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The Rapture of the Church
Introduction
As I have mentioned before, I would suggest that you read these prophecy articles in order, because most of them will build from the foundations which were laid in earlier articles. In Part One we learned the definitions of the following terms: the Rapture, the Second Coming, the Antichrist, the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, the Millennium, and the Church. We saw that prophecy is very important to God, and therefore we should not dishonor Him by considering Bible prophecy to be a waste of time or impossible to understand. In Part Two we examined Daniel's "70 Weeks" prophecy, and we learned that 69 of those "weeks" (483 years) have already been accomplished. The 70th "week" is still in the future, and it will be the seven years of the Tribulation. When God put His "70 Weeks" program for Israel on hold, almost immediately He began a new and separate program which we call "the Church." There is only one view of the Rapture which preserves this separation between God's "70 Weeks" program and His "Church" program, and that is the pre-trib view. All of the evidence indicates that God has intended for those two programs to be kept separate and distinct from each other, with no mixing whatsoever. In Part Three we saw that God's wrath will begin to be poured out with the very first judgment of the Tribulation, which means that the entire seven years of the Tribulation will be a time of God's wrath. In fact, we will see in Part Five that the entire seven-year Tribulation will be "a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness" (Zephaniah 1:14-15). This is one way in which the mid-trib views are all shown to be false, because these views are usually based on the idea that God's wrath will not begin until around the middle of the Tribulation. The pre-trib view is the only view of the Rapture which has the Church being Raptured before God's wrath begins to be poured out at the beginning of the Tribulation, which fits all of the Scriptural facts. We also saw that the Scriptural evidence demonstrates that the 21 judgments during the Tribulation will happen consecutively, one after the other, which supports the pre-trib and mid-trib interpretation of these judgments (but not the post-trib interpretation). In this article we will see that there will be several "blackouts" during and after the Tribulation, which means that we need to be careful about assuming that various "blackout" passages are referring to the same blackout. In addition, we will examine several different reasons why the Rapture will not happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment, which disproves a common post-trib argument. We will also see why Matthew 24:29-31 does not refer to the Rapture, which also disproves a common post-trib argument. We will look at two possible interpretations of what Paul meant when he said that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," and we will see that both of those interpretations support the pre-trib view of the Rapture (one of them also supports the other Rapture views as well). The Sun and Moon and Stars Will be Darkened
There are a number of passages in the Bible which say that the sun and moon and stars will be darkened in connection with end-times events, as in these examples: "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (Joel 2:30-31)A common mistake which is easy to make when studying the Bible is when we assume that various passages are all referring to the same event simply because on the surface those passages happen to sound similar to each other. For example, when we see passages which describe the sun and moon and stars being darkened somehow, it is easy to make the assumption that those passages are all describing the same "blackout." However, when we look more closely then we will discover that there will be multiple "blackouts" of the sun and moon and stars during and after the seven-year Tribulation. Consider the following passages, for example:
When people's views concerning the timing of the Rapture are partly based on the idea that some or all of the above "blackout" passages are describing the same blackout, they will often argue that "If the sun and moon and stars lose their light and go dark, then how could they suddenly "turn back on" and regain their light?" One obvious answer to this question is that nothing is impossible for God. In addition, notice that the Bible describes blackouts which have happened in the past: "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt--darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived." (Exodus 10:21-23)Whatever caused these blackouts, clearly the sun and moon and stars were able to continue shining after these blackouts had ended. Again, the Bible says that there will be several different blackouts during and after the seven-year Tribulation. Therefore, if our views concerning the timing of end-times events are based on comparing several of these "blackout" passages, we need to be careful that we are not misinterpreting different periods of blackouts as if they were the same blackout. "At the Last Trumpet"
Now that we have examined the 21 judgments of God's wrath which will take place during the Tribulation (in Part Three), let's consider something that the apostle Paul said. He said that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), but what did he mean by that? Let's examine several possibilities: 1. "At the Last Trumpet": Background information concerning trumpets
Throughout history, armies have used trumpets to signal "Advance," "Retreat," "Commence Firing," "Cease Firing," "Assemble," "Recall," and so on. Here are some examples: "Signal musicians [who were] used as an integral part of a military organization appear first in the Roman Legion. These musicians, called aenatores, utilized a wide variety of trumpets, and signals were sounded on these instruments which the Romans inherited from the Etruscans. The Etruscans were superb metallurgists and smiths, and must have been skilled in the making of bronze or silver trumpets. A collection of forty-three signals were used in the Roman Army." (History of the BugleThe ancient Jews also used trumpets in battle and for assembling: "The LORD said to Moses: "Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out. When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. If only one is sounded, the leaders--the heads of the clans of Israel--are to assemble before you. When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out. At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out. To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the same signal. The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come. When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies."" (Numbers 10:1-9)Trumpets were also used by the Jews for rejoicing and praising the Lord, as in the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Trumpets: "Every morning of the feast [of Tabernacles] there was a joyous procession to the Pool of Siloam, with music, headed by a priest with a golden pitcher (a little over 2 pints). At the same time there was a procession to the Kidron Valley to collect willow branches which were made into a canopy over the altar of burnt offerings. As the sacrifice proceeded, the priest returning with the water entered through the Water Gate (named for this event). With a threefold trumpet blast he poured the water into a silver receptacle on the altar. ... At the end of the first day of Tabernacles, the worshippers congregated in the Court of Women where a great illumination took place. Four huge golden lamps or candelabras, each with four golden bowls were filled with oil by four youths of priestly descent. They had to use four ladders for this task. According to the saying, "There was not a court in Jerusalem that was not lit up by it". Around the lamps a sacred dance was conducted by hassidim (saints) and prominent leaders with flaming torches in their hands. This was accompanied by Levites playing harps, lutes, cymbals, trumpets and "instruments without number" standing on the fifteen steps leading up from the Court of Women to the Court of Israel, according to the "songs of Degrees" in Psalms." (Sukkot - the Feast of TabernaclesAs we can see, the first-century Romans and Jews used trumpet blasts for a variety of purposes. 2. "At the Last Trumpet": The military analogy
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, he described the Rapture in this way: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)Bible scholars and teachers have pointed out the "military" nature of Paul's description (above). Notice that there will be a loud command, then there will be the voice of the archangel, then there will be a trumpet call, and then all Christians will rise to meet the Lord in the air. The "military" analogy here is that the General gives a command during the battle (such as the command to "Recall" or to "Assemble"), then the command is repeated by an officer, then the bugler blows the signal (a specific series of notes), then the troops respond to the signal by assembling back to camp, or by returning home (as in 2 Samuel 20:22, above), or whatever the command may have been. In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, the apostle Paul described the Rapture in this way: "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)In the above passage, the apostle Paul said that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," but notice that he did not explain what he meant by "the last trumpet." Since Paul didn't feel that it was necessary to explain this, then either he had already said something to the Corinthians about it, or else he was referring to something which they were already familiar with. In the previous chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul had used the imagery of military trumpet signals when he said, "if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Corinthians 14:8). In battle, the first set of trumpet signals would be the call to arms (as in 1 Corinthians 14:8), and the last set of trumpet signals would be to signal the "Recall" or the "Assembly" when the battle is over. Since the Bible says that Christians are currently engaged in battle against the devil and his forces (see for example Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Philippians 2:25, 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Philemon 1:2, 2 Corinthians 6:7, 10:3-4, 1 Timothy 1:18), it wouldn't be unreasonable if there is a "call to Assemble" when the Church's time of battle is through. When our Sovereign issues the command, and the command is repeated by the archangel, and the trumpet signal is given, we will be recalled and assembled with the Lord and then we will be taken Home (later in this prophecy series we will see several reasons why we will be taken back into heaven after the Rapture). According to the pre-trib view, the spiritual battle will still be raging down on earth, but the Church will not be involved in the earthly battle after we are Raptured. For example, the Bible says that it will be Jesus alone who defeats the Antichrist and his armies (see Revelation 19:15, 21, Isaiah 34:2, 63:4-6, which we will examine in more detail later in this prophecy series). Since the Jews and the Romans commonly used trumpet signals in this way in battle in the first century, this would explain why the apostle Paul didn't need to elaborate on what he meant by "at the last trumpet." This interpretation of "at the last trumpet" is perfectly compatible with the pre-trib view, the post-trib view, and all of the various mid-trib views, because the expression, "the last trumpet," can mean either "the last blast in a series of trumpet blasts" or else it can mean "the last trumpet signal at the end of the battle." It is possible for either of these things to happen before the Tribulation begins, or during the Tribulation, or after the Tribulation ends, and therefore this interpretation of "at the last trumpet" is compatible with all views of the timing of the Rapture. It is also possible for the expression, "the last trumpet," to have the meaning of "the last trumpet ever," but this would create a contradiction in Scripture. The reason is because Zechariah 14:16-19 says that the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated during the Millennium, and there are trumpets associated with that Feast (as we saw a moment ago). Therefore, if we interpret "at the last trumpet" as meaning, "at the last trumpet ever," then we would be placing the Rapture at the end of Christ's thousand-year reign on earth, which Scripture does not support (as this prophecy series demonstrates). Therefore, "the last trumpet" does not mean "the last trumpet ever." Instead, it means "the last blast in a series of trumpet blasts," or else it means "the last trumpet signal at the end of the battle," both of which are perfectly compatible with any view of the Rapture which we choose to believe. 3. "At the Last Trumpet": The prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets
Since the apostle Paul did not feel that it was necessary to explain what he meant by "the last trumpet," there is another possibility that we should consider. Recall that a moment ago we saw that there are trumpet blasts associated with some of the Jewish festivals which God had commanded. God has plans and purposes for the things that He does (as we saw in Part One), and many Bible scholars and teachers have described the prophetic significance of the seven holy Festivals which God had commanded the Jews to observe (see Leviticus 23). For example, in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul reminded the Corinthians of how Christ's sacrifice is associated with Israel's Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Paul reminded the Corinthians of how Christ's resurrection is associated with Israel's Feast of Firstfruits: "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)Notice that Paul did not actually explain anything to the Corinthians about these Jewish Feasts in the above passages, which indicates that the Corinthians were already aware of the significance of Israel's Feasts. In a similar way, the Rapture may be associated with Israel's Feast of Trumpets in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52: "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:50-52)For example, here is how one Jewish Christian scholar explains it: "The "last trump" refers to the Feast of Trumpets and the Jewish practice of blowing trumpets at this feast each year. During the ceremony, there is a series of short trumpet blasts of various lengths, concluding with the longest blast of all, called the tekiah gedolah: the great, or "last trump." Judaism connected this last trump with the resurrection of the dead, and so does Paul. So, Paul's point here is that the Rapture will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets." (A Review of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, p.58. See also Maranatha Our Lord, Come, Dr. Renald Showers, p.264).As we saw in Part Two, the seven years of the Tribulation will fulfill Daniel's "70 Weeks" prophecy and will complete Israel's atonement for their sins. Dr. Fruchtenbaum (quoted above) points out that Israel's Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-28) will "be fulfilled by the seven years of Tribulation" (p.58). Since the Feast of Trumpets takes place before the Day of Atonement on the Jewish calendar (Leviticus 23:24-27, above), and since the Rapture might be the prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, above), this is possibly further evidence that the Rapture will take place before the seven-year Tribulation begins. 4. "At the Last Trumpet": The seventh Trumpet Judgment
Now, there is one more possibility to be considered. Recall that the expression, "the last trumpet," can mean "the last blast in a series of trumpet blasts," and recall that there will be a series of seven Trumpet Judgments during the Tribulation. Therefore, some people believe that the Rapture will happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment, because it will be "the last trumpet" in that series. Post-tribbers believe that the Rapture will happen as Jesus is descending to the earth at the Second Coming, and since the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet" (according to the apostle Paul), post-tribbers tend to argue that the Second Coming and the Rapture will happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment. In order for that interpretation to work, post-tribbers have to argue that the seven Seal Judgments will take place during the same time period as the seven Trumpet Judgments, and during the same time period as the seven Bowl Judgments. In other words, post-tribbers must argue that those three sets of judgments are actually three different perspectives on the same period of time, because that is the only way in which the seventh Trumpet Judgment can be a possible timeframe for the Second Coming. The problem is that when we looked at all of those judgments in Part Three, we saw that those 21 judgments will take place consecutively, one after the other. This means that after the seventh trumpet is sounded, there will still be seven Bowl Judgments which need to be carried out before the Second Coming will take place. Therefore, the Second Coming will not happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment, so this post-trib view is in error. For more evidence that this post-trib view is in error, recall that trumpet blasts had many different purposes in the first century. For example, here are some trumpet blasts for the purpose of gathering people together: "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain." (Exodus 19:16-17)Here are some trumpet blasts when going into battle against an enemy: "When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies." (Numbers 10:9)So one purpose for trumpet blasts was to gather people to an assembly, and another purpose was for doing battle against an enemy. Now let's take a look at the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) and the Trumpet Judgments (Revelation 9:1-4, 12-15, 20-21) in light of these different purposes for trumpet blasts: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)Remember that at the Rapture, all Christians (living and dead) will be gathered to an assembly "at the last trumpet" where we will meet the Lord in the air. In contrast, the Trumpet Judgments in the book of Revelation are for the purpose of doing battle against the kingdom of the invader (the devil) who is occupying the earth. Therefore, the trumpet which will be sounded at the Rapture has a different purpose than the trumpets which will be sounded during the Tribulation (the Trumpet Judgments). This means that the trumpet which Paul mentioned in his description of the Rapture is not the same as any of the trumpets that John described in the book of Revelation, which is another reason why the Rapture won't happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment. Once again, the Scriptural evidence disproves the post-trib view, and the evidence supports the pre-trib view. But here is even more evidence against that post-trib view. Many Bible scholars point out that the book of 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul in 54-55 A.D., and that the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation in 95-96 A.D. (for example, see my articles called Who Wrote the New Testament? and Answering Common Objections About Divine Healing). Since the book of Revelation (which describes the Trumpet Judgments) was written decades after Paul told the Corinthians that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," this means that the original readers of 1 Corinthians could not have associated "the last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 with the Trumpet Judgments in the book of Revelation. In other words, the Corinthians had never heard of the Trumpet Judgments when Paul wrote to them that the Rapture will happen at the last trumpet. If we claim that the apostle Paul must have known about the Trumpet Judgments, and that he must have told the Corinthians about those judgments, then this would be nothing more than a guess. There is no evidence in the Bible to support this guess, and the only reason for making such a guess would be to try to force the Bible to fit the post-trib view. In fact, the apostle Paul specifically told the Corinthians that "we know in part and we prophesy in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9), which means that Paul did not have full knowledge or full revelation of end-times prophecies. Remember, when Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," he did not explain what "the last trumpet" will be. Since Paul didn't feel that it was necessary to explain this, then either he had already said something to the Corinthians about it, or else he was referring to something which they were already familiar with. Yet there is no evidence that they had ever heard of the Trumpet Judgments when the book of 1 Corinthians was written, because the book of Revelation was still decades away from being written. So for a variety of reasons, the Scriptural evidence does not support the post-trib view that the Rapture will happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment in the book of Revelation. 5. "At the Last Trumpet": Matthew 24:29-31
Here is another passage which seems to be describing the Rapture and a trumpet: "Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31)In the above passage (and in the parallel passage at Mark 13:24-27) we see a "trumpet" and a "gathering" of the "elect," which sounds very similar to the apostle Paul's description of the Rapture which we have already examined: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)On the surface, it appears as if Jesus was describing the Second Coming and then a post-trib Rapture in Matthew 24:29-31 (above). But when we look closer at the above two passages, there are some significant differences between Jesus' description and the apostle Paul's description. For example, Paul described a resurrection at the Rapture, but Jesus did not describe a resurrection or a change from mortality to immortality. Paul said that we will be gathered to meet the Lord, but Jesus did not say anything about "the elect" being gathered to meet Him. Paul said that we will meet the Lord in the air, but Jesus did not say that "the elect" will be lifted up into the air. Was Jesus really referring to the Rapture in Matthew 24:29-31? In order to answer this question, let's first try to determine who "the elect" are in Matthew 24:29-31 (above). Here are some ways that the word "elect" is used in the Bible: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth." (Isaiah 42:1-3, KJV)We can see from these passages that Jesus is called "elect" (Isaiah 42:1-3, 1 Peter 2:6), the holy angels are called "elect" (1 Timothy 5:21), Israel is called "elect" (Isaiah 45:4), the Church is called "elect" (Colossians 3:12-13), and Jewish Christians (literally the "sojourners of the Dispersion," referring to the Jews who had been scattered to the nations of the world after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.) are called "elect" (1 Peter 1:1). Since the word "elect" has different meanings depending on the context, we can't simply assume that "the elect" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above) is a reference to the Church. According to the above passages, the "elect" might be Jesus, or the holy angels, or Israel, or the Church, or saved Jews. Notice that in Matthew 24:29-31 (above), Jesus said that He will send His angels to gather the "elect," which means that Jesus is not the "elect." And since the holy angels will be gathering the "elect" in some way, this means that the holy angels cannot be the "elect." So the "elect" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above) is either Israel, or the Church, or saved Jews. Since saved Jews are automatically members of the Church (along with saved Gentiles) at the present time, this narrows our choices down to Israel or the Church. Remember, the word "elect" has different meanings depending on the context. So in order to determine whether Israel or the Church is the "elect" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above), let's consider the context of that passage. Recall that Jesus was a Jew living under the Old Testament Law of Moses, and He had not yet gone to the cross, and He had not yet been resurrected, and the Church did not yet exist, and there was no New Covenant or New Testament yet, and so on. Jesus was speaking to Jews (the disciples) who were still living under the Old Testament Law, and He mentioned the Jewish temple (Matthew 24:15), the Jewish prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15), Daniel's "70 Weeks" prophecy concerning Israel's sins (Matthew 24:15), "those who are in Judea" (Matthew 24:16), the Jewish Sabbath (Matthew 24:20), and then He described the Second Coming and the "gathering" of the "elect." The entire context of these statements is Jewish in nature, and Jesus' audience of Old Testament Jews (the disciples) would have interpreted "the elect" as being the nation of Israel. They would not have interpreted "the elect" as being the Church because the Church did not yet exist, and there were not yet any "Christians," and there was not yet any New Testament teaching which described Christians as being "elect," and so on. The only "elect" group of people on earth at that time was the nation of Israel. In fact, even after the birth of the Church we still see the apostle Peter and "the apostles and the brothers throughout Judea" assuming that only the Jews were "the elect," because they were shocked when they first realized that "God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life" (Acts 10:44-11:18). So all of the evidence points to Israel as "the elect" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above), not the Church. Now, when Jesus said that "he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other," what did this mean? To answer this question, notice that God had said that He would scatter people to "the four winds of heaven" and "the ends of the earth" and "the four quarters of the heavens" and "the four quarters of the earth," and He said that one day He will gather the Jews back to Israel with the sound of a great trumpet: "Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword." (Ezekiel 5:10-12)Some of these passages describe the final regathering of the Jews back to Israel, accompanied by the sound of a great trumpet, and these passages are part of the Old Testament context for Jesus' statement that the angels will be involved in gathering "the elect," accompanied by the sound of a loud trumpet call. As we will see later in this prophecy series, the nation of Israel will become saved immediately before the Second Coming, and then after the Second Coming all of the Jews will be gathered back to Israel. This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 24:29-31 (above). The "gathering" of the Jews after the Second Coming in Matthew 24:29-31 (above) does not refer to the Rapture, and in fact there will also be a separate gathering of the Gentiles (both saved and unsaved) after the Second Coming, as we will see in this prophecy series. Neither one of these "gatherings" is the Rapture, but instead they are gatherings of those who survived to the end of the seven-year Tribulation. All of the righteous survivors of the Tribulation will be "blessed" (Matthew 25:34, Daniel 12:11-12) by being allowed to enter into Christ's thousand-year reign of righteousness, peace, and prosperity on earth in their mortal bodies (and re-populate the earth), and all of the unrighteous survivors of the Tribulation will be weeded out and killed (as we will see in Part Eight). Notice that this points out another big problem with the post-trib view of the Rapture. If all of the righteous survivors of the Tribulation are Raptured and made immortal at the Second Coming (as Jesus is descending down to the earth, according to the post-trib view), then who will be left on earth to enter into the Millennial Kingdom and re-populate the earth? Some post-tribbers say that it will be the unrighteous survivors of the Tribulation who will enter into the Millennium, but that is a wrong assumption because passages such as Matthew 25:34 and Daniel 12:11-12 tell us that those who enter into the Millennium are "blessed" (as we will see later in this prophecy series). It is unlikely that God plans to bless His enemies by allowing them into Christ's thousand-year reign of righteousness, peace, and prosperity. In fact, we will see in Part Eight that all of the unrighteous survivors of the Tribulation will be killed shortly after the Second Coming. So if the righteous survivors of the Tribulation will all be Raptured and made immortal at the Second Coming (according to the post-trib view), and since the unrighteous survivors of the Tribulation will all be killed before the Millennium begins, then there will be no-one left alive on earth to enter into the Millennium and re-populate the earth. This further disproves the post-trib view. We'll look at all of those issues in detail later in this prophecy series, but the point here is that the "gathering of the elect" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above) is not the Rapture, it is the final regathering of the Jewish survivors of the Tribulation back to the land of Israel after the Second Coming. In fact, the Greek word for "gather" in Matthew 24:29-31 (above) is never used in the New Testament or in the Greek version of the Old Testament (the "Septuagint") in the sense of a Rapture or a resurrection, but instead it is always used for earthly gatherings of people (here are the other references: 1 Kings 18:20, 2 Chronicles 20:26, Zechariah 14:2, Matthew 23:37, Mark 1:32-34, Luke 12:1, 13:34). Conclusion
We saw that there will be several "blackouts" during and after the Tribulation, which means that we need to be careful about assuming that various "blackout" passages are referring to the same blackout. In addition, we saw several different reasons why the Rapture will not happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment, which disproves a common post-trib argument. We also saw that Matthew 24:29-31 does not refer to the Rapture, which disproves another common post-trib argument. Further, we examined two possible interpretations of what Paul meant when he said that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," and both of those interpretations support the pre-trib view of the Rapture (one of them also supports the other Rapture views as well). Final Note
Sincere Christians have different views concerning the timing of the Rapture, but let's keep in mind that we Christians will all be Raptured at the appropriate time no matter when it happens to be. If we are caught up to be with Jesus before the Tribulation begins, then praise the Lord! But if the Tribulation begins before Jesus returns for us then praise the Lord anyway, and let's all work together to oppose the Antichrist and his "Mark of the Beast"! I hope this has been helpful, and may the Lord abundantly bless you as you study His Word! |
