The common Evangelical view of the Rapture is that an instantaneous, secret gathering of millions of Christians in the air will occur, and they will be taken away by Jesus to some heavenly place for a period of time—most Rapturists believe seven years—while the world goes to hell in a handbasket.
The most widely used proof text for that kind of Rapture scene is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (KJV)
Let’s examine the Evangelical Rapture scenario and weigh it against what the passage doesn’t say.
First, it doesn’t say that the Second Coming of our Lord will be a secret, physically undetectable, or unannounced event. The exact opposite is clearly taught in this scripture.
It’s nearly impossible to imagine a secret spiritual event that is preceded by a shout from our triumphant, returning Savior, the voice of a mighty archangel, and a blast from the glorious trumpet of our God.
These verses do not teach a secret Rapture. They teach a loud and very definite announcement to all creation that the King has returned.
Additionally, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 doesn’t say that believers are vacuumed up and then taken away somewhere else, only to come back later with Jesus for a third coming. That doctrine of man has to be patched together using other sections of scripture in a complicated mixture of speculation and eisegesis.
Let’s stick to the clear, unambiguous teaching of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: The Second Coming of Christ is a gloriously heralded singular event, resulting in our mortality putting on immortality, the final judgment, and the final restoration of all things as heaven and earth become one forever.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into ‘Rethinking The Rapture’ in the coming weeks.
Rethinking The Rapture: Introduction
Rethinking The Rapture: Questions
Rethinking The Rapture: More Questions
Rethinking The Rapture: N.T. Wright’s ‘Farewell to the Rapture’
Child of God, husband, father, grandfather, rabblerouser, songwriter, pot stirrer, waiting for the King.