When it comes to interpreting prophecy, there is a lot of speculation involved. As the question marks above indicate, we cannot be certain when the rapture of the church will take place. There are three options: 1) before the Tribulation (pre-Trib); 2) halfway through the Tribulation (mid-Trib) or; 3) after the Tribulation (post-Trib). Here is what Scripture says:
“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
The word “caught up” in Latin is “rapturo,” from which we get the word “rapture.” The purpose of this passage is clearly to encourage believers so that we “will not grieve as those who have no hope.” It is meant to give us perspective on the death of our loved ones in the Lord (and our own impending deaths in times of persecution). The point here is that we will be with the Lord forever – that is our eternal guarantee.
Jesus is coming! Amen! Hallelujah! “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
What this does not tell us is precisely when Jesus is coming. That is something Jesus Himself (!) said He does not know. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matt. 24:36). Since we cannot know exactly when Jesus is coming relative to today it seems appropriate that we also cannot know exactly when Jesus is coming relative to the Great Tribulation. Look at the three key passages that describe the return of Christ:
Those who believe that 1 Thes. 4 describes a secret coming of Jesus FOR the church, distinct from Matt. 24 and Rev. 19 when Jesus comes WITH the Church have the challenge of explaining the many similarities between the three passages. To me, they all seem loud, visible, and glorious – with trumpets, angels, shiny clouds, shouts of command… This leads me to a post-Trib view of the rapture as the simplest and most straightforward reading of the relevant texts: the rapture, I think, will occur at the return of Christ after the Great Tribulation.
I like to tell my Christian friends who hold to a pre-Trib rapture that I very much hope they are right and will high five them on the way up should I be wrong. In my humble understanding of prophecy, the pre-Trib view is just crazy enough it might be right. The Pharisees missed the first coming of Messiah because they couldn’t imagine Him coming once to die for sins and again much later to restore all things. We would make the same mistake if we utterly ruled out the possibility that Jesus will actually come back THREE times and the next one will be sudden, secret, and shocking to vanish all Christians everywhere at once. Then His third and final return will be after the Great Tribulation to gather in the stragglers who come to Christ during the Tribulation.
What I ask of those who currently hold to a pre-Trib view of the rapture is to join me by holding that view loosely and with enough “exegetical humility” to admit they might not be right. I think it is unwise to give Christians 100% assurance that they will not have to face the Great Tribulation when a great many of the best evangelical scholars teach the post-Trib view (for example, Don Carson, Doug Moo and John Piper). Certainly Jesus trained His followers to be prepared to face persecution as He did.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.”
Matthew 24:9
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”
John 15:18-20
When it comes to unclear theological views (like the pre/post-Trib rapture) we should hold them loosely and focus on the CLEAR Biblical truths we know. In this context, here are three clear and wonderful teachings to cling to:
- Jesus is coming back soon! Our Lord and Savior will not leave us. He is with us now through the Holy Spirit and will come back for us personally like a groom coming for His Bride – and we will be with Him forever in eternal and glorious joy!
- Jesus will right every wrong and defeat every enemy. The day will come when He will wipe every tear from our eyes and deliver perfect justice to all who do evil. The comfort and joy of that moment will far outweigh any suffering we have to endure in the meantime.
- Jesus will give us the strength we need for whatever we are called to face. His grace is sufficient for today, tomorrow and for the Great Tribulation if it comes to that.
A mistake in Bible study is to “interpret the unclear through the opaque.” The classic example of that is, “Where was Jesus while He was in the tomb?” The answer – we’re not sure. To consult 1 Peter 3:19 (extra credit if you look that up) to answer that question is to “interpret the unclear through the opaque.” We make the same mistake when we look for detailed and certain answers on the exact timing of Jesus’ return (which He expressly forbade) and the timing of the rapture. As with so many things in life, we must be content to trust in our Lord who died for us and who is coming back for us soon!
Here is Article 9 in our Statement of Faith:
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
For more on the End Times, click here.