Pondering the Rapture

COLLEEN TINKER

As Nikki Stevenson and I have been walking through the book of Revelation in the Former Adventist Podcast, we have been bumping into questions about the rapture of the church.

As Adventists we were taught to dismiss the idea of a “secret rapture” of the church as popularized by Hal Lindsay’s The Late Great Planet Earth and by the Left Behind movies. As we have re-examined all of our Adventist suppositions regarding aspects of eschatology, we have carefully talked through our understanding of “theological triage”, to borrow a phrase attributed to Al Mohler, currently the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and currently used among evangelicals. 

Using this framework, we have classified our eschatological beliefs as first tier, second tier, and third tier doctrines. First tier beliefs—or those most important for biblical consistency and doctrines true believers share—include the facts that Jesus is coming back to get His people and that we will forever be with the Lord. 

Second tier beliefs—doctrines over which believers may disagree but which are not heretical—include the millennium. Third tier beliefs—doctrines over which there may be widely varied understandings among believers and which do not alter the outcome of Jesus’ return and establishment of His eternal reign—include the timing of the rapture, or the catching up of God’s people to be with Him forever. 

I believe the timing of the rapture is a third-tier issue. Many Christians differ over whether Jesus comes for His saints before the tribulation, after the tribulation, or some other variation of timing. In fact, I will not divide with other brothers and sisters in Christ who see the timing of the rapture differently. On the one hand, however, if someone claiming to be a Christian were to say that Jesus is not returning in the future to take us to be with Himself, I would have to see that belief as a heresy and could not find Christian fellowship with him or her. On the other hand, if a Christian believes that the rapture occurs after the tribulation instead of before—that belief itself does not affect our fellowship. We still believe the biblical teaching that the Lord Jesus is coming for His own so we will be with Him forever. 

The grammatical-historical hermeneutic which we have been using consistently as we have studied the Bible helps me understand the references I see in Scripture where Jesus’ return for His saints is mentioned. Reading the Bible as I would read any normal book of literature, science, or history—using normal rules of grammar, vocabulary, and context—helps me understand that the words the Bible uses are not accidents. Paul tells us this in 2 Timothy 3:16:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Also, Hebrews 4:12, 13 reminds me that every word of Scripture is alive and powerful and from its Author:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

In other words, the variations in passages of Scripture are there for our instruction and clarity. As I have learned to trust that the words mean what the words say, Scripture has become more and more understandable. It fits together seamlessly without the need for me to metaphor-ize words that I don’t quite understand. I can look at similar and different passages and see that I can trust the words to mean what they say. Thus this hermeneutic has helped me see what I never saw as an Adventist: the Lord Jesus is coming for His church at a specific time, and He has let us know how He will come. 

The Church Is Not Israel

One outcome of believing the actual words of Scripture is that I have come to see that the church is something Jesus established that is completely new. First, Israel was God’s nation, created from a miraculous birth promised by an unconditional covenant to God’s chosen man, Abraham. God created a nation and gave them a law that foreshadowed the work of the Savior who would be born as a descendant of that promised son. Israel became God’s people on earth, and the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises. When He came, He became the perfect Sacrifice, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. When He fulfilled the requirements of the law, taking its death sentence for all who ever disobeyed and breaking that curse by rising from the dead, He inaugurated a new covenant in His blood. All who hear His voice and believe in Him and His finished work of atonement are brought from death to life. 

When Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after His resurrection, He told His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit. They were not to leave Jerusalem or attempt to evangelize until He equipped them with the power of God permanently.

Ten days later, the next age in God’s dealings with humanity began. On the day of the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the waiting, praying disciples. Tongues of flame rested on their heads, and they began to praise God and to speak in tongues that all the pilgrim Jews who were in Jerusalem for the feast could understand. (See Acts 1 and 2.) On that day, Peter preached in the temple, and 3,000 orthodox Jews heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and believed! Three thousand new believers were added to the brand-new body of Christ that day, and the numbers continued to grow. 

It is at this point in the story of Jesus and His church that many Christians become slightly unclear. Many say that the church is a continuation of Israel, and some say that the church replaces Israel. Many Christians say that because the Jewish nation rejected Jesus as their Messiah, the church has taken their place and receives all the Old Testament blessings God promised Israel.

Yet the Bible never says that the church replaces Israel, nor does it say that God’s promises to Israel are transferred to the church. Neither is the church a continuation of Israel. Romans 9 through 11 clarify that Israel is Israel, and God’s promises to Israel cannot be broken. The church is something new, and gentile believers (as well as Jewish believers) are grafted into God’s “olive tree”—His eternal plans and purposes. Romans 11 reveals that God’s promises to Abraham and the patriarchs are the foundation of both Israel and the church, that even though the two are separate “bodies”, they share a Savior and an inheritance in Christ of all the riches and promises of God. 

I say all this because as I have begun to understand that the church is a completely new creation, I have also come to see that God’s purposes for Israel are distinct in this world from that of the church. Paul says this:

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17).

We are not merely figuratively new; we are literally new. We have been given new hearts and new spirits, as God promised in Ezekiel 36:26, and we also have God’s own Spirit indwelling us (Ephesians 1:13,14)! It is almost as if we are a new race of people, and we have a new Head, the Lord Jesus! 

Paul put it this way:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22).

Understanding that the church is a completely NEW creation made possible by the completed atonement of the Lord Jesus on the cross and by His breaking death by the power of His sufficient sacrifice has made the question of the rapture more clear. 

What About Matthew 24?

I recently received a thoughtful email from a brother in Christ who was worried about Nikki’s and my view expressed in the Former Adventist Podcast that Jesus comes for His church before the tribulation. What about Matthew 24, he asked, as well as Mark 13 and Luke 21? In those passages Jesus is talking to His disciples about the signs of His return, and He describes the gathering of His elect in an event that occurs AFTER the tribulation. Here is the passage from Matthew 24:29–31:

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

This passage spoken by the Lord Jesus clearly states that this event of Jesus’ return and the gathering of the elect occurs after the tribulation. The writer of the email earnestly appealed to me to consider that the words of Jesus appear to identify the rapture of His people specifically at the end of the tribulation. 

Indeed, I took his appeal seriously. I do not want to endorse a belief that is outside the words of Scripture. So I shared the email with Nikki, and we discussed it together and with my husband Richard who helps us work through the theological details we talk about in the podcasts. I will share some of the passages and insights that have helped me work through this question.

First Thessalonians 4 Compared with Matthew 24

Before we look further at the details of the Matthew passage quoted above, I share here one of the central passages from which Christians understand the rapture of the church:

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 (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

My friend the email writer is right that the Matthew passage and Paul’s words above have similarities. The context, though, helps us see the differences. In Matthew, Jesus is speaking pre-cross to His disciples. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus addresses the fact that the temple will be destroyed, that “not one stone here will be left upon another” (Mt. 24:2). 

The disciples ask Him, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mt. 24:3). 

Jesus then begins His answer to them—an answer which “telescopes” the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the events at the end of the age that usher in His gathering of the elect. 

It is significant that as Jesus addresses His disciples in this passage, He is speaking to them as a Jewish audience. The church has not yet come into existence. In fact, Jesus even uses a reference to “the abomination of desolation” (Mt. 24:15) spoken of in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 and reminds his listeners to understand that He is referring to the specifically Jewish prophecy that Daniel delivered in His book. 

As Jesus describes the events in the future that will be what we call “the tribulation”, He is fleshing out the prophecies of Daniel 9 and Daniel 11 that God gave to let His people, Israel, know what their future held. (For more detail about the Daniel prophecies, listen to the podcasts covering Daniel 9 and Daniel 11.

Former Adventist Podcast:

• Daniel 9
• Daniel 11

Significantly, the church is never discussed in the Daniel prophecies because God was speaking to Israel prior to the existence of the church. The church, after all, is a completely new creation made possible by Jesus’ completed atonement and by His blood of the new covenant opening a new and living way to God (Heb. 10:20). 

Also significantly, Paul was given the assignment of making known to everyone the administration of the “mystery” (Eph. 3:9)—the new covenant which provides a new birth and the indwelling Holy Spirit to all who place their faith in Jesus and His finished work of atonement. The church, according to Paul, was a mystery not fully revealed in the Old Testament because the Messiah had not yet come. The old covenant was a covenant of shadows prefiguring the Messiah, but only when Jesus came and fulfilled the old covenant and inaugurated the new one in His blood did the mystery of the church become a reality.

Therefore, when Paul speaks to the church about their being caught up to be with the Lord, He is speaking to them directly. His descriptions of the future are for them, and the details are distinct from the details that will define the future for Israel as God completes His promises to them.

How, then, are we to reconcile Matthew 24 with 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18??

While there are some similarities between Jesus’ description in Matthew 24 and Paul’s description in 1 Thessalonians—they both include a trumpet and a gathering of the elect—there are also dissimilarities. I will share a quotation from the PreceptAustin.org website:

Robert L. Thomas explains why the “Great Trumpet” in Mt 24:31 is not synonymous with the trumpet associated with the Rapture—…dissimilarities between it and the canonical sayings of Christ far outweigh the resemblances….Some of the differences between Mt 24:30, 31 and 1Th 4:15-17 are as follows: (1) In Matthew the Son of Man is coming on the clouds… in 1 Thessalonians ascending believers are in them. (2) In the former the angels gather, in the latter the Son does so personally. (3) In the former nothing is said about resurrection, while in the latter this is the main theme. (4) Matthew records nothing about the order of ascent, which is the principal lesson in Thessalonians. (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary- Ephesians through Philemon- 1979 Edition, Pages 276-277)

One of the most compelling differences, to me, is the fact that the Matthew 24 passage does not include a discussion of a resurrection. Paul emphasizes that the church can KNOW that those who have “fallen asleep in Jesus” will be raised and caught up to Him along with those who are alive at His return. 

Especially significant is the phrase “fallen asleep in Jesus”. This description can only apply to Christians who have been born again. This phrase is never used to describe believing Israelites because they were not “in Christ”. 

Angels gather the elect

The Matthew passage says that the angels gather the elect from “the four winds, from one end of the sky to another”. Yet the 1 Thessalonians passage says that the Lord Jesus comes, and believers all rise to meet Him.

The tribulation is a time of unprecedented judgments from God upon the earth. The Old Testament prophecies foretold this time of trouble that the world would endure, and Revelation describes this time in detail. Yet the church, those born again and literally indwelt by the Spirit of God Himself, are not destined for wrath (1 Thess. 5:9). The church is literally alive with the actual presence of God IN them, not just with them. The Lord Jesus, according to 1 Thessalonians 4, will come for His people who are intimately connected to Him with His own life and presence, and catch them up to be with Him.

During the tribulation the earth will still be populated with people who are not believers. We see all through Revelation that during the tribulation, people are still coming to faith. In fact, the both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises that God will avenge and save His people from Judah and Ephraim out of tribulation. (See Deuteronomy 32:43; Ps. 79:10,11; Jeremiah 30:7–9; Zechariah 9:13–16; Rev. 7:13,14; 19:2, etc.)

It is these elect people that the angels gather and bring to Jesus at the end of the tribulation, as Jesus describes further in Matthew 13:36–43. The fact that the Matthew 24 passage does not describe a resurrection informs us that the people who are gathered by the angels are alive on the earth. They are gathered at the end of the tribulation and rescued from the earth’s destruction.

The church, on the other hand, is directly caught up by the Lord Jesus Himself as He resurrects all who have fallen asleep in Him, glorifying them simultaneously with those who are alive and are caught up together with them in the air to be with the Lord forever.

There is no description in the New Testament of the church going through the tribulation. They have lived and suffered for the Lord Jesus during their lifetimes, and the judgments of the tribulation against sinful man fell on Jesus Himself as He hung on the cross. The sins and judgments of the church are on Jesus, and He catches them up to Himself prior to the tribulation.

The rest of the world, however, will go through the tribulation just as the Old Testament prophecies have foretold. Those who come to trust God during the tribulation will be gathered by the angels and brought to Jesus. In fact, in Revelation 6:11–17, we see that there is no blindness about who Jesus is or about where the judgments falling on them are coming from. The whole world will see and know that the tribulation judgments are from the hand of the the Lamb who was slain. They will see Him.

Those who come to faith during the tribulation will be rescued at the end of it as angels gather them up. The church has already been caught up with Jesus because they are not destined for wrath. 

Summary

In conclusion, we can summarize the distinctive details about the angelic “catching up” of the elect as described in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse and compare them with the details of Paul’s description of the rapture of the church:

Distinctive Details about Matthew 24:29–31

1. The gathering of the elect occurs AFTER the tribulation 
2. The tribulation will be a universal experience on earth with cosmic and earthly derangement.
3. A great trumpet will announce the angels who gather the elect from every part of the earth.
4. This appearance will be universal; all will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with glory.
5. No resurrection is included in this catching up.
6. These elect, or chosen people, are not said to be “in Jesus” nor identified as the church.
7. The audience to whom Jesus is speaking is pre-cross, pre-new covenant Jews.
8. Jesus is explaining how the prophecies of saving the elect out of tribulation will occur. 

Distinctive Details about 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

1. Paul is speaking to born-again believers who fear those who have died will miss Jesus’ return.
2. There is no mention of the tribulation being associated with believer’s being caught up.
3. Angels are not part of this return and catching up.
4. God brings with Jesus those “who have fallen asleep in” Him. Their spirits return with Jesus. 
5. The Lord Himself will descend with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.
6. The dead in Christ will rise first; the resurrection is central to this event.
7. Then the living believers are caught up with them and together they meet the Lord in the air.
8. Resurrection before living believers are caught up together with the resurrected is central.
9. The body of Christ will always be with the Lord.
10. We are to comfort one another within the church with these words.
11. Jesus Himself comes for His own with no angelic delegation gathering us. Our eternal life connects us directly with Jesus our Lord, the Head of the Body. 

Conclusion

Again I want to say this: these observations are the way I understand these passages of Scripture as I read them today. Other brothers and sisters in Jesus understand these things differently, and I am content to see things differently without breaking fellowship. 

I suspect that, in the end, we will all be surprised at the details as they come to pass. Likely all of us will be surprised and blessed as we enter the physical presence of our Savior. I do not want to create division among the body of Christ because of the way I understand the timing of the rapture.

At the same time, I do not want to be afraid to discuss how I read Scripture as I continue to use the hermeneutic that has made this Book so accessible, so transforming, and so grounding in truth and reality. God’s word is for us. Our Lord has given us this revelation of His will and of our identities in Him. I pray that as we continue to read and study, to look into the prophecies and promises of our God which cannot fail, we will all be humbled and find ourselves joining that eternal chorus in heaven singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). †

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Colleen Tinker

Colleen Tinker, the editor of Proclamation! magazine, and her husband Richard left Adventism in 1998 with their two sons, Roy and Nathanael, who were in grades six and ten. They have co-led the Former Adventist Fellowship since 1999. Colleen, a graduate of Walla Walla University, is a former high school English teacher and also the former managing editor of Adventist Today magazine. Colleen became the stepmother of Roy and Nathanael in 1989, and in 2008 she adopted them. Romans 8:15-17 has assumed new depth and significance for her and Richard since she and her sons chose to claim each other legally and permanently. She and Richard share an office and a commitment to sharing the gospel of the true Jesus with all of those seeking a way out of the bondage of the false gospel of Adventism.

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