Text
Titus 2:13
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Theme
The rapture of the church is the blessed hope of all believers who believe in the imminency of the rapture.
Introduction
The topic of the rapture is widely discussed in churches today with varying degrees of competency and certainty. This is saddening because the promised rapture of the saints is something that is supposed to encourage our hearts and spur us on to faithful service for Jesus Christ.
Today I want to discuss two main things concerning the rapture, which I trust will be a help and a blessing to you. Even if you’ve heard most of this before, let it encourage your heart today.
In This Study
- What is the rapture?
- When is the rapture?
What Is the Rapture?
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
What Does the Word “Rapture” Mean?
It may surprise you to know that the word rapture does not occur even once in the Authorised King James Bible.
For something so widely discussed and accepted within churches around the globe, you would think that the word rapture would be commonly found in the Bible.
The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapturo, which means “a seizing or snatching away.” It was first used in English literature in the very early 1600s, possibly as early as 1605.
Although the word rapture does not appear in Scripture, the event is clearly described in many passages and is specifically found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
“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.”
The phrase “caught up” is translated from the Greek word harpazō, meaning “to seize, catch up, or take by force.”
Rather than using the Greek word harpazō, the KJV translators chose the English expression “caught up.” The theological term rapture comes from the Latin rapturo, which was already in use by the time the King James Bible entered English literature.
A Biblical Concept
Although the word rapture is not found in the Bible, it accurately describes a biblical concept.
There are many words commonly used by Christians today that describe biblical truths even though those words themselves do not appear in the King James Bible.
The Incarnation
We use the word incarnation to describe the truth that the Lord Jesus was born into a human body and took upon Himself human flesh.
The word itself does not appear in Scripture, but the truth certainly does.
John 1:14
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
The Trinity
Likewise, the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, yet it is commonly used to describe the one God who eternally exists as three Persons.
Matthew 28:19
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
The word is absent, but the doctrine is clearly present.
In the same way, the word rapture is not found in the King James Bible, yet the event it describes is plainly taught throughout Scripture.
A Summary of the Rapture
The rapture is the prophesied event that marks the close of the Church Age.
The Lord Jesus Himself will descend from heaven into the clouds.
First, the bodies of those believers who have died will be raised and reunited with their spirits.
Then those believers who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.
From that moment onward, we shall be with Christ forever as He takes us to the heavenly home He has prepared for us.
What Does the Rapture Involve?
We Shall Be Caught Up
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 | 1 Corinthians 15:52
The Scriptures describe two groups of believers who will participate in the rapture.
The Dead in Christ
The first group consists of those believers who have already died.
These are the saints who have lived and died throughout the Church Age.
Their spirits are already with the Lord in heaven.
At the rapture, the Lord Jesus will bring those departed saints with Him, and their bodies will be raised from wherever they rest upon the earth and reunited with their spirits.
Those Who Are Alive and Remain
The second group consists of believers who are still living on the earth when the Lord returns.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them…”
With the way current events are unfolding in the world, and in light of the promises of Scripture, I am very hopeful that I will be among those who are caught up in this second group of saints.
The Announcement of the Rapture
1 Thessalonians 4:16 | 1 Corinthians 15:52
The Lord Jesus Christ will personally come in the clouds to receive His people.
His coming will be announced by three distinct sounds.
- The shout of the Lord.
- The voice of the archangel.
- The trump of God.
It has been well said that Israel looks for signs, but the church listens for sounds.
Israel has been given signs relating to the Second Coming of Christ at the close of the Tribulation.
The church, however, is not waiting for signs.
We are listening for the sounds that will announce the rapture.
The Speed of the Rapture
1 Corinthians 15:52
The rapture will take place instantaneously.
It will occur suddenly and rapidly.
1 Corinthians 15:52
“…In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…”
The phrase “the twinkling of an eye” refers to something even faster than the blink of an eye.
It describes the speed at which light reflects in the lens of the eye.
We Shall Be Changed
1 Corinthians 15:51-54 | 1 John 3:2
The rapture is not only a catching away.
It is also a glorious transformation.
We Will Receive Immortal Bodies
Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been subject to corruption, decay, and death.
1 Corinthians 15:22
“For as in Adam all die…”
At the rapture, believers will receive bodies that are no longer subject to sin or decay.
1 Corinthians 15:22
“…even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
We Will Be Like Christ
When we see the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be conformed perfectly to His image.
The presence of sin will be forever removed, and we will finally fulfil God’s original purpose for mankind as His image bearers.
Romans 8:29
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
2 Corinthians 3:18
“…are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
We Shall Be Judged
2 Corinthians 5:10
Following the rapture, every believer will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
This is not a judgment to determine salvation.
Neither is it a judgment in which sin is punished.
Rather, it is a review of our service for Christ to determine whether we lived for ourselves or faithfully served our Saviour.
The more time God gives us on this earth, the more opportunities we have to serve Him—and therefore the more rewards we stand to lose if we fail to live faithfully for Christ.
When Is the Rapture?
The timing of the rapture has been the subject of much discussion among Bible-believing Christians.
Several different views have been proposed, but not all of them fit naturally with the teaching of Scripture.
Before considering the biblical position, it is helpful to briefly examine the most common alternatives.
Wrong Views on the Timing of the Rapture
The Mid-Tribulation View
The mid-tribulation view teaches that the rapture will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation, just before the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel.
Those who reject this position generally point to several significant biblical problems.
God Does Not Judge the Righteous with the Wicked
One of the strongest arguments concerns the character of God.
Genesis 18:25
“That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked… Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
It would not be consistent with God’s character to pour out His judgment upon His own people together with the wicked.
Christ Would Not Pour Out Wrath Upon His Bride
If the church were to remain on earth until the middle of the Tribulation, then Christ would be allowing His own bride to suffer under the judgments of that period before coming to receive her.
That does not harmonise with the loving relationship Scripture describes between Christ and His church.
The Tribulation Concerns Israel
Daniel’s prophecy makes it clear that the Tribulation concerns God’s dealings with Israel.
Daniel 9:24
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city…”
The first sixty-nine weeks concern Israel.
There is no compelling reason to conclude that the seventieth week suddenly changes its focus to the church.
The Main Argument for the Mid-Tribulation View
Those who hold this position generally argue that the first half of the Tribulation is not actually God’s wrath.
Instead, they describe it as the wrath of Satan together with the natural consequences of sin in a fallen world.
Because many of the early judgments involve war, famine, pestilence, and natural disasters, they argue that these are simply the consequences of sin being intensified under the rule of the Antichrist.
This distinction is necessary for their position because, if the first half of the Tribulation were truly God’s wrath, then the argument that God would not pour out His wrath upon His own people would become extremely difficult to maintain.
The Problem with This View
The difficulty is that Revelation 6 plainly attributes these judgments to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 6:1
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals…”
Each of the seal judgments begins because the Lamb opens the seals.
These judgments do not originate with Satan.
They proceed directly from the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For this reason, among others, we reject the mid-tribulational view.
The Post-Tribulation View
The post-tribulation view presents even greater difficulties.
Rather than repeating the objections already raised, it is helpful to focus on what is perhaps its greatest weakness.
Replacement Theology
To consistently hold a post-tribulational position, one generally must also embrace replacement theology (sometimes called supersessionism).
Replacement theology teaches that God has permanently finished with Israel as a nation.
According to this view, Israel no longer occupies a unique place in God’s future program, and the promises originally given to Israel are now fulfilled spiritually through the church.
The reasoning is that because Israel rejected her Messiah, God has rejected Israel and permanently replaced her with the church.
God’s Covenants with Israel
The difficulty with replacement theology is that many of God’s promises to Israel were unconditional.
Although Israel’s enjoyment of covenant blessings within the land depended upon obedience, God’s covenant promises concerning Israel’s future did not.
Among these are:
- God’s covenant with Abraham.
- God’s covenant with David that his seed would reign upon the throne forever.
These covenants rest upon God’s faithfulness rather than Israel’s.
Israel’s Future Restoration
The prophet Ezekiel clearly teaches Israel’s future restoration.
Ezekiel 36-37
Likewise, the Apostle Paul understood these promises literally.
Romans 11:25-27
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery… blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved…”
God has temporarily set Israel aside while He gathers a people for His name during the Church Age.
But He has not abandoned His covenant people.
The day is coming when Israel will once again occupy the place God has promised her.
For this reason, among many others, we reject both replacement theology and the post-tribulation view.
There is also a practical difficulty.
If believers are caught up to meet Christ only to return immediately to earth with Him, the purpose of the rapture itself becomes difficult to explain.
This has sometimes been humorously referred to as “the elevator theory,” since the saints simply go up in order to come straight back down again.
The Pre-Wrath View
The pre-wrath position is, in many respects, a variation of the mid-tribulation view.
It teaches that believers remain on earth for approximately three-quarters of the Tribulation before being caught away.
Those who hold this position distinguish between the earlier judgments and the final outpouring of God’s wrath.
Since we have already seen that Revelation attributes the seal judgments to the Lamb Himself, we need not repeat that discussion.
Instead, it is helpful to return to the biblical idea of hope.
The Blessed Hope
Scripture describes the believer’s expectation of the rapture as “that blessed hope.”
The Greek word translated hope is elpis, meaning anticipation, usually accompanied by joyful expectation.
The believer is to look for Christ’s coming with eager anticipation and gladness.
That expectation would hardly be described as a blessed hope if believers were first expecting to endure the horrors of the Great Tribulation.
Matthew 24:21
Revelation 2:22
Revelation 7:14
There would be nothing joyful about anticipating even part of that period.
Hope Is More Than Belief
Biblical hope is not uncertainty.
It is confident expectation based upon God’s promises.
Yet hope is more than merely believing something will happen.
To illustrate, imagine a little boy who has misbehaved.
His mother says,
“When your father gets home, I’ll explain what you’ve done.”
If someone asked the boy whether he believed his father would discipline him, he might honestly answer,
“Yes, I believe he will.”
But he certainly would not say,
“I hope he will.”
Hope carries with it the expectation of a joyful outcome.
Likewise, someone who believes they must endure all or part of the Great Tribulation may believe Christ will eventually return, but the joyful anticipation described by Scripture has largely been removed.
To such a person there remains a glorious appearing, but much of the blessed hope has disappeared.
For that reason, we continue to look joyfully for that blessed hope.
The Correct View on the Timing of the Rapture
The Pre-Tribulation View
The pre-tribulational view teaches that the saints of the Church Age who are alive on the earth in the last days will be caught up to meet the Lord before God’s judgment falls upon the earth and before the Antichrist is revealed.
This is the position that arises most naturally from the Scriptures and best reflects the character of God and His dealings with His people.
Revelation 3:10-11
“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
The word “from” in verse 10 is translated from the Greek word ek, meaning “out of.”
Christ promised to keep His church out of the hour of temptation, not merely preserve it through that period.
Likewise, Paul reminds believers:
1 Thessalonians 5:9
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Because we are in Christ, we are not appointed to experience God’s wrath.
Our Church’s Doctrinal Position
The doctrinal statement of this church expresses this truth clearly:
“We believe that before the Tribulation Period the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven to get all true Christians and take them to heaven. This is known as the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52).”
The Timing of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture
1 Thessalonians 5:1-4
While we believe the rapture will occur before the Tribulation, the exact timing of that event has not been revealed.
The Scriptures indicate that it will occur unexpectedly.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
A thief does not announce his arrival beforehand.
You would certainly be surprised if a thief sent you a letter saying,
“I’m coming to rob your house on the evening of the 20th of July. Please leave your doors unlocked and your car keys in the ignition.”
That is exactly the point of Paul’s illustration.
The Lord’s coming will occur unexpectedly.
No Man Knows the Day
The Lord Jesus Himself made this abundantly clear.
Mark 13:32
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
If the Father alone knows the timing of that day, then it is foolish for men to attempt to calculate the date of the rapture.
Beware of Date Setters
Throughout church history many individuals have claimed to possess secret insight into the timing of Christ’s return.
Time has proven every one of them to be wrong.
Harold Camping
Harold Camping predicted that the rapture would occur on 21 May 2011.
Many of his followers sold their homes and gave away their possessions, only to discover that they were still here after the predicted date had passed.
William Miller
In the early nineteenth century, William Miller calculated from the book of Daniel that Christ would return between March 1843 and March 1844.
When that prediction failed, he announced a second date of 22 October 1844.
Many of his followers sold homes, businesses, and farms, believing the Lord’s return was only days away.
When nothing happened, the event became known as The Great Disappointment.
These examples remind us that Scripture calls us to watch, not to calculate.
Conclusion
The Believer’s Blessed Hope
Our text reminds us:
Titus 2:13
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
For the Christian, the doctrine of the imminent rapture is a message of hope and comfort.
It Is a Message of Hope
We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is coming to receive us as His own and take us home to eternal life and matchless glory.
That promise ought to fill every believer with joyful anticipation.
It Is a Message of Comfort
The rapture is also a message of comfort because believers will be delivered from the wrath that is to come.
We will not endure the Great Tribulation but will be caught up to meet the Lord before that period of judgment begins.
Keep Looking for That Blessed Hope
The doctrine of the rapture is not merely intended to satisfy our curiosity about future events.
It is designed to shape the way we live today.
Knowing that Christ could come at any moment ought to encourage us to live faithfully, serve diligently, and keep our eyes fixed upon our coming Saviour.
Every passing day brings us one day nearer to seeing Him face to face.
Until that day comes, may we continue to obey the words of Titus:
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”