In my experience, Christians have built significant doctrines around obscure verses taken out of context and applied them to the end times, often leading to a a hollywood-esque understanding: visions of planes falling from the sky, car crashes, the world bewildered at the disappearance of so many people.
For example, in showing a Christian friend of mine a draft of this article, she commented that the Matthew passage (discussed below, cannot be the rapture, because the whole earth sees Jesus). I asked where in Scripture that the rapture is secret. There was no passage she could point to, and she admitted it was based on what she was told, but not on any passage of Scripture. This is dangerous territory.
So what does Scripture say about the timing of the rapture in regards to the timing of Tribulation and the AntiChrist?
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.
In the full context of this passage, Paul is encouraging the believers with this hope. He describes a rapture that occurs in a moment, where believers asleep and alive will be given our new bodies., Paul does not hint at an earlier hope to look forward to, or a resurrection hope for believers after this event.
Some particular points to note:
(a) our transformation, our resurrection, occurs at the last trumpet. Not the first, not the middle trumpets, the last trumpet.
(b) the trumpet call precedes our resurrection.
(c) the dead are raised first, then we will be changed and clothed with immortality.
Paul makes it clear, we will all be changed in a moment. Not some, all. It occurs in a moment, not over several events; at the last trumpet.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still 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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Paul reminds us of the words of the angels who told the men of Galilee that Jesus would return in the same way they had seen him go. Paul’s encouragement is that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Paul centers our hope in our resurrection. He echoes a virtually identical process to the process he discussed in 1 Corinthians, and clearly has in mind that it is the same event:
(a) The Lord will come back
(b) the shout of the Lord and archangel’s voice
(c) the trumpet call precedes the resurrection
(d) the dead in Christ rise first
(e) those alive will meet them and the Lord in the air
No relative timing to any other event is given, and Paul does not say whether we stay in the air, return to heaven, or come to earth with Christ.
Again, Paul gives no hint of a separate gathering of the saints prior, nor another one after this.
Matthew 24:29-31
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earthwill mourn;and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Jesus here makes some things clear about our gathering to him:
(a) it is after the distress of those days
(b) it is after the sun, moon, stars and powers are disturbed
(c ) the whole earth will see him
(d) a loud trumpet will blow
(e) the elect will be gathered by angles.
To summarise the three passages, this table might be helpful.
Some pre-trib commentators1 dispute that the Matthew event is the same as the ones described by Paul. This is based on several unconvincing arguments, three of which I will deal with briefly here:
- In Jesus’ Matthew 24 statement, he is on the ground, whereas in Paul’s statements, we are gathered in the air. That claim is unsupported by Scripture and is an example of believing things not in Scripture, and rejecting clear fulfillment because of ideas one has. Jesus’ statement does not state that Jesus is on the ground when sending his angles. In fact, it seems to occur while is is coming to the earth (i.e., still in the air). “…they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect…”. Claims that Jesus is on the ground rather than the air, is misleading at best, or worse, deliberately deceptive to gather support for a ideology.
- They must be different events because where is the darkening of the Sun or of Tribulation in Paul’s writings? This is begging the question. Arguing from silence, is not an acceptable hermenutic. Jesus’ was answering specific questions from his disciples wanting more detail about the end of the age and his return; Paul was talking about our hope and resurrection. The goal of each author is different, and cannot be presumed to be a different event merely because one omits particular elements. The gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry would then suggest that the feeding of the 5000 were separate events in each gospel, or the different creation accounts are actually different creations.
- Jesus, in chapter 23, seems to address Israel, and therefore this chapter 24 passage relates to the gathering of righteous Israelites. In fact, commentators such as Andrew Woods redefines the “elect” in verse 31, to only include Israelites. This is a very weak argument and does not address the purpose of the question of the disciples who want to see their Lord again. After Jesus’ rebuke of Israel and the pharisees in the Temple (Matthew 23), Jesus leaves the temple and walks to the Mount of Olives (about 30-60 minute walk). We do not know if they walk there immediately or get a bite to eat somewhere else first. But there is a delay of some time. And then Jesus responds to his followers specific questions about the sign of his return (24:3). It is indeed odd, that Jesus would not even hint at a rapture or gathering of believers (elsewhere called the elect in the New Testament), but instead only focus on an event (gathering of elect Israelites) that is not related to the disciples question, “when are you coming back to us Lord?” It is odd to the point of extremely unlikely. New Testament believers are called the elect frequently, and Jesus is speaking to his Christian disciples. Even if Dr Woods is correct that Jesus is speaking about the Jews, it does not follow that gentiles are not also raptured at the same time as described by Paul, because Paul says we are all changed. Moreover, if Dr Woods was correct, the Christians can only be raptured after this “separate gathering of elect Jews, because Christians are raptured at the last trumpet. So either the trumpet of Matthew 24 is the last trumpet when Christians get raptured, or elect Jews are raptured at the Matthew 24 gathering, and Christians are raptured later at the last trumpet.
The similarities of these 3 passages are clearly describing the same event despite poor exegesis, weak protestations, and faulty logic.
Mid-point summary:
It is clear the rapture of all believers (alive or dead) happens (a) after the distress/Tribulation of those days, (b) at the sound of the last trumpet, and (c) at the return of Christ. There is no hint in any passage in the New Testament that there are multiple raptures for believers. Revelation speaks of only 2 resurrections. If you partake in the first, you get to be with the Lord, if you partake of the 2nd, you go to hell.
For a Christian wanting to watch the signs, they must ask themselves two questions.
- When is the distress of those days and how will I identify it?
- When is the last trumpet? and how will I identify it?
I shall deal with the second question first.
When is the last trumpet?
The last trumpet (or great trumpet) is reminiscent of Jericho’s fall. Over several days, Israel marched and Jericho fell after seven trumpet blasts on the final day.
We know from Jesus’ statement that the elect are gathered after the distress of those days. We know from Paul, that it is at the Last trumpet: not the first, middle, random, or any trumpet other than the last. It might denote the last in a series of trumpets, rather than the very last trumpet that will ever be heard, but we know it is the last trumpet.
Revelation 8-11 describe a series of trumpet blasts that bring judgement, much like what happened at Jericho.
Revelation 11 describes the last of the seven trumpets.
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying,
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever.16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, 17 saying,
We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty,
who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
but your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to your servants the prophets,
to the saints, and to those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth.19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenantappeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake,and severe hail.
This sounds a lot like the return of Christ (v.15) and commencing his reign on earth (v. 17). Saints are rewarded, the dead are to be judged (v.18), earthquake, great hail (v.19), great battle. Is this the last trumpet Paul refers to? Mostly likely as this is the last trumpet specifically mentioned, although it is possible that it comes after this event.
This must mean that it is certain, since Jesus said it was after the distress of those days, that our gathering to Him is well after the distress of those days (Tribulation).
What and when is the “distress of those days”?
Jesus says the distress of those days refers to the persecution after the abomination of desolation. This distress will be so great, that it hasn’t happened before, and it will not happen again (Matthew 24:21). If Jesus returns immediately after that distress, it makes no sense to have the qualifier that such awful distress will never happen again.
Longtime readers will know that the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel is almost certainly the Dome of the Rock/Al Aqsa mosque, as it is the only event that fits Daniel’s timeframe. In Revelation 12, the Woman is abandons the land and temple mount, and in Revelation 13, the Sea Beast (Islam) persecutes Christians and Jews for 1260 years. No persecution of Christians has reached a parallel than what we received at the hands of the Islamic empires.
After the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
When the Sea Beast (Islam) received a fatal head wound when Ataturk dissolved the Islamic empire, some relief arrived. But soon after that, there were monumental events, such as World War 2. Sun and Moon and stars likely refer to various aspects of Christian witness or Christian nations. That they lose their gospel light, and the global balance of powers is disturbed.
This is what we see in Revelation 17 & 18. There is a Whore that rules the earth, who also rides the Beast, but the Beast hates the whore. 10 Kings without a kingdom (great merchants who rule the earth) lend their influence to support the beast and seek to destroy the Whore, even though they are part of the whore. If Daniel’s prophecy pertains to the end, then an 11th “king” rises up and takes-over, supplants, uproots, 3 of the other kings without a kingdom. Even so, it’s a dog eat dog world immediately before the end, which is exactly as Jesus said it would be: the powers of heaven are shaken.
While many commentators argue that the Tribulation period is a literal 3.5 years, this has not been the majority view throughout history. . The distress of those days, is a minimum of 3.5 years based on common modern eschatology, however, many commentators believe that it is 7 years, while others believe it is 1260 years (based on the 42 months of Revelation 13). Since we know that it is the Sea Beast, that persecutes Christians and Jews for 1260 years after the Abomination of Desolation, we can identify the distress of those times. The persecution that fell on the church and on Jews during the time of the various Islamic empires has not been equalled in this world to-date. Jesus’ statement that persecution will never be its equal, I believe to be a meaningful promise, has been fulfilled.
Christians talk about Christians being fed to the lions, or being burned as night lamps by the Roman empire. And while this is bad, very bad, it pales into insignificance the persecution that Muslims had against Christians and Jews, both in intensity and in duration.
Christians were slaughtered, burned alive, sold into slavery. Here is a summary of a very small list of attacks:
Death of Muhammad (A.D. 632) – he already had fought and planed 81 battles.
633 Mesopotamia fell
635 Damascus fell
638 Jerusalem fell
645 Alexandra fell
649 Cyprus fell
673 Constantinople was attacked
693 Whole of Christian North Africa conquered
711 Invasion of Spain
721 Sargossa fell
732 Poitiers fell
734 Avignon fell
743 Lyons fell
813 Port of Rome was sacked
826 Crete fell (till 961)
837 Naples was sacked
838 Marseilles fell
842-859 Sicily fell
846 Rome was sacked again
870 Malta fell
Still 223 years away from the first crusade
878 Syracuse fell (9 month siege; very few survivors)
889 Toulon fell (North Italy)
902 Sacked and destroyed Thessaly, in Central Greece
In 921 a large band of Englishmen, on pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles in Rome, were crushed to death under rocks rolled down on them by Saracens in the passes of the Alps.
935 Genoa was attacked
976 Fresh expeditions into Italy
1010 Cosenza (Southern Italy) fell
1015 Sardinia fell
In 1017, Mujahid bin ‘Abd Allah (Muslim ruler in Sardinia) sent the Pope a message saying he would attack in the Spring. Rather than waiting, the Pope took the battle to him and when Benedict arrived in Sardinia he found Mujahid crucifying Christians. Mujahid fled.
Michael the Syrian, the 12th century Jacobite patriarch of Antioch, reproducing earlier contemporary sources in his famous Chronicle, summarized the prevailing conditions for Christians in Palestine, as follows:
As the Turks were ruling the lands of Syria and Palestine, they inflicted injuries on Christians who went to pray in Jerusalem, beat them, pillaged them, levied the poll tax at the gate of the town and also at Golgotha and the [Holy] Sepulchre; and in addition, every time they saw a caravan of Christians, particularly of those from Rome and the lands of Italy, they made every effort to cause their death in diverse ways. And when countless people had perished as a result, the kings and counts were seized with [religious] zeal and left Rome; troops from all these countries joined them, and they came by sea to Constantinople [First Crusade (1096-99)]. (The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam,1996, p. 292-293).
And all this was before peak Islamic conquest, and I didn’t include anything west of Jerusalem, including the Mongol conquests after their conversion to Islam in early 900s. Muslims imposed an 80% income tax, the Pact of Umar was enforced with irregular brutality. Muhammad ‘the Prophet of the Sword’ fought and planned 81 battles, and told his followers that Allah desires his religion to be manifest through great slaughter:
Sura 8:67, “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”
Sura 9:29 ‘Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya (protection money) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.’
Sura 9:5 ‘Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.’
What China, Russia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, etc have done to Christians, nothing has matched the intensity or duration of the persecution like that of the Sea Beast or for so long.
What then does Jesus mean by “immediately after the distress of those days”? It likely means that after the Sea Beast’s fatal head wound (circa 1923), there would be a great disturbance in world powers. Sun will darken, moon not give its light, stars fall from heaven, the powers of heaven are shaken. How long that takes is unclear from Jesus’ words, but if the Sea Beast persecuted the Church for 1260+ years, it’s possible that the disruption of powers will take some time, and not an instantaneous process as some promote. The 20th century saw unprecedented turbulence in political and economic powers. Two great world wars and literally hundreds of other wars. The list is so long, Wikipedia has 3 pages devoted to the list of wars in the 20th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_wars_in_the_20th_century
Final note:
Scripture does NOT say “immediately after the distress of those days will they see the sign of the Son of man”, it says “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear…” It is vitally important that Christians understand the difference, and incorporate it into their theology.
- Rapture Sermon Series 35. Post Trib. View: Analyzed & Refuted, Pt. 1. Dr Andrew Woods – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddUOMYJh5PY