Before I start, let me make this quite clear: there are a number of Bible believing Christians in the world today who do not agree with my view of end time events. The list of Eschatological beliefs is as varied as are the number of man-made denominations within the Christian faith. There are varying beliefs in the Millennium, in the Tribulation, and in the Rapture of the Church. Some hold that there will be no Millennia reign of Christ on the earth, whereas others believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ on the earth. Some believe that the Church will be "caught up" or "Raptured" prior to the start of the Tribulational period on the earth, whereas others believe that the Church shall go through the Tribulation and emerge victorious on the other side at its completion

SBC And The Rapture

The Southern Baptist Faith and Message, revised as of June 14, 2000, states:

X. Last Things : God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.

This statement has not changed since the May 9, 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. Though it does not directly come out and say so, the statement does refer to the "righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies", terms which are descriptive of the Doctrine of the Rapture which we will be studying here today.

I cannot possibly discuss all the varied views of eschatology in the world today: there are books and volumes of books written on this subject. But I do write this paper to explain why I myself believe that the pre-Tribulational view is correct as per the Scriptures. Others may disagree, and they are free to do so. Yet I believe that the Scripture teaches that the Church Age saint shall be "Raptured" or "caught up" to be with Jesus just prior to the onset of the Tribulational period on the earth. That is the traditional "pre-Tribulational" view of the end time - and that is the view that I hold and defend.

Why?

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE: Those on Earth Suffer Tribulation

There are a number of extra-Biblical evidences that seem to teach that the earliest Christian ministers (those who lived during or immediately after the lives of the original Apostles) believed that the Church would be "caught up" and protected from the judgments of the Great Tribulation.

For instance, in the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (written between 68 A.D. to 97 A.D.) we find the following statements:

(Chapter XXVIII) "Since then all things are seen and heard [by God], let us fear Him, and forsake those wicked works which proceed from evil desires; so that, THROUGH HIS MERCY, WE MAY BE PROTECTED FROM THE JUDGMENTS TO COME. For whither can any of us flee from His mighty hand? Or what world will receive any of those who run away from Him? For the Scripture saith in a certain place, "Whither shall I go, and where shall I be hid from Thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there; if I go away even to the uttermost parts of the earth, there is Thy right hand; if I make my bed in the abyss, there is Thy Spirit." Whither, then, shall any one go, or where shall he escape from Him who comprehends all things?"

Clement does not say that we may be protected from the Judgment to come (singular), but from the JudgmentS (plural) which are to come. It appears that he believed and preached that the Christian could avoid the terrible judgments of the Great Tribulation, but was NOT referring to the ONE Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:1-15. The Great Tribulation is indeed a terrible series of judgments that God unleashes on the earth and its inhabitants.

The Book of Revelation, in describing these judgments, does not say that the judgments shall come only on the unbeliever, but that these judgments occur on all who inhabit the earth:

(Revelation 11:6 KJV) "These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and TO SMITE THE EARTH WITH ALL PLAGUES, AS OFTEN AS THEY WILL."

(Revelation 12:12 KJV) "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. WOE TO THE INHABITERS OF THE EARTH and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

(Revelation 13:14 KJV) "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."

In Chapter XXIII, Clement wrote "Wretched are they who are of a double mind, and of a doubting heart; who say, These things we have heard even in the times of our fathers; but, BEHOLD, WE HAVE GROWN OLD, AND NONE OF THEM HAS HAPPENED UNTO US. Of a truth, SOON AND SUDDENLY SHALL HIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED, AS THE SCRIPTURE ALSO BEARS WITNESS, SAYING, "SPEEDILY WILL HE COME, AND WILL NOT TARRY; " and, "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look."

Clement rebuked those who did not believe in the coming Tribulation because they waited and waited and it never occurred. Clement also taught a "sudden" or "imminent" appearance of Christ for His people, another doctrine that the orthodox pre-Tribulationalist holds. In a later chapter, Chapter LVII, Clement calls those who rejected the coming judgments of the Tribulation by saying: "Ye therefore, who LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THIS SEDITION ... Ye therefore, who laid the foundation of this sedition, submit yourselves to the presbyters, and RECEIVE CORRECTION SO AS TO REPENT, bending the knees of your hearts. Learn to be subject, laying aside the proud and arrogant self-confidence of your tongue. For it is better for you that ye should occupy a humble but honorable place in the flock of Christ, than that, being highly exalted, ye should be CAST OUT FROM THE HOPE OF HIS PEOPLE. For thus speaketh all-virtuous Wisdom: 'Behold, I will bring forth to you the words of My Spirit, and I will teach you My speech. Since I called, and ye did not hear; I held forth My words, and ye regarded not, but set at naught My counsels, and yielded not at My reproofs; therefore I too will laugh at your destruction; yea, I will rejoice when ruin cometh upon you, and when sudden confusion overtakes you, when overturning presents itself like a tempest, or WHEN TRIBULATION AND OPPRESSION FALL UPON YOU. For it shall come to pass, that when ye call upon Me, I will not hear you; the wicked shall seek Me, and they shall not find Me. For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; nor would they listen to My counsels, but despised My reproofs. Wherefore they shall eat the fruits of their own way, and they shall be filled with their own ungodliness". It appears that Clement not only believed in a Great Tribulation period, but also expected that the Church Age believer would be spared such a fate.

In The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Polycarp also appeared to accept a pre-Tribulational view of the coming judgments on the earth. He wrote in Chapter VII: "For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist; " and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and SAYS THAT THERE IS NEITHER A RESURRECTION NOR A JUDGMENT, HE IS THE FIRST-BORN OF SATAN. Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, LET US RETURN TO THE WORD WHICH HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN TO US FROM THE BEGINNING; "WATCHING UNTO PRAYER," and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God "not to lead us into temptation," as the Lord has said: "The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak"

As with Clement, Polycarp's terminology seems to support the Doctrine of the Imminent return of Jesus Christ to the earth. This is what spurred the early Church to faithfulness - each member believed that Jesus could come back at ANY MOMENT for His Church, and they wanted to be ready for Him when He came.

A particularly interesting writing is found in a sermon by Pseudo-Ephraem. This ancient writing was made by 'Pseudo-Ephraem', someone who wrote claiming that his sermon was written by Ephraem of Nisibis (306-73), considered to be the greatest figure in the history of the Syrian church. Wilhelm Bousset dated the writing at 373 AD; Caspari's estimated it written sometime between 565 and 627, and Paul Alexander agreed. Though we do not know authoritatively when the writing was made, we do know that it was very early in the history of the Christian Church - and the sermon clearly upholds the pre-Tribulational view of eschatology.

Section 1

Dearly beloved brothers, believe the Holy Spirit who speaks in us. We have already told you that the end of the world is near, the consummation remains. Has not faith withered away among mankind? How many foolish things are seen among youths, how many crimes among prelates, how many lies among priests, how many perjuries among deacons! There are evil deeds among the ministers, adulteries in the aged, wantonness in the youths--in mature women false faces, in virgins dangerous traces! In the midst of all this there are the wars with the Persians, and we see struggles with diverse nations threatening and "kingdom rising against kingdom'' (Matt. 24:7). When the Roman empire begins to be consumed by the sword, the coming of the Evil One is at hand. It is necessary that the world come to an end at the completion of the Roman empire.

In those days two brothers will come to the Roman empire who will rule with one mind; but because one will surpass the other, there will be a schism between them. And so the Adversary will be loosed and will stir up hatred between the Persian and Roman empires. In those days many will rise up against Rome; the Jewish people will be her adversaries. There will be stirrings of nations and evil reports, pestilence's, famines, and earth quakes in various places. All nations will receive captives; there will be wars and rumors of wars. From the rising to the setting of the sun the sword will devour much. The times will be so dangerous that in fear and trembling they will not permit thought of better things, because many will be the oppressions and desolation's of regions that are to come.

Section 2

WE OUGHT TO UNDERSTAND THOROUGHLY THEREFORE, MY BROTHERS, WHAT IS IMMINENT OR OVERHANGING. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already been fulfilled (consummated), and there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom. Why therefore are we occupied with worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE MEETING OF THE LORD CHRIST, SO THAT HE MAY DRAW US FROM THE CONFUSION, WHICH OVERWHELMS ALL THE WORLD? Believe you me, dearest brother, BECAUSE THE COMING (ADVENT) OF THE LORD IS NIGH, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: "Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!" For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord. And we think that the earth exists with blind infidelity, arriving at its downfall early. Commotion's are brought forth, wars of diverse peoples and battles and incursions of the barbarians threaten, and our regions shall be desolated, and we neither become very much afraid of the report nor of the appearance, in order that we may at least do penance; because they hurl fear at us, and we do not wish to be changed, although we at least stand in need of penance for our actions!

Section 3

When therefore the end of the world comes, there arise diverse wars, commotion's on all sides, horrible earthquakes, perturbations of nations, tempests throughout the lands, plagues, famine, drought throughout the thoroughfares, great danger throughout the sea and dry land, constant persecutions, slaughters and massacres everywhere, fear in the homes, panic in the cities, quaking in the thoroughfares, suspicions in the male, anxiety in the streets. In the desert people become senseless, spirits melt in the cities. A friend will not be grieved over a friend, neither a brother for a brother, nor parents for their children, nor a faithful servant for his master, but one inevitability shall overwhelm them all; neither is anyone able to be recovered in that time, who has not been made completely aware of the coming danger, but all people, who have been constricted by fear, are consumed because of the overhanging evils.

Section 4

Whenever therefore the earth is agitated by the nations, people will hide themselves from the wars in the mountains and rocks, by caves and caverns of the earth, by graves and memorials of the dead, and there, as they waste away gradually by fear, they draw breath, because there is not any place at all to flee, but there will be concession and intolerable pressure. And those who are in the east will flee to the west, and moreover, those who are in the west shall flee to the east, and there is not a safer place anywhere, because the world shall be overwhelmed by worthless nations, whose aspect appears to be of wild animals more than that of men. Because those very much horrible nations, most profane and most defiled, who do not spare lives, and shall destroy the living from the dead, shall consume the dead, they eat dead flesh, they drink the blood of beasts, they pollute the world, contaminate all things, and the one who is able to resist them is not there. In those days people shall not be buried, neither Christian, nor heretic, neither Jew, nor pagan, because of fear and dread there is not one who buries them; because all people, while they are fleeing, ignore them.

Section 5

Whenever the days of the times of those nations have been fulfilled, after they have destroyed the earth, it shall rest; and now the kingdom of the Romans is removed from everyday life, and the empire of the Christians is handed down by God and Peter; and then the consummation comes, when the kingdom of the Romans begins to be fulfilled, and all dominions and powers have been fulfilled. Then that worthless and abominable dragon shall appear, he, whom Moses named in Deuteronomy, saying:-Dan is a young lion, reclining and leaping from Basan. Because he reclines in order that he may seize and destroy and slay. Indeed (he is) a young whelp of a lion not as the lion of the tribe of Judah, but roaring because of his wrath, that he may devour. "And he leaps out from Basan." "Basan" certainly is interpreted "confusion." He shall rise up from the confusion of his iniquity. The one who gathers together to himself a partridge the children of confusion, also shall call them, whom he has not brought forth, just as Jeremiah the prophet says. Also in the last day they shall relinquish him just as confused.

Section 6

When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying and murderous one is born from the tribe of Dan. He is conceived from the seed of a man and from an unclean or most vile virgin, mixed with an evil or worthless spirit. But that abominable corrupter, more of spirits than of bodies, while a youth, the crafty dragon appears under the appearance of righteousness, before he takes the kingdom. Because he will be craftily gentle to all people, not receiving gifts, not placed before another person, loving to all people, quiet to everyone, not desiring gifts, appearing friendly among close friends, so that men may bless him, saying;-he is a just man, not knowing that a wolf lies concealed under the appearance of a lamb, and that a greedy man is inside under the skin of a sheep.

Section 7

But when the time of the abomination of his desolation begins to approach, having been made legal, he takes the empire, and, just as it is said in the Psalm:-They have been made for the undertaking for the sons of Loth, the Moabites and the Ammanites shall meet him first as their king. Therefore, when he receives the kingdom, he orders the temple of God to be rebuilt for himself, which is in Jerusalem; who, after coming into it, he shall sit as God and order that he be adored by all nations, since he is carnal and filthy and mixed with worthless spirit and flesh. Then that eloquence shall be fulfilled of Daniel the prophet:-And he shall not know the God of their fathers, and he shall not know the desires of women. Because the very wicked serpent shall direct every worship to himself. Because he shall put forth an edict so that people may be circumcised according to the rite of the old law. Then the Jews shall congratulate him, because he gave them again the practice of the first covenant; then all people from everywhere shall flock together to him at the city of Jerusalem, and the holy city shall be trampled on by the nations for forty-two months, just as the holy apostle says in the Apocalypse, which become three and a half years, 1,260 days.

Section 8

In these three years and a half the heaven shall suspend its dew; because there will be no rain upon the earth, and the clouds shall cease to pass through the air, and the stars shall be seen with difficulty in the sky because of the excessive dryness, which happens in the time of the very fierce dragon. Because all great rivers and very powerful fountains that overflow with themselves shall be dried up, torrents shall dry up their watercourses because of the intolerable age, and there will be a great tribulation, as there has not been, since people began to be upon the earth, and there will be famine and an insufferable thirst. And children shall waste away in the bosom of their mothers, and wives upon the knees of their husbands, by not having victuals to eat. Because there will be in those days lack of bread and water, and no one is able to sell or to buy of the grain of the fall harvest, unless he is one who has the serpentine sign on the forehead or on the hand. Then gold and silver and precious clothing or precious stones shall lie along the streets, and also even every type of pearls along the thoroughfares and streets of the cities, but there is not one who may extend the hand and take or desire them, but they consider all things as good as nothing because of the extreme lack and famine of bread, because the earth is not protected by the rains of heaven, and there will be neither dew nor moisture of the air upon the earth. But those who wander through the deserts, fleeing from the face of the serpent, bend their knees to God, just as lambs to the adders of their mothers, being sustained by the salvation of the Lord, and while wandering in states of desertion, they eat herbs.

Section 9

Then, when this inevitability has overwhelmed all people, just and unjust, the just, so that they may be found good by their Lord; and indeed the unjust, so that they may be damned forever with their author the Devil, and, as God beholds the human race in danger and being tossed about by the breath of the horrible dragon, he sends to them consolatory proclamation by his attendants, the prophets Enoch and Elijah, who, while not yet tasting death, are the servants for the heralding of the second coming of Christ, and in order to accuse the enemy. And when those just ones have appeared, they confuse indeed the antagonistic serpent with his cleverness and they call back the faithful witnesses to God, in order to (free them) from his seduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 10

And when the three and a half years have been completed, the time of the Antichrist, through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets, in the hour which the world does not know, and on the day which the enemy of son of perdition does not know, will come the sign of the Son of Man, and coming forward the Lord shall appear with great power and much majesty, with the sign of the wood of salvation going before him, and also even with all the powers of the heavens with the whole chorus of the saints, with those who bear the sign of the holy cross upon their shoulders, as the angelic trumpet precedes him, which shall sound and declare: Arise, O sleeping ones, arise, meet Christ, because his hour of judgment has come! Then Christ shall come and the enemy shall be thrown into confusion, and the Lord shall destroy him by the spirit of his mouth. And he shall be bound and shall be plunged into the abyss of everlasting fire alive with his father Satan; and all people, who do his wishes, shall perish with him forever; but the righteous ones shall inherit everlasting life with the Lord forever and ever."

The writer of this letter seems to believe that the Christian shall be spared the effects of the Great Tribulation, for in section II he states:

"PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE MEETING OF THE LORD CHRIST, SO THAT HE MAY DRAW US FROM THE CONFUSION, WHICH OVERWHELMS ALL THE WORLD?"

It is obvious that this early Christian writing supported the pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what of the preeminent Christian writing? What of the Holy Scriptures? Can we find evidence there that Christ is coming to take His Bride, the Church, away from this earth prior to the Great Tribulation?

THE BLESSED HOPE: A Synonym For The Rapture

(Titus 2:11-13 KJV) "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, {12} Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; {13} LOOKING FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE, AND THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST;"

Paul exhorted the early Church to "keep on looking for" the blessed hope. "Looking" in the Greek is an interesting word, the word prosdechomai [pronounced pros-dekh’-om-ahee]. It is a participle in the Present tense and in the Middle Voice. Prosdechomai means to "expectantly look for the fulfillment of a promise". What was this "blessed hope" that we are to keep on looking for?

The "blessed hope" expectantly waited for could not be the salvation of our souls, for the Scripture teaches that, at the moment we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, THEN WE ARE SAVED. As the Holy Word tells us:

(Romans 10:9-10 KJV) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. {10} For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

No, salvation comes at the point of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Paul told the Church to keep on looking expectantly for the fulfillment of promise. What promise has our Lord not yet fulfilled? He has not yet given us our glorified bodies. Even though our souls are saved, our bodies are still corrupted by the taint that Adam brought on the whole human race. Our bodies are still fouled with sin, the flesh, and we suffer corruption and die because of it. Thus the believer is exhorted to keep on looking for the fulfillment of His promise, the glorified body that we shall all receive at the moment Christ returns to take His Church from this earth.

Paul knew that the resurrection of our bodies, that moment when we shall be changed so that the corruption of sin no longer mars our being. The early Church was taught that when Jesus returned for the Church that, along with His appearance, we would be changed TO BE LIKE HIM. Sin would be eradicated from our bodies, and we would be given glorified bodies. Hence you see the teaching of:

(1 John 3:2 KJV) "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

WE DO NOT KNOW, in reality, WHAT WE SHALL BE. That is, we have not experienced the completion of our salvation. Our souls are saved, but our bodies are yet reeking of sin. Our souls are born again, but our bodies are still corrupted under the first birth that we had from our mother's womb. We are not where we will ultimately be, but we KNOW that WHEN JESUS APPEARS WE SHALL BE CHANGED, and we shall become like Jesus in His glorified Body is. This is our hope, the hope that we who are believers wait for.

Paul was so moved with the teaching of the Rapture, that moment when the Lord Jesus Christ would change our bodies from corruption to incorruption, that he frequently preached that resurrection as he moved from city to city. As a matter of fact, his teaching on the resurrection often got him in trouble with the unbelievers who heard his messages. This should not be shocking, though, for those who were Apostles BEFORE Paul preached the "Blessed Hope":

(Acts 4:1-2 KJV) "And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, {2} Being grieved that they taught the people, and PREACHED THROUGH JESUS THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD."

And were rejected by the religious leaders of that day. Paul continued this tradition in preaching the Gospel And the Blessed Hope:

(Acts 23:6-9 KJV) "But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, And the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men And brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: OF THE HOPE AND RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD I AM CALLED IN QUESTION. {7} And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees And the Sadducees: And the multitude was divided. {8} For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. {9} And there arose a great cry: And the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, And strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God."

(Acts 24:14-15 KJV) "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law And in the prophets: {15} And HAVE HOPE TOWARD GOD, which they themselves also allow, THAT THERE SHALL BE A RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, BOTH OF THE JUST AND UNJUST."

(Acts 24:20-21 KJV) "Or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council, {21} Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, TOUCHING THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD I AM CALLED IN QUESTION by you this day."

(Acts 17:15-20 KJV) "And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: And receiving a commandment unto Silas And Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. {16} Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. {17} Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, And with the devout persons, And in the market daily with them that met with him. {18} Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, And of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: BECAUSE HE PREACHED UNTO THEM JESUS, AND THE RESURRECTION. {19} And they took him, And brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? {20} For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean."

When Paul preached the Gospel of Christ he also frequently preached, with the Gospel, that which was called "The Blessed Hope". The Blessed Hope taught that there would be a day when every believer would be resurrected, And in that resurrection be given a glorified body, free from the taint of sin. The Blessed Hope also taught that the unbeliever would also stand before God in resurrected body, but he would stand before God for JUDGMENT And final dispatch by our risen Savior.

(Acts 17:31-32 KJV) "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY THAT MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED; whereof HE HATH GIVEN ASSURANCE UNTO ALL MEN, IN THAT HE HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. {32} And when they HEARD OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, some mocked: And others said, We will hear thee again of this matter."

The Christian of the early Church kept looking expectantly for Jesus Christ to return again And receive us to Himself. The Christian of the early Church knew that, when Jesus appeared to Rapture His Church, at that very moment He would give us our resurrection bodies.

(Philippians 3:20-21 KJV) "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also WE LOOK FOR THE SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: {21} WHO SHALL CHANGE OUR VILE BODY, THAT IT MAY BE FASHIONED LIKE UNTO HIS GLORIOUS BODY, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

The early Christian was NOT COMFORTABLE IN HIS FLESH, but like all true believers desperately wanted our Savior to come And complete the work that was started in us at the moment we accepted Him as Savior. They kept on looking expectantly for Jesus, knowing that He could come at any moment. Their preachers exhorted them to keep on looking for Jesus, And keep on looking for the resurrection And its changing of our vile bodies into sinless And pure glorified bodies. Just as we accepted Christ by faith, And He did the work of saving us by His blood; on resurrection day, that moment of Rapture, Jesus Christ our Groom will change our bodies to be like His - holy, undefiled, purified from sickness And sin. The unbeliever had no Hope, no Blessed Hope, for the unbeliever had never accepted Christ as Savior. The unbeliever could not look at the Risen Savior, perfect And free from sin, And hope that one day that he would be like Jesus. The unbeliever, the heathen, the foolish who rejected the Cross of Christ And made it out to be a lie, regarded life as the time we spend on this earth, And death as the cessation of life. But the believer who saw Jesus, high And lifted up, gloriously conquering death And sin, had a Blessed Hope. The believer knew that belief in Jesus Christ set a greater, more awesome thing in motion than we could ever imagine. The believer knew that the Promise that God made to us in Christ would not be completely fulfilled until we were returned to a pre-Adamic state, free from sin in both body And soul.

WHY CALL IT "RAPTURE" and not "Blessed Hope"?

Early Christians called the resurrection And glorification of our bodies by Jesus Christ "the Blessed Hope", though today we refer to this event as "The Rapture". Many have risen up And, in an effort to discredit the teaching, have declared "there is no such word as "Rapture" in the Scripture". I could easily respond that there are no such words as "Trinity", or "Hypostatic Union", or "Satisfaction of Christ", or "Intercalation of the Church" in the Scripture - yet these words And phrases are all accepted by theologians as representative of certain doctrines clearly taught in Scripture. Not finding a word in Scripture does not negate the truth of the doctrine behind it. As humans we express ourselves with words, And often use certain terms And certain phrases to describe Godly truths. There is no error in this unless the words we use are not supported by the clear teaching of the Scripture. The Rapture of the Church is clearly taught in Scripture.

As to the charge that the word "Rapture" is not found in Scripture, that is a partial untruth. In the Latin Vulgate, a translation of the Holy Bible that preceded the King James Version, we see in 1 Thessalonians 4:17:

RAPIEMUR, which is the Latin translation of the Greek HARPAZO (meaning "caught up"), is the verb where we get the noun RAPTUS or, in the English, RAPTURE. Our forefathers took the word RAPTURE directly And literally from the Scriptural translation that they had. The word, from that point in Church history, gained popularity, And remained even when we as believers produced other versions of the Holy Scripture.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in this, though the Biblically misinformed will use this as a "major attack" against pre-Tribulationalists Let's look at the entire text in question:

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV) "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. {14} For if we believe that Jesus died And rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. {15} For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive And remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. {16} 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: {17} 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. {18} Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

The Thessalonian believers had begun to listen to the false doctrines that often eddy around a Church like swamp water. Paul wrote these believers so that they would not be hopeless as the heathen are, believing that this life is all that we have. As believers we have a Blessed Hope. We know that our Loved Ones are not dissipated in eternity, but that they are with our Lord Jesus Christ.

"If we believe that Jesus died And rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus WILL GOD BRING WITH HIM"

Those whom we love who have left this life are with Jesus now, but they are not completed - they still do not have glorified bodies. Paul gently told the Thessalonians that Jesus would bring these dearly departed saints back with Him, And that:

"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..."

the dead IN CHRIST shall receive their glorified bodies FIRST. Then we, who are those who have accepted Christ as Savior,

"shall be CAUGHT UP TOGETHER (Greek HARPAZO, Latin RAPIEMUR, or SHALL BE RAPTURED) with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: And so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Could it be any plainer? The "dead in Christ" shall come back with Christ, And shall receive their glorified bodies first. After this the believer still on the earth shall be "caught up" or Raptured to meet Jesus in the air. There is no indication in the text that Paul meant to speak in allegories, illustrative language, but the text cries out for a literal interpretation. In the Rapture Jesus Christ does not come to earth, but remains in the clouds

And catches up believers to Himself. This He does in fulfillment of His promise:

(John 14:1-3 KJV) "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. {2} In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. {3} And if I go And prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, And RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO."

The Rapture is that time that Jesus promised us, that time when He returns And"receives us unto Himself". We are caught up into the clouds with Him, And in that moment of catching up are translated, resurrected, given immortal And incorruptible, sinless, glorified bodies. The Rapture is the time promised when the believer's body is resurrected from the grave:

(John 5:25-29 KJV) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, THE HOUR IS COMING, And NOW IS, WHEN THE DEAD SHALL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD: And THEY THAT HEAR SHALL LIVE. {26} For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; {27} And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. {28} Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE, {29} And SHALL COME FORTH; THEY THAT HAVE DONE GOOD, UNTO THE RESURRECTION OF LIFE; And they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

The day is coming when Jesus shall descend from the Heavens, And appear to all His saints, just as the angels of God promised at His ascension:

(Acts 1:9-11 KJV) "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; And a cloud received him out of their sight. {10} And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; {11} Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same JESUS, WHICH IS TAKEN UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN, SHALL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER AS YE HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN."