The Rapture of the Church: Truth or Lie?

Question:

Is the rapture of the Church true and biblical or false teaching? I read an article in which it is argued that the doctrine of the “Rapture of the Church” is fake and not older than 200 years.

The article our reader refers to is called Why is the teaching about “the Rapture of the Church” wrong?. In this article, the author seeks to give arguments that prove, on one hand, that the teaching of the rapture of the Church is a doctrine which appeared in the nineteenth century. On the other hand, he argues that this teaching is based on texts taken out of context with words that were both added and removed from the Word of God (these are the words of the author).

I will not stop at the first point of this article that presents the so-called “origin of the teachings of rapture,” in which the author “brings” forth arguments that this doctrine appeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

From the analysis of this article, I understand that the author does not know the prophecies and causes confusion by misunderstanding God’s plan for the Church and for the people of Israel. He also does not differentiate between:

• the future of the Church and the future of the people of Israel,
• the great tribulation by the Antichrist against the people of Israel, and the wrath of God, which is from God for all the inhabitants of the earth,
• the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus and the Day of the Lord.

I will take the arguments in this article one by one and will give counter arguments (or explanations).

Argument 1:

The texts from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 are parallel to the text of Matthew 24:29-31

The first argument in favor of his theory that the teaching of rapture of the Church is false is that the texts from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, describing the Rapture of the Church, are texts parallel to Matthew 24:29-31. The author wrote the following,

Jesus said that He will not come on the clouds of heaven at the sound of the trumpet to gather the saints until the Great Tribulation. All things mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51, the texts that are the basis of the Rapture theory, support what Jesus described will take place at His Second Coming. In these verses, Paul showed what will happen when the Lord returns to earth. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, for example, when he says that we will all meet the Lord in the air, the word “meet” has a certain meaning. It was used with reference to receiving a person in a high position. “It seems that the idea of this word was the welcome to a new dignitary” (Moulton, The New Testament Grammar, Vol.I, p. 14, Vines Expos, Biblical Dictionary). So when the living will rise to meet the Lord, they will not do so to go to Heaven with Him, but to meet Him and receive Jesus as a dignitary, King of kings and Lord of lords. This will happen at His Second Coming. At the same time, believers will be transformed so that when they see Him, they will see Him as He is and will be like Him (1 John 3:2).

Explanation: In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 24, the Lord Jesus speaks especially about the people of Israel, and in verses 29-31 He speaks of the gathering of the saints, that is, of the people of Israel, at His Second Coming. In these verses, the Lord Jesus does not speak about the Church. If we look in the context of chapter 24, we see that the Lord Jesus speaks of the gathering of the saints after the great tribulation that will come upon those of Judea (meaning Jews) from the Antichrist who will sit in the Temple of God,

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea, must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 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. (Matthew 24:14-31)

How can we be sure that this text is not about the Church? There are two points to mention:

1. By the Second Coming of Jesus on earth, the Church will already be in heaven, and she will follow the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming (the Church will not be on earth then):

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:7-14)

2. The second important point is that in Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus speaks of some who will be delivered from the great tribulation as God has saved (delivered) Noah from the Flood,

Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:32-51)

From this text, we see that some who will be on alert, faithful and sensible slaves will be “taken” in a time when no one will suspect that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus is near. They will be delivered from the great tribulation, as Noah was delivered from the waters of the flood. The unbelievers who will be left will have the fate of the hypocrites: they will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth, just as those who had no way of escaping the flood in Noah’s time. Another important element that demonstrates that the text of Matthew 24:40-41 speaks of the day of the coming of Jesus Christ being rapture of the Church and not the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus on earth is that no one knows about that day,

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Matthew 24:36)

Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42)

The day of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus on earth, for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel and the setting up of the kingdom of God, is very easy to calculate: the Second Coming of Jesus on earth and the setting up of the Kingdom of God will be exactly seven years from the beginning of the seventieth week which Daniel wrote about (Daniel 9:24-27). This week will be marked by the beginning of the work of the two prophets in Jerusalem, as we find written in Revelation 11. Two prophets will prophesy 1260 days (three and a half years) in Jerusalem, then for 42 months (another three and a half years), the Antichrist will be in Jerusalem, having great mastery and worldwide power.

So, the texts from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 are not parallel to the text from Matthew 24:29-31 but are parallel to verses 40-41 of this chapter: in verses 29-31, speaking of the gathering of the people of Israel at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus on the earth after the great tribulation, and verses 40-41 about the Rapture of the Church before the great tribulation. I think this is well illustrated in Romans 11:25-26:

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,“The Deliverer will come from Zion,He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” (Romans 11:25-26)

The Scriptures speak clearly of a plan of salvation for the Church (made up of Jews and born again Gentiles) and of the people of Israel as a nation.

Argument 2: The Day of the Lord and the Second Coming of Jesus on earth are identical events. The Day of the Lord is called a day of clouds and the text from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus on earth and not about the Rapture of the Church before the wrath of God with which, in fact, the Day of the Lord begins

Author’s explanations: Jesus tells us that at His coming He will come on the clouds (Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26, Luke 21:27).

 In Acts 1:9-11, Jesus rose from the earth and a cloud covered Him. As the disciples stood and looked up, two men in white clothes told them that as Jesus ascended to Heaven, so will He come (on the clouds). When the two men spoke to them, the disciples were on the earth, not in the air. When the two said that Jesus would return as He left, they said that He will return to earth.

Revelation 1:7 tells us that He will come with the clouds and that every eye will see Him (not a secret coming).

Joel 2:1-2 tells us that the day of the Lord will be, among other things, a day of clouds. We can verify that it is about the Second Coming to which Jesus referred in Matthew 24, because below in Joel 2:10 it is said that the sun, the moon, and the stars will be darkened. The same description is given by Jesus.

Zephaniah 1:14-15 tells us that the great day of the Lord is … a day of clouds.

In 1 Tes. 4:15-17, Paul tells us that at the coming of the Lord, those who are alive will be caught up (raptured) together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. I have already explained what this “meet” is. This verse is in full harmony with the events described by Jesus as having taken place at His Second Coming. Supporters of the Rapture theory have to give an answer to a question: what in this verse does it have to be applied with reference not to the Second Coming, but to the so-called rapture? Where is it written that after the meeting in the air, Jesus will go back with the believers? Nowhere. 

Explicație: Those who studied the book of Revelation and the Old Testament prophecies know that the Day of the Lord is a time period when God will carry out His judgments. It begins with the wrath of God being poured out immediately after the abomination of desolation takes place in the Temple of God and ends with the Last Judgment after the kingdom of a 1000 years. The Second Coming of Jesus falls within this period of time. I explained more details about the Day of the Lord in the next point about the trumpets.

Argument 3: The trumpet is proof that it is about the Day of the Lord (which, in the author’s opinion, is identical to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus)

The author makes the following points or statements: Jesus also said that at His coming the trumpet will ring (call) with power (loud) (Matthew 24:31).

In Joel 2:1, the trumpet is called on the Day of the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:14-16 says that the great day of the Lord is … a day of trumpet.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that the Lord will come down from heaven with the trumpet call of God.

1 Corinthians 15:52 says that at the last trumpet, both the dead and the living will rise. The “last trumpet” is that trumpet that will sound before Jesus returns to earth and gathers the believers. The trumpet from the rising in the air and the trumpet of the Second Coming are one and the same.

As you can see, the two basic verses for the teaching about Rapture are in harmony with what Jesus said about His Second Coming. Supporters of the Rapture theory have yet to answer the question: What exactly do these verses mean to refer to other than the Lord’s return to earth? Nothing.

Explanations: Here we find a classic example of taking the text (or verses) out of its context! But let us examine each passage one by one, since the trumpet in the Bible was meant to gather the crowd and warn against a possible danger.

1. In Matthew 24:31 the angels with the loud trumpet call are sent to gather his elect from the four winds. We have to mention that this is not the seventh trumpet described in Revelation 11, which will sound in the middle of the seventieth week. The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus will be at the end of the seventieth week after the seventh bowl is poured out (Revelation 16, 19).

And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet andthey will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

1. The Book of Joel is a warning to the people concerning the coming of the Day of the Lord, which is a day of “darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness” (verse 2), “a great and very terrible day that no one will be able to endure”(v. 11). Obviously this is not about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus! In this context, the author urges the people (not the angels) to sound the trumpet in Zion before the coming of the Day of the Lord to warn the people about the danger which will come upon them:

Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations. A fire consumes before them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them. (Joel 2:1-3)

Why should it sound? To call the people to repent so that they would be delivered from this terrible day:

For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it? “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a by word among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:11b-17)

1. Zephaniah 1:14-16 shows us that the Day of the Lord begins with war, with a call to war against the fortified cities. The Day of the Lord indeed begins with war against Israel and Jerusalem, which will lead to the standing of Antichrist in the Temple of God at Jerusalem (this is confirmed by several Bible texts, such as Revelation 11 and 13, Daniel 7 and 13, Zechariah 14, Joel 3, Obadiah and many others). In the text of Zephaniah 1:14-16 the trumpet announces war and not the coming of Jesus.

Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and the high corner towers.(Zephaniah 1:14-16)

1. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we find that the Lord Jesus Himself will come with the trumpet of God to gather the Church to Himself: those who will be alive at that time and those who will be asleep in Christ (meaning, the physically dead):

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 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

1. In 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 we see again that it is about some who will not “fall asleep” in that moment as we have seen in 1 Thess. 4:13-18. Others, who will be asleep or, in other words, perishable, will be raised, and become imperishable. This we do not find written in Matthew 24:29-31. In the text from 1 Corinthians 15, we find written about the “last trumpet”. We cannot say, however, that it is the last trumpet from the Revelation, because the seventh trumpet from the Revelation sounds in the middle of the week, but Jesus comes at the end of the week after three and a half years … I think that the text from 1 Corinthians 15 is the last call of the Church:

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. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-54)

Argument 4: If all believers resurrect with the body at the same time, this can take place only at the Second Coming of Jesus

The author’s explanations are as follows: 1 Thess. 4:15 tells us that “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” This means that the living ones cannot get the resurrection before those who are asleep. Therefore, if there was a Rapture before or during the Great Tribulation, then the Word of God would be seen as a liar, because it says that ALL the saints will be raised with the body at the same time. If there was any Rapture before or during the Tribulation, the saints from the time of the Tribulation, who will be alive at the coming of the Lord, will not have the fullness of the resurrection. So, if all believers resurrect with the body at the same time, it can only take place at the Second Coming.

Explicații: I believe that the author crossed the line here using nonsense arguments such as “the resurrection of the living”… In both 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul speaks of the resurrection of “those who are asleep in Christ” of born again Christians who have died physically. This is not about all the saints who have ever been, but only those born again who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, who are part of the Church of Christ. For example, Daniel, who is a saint of the Old Testament, was told to rise again for his allotted portion at the end of the age:

How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! (from the time that the abomination of desolation is set up in the holy place). But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age (Daniel 12:12-13)

Those who will not be ready at the time when the Lord Jesus will come after the Church, but who will then get their wings and will not yield under the pressure of the Antichrist and will not worship him and his icon, they will not be part of Church. This is because before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus on earth, in heaven is announced the Wedding of the Lamb and it is said that His bride is prepared and is in heaven:

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:7-8, 11-14)

Those who will not be prepared when the Lord Jesus will come for His Church, and before the time appointed by God for His people of Israel, even if they do not worship the beast and its icon, they will miss the chance to be part of the Church anyway. They will be judged after the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus and – will rise and reign with Christ for a thousand years:

Then (after the second coming of the Lord Jesus)I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6)

Argument 5: Another wandering (aberration) of the teachings about the Rapture is that Jesus would build places in heaven so that when He takes away His Church, the saints will go to heaven with the Lord to dwell in these places, and during the Tribulation, which will occur for seven years, they will celebrate the Marriage of the Lamb

“Do not let your heart be troubled: believe in God and believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also “(John 14:1-3). Another wandering of the teachings of the Rapture is that Jesus would build places in heaven so that when He takes away His Church, the saints will go to heaven with the Lord to dwell in these places, and during the seven-year Tribulation to celebrate the Marriage of the Lamb. The verse quoted as an argument for this “urban planning” of the Lord is John 14:1-3. If, as we have seen, the Lord gathers His Church when He returns to earth for the foundation of His kingdom, and at the end the New Jerusalem and God’s throne descends from heaven to be settled on earth forever (Revelation 21:2-3), then who will dwell in those places that Jesus would build in heaven? It would be a completely useless “urban plan”. The reality is that John 14:1-3 refers not to the gathering of the believers, but to salvation. When Jesus says “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places,” the word “house” means home, dwelling, household and, implicitly, family. Jesus therefore spoke of the Father’s home where there are many places for sons and daughters. By His own sacrifice on the cross Jesus went and prepared those places for us in the Father’s house (Ephesians 1:3-12, 2:19 and 3:15; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18; Galatians 4:4-7). After the resurrection, He came again and received us to Him. In this way we became part of His Body and entered the Father’s family, where we are called “sons and daughters.” Jesus explains this in John 14:23 saying that the Father and He will make their home (the same Greek word as the “place”) in our hearts.

Regarding the Marriage of the Lamb, Scripture shows that this will take place at the Second Coming of the Lord. Revelation 19:7 announces that the Marriage of the Lamb has come. It is worth noting that this happens after the breaking of the seven seals (Revelation 6:1-8:1), following the judgments of the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:2-11:15) and the judgments of the seven bowls (Revelation 16:1-17). In Revelation 19:9 it is written “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb”, and then we see the Lord with the saints who are in heaven preparing to come to earth (Revelation 19:11-16). In Revelation 19:17, an angel announces that all the birds are called “to come and assemble for the great supper of God” to eat meat of kings, princes, strong men, etc. Which supper does the angel talk about? The context shows that it is the supper of the Marriage of the Lamb. Then we see that the beast (the Antichrist), the kings of the earth and their armies gather together to make war against the Lord. The Lord defeats the beast and the false prophet, and the armies of the earth are broken. It seems that God’s intention as a plan for the wedding of His Son differs from our vision of a traditional wedding. The wedding ceremony of the Lamb begins with a sacrifice. In Ezekiel 39:17-20, the Lord invites every bird and beast of the field to come and eat from the sacrifice that He brings – the flesh of kings, chiefs, and mighty men. It is the same description as we saw in Revelation 19:17.

It is certain that according to Scripture, the supper of the Marriage of the Lamb takes place after Jesus returns to earth. Regarding the theory of Rapture, it is obvious that the saints could not take part in the supper of the Marriage of the Lamb during the Great Tribulation. Sacred Scripture shows that they cannot.

Explanations: Even if the author cited the text of John 14:1-3, he went too far saying that someone affirms that the Lord Jesus is going to build more places. I would be interested to know where he took such aberration from. But it is certain that in John 14:1-3 we have a strong foundation for the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church. The Lord Jesus says that He is going to prepare a place (not many places) for us (the Church) and then He will return to take us there to be with Him.

It is interesting that the author who denies the teaching of the Rapture of the Church states that in Revelation 19:9 – “and then we see the Lord with the saints who are in heaven preparing to come to earth” How, in his opinion, do these saints arrive in heaven and who are they, unless there is a Rapture of the Church before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus on earth?

The Marriage of the Lamb is announced in heaven and the feast is on earth during the kingdom of a thousand years. The Church is the Bride and She is not among those guests invited at the feast, because she is the reason for the feast.

Argument 6: There are some inconsistencies that supporters of the Rapture theory are promoting on the Book of Revelation

 Two of which we will deal with here is the erroneous interpretation of Rev. 3:10 and their statement that between Rev. 4:1 and Rev. 19 it does not speak about 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” (Revelation 3:10).

Explanations: Here you can find two articles that talk about the relation of the Church with the Great Tribulation:

1. How does the Church relate to the great tribulation

2. Will the Church go through the great tribulation?

I recommend you to study the prophetic books, and especially the Revelation in four parts and 2 Thessalonians, which will help you to make a strong foundation for the teaching of the Rapture of the Church, which is a teaching that gives us hope and comforts our hearts!

Translated by Marcela Tașca