part 4: the four corner pieces (part c) - a study on the rapture
puzzled about the end of the age, May 6 2020
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Main Texts: 1 Cor. 15:20-28, 50-55
In tonight’s study we will be studying the fourth corner piece as we continue to build our puzzle frame. This frame will serve as a “frame of reference” for the rest of our study on the end times, helping us to understand how the rest of the pieces that the Bible gives us fit together.
These four corner pieces are the scriptures most commonly used in defense of the Pre-Tribulation Secret Rapture (PTSR) view, regarding how and when the saints are gathered together from the four corners of the earth. The PTSR is the majority view in western “pop-culture” Christianity today… but is it biblical? Is it what Jesus and the Apostles taught?
And why does it even matter if it all “pans out” in the end?
• We are commanded by Scripture to TEST EVERYTHING and only hold on to that which is TRUE and GOOD.
• If the PTSR is true, then “we’re outta here” before the tribulation and revealing of the Antichrist and His war against the saints. But if it is false (if the Bible actually teaches and commands watchfulness, endurance and engagement rather than escape) then we are in danger of great CONFUSION, DISILLUSIONMENT, and OFFENSE (FALLING AWAY) that will come at the time of the antichrist’s Great Tribulation and the Mark of the Beast…
This is a matter of life and death and eternal consequences!
In 2 Corinthians 10:5
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
I believe that the Pre-Tribulation “secret” Rapture PTSR is a teaching that has only very recently (in the last 200 years) been injected into the body of Christ, and that it is suspect and found wanting when we compare the biblical texts.
We are NOT to believe man’s OPINIONS—even the majority opinion—but we ARE to DEMOLISH ARGUMENTS (STRONGHOLDS) that are against the truth!
When I came to see the truths I am sharing with you tonight, it forever changed how I view the last days! I believe the Lord is going to demolish some strongholds and arguments tonight as we continue looking at the next CORNER PIECE…
RECAP: The Four Corners (Part B): 1 Thess. 4:15-17
CHRONOLOGY:
JESUS’ DESCENT FROM HEAVEN (COMING) → LOUD COMMAND / VOICE OF ARCHANGEL / TRUMPET CALL OF GOD → FIRST RESURRECTION→ GLORIFICATION → GATHERED TOGETHER (“RAPTURE”)
Paul links these events in an UNBREAKABLE CHAIN or SEQUENCE…
This is important because Jesus taught that scripture cannot be broken. (John 10:34,35) and I hope to show that in order for there to be a pre-tribulation rapture one must BREAK the scriptures to force that view upon them.
Here are the five events that make up what I am calling the “Golden Chain of Bible Prophecy”:
(1) Second Coming → (2) Trumpet of God → (3) First Resurrection (resurrection of the dead) → (4) Glorification of Our Mortal Bodies → (5) Gathering of the Saints (commonly known as the “Rapture”)
These events occur in that order. So the next question is, does the Bible give us the timing of any of these events? I’m going to argue from scripture tonight that yes, it does. It tells us when the RESURRECTTION of the dead will occur. And if we can pinpoint the resurrection of the dead, we can know when the rapture will happen, because the rapture (gathering of the saints) logically follows the resurrection.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-55 (ESV):
“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?””
• V.50, 53: Notice that we can infer from Paul’s teaching (which he received from the Lord, 1 Thess. 4:15) that the timing of our GLORIFICATION is intricately connected to the timing of the COMING of the kingdom (i.e. the “parousia” of Jesus from heaven). Our mortal bodies “cannot inherit the kingdom of God (v.50); therefore, “this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (v.53).
Implied in the text that the body must “put on the imperishable” is the reality that the coming of Jesus brings with it the coming of the kingdom. Heaven is coming to earth, and as a result, we need a new nature to survive in “heaven’s atmosphere.” Just as an astronaut needs a space suit to survive “outer space,” when the kingdom comes in all of its glory, we need to put on our immortal body so that we can survive heaven’s holiness. Paul’s teaching is that, because of the coming Kingdom, we need a new nature.
• V.51: “Behold! I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, BUT we shall all be changed…”
Paul is about to reveal a MYSTERY that was not previously disclosed to previous generations of saints: WE WILL NOT ALL DIE! (Like Enoch and Elijah who were taken directly to heaven without tasting death - See Gen. 5:24; 2 Kgs. 2:11-12; Heb. 11:5)
This truth was also revealed by Jesus to Martha when discussing the resurrection of the dead (See John 11:25-26). We will all (together) receive our immortal, glorified bodies (at the coming of the Lord). He is saying that this will happen to all saints throughout all time at the same exact moment, at the last trumpet. (Hebrews 11:39-40)
Q: Will the resurrection and the glorification of the saints be a secret, hidden event? NO! It will be visible to all…
2 Thess. 1:9-10 – “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, 10 when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
Dan. 12:2-3 – “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (1 Co. 15:41)
• V.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 imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
When will the resurrection occur? “AT THE LAST TRUMPET…”
How many “last trumpets” are there? ONE!
▪ I believe this is the “loud trumpet” or “great trumpet” of Matthew 24:31, the “trumpet call of God” in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, and the seventh Trumpet of Revelation 11:15-19. Since there are many trumpets in the Book of Revelation, this trumpet cannot be to announce a pre-tribulation event; otherwise, it could not logically be the “LAST TRUMPET”!
When will our glorification occur? after THE LAST TRUMPET sounds and after THE DEAD ARE RAISED (“FIRST RESURRECTION” - 1 Thess. 4:15-17), and at the same time as THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED (See 2 Thess. 1:6-10; Rev. 19:11-21)!
Paul says this transformation (glorification) of our mortal bodies into immortal bodies must happen and will occur “in the twinkling of an eye” at Jesus’ coming (“parousia”) from heaven.
• V.54-55: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Paul ends his teaching by quoting from both Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 and draws this logical conclusion regarding the timing issue: ! Paul is connecting the “death of death” with the resurrection and glorification of the saints. WHEN (AT THE TIME OF THE RESURRECTION) the dead are raised, THEN (AT THAT TIME) death will die.
1 Corinthians 15:20-27 ESV
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His COMING those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes THE END, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The LAST ENEMY to be destroyed is DEATH. 27 For ‘God has put all things in subjection under His feet.’”
• V.22-24: Resurrection order: Christ… those who belong to Christ (at His coming)…then the end.
• V.25: Christ delivers the Kingdom of God to the Father AFTER destroying every enemy. This includes the devil, beast, and the false prophet.
• V.26: “The LAST ENEMY to be destroyed is DEATH…”
Q: How many “last enemies” can there be? ONE!
• THEREFORE, all other enemies (Satan, Antichrist, Beast, False Prophet, the wicked) must logically be put under Jesus’ feet prior to death—the LAST enemy!
Q: When will this “LAST ENEMY” be destroyed? AT THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS (1 Cor. 15:54)!
Q: WHEN is the resurrection of the righteous?
• We have already seen from Paul’s teaching that the resurrection of the righteous occurs at Jesus’ COMING (parousia), as announced by the LAST TRUMPET. Paul said he received his teaching from the Lord (1 Thess. 4:15), so what did Jesus have to say about the timing of the resurrection?
FOUR “EDGE PIECES”
There are four statements by Jesus in John 6 that clearly mark the “edge” or “boundary” that defines the TIMING of the RESURRECTION:
John 6:39 – “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the LAST DAY.”
John 6:40 – “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the LAST DAY.”
John 6:44 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the LAST DAY.”
John 6:54 – “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the LAST DAY.”
According to Jesus, the FIRST RESURRECTION is at the LAST DAY!
Q: How many “last days” are there? It is true that the Bible speaks of the “last days” in reference to the days between Jesus’ 1st and 2nd Coming (See 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 3:3), but the definite article (“the”) and the singular “day” makes it clear that this is the FINAL DAY of this present AGE—the DAY OF THE LORD!
Note that the tribulation period is defined as three-and-a-half years, 42 months or 1260 DAYS.
CHRONOLOGY:
RESSURECTION (COMES WHEN JESUS COMES, VISIBLY) → GLORIFICATION → GATHERING TOGETHER (“RAPTURE”)
Q: Who are the FIRST to be resurrected? The saints who have died in the Lord—the righteous dead—will rise FIRST (See Dan. 12:3; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). But the Scriptures are even more specific…
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
The TRIBULATION MARTYRS are the FIRST to be RESURRECTED! This means that the FIRST RESURRECTION comes AFTER the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON at the END OF THE AGE, when Jesus comes to defeat the armies of the Antichrist and throw the Beast and False Prophet into the lake of fire (See Rev. 19:11-21)!
In order for the PTSR to be true, the resurrection of the dead would need to occur BEFORE the Great Tribulation, and these Scriptures and the words of Jesus would need to be a lie!
Note: Can those “under the altar” be the PTSR saints? No, because those under the altar are those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and their refusal to worship the beast. There is no evidence to suggest that anyone was “spared” from going through the tribulation.
Conclusion:
There are three “LASTS” and one “FIRST” that help us to place the timing of these events on the DAY OF THE LORD:
1. LAST TRUMPET
2. LAST ENEMY
3. LAST DAY
4. FIRST RESURRECTION
All of these events are connected to Jesus’ VISIBLE, PHYSICAL COMING at the end of the age to resurrect the dead and glorify the saints, THEN GATHER US TOGETHER FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH. This means that it is impossible, biblically-speaking, for a Pre-tribulation Rapture because the gathering of the saints is the final event in a series of events that are linked together LIKE AN UNBREAKABLE CHAIN. And as Jesus taught, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
In conclusion, I believe that the Bible teaches what some have called a POST-TRIBULATION RESURRECTION-GATHERING/“RAPTURE”, linking the timing of our being gathered together with the timing of the resurrection of the dead at the coming of the Lord. This conforms to Paul’s teaching that Jesus’ coming and our being gathered together are AFTER the appearing of the Antichrist and the falling away from the faith (apostasy) of many (2 Thess. 2:1-5).
This means we need to prepare our hearts to ENDURE and ENGAGE a lost world…
We need to set our hearts fully on the coming of Jesus. That is our blessed hope, not some secret coming of the Lord prior to the tribulation. We are not looking for the DISAPPEARING OF THE SAINTS, but for the GLORIOUS APPEARING of our Lord and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST! This is the BLESSED HOPE!
The four corner pieces (matt. 24:29-31, 2 thess. 1:4-10, 2:1-8, (3) 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 Cor. 15:20-28, 50-55)