“ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
 
 

Imagine, if you can, the terror , the panic,….

 It is a bright and beautiful summer day, Bill is standing by the backyard pool talking to his wife Susan. The kids, Jamie and Melissa, are playing on the swings when the phone rings. Bill turns to answer the phone, but as he looks back to the yard…THEY’RE ALL GONE…. Susan, the kids, THEY’RE ALL GONE!!

 Who took them? Where did they go? How could they vanish in just a second, if it was that long?
 A moment later, as the reality sinks in, a terror unlike anything he has ever known grips Bill. It is a chill, a fear, and a deep recognition that his whole world has been turned completely upside down in the twinkling of an eye. Denial, anger, frustration, hopelessness and anguish flood the young father’s mind.  Again the question, “Who took them? Where did they go?

Then as sirens begin to sound and the city’s emergency warning signals begin to haunt the air, Bill realizes that his nightmare may not be unique. Running out to the street, the scene is like one of Hollywood’s most fearful movies. Cars piled into telephone poles, women and even men screaming in the streets, a hopeless young woman crying, “Who stole my kids?”

 As Christians, we know this scene will be played out in millions of homes, backyards and neighborhoods all over the world in the very near future. This all sounds so futuristic, so distant, so impossible. But the fact is that it could happen today! We are living in the last moments or moment ,of time of this great vanishing act called the Rapture, in which every believer in Jesus Christ will vanish from the earth to be with their Lord forever, will occur.

 The Rapture is one of the most important doctrines in the Bible. However, many have avoided studying this subject because it is the most supernatural event in the Scriptures. What is the Rapture? This is when Jesus Christ come for His church and takes them home to be with Him. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and personal savior will be included in the Rapture. The Rapture is the next big event , on the prophetic calender, that will rock the world. It is an event that can happen at any moment since all prophetic signs have come to pass.
 Exactly what will happen when the Rapture takes place: total chaos. Millions of people will simply just vanish off the face of this earth without a trace. This will cause world riots and socio-economic collapse like the world has never seen and never will see again.

 The Rapture is to be distinguished from the Second Advent of Christ. While the Rapture sets the stage for the Second Coming, these are two separate events. There has been controversy for many generations concerning the timing of the final events in human history. The position held by the majority of fundamental Bible teachers is as follows:

· We are presently in the dispensation known as the Church Age, and we donot know when this age will end.
· The Rapture will occur at the end of the Church Age, and the day of the Rapture will        be the first day of the seven year period known as the Great Tribulation.
· The Second Coming of Christ will occur on the last day of the Tribulation period and will usher in the thousand yar reign of Jesus Christ.

 The statements above are part of a position , or viewpoint, concerning the chronology of the final events of human history, a doctrinal concept known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture/ Pre-Millennium Tribulation view.
 Some who oppose the teaching of the Rapture declare that the word “Rapture” does not appear in the Bible. The word rapture is taken from the Latin verb (rapere). The English meaning is “to be seized” or “to be caught up.” Since the phrase ”to be caught up” is clearly in the New Testament and was quoted extensively by the early Church, we can safely use the word “Rapture” to describe the translation of the saints as outlined in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.

 In recent years, many opponents of the pre-tribulation rapture view have made dogmatic assertions that this view was never taught before 1820 AD  There have been attempts to attribute the origin of this view to John N Darby.
 Grant Jeffrey has found an ancient citation from a sermon ascribed to Ephraem The Syrian of Nisibis (306 -373 AD), which clearly teaches that believers will be raptured and taken to heaven before The Tribulation.
 Ephraem of Nisibis was most  the important and prolific of the Syrian church fathers and a witness to early Christianity on the fringes of the Roman Empire in the late fourth century. He was well known for his poetry, exegetical and theological writings of the early Byzantine church. So popular were his works that in the fifth and sixth centuries he was adopted by several Christian communities as a spiritual leader and role model.
 The sermon is deemed to be one of the most interesting apocalyptic texts of the early Middle Ages. The translation of the sermon includes the following segment: “For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered prior to the tribulation that is to come, and they are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”  The sermon describes the events of the last days, beginning with the rapture, the Great Tribulation of under the Antichrists rule followed by the Second Coming of Christ. In Ephraems book, The Book of Cave Treasures, written about 370 AD, he expressed his belief that the 69th week of Daniel ended with the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah.

 This of course, doesn’t prove that the pre-tribulation view is correct, only that it was held , by some in the early centuries and not unique to the revival of the 1830’s. It simply documents that this view was held by a remnant of the faithful from the beginning until today. The validity of any view can only be measured by the Biblical text itself.

  I remember my first introduction to the Rapture, at college in 1973 as if it were yesterday . I had just started dating a Christian girl named Brenda. She was in one of my classes and she had invited me to a Bible study on campus. The subject they were  discussing was the Pre-Trib Rapture. This lead into a discussion of Bible Prophecy. After the meeting I asked the teacher how I could find out more on prophecy and the Rapture. I still remember him recommending to me a book called “The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. I imediately went out and bought the book and read it with in 24 hours. In the course of my conversations about this book I was warned by someone to stay away from the pre-trib rapture viewpoint because it was not taught in the Bible. Since becoming a Christian I started my personal study of this issue and it continues today. I can say with all honesty and sincerity, that I have never believed more strongly that the Bible teaches the Pre-Trib Rapture hope.

 The Pre- Trib Rapture is built upon the biblical understanding that God’s single program for history includes two peoples, Israel and the Church. If one does not distinguish between the passages which God intends to refer to Israel from those given to the Church, then there  results  an improper merging of the two programs with in the plan of God. Such a merger can not  support the Pre-Trib Rapture since the Bible teaches that the Church and Israel have in many ways different programs within the Plan of God. As a matter of fact several lines of evidence point to the fact that Israel and the church are not essentially the same.

 First, Israel is a nation in the technical sense of the term , but the church is not. Israel has a national language, but the church does not. Israel is an earthly political state with an earthly capital city, an earthly political government, and politcal rulers, but the church is not. In His Mosaic Covenant relationship with Israel, God established and regulated that nation’s earthly political government, but God has not established an earthly political government for the church. Israel has a common, national tradition and history, but the church is composed of people from many national traditions and histories. Israel has an army with which to fight military battles against other nations, but the church does not have such an army.

 Second, in spite of the fact that Israel became the people through its Mosaic Covenant relationship with Him, it rejected Christ, just as God had forewarned that the nation would ( Isa.53; Jn1:11, 12:37-41). By contrast , the church received Christ.

 Third, the fact that Israel was the original persecutor of the church indicates that they are not the same.

 Fourth, the Scriptures never called the saved Jews of the Old Testament Israel “the church of God” in contrast with the unsaved Jews; but the Scriptures do call the saved Jews ( and saved Gentiles) of the church “the church of God” in contrast with the unsaved Jews and unsaved Gentiles of the New Testament era (1Cor.10:32).

 Fifth, in Romans 11 the Apostle Paul taught that in Old testament times, as the covenant people of God, Israel was in the place of God’s blessing. Because Israel rejected Christ through unbelief, God removed it temporally from the place of His blessing. During the time that Israel is removed, God has placed the church in the place of blessing. Thus, the church is in the place of God’s blessing while Israel is out of it. This leads to the conclusion that Israel and the church are not the same.

 The above five lines of evidence indicate that the nation of Israel and the church are separate, distinct entities.
 The 70 weeks of Daniel. This is for Israel and not the Church! All other false views on the timing of the rapture have one thing in common. They don’t understand that God has a plan for the Church and a plan for Israel. The Church is a mystery, a called out people between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy. God intends the church to be present on the earth specifically during the interrupting gap of time between the end of the first 69 weeks or 483 years and the beginning of the 70th week or last seven years. If God intended to mix any part of His 70- weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem with His program for the church , why didn’t He start the church during the first 69 weeks of the 70 weeks program?  "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.”(Daniel 9:24)

 Note that the 70 weeks are determined “ upon thy people and upon thy  holy city.”  This is the Jewish people of Israel and Jerusalem. We could stop right here as Daniel specifically says that the 70 weeks are for Israel and not the Church. The church was not involved in the first 69 weeks of Daniel. To put the Church on Earth during the 70th week is to contradict Daniel above.  Notice that 70 weeks of years (490) are determined upon the people of Israel to:

 All this has not yet been fulfilled. It will yet be fulfilled upon the nation of Israel just like Daniel was told. Only by the removal of the Church could the final 7 years begin to run their course for Israel. God will deal with her in that period known  as the time of Jacob’s trouble ( Jeremiah 30:7). Here we have a irrefutable argument for the imminent , pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Let’s continue on  with the prophecy:

 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.   After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolation’s have been decreed. “ ( Daniel 9:25-26)

 These verses are talking about the 7 weeks and 62 weeks of years which add up to 69 weeks. At the end of the 69th week the Messiah will be cut off. This happened at the cross of Calvary. So all that is left is that final week of 7 years.

 Now between the 69th and the 70th week there is a  time gap, commonly referred to as the Church Age. Here it is graphically:

 69 weeks of years                             Church Age                      70th week
I- - ------------------------------------------ I ------------------------------------ I-------------------I
            483 years                                  +
                                                           The Cross
          
 Points to consider:

  - The prophetic 70 weeks stopped at the rejection and death of the Lord        Jesus Christ, The Messiah.
  - That occurred after 69 weeks or 483 years
  - God has been using the Church ( invisible body of Christ)
      during that time period.

 What caused God’s prophetic time clock to stop ticking after 69 weeks and what will cause it to resume at the 70th week? Note the following Scripture:  “Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.   He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.   Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

  And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.   And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.   The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,  ( 2Thessaloians 2:3-9)

 God is currently restraining the Antichrist by His Holy Spirit working in and through the Church ( all the spirit re-born believers). When this restrainer (The Church) is removed , then and only then may the Antichrist be revealed so he can rise to power and confirm the convenant with Israel. As long as the restrainer is in the world the Antichrist can not come to power. God’s restrainer is preventing that. None of the other rapture positions can give an account for what is restraining the Antichrist. To clear up any misconceptions I’ll say that the Holy Spirit will not be removed from this world. This is a common argument based on lack of knowledge of the pre-trib rapture. It is usually given by those who say this proves the pre-trib rapture is wrong. But the pre-tribulation rapture does not state that the Holy Spirit will be removed, but rather the Church will be removed. How can an Omni-present being be removed from anywhere?  It can not be done. God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and will never cease to be anything less than that.

 However in this Church age, God id restraining the Wicked One by His Holy Spirit through the Church. When the Church is removed the Holy Spirit will still be here.... but the restrainer won’t. At that point the Antichrist will be free to rise to power and confirm that convenant with Israel to start the 70th week of Daniel.
 To restate, the 70th week is a prophetic week for the Nation of Israel. The first 69 weeks were for Israel and so it is with the 70th week. During the 70th week  God  again deals with Israel and there is really no need for the Church to be present on earth.
 Secondly, the Wrath of God is not to be poured out on His Church. Many scriptural promises of escape from the wrath of the Tribulation or the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy must be ignored by other rapture positions. Verses like:
 “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  (Luke 21:36)

 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ( Romans 5:9)  “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

 “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. ( Revelation 3:10)

 “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..”( 1Thessalonians 5:9)

 The above verses must be ignored, if you believe anything other than a pre-trib rapture. It is amazing how the Second Coming will be like the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot. Notice that God did not pour out His wrath until He had safely removed both Noah and Lot to a safe place. The post-tribers ignore this and expect the Church, the Bride of Christ to endure the full impact of the Wrath of God... And the question is why? Why must the Church endure the Wrath of God? It just doesn’t make sense.

 Why should the Church go through the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy when that time is specifically for the nation of Israel and not the Church. God has made a provision for Israel after the Abomination of desolation. They are told to flee and there is a place prepared for them. There is no such provision for the Church, because the Church will not be here in the 70th week. God made a provision for Noah and the flood. God made a provision for Lot at Sodom. God makes a provision for Israel in the 70th week of Daniel. There has been no provision for the Church to go through the 70th week. Why? No need to as the Church will not be in the world at that time. A final point is that during the Church age the devil (gates of Hell) will not overcome the Church. During the 70th week the devil will overcome the tribulation saints.

 Thirdly, the coming of Jesus is imminent! His coming will be at an unknown time and a known time. The mid-trib and post trib views destroys the doctrine of the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus is coming at an unknown time and believers are constantly being told to watch and be ready in the Scriptures. All other incorrect  rapture views ( mid-trib, pre-wrath, and post -trib) deny the imminent coming of Jesus. Notice that the command is to watch because the time of His coming can not be known! That is called imminence, as it could happen today!
 “"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.   For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.   So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ( Matthew 24:36-44)

 “"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)

 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
  "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come.   It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.   If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" (Mark 13:31-37)
 “like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.   It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.   It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.   But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

  You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Luke 12:36-40)  “  Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,   for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.   While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.   But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.   You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. (1Thessalonians 5:1-6)

 Now as you have read the above verses do you still believe in any other view but pre-trib? If you believe in the other views you know the exact day that Jesus is coming. Once the 70th week ,or the time of Jacobs trouble begins we can easily tell the exact day when Jesus will return. Once the Antichrist and Israel sign the covenant we know that in exactly 7 years Christ will return. In the midst of the week (3 1/2 years ) the Antichrist commits the abomination of desolation. From that point in time we know there is 3 1/2 years left or 42 months or 1,260 days. ( Daniel 12:6,7 ; Rev 13:5; Rev 12:6) At this point the coming of Christ is known.

 Since the incorrect views put the rapture sometime after the 70th week begins, they have lost the unknown day. All the verses that say that the coming of Christ will occur at an unknown time must be thrown out. If I am here when the Antichrist signs the covenant with Israel then I know that in exactly 7 years Jesus will return. You can be assured that I will mark my calendar and count the days.

 If by chance I miss the beginning of the 70th week, I won’t miss the abomination of desolation in the middle of the 70th week. At that point I know that in exactly 1,260 days Jesus will return. You see I’ve lost the unknown day because I can mark the day on  my calendar. There is no problem with the pre-tribulation view on the rapture. The rapture will occur at an unknown time sometime before Daniel’s 70th week begins. At that point the Church is taken to heaven and with the restrainer removed the Antichrist may come to power. We have perfect harmonizing of Scripture with the Pre- tribulation rapture...the correct view.

 For further proof lets move to the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is divided into three general sections. In Revelation 1:19 the angel instructed John to write down things that he had seen, the things that are and the things that shall be after these things. The Greek for “after these things” is meta tauta. In chapter 1 John wrote the vision which he saw: Christ in His resurrected glory standing in the midst of seven candlesticks and holding seven stars in His right hand. In chapters 2 and 3 John wrote of the things which are: the messages of Jesus Christ to the seven churches of Asia( which also represent the seven periods of Church history).

 Chapter 4 begins the third section of Revelation. The chapter begins with the same Greek phrase, meta tauta, “after these things”. The question naturally arises, “After what things? The obvious answer is , after the things of chapters 2 and 3. What are the things of chapters 2 and 3? The things of the Church. So, you could begin Revelation 4:1, “After things of the Church, I saw a door open in Heaven, and the first voice I heard was a trumpet saying to me “Come up hither, and I will show you things which must be after these things. The open door in Heaven takes us back to the message of Jesus to the Philadelphia church, His faithful and true remnant in the last days. He said. “I have set before thee an open door which no man can shut.” Now this door is opened in Heaven and a voice is calling as a trumpet, “ Come up hither.” This appears to be the Rapture of the Church in the Book of Revelation. The trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 also gives the last call to the Church. It too says “Come up hither.”

 The message to the church of Thyatira warned that a portion of that church would go through the Great Tribulation. Jesus said that He had this against them, because they allowed the woman Jezebel, to teach and seduce His servants to commit fornication and to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols., and she repented not. Therefore, He was going to cast her in to a bed and them that commit adultery with her into a great tribulation , unless they repented of their deeds. Here the warning to the church is definitely to repent or face the Great Tribulation. The obvious inference is that they could escape the Great Tribulation if they  would repent.

 In Revelation 3:10 the Lord is talking to the Philadelphia Church. He said,
” Because you hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of temptation which will come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

 Here is a definite promise that this church would escape the tribulation. I must concur that at least part of the church will face the Great Tribulation. The unrepentant of the Church of Thyatira, who will not turn from their spiritual  fornication, will go through the tribulation and miss the Rapture. It is important to know that 24 verses in the book of Revelation refer to the Church. Twenty of these 24 verses refer to the Church in the present age. ( 1:4,11,20; 2:1,7,8,11,12,17,18,23,29; 3:1, 6,7,13,14,22; 22:16,17) Two verses refer to the Church in the Marriage of the Lamb, which will take place in Heaven not on earth (Rev.19:7,8). Two verses refer to the Church in the  future eternal state (21:2,9).

 It is important to note that there are no references to the church on the earth in chapters 4 through 18, the chapters relating specifically to the 70th week of Daniel, including the seals , trumpets, and bowls.

 Twenty -two verses in the Book of Revelation refer to Israel. One of these verses refers to Israel as “the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (21:12). Ten verses refer to the 144,000 Jewish men by several designations ( 7:3, 4, 5,6,7, 8; 14:1,3,4,5 ). Ten verses describe Israel through various terms as the woman who is pursued by the dragon (Satan), (12:1,2,4,5,6,13,14,15,16,17). One verse refers to “the children of Israel” (2:14). One other refers to the nation in the future eternal state (21:12). Four verses refer to Israel during the time of the first coming of Christ (12:1,2,4,5). It is important to note that the remaining 16 verses refer to Israel on earth during the 70th week ( 7:3,4,5,6,7,8; 12:6,13,14,15,16,17; 14:1,3,4,5).

 More than 72% of the references to Israel in the Book of Revelation refer to it on earth during the 70th week. By contrast, none of references to the church in Revelation refer to it on earth during the 70th week.. Therefore, God does not intend the church to be present on earth for any part of the 70 weeks or 490 years that He has determined specifically for Israel and Jerusalem. He intends to keep His 70 weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem and His program for the church separate and distinct from each other, just as Israel and the church are distinct entities.
 In chapter 5  we see a scroll with writing with in and without sealed with seven seals. As an angel proclaims with a  strong voice, “Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals?”  We see John sobbing because no man is found worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals. Then Jesus, the Lion of Judah, steps forth looking like a Lamb that had been slaughtered. He takes the scroll out of the right hand of the Father . Then we hear the song of the redeemed in Heaven. They sing a new song.” Thou art  worthy to take the scroll and open to the seals thereof; For Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priest: and we shall reign on the earth.”
 Who can sing of redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ from all of the nations and families of people upon the earth? Obviously, only one group can sing that song. The Church. It is significant that the Church is singing before the throne of God the song of praise to Jesus Christ before He ever opens a single seal of the scroll. The Church is singing in Heaven before the Great Tribulation ever starts. The Church as a group isn’t seen on  again in the Book of Revelation, until the Church comes back to earth riding on white horses with Jesus Christ in Revelation 19.  The group in Heaven in chapter 7 which came up out of the Great Tribulation isn’t the Church. John didn’t recognize them when the elder asked him, “Who are these?” Their position isn’t the same as the Church’s. This group stands in the holy Temple and serves God day and night continually, whereas the Church proclaims the glorious prospect of reigning with Christ.

 Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation refers to the coming of the man of sin who makes “war with the saints”. These saints couldn’t be the Church because the man of sin overcomes them. Daniel also testified to this fact. Daniel 7:21 describes the “little horn”, the Antichrist. “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. “ However, Jesus said that the gates of Hell wouldn’t prevail against His Church. It’s impossible that the saints of Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 could be in the Church, because the Antichrist can not triumph over the Church. This is another syllogism with negative and positive premises and it can only produce a negative conclusion. Major premise: the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church. Minor premise: the saints are over come by the Antichrist. Conclusion: the saints must then be Israel, which are also the “elect” of Matthew 24:31.

Those who teach that the Church must go through the Great Tribulation and face the wrath of God which is coming upon earth try to identify the last trump of 1 Corinthians 15 with the seventh trumpet in the Book of Revelation. I see great difficulties in the paralleling these two trumpets.

 First of all, the trumpet that sounds at the time of the Rapture of the Church in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 is called the “trump of God”. In revelation the seventh trumpet is the trumpet of the seventh angel. The trump of 1 Corinthians 15 is used to proclaim an event that happens in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Paul said, “ I’ll show you a mystery. We’ll not all sleep, but we’ll be changed in a twinkling of an eye at the last trump”. On the other hand, the seventh trump of the Book of Revelation will cover a period of days. Revelation 10:7 says, “But in the days (plural) of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets”.

 The last trump of 1Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 will be a trumpet of glory. We shall be changed and made into His image and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. However, the seventh trumpet of the Book of Revelation is continually referred to as a woe. In Revelation 8:13 the angel said, “Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the three other voices of the trumpet angels, which are yet to sound!” The angel says this is at the end of the fourth trumpet. So, the three “woes” refer to the fifth , sixth, and seventh trumpets. At the end of the fifth trumpet (Revelation 9:12) the angel declares, “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more here after. “This refers to the sixth and seventh trumpets. In Revelation 11:14 the angel declares that the second woe is past and behold the third woe comes quickly. Then we go right into verse 15, the seventh trumpet, which is actually the third woe.

 The Rapture of the Church and being changed into His glorious likeness is far from a woe. It would only be a woe if I didn’t go! Thus , I see great difficulty in identifying the seventh trumpet of Revelation 15 and the last trump of 1 Corinthians 15 as one in the same, because  the results and the time factors  are so different.

“In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”(John 14:2-3)

Jesus’ John 14:3 coming to receive the church is analogous with the Jewish marriage customs in several ways. Just as a Jewish bridegroom took the initiative in marriage by leaving his fathers house and traveling to the home of the prospective bride, so Jesus left His Father’s house in heaven and traveled to earth to the home of His prospective church, approximately two thousand years ago.

In the same manner as the Jewish bridegroom came to the bride’s home to obtain her by establishing a marriage covenant, so Jesus came to earth to obtain the church by establishing a covenant. On the same night Jesus made His John 14:3 promise, He instituted communion. As He passed the communion cup to the apostles, Jesus said, “This cup is the new testament in my blood.” (1 Cor. 11:25). By shedding His blood on the cross the next day, He established a new covenant though which He obtained His church.

Parallel to the custom of the Jewish groom paying a purchase price by which he established the marriage covenant through which he obtained , his bride, Jesus paid a purchase price by which He established the new covenant and through which He obtained the church. The price He paid was the shedding of His own life blood. Because of this purchase price, Paul wrote to members of the church, “Know yea not that…yea are not your own? For yea are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your own body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1Cor. 6:19-20)
Just as the Jewish bride was declared sanctified or set apart exclusively for her groom once the marriage covenant was established, so the church has been declared sanctified or set apart exclusively for Christ. ( Eph.5:25-27; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 10:10; 13:12).

In the same way that the Jewish groom and bride drank from a cup of wine as a symbol of the marriage covenant that united them as husband and wife; so Christ has given the cup of communion to the church to drink from periodically as a recurring symbol of the new covenant that has united Him and the church spiritually as husband and wife..(1Cor.11:25-26)

Just as the Jewish groom left the home of his bride and returned to his father’s house after the marriage covenant had been established , so on the day of His ascension Jesus left the earth, the home of the church, and returned to His Father’s house in heaven after He had established the new covenant and risen from the dead (Jn 6:62; Acts 1:9-11).

Just as the Jewish groom remained separated from his bride in his father’s house for a period of time after he left her home, so Christ has remained separated from the church in heaven for almost two-thousand years since His ascension from the earth. The church is now living in that period of separation between the time of His departure and the time of His return.

Parallel to the custom of the Jewish groom’s preparing a dwelling place for his bride in his father’s house during the time of separation, Christ has been preparing a dwelling place for the church in His Father’s house in heaven during this period of separation. As noted earlier in John 14:2, Jesus stated that was why He would ascend to heaven.
In the same manner as the Jewish groom came to take his bride to live with him at the end of the period of separation, so Christ will come to take the church to live with Him at the end of His present period of separation form it.( John 14:3).

Just as a procession of the groom and male escorts from the groom’s father’s house came to fetch the bride from her home, so a procession of Christ and an angelic escort descending from Christ’s Father’s house in heaven will fetch the church from the earth. (1Th. 4:16-17). The Jewish bride did not know the time when the groom would come for her. Likewise, the church does not know the time when Christ will come for it. Christ’s coming for the church is an imminent event. It could happen at any moment. In the same way that the Jewish groom’s arrival was proceeded by a shout. So Christ’s arrival to take the church will be proceeded by a shout (1Th 14;16).
As the Jewish bride returned with the groom to his fathers house after her departure from her home, the church will return with Christ to His Father’s house in heaven after it is caught up from the earth to meet Him in the air. (Jn.14:2-3; 1 Th.4:17).

In the same manner as the Jewish wedding party found wedding guest assembled in the groom’s father’s house when they arrived, so Christ and the church will find the souls of Old Testament saints ( those who were saved in the Old Testament times before the church began, and who, therefore, are not part of the church) assembled in His father’s house in heaven when they arrive. These souls will serve as the wedding guest for Christ and the church.
Just as the Jewish bride and groom remained hidden for a period of seven days  after they arrived at the grooms father’s house, so Christ and the church will remain hidden for a period of seven years after they arrive in heaven. While the seven years of the 70th weeks of Daniel 9 are taking place on earth, Christ and the church will be in heaven totally hidden from the view of those living on earth.In the same way that the Jewish bride and groom come out of hiding after seven days, now with the bride’s veil removed so that all could see who she was, so Christ and the church will come out of hiding from heaven after the seven years of the 70th week, in full view of all who are still alive on earth, so that everyone can see who the true church is. Paul wrote to members of the church, “ When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4)

The only view oft the  John 14:3 coming of Christ that fits the Jewish marriage analogy implied by Christ in that passage is the pre-tribulation rapture view. As a result, the Jewish marriage analogy is a significant evidence for that view.

 Since the imminent coming of Christ is intended to have such a tremendous practical effect on the lives of individual Christians and the church as a whole, and since all views of the Rapture except the pre-tribulation view destroy the New Testament teaching of the imminent coming of Christ, we can conclude that the issue of when the Rapture of the church will take place really does matter.

MARANATHA - Our Lord, Come!

Fred Weeks