“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.
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.”
1st Thessalonians 4:15-17
Caught up in a spell?
Perhaps the most widely discussed and debated issue in Christianity is the topic of “The Rapture”. What is “the Rapture”?
In 1st Thessalonians 4:17 the term “caught up” (better translated as “suddenly caught up or suddenly seized”) is the Greek word arpaghsomeqa (from the root word harpazo) which means “to seize”, catch (away or up), pluck, pull or take (by force). Now where does the word “rapture” come from? In the old Latin scripture translations (Latin Vulgate) the word “rapiemur” is used in 1st Thessalonians 4:17. There really is no debate as to the difference between the words “rapiemur” and “harpazo”; they do mean the same thing. But the question is this: Why does everyone call it “the Rapture” capitalized and derived from Latin, rather than something like “the Harpaz” based on the original Greek? I believe that the answer to that question can at least partly explain the confusion and striving about “the catching away” of the believers at the end of this age. I believe the reason that there is so much misunderstanding, debate and confusion over this topic is because witchcraft is involved. How is witchcraft involved you ask? The answer is rooted in Latin. This is not to say that Latin language itself is inherently evil (although it might be), but when it comes to this particular topic – being that it is scriptural and biblically based – then we must beware. The reason we must beware is because there are many common denominators between witchcraft and Roman Catholicism. For this particular topic that common denominator is Latin. The reason that there is chaos when it comes to the topic of “the rapture” is because Christianity is spellbound. The Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible was written by a man named Jerome who was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Pope Damascus I around the year 382. This was in the early years of the Roman Catholic church as Constantine (the first “Christian” emperor) had only been dead less than 50 years. It was Constantine who merged the Roman State with Christianity. What was birthed from this merging was the abomination known as the Roman Universal Church or the Roman Catholic Church. So to be blunt – if Roman Catholicism has anything to with anything, then by default, it is witchcraft!
The Merriam-Webster English dictionary defines rapture in these interesting ways:
rapture
Etymology: Latin raptus
1 : an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion
2 a : a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion b : a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things
3 often capitalized : the final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end-time according to Christian theology
An interesting side note here is that the word raptor, which is a word used to define a bird of prey, can certainly give us a depiction of something being snatched away – as in a eagle snatching away a mouse. How is it then that the English definitions for rapture do not indicate to us a violent snatching away but a passionate, mystical, emotional or ecstasy likened departure? I am not saying that there is not going to be a “rapture”. I am not saying not to use the word “rapture”. I am saying that there has been a very calculated and cunning spell put on the minds of Christians with regard to this important end time occurrence. As always, the Word of God is the final arbitrator – not man’s wisdom.
Pre, Mid or Post Tribulation?
There is going to be a catching away of believers at a certain point in time. The common thread in the “rapture” theories is that it occurs at the end of the age somewhere within Daniel’s 70th week – the last week or last seven years or what many call “The Great Tribulation”. I am distancing myself from calling this seven year period “The Great Tribulation” because, although Jesus does in fact use the phrase “great tribulation”, I have a hard time equating it to a full seven year time frame, base solely on when Jesus says it in Matthew 24:15-21. I believe that the “abomination of desolation” marks the mid point of this seven year timeframe. Jesus says “for then shall be great tribulation…” which is to say “from this point on (mid-way through or thereabout) shall be great tribulation as never before seen”. How then, from the scriptures only, can we equate “The Great Tribulation” to be the entire seven year period? Is it a big deal if someone refers to “The Great Tribulation”? No, I just use it to illustrate how we’ve labeled things a certain way and then a mindset is formed based on that label or imprint. Another example is “The Last Supper”. Why is it called “The Last Supper”? Jesus came back in His resurrected body and ate with the disciples after the so-called “Last Supper”! Do you see how silly religion is?
Obviously the entire seven year period is going to be in tribulation – but who are the ones being tribulated? I tend to think that the whole world is going to be in tribulation – not just the wicked or not just the righteous. Obviously the wicked are going to be judged harshly and there are also far too many indications that Christians are going to endure severe persecution and tribulation in the last days. One example can be found in Revelation 6:9-11:
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
In Matthew 24:7-11, Jesus tells us of wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes etc. Then he says that “these are the beginning of sorrows or birth pangs! Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, killed and hated for my name sake!” The “Then” He is talking about is after the sorrows or birth pangs, which is the manifestation or birth of the “church”! If we are supposed to be caught away at the beginning of this period of trouble to escape “wrath”, how does anyone like Chuck Missler, John Hagee, John Ankerberg and countless others explain what Jesus says here in Matthew 24?
Is it a critical mistake to believe that the catching away of the saints takes place at the beginning of the seven year tribulation? I believe the answer to that is “yes”. If people are not truly being prepared supernaturally by God right now to undergo severe hardship for the Gospel’s sake by believing that they will be evacuated and not have to go through severe persecution – what do you think these people will do when all hell is breaking loose around them, and they begin to wonder why God has not delivered them up to heaven? They will be afraid and will bow to the world system in place because they were not secured in truth but rather they would have been deceived by a lie. Now, since we can eliminate a “pre-tribulation rapture”, that only leaves us a mid-tribulation or a post-tribulation rapture. The next question is: Is it critical to miss on one of these two remaining scenarios. I don’t believe it is critical because either way believers should be being prepared to endure hardships for declaring that there is only one name given under heaven amongst men by which we must be saved – and that name is Jesus Christ alone! I personally lean toward a post-tribulation catching away and I submit my reasoning to you now. If you are still reading this and do believe in a pre-tribulation rapture then I ask you to continue reading and most of all – seek the Word of God for the Truth
And then the end shall come
In a nutshell, the end time scenario unfolds like this: Chaos overruns the world. Order comes via supernatural powers of darkness ultimately manifested though a single world leader – a man – the antichrist. The world comes together in peace and unity – government and religion in unity – there will no longer a “separation of church and state”. In fact, the reason we hear so much about “separation of church and state” is because they are getting ready to join the “church” and the “state” together. All while this is occurring the remnant of God is raised up to declare repentance and the need to turn to Jesus Christ the Son of God for cleansing and healing – the ONLY WAY to be cleansed and healed. Persecution of these rabble rousers will be intense with beating, imprisonment and killing very quietly (without public outcry) being the order of the day. It will be similar to the time when Hitler was persecuting the Jews. Any citizen that was known to harbor or aid any Jew was dealt with harshly. The same type of environment will be experienced in the end. Once this “man of peace” is raised to his place of prominence he will turn his attentions to the elimination of the Jewish people. The contention will be that it is the Jews that have been the thorn in the side of the world. All the war and upheaval that has been experienced will be blamed on the Jews. This will mark the beginning of Jacob’s Trouble or the last half of the seven year tribulation period. It will all culminate in the return of Jesus Christ and the coming of His Kingdom to earth where He will take His rightful throne as the Son of David and rule from Jerusalem. It is at this time that the man of sin and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is bound for one thousand years as Jesus rides down from heaven on a white horse followed by a multitude of resurrected and raptured saints also on white horses.
Where will we be taken?
When this catching away takes place – where do we go? Can it be proven from the scriptures that we are taken to heaven? That is the common belief in many if not all rapture versions. It seems like it is a foregone conclusion that the Kingdom of God will come here to the earth. The Bible tells us that Christ will reign on the earth and not only that – we will reign with Him! (Revelation 5:9-10, Revelation 20:6). Then we must consider that God’s Word tells us that we will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5, Psalms 115:16). As far as I can tell, one thing is for sure – it says that we will “ever be with the Lord”. We are told that we will meet the Lord in the air – but then where do we go? One of our problems is that we tend to try to perceive God, Heaven, Jesus Christ, angels, etc., from our own time and space perspective. As we mature in God we will begin to see things more and more from His eternal perspective and we will not be so concrete in our thinking. Therefore, I cannot say definitively “when the rapture occurs we will NOT be taken to Heaven!”. Based on the prospect that we will “ever be with the Lord”, as soon as I am really and truly “with the Lord”, whether it be through a catching away or whether it be through physical death, time and space essentially ceases to exist for me. At that point, it will be Heaven. To be with the Lord…I know that has to be Heaven! Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done…thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Now let’s look at the phrase “we will meet the Lord in the air” and let’s drill down into the word “meet”. The Greek word used here is apanthsin (apanthsin). This is from the Greek verb apantao which means “to meet”. Now that sounds like a pretty straight forward translation but there is more to it than meets the eye. Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That unequivocally makes him the Dignitary of all Dignitaries. Here is the picture that we are being shown: Going back in time even before the New Testament was written (the same holds true still today) when a visiting dignitary, like the president of a country, comes to visit another country he usually arrives in a designated place and is met by an entourage of the dignitary that he is visiting. For example, when the president of Russia visits the United States, he will fly to Washington D.C. and will there be met by the Vice President, the Secretary of State or some high office holder and others. Then that entourage will escort the president to the White House to meet with the president of the U.S. This is exactly what we are seeing here in 1st Thessalonians 14:7! Those that are His that remain and are alive on the earth at the time of Jesus’ coming are going to meet the Lord in the air to escort him back to earth and ultimately to Jerusalem from where He will reign. We see this depicted for us in other places in the Bible. We see it in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-6. We see it again in Acts 28:14-15 when Paul was traveling to Rome and was met on the way into the city by fellow believers. The best depiction of this meeting is given to us with Jesus Himself as He rode on a donkey from Bethany in John 12:12-13. Did Jesus meet the people and then turn around and go back to Bethany? No, He rode into Jerusalem. So shall it be when He returns again.
The Days of Noah
Jesus Christ is returning to this world as the Lion of Judah to judge the earth. The Bible promises that the Day of the Lord will be dark and gloomy day:
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”
Isaiah 13:9
“And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
Joel 2:11
‘“Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land”
Zephaniah 1:18
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:”
Malachi 4:5
One certain aspect of Jesus telling us in Matthew 24:37 that the last days will be like the days of Noah is that there will be rampant violence and lawlessness. For this cause destruction will come to the wicked – such as it was in the days of Noah!
Let’s study Matthew 24 verses 38 through 41:
37…But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Jesus is telling us that the same type of environment that existed in Noah’s day is going to exist at the end of the age when He returns.
38…For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
The “they” Jesus is referring to here is the wicked people of Noah’s day. God had favor for Noah because Noah was obedient to the Spirit of God. He commanded Noah to build the ark to rescue himself and his family from the impending doom. Why did Jesus specify here only “Noe” entering the ark? Why did He speak of Noah with a singular tense and not mention Noah’s family? It may have to do with the fact that this Christian walk must be carried out on an individual level. Each individual for him or herself must hear from God themselves and carry out His will personally. When God has individuals that get to that point, He will raise up a body.
39…And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The “them” here again is talking about the wicked. They were oblivious to God’s warning and went about their lives full of lust and evil thoughts – they were deeply immersed into their own selves. It’s the same now as it was then. They thought everything was fine just like people do now. They mocked Noah then just like they mock anyone now that preaches repentance and turning to the Lord before His judgment comes (Isaiah 59:18-20).
40…Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41…Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Now remember in verse 37 He says that it’s going to be the same now as then, and in verse 39 – who was taken and who was left? Verses 40 and 41 are a reflection of verse 39. If we let the scripture interpret the scripture then how can we see these 2 verses as Christians being taken away and non-Christians being left behind, when Jesus has said that the wicked were taken away when the flood came – so shall also the coming of the Son of man be? We should remember that when the seven years of tribulation are occurring that at least one third of all humans will perish (Revelation 9:13-18). In actuality, these verses that Jesus is talking to us about are showing us what will be happening on the earth in the time immediately preceding His return and as He becomes known to the inhabitants of the earth. This is the “coming of the Son of man”. Life will be going along seemingly as normal. It will seem as thought the world is recovering from turmoil and there will still some semblance of normalcy (at least it will seem normal to most of the population). Judgment will be being brought forth on the earth all through the time of the seven trumpets blowing which I believe coincide with the seven years of tribulation. God will be basically using Satan and his kingdom to tribulate the earth in order to bring people to repentance. God himself will bring His final judgment – the seven vials in the book of Revelation – in what is known as “the Day of the Lord”, and His judgment will be a quick work (Zephaniah 1:18, Malachi 3:5).
Just as God protected Noah from the destruction of the flood by having him and his family in the ark (a type of Jesus Christ), he will do the same for the end time Christian. Don’t try to picture the ride in that ark as a “good time” though. Imagine what it would have been like back then. Eight people in a ship filled with noisy, stinky animals. In fact, stinky is such a light weight word to use to describe what that must have been like, it’s hard to comprehend the stench that must have permeated the air (and I hardly think that the ventilation was all that great). Don’t think that what I am saying here is that Jesus stinks. What I am saying is that even while we are in the midst of a hellish, diseased, depraved and nasty world, Jesus will keep and protect us. If we are in Him, we will weather the storms. That must have been quite a tribulation for those on that ark. It will be the same for us in the end! By the same grace that kept Noah, we will be kept. Now if Jesus says that the last days will be like the days of Noah – then how could it be that if Noah was left on the earth during the flood, that end time Christians will be evacuated to escape judgment? Don’t sell Satan short. Just as he has been able to “create” another Jesus, another spirit and another Gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:4) and fool most Christians into believing in an anti-Jesus Christ, don’t think that he wouldn’t be able to get the majority of Christians to believe exactly the opposite of how this major component of the end time sequences will actually happen. And do not be misled about this fact – there will be many Christians that do not survive the tribulation. Their end will not be by God’s wrath but by the wrath of Satan as he unleashes his infuriation with the preachers of Jesus Christ – which in reality will be a glorious ending! Then there will also be those that are alive and remain on the earth as the Lord comes. They will be taken up to meet Him in the air along with those that were martyred as witnesses of Jesus Christ and resurrected to come with Him from heaven (Revelation 19:11-15).
The catching away
So when does this catching away really take place?
Revelation 11:18 says this:
“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
I believe that God is so merciful that He will give grace right up until His very appearance at which time all in the world will see Him (Matthew 24:30, Revelation 1:7). In Revelation 1:7 He names three distinct types of people: servants the prophets, saints and those that fear his name. Those that are the servants the prophets are pretty much guaranteed martyrdom. This has been the picture all throughout the Bible. I believe that in the end, even one who goes right down to the very last moment as an unbeliever can turn…so long as they revere Him for who He is and bow down to the Lord Jesus Christ in humility, they will be saved.
Another often quoted scripture pertaining to the end time catching away is 1st Corinthians 15:51-52: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”. Compare this scripture with 1st 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.”
Two similarities spoken of in both scriptures are the dead (those who sleep) in Christ being resurrected and a trumpet sounding. One scripture calls it the “last trump” and the other “the trump of God”. Jesus says in Matthew 24:31 that there will be “a great sound of a trumpet” as the Son of Man comes in the clouds. Where I have a hard time is how there could be a mid-tribulation catching away. I suppose it depends on whether or not the trumpet that Jesus is talking about is the same trumpet Paul tells us about. If Jesus’ trumpet is the same as Paul’s “last trump” then that would make a mid-tribulation catching away seem out of place. For how could the trumpet sound and the Lord come in the clouds and there still be another 3 ½ years yet to be fulfilled. Indications are that the Lord’s return will be suddenly (Mark 13:35-37, Matthew 24:44, 1st Thessalonians 5:2), so it just doesn’t seem that the Lord will come in the clouds, take away those that remain and then wait 3 ½ earth years to show up. Of course we cannot think of our Lord in terms of time and space because He is eternal and not from here. If there is one verse in the Bible that leads me to believe that there could be mid-way catching away of Christians it is Romans 11:25: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.”. Here is proof that there will be a point in time when natural Jews will have an experience like Paul did when the scales lifted from his eyes and he believed (Acts 9:17-18). I believe that this will coincide with what Jesus calls the “abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15-16). This is what I am calling “The Third Woe” . It is when Satan will be incarnate as a man and he will loose his full wrath on the Jewish people. I do believe that it can be said that the first 3 ½ years will be primarily focused on the persecution of the non-Jews (Gentile church) and in the last 3 ½ years the focus will then be turned to the Jews (house of Israel). What I do not fully understand is what Paul calls the “fullness of the Gentiles”. It certainly sounds like he is saying that the blindness of the Israelites will lift when all of the non-Jews that are to be a part of the Body of Christ are engrafted in. It could very well be that from that point on only Jews will get in. It could be that the rest of humanity will have already been given over to a reprobate mind and only the chosen blood-line of Abraham’s seed will be allowed in from that point on. Even given that, I still lean toward the catching away event happening at the end of the seven years, because there seems to me a sense of finality of when Paul says “… we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…”. If this verse of scripture points to a catching away at the mid point of the seven years then what of those at the end? Are there going to be two raptures? To me this catching away is more synonymous with an end of time sickle being thrust in a field (Revelation 14:14-16).
Above and beyond anything that I write here is what Jesus says: “see that no man deceives you” (Matthew 24:3-5). Contemporary Christianity has been spellbound to believe that Christian will be caught up in the air and taken away to heaven without having to go through persecution and even death. All they go by is what they know about through lies brought forth from the likes of Tim LaHaye and Left Behind rather than studying the Bible and seeking the Lord for the Holy Spirit in order to discover the Truth. I believe that the called forth Body of Christ is about to enter into verse 9 of Matthew 24 – “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.” This will mark the beginning of the seven years of tribulation. We have been experiencing verse 8 – “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” which He tells us is all the earthquakes, disease, famine, wars and rumors of wars that have stressed the world for so long. When the body of Christ rises up to go forth to the whole world to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ there will be severe persecution. Millions of Christians are being deceived into believing that we are to live our best life now. They believe that we should live life to the fullest and that God desires the most for us in a natural sense and we are meant to enjoy everyday life. And don’t think that Jesus was strictly talking to His chosen twelve disciples when He said we would be afflicted, killed and hated. He was talking to His end time disciples as well.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Romans 5:1-5
“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Revelation 7:13-14
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
Revelation 20:4
“The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.”
Psalm 58:10-11