The Popular but Unscriptural Doctrine of the Rapture

Jamesjpn October 6, 2020 

This post is about comparing popular doctrines about what Christians and evangelicals call “the rapture” to what the Bible actually says. The rapture is also called, “The blessed hope.” What do teachers of the rapture mean by that? They mean that Jesus is going to take to Heaven His followers just before the Antichrist starts to persecute them in the Great Tribulation at the end of time! But does the Bible actually teach that?

My Bible says,

Revelation 7:14 And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation,

2 Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

The Bible is its own best commentator. It’s a mistake to read things into Scripture based on our cognitive bias or based only on what some preacher says the Bible passage says. That’s the mistake I made for 30 plus years. I trusted what my pastor taught me only to find later he himself admitted his interpretation of Endtime Scripture was only a theory which he got from C.I. Scofield!

What is the Rapture?

The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. It apparently was coined by John Nelson Darby in the 19th century. The Bible calls the second coming of Christ, “the day of the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 Peter 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Wikipedia says,

The rapture is an eschatological concept held by some Christians, particularly within branches of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”

The Bible does talk about Jesus coming for His own at the end of time.

15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16  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:
17  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 Thessalonicans 4:15-17.

But when does this happen? The most popular doctrine among American evangelical Christians is that it will happen just before a 7 year tribulation period. Where do they get this idea? From John Nelson Darby of the 19th century. He taught that Christ would return before a final great 7-year tribulation to save His elect from persecution by the Antichrist. C.I. Scofield picked up Darby’s teaching and put in in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible.

My Bible tells me just the opposite!

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:30

When does this happen? On “the day of the Lord”! The day of the second coming of Christ! The Bible says the rejectors of Christ will be taken away first! And after that resurrection will happen and the believers in Christ will be taken up to be with the Lord in the clouds!

On what Scriptures do John Nelson Darby and C.I. Scofield base their pretribulation rapture doctrine on? If you believe in a pretribulation rapture of the Church, that is also my question to you. You can write the Bible verses you believe teach a pretribulation rapture in the comments section. When you do that, please remember that the cardinal rule of Bible interpretation is always to interpret the verse in the context of the other verses before and after it.

Even if you believe the latter part of Matthew 24 is talking about end-time events, verses 29 to 31 make it clear Christians will go through a period of tribulation.

29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Just imagine visiting a country where believers in Christ are undergoing severe persecution and telling them, “Don’t worry! Jesus will come soon and save you from the Great Tribulation!” You might hear the following, “What can be greater tribulation than seeing my friends, members of my family, and fellow believers in Christ killed right before my eyes?”

If you cannot use the Bible to explain your doctrines, you either don’t know those doctrines well enough, or you picked them up from some preacher you like and never took the time to search the Scriptures for yourself to see if the doctrines are biblically sound.                                                    

When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22, 23. This fruit can never perish, but will produce after its kind a harvest unto eternal life.  

“When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.  

It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.     COL pp 68, 69

The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

² For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

³ For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

⁴ But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

⁵ Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

⁷ For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

⁸ But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

⁹ For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰ Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.                      1 Thessalonians 5:1-10

The open space in Orion

“Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. The atmosphere parted and rolled back; then we could look up through the open space in Orion, whence came the voice of God. The Holy City will come down through that open space. I saw that the powers of earth are now being shaken and that events come in order. War, and rumors of war, sword, famine, and pestilence are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the sun, moon, and stars, and this earth also. I saw that the shaking of the powers in Europe is not, as some teach, the shaking of the powers of heaven, but it is the shaking of the angry nations.” Early Writings page 41

Does this sound like a secret rapture?

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For 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: 17Then 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. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.     1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Lift up the trumpet

Preparation for the Time of Refreshing

I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of "refreshing" and the "latter rain" to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. Before this time the awfully solemn declaration has gone forth, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." I saw that none could share the "refreshing" unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence.

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Early Writings, p.71.

Christ's Second Coming

What promise did Christ make concerning His coming? "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. 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 14:1-3.


What follows the signs of Christ's coming? "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:27.


Will talking of world peace create a false security? "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter 3:3-4. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them...But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4.


At His ascension, how was Christ's return promised? "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:10-11.


Will the inhabitants of the earth, as a whole, be prepared to meet Him? "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." Revelation 1:7. "And the kings of the earth, and the great men... said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Revelation 6:15-16.


Will Christ's coming be a time of reward? "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works." Matthew 16:27. "And, behold, I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12.To whom is salvation promised at Christ's appearing? "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Hebrews 9:28.


What influence has this hope on the life? "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. and every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3


When will Paul receive his crown? "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8.

The Latter Rain

 

The latter rain is the follow-up to the early rain, which fell at Pentecost. The early rain germinates the crop—gets it started. The Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit were poured out at Pentecost, appearing as tongues of fire upon the gathered disciples (See Acts 1:13-15 and Acts 2).

Jesus had told them, "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). When they returned to the room where they gathered together, they "all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication," (ACts 1:14) confessing and putting away all known sins and seeking a bond of love among themselves. At the end of that intense purification in expectation of the promised gift from heaven, the early rain came. The Christian church, through the preaching and work of the apostles, got a strong start at that time. That outpouring of power from heaven was called the early rain.
The latter rain, also called the "times of refreshing," is the second and final manifestation of God's power through a chosen group of people: His purified remnant people. It will be given for the same purpose—to be witnesses for Jesus—and it will come the second time to ripen the final crop of souls for harvesting, because it will be right before Jesus' return that this will occur. After the shaking and sifting has done its work in these end times, the latter rain will come to carry the Loud Cry of the three angels' messages—the message of the investigative judgment, the soon coming of the King of Kings, and the warning not to worship the beast, but to worship the Creator. The seventh-day Sabbath will be the main issue at that time in opposition to the Sunday "mark of the beast."
The latter rain will be poured out only upon those who are sealed. They are the only ones who can be trusted not to misuse the power from on high. They are dead to self, are full of love for souls, and are living to glorify God, taking the last message of mercy to the world. They are are ones that "sigh and cry for the abominations" done by those who are rebelling against God (Ezekiel 9:4).
The book Acts of the Apostles has this to say about the early and latter rain (We hope you read that entire book—or every book in the Conflict of the Ages series by Ellen G. White):
It is true that in the time of the end, when God's work in the earth is closing, the earnest efforts put forth by consecrated believers under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are to be accompanied by special tokens of divine favor. Under the figure of the early and the latter rain, that falls in Eastern lands at seedtime and harvest, the Hebrew prophets foretold the bestowal of spiritual grace in extraordinary measure upon God's church. The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles was the beginning of the early, or former, rain, and glorious was the result. To the end of time the presence of the Spirit is to abide with the true church.
But near the close of earth's harvest, a special bestowal of spiritual grace is promised to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man. This outpouring of the Spirit is likened to the falling of the latter rain; and it is for this added power that Christians are to send their petitions to the Lord of the harvest "in the time of the latter rain." In response, "the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain." "He will cause to come down . . . the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain," Zechariah 10:1; Joel 2:23.
But unless the members of God's church today have a living connection with the Source of all spiritual growth, they will not be ready for the time of reaping. Unless they keep their lamps trimmed and burning, they will fail of receiving added grace in times of special need.
Those only who are constantly receiving fresh supplies of grace, will have power proportionate to their daily need and their ability to use that power. Instead of looking forward to some future time when, through a special endowment of spiritual power, they will receive a miraculous fitting up for soul winning, they are yielding themselves daily to God, that He may make them vessels meet for His use. Daily they are improving the opportunities for service that lie within their reach. Daily they are witnessing for the Master wherever they may be, whether in some humble sphere of labor in the home, or in a public field of usefulness (pages 54-55).
Some will be prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the form of the latter rain, but others will be totally unprepared. Those who receive it will be used mightily as a living witness of God’s saving grace, and thousands upon thousands will be gathered in. The evangelistic work of the Church will be finished in a blaze of glory. All this will happen before the close of probation. All five of these events will end abruptly as the investigative judgment ends and the time of trouble begins.
Many look to the coming crisis and tremble, but it is time to look to Christ and be unafraid. Christ, not the crisis, is to be our focus. If we see Who’s coming, we won’t need to fear what’s coming. Jesus said, “I’ll never leave thee nor forsake thee.” We can say to Him, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear” (Hebrews 13:5-6).