WHEN WILL THE
A Study By
Gary Ray Branscome
Prove
all things; and hold fast to that which is good
(1Thessalonians
An emphasis on the “rapture” is rather
new to theology. I am not saying that the concept is new, Bible students have
always known that we, “Will be caught
up… to meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians
I am not sure when the term, “rapture”
first began to be used, but because many groups emphasize it, and often treat
it as a separate doctrine of Scripture, we need to look at what the Bible says
about it.
The words, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will
rise first. Then we which are alive and remain will 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,” tell us that the rapture [i.e. being caught up]
will take place right after the resurrection (1Thessalonians
Furthermore, when we read the context
in which that passage appears we find that the Bible also says, “When it comes to the times and the seasons
[i.e. when it will happen]… you know perfectly well that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night; for, when they are saying, Peace and
safety; destruction will come upon them suddenly” (1Thessalonians 5:1-3). Those
words tell us that the “resurrection/rapture” will take place on, “The day of the Lord”. Therefore, we
need to look at what the Bible says about the day of the Lord.
Malachi refers to it as, “The great and dreadful day of the LORD”
(Mal. 4:5). Joel tells us that, “The sun
will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD comes” (Joel
Therefore, because 1Thessalonians 5:2
tells us that the resurrection and rapture will take place on the “Day of the
Lord,” we know that it will take place on the day that the world ends. That
fact is also supported by a number of other passages. The words, “Man lies down, and does not arise: until
the heavens are no more” (Job 14:12), the words, “Every one who looks to the Son, and believes on him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day,” (John
6:40), and the words, “I know that he
will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24),
all tell us that the resurrection and rapture will take place on the “last
day,” and Job tells us that it will take place after “the heavens are no more”.
The Resurrection
Regarding the resurrection, the
Apostle Paul tells us that, “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, the dead will be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For, our corruptible nature must
be made incorruptible, and our mortal nature must become immortal. So when the
corruptible has put on incorruption, and the mortal has put on immortality,
then the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up in victory, will be
fulfilled. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” The
sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law: but, thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ” (1Corinthians
The Book of Revelation describes the
events that follow the sounding of the “last trump” thus, “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet [the last of seven trumpets];
and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and his Christ; and he will reign for ever and
ever… The nations were against you, and your wrath has come, and it is time
for the dead to be judged, and for you to reward your servants the
prophets, and your saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great;
and to destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:15-18). Here
again we see that the resurrection/rapture, which takes place at the “last
trump,” takes place just prior to the final judgment (Compare 1Cor.
Christ described the resurrection
saying, “Truly, truly, I tell you, The
hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of
God: and… all who are in the graves will hear his voice, and will come out;
those who
have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to
the resurrection of damnation” (John
5:25-29). Here again, Christ’s words tell us that the saved and the lost will
be raised together, and both will be judged at that time.
However, in order to rightly
understand what Christ is saying you need to realize that the only people who have “done good” in the sight of God are
those whose sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ. As it is
written, “Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to every one who believes,” for Jesus Christ, “loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood,” and His “blood…
cleanses us of all sin” (Romans 10:4, Revelation 1:5 and 1John 1:7). Those
who fail to understand that key fact wrongly assume that at the final judgment works
will determine who is good. As a result they franticly deny what the Bible says
about the final judgment, twisting some passages of Scripture while explaining
away others, in a vain attempt to convince themselves
that they will not be at the final judgment.
Conclusion
The bogus claim that believers will
not be present at the final judgment is rooted in a failure to understand
“Justification by Faith”. I am not saying that those who make that claim deny
that we are saved by grace. On the contrary, they often emphasize salvation by
grace. Yet they fail to distinguish between salvation and justification. As a
result, they are constantly trying to justify themselves [i.e. please God] by their
“obedience” [works] instead of just trusting in Christ for righteousness, while
leading “a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty” (1Timothy 2:2).