The classic texts for the Rapture are:
- 1 Thes 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
- 1 Co 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Note the following:
- The Lord will come with a shout and trumpet call, i.e., it will NOT be secret;
- The dead in Christ will be raised imperishable and rise first (resurrection);
- The alive in Christ will be changed, from perishable to imperishable, mortal to immortal, and be caught up (raptured) together with them to meet the Lord in the air;
- This will happen in the twinkling of an eye, i.e., instantaneous.
The primary texts for the Return of Christ are:
- Mt 24:29-31 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Also Mk 13:24-27; Lk 21:25-27)
- Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Again, note the following:
- Christ’s return will be after the tribulation;
- There will be cosmic cataclysms;
- The sign of the Son of Man will appear, which we will examine next;
- Heavenly armies will follow Him;
- He will send His angels with a great trumpet to gather His elect i.e., Christians;
- He will strike down the nations with the wrath of God.
Before we compare the Rapture to the Return, let’s see what this sign of the Son of Man is. The scribes and Pharisees repeatedly asked the Lord for a sign. His answer was:
- Matthew 12:39-40 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Jonah 1:7 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
- Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.
- Luke 11:29-30 As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
Some people thought the sign of the Son of Man was the cross. But the Lord Himself said unequivocally that His sign is the sign of Jonah, which is being raised from the dead after three days and three nights, i.e., resurrection. With this understanding, let us evaluate the claims of the separate incidents schools.
(To be continued)
RayKLiu 