The first step to gaining a better understanding of the rapture ideology is to biblically define what the rapture is and find its origins. The English word rapture is derived from the Latin word rapio which means: To seize or snatch in either an ecstasy of spirit; the removal of something from one place to another. The concept of the rapture originates from
I Thessalonians 4:17 which states:
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.
The Latin expression rapturo, a variation of rapio, is the original word for which we get the catching up of believers in our English Bible. The Greek adaptation of the Bible uses the word harpazo to denote the rapture. This term also means to snatch up or take away (Bible.org).
I Thessalonians 4:17 is not the only verse in the Bible that uses rapturo and harpazo to signify the removal of people from the earth to heaven. The Spirit catches up Philip near Gaza and brings him to Caesarea in Acts 8:39. In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, Paul is caught up into the third heaven (Gods heaven.) It is unmistakable that the rapture described in I Thessalonians 4:17 is an actual removal of Christians from the earth God created to heaven to be with Him. (Bible.org) The quandary that is then aroused is, When will this removal of Gods people from the earth take place? The issue is not easily answered and no single theory can be fully proven until the end of time as we know it draws to a conclusion. It can be determined from I Thessalonians 4:13-16 that the rapture will take place when Christ comes back. But when will that take place?
There are varying positions that Christians have taken as to when the rapture will take place. In order to reveal which hypothesis is the most accurate biblically, each proposition must be thoroughly examined. The most popular and controversial theories include the following: The Pre-Tribulation View; The Mid-Tribulation View; The Post-Tribulation View; and the Pre-Wrath View.
The Pre-Tribulational view has become one of the most popular beliefs among Christians today. This recognition is primarily due to the propaganda and mass media attention it has received in recent years. The Left Behind books and moviescreated by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have been the main motivators for the popular interest in the pre-tribulation rapture. But on what ideas is this notion based?
The Pre-Tribulationalists view is grounded in Revelation 3:10 which states,
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who love on the earth.
This verse in context is referenced to the church in Philadelphia but it can be applied to all believers according to Revelation 3:13. Those who hold to this belief say that the hour of trial is the seven year tribulation period and therefore the church will be taken up before the judgment begins. Michael J. Svigel comments on this passage:
Those who see the rapture in this verse argue primarily on the basis of the phrase thrhsw ejk th w{ra (I will keep you from the hour.) It is suggested that thrhsw means to preserve or protect, while the preposition ejk means out from within. It is emphasized that the believers are not merely promised protection from the trail, but protection from the entire hour of trial, necessitating a removal from heaven to earth.
From this passage, pre-tribulations hold to the belief that Christ will return to earth to gather the believers before the tribulation commences.
There is other biblical support for the pre-tribulation rapture. Matthew 24 says that neither the day nor the hour can be known of Christs return. This immanency falls in line with the pre-tribulation thought. If Christ can come at any hour without warning, a rapture at any other time would be illogical because there would be other signs to look for before Jesus return. Luke 12:35 warns Christians to be dressed ready for service and [to] keep your lamps burning. This passage suggests that Christ wants us to be ready at all times because He may return at any time (Grudem pg. 449).
Another argument presented in favor of the pre-tribulation rapture is the fact that the church is not mentioned from Revelation chapter 4-18. Johns rapture in chapter four is viewed as a symbolic type of rapture of the church to heaven. The saints mention in between Revelation 4 and 18 are claimed to be those Christians who are saved during the tribulation (Bible.org). The church is seen again in chapter 19 at Gods throne proclaiming His name.
Adherents to the pre-tribulation view also believe that Jews who become saved during the tribulation (including the 144,000) will enter the millennial kingdom in non-glorified bodies. They will populate the kingdom after all of Gods enemies on the earth have been defeated in the final outpouring of His wrath (Grudem pg.449).
The mid-tribulation rapture is founded in the belief that the two witnesses in Revelation 11:11-19 are harbingers to the rapture at the midpoint of the tribulation. (3 ½ years.) James Buswell, author of A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, states:
It is my opinion that in the coming to life and Rapture of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:11) we have an exact synchronization of events. The two witnesses are caught up into heaven in the cloud at the same moment that the elect of God are caught up together in the clouds to the meeting of the Lord in the air.
(1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:15 is paralleled to 1 Corinthians 15:52s
sounding of the last trumpet. 1 Corinthians pronounces the rapture with the raising of the dead and the changing of the believers at the last trumpet. The two witnesses are told to come up hither in Revelation 11:12, preceding the last trumpets sounding. The two witnesses act as a symbolism for the rapture of the church up to God.
Mid-Tribulationalists also see a strong similarity between Revelation 11:11-12 and
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. They are as follows: (Svigel)
Revelation 11:11-12
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized those who were watching them. (11:11)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven
and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (4:16)
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven
(11:12a)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God,
(4:16)
saying to them: Come up here! So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies stared at them. (11:12b)
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord always. (4:17)
The parallels between these verses seem to align logically and therefore make for a plausible explanation as to when the rapture will occur.
The post-tribulation rapture takes place after the Great Tribulation. This belief is based on the observable world-wide signs described in the Bible which take place before Christs return; most of which are linked to the last trumpet of the tribulation. The New Testament does not clearly state that the church will be taken up before the rapture in a secretive manner as the pre-tribulationalists believe. In total disparity, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. Leon Morris, author of the New International Commentary on the New Testament, notes It is difficult to see how he could more plainly describe something that is open and public. Clearly the tribulation has heralds with it.
The last trumpet of the tribulation appears to be connected to the rapture of the church. Grudem explains, The trumpet call to gather the elect in Matthew 24:31, the sound of the trumpet of God in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, and the last trumpet at which our bodies are changed in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, all seem to be the same trumpet - the last trumpet that is blown just before the millennium. If this truly is the last trumpet, how would another trumpet follow it seven years later if the rapture took place before the tribulation?
Further evidence favoring a post-tribulation rapture surfaces when one looks at the aspects Christs return. The New Testament does not substantiate a second returning of Christ. This idea is an inference brought about by the precepts of pre-tribulationalists. The post-tribulation rapture is consistent with Scripture because Christ returns once with the sounding of the trumpet of God.
We are also reminded time and time again that we will go through trials and tribulations, and the Great Tribulation is no exception. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3 NIV)
Inthe pre-wrath rapture, followers of Christ are taken up by Him before the outpouring of Gods wrath takes place on the earth. Revelation 3:10 tells us, Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (KJV) The hour of trial is not a reference to the whole of the tribulation as those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture would say to be truth but rather is telling of the Hour of Gods Wrath that is to come upon to whole world. (Revelation 16)
Steven Sherman, author of Last Days Calendar, sees a correlation between Daniels weeks and the timing of Gods Wrath. He notes that Daniels seven days are each representative of a single year, which is 360 days by the Jewish lunar calendar. One hour is one twenty-fourth of one day according to that lunar calendar. Calculating the ratio relationship of the hour into a full years time, a prophetic hour in Scripture would translate into fifteen days or one twenty-fourth of 360 days. (It is interesting to note that the earths sphere of 360 degrees is divided into twenty-four time zones. The earth rotates fifteen degrees of longitude every hour.) Steven Sherman asks, What if, therefore, the outpouring of Gods final wrath was to occur over fifteen days rather than the whole seven years of Daniels seven. This amount of time for the pouring out of Gods wrath would be cut short for the sake of the elect (Gods faithful) to a ten-day period, which is two-thirds of one hour. (This concept can be found in Hosea 6:2 and Zechariah 13:8.) Gods servants on the earth would be raptured before the outpouring of His wrath but would endure the great time of persecution of the earth. (The Great Tribulation.)
