Is the Rapture Biblical?
Perhaps most readers are familiar with a series of books and movies entitled Left Behind. These works contain depictions of what many believe will happen near the end of time. They are based on the premise that there will be a “Pre-tribulation rapture,” a belief stemming from a doctrine called “Premillennialism.”
Premillennialism is a very popular doctrine concerning the end of time. It was and is espoused by a significant number of well-known preachers—men like Pat Robertson, Kenneth Copeland, Charles Stanley, Chuck Swindoll, John Hagee, Billy Graham, and many others. However, there are numerous elements of premillennialism that stand in stark contrast to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles.
In this article I want us to focus specifically on the aspect of premillennialism that has been dramatized by the Left Behind movies and books: the rapture.
Before we dive into the specific points that will be the primary focus of this study, it will be helpful to give a thumbnail sketch of the rapture doctrine.
This popular theory says that Jesus will secretly return just prior to a seven-year period of great tribulation. Premillennialists state that Christ will carry His saints to heaven so that they will escape those seven horrific years of global calamity. Those who are not raptured—those who are “left behind”—will be the ones to suffer the great tribulation. However, even though they weren’t ready for Christ to return, and even though they’ll be forced to go through the great tribulation, they will have another opportunity during this seven-year period to accept Christ and be saved.
Finally, according to premillennialists, after the seven years of tribulation are over, those who were raptured by Jesus will return with the Lord, and at that point Jesus will establish an earthly kingdom and reign for 1,000 years.
As stated before, there are many serious errors contained in the doctrine of premillennialism. One of those errors is the belief in the pre-tribulation rapture. What are the problems with the rapture?
1. The Bible Does Not Teach the Rapture Doctrine
This is the most serious problem with the rapture theory. If you search the bible from cover to cover looking for a passage that mentions the rapture concept, you will search in vain. It is simply not there.
This is the most serious problem with the rapture theory. If you search the bible from cover to cover looking for a passage that mentions the rapture concept, you will search in vain. It is simply not there.
The Scofield Reference Bible was published in 1909, and it quickly became very popular in England and America. In its footnotes, Scofield advocates the rapture doctrine. Unfortunately, many people who read the Scofield Reference Bible accepted the information in its footnotes without investigating the scriptures, but those who simply look to God’s word will find that the rapture is absent from God’s word.
The scriptures never mention the name or the idea of the rapture. That fact alone destroys this doctrine.
Of course, Premillennialists try to find scriptural support for the rapture. One passage that is commonly said to refer to this doctrine is found in Matthew 24. Notice these words of Jesus…
Matthew 24:38-42 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
When Jesus speaks of one person being “taken” and the other person being “left,” rapture advocates take these few words and jump to incredible, unbiblical conclusions.
According to books, movies, television programs, and preachers depicting the rapture, this event will involve people suddenly disappearing from their beds, dinner tables, and workplaces. People are even depicted as disappearing from airplanes and automobiles, causing these unmanned vessels to crash spectacularly. You’ve probably read bumper stickers that say, “In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.” I’ve also seen bumper stickers (used perhaps by less confident premillennialists) saying, “In case of rapture, can I have your car?”
These statements stem from a misunderstanding of what Jesus said about some being “taken” and others being “left.” Rapture advocates picture world-wide confusion over some people being mysteriously taken by the Lord, and others being left to go through the great tribulation. However, they are adding elements to Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 that are not there.
When talking about His Second Coming, Christ simply says that some will be “taken,” and others will be “left.” To be “taken” means to be received. To be “left” refers to being abandoned. In order to know exactly how this taking and leaving will occur, we are not at liberty to dream up some of the scenarios invented by rapture advocates.
To “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we must look at other passages that talk about the Second Coming of Christ. In doing this, you will find that the saved will be taken into the presence of Christ, where they will stay forever (Matthew 25:34 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Those who are not saved will be left or abandoned to suffer eternal torment. Contrary to premillennialism, Matthew 25:41 shows that instead having seven years to decide to come to Jesus, the lost are told to “depart” from Him. They are not taken. They are left behind to suffer forever (Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 about people being “taken” and “left” simply illustrate that the saved and unsaved will live in close proximity with one another prior to the Judgment Day. But when He returns, associates like co-workers and even family members will suffer very different eternal fates, based entirely on whether they are ready for His return.
Jesus is not teaching the rapture doctrine in Matthew 24.
Another passage that is commonly used to support the rapture theory is found in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17…
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
When Paul talks about the saints being “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air, many believe that this being “caught up” refers to the rapture. However, this passage does not deal with something that would happen seven years before the end of the world (as rapture proponents teach). Paul’s words actually deal with the return of Christ at the end of time, and they directly contradict the idea of a rapture.
II. The Rapture Doctrine Contradicts Bible Doctrines
A. The Second Coming of Christ
The rapture concept gives a picture of Christ’s return that is altogether different from Bible teaching.
First of all, people who believe in the rapture say that Jesus’ second coming for the saints will be a secret. They say that one moment saints will be carrying out their daily activities, and the next moment they will be gone. None of those left behind will have a clue about what has happened to their saved loved ones.
However, the scriptures plainly teach that when Jesus comes back again, it will not be a secret. Remember Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 about the return of Christ.
Jesus will come back with a “shout.” Have you ever heard of a silent “shout?” Do you think that the shout will be so quiet that no one will notice it?
Jesus will return with the “voice of an archangel.” Do you picture the “voice of the archangel” being so quiet that no one hears it?
Jesus will return with the “trumpet of God.” Do you think that God’s trumpet will be so quiet, that no one will notice it?
While rapture proponents say that Christ’s next coming will be secret, Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4 prove that it will be everything but a secret. Undoubtedly, the whole world will hear the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. Christ’s second coming definitely will not go unnoticed.
Other passages paint the same picture…
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise…”
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
These depictions of Christ’s second coming are much different from the picture painted by advocates of the rapture. When Jesus appears the second time, everyone will see it and know exactly what is happening.
B. The Destruction of the Earth after the Judgment
The Rapture theory also demands that when Jesus comes back the second time, time on earth will continue. Remember, Premillennialists say that Jesus will return for the rapture, and then there will be a great tribulation on the earth. During this time of suffering, those who are left behind will gain more opportunities to accept the gospel of Christ.
Unfortunately, this aspect of the rapture theory gives people a false sense of security. If people believe this doctrine, they will falsely conclude that if they are not saved the next time that Jesus returns, at least they will have another opportunity to accept Christ during the tribulation.
However, the scriptures state just the opposite. When Jesus returns the second time, there will not be another 7 years of earth history. Instead, it will signal the end of time. Notice what Peter says will happen when Christ returns…
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Peter says that when Jesus returns, the “heavens will pass away.” He also speaks of the fate of the earth’s elements. The Greek word used here for elements, stoicheion, refers to “the elements from which all things have come” (Thayer). According to the Holy Spirit, these basic building blocks of matter will melt with a fervent heat. The word translated “melt (luo),” means to “break up, demolish, destroy” (Thayer). Finally, God’s word says that the earth and its works “will be burned up.” The Greek word translated “burned up (katakaio),” refers to complete consumption or “burning completely” (Abbot-Smith).
Peter’s prophecy of the end of time is too clear to misunderstand. When Jesus returns, the earth will be completely consumed in flames and utterly annihilated. There will not be seven years of tribulation following His second advent. There will not be seven years for unbelievers and disobedient people to repent and be saved by the gospel. When Jesus comes back the second time, the earth and time itself will end.
Remember what Paul said about those who are saved when the Lord returns? He said in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that they will be taken away from the earth to be with Jesus “forever”—not merely 7 years.
According to 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, those who are not taken to be with the Lord will not have another opportunity to be saved, and they will face a fate infinitely worse than 7 years of tribulation. The divine warning contained in this passage states that those left behind by Christ will suffer “everlasting destruction.”
Time will end and our fates will be sealed when Jesus returns.
Please do not allow false teachers and fanciful theories to shape your beliefs about the end of time. Instead, put your trust in the one source of infallible truth, God’s word (John 17:17).
If you believe the bible, then you will not believe in the rapture.
Are you ready for Jesus to return? Undoubtedly, one of the greatest dangers associated with the rapture doctrine is that it tells people that if they are not prepared for Jesus’ Second Coming, then they will still have an opportunity to be saved.
However, that is not what the bible teaches. According to the scriptures, when Jesus returns, our eternal fates will be decided in that moment. Since Jesus is going to come back like “a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2), it is imperative that we are prepared.
Brandon Stephens, Evangelist
