Systematic Theology III The Doctrine of Last Things The Church and the Second Coming of Christ

The Rapture of the Church Biblical References to the Rapture “The word rapture as such does not occur in Scripture. It is derived from the Latin word rapio, which means to seize or to snatch, and it is based on the “catching up” (harpazo) of the church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17” (McCune, p. 338). Other references to the rapture include John 14:2-3; 1 Cor 15:50-53; 2 Thess 2:1. Participants in the Rapture “Only church saints, living and dead, participate in the Rapture; it is for those in Christ” (McCune, p. 338). The Rapture does not include OT saints, Tribulation saints, or millennial believers.

Key Questions that Distinguish Various Rapture Systems Is there a distinction between the Church and Israel? When does God’s wrath begin? How is the Church protected from God’s wrath? Is the Church in Christ’s Olivet Discourse?

The Rapture of the Church The Partial Rapture View The Midtribulational Rapture View The Posttribulational Rapture View The Pretribulational View

Partial Rapture First propounded by Robert Govett in 1835. Only the faithful in the Church will be raptured and resurrected at the time of Christ’s coming for the Church. Carnal Christians are raptured progressively during the tribulation as they become righteous, so that the tribulation period is a time for disciplining believers toward holy living. Reply: This obscure and little-held theory is based on a false distinction between believers in the Church. It misinterprets passages on watchfulness as a condition for participation in the rapture. It confuses passages that refer to Israel as referring to the Church. It subjects some believers to God’s wrath. Finally, 1 Cor 15:51 says “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

Mid-Tribulational Rapture Return of Christ Rapture of the Church Seal and trumpet judgments take place during first 3.5 years. Only bowl judgments take place here. Abomination of Desolation 3.5 Years 3.5 Years Beginning of Sorrows (not The Tribulation and not God’s Wrath) The Great Tribulation Key difference between the different schemes is how they see the various seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments playing out over the course of the 7 years. Olivet discourse gives some clue about this, as well as the rule of Antichrist for 3.5 years

Arguments for Mid-Trib Rapture The last trump of 1 Cor 15:52 is the same as the 7th trumpet in Rev 11:15. The “midst of the week” in Dan 9:27 is tied to the removal of the restrainer in 2 Thess 2:7. The rapture of the two witnesses in Rev 11:12 is symbolic for the rapture of the whole Church, since both Church and witnesses are called “Olive Trees” (Rom 11:13-25; Rev 11:4). Reply: All of these are very tenuous and subjective connections that do not adequately deal with the respective passages in their own contexts. The seal and trumpet judgments are only the “beginning of birth pangs”; the Church escapes the Great Tribulation of the last 3.5 years. Reply: Seal and trumpet judgments are part of God’s wrath in the seven-sealed scroll...wrath from which believers are promised to be delivered (1 Thess 1:10; 5:9). The last trump of 1 Cor 15:51 is a trumpet of blessing, the last that God’s people on the earth at that time will hear; the 7th trumpet of Revelation is a trumpet of great judgment.

Pre-Wrath Rapture 21 months 21 months 42 months Return of Christ Rapture of the Church occurs 21 months before end of the week, before breaking of 7th seal. Abomination of Desolation 21 months 21 months 42 months The Great Tribulation (Satan’s wrath) Day of the Lord (God’s wrath) Beginning of Birth Pangs Marv Rosenthal’s The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church, and Robert Van Kampen’s The Sign

Arguments for Pre-wrath Rapture God will cut the Great Tribulation short (Matt 24:21-22) and bring it to conclusion before the seventieth week is concluded. Reply: Scripture is clear that this period lasts 42 months; “cut short” here means “limited”...perhaps less than what the world deserves. Further, this position replaces the Great Tribulation with something worse! The Olivet Discourse is addressed to the Church and the rapture is in this discourse. (See Mid-trib position above). The rapture is not imminent, until the Church begins experiencing severe testing by the Antichrist.

Posttribulational Rapture Return of Christ Rapture of the Church 3.5 Years 3.5 Years The Tribulation Period May or may not be a literal 3.5 years

Common Arguments for Posttribulationalism Church is made up of saints of all ages; since there are saints in the Tribulation period, Church must be in there. Reply: Not all believers are in the Church; Church and Israel are distinct. There is only one resurrection for believers of all ages, and it takes place at the very end of the Tribulation (Rev 20:4ff). Reply: First resurrection is made up of multiple phases (1 Cor 15:22-24). Day of the Lord begins with the return of Christ to the earth at the beginning of the millennium; rapture must occur here also. Reply: Day of the Lord, and its associated tribulation, begins after the rapture (1 Thess 5). Church is in Christ’s Olivet Discourse; rapture takes place after the Tribulation (Matt 24:29-31; 40-42). Reply: Christ’s Olivet Discourse is in response to the disciples’ questions about the future of Israel; though the Church has been mentioned in Matt 18 as something future to be built by Christ, it does not yet exist at the time of this discourse! Can’t assume that because something is written in the NT, it must be talking about the Church; real dividing line is at Pentecost. Context of Gospels is Israel under a Mosaic economy.

Excursus: The Olivet Discourse “Many posttribulational arguments are based on the Olivet Discourse (principally found in Matthew 24 – 25). The coming of the Lord in the text is taken to be the Rapture, which to posttribulationists is a one-stage event as compared to the dispensational position, which sees the coming of Christ as a two-stage event (Rapture and Second Coming). Posttribulationists also see the church in the Olivet Discourse. Taken together, this adds up to the church going through the Tribulation and being raptured at the posttribulational coming of Christ to set up His kingdom” (McCune, p. 349). See his excursus for arguments against this position. The short answer is that the Olivet Discourse concerns the future of Israel, not the Church. The Church does not even exist at the time the discourse is given; how could the original audience understand it as referring to the rapture of entity that does not yet exist?

Pretribulational Rapture Rapture of the Church Return of Christ Antichrist as leader of revived Roman Empire Antichrist as dictator of the world Abomination of Desolation 3.5 Years 3.5 Years Beginning of Birth Pangs The Great Tribulation

The Rapture of the Church The Pretribulational Rapture View The Direct Promises of Scripture Rev 3:10 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. 1 Thess 1:9-10 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thess 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rev 3:10 is part of the letter to the church at Philadelphia. McCune also argues that the absence of any mention of the church in Rev 4-19 strongly implies that is no longer on the earth.

The Rapture of the Church The Pretribulational Rapture View The Removal of the Restrainer 2 Thess 2:6-7 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. “If the restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through (church) saints and if His removal allows the Antichrist to rise, then the strong implication is that the Rapture precedes the Tribulation” (McCune, p. 361). Imminency In order for both the Rapture and the Day of the Lord to be imminent, the first must initiate the second.

The Home of the Church The Location of the Home “The final home of the body of Christ is called ‘the Father’s house,’ to which the saints will be raptured when He comes to receive them to Himself (John 14:1-3)…This has caused a problem for posttribulationists who only have a rapturing of saints into the air followed by an instantaneous descent to the earth” (McCune, p. 365). The Inhabitants of the Home Church Saints “The New Jerusalem is the official residence of church saints during the millennial and eternal phases of the kingdom of God” (McCune, p. 365). Other Saints “Other saints have access to the city although it does not seem to be their official residence as such” (Ibid). See Rev 21:24. The Triune God – Rev 21:3, 22-23. Angels – Heb 12:22 I disagree with McCune that church saints will live in the New Jerusalem during the millennium. The New Jerusalem does not come down until after the present earth and heavens pass away. The thrones of the church saints are also set up on the earth…nothing said about a commute back and forth from the city suspended above the earth.

The Marriage of the Church “In the present age the church is in a state of betrothal to Christ as a pure virgin (2 Cor 11:2), awaiting the formal marriage ceremonies in the eschaton. The place of the marriage of the true church is in heaven (Rev 19:1,7). The time is sometime near the end of the Tribulation” (McCune, p. 366). “The marriage festivities in the Near East were in two parts. The first stage was a ceremony (and feast or supper) at the home of the bride’s father. Then the marriage party proceeded to the home of the bridegroom where a second feast was held. The marriage festivities of Christ and the church seem to follow at least the two stage pattern” (McCune, p. 367).

Next Time: The Doctrine of Last Things The Antichrist and the Tribulation & The Millennium