Much Ado about the Rapture

What is the rapture?

I wrote about this in January when the May 21st rapture announcement came out.  I am writing it again now that the 21st has passed us because there are still a number of confused or maybe just amused people out there.

Believe it or not, the church I attended when growing up did not speak about the rapture at all. Not to my recollection anyway. It was a concept I had not heard of until much later in my life. Everything I know about it now is from the bible and reading commentaries while comparing them to the biblical texts.

“The Rapture” is the term given to the event described in the bible where Jesus takes the church out of the world before the tribulation period. Its timing is unknown. The bible tells us it is unknown to all but God Himself.

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” “No one knows when that day or hour will come—not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father, because just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. (Mat 24:35-37)

That being said; recently there has been much ado about when it will occur. In fact, at the time of this writing, a new date has been set.

Still, the hubbub about the rapture in the popular news has given voice to a great many myths about what it is, when it is and what happens during the rapture.

The word comes from the Greek term “harpazo”. Harpzo is used in seven books of the bible (see chart). It is a term that means to snatch or grab up quickly; by force. Not all of the instances of the word are talking about what we call the rapture.

Table 1:: Occurrences of Harpazo in the Bible

The major source of the idea of the rapture is the revelation by Paul in his letter to Thessalonica. The Thessalonicans were concerned that the dead may miss the Christ’s return and Paul is explaining to them that this is not the case and that in fact the dead will be taken up first followed by those who are alive at the time it happens.

For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died. With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. So then, encourage one another with these words. (1Th 4:15-18)

This dispels the misunderstanding that the idea of the rapture is a new concept (I saw this stated in one of the news articles about the May 21 predicted date.) Since it is in the scripture, the idea is not a new one that developed late in Christianity. It was there at the beginning. To further develop that point, there are indications of the rapture as far back as the Old Testament. Consider this line in Psalm 27.

For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of evil; He will hide me in a secluded chamber within his tent; He will place me on a high rock. (Psa 27:5)

Psalm 27 is a song written by David in praise of God. The “day of evil” obviously refers to the tribulation period or the Day of Judgment. This terminology is largely what gives rise to the idea that the end of the world events all occur on one actual day. It is a figure of speech.

Another instance of the removal of the church form the tribulation period can be extrapolated through typology. Typology is a term applied to a person or event is representative of a later event. In Hebrew, prophecy is pattern rather than for us in the west who see prophecy as a prediction and fulfillment.

Using typology then, you can read the story of Daniel’s friends being thrown into the furnace. As a result of Daniel and his three friends being elevated in rank above the old timer sages in Babylon, they manipulated Nebuchadnezzar to create a law they knew Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah[i] would not follow. Daniel had shown them up earlier by telling and then interpretting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. A task they could not do. As such they were upset with Daniel and his three friends. Daniel is conspicuously absent at the time they trick the king into making the new law, which is probably why they decided it was a good time to get rid of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. When looked at through the lens of typology, the church (Daniel) is absent from the tribulation (furnace).

Another misunderstanding of the rapture is that it will be the end of the world. The thing is, the bible indicates that the rapture will occur at some point but there is nothing that must happen before it takes place. This gives rise to the doctrine of imminency. (Not to be confused with immanency). The end of the world, as it is colloquially stated, is described in detail beginning with vision of Daniel described in Daniel 9. Otherwise known as the 70^th week of Daniel. There are many references describing the events of “the day of the lord”. It is the most detailed period of time described. It takes 7 years to complete. Therefore, the end does not occur at the rapture and it does not all take place in one day or even a few months.

Then the question remains, if these popular myths aren’t what happens with the rapture and the end of the world, what does happen?

I encourage you to read the bible and find out. While there aren’t any necessary precursors to the when the rapture is to occur, in fact we are told nobody but The Father knows when it will be, we do get a list of indicators that the end of time is about to occur. One is found in the second letter Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy.

You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people. (2Ti 3:1-5)

Jesus was asked by his disciples how to know when the end was coming. The answer to that is found in Matthew 24 where he describes what will happen and how to know when it has started. He also says that famous quote about wars and rumors of wars. Earthquakes, wars, disasters of all sorts will occur throughout time but that isn’t the end, it is just the beginning of the end. No, the time to worry and run is if you are around when the abomination of desolation occurs (or destructive desecration in the ISV translation). That event takes place halfway through the final seven year period as described in the book of Daniel.

Jesus answered them, “See to it that no one deceives you, because many will come in my name and say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet, because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains.” (Mat 24:4-8)

“So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Mat 24:15-16)

So, despite what you hear in the news from supposed teachers of The Word. Nobody can predict when the rapture will occur. Furthermore, don’t worry about it. Well, unless you are on the wrong side of God. You can fix that fairly easily, though. Continue on with your lives while being aware of what is going on around you. Keep telling your friends about the gospel and most of all, read the bible for yourself to see if what you read and hear and are told is the truth (Acts 17:11). Put on the belt of truth and equip your shield of faith to put out the flaming arrows of the evil one[ii].