http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1206
Will There be a "Rapture"?
The average American is aware of the periodic claim that “the end is
near.” When Y2K was approaching, outcries of doom, global disruption,
and Armageddon were widespread. Hal Lindsey achieved nationwide
attention over thirty years ago with his national bestseller
The Late Great Planet Earth (1970). A more recent repackaging of the dispensational brand of premillennialism is the popular
Left Behind
book series (see “The Official…”). Every so often, a religious figure
captures national attention, announcing the impending return of
Jesus—even to the point of setting a date—only to fade into the
anonymity from which he arose when his claim falls flat, but having
achieved his “fifteen minutes of fame” (see Whisenant and Brewer, 1989).
The sensationalism sells well and tweaks the curiosity of large numbers
of people. Incredibly, this pattern has been repeating itself literally
for
centuries!
Such is the case with the alleged “Rapture.” It comes from the Latin word “
rapere,”
which means “to seize, snatch out, take away.” Dispensationalists apply
this word to the idea that Christ will come suddenly and secretly in
the air to snatch away from the Earth the living saints and the
resurrected bodies of those saints already deceased. This rapture is
supposed to occur just prior to the seven-year Tribulation period,
which, in turn, will be followed by the Millennium.
Proponents claim that the Rapture will be secretive. We are told that
families will be shocked by the strange disappearance of a mother,
father, or child. Driverless cars will collide in the streets (thus the
bumper sticker: “In case of rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned”). A
man and wife will be in bed; she hears a noise, turns her head, and
finds him gone. Planes will crash with no pilots found. These
sensational and dramatic examples illustrate the view that the Rapture
will be an
invisible coming of the Lord
for His saints, leaving
visible results of chaos and confusion among the remaining unbelievers.
In reality, the word “rapture” is not found in the Bible, though it is claimed to be the Latin equivalent of
harpadzo translated “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NKJV).
Lindsey admitted, “[i]t is not found in the Bible” (1970, p. 126), and
noted that the word “translation” is just as suitable. Yet the word
“translation” does occur in the New Testament. Paul referred to the fact
that God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and
translated
us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13, emp.
added). So when an unbeliever obeys the Gospel, receives forgiveness of
sins, and is added to the church of Christ, he is taken out of the world
and transferred to Christ’s kingdom. This use of the term is certainly a
far cry from the idea that it refers to Christians being
raptured from the physical Earth to meet Jesus in the air.
The New Testament uses three terms to refer to Christ’s return. First,
parousia is translated “coming, presence, or advent.” Second,
epiphaneia is translated “appearing, manifestation, or brightness.” Third,
apokalupsis is translated “revelation.” Dispensationalism holds that
parousia (“coming”) refers to the “Rapture” that occurs seven years before the
epiphaneia (“appearing”) or
apokalupsis (“revelation).” Accordingly, at the “Rapture,” it is claimed that Jesus will come
for the church only, while at the “Revelation,” Jesus will return
with the church, and put an end to the “Tribulation” and “Armageddon.”
The primary passage used to support the idea of a “rapture” is 1
Thessalonians 4:13-17. But this passage was not actually given to deal
with the return of Christ. Its purpose was twofold. First, it was
designed to reassure Christians that their deceased loved ones would be
able to share in the Lord’s return. Second, it informed Christians that
those who are still living when Christ returns will have no precedence
or advantage over those who have already died. This dual function of the
text constitutes a very different emphasis from the one imposed upon it
by dispensationalists.
The dispensational distinctions made between the three New Testament
terms that refer to Christ’s return are simply untenable (see Boettner,
1957, pp. 163-164). For example, dispensationalists assert that the
“coming” (
parousia) in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 and 2 Thessalonians
2:1 refers to the “Rapture.” Yet the same word is used in 1
Thessalonians 3:13 to speak of Jesus coming “
with” His saints, thereby coinciding with the dispensational concept of the “Appearing” or “Revelation” seven years
after
the “Rapture.” Dispensationalists apply 2 Thessalonians 2:8 to the
“Antichrist,” and therefore must understand this as a reference to the
“Appearing” seven years
after the “Rapture.” Yet the verse uses the expression “the
manifestation (i.e., “brightness”—
epiphaneia) of His
coming (
parousia).” Thus the term “coming” is used in the New Testament to refer to
both dispensational concepts of the “Rapture” and the “Appearing,” and the two expressions are, in fact,
combined in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 to refer to
one and the same event.
The term “Revelation” (
apokalupsis) in 1 Corinthians 1:7 is
descriptive of what the dispensationalists call the “Rapture,” since
Christians await it. But in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, it clearly refers to
the “Appearing.” The term “Appearing” (
epiphaneia) is used in 1
Timothy 6:14 as the event that terminates Christian activity on Earth,
and thus fits the “Rapture” concept. But in 2 Timothy 4:1,8, the
references to judgment fit the “Appearing.”
In view of these considerations, the sincere Bible student is forced to
conclude that the three words relating to Christ’s return in the New
Testament are used
synonymously and interchangeably. The New Testament simply makes no distinction between the coming of the Lord
for His saints (“Rapture”) and the coming of the Lord
with His saints (“Appearing” or “Revelation”). The dispensational dichotomy is in direct conflict with New Testament terminology.
Additionally, if Christians are to be removed seven years
before the “Revelation” or “Coming” of Christ, then no passage should speak of Christians remaining on Earth
until
the “Revelation.” However, many passages do just that (see Boettner,
pp. 165-166). For example, in Titus 2:13, Paul referred to the “blessed
hope” and the “appearing” as one and the same event, i.e., Christ’s
coming. In the original language, the two substantives, “hope” and
“appearing” (
epiphaneia) are closely linked by the common
article. They are not two separate events, as if to be read: “Looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing.” Rather, the text is saying,
“looking for the blessed hope and appearing.” The one explains the
other. The “blessed hope” of Christians
is “the glorious
appearing” of Christ. Other examples would be 1 Peter 1:13 and 4:13,
where the grace on which the Christian is to set his hope is to be
received at the “revelation” (
apokalupsei) of Christ, at which
time the Christian may rejoice. But, according to dispensationalism, the
Christian should rejoice seven years
earlier at the rapture.
Further, the use of the word “end” comes from a word that refers to
“full end” and, in the New Testament, always refers to the end of the
world, i.e., the Judgment day (see Boettner, p. 168-169). In Matthew
28:20, Jesus promised to be with the disseminators of the Gospel message
to the very “end.” This means the church will remain on the Earth,
preaching the Gospel, until the Judgment Day. But if the church is
“raptured away” seven years
before the end, she cannot fulfill what Christ
commanded her to do! In Matthew 13:39-40, there is no removal of the saints before the “full end.” The righteous and the wicked grow
together until the very end. The separation of the two comes at
the end (not seven years
before the end). The dispensationalist claims that the righteous will be taken out from among the wicked. But the Bible says
just the opposite: the wicked will be taken out from among the righteous (Matthew 13:39-40).
The doctrine of the “Rapture” asserts that believers will be raised
seven years before the “Revelation,” and 1,007 years before the end of
the “Millennium.” But in four separate verses, Jesus Himself said
believers will be raised “at the last day” (John 6:39,40,44,54). There
can be no other days
after the
last day. So the believers cannot be raised at an alleged “Rapture”
before the last day.
Finally, the Second Coming of Christ is nowhere depicted as
secret,
as the “Rapture” advocates affirm. In fact, just the opposite is true.
Christ’s coming will be accompanied by “blazing fire” (2 Thessalonians
1:7), the sound of a trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52), a “shout,” the
“voice of the archangel,” and the “trump of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
In fact, “every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). These passages show
that
all persons everywhere will see and hear this event. In
fact, the very passage upon which the doctrine of the “Rapture” is
founded (i.e., 1 Thessalonians 4:16), far from describing a quiet and
secretive event, is about the noisiest verse in the Bible!
When one is willing to remove from the mind all preconceived, complex,
and sensational theological concoctions, and simply let the Bible
present its own portrait of the end of time and the Second Coming of
Christ, the dispensational viewpoint of a postulated “Rapture” is seen
to be totally unfounded.
REFERENCES
Boettner, Loraine (1957),
The Millennium (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed).
Lindsey, Hal (1970),
The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
“The Official Left Behind Series Site,” (2003), http://www.leftbehind.com/.
Whisenant, Edgar and Greg Brewer (1989),
The Final Shout Rapture 1989 Report (Nashville, TN: World Bible Society).
