I'm going to post some new material I am working on which I intend to turn into a book. It's about the Rapture of the Church. Let me know what you think about it.
Rapture
I want to present a theory about the rapture that I believe will explain why there are so many different opinions about when the rapture will take place. Let me also say, at the outset, that the different opinions about the rapture have very little to do with a man’s salvation. Subsequently, even if we differ – it doesn’t make a lot of difference. And I even expect some of you to have differing views and that’s OK. We are still brothers and sisters in Christ.
I have resurrected a very old theological perspective on this subject called the Partial Rapture theory. The partial rapture theory was what most of our founding fathers believed. PC Nelson, ES Williams all believed and preached the partial rapture theory. The partial rapture theory says this; there are several different raptures spoken of in the scriptures but the first rapture, which is the pre-tribulation rapture is the primary one and is only for the overcoming Christian.
I believe very much in the Assemblies of God’s position of the Pre-trib rapture. However, I also understand where the mid-trib and post-trib theories come from also. And I believe each one of them explain their positions well. Which presents us with our first dilemma. How could they all be correct and provable through the scriptures? The answer is simple. They all are correct to a degree. What I mean by, correct to a degree, is that I do not believe the Bible teaches that there is only one rapture of the church.
Let’s try not to develop our theology on what we assume God’s word says. Also, let’s not develop our theology on things we may have heard all our lives. Let’s develop our theology on what God’s word actually says. There is very little need for conjecture concerning the return of Christ if you just take the word at face value it speaks very clearly.
Many people think that going in the rapture is inclusive with salvation. What I mean by that is this; many people believe that if you are a saved person you will automatically go in the rapture. I do not believe that. I do not believe that the scriptures teach that anywhere. That is why I said earlier that we need to develop our theology on what the Bible actually says rather than on what we think it should say or even on what we have heard all our lives, unless of course, what you have heard is biblically based. There are far more indications that not all Christians will go in the rapture of the church than anything else. In fact I don’t see any reference to everyone going. We only have conjecture on that.
What I want to do now is attempt to show you this theory. Almost all prophecy teachers use Daniels vision of “70 Weeks” as the basis for their time line. I believe it is very credible and easy to follow. Without going into a lot of detail about it, at this point, we see that the first 69 weeks of his prophecy brought us up to the cross. Then we have the next portion of time which we are living in right now. It’s called the church age or the day of grace.
The next great event will be the Rapture of the church. Right after the rapture of the church is the tribulation period. In the middle of the Tribulation we see a second rapture which we called the Mid-trib rapture. In Revelation 6:9 suddenly we see another group of people in heaven. These are people who died for their faith who are now receiving white robes and told to wait until the rest of the martyred saints join them at the end of the Tribulation.
Then we have the next major event is the Post-trib rapture which takes place just prior to the Second coming of Christ. We see this in Revelation 20:4 where the final group of martyred saints show up in heaven. Please note that there is a significant difference between the Rapture of the church and the Second coming of Christ.
When we speak of the rapture of the church we are referring to the catching up of the saints to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
There are other verses that refer to the rapture of the church also. The rapture of the church is called the coming of the Lord but never, the second coming of the Lord. At the rapture Christ does not appear visibly to those on the Earth, but He comes in the air above the Earth to catch up or rapture the dead and living saints who rise together to meet the Lord in the air. Notice in this verse that it uses the phrase “caught up,” the Bible does not use the word rapture. We have merely adapted that word. The rapture must never be referred to as the second coming because He does not come to earth at that time.
These two comings cannot be mixed if the doctrine is to be clear. The scriptures that apply to the rapture do not apply to the Second Coming. This is where I see some confusion about when the rapture is going to take place. Matthew 24 is often referred to as proof that the rapture of the church is not until the end of the tribulation.
Matthew 24:6-9 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. (7) Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (8) All these are the beginning of birth pains. (9) "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
This sounds very much like there will be Christians in the tribulation. They will be persecuted even unto death.
Matthew 24:15 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-let the reader understand-
The abomination of desolation is when the Anti-christ declares himself to be God. This takes place in the middle of the tribulation period. The next few verses go on the describe great tribulation on earth.
Matthew 24:30-31 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
This is another reference to the post-trib rapture. Jesus gathers all his elect to heaven with him, just prior to his Second coming. However, this message was written to the Jews that are living during the tribulation. This was not written to the church.
Matthew 24:32-33 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
The fig tree has always been a reference to Israel. The verse could also say, “Learn this lesson about Israel.” Israel has rejected her savior. Subsequently, at the first rapture of the church, the pre-trib rapture, very few Jews will go, only those who are born again today will go, if they are living an overcoming life.
At the “Abomination of desolation” when the Anti-christ declares himself as God – the spiritual blindness comes off the eyes of Israel and they realize they have been fooled. They are then told to flee to the mountains to escape from some of the Tribulation that will come on the earth because of that.
Those who see that the Anti-christ is not the true Messiah are what the bible calls “the elect.” Once they realize that the Anti-christ is a false God they then turn to the true Messiah and subsequently die as martyrs. God then gathers the elect at the end of the tribulation. So there is a post-trib rapture, but there is a pre-trib one and a mid-trib one also.
Now we come to the heart of this teaching. After the Second Coming is the time called the Millennium. The Millennium is a thousand year reign of Christ on earth.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
In Matthew 25 it starts off with the parable of the Ten Virgins. In that parable is a very clear teaching that not everyone who possessed the lamp of salvation will go in the rapture – only the wise go.
Then Jesus teaches another parable about how God has left each of us with talents that are to be used in the kingdom. Look at what he says to those who used their talents wisely.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.KVJ
Being made a ruler of many things is a reference to ruling and reigning with Christ during the Millennium. So here is what all of this comes down to. We gain salvation by accepting Christ into our lives. If you have the Son of God living in you, you do indeed have eternal life, and you will have eternal life even if you miss the rapture. Missing the rapture does not equal being spiritually lost. The idea of the imminent return of Christ, or the rapture, is to be a motivator for us to live our lives fully for Christ so that we can reign with Him in the Millennium. And if we do not live fully for Christ we will not reign with Him. However, not reigning with Christ is not equal to being not saved.
Revelation 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
This is a verse used by post-trib people stating that it refers to Christians who went through the Tribulation and died as martyrs. Suddenly, these multitudes show up in heaven. They came to life (after being beheaded) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
This is also a verse used by pre-trib people and mid-trib people as proof that there was a great revival during the tribulation period and that’s who all these people were who were beheaded for their faith.
Do you know that there is not one reference to a revival taking place during the tribulation. After the messages to the seven churches of Asia, the word repent is used three times in the book of Revelation and in every case it says they repented not. The reason they deduced that there is a revival is because of the mistaken theory that all Christians go in the rapture. They don’t, only the overcomers go.
This is all about ruling and reigning with Christ – do you believe that everyone who has ever named the name of Christ qualifies as an overcoming Christian? The non-overcoming Christian, Paul refers to them as carnal Christians, will not go in the rapture. Subsequently, they will go through the tribulation and prove their love for Christ by becoming a martyr.
The bible actually teaches that many who name the name of Christ will be left to go through the tribulation because they chose not to prepare themselves to rule and reign with Christ by living as an overcomer.
Here is where this can be a bit confusing. For too long we have been taught, without any biblical precedent, that if you miss the rapture it’s because you are not a Christian. That is not true at all; missing the rapture means you failed to live an overcoming life and subsequently, will be left on earth to gain the status of overcomer by dying as a martyr.
Let’s examine this issue. Why would someone be left behind? Why would Christ leave someone behind who has given their life to Him? The simple answer to that is, according to scripture, they lived foolishly and carnally. The attraction to this world became more important to them than God’s kingdom. They were not overcomers, and it’s the overcomers who reign with Christ during the Millennium. Consider this,
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. (7) For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
Most scholars agree that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit. He is the restraining power that is keeping the Anti-christ from coming into full power. At the time of the rapture the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth. I believe this is a reference to the overcoming Christians. They are the only ones who have any restraining power anyway. Do carnal Christians sway society – not at all – carnal Christians are living with the world.
If God removes the restraining power of the Holy Spirit – how will men get saved? No man comes to the Father unless the one who sent him draws him. The Holy Spirit draws men. Without his influence there will be no drawing. Look at it this way – carnal Christians have a difficult time living for God while the Holy Spirit has full influence. What makes us think that if some Christians have a hard time living for him today – that once he is removed there is going to be a great revival without his influence?
What the scripture indicates is that a bunch of people calling themselves Christians today, who do not live for him, will suddenly, spiritually, wake up after the rapture of the church and then prove their faith by dying as a martyr.
The world is full of nominal Christians who refuse to live holy and pure. I believe they are saved because we are saved by grace. I do not believe that they will go in the first rapture of the Church. The Assemblies of God are Arminist. We believe that a person can backslide. However, I do not believe that losing your salvation is a simple thing though I do believe it’s possible.
I believe that most of those who do not go in the rapture are whom we called backsliden. We call them “backsliden” because they are obviously not living for the Lord and yet at one point in their life they submitted their lives to Christ. To backslide to the point of losing your salvation there must be a deliberate turning away and denial of Christ’s Lordship.
If you talk, heart to heart, with most people who once lived for God but today we would call them backsliden, they still profess a love for God; they still talk kindly about the kingdom. I wonder if we might more properly call them carnal Christians.
Now let’s re-look at verse 5. It refers to others who did not come to life until the thousand years were over. And yet they are considered part of the first resurrection which means they are blessed. Who are they?
They are the Christians who died in a carnal state. Do we think that some scoundrel who fought God all his life, never did a thing to advance the Kingdom of God, and yet gets saved on his death bed – is now going to reign and rule with Christ? No they are not – they don’t come back to life until the 1000 years are finished. They are indeed saved – because we are saved by grace but they did not gain the status of overcomer. That is why I said earlier that if you miss the rapture that does not mean you are not a Christian it merely means you chose to live carnally and must pay a price for that.
Now lets reconsider the parable of the talents.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
KVJ
What is the purpose of the parable of the talents? It does not teach that you must use your talents in order to be saved. That would go completely against grace. So what’s its purpose? It’s meant to prepare us to reign with Christ by living an overcoming life here on earth and making the most of what God has given us.
All of the promises in the book of Revelation go to the overcomer. The one who proves himself faithful over a few things will be made a ruler over many things. This is a direct reference to the millennial reign of Christ. Outside of this one thing (rulership) the parable of the talents would have no purpose.
