Tag: Second Coming of Christ

The Rapture: Biblical Doctrine or Modern Assumption?

On By Tyler BoydIn The Resurrection

The modern doctrine of the rapture teaches that faithful Christians will suddenly be “caught up” or “raptured” from the earth prior to a future period of tribulation for the unrighteous who remain on the earth. This doctrine combines biblical language with end-times predictions, resulting in an emotionally charged view of a world on the brink of suffering and judgment. The rapture has captured the imaginations of many and has become one of the most popular ideas in modern evangelical culture.

But is a pre-tribulation rapture actually taught in Scripture?

While there are a handful of verses that are sometimes suggested as referring to the rapture, there are two passages that carry the weight of the doctrine: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Matthew 24:40-41. The importance of these two passages for the doctrine of the rapture can hardly be understated. If these two passages do not teach a pre-tribulation escape of believers from the earth, the doctrine loses its biblical foundation.

Rather than approaching these verses with assumptions about the rapture already in place, we should begin by carefully examining what the texts actually say. And secondly, but with equal importance, we should also observe what they do not say. Even though we may be curious about the details the texts do not reveal, we must respect God’s choices in inspiration, and refrain from reading our own assumptions into the texts.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica who were suffering persecution and grieving fellow believers who had died before Christ’s return. His goal was to comfort with the hope of resurrection at Christ’s return (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15).

The next couple of verses are what propagators of the rapture point to in support of their doctrine:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Several observations can be plainly made from the text.

First, the Lord descends from heaven. This imagery is drawn from Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man coming in glory to receive his everlasting kingdom.

I saw in the night visions
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man
and he came to the ancient of days
and was presented before him
and to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

Second, Christ’s coming is described as loud and public. Paul describes “a cry of command,” “the voice of the archangel,” and “the sound of the trumpet of God.” This is not a secret disappearance of believers. The imagery is that of a dramatic event that is both visible and audible.

Third, “the dead in Christ will rise first.” The focus of the passage is on bodily resurrection, not a spiritual escape from earth. Paul is comforting grieving Christians by assuring them that their deceased brothers and sisters in Christ will not remain dead. They will rise.

Fourth, the living faithful are “caught up” together with them to meet the returning Lord in the air. The Latin translation of “caught up” used the word “rapere,” from which the English word “rapture” is derived. In this sense, there certainly is a “rapture” described here in 1 Thessalonians.

The key question is not whether there will be a rapture. It is clear from the text that living faithful will be “caught up” or “raptured” to meet Christ in the air. The question is whether this text describes a “rapture” in the same sense the rapture is imagined by those who hold to the modern doctrine of the rapture. Does this passage describe a pre-tribulation rapture of the righteous that leaves the unrighteous behind on earth for tribulation and judgment? It is clear that the righteous will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, but what happens next?

Here, we must respect the silence of the Scriptures. Paul never says that believers are then taken away to heaven for seven years. It never mentions a tribulation period following the event. It never describes a two-stage return of Christ, first to receive the righteous, and then a second time for the final judgment.

Instead, Paul says that believers will “meet the Lord in the air.”

The word “meet” is important. The Greek term apantesis was commonly used to describe when people go out to greet an important guest upon his arrival. You don’t have to be an expert in the Greek language to recognize this. Simply look at the two other places in the New Testament where the same word is used. The word appears first in Matthew 25:6 when the virgins go out to “meet” the returning bridegroom, and then it is used again in Acts 28:15 when the Roman Christians travel out to “meet” Paul as he approaches Rome. In each case, the word is used not to describe the departure of those leaving on a long journey, but the welcoming of an arriving figure on the completion of his journey.

The emphasis of 1 Thessalonians 4 is therefore not on believers leaving the earth behind to go away to a new location. The emphasis is on believers warmly welcoming their returning King. If Paul intended to describe something akin to the modern doctrine of the rapture, we should expect the emphasis of this passage to be on the departure rather than the welcome.

Paul’s conclusion confirms this emphasis: “And so we will always be with the Lord.”

The comfort is not about leaving the earth behind. The comfort is eternal fellowship with Christ along with those who have been resurrected from the dead.

The doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture depends not on what the passage says, but on assumptions added to the text. Paul emphasizes resurrection, reunion, and the public return of Christ. He does not describe a secret removal of Christians from the earth prior to a period of tribulation.

Matthew 24:40-41

Another major proof-text for the rapture is Jesus’ statement:

Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.

Matthew 24:40-41

Jesus spoke of a coming event when one would be taken and one left. That sounds pretty straightforward, right? Could this be describing the rapture? At first glance, it appears so.

But once more, read the passage carefully in context. The text does not say that those who are “taken” are saved, and those who are “left” are judged. In fact, the text says the opposite.

Just before this statement, Jesus compares his coming to 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 when Noah entered the ark. And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:38-39

In this context, who were the ones “taken away” in Noah’s day? The wicked. Who was “left behind”? Noah and his family. In this context, being “taken” is clearly a bad thing. It’s not being “taken” for salvation. It’s being “taken” for judgment.

Luke’s parallel account makes this even clearer:

There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.

Luke 17:35

Interestingly, the apostles weren’t concerned with those who were “left behind.” Rather they asked the Lord about those who were “taken.”

And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Luke 17:37

The ones “taken” were killed. The ones “left behind” survived!

This fits the historical context of Jesus’ warnings concerning Jerusalem’s coming judgment. Jesus had just finished warning his disciples to flee when destruction approached (Matthew 24:15-22). Just as Jesus had predicted, in AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and those who ignored Christ’s warnings perished.  

So does Matthew 24:40-41 establish a doctrine of the rapture? Not at all. There is nothing in this passage to support the assumption that those who are “taken” are saved while the wicked are left behind for tribulation. If anything, the text reverses the modern rapture interpretation. If Matthew 24:40-41 describes a rapture, this is not the kind of rapture anybody wants to be a part of! They were “raptured” for destruction by the Romans!

As with 1 Thessalonians 4, readers must bring the doctrine of the rapture to the text. It cannot be drawn from the text itself.

What Scripture Actually Emphasizes

When all the major “rapture” texts are examined in context, the consistent biblical emphasis is not on escaping a period of tribulation on earth, but on:

Scripture repeatedly describes one climactic return of Christ, not two separate stages divided by seven years.

Jesus said:

An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out.

John 5:28-29

Paul likewise connected the resurrection, judgment, and Christ’s coming together in a single event:

At the last trumpet… the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:52

Could someone gather a handful of isolated verses and build a detailed end-times system around them? Certainly. But that is different from allowing Scripture to speak for itself in context.

When the primary proof-texts for the rapture are carefully examined, the doctrine simply is not found. As Christians, we must be careful not to go beyond what is written (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:6). These passages describe the public return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, not a secret removal of Christians from the earth prior to the judgment.