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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 Part Four we saw that there will be several different "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 examined several different reasons why the Rapture will not happen at the seventh Trumpet Judgment, which disproves a common post-trib argument. We also saw why Matthew 24:29-31 does not refer to the Rapture, which disproves another common post-trib argument. We looked at two possible interpretations of what Paul meant when he said that the Rapture will happen "at the last trumpet," and we saw that both of those interpretations support the pre-trib view of the Rapture (one of them also supports the other Rapture views as well). In this article we will examine what the Bible says about "the Day of the Lord," and we will see how this supports the pre-trib view. The "Day of the Lord"
There are a number of passages in the Bible which mention "the Day of the Lord," and people sometimes assume that these passages are best taken as being references to the day of the Second Coming. However, this is a wrong assumption which can lead to wrong conclusions about the timing of end-times events (such as when the Rapture will happen). Here are some things to consider about "the Day of the Lord": 1. What is the Day of the Lord?
The basic meaning of the expression, "the Day of the Lord," is simply that it is a time when God intervenes in the world in a special and powerful way in order to demonstrate His glory and sovereignty. If you recall, we saw in Part Three that the devil gained control over the earth through the sin of Adam. However, the Bible says that a Day of the Lord is coming when God will destroy the devil's rule over the world, and it will be a time of darkness and wrath: "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-- a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come." (Joel 2:1-2)These passages tell us that the Day of the Lord will be a time of darkness and wrath. Joel 2:1-2 (above) says that the Day of the Lord will be "such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come," which indicates that it will be a unique time of wrath. It has not happened yet, and later we will determine when that "Day" will begin. For more "Day of the Lord" passages, see Isaiah 13:6-10, Ezekiel 30:2-4, Joel 1:15, Obadiah 1:13-17, Malachi 4:5, and Acts 2:19-20. Consider that since God is light (1 John 1:5), it would seem odd for "His Day" to be characterized only by darkness, with no light at all. As it turns out, we are told that the Day of the Lord will initially consist of darkness and wrath, but afterwards it will be characterized by light and divine blessings and the Lord's reign over all the earth: "The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled) ... The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day and the idols will totally disappear." (Isaiah 2:12, 17-18)Consider that each day of Creation (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) is described in terms of a period of darkness followed by a period of light ("and there was evening [darkness], and there was morning [light] --the first day"), and the Day of the Lord will follow that same pattern. In the above passages, the Day of the Lord is described in terms of darkness, judgment, wrath, etc., followed by light and divine blessings and the Lord's reign over all the earth. We can see that some of the Old Testament prophets were shown only the "darkness" portion of the Day of the Lord, but other prophets were shown both the "darkness" period and the "light" period of the Day of the Lord. 2. Is "the Day of the Lord" referring to one specific day?
Notice that Isaiah 2:12,17-18 (above) and Joel 3:14-21 (above) and Zechariah 14:1-9 (above) give us the impression that the Day of the Lord will last far longer than a single day, and in fact it's not unusual in Scripture for the word "day" to be used for different lengths of time, depending on the context. For example, the Creation account uses the word "day" in different ways: "And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the fourth day." (Genesis 1:14-19)In the above passage, the sun and moon are described as signs which mark the seasons and days and years. Since the "seasons" and "years" are treated as normal seasons and years here, the "days" are therefore normal 24-hour days (in "seasons and days and years"). However, this passage also distinguishes between "day" (the daylight period) and "night" (the darkness period), which means that the word "day" in this case is not referring to a 24-hour period of time. In addition, the above passage tells us that these things occurred on the fourth "day" of Creation. Notice that if each "day" of Creation lasted for 24 hours (as some people believe), or if each "day" of Creation lasted for billions of years (as other people believe), either way this "day" is a different length of time than the daylight period which is called "day" in the same passage. The same Hebrew word is used for all five occurrences of the word "day" in the above passage, yet those "days" are not all referring to the same period of time. Here's another example: "For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)The verse above says that "now is the day of salvation." Notice that if that one specific day (the day when the apostle Paul wrote the above verse) was the day of salvation, then no-one would be able to receive salvation after that day! Fortunately for us, we are still in "the day of salvation," which means that the word "day" in this passage is not a 24-hour day. The "day of salvation" has lasted for almost 2,000 years. What the above passages demonstrate is that the word "day" in the Bible does not always refer to a 24-hour day. Sometimes the word "day" is used for an unspecified period of time, which means that we cannot simply assume that the "Day of the Lord" refers to one specific day. As always, the context is important. 3. When will the Day of the Lord begin?
Notice that in the first century, the Day of the Lord was still in the future: "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)So, when will the Day of the Lord begin? First, notice what the apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:3: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:3)In this passage, the apostle Paul started off by saying that he did not want the Thessalonians to be ignorant about what will happen to Christians who had already died, so he explained to them about the Rapture. In contrast, however, Paul said that the Thessalonians knew "very well" that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. This means that Paul had earlier taught the Thessalonians very well (literally, "accurately") about the Day of the Lord, but not about the Rapture, which tells us that the Rapture was not a part of Paul's teaching about the Day of the Lord (because the Thessalonians were still "ignorant" about aspects of the Rapture in the above passage). They were "ignorant" about the Rapture, but they knew "very well" about the Day of the Lord. In addition, when Paul wrote "Now, brothers, about times and dates" in the passage above, he began this sentence with the Greek words peri de (literally, "But concerning"). When Paul used this specific combination of Greek words at the beginning of a sentence, his normal usage of these Greek words was to signal a change in thought (see 1 Corinthians 7:1, 25, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, 12, and 1 Thessalonians 4:9). So in the above passage we see that Paul taught the Thessalonians some basic information concerning the Rapture (which they were ignorant about), and then he shifted to a new thought and began talking about the Day of the Lord (which they knew "very well" or "accurately"), and when that Day will begin. These factors indicate that the Rapture is not a part of the subject of the Day of the Lord (the Rapture is separate from the Day of Lord), and in the above passage Paul told us when the Day of the Lord will start. Paul said that the Day of the Lord will begin suddenly and unexpectedly when people are talking about finally achieving "peace and safety" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, above). Later we will learn more about this "peace and safety" that they will be talking about, but how does this help us determine when the Day of the Lord will begin? As we saw in Part Three, when the book of Revelation describes the future judgments of God's wrath on the earth, it begins by listing seven Seal Judgments. When we look at the sixth Seal Judgment, for example, we can see that the "darkness and wrath" period of the Day of the Lord cannot begin after this judgment: "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"" (Revelation 6:12-17)Notice in the above passage that when the sixth Seal Judgment takes place during the Tribulation, people will try to hide for safety because they will believe that the day of God's wrath has come. Remember, in the above passage the apostle John was simply recording what he saw and heard. Everyone that John could see in his vision was apparently hiding in caves and mountains, but this does not mean that everyone on earth was in a cave or on a mountain. Similarly, notice that the apostle John did not say that the great day of God's wrath had now come (in the passage above), but instead John was simply recording what the people in his vision were saying. Those people include the kings of the earth and princes and generals and so on. In Revelation 16:13-16, the kings of the world are allied with the Antichrist and are gathered together at the place called Armageddon in order to make war against the Lord, so the kings of the earth are not Christians. In Revelation 17:1-2, the kings of the earth are shown committing "spiritual adultery" with a one-world religious system during the first half of the seven-year Tribulation (this religious system is called "Mystery Babylon," as we saw in Part One), so again, the kings of the earth are not Christians. In Revelation 19:17-19, we see an invitation for flesh-eating birds to come and feast on the dead bodies of "kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great" at the time of the Second Coming. Again, all of these people are allied with the Antichrist, which is why they are killed at the time of the Second Coming. They are not Christians, and therefore they do not have a revelation of God's Truth. In the passage above, they are trying to hide from God and escape His wrath. Since they do not have salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit, it would be a mistake to assume that they know what they are talking about when they say that the day of God's wrath has come. In other words, when people claim that the sixth Seal Judgment (in the passage above) is the point when God's wrath will begin to be poured out on the earth (as the pre-wrath view of the Rapture says), then they are basing their assumption on the words of those unsaved people who don't have a revelation of God's Truth. Remember, we have already seen that God's wrath will begin to be poured out on the earth with the very first Seal Judgment at the very beginning of the seven-year Tribulation (see Part Three), and therefore the pre-wrath view of the Rapture is in error. Now, notice in the above passage that since those people are saying that they are experiencing God's wrath, this means that God's wrath cannot come upon them unexpectedly. Remember, Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (above) that the Day of the Lord, the time of judgment and wrath, will come suddenly and unexpectedly upon people when they think that "peace and safety" has come. Therefore, the Day of the Lord must begin before the sixth Seal Judgment (above). Similarly, the Day of the Lord must begin before the second Seal Judgment: "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword." (Revelation 6:3-4)Notice that when Jesus opens the second seal (above), peace will be taken away from the earth. Since the Day of the Lord will begin when people believe that "peace and safety" has arrived (1 Thessalonians 5:3, above), this means that the Day of the Lord must begin before Revelation 6:3-4 (above). To help us understand when people will believe that they are finally reaching a time of "peace and safety," notice some things which God had consistently promised in the Old Testament concerning a future time of peace and safety: "I will surely gather them [the Jews] from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place [Israel] and let them live in safety." (Jeremiah 32:37)In these and other prophecies about a future time of peace and safety, there are several consistent themes:
"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)This means that the beginning of the Tribulation is also the beginning of the Day of the Lord. The seven-year Tribulation period and the "darkness and wrath" portion of the Day of the Lord are one and the same. As we have seen, the Day of the Lord will begin with a period of darkness and wrath (the seven-year Tribulation), and then it will become a time of light and divine blessings and the Lord's reign over all the earth (Christ's thousand-year government on the earth, which is often referred to as "the Millennium"). Now, in Ezekiel 34:23-29 (above) we saw that in the time of peace and safety which God had promised, there will be no more war, no more famine, and no dangerous wild beasts. Notice that at the beginning of the Day of the Lord, God will use those specific things as judgments in order to demonstrate that the Antichrist's covenant of peace is not God's covenant of peace: "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider [the Antichrist, or "false Christ," as we saw in Part Three] held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages [famine], and do not damage the oil and the wine!" When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:1-8)This passage describes "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (as they are sometimes called), which are the first judgments of God's wrath at the beginning of the Day of the Lord (as we saw in Part Three). Notice that God will specifically use the very things as judgments (war, famine, and wild beasts) which He had promised will one day be eliminated in the true time of peace and safety. This will demonstrate Israel's devastating error in making a covenant with the Antichrist instead of with the true Christ. Since Paul said that the Day of the Lord will begin when people believe that the time of "peace and safety" has arrived (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 above), and since God will use the first four judgments of wrath during the Tribulation to show that Israel is wrong in thinking that the time of "peace and safety" has arrived, this further demonstrates that the Day of the Lord will begin when the seven-year Tribulation begins. Another passage which gives us an indication of when the Day of the Lord will begin is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (which we will closely examine later in this article): 2 Thessalonians 2:1: "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,"In verse 2 (above), Paul essentially said, "Don't be alarmed by reports which say that the Day of the Lord has already come." Paul went on to say, "that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed" (verse 3). As we saw in Part One, the "man of lawlessness" is the Antichrist, which means that if we can determine when the Antichrist will be revealed then we will know when the Day of the Lord is able to begin. When we examined the "70 Weeks" prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 (in Part Two of this article), we saw that the Antichrist will desecrate the Jewish temple at the mid-point of the seven-year Tribulation: "He [the Antichrist] will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." (Daniel 9:27)As Paul told us in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (above), the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God when he desecrates the temple at the mid-point of the Tribulation period. Based on this, some people believe that this is the point when the Antichrist is revealed, and therefore this is when the Day of the Lord will begin. However, there are problems with that view. For example, the Antichrist's rise to power is described in several places in the Bible (see my article called Signs of the Times in End-Times Bible Prophecy), which means that the Antichrist will already have fulfilled those prophecies by the time that he is powerful enough to make a peace treaty with Israel. Therefore, when a powerful world leader makes a seven-year treaty of peace with Israel, and when it is seen that this leader has fulfilled the prophecies of the Antichrist's rise to power, then the Antichrist will be revealed for who he really is. This means that the Day of the Lord can begin when the Antichrist makes a seven-year treaty with Israel, which further supports the conclusion that the "darkness and wrath" period of the Day of the Lord is equivalent to the seven-year Tribulation. 4. The Day of the Lord is also the day of the Second Coming
So far we have seen that the Day of the Lord is sometimes described as being a period of "darkness and wrath" (equivalent to the seven-year Tribulation), and we have also seen that the Day of the Lord is sometimes described as being a period of "darkness" (the seven-year Tribulation) followed by a period of "light" (the thousand-year Millennium). In addition, the Day of the Lord is sometimes described as being the specific day of the Second Coming of Christ. For example, compare these two passages: "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:26-27)These are "parallel passages" (i.e. they are describing the same event), and in context they are referring to the Second Coming. Notice in Luke 17:23-24 (above) that the day of the Second Coming is called "His Day." Since the "He" in that passage is the Lord, this means that we can re-phrase "His Day" as "the Day of the Lord." Therefore, the Day of the Lord ("His Day") is the day of the Second Coming in Luke 17:23-24 (above). Here's another example: "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh." (Revelation 19:11-21)In Revelation 19:11-21 (above), we see Jesus coming down out of heaven and killing the Antichrist and his armies. This is a description of the Second Coming (as we'll see in great detail later in this prophecy series). Notice that Zechariah 14:1-5 (above) describes the Lord coming down and destroying the armies of the nations (the Second Coming), and it refers to this as a "Day of the Lord." This is another place where the Day of the Lord is a reference to the day of the Second Coming. As always, the context is important. 5. Other "Day of the Lord" passages
The apostle Paul mentioned the Day of the Lord three times in his letters to the church at Corinth. Here is the first instance: "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)In the above passage, Paul said that the Corinthians were eagerly waiting for the Lord to be "revealed." Pre-tribbers often consider this to be a reference to the pre-trib Rapture, and post-tribbers often consider this to be the post-trib Rapture (on the day of the Second Coming), and so on. Then Paul said that the Lord will keep them strong "to the end," but we can't say for certain what "end" Paul was talking about. Did he mean the end of some trials that they were going through? Did he mean the end of the seven-year Tribulation? Did he mean the end of the Church's period on the earth (i.e. the Rapture)? Did he mean the end of their lives? Again, we can only guess. Then Paul talked about being "blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." This doesn't tell us when the Day of the Lord will be, but clearly it will be good to be blameless at that time. If "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" refers back to "as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed," then it's likely a reference to the Rapture. Here is Paul's second mention of the Day of the Lord to the church at Corinth: "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)Here we see a man who had committed a kind of sexual immorality "that does not occur even among pagans." Paul told the Corinthians to hand that man over to the devil so that his "sinful nature" (or "flesh") may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the Day of the Lord. It would seem that this man was a Christian, and Paul was saying to expel him from the Corinthian church. Later, it appears that Paul urged them to forgive this man: "The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him." (2 Corinthians 2:6-8)Since this man was apparently a Christian, this means that he was saved. So what did Paul mean about this man's spirit being "saved on the day of the Lord"? Paul did not give us any details in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 (above), so we might make an assumption that Paul was referring to the Rapture (when Christians will receive the fulfillment of our salvation as we are changed from mortality to immortality), but we can't really prove anything for certain about the Day of the Lord in that passage. Here is Paul's third use of "the Day of the Lord" to the church at Corinth: "as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus." (2 Corinthians 1:14)We have seen that "the Day of the Lord" is used in different ways in the Bible, and it would not make much sense if Paul was saying, "we will boast of you in the day of wrath." It would seem more reasonable if Paul was saying, "we will boast of you when Jesus comes to get us." If that's the case, and if the pre-trib view is correct, then Paul was referring to the pre-trib Rapture, else if the post-trib view is correct then Paul was referring to the post-trib Rapture, and so on. Again, we can make guesses and assumptions here, but that's all they would be. Another place where the Day of the Lord appears is in the apostle Peter's second letter: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (2 Peter 3:9-13)If Peter was literally talking about the heavens and the elements and the earth and "everything" being burned up and destroyed and melted and disappearing with a roar, then this Day of the Lord can't be referring to the Second Coming or the Rapture. As we will see later in this prophecy series, Jesus will reign on earth for one thousand years after the Second Coming, and then the heavens and the earth will be destroyed (and re-created). But if Peter was referring to the burning and destruction which will take place during the Seal Judgments, the Trumpet Judgments, and the Bowl Judgments (which we examined in Part Three), then Peter's statement about the Day of the Lord would be a reference to the seven-year Tribulation. This would be consistent with one of the meanings of "the Day of the Lord" which we have already seen. What it boils down to is that the above four references to "the Day of the Lord" don't provide us with any solid evidence about that Day. There are two more New Testament passages concerning the Day of the Lord which we have already touched on, and we'll examine them in more detail in the next two sections. 6. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5
Notice what the apostle Paul wrote concerning the Day of the Lord in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica: 1 Thessalonians 4:13: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."In chapters 4 and 5 of 1 Thessalonians (above), Paul wanted to encourage the Christians in Thessalonica (verses 4:18 and 5:11, above) because some of them were grieving over deceased loved ones. In verse 13 (above), Paul began explaining to them about the Rapture because he didn't want them to be ignorant about what will happen to those who have died in Christ. In order to encourage them, Paul explained that the dead in Christ will be resurrected to meet Jesus in the air, and then all living Christians will be caught up to meet them in the air as well (this is the event which we refer to as "the Rapture"). Consider that if the Thessalonians had been taught that the Church will go through some or all of the seven-year Tribulation, then it would have been reasonable for them to rejoice (or at least be relieved) that their dead loved ones are with Jesus and will not have to experience that period of intense suffering (recall what will happen during the Seal Judgments, the Trumpet Judgments, and the Bowl Judgments). But notice that as Paul was comforting the Thessalonians over their dead loved ones, the only thing that he said to comfort them was that the deceased Christians will take part in the Rapture along with the living Christians. In other words, Paul did not point out that the dead loved ones had escaped the terrible Tribulation period, which certainly would have been a relief and a source of comfort to the Thessalonians if the Thessalonians had been taught that the Church will go through some or all of the Tribulation. There is only one view of the Rapture which is consistent with Paul's statements here, and that is the pre-trib view, which says that the Church will not go through any of the Tribulation. In verse 4:18 (above), Paul told them to comfort each other with this knowledge about the Rapture, and then Paul turned his attention to a different topic in chapter 5 (above). In chapter 5, Paul pointed out that the Thessalonians knew "very well" (or "accurately") that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night while people are saying "peace and safety" (as we saw earlier). Remember, the vast majority of the "Day of the Lord" passages describe the seven-year Tribulation as a time of darkness and wrath, while some of the "Day of the Lord" passages describe the Millennium as a time of light and divine blessings. After Paul described the beginning of the Tribulation period in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (above), Paul then said, "But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief." In other words, those who are in "darkness" (all unsaved people) will be overtaken by the "darkness and wrath" of the seven-year Tribulation, but Paul pointed out that the Church is not in "darkness." Instead, Christians are all "sons of the light" (1 Thessalonians 5:5, above). This means that the "darkness" period of the Day of the Lord will not overtake the Church as a thief because we do not belong to the darkness. Since we belong to the light, we will only be overtaken by the portion of the Day of the Lord which is characterized by light (the Millennium). The unsaved people who are left behind at the pre-trib Rapture will go into the seven-year Tribulation, but as we will see later in this prophecy series, the unsaved survivors of the Tribulation will not go into the Millennium (because they belong to the darkness, they do not belong to the light). In contrast, the Church will participate in the Millennium (because we belong to the light), but we will not take part in the Tribulation period (because we do not belong to the darkness). There is only one view of the Rapture which allows for the Church to be in the Millennium but not in the Tribulation (as Paul described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5, above), and that is the pre-trib view. 7. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5
As we saw in the previous section, the apostle Paul had taught the Thessalonian Christians about the Rapture and the Day of the Lord. Later, however, some people went to Thessalonica and pretended that the apostle Paul had told them that the Day of the Lord had already come. This caused great alarm to the Christians in Thessalonica, so they sent a message to the apostle Paul for clarification. Here is Paul's response: 2 Thessalonians 2:1: "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,"One interesting thing about this passage is that post-tribbers use it as clear evidence for a post-trib Rapture (on the day of the Second Coming of Christ after the seven-year Tribulation is over), while pre-tribbers use it as clear evidence for a pre-trib Rapture (before the seven-year Tribulation begins). Obviously these two groups cannot both be right, which means that one of these groups is making some wrong assumptions in the above passage. First we'll examine the post-trib interpretation of the above passage, and then we'll look at the pre-trib interpretation. Many people who hold the post-trib view argue that the phrase, "the Day of the Lord," is best taken to be a reference to the Second Coming of Christ (which will happen at the end of the Tribulation). Therefore, their interpretation of the above passage is essentially: "Concerning the Second Coming of Christ and our being Raptured to Him, don't be alarmed by reports which say that the day of the Lord has already come. That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the Antichrist is revealed."If this is the proper understanding of that passage, then "that day" (the day of the Rapture, according to the post-trib view) won't come until after the Antichrist is revealed (i.e. after the Tribulation has begun). It seems clear to many post-tribbers that the Rapture will happen on the Day of the Lord, which they believe is the day of the Second Coming, and therefore they argue that this passage is teaching a post-trib Rapture. However, the post-trib interpretation of this passage is flawed because of the assumption that the Day of the Lord should be understood as the day of the Second Coming. We have already seen that this is a wrong assumption, because most of the "Day of the Lord" passages in the Bible are referring to the seven-year Tribulation period. Now, notice what happens when we paraphrase the above passage using the post-trib assumption that the Day of the Lord is the day of the Second Coming: "Concerning the Second Coming of Christ and our being Raptured to Him, don't be alarmed by reports which say that the Second Coming of Christ has already come. That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the Antichrist is revealed."Remember, the Thessalonians were alarmed because certain people had said that the Day of the Lord had already come, so the Thessalonian Christians sent a message to the apostle Paul, and Paul replied in the passage above. Therefore, days, weeks, or months passed from the time that the Thessalonians became alarmed until the time that Paul received their message and replied back to them. Now, let's consider that fact from the post-trib viewpoint, which says that the Day of the Lord is the day of the Second Coming and the Rapture. In order for the Thessalonians to believe that the post-trib "Day of the Lord" (i.e. the Second Coming and the Rapture) had already come, the Thessalonian Christians would have to assume that they were completely unaware that the Rapture of the Church had taken place, and they would have to assume that they were completely unaware that the Second Coming of Christ to the earth had taken place! Such a situation would be impossible, because the Rapture will be worldwide in scope (involving the entire Church, including the Thessalonian Christians), and because at the Second Coming everyone in the world will see Jesus returning to the earth (Matthew 24:27-30). Not only would it be impossible for the Thessalonians to be unaware of all of those events, but also there would be no mortal apostle Paul on the earth after the Rapture for the Thessalonians to try to contact (Paul would have been immortal and with the Lord if the Rapture had already happened, as he had earlier explained to them in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, above). In addition, if the Second Coming had already taken place then the Thessalonian Christians would soon enter into Christ's thousand-year reign of righteousness, peace, and prosperity on the earth (the Millennium), which would not be a cause for alarm! Yet when the Thessalonians were told that the Day of the Lord had already come, they became alarmed, which indicates that there was enough evidence to convince them that this report might actually be true. But if the Day of the Lord is the day of the Second Coming and the Rapture (as post-tribbers believe), notice that there was not any evidence that the Rapture or the Second Coming had already happened (because those events are still in the future). After all, none of the Christians in Thessalonica had vanished, and Christ had not descended to the earth in full view of the world, so the Thessalonians had no evidence and no reason to believe the false reports (based on the post-trib interpretation of the above passage). The post-trib interpretation of this passage results in an unrealistic and impossible situation, and the reason is because of the erroneous assumption that the Day of the Lord is equivalent to the day of the Second Coming and the Rapture. As I mentioned earlier, pre-tribbers and post-tribbers both use this passage to support their views, but they can't both be right. One of these groups is making some wrong assumptions in the above passage. Throughout this article we have seen that we cannot assume that the Day of the Lord is equivalent to the day of the Second Coming, which is a wrong assumption that many post-tribbers are making. Now let's look at the above passage from the pre-trib perspective. Here are the facts according to the pre-trib view:
"Concerning Jesus' coming for the Church and our being Raptured to Him, don't be alarmed by reports which say that the seven-year Tribulation has already begun, because the Tribulation (the Day of the Lord) will not begin until the rebellion occurs and the Antichrist is revealed. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?"Recall that in the previous section we saw why pre-tribbers believe that the apostle Paul had taught the Thessalonians about a pre-trib Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5). If Paul had taught the pre-trib Rapture view to the church at Thessalonica, then it would be reasonable for the Thessalonian Christians to become alarmed when they were told that the Tribulation had already begun. This information would have contradicted what Paul had earlier taught them, and so they would have urgently contacted Paul for a clarification. Since this false information was not what Paul had taught the Thessalonian Christians, Paul would have defended his teachings when he wrote back to the Thessalonians. This situation is exactly what we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (above), which is why Paul said, "Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?" (2 Thessalonians 2:5, above). In fact, when the Thessalonian Christians were given a false report that the Day of the Lord (the seven-year Tribulation period) had already begun, there was evidence which convinced the Thessalonians that this report might be true, which is why they became alarmed. For example, in the context of the end-times and the Tribulation period, Jesus said, "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death" (Matthew 24:3-16). We saw in Part One that there will be a great persecution of the saints in the early stages of the Tribulation, and notice that the Thessalonian Christians were experiencing "persecutions and trials": 2 Thessalonians 1:4: "Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." ...Notice that just before the apostle Paul began to comfort the Thessalonians concerning the Day of the Lord, he specifically mentioned the persecutions which they were experiencing. Since persecutions of saints will take place during the beginning of the Tribulation, the Thessalonians had evidence which appeared to support the false claim that the Tribulation had already begun. When we properly recognize that "the Day of the Lord" is most often used in the Bible to refer to the seven-year Tribulation period, the pre-trib view is the only view of the Rapture which results in a consistent and reasonable interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (above). 8. "At the last day"
In four places in the New Testament, Jesus said that Christians will be resurrected "at the last day," and all four of these statements occur in the following passage: ""All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ... Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."" (John 6:37-54)When we looked at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5 earlier, we saw that the dead in Christ will be resurrected at the Rapture. In John 6:37-54 (above), Jesus was speaking to Christians ("everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life"), and He said that deceased Christians will be resurrected "at the last day." Therefore, the Rapture and the "last day" are one and the same, because the Rapture is the event in which all dead Christians will be resurrected. In the context of Jesus' statements (above), nothing was said about the seven-year Tribulation period, nor was anything said about the Second Coming of Christ. Therefore, we cannot argue that "the last day" (above) is a reference to the last day of the Tribulation, nor can we argue that it is a reference to the day of the Second Coming. All that we can say from the above passage is that whenever the Rapture happens, it will be the Church's last day on earth in these mortal bodies. Conclusion
In this article we have seen that the Day of the Lord is sometimes described as being a period of "darkness and wrath" (the seven-year Tribulation), and sometimes it is described as being a period of "darkness" (the seven-year Tribulation) followed by a period of "light" (the thousand-year Millennium), and sometimes it is described as being the day of the Second Coming of Christ. It is important to recognize these different uses of "the Day of the Lord" because some of the arguments that people make concerning the timing of the Rapture are based on the erroneous assumption that the Day of the Lord is best taken to be the day of the Second Coming of Christ. Since that is a wrong assumption, it can lead people to wrong conclusions. When we examined 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5, we saw that there is only one view of the Rapture which is consistent with Paul's encouragements concerning the deceased Christians in Thessalonica, and that is the pre-trib view. We also saw that there is only one view of the Rapture which allows for the Church to take part in the Millennium but not in the Tribulation (as Paul described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:5), and that is the pre-trib view. When we examined 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, we saw that the post-trib interpretation results in an unrealistic and impossible situation. The pre-trib view is the only view of the Rapture which results in a consistent and reasonable interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5. 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! |