The subjects discussed here are all part of the Biblical area of theology known as eschatology. The word "eschatology" means "study of last things". In Christian theology, eschatology encompasses all prophetic topics in the entire Bible ranging from Old Testament prophecies and their historical and future fulfillment to New Testament prophecies and their ultimate fulfillment in eternity.
The return of Jesus Christ is now the key (but not the only) event to which all Scripture looks forward. A great body of prophecy predicts the second coming of Christ and the many related events which are closely associated with it. My discussions here will center on the Rapture.
Just a brief word on different versions of the Bible. I am aware of the sometimes heated debate over which translation is better. The translation I used for studies was the King James Version (KJV) and so I am partial to the wording of many of the scriptures in this translation. But... I am also thankful for a few other translations we have today because they make the scriptures more understandable for those who have not spent the many hours in Greek and Hebrew Lexicons. My desire is not to debate which translation is best, but to share the wonderful life saving Gospel with all who will listen. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Concerning the Rapture, the scripture says: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." (1 Th 4:16-18 NIV)
The following is from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament NIV version, Chapter 9 verses 20 through 27 commonly referred to as the 70 Weeks of Daniel Prophecy. Please pay special attention to the last verse and the events that occur during the last period of "seven".
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill--
21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
26 After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
I believe that the "He" in this verse refers to the antichrist. His covenant or promise to the Jews to restore sacrifices and offerings to God in the Temple in Jerusalem will be broken in the middle of this seven year period. In the middle of this seven year period, the antichrist will commit the abomination that causes desolation in the holy place as spoken of in Matthew 24 and Daniel 9. After this will begin the judgement of terrible plagues, followed by the Second Coming of Christ and then the millennium or 1000 year reign of Christ and His saints on earth.
It has been estimated that one out of every twenty-five verses in the new Testament relates to either the rapture or the second coming. Bible interpreters can be divided into three basic schools of belief regarding the doctrines of Christ's second coming and the events associated with it. The basic divisions of prophetic interpretation occur regarding millennialism, and consist of differing views of the chronology and nature of the second coming and the millennium. These schools of prophetic interpretation are known as premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. All of the various rapture beliefs occur within premillennialism and are not all found in the other divisions of millennialism.
The following are brief definitions of terms relating to premillennialism; the school of prophetic interpretation to which I believe to be most accurate.
Millennium: The future one thousand year period immediately following the second coming during which Satan is bound, national Israel becomes God's covenant people, and the saints who return with Christ rule and reign with Him.
Premillennialism: The literal second coming of Christ precedes the literal one thousand year millennium when Christ rules over the earth and establishes God's kingdom.
Second Coming: The literal, visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to earth before the millennium. The saints return with Christ, who remain to rule over all nations for one thousand years.
The following Rapture views all occur within premillennialism; the ones in BOLD letters being the views I feel are correct from my understanding of scripture (definitions follow):
Pretribulation Rapture: The literal, bodily rapture from earth to heaven of the dead in Christ from both old and new covenants (who are resurrected, changed, and translated) and those believers alive at the time of the rapture (who are changed and translated), which occurs at the beginning, or shortly following the beginning, of the tribulation.
Partial Rapture: The rapture will only include those saints from both covenants who qualify for a better resurrection by meeting the just rapture-requirements established by God during every dispensation, such as fulfilling certain spiritual conditions, attaining certain spiritual positions, and or maintaining a close personal relationship with God. The other (lukewarm) saints are not raptured; the dead remain in paradise awaiting later resurrection, and the living are left on the earth to experience the tribulation (for some period of time). I am not dogmatic (adamant) on this point of "total" versus "partial" rapture although I believe the tenor of scripture supports a "partial" rapture.
(Mat 24:37-42 KJV) But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (also Luke 17:34, two shall be in bed...) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
These scriptures show us that daily activities of life will be happening at the time that the Lord gathers us to Him just like in Noah's day. The scriptures saying "one shall be taken, and the other left" are commonly interpreted as to mean one has accepted God's saving grace and the other is an unrepentent sinner, but I contend that these scriptures could be saying that both have accepted God's saving grace and yet one met God's qualifications of being "bride" material and the other did not. Some scriptures speak of the "bride" and the "guests" at the wedding of Jesus Christ. (Matt 25:1 KJV) The parable of the 10 Virgins shows us all ten were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom and that all ten had fallen asleep during their wait (possibly because of the cares of this life), yet when the call came forth announcing His coming, five had more oil (the Spirit) than did the other five and those were able to see clearly to enter into the wedding ceremony. All ten waited for the Bridegroom's coming. Do the unrepentent wait for Christ's coming? And while the five without extra oil (the Spirit) went to obtain more (obviously desiring to answer the call of the Bridegroom), the doors were shut and they were not allowed to enter into that wedding.
(1 Cor 3:12-15 KJV) Now if any man build upon this foundation (Jesus Christ) gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Secret Rapture: The rapture is invisible to all on the earth and is thus secret, consisting of an instantaneous changing of the saints so that they simply disappear in an indivisibly small moment of time.
(1 Cor 15:52 KJV) 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.
Non-imminent Rapture: This is not saying the Rapture is not coming; only that it is not the next prophetic event to happen. The rapture most certainly is coming (and in that sense, imminent), although there are yet unfulfilled prophecies relating to the church which must occur before the rapture, thus the rapture is not the very next event to be witnessed on God's calendar and cannot take place at any moment prior to the fulfillment of these other prophetic events.
(2 Th 2:1 KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
So we see here that there must come a "falling away" first, an "apostasy" and a revealing of "that man of sin", the antichrist. R.C.H.Lenski, a meticulous student of Greek and pastor as well as professor at Capital University and dean of the seminary, writes in his commentary, "The first thing on the program is the arrival of the apostasy and the revelation of the man of the lawlessness. The article designates these two as being the only ones of their kind, and v. 5 indicates that Paul and Silvanus had mentioned this apostasy and this man of the lawlessness when they first worked in Thessalonica. (The Greek word) IIpwrov is to be construed with both verbs as the thought also indicates: these two events precede. The verbs are placed before their subjects, not in Hebrew, but in good Greek fashion, which makes them emphatic; this is also done because they are aorists. The fact that this apostasy will occur in the Christian Church is beyond question; it would otherwise not be an "apostasy." The man of the lawlessness will be its head." "This man does not merely "come" as does the apostasy. While he at first remains hidden, he at last gets "to be revealed" as what he really is. These two revelations are undoubtedly opposites, for which reason we may speak of Christ and of antichrist..."..."there is no other man, no other lawlessness like this. For "the lawlessness" is not lawlessness in general but the special, unprecedented lawlessness that marks this man and accompanies this apostasy."
In summary, certainly the next prophetic event to be witnessed will be the great apostasy and revealing, to some degree, of that man of sin, the antichrist. It is after this that the Rapture will take place. The confusion that will result from our being "caught up" and no longer present on this earth, will surely be used by the antichrist as an excuse to take to himself full control in order to calm and control worldwide confusion and chaos.
Finally, the following scriptures provide information, warning and encouragement to believers. Of tremendous joy to me is the verse that says "But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief." This shows me so clearly that for those willing to search the word "daily" (Acts 17:10), God will reveal His coming events. Not as to the minute, hour or day, but we will spiritually discern the "times".
(1 Th 4:17 NIV) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
(Acts 17:10 KJV) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
(Rev 22:20 KJV) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
