The Rapture Question
God reveals His plans and purposes, from time to time, through His Word in order that His people may understand what He is doing in their midst. God’s workings upon the earth and His dealings with a people are written in the Word of God. We do not have to go elsewhere or look at something else to see what God will do in the midst of His people. The Word declares very clearly the manner in which God deals with His people from time to time. The Word has many illustrations to show the discerning believer what God would like to do. The Lord says, "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches" (Revelation 3:22).
The Lord is doing a precious work in the earth in this hour. He is preparing His church to become a bride for His Son. She shall become His completeness and His fullness. If you will be a part of this ‘bride’, you will experience a purging and a cleansing as a preparation in your life. This ‘true’ bride must be made worthy of the Bridegroom Himself. She alone shall be His fullness. Let this sobering word grip each one of us in all seriousness. We need to take this word into our hearts, beloved people of God.
God desires to impart fresh life to His people. His purpose for us is that we manifest the life of a 'bride'. The teaching of the ‘Bride’ and of the Church is not just ‘doctrine’ but it constitutes a life within us. Moreover, we need to know that the Lord is not going to compromise on the quality and character of the bride. She is going to be made ready in these days. Jesus said, "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it "(Matthew 7:14)But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it "(Matthew 7:14). Many in these days shall desire to be the ‘bride’ but only a few who give themselves to the preparations of the Holy Spirit shall be ready in that day. Beloved, doctrine will not help us to be ready for Him. We need to wholly give ourselves to the preparations of the Holy Spirit.
"I KNOW WHERE THOU DWELLEST"
God is preparing His church to answer to the call of a bride for His Son. God is not fearful of the darkness all around, nor is He fearful of all the immorality, the unrighteousness and the corruption on the earth. The Almighty doesn't get nervous seeing all the iniquities in high places. God allows it that we may prepare ourselves in this hour. He wants His people to be prepared in this hour. There are many who say that the church will suddenly be taken out of the earth. This has become a doctrine amongst many Christians. Beloved people, God is not going to take the church away suddenly from the earth. God will not risk taking away His church at this time; but first there needs to be a work of preparation in the church.
The thought that God will take His church away because of evil is not in line with God’s thoughts. In Chapter two of the book of Revelations we read of the church at Pergamos that existed in the midst of great evil:
"I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." Revelations 2:13
Note carefully that in this portion of the Scriptures, Satan is mentioned twice. It seems that Pergamos was the citadel and the headquarters of Satan. The Lord says to the saints in Pergamos, ‘ I know where you are dwelling.’ God knows where His true churches are. God did not remove the church just because Satan had his headquarters at Pergamos. The devil had made a fortress in Pergamos; he had made Pergamos his capital. This can give us a good idea of all the evil things that must have been happening at Pergamos. Despite this, the Lord did not take away the church from that place. Instead, He gave the church a comforting word and said, " I know where you are dwelling." The Lord knows where we are. He knows that we live in the midst of an unrighteous and perverse generation. Just because there is darkness all around, we cannot leave and run away. We are to walk in holiness in the midst of the pervading licentiousness, immorality, depravity and every form of degradation and corruption. The Lord does not remove His people from the midst of surrounding unbelief and iniquity. Let us understand this well. God is not going to take His church to a place of ease and safety. He desires His church to function in the midst of the evils of this time and to yet become more holy.
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy let him be filthy still: and he that is holy let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11
We need to know this with all our hearts. The Lord is not going to take His people out of every kind of persecution, suffering and difficulty. He wants us to remain in the place of our calling and to diligently pursue our calling. He would like us to be faithful. He wants us to hold fast to this precious life in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes people say, "O brother, you have no idea of the difficulties that I am facing. Truly, I am working under very adverse circumstances. My office is worse than Sodom!" The Lord would like to whisper into our ears that He knows exactly where we are. The Lord knows every difficulty we face. There is a divine purpose for the sufferings of the godly, which is not known to man due to his imperfect knowledge. But God knows the outcome of every situation we face even before it ends. Remember Job. Let us realize that there is no way of escape from such a place or situation in our life. The Lord wants His people to remain in the place of His will so that they may cry out to Him in distress. In His great love, He desires to prepare us to become a ‘bride’ unto the Lord. God wants to prepare His people in these days.
The saints at Pergamos were faithful. They were given to the Lord. Although Satan moved his headquarters to Pergamos the Lord did not take them out of that place. God wants His church to stand in the midst of the surrounding atmosphere of evil and corruption. It is in such a hostile environment that the Lord would like His saints to be faithful to His calling and to His vision. It is comparatively easy to stand for Christ when our unbelieving neighbours and people at the place of our work are tolerant and do not interfere with what we are doing. It is only when the atmosphere becomes hostile and the people are aggressive and belligerent, that there is a testing of one's faith and commitment.
WE SHALL NOT DEPART FROM THE EARTH
The Lord wants His people to declare the light He has given them. He wants us to tell others of the truth that He has put within us. When the light in one's house is extinguished, one reaches for a candle to provide light. The candle does not proclaim that it is dark too for it to bring forth it's light! Even so, it is with the church. She must remain in the place of her calling upon the earth and bring forth the light she has been given. The Lord is not going to take His ‘bride’ out of the earth to have a life of ease, comfort and an absence of suffering. Oh, may the Lord help us to understand this. He is not concerned about the blessings we desire; He is not mindful about the life of ease we seek in the flesh; but He is deeply concerned about our spiritual lives and our growth in the things of God. We are not here to make our fortunes and then go to heaven when the time comes. God has saved us with a higher purpose; He has something upon His heart; He wants us to know Him and do His will upon the earth. We have, therefore, to live with great seriousness. This is a time of preparation upon the earth and not one of departing from the earth. This is a time to remain here, upon this earth where we can be joined with other members of the Body of Christ to fulfil the purposes of God. One thing that we can be sure of in these days is that as the ‘bride’ makes herself ready to meet the Bridegroom, many details of the word of God will be opened to the hungry ones in a new way.
Let us see this truth afresh. The church of God is to prepare herself to meet the Lord at His second coming and then to reign with Him. We need to understand very clearly that every word of Scripture will be fulfilled. Let no one say that we are declaring something that is the product of our imagination. We affirm categorically that the Lord Jesus Christ shall come and there shall be a catching up in the air to meet with the Lord as it is written in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4. Many people have dubbed us as those who do not believe in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they are mistaken and they have been deceived by the accuser of the brethren who is also the father of lies. There is no doubt that we shall be caught up to meet with the Lord in the air. Even as we prepare for that momentous event let us look to the Holy Spirit to make all things clear to us. Let the Spirit minister to us as we look at the words in the Bible:
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
"For the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall 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." I Thessalonians 4: 13 - 17
"Behold I show you a mystery; 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, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed." I Corinthians 15: 51
Why is the Lord maturing the Church if she is meant to fly away any moment? What is the purpose? The saints who are hungry for the truth of His word must first settle this vital question. No other teaching in the church world has so rocked the church to sleep and to bondage than this teaching --- the any moment return of Jesus. This had never been the sound teaching of the early apostles and the other true ministries of God till the year 1830 AD.
These statements may jar you and even shock your senses. Saints of God, it is my prayer that you may keep your life open to hear this truth. Before we go ahead, let me share a bit about the origins of this teaching. The Encyclopedia Britannia, Volume 12 (issue of 1966), pages 648 to 649, describe a person named Edward Irving and his movement called the Irvingite Movement, also known as the Catholic Apostolic Church. He was ex-communicated by the London Presbytery, and in 1833, he was condemned and deposed from the ministry of the Church of Scotland because of his controversial teaching concerning the sinfulness of Christ’s humanity. It was in his own Catholic Apostolic Church that this false teaching was first heard. It all began when a young Scottish girl named Margaret Macdonald went into a trance and described a vision in which she said that she saw the saints departing from the earth at the return of the Lord, before the tribulation. Her revelation was recorded in a book written by R N Norton and printed in London in 1861. This book is now out of print and almost impossible to obtain. Prior to this incident the church, back to the days of the apostles, had always taught that the church would go victoriously through the tribulation. There is no record of an ‘any moment’ return of the Lord before 1830. The revelation and utterances of Miss Macdonald were supported by the utterances of Mrs. J B Cardale on April 30, 1831 at a home prayer meeting.
The modern doctrine and phraseology of ‘imminent return’ arose from the supposed revelations of Miss Macdonald. Beloved let us note carefully that this modern teaching was not from the Holy Scriptures. Edward Irving accepted the revelation and began preaching and teaching it. It was taught in prophetic meetings at Powerscourt House in Ireland, which was attended by the Plymouth Brethren organizer, John Darby. Irving’s views influenced Darby, CH Mackintosh, and CI Scofield. Later, this new theory was popularized through Scofield’s Bible and bible notes, which were very famous in Christian circles. In the early part of this century, this teaching reached its peak in popularity through the writings of Clarence Larkin.
When the Lord poured out His Holy Spirit at the turn of the century, the Lord emphasized the fact of the nearness of the coming of Christ. But the Pentecostals got no new light at that time on the specific event of His coming. But they began to teach what the non-Pentecostals (namely Plymouth Brethren) had been teaching based on the so called revelations of Miss Macdonald. Please remember that the Plymouth Brethren denounced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues in our day as being demon inspired. Saints, reflect upon this----we are being taught about the coming of the Lord by men who claimed that the baptism of the Holy Spirit experience was of the devil.
ONE TAKEN ...THE OTHER LEFT
The clear teaching of the Scriptures were mutilated by those who strove to prove the new theory;
"But as the days of Noah [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
"For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
"And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."
"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
"Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Matthew 24: 37 - 41
Many songs were written, and sermons were preached, to urge us to be ready to be ‘taken’ any moment. But the Bible teaches exactly the opposite. It was the wicked that were ‘taken’ in Noah’s day, and the righteous were left to inherit the earth. The above Scripture portion says, "so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be". Will it be different now? NO. It will be as it was in the days of Noah. That is what the Bible says. While Matthew says that "the flood came and took them all away", Luke gives the same account , "and the flood came and destroyed them all". So to be ‘taken’ means to be destroyed by the judgments that are coming on the earth. Do you still want to be taken?
I wish to say that some are slowly seeing the difference and are open to change. I shall quote here from the Pentecostal Evangelical Issue of January 1, 1967, which is the ‘official voice of the Assemblies of God’, page 4, Springfield, Missouri. On page 9 of this magazine, in an article about the 24th Chapter of Matthew we read "Contrary to what is taught.....rapture is not evident here. Those ‘taken’ are the wicked, who are taken in judgment - just as the wicked of Noah’s time (mentioned in the preceding verse) were taken into judgment. Those ‘left’ are the righteous who remains to enjoy the blessing of the Millennium, which will follow Christ’s return to earth. Yet these denominations today are unwilling to accept the pure word of God and come out of their tradition.
"AT THE LAST TRUMP"
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed I Corinthians 15: 52
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from the heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel 1 Thessalonians 4:16
When the Scripture speaks about the ‘last’ trumpet, it indicates that there are other trumpets as well. The ‘last’ trumpet cannot be sounded first! Then what about the other trumpets? Have you heard the other trumpets being blown? How can the last trumpet be blown at any moment if one has not yet heard the first trumpet? Beloved let us understand that the trumpets have to be blown in sequential order. Many do not want to hear the trumpet sounds that precede the ‘last’ trumpet; but they desire to hear the last trumpet at any moment! The ‘last’ trumpet is described as the ‘seventh’ trumpet in Revelation 10:7 and 11:15 -19. Jesus placed the sign of His second coming "...immediately after the tribulation of these days......shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.......and he shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet...." (Matthew 24:29-31).
MEN OF GOD WHO CHANGED THEIR VIEW
Many men of God who had kept their lives open to the Holy Spirit have changed their views concerning the rapture. I wish to quote Dr. Oswald J Smith of the People’s Church, Toronto, a well-known Bible teacher of this century who has found wide acceptance amongst scholars and theologians. In his booklet, "Tribulation or rapture - which?" he writes as follows-
"I have always held the view that the Rapture precedes the Revelation by some seven years, and that the church, therefore, will not go through the Tribulation. Now after years of study and prayer, I’m absolutely convinced that there will be no rapture BEFORE the Tribulation, but that the Church will undoubtedly be called upon to face the Antichrist, and that Christ will come at the close and not the beginning of that period. I believed the other theory simply because I was taught it by WE Blackstone in his book "Jesus is Coming", the Scofield Reference Bible and prophetic conferences and Bible schools; but when I began to search the Scriptures for myself I discovered that there is not a single verse in the Bible that upholds the pre-tribulation theory, but that the uniform teaching of the word of God is of a post-tribulation rapture, pre-millennial always, everywhere pre-millennial, but post tribulation."
"One day, in the early twenties, I began preaching on prophecy. I had taken my people through Daniel without difficulty. Then came Mark 13, Luke 21, and Matt 24 and 25. But lo and behold, no sooner had I started on Matt 24 than I got into trouble. I had announced that I would deal with Matt 24 at the next service. Hundreds had gathered. I was in a maze, for I was perplexed. So I took a verse here and there through the Chapter and thus satisfied the people for that hour at least. But now the next meeting was coming. What was I to say? I need not point out that there is no pre-tribulation rapture in Matt 24. The Second Coming is unmistakably placed "immediately after the tribulation" (Verse 29), and I was forced to the conclusion that if the Rapture was to be ‘before’ the Tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ would certainly have given some hint of it at least. He was dealing with the end times of the age. It is unthinkable that He would have spoken so minutely of the Tribulation without stating that the Church would escape. Instead, He purposely led his hearers to the belief that His followers would be in it. Hence, I was staggered, nor could I honestly defend my previous position. So when I again faced the people I said sufficient to let them know that I questioned my former stand and saw evidence of a post-tribulation Rapture. For as I read Matt 24 and 25, I saw that many things as prophesied by the Lord Jesus Christ, simply had to take place before Jesus could come, namely "all these things" (verse 33) especially the prediction regarding the preaching of the Gospel. See Mark 13:10 and note the significance of the word ‘first’. Thus since God’s future programme could not be set aside, there could be no ‘any moment’ expectation of Christ’s Return. We are to watch, watch as prophecy after prophecy is fulfilled, ever looking forward to His Appearing."
"There came into my hands a copy of a book by Dr. Henry W Frost, the then Home Director of the China Inland Mission. It was entitled "Matt 24 and the Revelation", a volume of over 300 pages. About the same time I got hold of a book by James H McConkey, called "The Book of Revelation" and another - perhaps the best of all - by Edmond Shackleton (England), entitled "Will the Church Escape the Great Tribulation." Before I had read them through I was firmly convinced that there would be no Rapture before the Tribulation, and that I had done wrong in promising the Church an escape instead of preparing her for the terrible ordeal that must most surely be awaited. My "any moment" theory could not be sustained. All who held the pre-millennial Coming of Christ were, till about sixty years ago, (the book was written in 1890) of one mind on the subject."
"Recently I got hold of that remarkable book "Tribulation to Glory" by H.A. Baker, in which he wrote "For eighteen centuries the fundamental principle of tribulation to glory was the universal belief of the truly born again members of Church." And then he goes on to show that the new pre-tribulation rapture teaching was first proclaimed as a direct revelation by a woman in Edward Irving’s church, and then taken up by John Nelson Darby (and the Scofield Reference Bible) in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Church for eighteen hundred years. George Mueller opposed it; so did Benjamin Wills Newton; so did Dr. S P Tregelles and other Brethren, but all in vain."
"I am sure that with the true child of God it is not a matter of preference but of truth. Does God’s word say so? Why then rebel? Is not His plan best? Besides, what difference does it make so long as we are ready? "Scriptural preparedness" is the only important factor after all."
"I wonder if we have been lulling the Church with a false security? Can it be that we have been preaching an easy escape? Ought we to prepare the Church for the greatest of ordeals? Should not our teaching harden her for the fires of the Tribulation? What kind of soldiers are we training? I’m afraid that we have been guilty and that God will certainly hold us responsible for the type of Christian our preaching is producing. We need men and women today of the martyr spirit..."
"I have a list of nearly seventy Bible teachers who have proclaimed this view of the Return of Christ. Among them, in addition to those who have written the above books, there are such names as WJ Erdman, Charles R Erdman, Dr. Campbell Morgan, Dr. AB Simpson, Dr. JW Thirtle, Dr. Charles T Cook, Alexander Reese, George E. Ladd (Fuller Theological Seminary)...... To ignore the convictions of such spiritual leaders is impossible."
"We BELIEVE that this was the teaching of our Lord and His Apostles. We believe it was held by the early Church and by the Middle Ages who had any light on the Second Advent. We believe, too, that it was the teaching of the Early Brethren and that no other view was generally accepted among them until the ‘any moment’ Secret Rapture, Pre-Tribulation, or Two-Stage Coming theory of a vision was taught by EDWARD IRWING, as a result of a vision received by a woman in his Church. This Any Moment teaching is a ‘novel’ doctrine."
We have quoted the writing of this man of God so that you may search the word and your hearts. There will be a coming forth of the Lord from the heavens for sure. Who could ever stop that? The Father hath planned this in Eternity! Those who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air even as the Word of the Lord proclaims. We have to wait upon the Lord for the Holy Spirit to unravel and make everything clear. One thing we know for sure is that as the ‘bride’ makes herself ready to meet the Bridegroom’ the details of these verses will be made clear.
Today while many are caught up with the departure of the ‘church’ or the ‘saints’, we would like to be caught up with the coming of the Lord. We do not want to declare the disappearing of the church from the earth, but rather, the appearing of the Lord of Glory.
Most people are naturally inclined to grab any straw that will help to defend them in their present position or teaching, while rejecting the truth that would be most clearly evident if they are willing to accept it. It’s hard to honestly and fairly consider and weigh every interpretation of the Scripture on its own merits. More than this we are naturally cowards. Many of us are afraid to act on the truth we see, because of the physical, mental or spiritual pain honest acceptance and execution of the truth will involve. Let us be honest and accept the truth. This is the time of preparation upon the earth by being joined with one another as members of the Body of Christ to fulfill the purposes of God here, in the earth. The Lord is zealous to bring forth a Bride in the end-times. It is time to prepare.
He that hath an ear, let him hear.