The Rapture

The rapture is a much discussed topic among many evangelical Christans; but it is a strange sound to Reformed ears. Whenever we talk about the second Coming of Jesus, we think of the sound of the trumpet, the appearance of Jesus on the clouds, the resurrection, the judgment, the transformation and the final states of eternal life or death. But the work rapture does not usually occur to us.

The term rapture originated in the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Today many Christians mean much more by "rapture" than this passage teaches. Popular understanding of the rapture involves a catching up of Christians into the air to be with Jesus. But that rapture will be secret, unobserved by the unbelieving world. Suddenly all Christians will disappear. Life will continue on earth as usual, except for a host of missing persons. The popular bumper sticker sums it up well:

"In case of rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned." We smile at this saying, but many Christians firmly believe it. while we believe that all believers will meet Jesus at His return, we do not think that scripture teaches the "rapture" of Christians before the final return of the Lord.

It is beyond debate that the unbelievers will experience surprise at Jesus' return. But the surprise will come from Jesus' appearance, not the believers' disappearance. The unbeliever will be surprised because he is totally unprepared to meet Jesus. This is why Jesus made the analogy to the days of Noah in Matthew 24:39. And in verse 40 the person left behind is the person unprepared and surprised by Jesus' return. He is "lost" in the judgment instead of "saved in the ark."

Secondly, the return of Jesus will not be a private affair seen only by believers. Matthew 24 compares it to the lightning that flashed from the east to the west. The figure suggests a cosmic scope to Jesus' return. Revelation 1:7 underscores this idea with the statement, "And every eye will see him, every one who pierced him." All shall witness the return of Jesus. Third, the scriptures do not sustain the idea that the unbeliever's life will go on as usual after Jesus has returned. Jesus' entire discourse in Matthew 24 came in answer to the question, "What will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age?" (vs. 3). Matthew 24.29, as it describes the shaking of the natural order, clearly implies the end rather than the continuance of this present world order. At this point people will face the awesome reality of the Lord ("The sign of the Son of man"); they will not be guessing about the absence of Christians.

Finally, the Gospel does not speak to us concerning the end times with the intent of swerving us from our duty to serve God's kingdom wisely in the present. In fact, "the end" will be the completion of a work in which Christ and His own are now engaged. Notice how the thoughts of the Lord are related to our present condition. Jesus teaches in Matthew 24 that our present work must be performed with a view to His return (vss. 42-51). Our relationship to Him and our expectation of His coming prescribe the way in which we work. This is what preparation is all about.

When Paul spoke of the "rapture" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, he again related our future meeting with the Lord to our present condition. We are to be comforted and not to be in anguish needlessly over others who died in faith. They will be remembered by God. So let us avoid a preoccupation with the last things that would dissuade us from our duty to serve and obey the Gospel right here and now. This is the best way to prepare and be ready for Jesus' return. "Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing"(Matt. 24:46).

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