(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What do we say about the “rapture?”
Intro:
Today’s focus question, “what do we say about the “rapture?”, is one of the rare times it doesn’t coincide directly with the text. The rapture, of course, is
…that glorious event in which the dead in Christ are raised from the dead and living Christians’ bodies are instantly renewed—and both groups are caught up to meet Christ in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). That means that one generation of Christians will never pass through death’s door!(1)
But theologians differ on exactly when the rapture happens…but as it regards our coffee time here, it relates to the tribulation we summarized yesterday. So…besides asking what it is, in our Bottom Line segment I’ll also share how I think we can talk about it, even when you don’t have much info.
New Testament segment:
Yesterday we read in Revelation 6 the first six seals, and the sixth announces the end of history in the coming of God and the Lamb. But we don’t get the seventh of those until chapter 8. And in between there’s
…John recounts two visions of God’s people in the last days. The first relates to the period prior to the judgments described in ch. 6; the second reveals the redeemed in the glory that follows them. John’s purpose is to assure his Christian readers (and hearers!; 1:3) that they have no need to dread the judgments of the last times since God will protect them.(2)
Passage: Revelation 7
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 17
Words: ~387
Can I just gush a little bit about the God I serve? Envisioning a countless multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes symbolizing that they’ve been washed clean by Jesus’ blood and holding palm branches that symbolize victory, and crying out or singing is just a beautiful, beautiful thing. You can bet I’ll be singing and shouting at the top of my lungs, too.
Old Testament segment:
We’re now into a section of Ezekiel that are oracles against foreign nations, and today we begin an important section that that runs 26-28. Sadly, it’s longer than we can knock down in one program, but listen for the context…because tomorrow’s chapter includes a reference that some theologians believe is a reference of Satan.
Passage: Ezekiel 26-27
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 57
Words: ~1665
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 20:24-30
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 7
Words: ~111
The bottom line:
…Pretribulationism says that Christ will rapture the entire church before any part of the tribulation begins. Posttribulationism says that Christ will rapture the church after the tribulation at the second coming of Christ. Midtribulationism says that Christ will rapture the church in the middle of the tribulation period.
…(many people, including me, believe that) pretribulationism is most consistent with the biblical testimony….God has promised to keep the church from the time of testing coming upon the entire earth (Revelation 3:10) and has promised to deliver the church from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 5:9).(1)
Now here’s the thing…if people a lot smarter and more degrees than me haven’t been able to come to a solid consensus, I’m not going to add anything to the discussion. But what do we say? How should we talk about this?
Of course, this is not an issue worth fighting over. The different views of the rapture may disagree over the timing of end-time events, but they all agree on the big picture: A rapture will occur, and we will live forever with Jesus in heaven. In the long haul—after we’ve been with Christ for billions of years in heaven—the question of whether the rapture happened before or after the tribulation period will truly seem insignificant.(1)
Remember that idea of redemptive remembering — that we can look back on what God has done and from it draw confidence in what God will do?
I like the way one of my seminary professors answer the question, “Are you pre-trib or post-trib?”
He said, “I’m anti-trib and pro-rapture.”
And that’s how I like to answer. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Ron Rhodes, 5-Minute Apologetics for Today: 365 Quick Answers to Key Questions (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2010).
(2) George R. Beasley-Murray, “Revelation,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1436.
(3) A. Boyd Luter Jr., “Revelation,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1587.