Question: I am a Protestant Christian. The book, The Rapture Exposed, as well as information on many websites say the Rapture is an invention of the church and NOT taught in the Bible. What do you say?
Answer: I say the Rapture IS taught in the Bible. Rather than
countering the arguments of skeptics, the following comparisons show biblical distinctions
in the two phases of the second coming of Christ.
In the Rapture phase, the church is “caught up” (1 Thess. 4:17) which
is the Greek word, harpazo, from which we derive, “harpoon.” When a fish is
harpooned, it is suddenly snatched upward which typifies the Rapture of the
saints.
The Rapture and the Second Coming have different purposes and
patterns.
Following is a comparison I took from an unknown source on the
Internet some time ago and to which I added material. Clearly, these events
differ from one another.
Here is
what I believe is the correct timeline of the Rapture and the Second Coming of
Christ
Rapture - Before the Tribulation
|
Second Coming
– After the Tribulation
|
||
Jesus comes to the clouds for
His Church/Bride.
Luke 21:36; John 14:1-3; 1Thess 1:10,
4:14-17, 5:9; Rev 3:10
|
Jesus comes from
heaven with His Church/ Bride.
Zech 14:5; Col 3:4; Rev 19:7-8,14, 21:9-10;
Matt 24:29-31; Jud 1:14,15; 1Thess 3:13
|
||
Jesus comes with a shout and the sound
of a trumpet. 1Thess 4:16
Believers are "caught up to meet the
Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord." 1Thess 4:13-18
Christ appears to believers only.
Matt. 5:8, John 11:40, Heb 9:28
|
No shout is heard. A "sharp
sword" comes out of his mouth (i. e. words of judgment) Rev.19:11-21
Jesus and the "armies of
heaven" touch down on the Mt. of Olives. Zech 14:4; Rev 19:11-21
Every eye sees him, both believers
and unbelievers. Rev 1:7, Zech 12:10, Mat 24:30 Luke 3:6 John 19:37
|
||
Christ comes unexpectedly, "as a
thief in the night." No one knows the day nor hour. Matt. 24:43; 1Thess 5:4-6;
Rev 3:3
Believers are removed and taken to
Heaven; unbelievers are left behind for the tribulation. Matt. 25:1-13; Rev 3:8-10;
Rev 4:1, 1Thess 4:13-18
|
Christ comes at the end of the tribulation,
exactly 2,520 days after the Rapture. Dan. 9:24-27, 12:11-12; Rev
11:2, 12:6,14, 13:5
Unbelievers are removed and taken to
Hell; believers are left behind for the Millennium.
Matt. 13:28-30; Rev. 14:19, 20; 19:17-21 |
||
The dead in Christ rise first, followed by
living believers. All receive new bodies and depart to be with
Jesus. 1 Cor. 15:51-57; 1Thess 4:14-16
|
Christ rescues the "elect"
(Gentile believers), rescues the remnant of Israel from their hiding place,
executes judgment on unbelievers, then sets up his earthly
Kingdom. Zech. 14:3-4; Jud 1:14-15; Rev 19:11-21
|
||
By removing the church with its restraining
influence against evil, Satan expands his assault against Israel
and the world. Rev. 13:4
|
Christ reduces Satan's influence
by imprisoning him in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. Rev
20:1-7
|
