The Parousia - The Rapture

The Parousia

An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

The Parousia

The Rapture

―Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed‖

(1 Corinthians 15:51)

What is the Rapture?

Rapturefrom Latin: rapio ―seize, carry away‖; Greek: harpazo ―caught up‖The eschatological event in which Christians still living on the earth will be ―caught up together with them [deceased Christians who have been resurrected] in the clouds to

meet the Lord [Christ] in the air‖ (1 Thess. 4:17).

―For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in

Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will

not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the

voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and

remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. ‖

(1 Thessalonians 4:14–18)

―When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went

on his way rejoicing. ‖ (Acts 8:39)

―I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God

knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. ‖ (2 Corinthians 12:2)

―And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and

to His throne. ‖ (Revelation 12:5)

Same Word Used Elsewhere: harpazo

RaptureThe Debate is not IF there will be a Rapture, but WHEN

A Brief Overview of the Different Rapture Positions

1. Pre-Trib: Believers are caught up to be with Jesus before the Tribulation begins.

2. Partial-Rapture: Only faithful believers are taken to be with Christ at the outset of the tribulation, while the unfaithful are left to endure it (based on Matt. 25 10 virgin parable)

3. Mid-Trib: Believers are caught up to be with Jesus in the middle of the Tribulation (3.5 years into it) when the Antichrist commits the abomination of desolation (entering into the temple and declaring himself to be God), which initiates the Great Tribulation events

4. Pre-Wrath: Believers are taken somewhere between the 6th

and 7th seals of Revelation5. Post-Trib: Believers are caught up to be with Jesus after the

Tribulation ends and Jesus appears in the clouds during His return

Five Major Positions

Why Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?

The Church Age

Unknown Period of Time

Jesus

The Tribulation The Millennium

Seven Years 1,000 Years

The premillennial view teaches that the Church age will end with the Rapture, after which starts the tribulation period. The tribulation lasts seven years and

climaxed by the second coming of Christ, who establishes a reign upon the earth that lasts 1,000 years. After the 1,000 years, the last earthly rebellion

is crushed, God creates a new earth for His people, and eternity begins.

Premillennial Rapture

―so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. ‖

(Hebrews 9:28)

First Coming

Two Comings – Two Aspects

Second Coming

Suffering Glory Love Judgment

The Evidence from the Thessalonian Letters

Paul‘s letters to the Thessalonians were written from Corinth around A.D. 50 shortly after his departure from Thessalonica (cf. Acts 17:1-15, 18:1-11). Among other core doctrines, Paul

taught them well the subject of eschatology (prophecy), including the concept of the Rapture.

―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 rescues us from the wrath to come. ‖ (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10)

―so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints [those who have

already died]. ‖ (1 Thessalonians 3:13)

―Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will

come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ―Peace and safety!‖ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman

with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of

day. . . . For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake

or asleep, we will live together with Him. ‖ (1 Thessalonians 5:1–10)

Teaching of the Rapture (outside of 4:14-18)

But Something Happened between 1&2 Thessalonians

―Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be

quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a

message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has

come. ‖ (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2)

―Shaken‖ equates to agitation like an earthquake and ―disturbed‖ means

frightened, and is used in the present tense meaning the Thessalonians were

in a persistent state of fear.

But Something Happened between 1&2 Thessalonians

―Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be

quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a

message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has

come. ‖ (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2)

The Thessalonians, previously taught by Paul that the Rapture would come

first, thought they were in the Tribulation because of a faked letter and/or the trials they were currently

undergoing.

Paul Corrects their Misunderstanding about the Rapture

―Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son

of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not

remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? (2 Thessalonians 2:3-5, 15)

Paul Corrects their Misunderstanding about the Rapture

―And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will 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. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of

His coming. . . . So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. ‖

(2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, 15)

Paul also calls their attention to how to recognize a letter from him: ―I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is

the way I write. ‖ (2 Thessalonians 3:17)

What We Learn from the Thessalonian Letters

1. The doctrine of the Rapture was taught to young believers (Paul was in Thessalonica for only four weeks)

2. No Old Testament references are made; therefore the Rapture appears to be a new teaching to the Church

3. The Rapture will deliver believers in Christ from the wrath of God (1 Thess. 1:10, 5:9)

4. All living believers will be suddenly caught up to meet Christ in the air and will be reunited with those who have died

5. Christians should have a general awareness of Christ‘s coming, but will not know the hour or day

6. The hope of the Rapture and its deliverance is a source of comfort and encouragement to Christians

Other Evidence from a Survey of Scripture

―‗Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob‘s distress, But he will be saved from it. ‖

(Jeremiah 30:7)

――Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for

iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. ‖ (Daniel 9:24)

The Tribulation is the time of ―Jacob‘s Trouble‖

Daniel‘s 69 Weeks Break in Prophetic Time Period Daniel‘s

70th Week

Israel Church Age Israel

Structure of Revelation

Rev. 1-3 Rev. 4-18 Rev. 19-22

Church No Church Church

―After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ―Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.‖ ‖ (Revelation 4:1)

―For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of

God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ‖ (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

John seems to experience a Rapture-like event, which may illustrate the true Rapture. From Chapter 4 on, John views the Tribulation (6-18) from Heaven as the Church will. ―After

these things‖ may refer to the Church age, spoken of in Chapters 1-3.

19 mentions No mentions 7 mentions

Pseudo-Peace

Tribulation – 3.5 years

Seals 1………..2 3 4 5 6

Great Turmoil/War The Millennium

Great Tribulation – 3.5 years 1,000 Years

God‘s judgments begin with the releasing of the Antichrist

Revelation JudgmentsC

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Christ‘s 2nd Coming

Jewish marriage contracts were binding, with the parents usually arranging the marriage (choosing the bride) and the Father or the groom paying a bridal price

or dowry for the bride, which also included various gifts. This ensured the bride‘s financial security and was kept for her in case her husband died or

deserted her. This betrothal then occurred, where the bride and groom both gave gifts to each other.

This wedding imagery portrays what Christ has done for us. The Father has selected/chosen (elected) a Bride for His Son. The Son has paid the

ultimate prices for His Bride and has secured her forever. He has also given gifts to His Bride (spiritual gifts) and is now preparing for the wedding.

The Jewish Wedding Commitment

After the betrothal, the groom would return to his father‘s house to prepare a house and wedding chamber for his bride. He would return for his bride at an

unexpected moment, so the bride had to be ready constantly. When he returned, he would take his bride back to his father‘s house to the chamber he

had prepared. He and his wife would then stay there for seven days. When they emerged, a great wedding feast would occur.

―If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. ‖ (John 14:3)

The Jewish Wedding Week

Enoch and Noah―Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of

Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. ‖

(Genesis 5:22–24)

―Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, ―I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.‖ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

‖ (Genesis 6:5–8)

Enoch appears to be a type of the Church who will escape from God‘s wrath.Noah appears to be a type of the Israeli remnant who will be preserved through God‘s wrath.

―Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ―But keep on the alert at all

times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.‖

(Luke 21:34–36)

Jesus Tells Us to Escape the Tribulation

―‗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 on the earth. ‖

(Revelation 3:10)

―Tereo‖ (keep) means to guard. ―Ek‖ (from) equates to ―out of‖. The faithful church of Philadelphia is a type of the faithful, true believers who will be present during the

days before the Rapture and Tribulation. Note that one cannot be ‗kept from‘ from

something that they are called upon to endure.

The Church Kept from the Hour of Testing

―and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath

to come. ‖ (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

―For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our

Lord Jesus Christ, ‖ (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

All of the tribulation represents God‘s wrath and so the Church escapes all

of it.

The Church is Kept from God‘s Wrath

―Therefore, we are ambassadorsfor Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be

reconciled to God. ‖ (2 Corinthians 5:20)

In biblical times (and currently in most cases), ambassadors are

recalled when it was time to make war upon an enemy

The Church is Christ‘s Ambassador

―All the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and

are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world

because of our sins‖- Ancient sermon from Ephraem the Syrian (306-373 AD)

Pre-Trib Rapture has Early Church Position

―Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the

man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself

above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will 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. ‖ (2 Thessalonians 2:3–7)

The Church‘s removal from the earth is the only interpretation that explains the releasing of

lawlessness and the Antichrist.

The Church‘s Absence and the Apostasy

―Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ―But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ―For this

reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. ‖

(Matthew 24:42–44)

―You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.‖

(Luke 12:40)

The above verses (and others) would not hold true if Christ‘s return in the Rapture was not imminent. Christians would know to look for the

Antichrist, Israeli peace treaty, the Tribulation, all the global celestial signs, and more.

Imminence Implies a Pre-Trib Rapture

―If I go and prepare a place for you[note the allusion to the Jewish wedding], I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. ‖

(John 14:3)

―For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then

we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ‖ (1

Thessalonians 4:16–17)

VS.

―And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ‖ (Revelation 19:14)

―It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, ―Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy

ones, ‖ (Jude 14)

The Difference of ―For‖ and ―With‖

―But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ―All the nations will be gathered before Him;

and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

―Then the King will say to those on His right, ‗Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‖

(Matthew 25:31–34)

Who would the sheep be if a prior rapture hadn‘t occurred? Who enters the Millennium?

The Sheep/Goat Judgment & the Rapture

Comparison of Rapture & Second Coming

Rapture Second Coming

Saved delivered from wrath(1 Thess. 1:10, 5-9)

Unsaved experience God‘s wrath(Rev. 6:12-17)

Meeting them in the air(1 Thess. 4:17)

Taking them to the earth(Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11)

Taking believers to heaven(John 14:3)

Bringing believers back to earth(Rev. 19:14)

Coming for His saints/bride(2 Thess. 2:1)

Coming with His saints/bride(June 14)

Only believers see Him(1 Thess. 5:1-3)

All people see Him(Rev. 1:7)

No signs precede it(1 Thess. 5:1-3)

Many signs precede it(Matt. 24:3-30)

The Tribulation begins(2 Thess. 1:6-9)

The Millennium begins(Rev. 20:1-7)

Marriage Feast of the Lamb(Rev. 19:6-10)

Supper of God(Rev. 19:17)

The Purpose of the Rapture: Remove the Church from the worldThe Purpose of the Second Coming: Judgment

Final Thoughts

―Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ―Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will

be left. ‖ (Matthew 24:40–41)

The ones ―taken‖ are taken away in judgment.

―For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away;

so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ‖ (Matthew 24:38–39)

―These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.‖ (Matthew 25:46)

Passage Wrongly Used to Reference the Rapture

What will happen to young children in the Rapture?

While the Bible does not specifically address this topic, there are inferences we can make. For example, Noah and Lot are singled out as righteous men alone, yet

God spared their families when the Flood and judgment on Sodom came. Also 1 Cor. 7:14 reads, ―For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and

the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. ‖ In addition, Proverbs 14:26 states:

―In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. ‖ So it seems that the parent‘s belief will act as a covering for their children

in many circumstances, with the Rapture being included.

―Therefore comfort one another with

these words. ‖ (1 Thess. 4:18)

―Therefore, beloved, since you

look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and

blameless‖ (2 Peter 3:14)

The Parousia

The Rapture