lord!
Finally, the rapture is sometimes referred to as �the secret rapture�. Is it really going to be a secret though? As we read in 1 Thess 5 and also in 2 Peter 3, when the Lord comes �as a thief in the night�, there will be sudden destruction, the elements of the earth shall melt with fervent heat, and the heavens shall pass away!
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matt 24:26, 27
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Rev 1:7
15 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast [a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [c]James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [d]to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, [e]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified [f]against God that He raised [g]Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
The Order of Resurrection
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in [h]Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ�s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, �All things are put in subjection,� it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If [i]from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 33 Do not be deceived: �Bad company corrupts good morals.� 34 Become sober-minded [j]as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
35 But someone will say, �How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?� 36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of [k]something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [l]a perishable body, it is raised [m]an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, �The first man, Adam, became a living soul.� The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, [n]earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, [o]we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does [p]the perishable inherit [q]the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised [r]imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this [s]perishable must put on [t]the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this [u]perishable will have put on [v]the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, �Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?� 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 15:2 Lit to what word I
1 Corinthians 15:3 Lit among the first
1 Corinthians 15:7 Or Jacob
1 Corinthians 15:8 Lit to an untimely birth
1 Corinthians 15:9 Lit who am
1 Corinthians 15:15 Or concerning
1 Corinthians 15:15 I.e. the Messiah
1 Corinthians 15:22 I.e. the Messiah
1 Corinthians 15:32 Lit according to man
1 Corinthians 15:34 Lit righteously
1 Corinthians 15:37 Lit some of the rest
1 Corinthians 15:42 Lit in corruption
1 Corinthians 15:42 Lit in incorruption
1 Corinthians 15:47 Lit made of dust
1 Corinthians 15:49 Two early mss read let us also
15 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast [a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [c]James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [d]to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, [e]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified [f]against God that He raised [g]Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
The Order of Resurrection
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in [h]Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ�s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, �All things are put in subjection,� it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If [i]from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 33 Do not be deceived: �Bad company corrupts good morals.� 34 Become sober-minded [j]as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
35 But someone will say, �How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?� 36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of [k]something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [l]a perishable body, it is raised [m]an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, �The first man, Adam, became a living soul.� The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, [n]earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, [o]we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does [p]the perishable inherit [q]the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised [r]imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this [s]perishable must put on [t]the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this [u]perishable will have put on [v]the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, �Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?� 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 15:2 Lit to what word I
1 Corinthians 15:3 Lit among the first
1 Corinthians 15:7 Or Jacob
1 Corinthians 15:8 Lit to an untimely birth
1 Corinthians 15:9 Lit who am
1 Corinthians 15:15 Or concerning
1 Corinthians 15:15 I.e. the Messiah
1 Corinthians 15:22 I.e. the Messiah
1 Corinthians 15:32 Lit according to man
1 Corinthians 15:34 Lit righteously
1 Corinthians 15:37 Lit some of the rest
1 Corinthians 15:42 Lit in corruption
1 Corinthians 15:42 Lit in incorruption
1 Corinthians 15:47 Lit made of dust
1 Corinthians 15:49 Two early mss read let us also
Hey Robert - Maybe when you are done with all this "RAPTURE" stuff...... you can do a teaching for everyone explaining why you REJECT the Trinity. How about that?
Apologies for the repeat...this was the main verse that I keyed in on concerning a 'rapture'.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised [r]imperishable, and we will be changed.
I only reject certain aspects of the trinity, but I do not deny that there are three personages..The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I have no problem calling the Father God, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit by that term. So I think you misunderstand my specific stand on this...when I have time, I will be happy to post my views more fully on this subject. In Christ's love, Robert
