Two Questions: What? and When?
The Rapture
Two Questions, and no one really talks about them.
There are two questions that no one wants to discuss, but people are still curious about them. You have probably heard about this but you don’t want to ask because you do not want to get into a boring or frightening religious discussion.
Do Christians really believe that they are going to magically get lifted up into Heaven?
And some say they don’t believe it. Which group is right? Who can you trust? Trust no one, decide for yourself if what you read here makes sense.
Does this describe you? Are you curious, but you don’t want to ask? Here is an answer, and you don’t have to join a group, or talk to anyone.
This is just a straight forward commentary of two questions, but if you do want to ask questions you can go to the Have a Question page and send it in..
“What is the Rapture?” and “When is the Rapture?”
First to keep it honest, this is about an event that is from the Bible. I’m not going to try to convince you if it is true or not, I’m just going to tell you what it is, where it comes from and this is the last you’ll hear about it from me unless you ask.
To start off, I don’t know why some Christians say there isn’t anything about it in the Bible. What they say is “the Rapture” isn’t in the Bible. That is true if you have an English Bible, because the word is from the Latin Bible. If you have a Latin Bible it is in there.
I don’t know if they are trying to be clever or why they say that. See, first the New Testment of the Bible was written in Greek. So the word we are talking about was in there as Harpazo. Harpazo means “caught up,” in English.
Then the Bible was translated into Latin and so the word used was Rapturo, and that means “caught up.”
To help get these two words closer to English think about Harpazo, and a harpoon fisherman. What happens is you harpoon a fish and then you snatch it up.
Or think about a Bald Eagle, or Hawk. We call these birds Raptors because they snatch up their prey. So in the English Bible it doesn’t say Rapture, it just says “caught up.”
Where does it say that? (I encourage you to look these all up for yourself)
I Thessalonians 4: 14-17. “For 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 word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until 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.”
So that is one place that the specific word is in the Bible. But there are other places that talk about Christians being suddenly taken up.
For instance I Corinthians 15: 50-57 New King James Version (NKJV)
"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When is the Rapture? Well, I hate to say I don’t know and just about anyone can tell you the Bible says that “no man knows the day or the hour…” But, that is not quite the whole story. To be honest I thought that was all the Bible said about it most of my life, but that is not all the Bible actually says about it. Really? Yes, Really.
Do I have a date? NO.
But does the Bible say what to look for? Yes it does.
And in a lot of detail too. I like using the Holidays as an example of how it works. Each year we have a Holiday season, right? So you were out in the stores and you noticed that all the Christmas decorations and sales and trees and all were on display. Right? So you knew that Christmas was coming because all the signs of Christmas were there for you to see, but you also knew something else:
Before Christmas comes, there will be Thanksgiving. The signs of Christmas told you that Thanksgiving was even closer.
That’s the way the Bible talks about the rapture. It says to watch for the signs of things happening in the Middle East because when you see “these things” begin to happen you’ll know that the rapture is close at hand. It actually say’s “Look Up.”
What are the signs it says to look for? And where in the Bible does it say this?
The Signs of the Times “and” the End of the Age
Matthew 24: 3-6 "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
(These were the men who walked beside Jesus and they wanted to know when just as much as we do. Because Jesus knew they, and we, wanted answers His first words are don’t let someone fool you.)
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
(Jesus didn’t say beware of televangelist but boy are we bombarded by them telling us to send them money in His name. )
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
(It is true we will always have war, people just cannot get along. So Wars and Rumors of Wars are not a sign all alone. More than just any war has to be considered. I probably went over 65 years of my life before I realized that the Bible has a detailed description of a specific war that we should be aware of.)
Matthew 24: 7-8 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."
(That is a check list of things that all have to be going on at the same time. Not a bunch of random wars, but a specific war and not just the usual bad things happening in various places but bad things all happening at once all over the world. See more details on Fig Tree Generation page.)
Matthew 24: 9-11 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many."
(Have you noticed that a lot of main stream religions now have prophets? It’s like the new thing to be a prophet, and it’s crazy how many people are sending them their money. But this still isn’t a distinct sign all by itself.)
Matthew 24: 12-14 "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
(I feel like we are getting closer because it really does seem like more and more people have no respect for the law or anyone in law abiding constitutional authority. That is just a feeling I have, but when I mention it to people they say they feel that way too, for what that feeling is worth to you.)
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
The Great Tribulation The Great Tribulation is a prophecy about the Wrath of God on an unbelieving world. It is all about Israel, it is not about the Church. The purpose of the wrath is so Israel, and others, will see that they need God, and they’ve turned their back on God. You've heard about being 'left behind,' those are the ones who experience the tribulation.
Matthew 24: 15-28 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
(The reason there is prophecy is so we can know that God is over all and knows the future. This way we know we can trust Him because we can see if He keeps His word. There is a very curious thing about Daniel. In his prophecy he is told by God to “seal up the prophecy, until the end times,” and he is told that at that time “knowledge will increase.” Things that seemed impossible at that time and even until now, are now possible with the knowledge we have in just these recent times. Knowledge has increased so fast it nearly runs us over daily.)
“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."
(There is the possibility that this reference to eagles gathering where the carcus is has to do with the emblem of the Roman army.)
The Coming of the Son of Man 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
All of this is about the Great Tribulation (The Bible also called the Tribulation the Time of Jacobs Trouble and The Coming Wrath, but it is not about the Rapture. The Rapture is an event that comes before the Great Tribulation. If the signs of the times are pointing to the Tribulation, look up, the time for the Rapture is even sooner.)
(I want to call your attention to this: It is a parable, and it tells us something about the Rapture. Remember if there are signs for Christmas, then we know that Thanksgiving is nearer? Well the sign of the Fig Tree tells us the Rapture is near. There is a page with more detail on this.)
The Parable of the Fig Tree Matthew 24:32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
(In the Bible, the fig tree is used as a symbol of National Israel. On March 14, 1948 the Nation of Israel was reborn from the ashes. It was a tender shoot. But it was a desolate land of desert and swamp. Since that time despite all that has come against it, it has managed to put forth leaves. It has bloomed into the world’s 8th largest economy.)
Matthew 24: 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
(This is talking about the coming Tribulation, but it also says that the generation that sees the Fig tree bloom, will be the generation that will not pass away before all the prophecies take place. I was born in 1948, I think all this is about to happen. I don’t know the day or hour, but I know the signs prophesied for what will happen in and around Israel, so that would mean that the Rapture is pretty close. I am the same age as Israel. In my life I have seen the Fig Tree bloom. Being born in 1948, the same year that Israel became a Nation in one day, I do feel that I am a part of the generation that has seen the Fig Tree bloom.)
Matthew 24: 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. No One Knows the Day or Hour 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
(No I don’t know the day and hour, but I can see the signs and I want to be ready, I do not want to be caught unaware. I want to be caught up, not left behind to experience the wrath that will come on the whole earth. You think bad climate is coming? It is much worse than that. You can’t even imagine.)
This is also covered by Luke in chapter 21. And Luke has a little extra detail, (as does Mark in chaper 13 of his gospel.)
Luke 21: 7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.” 10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
(Although the city of Jerusalem is not surrounded by armies, the armies are very close, at the Israeli border. Not just any armies, but the specific armies that Israel was warned about in the ancient prophecies.
There are prophecies about that, that have not been fulfilled. They are found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The armies that will be around Israel are Russia, Turkey, Iran to the North and Ethopia, Sudan and Libya in the South. And these are the countries are in fact sending missles into Israel and her friends in todays news. You can make what you will of that information.)
The Parable of the Fig Tree Luke 21: 29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."
The Importance of Watching
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. 38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. Mark in his gospel adds these words of Christ. Mark 13: 37 “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
