OceanSide church of Christ

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THE RAPTURE (2)

Victor M. Eskew

 

            There are many people who are looking forward to something that is called “The Rapture.”  These individuals believe in Jesus is the Son of God.  They believe that one day Jesus will come invisibly to rapture them from the earth just before another event called “The Great Tribulation.”  The doctrine is part of a larger eschatological theory called “Premillennialism.”  In our previous article, we defined the doctrine of the rapture.  In this article, we want to refute the doctrine.

            First, the doctrine of the rapture is false because if it were true, the majority or people on earth would be able to know the day of the Lord’s return.  The rapture doctrine tells us that there will come a day when all Christians will be raptured from the earth to meet the Lord in the air.  Will those who are left be able to tell that these individuals are gone?  The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association answers this question in the affirmative.  “The effect of this removal, in the absence of multitudes of people, will, of          course be evident on earth,” they say.  In other words, the lost who are on the earth will know that the righteous have been raptured.  Why?  One reason is because they will not be able to find them.  Another reason is because there will be millions who will be gone.  At this time, the Great Tribulation Period begins.  The Tribulation will last exactly seven years, we are told.  When this period of time comes to an end, Jesus will return to establish His earthly kingdom in the city of Jerusalem.  Yes, exactly seven years from the day of the rapture, Jesus will come again and all will see Him. 

            This flies in the face of a many Scriptures that tell us that no one knows the day of the Lord’s return.  “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36).  “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matt. 24:42).  “The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of” (Matt. 24:50).  “Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour where in the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:13).  “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (I Thess. 5:2).  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Pet. 3:10).  We have set forth six verses that plainly declare that no one knows when the Lord will come.  Yet, the doctrine of the rapture will have the bulk of the world’s population on alert for the Second Coming because they know the saints have been raptured from the earth. 

            Another reason the rapture doctrine is false is because Jesus teaches us that the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous happen at the same time.  In John 5:28-29, Jesus declares:  “Marvel not at this:  for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”  There are three points that need to be emphasized to those who hold to the rapture theory.  One, Jesus says:  “…for the hour is coming…”  Whatever Jesus says is about to happen, happens in the same hour.  Two, Jesus says:   “…all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth…”  What is the meaning of the word “all”?  Dictionary.com defines “all” as “the whole of quantity or amount.”  The whole quantity of people who are in the grave shall hear the voice of Jesus and shall come forth.  In the same hour, all the dead, the entire amount, will be resurrected.  Three, Jesus says:  “…and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”  The evil dead will not lie in the grave for seven years awaiting the “second phase of the Second Coming.”  No, they are going to come out of the grave the same hour the good come out.  Dear reader, who are you going to believe?  Are you going to believe the premillennialist and his man-made doctrine?  Or, are you going to believe Jesus Christ and the truth?

            A third reason the rapture doctrine is false is because it is a fabrication from one or two Scriptures.  The two main passages of Scripture that are said to support this teaching are Matthew 24:40-41 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Both passages mention individuals who will be taken up.  Both passages tell us that they will be taken up at the Second Coming of Jesus.  This happens, however, at the one and only coming of Jesus Christ.  Jesus will return.  The righteous dead will be raised from the graves first and will be caught up from the earth (I Thess. 4:16).  “Then we which are alive and remain,” that is, the righteous dead, “shall be caught up (raptured) together with them to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:17).  It is at this point that the words of Matthew 24:40-41 will come to pass.  “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”  This writer believes that at this point during the Second Coming the words of II Thessalonians 1:7-8 will transpire.  “…when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  In other words, all of the ungodly will suffer death at the Second Coming.  Immediately after this, all of the wicked dead will be raised (John 5:28-29).  Then, the Judgment will take place.  The human mind likes to think in terms of time when these things happen.  It will all transpire quickly.  It will not be a long, drawn out process.

            The doctrine of the rapture has sold millions of books.  It has also drawn millions to the box office.  It has been used to strike fear into the hearts of the lost.  Surely, no one wants to be left on earth during the Great Tribulation.  Sadly, is has deceived millions.  It is not a teaching that is in harmony with the truth of God’s Word.  Jesus is coming again.  No one knows when.  When He comes, the dead, good and evil, will be raised.  At that time, all men will stand before Him in Judgement to give an account of all they have done in their body, whether it be good or evil (Rom. 14:12; II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15).