THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

This article is about the Rapture of the Church, seven reasons why it cannot possibly be correct and what the Bible really says about the end times...

 End time events.
We agree with each other that the world as we know will come to an end some day (or night). We also agree that Jesus will return and that the righteous people will be taken to a place called heaven. We all know that a period of great persecution and suffering, when true Christians (Those who keep the commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus) will not be allowed to either buy or sell, will come. We also know that a cruel tyrant also called the Antichrist or son of perdition will rule the world and demand to be worshiped (2^nd Thessalonians 2:1-8). We also know that God will punish the unrepentant, dissident people in the last days with seven severe plagues (Revelation chapter 8 to 11). We also agree that Jesus will return with power and great glory and gather his elect from the four winds of the Earth. We agree all these will happen. It is the order in which they happen that we tend to disagree on.

The rapture.

Up until now I have not mentioned The Rapture of the Church. In fact the term is not even found in the Bible. It is however derived from a term ‘caught up’ found in the book 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  See also Hebrew 11:5, 2 Corinthians 12:4 and Acts 1:9, 11.  This is not to be confused with the term “fall away” found in 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3. There is a little disagreement among scholars as to whether the Greek word ‘apostesia’ translated as ‘falling away’ refers to the physical departure (the rapture) or a metaphorical one (departure from the faith or apostasy) or both. Everywhere else in the Bible the term is used it is translated as 'apostasy' and we all know what apostasy means. In fact the amplified Bible explains it as, "the falling away of those who have professed to be Christians." In other words it is not a physical departure from the world (rapture), but rather a falling away from true Christianity. I don’t think this is debatable. Jesus mentions this falling away in the Olivet discourse saying "many will stumble and fall away and betray one another, and the love (presumably towards God) of many will grow cold (Mathew 24:10, 12). Does that sound like the rapture to anyone? By clever manipulation of scripture the pre-tribulationsits have made the falling away of believers synonymous with the rapture of the church (the church being caught up in the air to meet the returning Christ).

The danger of pre-tribulation rapture doctrine.

The pre-tribulation position advocates that the rapture will occur before the beginning of a seven-year tribulation period, while the second coming will occur at the end of it. John Nelson Darby first proposed and popularized the pre-tribulation rapture in 1827. This view was accepted among many other Plymouth Brethren movements in England and has been popularized by the Darby Exposition Bible and many televangelists to the point that it is now the predominant end time doctrine.

Now, I too used to believe the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine before I really begun to read the Bible for myself. How could I not when it is the most popular rapture doctrine? Many prominent televangelists like Joseph Prince, John Hagee, Chuck Smith, Hal Lindsey, Ben Carson, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn and Rick Warren unashamedly preach it. Again, I admit is the most widely accepted opinion but, truth is not established by popular opinion. History proves that the majority can be wrong. Jesus when he came the first time was rejected as messiah and crucified. The scholars of the law and prophets did not expect him to come they he did. Not even his disciples understood him [Jesus] when he begun to tell them that he’d suffer first, be rejected, crucified and die and rise again on the third day (Mathew26:2, Luke 9:22, Mark 8:31-34.) They expected a military leader who would defeat the Romans, set them free and rule the whole world. By having the wrong expectations, they missed they missed the messiah. This is the danger we also face. By having false expectations of the second coming of Christ we run the risk of being deceived!

 A tidal wave of deception sweeping over the world today and unless we are watchful, we’ll be lost. There is the maitreya budha who many people say is the coming messiah, there's mass apostasy, there is the positive confession doctrine - with its name it and claim it teachings, the ecumenical and universalism doctrine to mention but a few. If we’ve learnt anything from Jesus first coming and his rejection, it is that the popularly accepted opinions are often deceptive. And what’s more popular than the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine? It has been even put into Hollywood films! No wonder then that Jesus said that narrow is the path that leads to life and few (yes, few) find it [Mathew 7:13].
But the most potent danger of all is the false second chance the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine promises. The rapture doctrine says, "If you miss going to heaven during the rapture, you need not worry, you'll have seven more years during the tribulation period to get serious, get your act together and go to heaven at the second coming of Christ'. This is dangerous and deceptive. Don't believe it! If this were the case, what is the point getting ready?

According to the scriptures, the same day the Christians (saints) are taken to safety is the same day the wicked are destroyed (2 Thessalonians 1:7). This is indeed the case in all the Old Testament parallels that Jesus quotes in the gospels (Genesis 19:23, Luke 17:29, Mathew 24:37-41).

i)                    On the same day Noah entered the Ark the flood came and swept the wicked away (Genesis 7:13-23, Mathew 24:37-41)

ii)                  The same day lot and his family left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone on the wicked ( Genesis 19:23-24).

iii)                The same day the children of Israel crossed the red sea, the sea swallowed the Egyptians.

 The Bible clearly teaches that the wicked are destroyed (forget about any second chance) at the second coming. See 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 and 2^nd Peter 3:10). In fact, the wicked are destroyed first before the righteous are gathered. The angels (as reapers) are clearly shown to come during the last days of this age (Revelation 14:14-20). The phrase “Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them” in Mathew 13:30. This shows that the tares are bound before the wheat and so the wicked are bound before the harvest of the just. This being so, how can there be a pre-tribulation rapture which would be equivalent of harvesting the wheat before the tares?

Questionable origin of the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine.

Contrary to what you may think, the pre-tribulation is a fairly new doctrine. Prior to 1800 the predominant Christian belief favored the post-tribulation rapture, which of course is the correct Biblical teaching on the subject as we shall see shortly. The fact that John Nelson Darby invented the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine around 1830 AD is unquestionably true. The doctrine was developed by the Jesuits to counter the reformist teaching that the papacy was in deed the seat of the antichrist. These are the same Jesuits who murdered true Christians in their thousands who refused to acknowledge The pope as the head of the church. So how can we embrace as true a doctrine developed by the Jesuits whose primary role was to murder Christians and counter the reformation? Can anything good come from something evil?
The rapture and the Second coming are one and the same event
The pre-tribulation doctrine separates the rapture from the second coming of Christ by a seven year tribulation period. The scripture on the other hand clearly teaches that these are really one event. Everywhere in scripture where you find the rapture of the church, there you'll find the second coming of Jesus. Why is this? Because they're one and the same event! Christians will be raptured at the second coming of Christ. And here is a challenge to those who support this doctrine. Please give just one verse or passage in the Bible where these two events are separated or handled independent of each other: Give us just one verse or passage! They can't because it doesn't exist. What do they do? They read a one passage and say "this refers to the rapture and this to the second coming" while pointing to adjustment verses in the same passage.

The article bellow presents seven facts which essentially disproves the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine...