Let's start at the beginning by asking and answering the question, "What is the rapture?" The word "rapture" does not appear in the Bible. The term "caught up" in (I Thess. 4:17) is from a Greek word harpodzo, which is where we get the English word harpoon from. A harpoon is a spear like instrument used for catching fish or whales. The word means, "to catch up, snatch up, take up, seize or grasp." Enoch, we are told in Gen. 5:24 and Heb. 11:5, never died but was "taken up" or transported into heaven immediately before the worldwide flood of Noah's day. In like manner Christians will be "taken up" or raptured right before the worldwide tribulation. At the rapture believers will receive glorified bodies.

Those who have already died, whose spirits are in heaven, will be reunited with their resurrected and glorified bodies, just as Christ was after being buried for three days in the tomb. Believers, who are alive at the time of the rapture, will be instantaneously glorified and transported into heaven. I Corinthians 15:51-52 describes the rapture with these words, "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." When Paul uses the word "sleep," he is referring to death. He is saying, "not all of us are going to die, but we will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." This all happens at the rapture. We are changed and caught up in the air to forever be with the Lord in perfect glorified bodies. Now let's look at some of the reasons that the timing of the rapture is debated.

When discussing the different views of the rapture you need to understand the different views concerning the kingdom of Christ. Your view of the kingdom determines your view of the tribulation, and your view of the tribulation will affect your view of the rapture. The Bible says that Christ will return to earth and set up a kingdom that will last a thousand years (Rev. 20:1- 7). And everyone agrees there is a tribulation and everyone agrees that there is a kingdom of Christ, but the nature and timing of both the tribulation and the kingdom of Christ are debated. There are three big words used to describe the three various views of Christ's kingdom i.e., Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism. The word "millennial" means "one thousand years" and comes from Rev. 20:1-7, which tells us six times that the duration of Christ's reign on earth is "one thousand years." Each name of each millennial view "Pre," "Post," and "A" are derived from the time of Christ's return to earth in relation to His kingdom. The "Pre-millennialists" believe that Christ will come before "Pre" his earthly reign begins. He will return to earth and then set up His kingdom and rule for a thousand years. This is the literal interpretation of Rev. 20:1-7.

The "Post-millennial" view believes that Christ's reign is spiritual and started in 70 A.D. after the destruction of Jerusalem. Postmillennialists believe that the church will slowly take over the world, things will get better and better, and finally, when the earth is full of righteousness and the saints have succeeded in taking over the world, Christ will return after the spiritual millennia "Post" to receive His kingdom.

The "A-millennial" view believes that there is no thousand-year reign of Christ, either literally or spiritually. They believe, like the Postmillennialists, that Christ's rule is a spiritual one. They believe that Christ is ruling now on the earth through Christians who are living for the glory of God. They teach that at any time Christ could return, judge the wicked, resurrect and glorify the saints and take us into the eternal state.

I believe the best view is the Premillennial view, the view which says that Christ will return to earth, then set up His kingdom which will last one thousand years. After all that's what the Bible says so why not take God at his word.

Closely related to the thousand year reign of Christ or the millennium is the tribulation. The tribulation is a seven-year period of time when God pours out His wrath on the earth (see Dan. 9:24-27; 11:31; 12:11; Rev. 12:4-6). The second half of the seven year tribulation is often referred to as the "great tribulation" (Mt. 24:15-21; Rev. 7:14). Postmillennialists believe the tribulation already happened and culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem. Amillennialists do not believe that there will be a literal seven-year tribulation period but that the tribulation is a general reference to any tribulation the church has to go through.

But a literal interpretation of Scripture compels one to believe in a literal seven-year tribulation which precedes Christ's return to earth, after which, He will set up His kingdom and rule over all the earth in righteousness for a thousand years. This is what I teach. But even among those who believe in a literal seven-year tribulation, which precedes a literal thousand-year reign of Christ, there are disagreements as to the timing of the rapture.

As I have said, Pre-millennialists believe there will be a seven-year tribulation followed by the thousand year reign of Christ, but there are different views as to when the rapture will take place in relation to the tribulation, which precedes the second coming of Christ and the millennium to follow. There are four primary views e.g., " Pre-tribulationalism , " " Mid-tribulationalism," "Pre-wrath Tribulationalism," and "Post-tribulationalism." Scary words, I know, but they are easy to understand and are similar to the different kinds of millennial views mentioned above. The name of each view tells us when the rapture will occur in relation to the tribulation.

The "Pre" tribulation view says the rapture will happen "pre" or before the tribulation. The "Mid" tribulation view says the rapture will happen in the "middle of the tribulation." The "Pre-wrath" tribulation view says that most of God's wrath will be poured out on the earth in a very short time towards the end of the tribulation and that the rapture will happen, later than the middle point of the tribulation but not at the very end either. It is kind of a rapture three quarters or seven-eighths of the way through the tribulation view but earlier than the Post-tribulation view. Finally, the "Post" tribulation view says that the rapture will happen at the very end of the tribulation after God pours out all of His wrath in conjunction with the second coming.

As you can imagine, the time of the rapture has significant consequences for believers. If the Church is going to be raptured before the tribulation, then nothing needs to happen before the rapture will occur. We could be glorified and caught up to be with the Lord at any time. But, if the mid or pre-wrath view is correct, then Christians will enter into the tribulation, they will see the antichrist's rise to power and will be on earth to see many of the tribulation prophesies and judgments fulfilled before the rapture occurs. If the Post tribulation view is correct, then the church will go through the entire tribulation. They will be able to see all the tribulations prophesies fulfilled and will know within a day or two when Christ will return to earth to set up His Kingdom.

A literal interpretation of Scripture compels one to believe in the Premillennial view of the Kingdom of Christ. And the Scriptures clearly teach that the tribulation will occur before Christ returns to set up His kingdom. But why do we teach that the rapture will occur before the tribulation and not during or at the end of the tribulation? Many arguments have been set forth but here are some of the more significant ones.

First, I Thess. 1:10; 5:9 both tell us that God has not destined us for wrath (end times wrath), but to obtain salvation. This is significant because the tribulation is the time of God's wrath. Some argue saying that God will preserve the church through the tribulation, like He preserved Israel in Egypt from the plagues. But you could also use Enoch as an example. Enoch was raptured before God's judgment at the flood. And Enoch fits better because the flood, like the tribulation, was world wide and Enoch was raptured and Israel was not. Each view deals with the phrase "not destined us for wrath" in a different way, but the strongest view seems to be the pretribulation view.

Secondly, the Pretribulation view fits the fact that the Thessalonians were upset when they heard from the false teachers that the Day of the Lord had already taken place. This disturbed them because they thought the rapture would happen first, and then the Day of the Lord would come. But when they heard the false teachers say the Day of the Lord had already taken place, they were fearful that they had missed the rapture, but Paul comforts them and teaches them that the Day of the Lord hasn't taken place and that when the rapture happens all believers both alive and dead will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Thirdly, if the mid, pre-wrath, or post tribulation views are correct, one would expect to have them explained in the book of Revelation, which contains the most descriptions of the tribulation found anywhere in the Bible. Yet nothing is mentioned of the rapture!

Fourthly, though the Book of Revelation starts off with the seven letters to the churches, in the section of the book, which details the tribulation (chs. 4-19), the church is never mentioned! This is significant because John spends the first three chapters talking about the church and then in the next 15 chapters never mentions the church once! Pretribulationists argue that the church is raptured before the tribulation and hence is not mentioned in the Book of Revelations' detailed description of the tribulation period.

Fifthly, there is an obvious omission of any instruction to the churches in the New Testament to prepare for the tribulation. You would think that if the Church was going to go through a time of tribulation such as has never occurred since the world was created (including the flood), that there would be at least some instruction in some of the letters to the churches telling believers how to live during that time period. But no such instruction can be found.

Sixthly, in Rev. 3:10 Christ specifically says to the church, "Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." The plain meaning of this text is that Christ will keep His church from the hour of testing, an obvious reference to the tribulation, which is a major theme of the Book of Revelation. These are some of the reasons why I believe that at any moment the rapture of the church can occur and the tribulation period begin.

Let us be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

God bless you, I don't know about you but I can't wait for the Rapture - Praise Jesus.

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