Back in the Future...The Great Escape (part 2)

Today’s entry is a continuation of yesterday’s entry. If you have not read the blog entry for yesterday, I would encourage you to do so before continuing with today’s entry.

Yesterday I overviewed some of the main theories as to the timing of the rapture. I also stated that I believe that the rapture of the church will occur before the start of that tribulation period. Here are eight reasons why I believe in a pre-tribulational rapture.

First, there are the details of literal interpretation. I believe that the best way to interpret the Bible is literally. There is much symbolism in Scripture but I do not try to symbolize or allegorize every detail that I read in Scripture. I go by the rule of thumb that states, “if the plain sense makes sense, we should seek no other sense.” A pre-tribulational rapture of the church fits best into a literal interpretation of Scripture. For this reason, I strongly believe that the rapture of the church will occur before the start of the tribulation period.

Second, is the doctrine of imminency, which simply means that the rapture could occur at any moment. This could not be so if part or all of the tribulation had to occur first. In all the verses in Scripture that teach us about the rapture, nothing is seen as needing to happen before this takes place. This is seen in the expression of Christ in John 14:1-3. Jesus gave the promise of the rapture to His disciples who were deeply agitated due to His words that He would be leaving them. This promise was to bring them peace. This peace was in the realization that His return could happen any moment. The expectation of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 shows the same thing. When Paul speaks of those that are alive at the rapture being “caught up,” he uses the pronoun “we.” It is obvious that he expected to be alive at the time of Christ’s return and saw His return as something that could happen at anytime. James also writes in harmony with this thought as he gives his exhortation to believers in James 5:8-9. In this passage we are told that Jesus (called the Judge) is standing at the door. The idea is that He is about ready to walk through the door. His entrance could happen at any time. This could not be the case if there were a 3.5 year or a 7-year wait until after the tribulation. The fact is that there is a noticeable exclusion of signs. Though there are some signs mentioned in the Bible that must happen prior to the Second Coming of Christ (which is a different event than the rapture), there is no passage that gives us any signs that must occur prior to the rapture of the church.

A third reason for my belief that the church will not go through the tribulation is the deliverance from judgment that Scripture promises to the church. In Revelation 3:10, Jesus promises to keep the church from “the hour of testing” which would come upon “the whole world” (a perfect description of the tribulation). In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10 and 5:9 we learn that we are saved from the “wrath to come” (the tribulation period). These promises would lead me to believe in a pre-tribulational rapture of the church.

Tomorrow we will see the final 5 reasons as to why I believe that the rapture of the church will take place before the tribulation.