Q. I identify the two prophets in Rev 11:3, 10 with Moses and Elijah as a result of their powers (Rev 11:6). Not only had their souls (or souls and bodies if the stolen dead body of Moses mentioned in Jude 1:9 was taken away by God for this purpose) already come down in the Transfiguration, but will come again in the end times in body and soul as the event in Rev 11 appears to happen on earth (because there will be death in Rev 11:9 and call from heaven to go up there later in Rev 11:12).
Some say Christ had already demonstrated His multiple ascensions and descents. He had descended to the visible sky of the earth to call Paul to service (Acts 9:3-5). If this is not a strong enough argument on descent from heaven as it was only a vision, then His own words that the women should not touch Him after His resurrection until He had ascended to meet the Father (Jn 20:17), but later His letting them hold on to His feet (Mt 28:9) should hint that He had ascended to meet the Father and descended again to appear on earth.
So my question is whether the so-called Second Coming is a single event or a series of events, and whether, based on the above study on Moses, Elijah, and Lord Jesus Christ, we can have multi-raptures, i.e. pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation raptures can be all-embracing, i.e. they co-exist and are not at odds. And the dead believers may be raptured before the 7-year tribulation, descended in the middle of the tribulation, then raptured again, descended again at the end of the tribulation, to be raptured again?
- First, let us define our terms. Let me quote from Wikipedia:
The “Rapture” is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive, together will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thes 4:16b-17a)
Based on this generally accepted definition, the Rapture relates to all Christians, dead or alive, being caught up to meet the Lord. The examples you cited concerning Moses, Elijah, and the Lord Himself are all individuals ascending to heaven or descending to earth, not all Christians (the Church). So, technically, scholars would not classify them as raptures.
Second, before determining whether there are multiple raptures, we need to discern a broader subject of whether the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are separate incidents or one and the same event. The common schools or views of the Rapture can be divided into two broad categories:
- Those who treat them as separate incidents, with a “secret” rapture sometime before Christ’s public Second Coming. These include the:
- Pre-tribulation view, with the Rapture taking place at the beginning of a seven-year Great Tribulation;
- Mid-tribulation view, with the Rapture happening at the mid-point or three-and-a-half years into the Great Tribulation and
- Pre-wrath views, with the Rapture before the seven bowls of God’s wrath judgments.
All three views have Christ’s Second Coming as a separate event at the end of the Great Tribulation, defined differently in each school.
2. Post-tribulation view that sees the Rapture and the Second Coming as one and the same event happening simultaneously.
Which category is correct? Proponents of the separate incidents views focus on their supposed differences. Let’s review the evidence.
(To be continued)
RayKLiu 