Rapture # 03

Why:

We want to continue in our study of why I believe in the pre-tribulational rapture.

The Tribulation is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7). "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble." This prophet, in chapters 30 and 31, summarizes Israel's endurance in the Tribulation Hour and depicts it as Jacob's, or Israel's, trouble. (Jacob's name was changed to Israel in 2 Kings 17:34.) In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 the northern army or Russian bear comes out of the north against Israel. Eighteen different passages mark Israel as the victim. Ezekiel says, "And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel" (Ezekiel 38:16).

Daniel described this horrible period of Tribulation: "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered" (12:1). Daniel's seventy weeks, of which the Tribulation period is the closing segment, has to do with Israel: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy" (Daniel 9:24).

The sixty-nine weeks totaling 483 years-already past-had to do with Israel.

Why would God change His method of operation for the seventieth week-the Tribulation Hour?

The simple conclusion is that there will be no change.

God will return to His original program for the final week. 

This is again the reason that Satan, upon being cast to earth during the Tribulation Hour, goes after the woman (Israel) who brought forth the man-child (Christ) in Revelation 12:12-14. The voice out of heaven cries: "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child [Christ]. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."

Here we see God's loving protection for His covenant people for a time-one year, and times-two years, and for half a time or one-half year. This totals three and one-half years or forty-two months-exactly one-half of the Tribulation period. Verse 17 farther corroborates the fact that Israel is the persecuted one, not the Church, for "the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed [Israelites]."

Only antiliteralists and antidispensationalists confuse the issue. 

They allegorize, spiritualize, and pulverize the truth into mass confusion. They make Jews of all the redeemed or relegate the title of "Israelites" to Americans, Canadians, and other Anglo-Saxons. Little do they realize that there can be no harmony of the Scriptures when one does not rightly divide the word of truth (see 2 Timothy 2:15).

It is that God has two elect groups of individuals on this earth-Israel and the Church. Israel is the wife of Jehovah forever (Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 2:19).

The Church is the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7). 

Romans 9 through 11 depict Israel's past (chapter 9), Israel's present (chapter 10), and Israel's future (chapter 11).

During the Tribulation Hour, all Israel shall be saved (see Romans 11:26). The 144,000 Jewish evangelists (see Revelation 7:4-8) will proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all the world (Matthew 24:14), and all Israel will accept Messiah (Christ) as Savior and King. Now these Israelites are the elect: "As touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes" (Romans 11:28). This solves the problem of Matthew 24:22, which states, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake [Israelites] those days shall be shortened."

Posttribulationists vehemently cry: 
"You see, the elect are present for the judgments of the Tribulation Hour."

Not so!

The fact is that Jehovah chose or elected Israel to be His wife, and Christ chose or elected His people to be His bride, and it is the Father's elect wife experiencing the judgments mentioned in Revelation chapters 6-18.

Concerning Israel, Deuteronomy 7:6 declares, "For thou art an holy people unto the lord thy God: the lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." This promise is perpetual. "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance [or change of mind]" (Romans 11:29). This is the reason that all Israel is going to be saved (v. 26). God keeps His covenants (v. 27), and Israelites are still the Father's "election" (see v. 28).

To the Christians, Christ says, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16). We were chosen "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4), and our choosing is eternal. Now there is no difficulty whatsoever when men see both elections, but confusion reigns when the two are intermingled, spiritualized, allegorized, and symbolized.

Take God for what He states-literally-and the problems vanish.

Deliverance from wrath (Luke 17:26-32).

The reason this hope is blessed or happy is that the Church escapes the turmoil of earth's most devastating hour. This fact is confirmed by the teaching of Jesus. He said that the days of the Son of man would be like the days of Noah and Lot (see Luke 17:26-32). In Noah's day, Enoch, a type of the Church, was evacuated before the judgment of the Flood, while Noah, a type of Israel, was preserved through it. Lot, in his removal to Zoar before the fires fell, is also a type of the escaping Church before atomic incineration begins.

Upon examining the story of Lot in Genesis 18:23-32, we discover that God informed Abraham that He would destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham immediately began bargaining with the Lord: "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:23-25).

Abraham finally got the figure down to ten righteous people, but there were not even ten who were undefiled. 

Therefore, God had to destroy the cities. Lot and his family, however; survived because God had another plan-the great escape. The angels removed Lot and his family from the city and took them to Zoar. Now listen to this surprising statement from God in Genesis 19:22: "I cannot do any thing till [Lot] be come thither." God had to remove His people before He rained judgment upon the world of the ungodly. Then, and only then, did the Lord rain "upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground" (Genesis 19:24-25).

As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the day of the Son of man, or when the Son of man returns. Whether it is the great escape for the Church or the preservation of the Israelites through the Tribulation, God's promises cannot fail.

The day of great wrath (see Revelation 6:17) will be meted out to sinners who store up, treasure up, or accumulate "wrath against the day of wrath" (Romans 2:5). But this wrath will be only for the wicked. Paul wrote, "[God] delivered us [Christians] from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10), and again: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

This salvation from wrath cannot be the eternal deliverance from hell because the Christian already has that without Christ's return. The moment a person believes, he is delivered from condemnation and "is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Because of it, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). The deliverance from wrath in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 has to do with Christ's return because the text states, "[We] wait for his Son from heaven... which delivered us from the wrath to come." It does not take the return of Christ to deliver us from the wrath of hell-salvation instantaneously accomplished this. But the coming of Christ delivers us from the wrath of the coming Tribulation Hour. This is how God will "keep [us] from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world" (Revelation 3:10).

The Church-the body and the bride (Ephesians 5:30).

Now let's look at Christ's church-His body and His bride. Will the Church go through the administration of God's wrath upon the earth? I believe not. Millions of believers are already in heaven. All who have died "in Christ" during the past two thousand years are already with Christ. Paul said, "To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). 

Why should a handful of believers experience God's wrath while millions who lived and died during the last two thousand years enjoy the blessings of heaven during the Tribulation?

For God to have 99 percent of His church with Him while 1 percent suffer untold agonies would be inconsistent.

Since the Greek word ecclesia, translated "church" in English, means "a called out assembly," could not this definition extend to the very hour when the final "called out assembly" meets the other 99 percent of the Church already in glory?

Why should a minority suffer God's vengeance while the others watch from heavenly places?

We are also members of Christ's body. "We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Ephesians 5:30).

Should 99 percent of His body in heaven rejoice while the remaining 1 percent upon earth suffer?

Perish the thought. In fact, since Christ is the head of the Body, He would actually be administering wrath to His own body if He left part of that body on earth for the Tribulation period. Believers are also Christ's bride.

Should 1 percent of the believers (constituting the Bride) languish in anguish while 99 percent abide at His side?

Let's be consistent in our thinking! Love demands that all the remaining 1 percent join the 99 percent already in His presence, completing the Church, the Body, and the Bride. This same Church, Body, and Bride must go through a time of examination called the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Bride also experiences the marriage supper of the Lamb before returning with Christ to the earth. 

The posttribulation adherents teach a " yo-yo theory"-up and down, going to meet Christ and returning instantly-and have no time interval for this judgment-seat examination or the marriage. It takes time to investigate God's people. Second Corinthians 5:10 states, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body." This is an impossibility in the posttribulation arrangement of events because millions cannot be investigated in less than one second or "the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52). The "bob up to meet Him and bob down to reign" theory, if true, wipes out the intervals of time demanded for the judgment seat of Christ and the marriage.

I believe it is logically and abundantly clear that there will be a Rapture and that it must come before the Tribulation period. Common sense demands it; confusion reigns without it. Soon the Lord will break through the clouds. His church, body, and bride will be united with members already in His presence, for "them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Then all the Church is investigated and prepared "as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2) to enjoy the marriage supper and honeymoon.

The Most Powerful Argument for a Pretribulation Rapture

The final and greatest argument for a pretribulation Rapture is based on Matthew 25:31-46. In this text Christ returns to earth and judges the nations. At this point of time there are two groups present-the saved and the lost. The lost are condemned to everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41, 46), whereas the saved are invited to enter the kingdom for the thousand-year reign with Christ (Matthew 25:34; Revelation 20:4).

Now, supposing the Rapture occurred at this juncture as postmillennialists teach, who would then be left to reign with Christ upon earth? 

At the Rapture believers receive glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2-3). 

These bodies, as Christ returns to earth, remain in the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, hovering above the earth for the entire one thousand years (Revelation 21:9-22:5). That being the case, no one would be left to rule on earth if all the saved were raptured and translated, receiving their eternal spiritual bodies at the hour Christ returns to earth. In fact, there could be no Millennium if this theory were followed to its ultimate conclusion. I repeat-if posttribbers are correct, the saved are translated into spiritual bodies while the lost are sent into eternal punishment. 

This leaves no one to rule and reign with Christ for the one thousand years.

On the other hand, if the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation period begins, the riddle is solved.

Here's why.

There will be multitudes, yes millions upon millions converted during earth's most horrendous hour because this is the time when God's spirit is poured out upon all flesh (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17), and the greatest revival in history occurs. Revelation 7:9 states: "A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." When asked who these tens of millions are, the answer is: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (v. 14). 

These are the millions who go into the kingdom in earthly bodies for Christ's millennial reign (Matthew 25:34; Revelation 20:4). This is the only position that makes sense and fits the situation of a coming Millennium composed of believers ruling and reigning with Christ in earthly bodies.

Midtribulation View

According to this view, Christians would pass through the first half of the Tribulation but be raptured at the seventh trumpet judgment. This position, however, does not hold up since it ignores the biblical teaching of imminence-a view that asserts the return of Christ will occur unannounced, at any given moment. This theory is so unpopular today that little space is needed to cover the subject-just enough to describe the viewpoint.

Posttribulation View

This view does not look for Christ to come for His own until after the Tribulation. According to this theory, the Church should not be looking for the blessed hope of the return of Christ, but rather to the appearance of the Antichrist and the indescribable judgments and horrors of the Tribulation period.

Surely no reasonable, rational thinker will disagree with the facts presented thus far concerning the pretribulation Rapture.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Rapture # 02

Which is correct? Pre, Mid or Post....
The Bible is truth, it provides peace to troubled souls living in a chaotic world. Because it is a two-edged sword, it cuts through the insignificant and points to what is authentic. Because it is sheer, raw power, it has the dynamic to move the tallest mountains of unbelief. It is a compendium of truth by which we must live and is nothing short of majestic. Yet, there are many interpretations of holy writ. Great controversy continues to surround the subject of the return of Christ for His church-as far as a timetable is concerned.

There are essentially three points of view. Pre-, mid-, or postribulational view.

The pretribulation position, on which this book is based, reflects the following seven Scriptural arguments. We will consider the first three this week and the remaining next week.

The promise to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:10). The Book of Revelation is written chronologically. It sets forth the believer's deliverance from wrath in a beautiful way. Revelation 1:19 states, "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be." Presently, the twentieth century finds us in Revelation, chapter 3. John sees the great escape or evacuation of believers in chapter 4, verse 1. He says, "I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."

I believe this to be the Rapture because the twenty-four elders, picturing the saints of all ages-Old and New Testament believers-are already crowned and casting their rewards at Christ's feet in verses 10 and 11, and believers cannot be crowned until the resurrection of the just occurs (Luke 14:14). Thus, the Rapture has already taken place, the rewards have been distributed, and all is well as the chapter ends.

Then the Tribulation Hour, depicted in Revelation 6, will continue until the Battle of Armageddon, when Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords (see Revelation 19:11-16). The crowning of the saints in chapter 4, plus the fact that the Church is conspicuously absent and not even mentioned after chapter 4, is certainly meaningful.

The seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 represent the professing Church in seven successive eras from the Day of Pentecost to the time of the Lord's return. Each church fits chronologically into its respective place in history. The sixth church, Philadelphia, escapes the Tribulation Hour, but the seventh, Laodicea, is rejected by Christ. True believers, possessing Christ, are kept from the hour of temptation that immerses our entire planet: "I also will keep thee from [not through] the hour of temptation" (Revelation 3:10). Also, "God hath not appointed us to wrath" (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The case of the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4:1). Now let's consider another great pretribulational truth-the twenty-four elders. After the "Come up hither" of Revelation 4:1, twenty-four elders are casting crowns at Christ's feet in verses 10 and 11. Then a throne is set up. Around God's throne are twenty-four thrones on which sit twenty-four elders, "clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold" (Revelation 4:4).

Who are the twenty-four elders? 

This is of extreme importance for pretribulation proponents: The twenty-four elders are the representatives of God's people in both Testaments- the saints of all ages. The Book of Revelation unites the representative groups often. For instance, in describing the Holy City in Revelation 21:12-14, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are posted on the gates, while the names of the twelve apostles are inscribed upon the city's foundation. Now twelve plus twelve equals twenty-four.

In chapter 5, verses 8 through 10, these twenty-four elders do something that is spine-tingling: "[They fall] down before the Lamb [Jesus], having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they [sing] a new song, saying, Thou art worthy [Christ] to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

Here we witness the praise session of the ages-Old and New Testament believers, represented by twenty-four elders, praising the Lamb of God for shedding His blood. Someone says, "Old Testament believers were not saved by the blood."

No one-but no one-gets to heaven without the shed blood of Jesus! This is why Acts 10:43 declares, "To [Jesus] give all the [Old Testament] prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."

Therefore, Old and New Testament believers, pictured by the twenty-four elders, are singing about the blood in Revelation 5:9 before the seal judgments begin in chapter 6 (the beginning of the Tribulation Hour). The Jews of old looked ahead to Calvary's shed blood as they offered their animal sacrifices while the Church looks back to the Cross as the communion or memorial supper is conducted. Either way, "It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).

Since the elders are already crowned-and since no one can be crowned until he is either resurrected if dead, or translated if living-it is obvious that the Resurrection has occurred by the time we reach Revelation 4:10. First Thessalonians 4:16 has transpired. We conclude, then, that the scene in Revelation 4 and 5 is the direct result of the Rapture, the great escape before the judgments begin in chapter 6.

The Holy Spirit, the hinderer, is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). Another truth concerning the pre-tribulation Rapture that needs to be considered has to do with the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, before departing from earth to heaven, said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7-8). It is evident that the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us and restrain us from sin. The Spirit of God does this through those whose bodies He indwells.

First Corinthians 6:19 states, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" Every child of God is indwelt by His Spirit: "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). Spirit-indwelt believers have a purifying effect upon the world. They are the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). Salt prevents spoilage, and light dispels darkness. Think of the corruption and darkness that will prevail when the salt of the earth and light of the world are removed at the Rapture. No wonder Jesus said, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time" (Matthew 24:21).

Does the Bible teach such an evacuation of believers? 

Is there really a great escape before the Tribulation begins? 

Definitely! 

The second epistle to the Thessalonians proves this fact. In the first century, some posttribulationists were already sowing seeds of dissent. They said that the Church was already undergoing the trials of the Tribulation. They even produced a falsified letter, forging Paul's name, that stated the Church was in the hour of trial. Recent posttribulational writers have almost gone as far in falsifying facts. They even print names of people who adopted their viewpoint, and the people "quoted" wonder how they arrived at such a conclusion.

Paul settled the mess by stating in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8: "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exaketh himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth ["hinders"] will let ["hinder"], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."

Paul, deeply perturbed by the forged letter, stated in effect, "I understand someone produced a letter, supposedly written by me, stating that the Church is presently experiencing the pangs of the Tribulation Hour. Don't believe that lying prattle. Don't be bothered, bewildered, or shaken over such a distortion of facts. I could not and would not write such a letter, simply because the Tribulation cannot begin until two things occur. First, there must be a falling away, and second, the man of sin must be revealed" (paraphrased).

Scholars of the past rendered the phrase "falling away" as "a catching away." They talked about a time when the law of gravitation would be broken and men would "fall away" via the Rapture to meet the Lord in the clouds.

Other scholars believed that the Greek word apostaias meant that an apostasized departure from the faith would occur.

The important point to consider is that either must happen before the man of sin-the lawless one, the beast of the seventieth week-is revealed. This introduction of the Antichrist to the world will inaugurate the Tribulation Hour.

This means that the "day of the Lord" or the Tribulation period cannot begin until this monstrous maniac is identified to earth's citizens. Yet he cannot be revealed until the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is removed: "He who now letteth ["hinders"] will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8).

This does not mean that the Holy Spirit must be removed from the earth. 

This is impossible because He, as God, is omni-present, everywhere at all times (see Psalm 139:7-11). So it means that His hindering or restraining power over sin-that keeps the Antichrist from mounting the throne- will be removed. This will happen as the Holy Spirit's temples-believers' bodies (see 1 Corinthians 6:19)-are taken from the earth to heaven.

Then the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" will be removed. This immediately will produce corruption and darkness on an unprecedented scale, allowing the world dictator to come to power. This will begin the Tribulation Hour. Then the "beast" of the ages will rule during earth's bloodiest hour, proclaiming himself as God, the Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:4). He will rule until Christ returns to earth at the conclusion of the seven years. Then "the Lord shall consume [him] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy [him] with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Rapture # 01

The next event on God's prophetic clock:
Is the Rapture, a word that is derived from the Latin word rapturo, meaning, "a snatching away." The Rapture is that dramatic moment when the Lord Jesus Christ comes in clouds of glory to remove from this world all who have died in Christ along with the living from the Day of Pentecost until Christ comes to "snatch" His children upward and home in the twinkling of an eye. I Thessalonians 4:16-18 teaches: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

This event will occur at breakneck speed - in the "twinkling of an eye." Scientists have measured the twinkling in a human being's eye, and it amounts to eleven-one hundredths of a second. Those left on the earth will not know what hit them. A business colleague will suddenly be gone. A schoolteacher will no longer stand before his or her desk as the chalk falls to the floor. A doctor will not show up for his rounds. 

There will be no nurses at many hospitals to administer medicine, take pulses, or follow doctors' orders. Dirty dishes will be left in the sink as a housewife disappears from the view of her stunned family. The Rapture will precipitate the greatest traffic jams in history as cars suddenly become driver-less and pedestrians run for cover. It will be that moment in history, when, without warning, the Lord says, "Come up hither" (Revelation 4:1). It will be the greatest escape in the history of the world.

There are those who say that the pretribulational viewpoint began in 1830 and was propagated by Edward Irving, J. N. Darby, and Margaret McDonald, a retarded girl. But as we shall see, that is not so.

St. Victorinus, the bishop of Pettau, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation in AD 270. he said he saw another great and wonderful sign: "Seven angels having the last seven plagues, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the last time when the church shall have gone out of the midst." St. Victorinus was talking about the Rapture.

Here is more powerful documentation on a pretrib Rapture. The early Christian writer and poet Ephraem the Syrian (who lived from AD 306 to 373) was a major theologian of the early Byzantine Eastern Church. To this day, his hymns and homilies are used in the liturgy of the Greek Orthodox and Middle Eastern Nestorian Churches. He also wrote a large number of commentaries that have never been translated in English. Concerning a pretrib Rapture he stated: "All the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."

Thus, this teaching is not a present-day innovation but a doctrinal statement dating back seventeen centuries to St. Victorinus, and twenty centuries back to Jesus and Paul. However, there is more. In the sixteenth century there were also those who expressed absolute assurance of the Rapture. Hugh Latimer, burned at the stake for his faith in 1555, said, "It may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children's days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air and so shall come down with him again." Joseph Mede, the great sixteenth-century literalist, understood I Thessalonians 4:13-18 to teach the catching up of the saints and even used the word Rapture. This was also 250 years before Irving, Darby, and McDonald.

While the Rapture is not taught in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you will find it mentioned twice in the Gospel of John. This is important to remember: Any other time you read about Christ's return in the Gospels, it is not referring to the Rapture. Instead, these are references to the second phase of Christ's return, when He physically comes back to earth to rule over the earth after a seven-year tribulation period.

Where are the two Rapture texts found in the Gospel of John? John 14:1-3: "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

This is not His coming to the earth, but a time when Jesus receives us unto Himself at the great Rapture - the snatching away - to be with Him in heaven as the seven years of torment play out their unbridled fury on the earth.

The second reference to the Rapture is in John 11:25-26. I must confess that I quoted the passage for years and did not really understand it. Christ said: "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Jesus is contrasting those who experience death and live again ("the dead in Christ shall rise first" I Thessalonians 4:16) with those who never experience death (because "we which are alive and remain" are caught up without dying, I Thessalonians 4:17).

In the upcoming weeks, we will direct our attention to those events that are leading up to the Rapture, the Rapture itself, and what happens once God's chosen are caught away to be with the Lord.

The good news for the person who is prepared is - when the Rapture comes, believers will go home to be with the Lord and evade earth's horrendous seven years of Tribulation. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will, at long last, be the recipient of that blessed hope.

There will be no more tears, no more suffering, and no more dying for those who have received their new, glorified bodies without sin or sickness for all eternity. It is from this perspective - the pretribulation point of view - that I approach this subject with godly reverence.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE