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20 Studies in Bible Prophecy
Study 3 - The Rapture:
The Next Event In The Prophetic
Programme
The
next great event set before the Christian is the
translation or Rapture of the Church. This event
is the crowning and closing episode of this Christian
dispensation, and entails what the Lord's return
will mean for the Christian, dead or alive. It will
be the next issue in the prophetic programme, but
it will also be the first movement in the great
drama of the end. As Dr. Skevington Wood puts it,
"Christ's coming for His own touches off the
chain reaction of startling consequences connected
with the final age. An entire sequence of events
awaits the signal of the Lord's return to transfer
the saints to be with Him forever". In this
age of grace, which began at Pentecost, and will
terminate at the Rapture, God has been calling out
a people from among the nations. That company, termed
in the Scriptures as the Church, the Body of Christ,
(1 Cor. 12:13-17; Eph. 1:22, 23; 5-23, 30,
32; Col. 1:18), will be the caught up company
when Jesus descends from heaven and shouts the quickening
word. It is very evident that the Church has not
only a heavenly origin, but a heavenly destiny,
and, wrote Robert Middleton in (THE COMING GREAT
WORLD CHANGES), "The only way in which the
Church is connected with prophecy is in connection
with her translation to glory." The Rapture
is decidedly the Christian hope.
The Rapture Explained
This
word "Rapture" is not found in the Bible.
It comes from the Latin version of Scriptures, where
"rapere" indicates the "catching
up" or the "snatching away" of the
believer as indicated in (1 Thess. 4:17). The
Greek word "Harpazo" suggests "to
snatch away" with violence or haste, and is
always used in the New Testament of a removing from
one place to another, (Matt. 13:19; Acts 8:39;
2 Cor. 12:2-4). The
concept of translation is not an isolated fact in
the Bible. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, did not
die (Gen. 5:24), he was taken up alive to be with
God. Some would argue that the language used here
in the Pentateuch is but an Old Testament way of
saying that Enoch died. But when we look at (Hebrews
11:5) the matter is taken beyond dispute, and reads,
"... Enoch was translated that he should
not see death ...' And of course it was the same
for Elijah (2 Kings 2:1,3, 9-12).
The
same was true of Jesus Christ on the occasion of
His ascension, and what happened to Enoch, Elijah
and Jesus Christ, will happen to all believers alive
when Jesus returns, together with the resurrected
dead in Christ. In His rapture to heaven Jesus Christ
was the first-fruits. The Church's rapture will
be the harvest, (1 Cor. 15:23).
According
to the teaching of the New Testament, this will
be an act of divine grace (1 Peter 1:13), an act
of divine mercy (Jude 21) and one of divine omnipotence
(Phil. 3:21). This will be the greatest exodus
the world has ever known. As the Irishman said,
when the effects of the Rapture were explained to
him, "Well, that will thin the numbers out
a good deal." Hall Lindsay speaks of the ultimate
trip.
The Rapture Versus The Revelation
It
is important to distinguish between the Rapture,
the coming of Christ for His Church, and the Revelation,
the arrival of Christ on the earth with His Church
and the armies of heaven. By a consensus of the
best theological opinion the return of Christ will
be in two stages. The Rapture will be aerial, the
Revelation will be earthly. The truth of the Rapture
is one of hope for a waiting Church, whilst the
message of the Revelation is the only hope for the
nation of Israel. To ignore this distinction is
to confuse the teaching of the epistles. The great
expositor, Dean Alford wrote, "The coming of
Christ to take His Church to Himself in the clouds
is not the same event as His Coming to judge the
world". Or as the Rev. lan MacPherson puts
it in (NEWS OF THE WORLD TO COME), "To try
to make a composite photograph of these two portraits
and force them to apply to a single historic occurrence
is logically impossible. In the former Christ comes
to make love; in the latter, to make war. The first
analogy is marital, the second military. The one
is nuptial; the other, martial." These are
two differing events and programmes, and must not
be unified into one event.
With
these two stages of the coming Advent in mind, it
seems to be borne out in Scripture that we should
differentiate between the two Biblical expressions,
the "day of Christ" and the "Day
of the Lord". One can safely quote the late
Dr. Scroggie: "It would appear that this event,
which is frequently referred to as the 'day of Christ'
must be distinguished from 'the day of the Lord'
of (1 Thess. 5:2; and 2 Thess. 2:2) R.V. The latter
expression comes from the Old Testament and relates
to Christ's universal kingdom; but the former expression
is found in the New Testament only, and relates
to His Advent for the Church."
When
we turn to the closing book of the Bible, it seems
quite evident that the most simple and practical
outline of that book is that contained in (Ch. 1:19), when the apostle is directed to "write
the things which thou hast seen, and the things
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter."
The things spoken of as having already been seen
denote the vision of chapter one, the prime theme
of the book, Jesus Christ as Sovereign. The second
division, "the things which are", very
definitely include chapters two and three, where
we have the letters to the seven churches. These
were not only seven historical churches, but, to
quote Dr. Tatford, they "... furnish sub-apostolic
days, to the close of the present era." The
third division, "the things which shall be
hereafter," includes the bulk of the book which
was to be prophetic.
The Rapture Described
The
most graphic passage relative to the Rapture is
found in (1 Thess. 4:13-18). According to this
Pauline document the event will be both dramatic
and demonstrative. He states that the Lord Himself
"shall descend" literally "step down"
from heaven, with the voice of the archangel and
the trump of God. Bible scholars differ in their
views regarding these "sounds of descension"
as Dr. Herbert Lockyer calls them. Some hold the
voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God to
be but explanations of the "shout". Hendriksen
thinks that there are two different sounds, the
"shout" being the "voice of the Lord",
with the additional blast of the archangel sounding
the trumpet of God. Others contend that here we
have mere poetic language used to describe the vivid
nature of Christ's sudden appearance in the skies.
I believe that here we have the divine summons,
the signal from God, which shall be audible and
effective to all those tuned in to heaven by faith.
As
to the demonstration of the event, we find that
three miracles will take place in the briefest moment
of time imaginable. First, the resurrection of the
believing dead. The very problem that haunted the
Thessalonians, Paul now clarifies, the deceased
believers will rise first. In other words Paul is
saying to the Thessalonians, and us, "Your
departed fellow-Christians will be the first to
answer the signal of the returning Christ."
Secondly, the refashioning of the living believers.
Paul says, (1 Cor. 15:52) ". . . we shall
be changed," mortality will put on immortality,
and these bodies, subject to sin, sickness and decay,
will be transformed and made like unto Christ's
glorious body (Phil. 3:20, 21). Thirdly, the removal
of resurrected dead and transformed living, to meet
their descending Lord in the air, in an indivisible
unit of time (1 Cor. 15:52). The miracle of resurrection
and transformation, will be followed by the miracle
of translation. "So shall we ever be with the
Lord." Who can tell the joy and blessedness
included in these words ? They bespeak the climax
of blessedness.
The Rapture: The Time Of It Humanly Unpredictable
Though
we cannot tell the exact date of Christ's coming
for His Church, yet we are not left in any doubt
as to the indications that would herald its approach.
Signs in the national and international realms,
in the moral, ecclesiastical, and political spheres,
all proclaiming the close proximity of the event.
As Walter Scott observed, "The Church should
not look for signs, yet signs should be looked at."
So
if we are not to be surprised at His coming, it
is essential that we observe the warning signals
with a view to discerning their prophetic significance. In
conclusion, it is well to note that the Rapture
is, to quote Dr. Dwight Pentecost, "a signless
and unannounced event." The signs we are beholding,
are those which indicate events to take place following
the removal of the Church, the period that will
intercalate between the coming of Christ for His
saints and His coming with His saints. If coming
events are casting their shadows before, with such
unmistakable clarity, how near could the Rapture
be?
In
the light of this fact, we should re-adjust our
lives, realise our opportunities, and reassure our
faith in the promises of the Lord. Extensive use
is made of the truth of the Advent as a basis for
practical Christian living. This hope will show
itself in faith, and in faithfulness, in love and
in loveliness; in hope and in holiness.
If
we are serious in our pursuit of this great truth,
we will be serious in our pursuit of true holiness.
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