The teaching concerning “the rapture of the church” upon which very many Christians now hinge their hope of going to heaven in this end-time has been weighed on the scale of the Scripture, and is found wanting. That the word rapture is not in the Holy Bible there is no dispute. It is coined by some overzealous people from the term “caught up” used by St. Paul at 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and is being used to whip up sentiments rather than faith to instill in undiscerning people false hopes. The interpretation given the words of the apostle in his first epistle to the Thessalonians that Jesus Christ at his second coming will rapture (snatch up) to heaven all adult believers and innocent babies and young children, is wrong and very misleading indeed.
Dr. Tim LaHaye, pastor of Scott Memorial Baptist Church and Chancellor of Christian Heritage College, both in San Diego, California, devoted a whole chapter, in his work THE BEGINNING OF THE END, to the Rapture of the church. Consequent upon his own difficulties in harmonising and/or interpreting some texts of the Scripture, he rushed to an unscriptural conclusion that the second coming of Christ is in two stages. To him, “the first stage is the Rapture, or taking away, of the church, the second is the Glorious Appearing to the whole earth”. The truth of the Bible that Christ comes but once; no two stages. Read Volume One, Nos. 7 and 8 of The Trumpet for detailed explanation.
He stated “that there are only two kinds of people on the earth: Christians, and unbelievers. Christ’s coming will affect each group in different ways”. What about those Christ referred to as “false Christs, and false prophets” who would show “great signs and wonders” to attract disciples to themselves? (Matt. 24:11,24) They abound everywhere. They are the loudest in claiming Christ. Will they be raptured too? His write up is full of inconsistencies, misgivings, misinterpretations and misapplications of Scriptures. He further stated, “No matter what we are doing we will suddenly be taken out of the world. The Rapture of the church will be an event of such startling proportions that the entire world will be conscious of our leaving Some have suggested that there will be airplane, bus and train wrecks throughout the world when Christian operators are suddenly taken out of the world. Who can imagine the chaos on the freeways when automobile drivers are snatched out of their cars. One cannot help but surmise that many strangers will be in churches the first Sunday the Rapture.” – Pages 21-30
Matters of faith should be scripturally based and divested of surmisings or imaginations. And St. Paul warned against “evil surmising” – I Tim. 6:4.
Dr. Charles R. Taylor, Founder and President of Today In Bible Prophecy Inc., in his 1980 edition of THOSE WHO REMAIN, was more pragmatic in his assertions on I Thessalonians 4:16,17. He opened his first chapter with a rather dogmatic statement thus: “Millions of people soon are going to disappear from this planet. With reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:16.17, he postulated that when the rapture takes place, adults who truly believe in Jesus Christ (and also the million of innocent babies and young children throughout the world) will he taken to heaven”.
Here is his own description of the event. “The world will be plunged into chaos. THOSE WHO REMAIN will be in a state of shock. They will be awe stricken, fearful and trembling People will be missing from all walks of life. Airplanes will veer off their courses and many will crash because their Christian pilots and co-pilots will have been caught up to be with the Lord. Trains will run wild, and many will crash, as Christian switchmen and engineers vanish.
The world’s highways will be a tangle of wrecks because many, many thousands of Christian drivers will have disappeared. The dazed, fearful and astonished survivors of these crashes will grope through the debris looking for their loved ones, but they won’t find them. They will have been taken bodily to Heaven in a split second.
He, giving the reason why God would remove His people from the earth stated. “So He can bring trial and tribulation on THOSE WHO REMAIN to see if they will repent and turn to Him for salvation.” The fact remains that these all are far from the truth of the Scriptures. The “great tribulation” would meet both the righteous and the wicked on earth while the wicked will be punished and destroyed, the righteous or true Christians will be saved in great multitude – Matt. 24:21; 2 Thess. 17.9.2:10-12; Rev. 7.9.10.13-14.
And back home here, one James Ovie, End-Time Outreach of St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Warri, Nigeria. came out with a handout on Bible study on the “Rapture”. He cited many references from the Scriptures but most of them were irrelevant. Like those from whom he borrowed his ideas he stated: “The rapture should not be confused with the Second Advent (or Second Coming) of Christ. They are two different comings of Christ.” Let us go to his main focus which was still on “WE SHALL BE CAUGHT UP (1 Thess. 4:16.17) BE PREPARED!
There is in circulation a leaflet entitled “PREPARE FOR RAPTURE NOW!!! THERE WILL BE NO WORLD CUP IN 2006,” by one Rev. N. N. Sylvester, General Overseer, Ambassador’s Mission International Incorporated. 7 Aina Road, Isolo, Lagos. Nigeria. He wrote, “Very soon, sooner than you think, there will be a strange event, the coming of Jesus Christ on the sky to rapture everyone, who has faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the forgiveness of sin.” He went on, “On January 1987, Jesus spoke to me and said: ‘I am coming very soon. In the next thirteen (13) years, something will happen. On the 23 of April 1998, when I paid a visit to God in solitude, the word of the Lord came unto me saying: The Anti-Christ is coming in 1999… “He also stated that he further had an encounter with Jesus Christ who appeared in his room on May 13, 1997. He then warned that “the great shaking would begin in 1999 and that “the months of July, August, September, October, December 1999, January and May 2000”, must be watched. He asserted, “The greatest and final shaking will start before June, 2005. Because of it, there will be no world cup in 2006.”
With a modicum of Bible knowledge it is easy to dismiss these as the ranting of a false prophet, who has joined the group of date setters over-exercising themselves. The months of July, August, September, October 1999 are already past and there is nothing to show for the fulfillment of his prediction However, he is one of those expecting to be raptured soon to heaven.
The common error of all the teachers of the “rapture of the church”, about which especially the Pentecostals and some of the modern-day evangelists are feverish and fanatical, is their ignorance of the classification of true Christians into two main categories by Jesus Christ himself. He left no one in doubt as to the existence of nominal Christians in this end-time, and said: “Net everyone that said unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of us Father which is in heaven.” -Matt. 7:21. When he saw that his disciples or followers had increased he was faced with a difficult task of classifying them, and which must be done in accordance with the will of his Father, and as would be consistent with prophecies of old. He then engaged himself alone in an unusual devotion of an all-night prayers in order to be divinely guided (This is what some imitate today by introducing all-night vigils that reportedly have become fertile grounds for immoral acts) Here is the record: “And it came to pass in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles…” (Luke 6:12-16) It is therefore, clear that among true Christians there is the class of the apostles whom Jesus addressed as the “Little Flock” (Luke 12:32) and another class whom he referred to as the “Other Sheep”. (John 10:16) Apart from the 12 apostles (Judas Iscariot was replaced justifiably with Mathias) who were foundation members, others had since the days of the apostles till this age, been chosen and anointed with the Holy Spirit. Every one of them is chosen to be an apostle, leader, teacher, priest and king to be with Christ in heaven in God’s Kingdom to reign over the earth. To them Christ made the promise: “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:28-30) They sit on thrones because they are kings. And if all believers, men women and children are kings, who then make up the 12 tribes of Israel or spiritual Israel they would judge? All believers cannot be apostles. And St. Paul asked, “Are all apostles?” the answer is obvious: all are not apostles. The danger in the generalization -not showing distinction between those of the “Little Flock” and those of the “Other Sheep”, is the fact that promises exclusive to those of the apostles class are now assumed to apply to all believers. It is common to watch on the television, pastors asking their adherents. “Are you all not priests and kings?” and there is always a thunderous response in the affirmative, “Yes we are – Hallelujah!” What a deceit! How can it be so? There is no kingdom where everyone is a king or priest. Because John was one of the apostles, he said that Jesus had made them kings and priests, as it is written: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father…” (Rev. 1:5,6; see also 5:10) To apply this to every believer (man, woman and child) is very wrong indeed. The ability to apply the Scriptures appropriately as is consistent with the truth -“rightly dividing the word of truth” – is a divine gift. – 2 Tim 2:15.
All along, Jesus Christ, in his days on earth, showed the clear distinction between the two classes of his followers the apostles were his closest associates ordained to take the lead. While he was praying for the apostles, he remarked: “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: Thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word… and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled… neither pray I for these (apostles) alone, but for them also (“Other sheep”) which shall believe on me through their word (preaching or message).” – John 17:16,20
Following the pattern of the Aaronic priesthood as set by his Father, Jesus brought 70 disciples from among the “Other Sheep” to complement his ministry. Thus in the days of the apostles after Christ had gone to heaven there were such talented men like Timothy, whom St. Paul brought up and called his son, Titus, Tychicus, Epaphras, Archippus, and so on, who were ministers and some became bishops, evangelists, teachers and pastors, yet they were not apostles.
It was the apostles specifically (not all believers) he (Jesus) gave the promise that he was going to heaven to prepare a place for them, and that he would come again to receive them to himself, that where he was, there they too would be. (John 14:1-3) The fulfillment of this promise was what St. Paul directed his prediction to when he stated: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”-1 Thess. 4:16.17.
The reference is to the first resurrection in which only the apostles and those of their class who are kings (to be on thrones- Luke 22:28-30) and dead, will take part. (Rev. 20:4.5) When St. Paul said, “We which are alive and remain,” he was referring to the remnant of the “Little Flock” whom Christ promised to choose in these last days (Matt. 24:31). They will not die but be translated to meet Christ in heaven and be together with him and the resurrected saints for ever in Zion.
The mystery about these spiritual events was disclosed by St. Paul to wit: “Behold I shew you a mystery; we (the apostles) shall not all sleep (or die), but we shall all be changed (to spirits or heavenly bodies). 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 (the living then) shall be changed.” (1 Cor, 15:51,52) He further revealed that those alive at Christ’s second advent will not precede or go ahead of the dead saints to heaven. (1) Thess. 4:15) In other words, the dead saints will be taken to heaven first before those who are alive: but they all must be changed to spirits or heavenly bodies in that flesh and blood cannot be in heaven. – 1 Cor. 15:49,50, Phil. 3:20,21.
All others of the human race who will be saved, (men, women and children) will be in the kingdom of God on earth the New Earth wherein dwells righteousness. (2 Pet. 3:13) And John the apostle of Christ testified of his vision hat he saw the kingdom coming from heaven down to the earth thus: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (its beauties)… And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:1-4) And what is more, Jesus Christ said: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” Therefore, there is no rapture of all believers.