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The Secret Rapture

Questions in this section...

Will the church be here during the tribulation?

Will the rapture take place before or after the tribulation?

What about the secret rapture?

 

Question: Will the church be here during the tribulation?

“Shall the church not share the great tribulation the world had never heard of? (Matthew 24:22) Will this come after the Second Coming of Christ as many preach?”

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Answer:

Yes, the church will be here during the great tribulation. The tribulation will not take place after the second coming of Christ. Jesus said, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.… But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:6-9, 13)

Some people suppose that Jesus will secretly return to rapture His people out of this world before the tribulation. However, Jesus said that His people will be here during the tribulation and He also warned us not to believe people who would claim Christ has returned secretly. Notice what Jesus said: “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:20-27)

Paul wrote, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) Christ’s coming for His people will be attended by much noise and commotion. The dead in Christ will rise first, then the living will be caught up with them. A great multitude of dead saints will be resurrected at this time, and it will by no means be secret.

The idea of a secret rapture is a relatively new theory that was invented in the 1800s. It is not scriptural, and it gives people a false hope that if they are not ready at the secret rapture, perhaps they will be able to get ready before the tribulation is over. Friends, that is a delusion of the enemy. Jesus said, “believe it not.” He also said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

I would like to share a testimony with you regarding this false theory of the secret rapture. Several years ago I attended a Bible prophecy meeting that had been advertised in a local newspaper. I am quite interested in Bible prophecy, so I decided to attend. It was held in a local church, and the main point of the speaker was that there would be a secret rapture where Christ would secretly come to rapture His people out of the earth. I had studied the Bible on this subject and knew that the idea of the secret rapture was false. However, after hearing the first presentation I was shocked with the reality of how dangerous this teaching is. The speaker distributed a book entitled “No Guillotine for the Bride,” in which he sought to demonstrate that no true Christians would be here during the tribulation, except the ones who would be converted after the secret rapture.

I was amazed at how appealing and deceptive this theory is. It is appealing to believe that we will never suffer any hardship on this earth, and if we happen to miss out on the rapture we will always have a second chance during the tribulation. As appealing as this may sound, it is contrary to scripture and a trick of the devil to lull you to sleep. The Bible says, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3) Paul wrote, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) I doubt anyone could have convinced a Christian in the World Trade Center on 9-11 that they would be secretly raptured before things got really bad. Nor would the true Christians during the Dark Ages, who were tortured to death, have believed such fables. I pray that you will be ready to meet the Lord when He visibly returns. There will be no second chances then, for the proclamation will have gone forth, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:11, 12)

No doubt you have heard about the growing interest in the books and videos entitled “Left Behind,” where the false theory of the secret rapture is graphically portrayed. I have watched a couple of these videos, and it is frightening to think how many people have been, and will be, deluded by this false sense of security. There are far too many people who already have the idea that they will put off their conversion until the last minute so they can “enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:25) Sadly, many people who “neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3) do so too long, until it is forever too late. Let’s not encourage them in their wickedness by giving them a false hope of a second chance after the second coming of Christ, for it will not happen. For a thorough study on this subject please contact us and request the tract entitled “The Millennium.”

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the April 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: Will the rapture take place before or after the tribulation?

“When will the rapture take place—before the tribulation or after?”

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Answer:

This is an excellent question. Recently there has been much thought on this issue due to the “Left Behind” series of videos, books, and cassettes that are found in many Bible book stores. There is even a song on the radio about this with a line that says, “You’ve been left behind.” Each of these media are designed to portray the idea that, just before the tribulation, Christ will return secretly to rescue His people from the hard times ahead. The idea that all the Christians will one day mysteriously disappear, while the wicked are left on the earth, is called the “secret rapture,” and is based on a misunderstanding of what Jesus said in Matthew chapter twenty-four. Jesus prophesied, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matthew 24:40, 41) Many assume from these verses that Jesus was saying that there will be a day when the righteous will be taken to heaven and the wicked will be left here on the earth. However, look at the verses again, and you will see that Jesus did not say who would be taken, nor did He say where they would be taken.

In order to assume that the righteous are taken to heaven while the wicked are left to go through the tribulation, one would have to ignore the immediate context of Christ’s words. Let us look at the context to get an understanding of what Jesus was talking about. Jesus said,

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matthew 24:37-41)

Jesus used the story of Noah and the flood as a parallel to what would happen at the second coming of Christ. In Noah’s day the world was deeply involved in their worldly lives, oblivious to what was about to happen. They were like the wicked will be just before the second coming of Christ who say, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:4) Jesus said that when the flood came it took them all away. Who did the flood take away, was it the righteous or the wicked. Certainly! The flood took away the wicked in death. The only ones left were the eight righteous people on the ark. In the story of Noah’s ark, the wicked were taken in death, and the righteous were left alive. Immediately after telling this story Jesus said, “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matthew 24:39-41)

The questions that must be asked are: who will be taken? who will be left? and where will the ones who will be taken go? From the immediate context all these questions have an obvious answer. At Christ’s second coming the wicked will be taken in death, and the righteous will be left standing alive. This scene is described in Revelation chapter six. Here we read, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17) Only the righteous will be able to stand when Christ comes. They will be the ones left.

Paul wrote, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17) The ones who are left alive will be caught up to be with Christ.

Paul said that the man of sin will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming, which will also be true of all the wicked. “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Luke’s account of Christ’s conversation, where He said, “one shall be taken, and the other left,” leaves us in no doubt regarding what Jesus was talking about. Jesus said, “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” (Luke 17:34-37)

The disciples who heard Christ’s words wanted a clarification of what Christ was talking about, so they asked Him, “Where, Lord?” Were they asking “where will they be taken?” or “where will they be left?” The answer is obvious, they could not be asking where will they be left, because Jesus had plainly told them that the one in a bed will be left in the bed, the one at the grinding mill will be left at the grinding mill, the one in the field will be left in the field. The disciples wanted to know where the ones taken would go. Jesus answered, “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” (Luke 17:37) Here Christ is saying that the ones taken will be taken in death, and their dead bodies will attract flesh-eating birds. We read about this in Revelation: “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” (Revelation 19:17, 18)

After examining the evidence, we can see that Christ was not talking about a secret rapture when He said, “one shall be taken, and the other left.” In fact, if Christ had been referring to such a teaching He would have contradicted His own words that He spoke a few minutes earlier. He said that the Christians would be here during the tribulation. He said, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:6-10, 13) I doubt anyone could have convinced a Christian in the World Trade Center on 9-11 that they would be secretly raptured before things got really bad. Nor would the true Christians during the Dark Ages, who were tortured to death, have believed such fables.

Jesus said, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:20-22) It would be pointless for Jesus to admonish us to pray that our flight be not in the winter or on the Sabbath day if we were to be raptured before the tribulation.

Jesus continued, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:23-28)

Jesus said specifically that if anyone tells you that Christ has come secretly we are not to believe it. He said that His coming would be as the lightening, filling the entire sky so that every eye shall see Him. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7) “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26)

Jesus specifically warned us that there would arise false prophets who would seek to deceive His people on this very subject, and we can see His prophecy fulfilled today. Many false prophets are proclaiming that Christ will come secretly for His people, but Jesus told us when He would come for His people. He said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

There should be no doubt in our minds regarding this issue. Christ has made it plain. He said, “Behold, I have told you before.” God’s people who are alive on the earth when the tribulation begins will go through the tribulation. Some will be killed. Some of the wicked will be converted during this time. At the end of the tribulation the seven last plagues will be poured out on the wicked (Revelation 16) while the righteous will be protected from these plagues. Immediately following the plagues Christ will come very visibly and the wicked will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming. The graves of the righteous will be opened and they will rise to meet the Lord. Then the righteous will be caught up to be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the May 2002 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: What about the secret rapture?

“Why do you say there will be no rapture? When Paul said, in a twinkle of your eyes we will all be lifted up?”

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Answer:

This is a very good question. The Bible says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

Both the dead in Christ, and those saints who will be alive at Christ’s coming, will all be caught up to be with the Lord at the same time. The word rapture means “caught up,” and it is certain we shall be caught up, but this will not be secret. There is no problem with the rapture, but there is a big problem with the idea of a secret rapture that is supposedly to take place before Christ’s visible coming. This is not only unbiblical, but it gives people a false hope, making them believe that they will have a second chance to give their lives to the Lord if they miss the “secret rapture.” It also makes people believe there is no need to prepare for the “time of trouble” and to face the mark of the beast crisis. This idea was invented by Satan to trick people. It is not taught in the Bible.

Jesus said that if someone tells you that Christ has come secretly, you should “believe it not.” “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:26, 27).

I hope this helps to answer your question.

This question and its answer were printed in the September 2007 issue of Present Truth.

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