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Many Christians believe that Jesus will come secretly to “catch away” (“rapture”) his church, leaving the unbelievers and unsaved behind on the earth for seven years (the Tribulaton), before a public, visible return of Christ at the end of the age. Although there are many sincere Bible-believing Christians who hold this view, there are also many equally sincere believers who disagree and hold contrary positions.
It must be noted that there is no explicit place in the Bible that says there will be a pre-trib rapture. It is a relatively new concept that many believe was created by John Nelson Darby in the 1830s. It came with an unbiblical method of interpretation called “Dispensationalism”. Many Christians point to Thess 4:16-18 as a proof text for the pre-trib rapture, however, this verse says nothing about the timing of being caught up, in relation to a tribulation. Jesus himself did not teach a explicitly teach there would be a pre-trib rapture. The Olivet Discourse, once thought to teach a pre-trib rapture (Specifically Matthew 24:34-42- which says that when the Son of Man comes “one would be taken, and one would be left”) actually teaches conclusively teaches against the possibility. Comparing the Luke 19 version of the same account shows that those being “taken” are those being destroyed in God’s judgment. The apostle Paul clearly did not teach a pre-trib rapture. One place that can demonstrate this is 1 Thess 5:1-9, Paul talks about the “Day of the Lord” as a cataclysmic event where Christ will be revealed and execute judgment. In context, his listeners will experience salvation at the same event. Likewise 2 Thess 2:1-5. The Thessalonians thought maybe the Day of the Lord was upon them. Paul first equates the Day of the Lord with their “gathering” (vs. 1). Then assures them that the apostasy must happen first, and the man of sin will be revealed, and show himself in the temple as “god”. Were there a pre-trib rapture in mind, Paul could have simply said, “Day of the Lord hasn’t happened yet. We are all still here. And we will be raptured before anything happens bad anyways”. Instead, he reiterates the events leading up before Armageddon, with the understanding that we all should be looking for them. The Bible simply teaches that at the end of the age, Jesus will return in a visible, undeniable way that will result in judgment on the unbelievers, and vindication and salvation for his elect. |
