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Although the word "rapture" does
not appear in the Bible, the concept appears numerous times. Rapture does not
mean "ecstasy" though it will be one of the most thrilling sensations ever to
be known. The word was coined from the Latin rapio or rapere
which means to "catch up or snatch away." 1 Thes. 4:13-18 is the only place in
the NT where a "rapture" is clearly referred to.
"For the Lord
himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and 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." [1
Thessalonians 4:16-17]
This event is known as the
rapture. Clearly, this passage teaches that the dead in Christ will rise first,
after which we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the
clouds. To those who know, the "rapture" means the coming of Christ to take us
home to Glory, to which we look forward with joyous anticipation.
 We all know that the coming
of Christ is found often in the Bible, both in the Old and the New Testaments.
But this special coming, known as the "rapture" is only found in the New
Testament. The first time it is said by the Lord Jesus Himself, when we hear
Him say:
"In My Father's
house are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also." [John 14:2-3]
No biblical passage states
precisely what day or hour the Rapture will occur, but when it does multitudes
who are ready will be taken. Their sudden removal may cause a mysterious world
crisis, confusion and panic, such as:
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Driverless car, bus, truck
and train wrecks. |
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Airplane crashes due to
missing crew members. |
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Mass confusion of the radio
and TV news media. |
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Telephone circuits
overloaded, operators missing. |
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Numerous and uncontrollable
fires and looting. |
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Rampaging lawlessness,
crime and mobs, which the remaining police are not able to control.
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Graves of the saved opened
and bodies resurrected. |
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Packed churches of liberal
religious and false cults seeking answers from their ministers. |
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Families terrified and in
shock over missing saved family members, while the unsaved family members are
still left on the earth. |
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When Will It Happen?
No man knows the day or the hour when this
rapture will occur. The fact that "date-setters" do NOT know the date is always
made obvious in due time.
Such was the case with William Miller in
1844. It was also the case with the Watchtower organization (Jehovah's
Witnesses) in 1914, 1918, 1925 and 1975. In more recent history we have
witnessed the same "dissapointments" in the failed predictions of Edgar C.
Whisenant (1988 and again in 1989), an obscure group of Korean believers (Oct.
28, 1992), the Harold Camping Rapture of 1994, or M. J. Agee's rapture (May 31,
1998).
Christians generally agree that the Bible speaks
of the advent of a Golden Age of universal victory and blessing. However, there
are several schools as to the timing of this advent. For the novice, getting
and keeping all this straight can be a bit of a challenge. I will try to
explain and clear up some of the confusion in the articles contained here.
First of all, there are three general views that need to be
understood.
Premillennialist
There will be a Golden Age in history, but it
cannot occur until after Christ returns bodily to this earth and rules with
coercive force from the earthly Jerusalem - Christ must physically return to
earth before there can be a Golden Age or millennium. The present Church Age
would end with a seven year period of Tribulation, followed by a thousand year
reign of Christ upon the earth. Eternity would be spent in glorified bodies on
a new Earth, not in an ethereal Heaven.
Postmillennialist
Applies these Golden Age passages to history in
the current age before Christ returns -- Christ will return after the Golden
Age or millennium. The Westminster Larger Catechism espoused an eschatology
mostly in harmony with postmillennialism. Today not a single evangelical
seminary is committed to postmillennialism. The strongest postmillennial
influence in America today comes from the Chalcedon group, who are disciples of
Rousas J. Rushdoony. Frequently used terms for this current belief are are
Christian Reconstruction, Kingdom Now Theology and Dominion Theology.
Amillennialist
The Golden Age in history is limited to the
spiritual realm, and that there will be no literal Golden Age on earth. St.
Augustine formulated this viewpoint around A.D. 400, holding that the current
Church Age will end abruptly with the Rapture of the Church, with the
unrighteous consigned to Hell, the Redeemed resurrected in spiritual bodies to
take up residence with God in an ethereal Heaven, and the material universe
ceases to exist. The present Church Age is both the Millennium because the Holy
Spirit is restraining evil in the world and also the Tribulation because the
Church suffers persecutions.
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Whenever it
happens, it will be too late for the unsaved.
Regardless of the scenario or methods God uses we
can be confident that Jesus will save us and take us to the place He has
prepared for us. It is all too often easy to focus on the sequence of events or
methods and take our eyes off Jesus. We cannot know the details of God's plan
but we can know the person who will reveal that plan to us. Our focus must be
on Jesus and we must listen for His voice and follow Him. That alone will bring
us through whatever the future holds and He alone can save us.
My
theology best fits that of the premillennialist and the main focus of the
articles found here will be from a premillennialist viewpoint. Furthermore, I
believe the Pre-Wrath Rapture best fits what Scripture teaches and that all of
the prophecies have been fulfilled that have to be fulfilled before Jesus comes
again. It could be very soon! Are you ready? Is
your heart right with God? Don't you want to miss the great time of
tribulation and judgment that is coming upon the
earth? |
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