The Hope of the Body of Christ II:
The Rapture Battle
Table of Contents
I. The statement of the rapture
II. The timing of the Rapture (Paul's Play on Words)
In the past 100 years, no greater doctrine of Scripture has generated more controversy as has men's opinions on the so-called Rapture of the Church (Body of Christ). Briefly, the Rapture is that event which ends the age of the Body of Christ, whence Christ takes His Body (the Church) into heaven. There are essentially three views in evangelicalism today regarding the timing of the Rapture:
Some critics of the so-called Rapture "theory" have criticized the Doctrine because the word "rapture" does not occur in the New Testament. Very little needs to be said on this point, yet a few words are in order to show the stupidity of such an argument. The word "Trinity" does not occur in NEITHER New NOR Old Testaments, yet most of those making such an argument would NEVER deny the great doctrine of the Trinity just because the word "trinity" never appears in the text.
I. The statement of the rapture
A. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The first historic inspired reference to the Rapture event is seen in 1 Thes 4:13-18. Thessalonians was written in the early 50s clearly showing that the Doctrine of the Rapture was an important doctrine right form the "get-go".Verse 13: The Thessalonian Body saints were exhorted NOT to be ignorant of this great doctrinal event. That the dead in Christ are completely unlike those that have died without Christ. Those whom have fallen in Christ have the hope of resurrection.
Verse 14: Christ will bring back the dead in Christ with Him at this great event.
Verse 15: The three apostolic authors (see 1:1) of this epistle state that their "stating" of this great Doctrine is the very "Word of Christ". The Greek word for "word" is LOGOS () meaning that this is the very "logic" of Christ. Also that those alive at the time of this event will not "precede" those that have died in Christ.
Verse 16: Christ Himself descends from heaven (see Eph 1:20 & 2:6; Phil 3:20) with a shouting command, archangelic voice, and God's trumpet. These items are listed utilizing a Figure of Asyndeton telling us to examine the list as a whole. The order of resurrection is then given as starting with the Dead in Christ rising to heaven.
Verse 17: Those saints alive at the time of this event will be taken up TOGETHER with the dead in Christ. These then enter into the "angelic" cloud forever to remain and be with the Lord as His Body.
Verse 18: This event is a comfort indeed to the Body saint! If we have to go through any of God's wrath how can such an event be considered a comfort, knowing that we will experience at least a portion of the Wrath of the Lamb? The real comfort of this great Rapture doctrine is that the Body of Christ will experience NONE of God's wrath! The specific timing of this event is given in the next set of verses and will be dealt with below.
B. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
The Corinthian Epistles are the next letters written by Paul, some 3 or 4 years after Thessalonians, and the Rapture is still a fundamental doctrine.Verse 51: The Rapture is described as a "mystery". A mystery is something not priorly revealed, but now it is revealed. Paul states that Rapture is a mystery because it is that event which ends the Church Age the Great Mystery of Paul's epistles. Thus, it is only proper to recognize that the event that ends the Great Pauline Mystery must itself be a mystery; NOT revealed prior to Paul. The mystery here being the rapture event is precisely that event which changes the Body saints from this life to glory.
Verse 52: The Rapture takes place very quickly, literally in a "moment". The Greek word for moment is ATOMOS from which we get our English word "atom", and describes the smallest indivisible portion of time. God does things instantaneously, but man because he is finite requires a finite amount of time (and space) to observe things. Thus, Paul describes this with the word "atom"; an atom of time - very quick indeed - the smallest observable (indivisible) unit of time. The dead saints are resurrected and inherit their incorruptible bodies.
Verses 53-58: Both the grave and death are defeated at the Rapture (i.e., Glorification).
C. Summary
In summary, the Rapture is that event in which Christ comes back for His Body and takes it to heaven to be forever with Him. This event ends the "church age" and God begins to deal with Israel. At the Rapture each member of the Body of Christ receives a "new" body glorified with the same glory as Christ (Rom 8:16-21; 1 Cor 15:40,53,54).
II. The timing of the rapture (Paul's Play on Words)
A. A Problem of the Standard Proofs
A glance at almost any book from the standard Pre-Tribulation position will reveal that most Pre-Tribulation arguments rest on the notion of the "imminency" of Christ's return for His Body. By "imminency" we mean that NOTHING needs to take place on God's prophetic calendar before the Rapture occurs. Early Walvoord essentially maintains that nothing is required before the Rapture takes place. His arguments are based on a confusion over the distinctiveness of Paul's gospel w.r.t. the Kingdom gospel. As a result, he often applies clearly Jewish events to the Body (i.e., John 14:3 - going to my Father's mansion to prepare a place for you). Regarding signs given to the church that precede the Rapture, J. Dwight Pentecost outright states:"To the church no such signs were given."
Both men completely ignore 1 Tim 4:1-16, which discusses the "latter times" of the Body age, and 2 Tim 3:1- 9 which deals with the "last days" of the Body age. Both these passages deny and clearly contradict the doctrine of "imminency". Interestingly, latter Walvoord almost gets the point when defending against Robert H. Gundry's "dispensational post-tribulationism".
B. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
The "coup de grace" proof of the so-called Pre-Tribulation Rapture is found in 1 Thes 5:1-11. Here Paul does a "word play" on several words and phrases. The following provides the play (equivalence relation):Day of the Lord == Night == Darkness Light == Day
Verse 1-3: Paul states that the Thessalonians need no further help regarding the end time events because he has already covered these things in detail with them. For he says that they know these things perfectly (or precisely, just as an acrobat must walk precisely on the tight rope not to fall). In verse 2 Paul begins the first play by equating the "Day of the Lord" with the night, and the coming of the Day of the Lord as a "thief in the night". It is in the Night when the "travail" occurs. This usage of "travail" has been previously well established to refer to the experience of Israel during the 2nd Generation.
Verse 4: Next Paul clearly states the you all (the Body saints of Thessalonica) are categorically NOT in the darkness (night) that THAT DAY (Day of the Lord) should over take them.
Verse 5: Again Paul categorically states that you all (the Body saints of Thessalonica) are children of light indeed children of day; and continues by categorically stating that we are NOT (Greek emphatic) of night NOR darkness.
Verse 6: Since "sleeping" is normally done at night, Body saints ought to be awake (perfectly sober and of sound mind-being sober).
Verses 7-9: Let those that sleep, sleep in the night, and let us who are of the day be sober. For true Body saints have put on the breastplate (thorax) of faith and love and the helmet of salvation's hope (the hope of the Body). Thus, while we are in the day we are to put on the breastplate and helmet of salvation which are detailed for us in Ephesians 6 as part of the armor by which the Body saint today prepares himself for the obtaining of salvation (verse 9) [the appropriation of the Hope as detailed in the Rapture-Battle - Eph 6]).
Verses 10 &11: Christ's death has appropriated our success and salvation, and as a result we should forever live together with Him. It is in this context that we are to build each other up in doctrine, faith, and practice. This edification of each other is the true manner in which saints demonstrate their love for one another.
C. Summary
The Rapture takes place prior to the Day of the Lord, and as we have seen in other studies and outlines, the Rapture precedes the entire 3rd Generation of Israel, and is therefore more correctly called the "Pre Third Generation Rapture".
A. The Evil Days
Paul characterizes the days of the Body of Christ as "evil [plural] days [plural]" (Eph 5:16), and in this context tells the Ephesians Body saints to redeem the times in which they walk. We are commanded to walk "circumspectly" in these evil days (5:15). The Greek word for "circumspectly" is the word from which we get our English word acrobat. As an acrobat must be "precise" in his footing, so must the Body saint be precise in his Pauline walk during this age. And in this walk we are commanded to be wise not unwise (5:17). In walking precisely in Paul's gospel Body saints prepare themselves during this age for the Rapture-Battle. Paul calls the Body age "the evil days" because the Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thes 2:7) is hard at work, producing the "anti-body", the false and counterfeit church - indeed the most despicable enemy of the true church.B. The Evil Day
The evil days end on THE EVIL THE DAY (Eph 6:13). The day of the Rapture is called the evil day, and is so called because "the day [singular] the evil [singular]" is when Satan and his hordes attempt to inhibit the Body of Christ in taking hold of our hope - the Father's throne (cp. Eph 1:20 with Eph 2:6; Phil 3:20; contrast with Rev 3:21). Thus, the great Evil Day is the consummation of the Evil Days.C. Preparation for the Battle
Paul through the Body Armor of Ephesians 6 tells us how we are to work-out, exercise, and prepare for this great Battle.Verse 11: We are to "put on" [Enduo-AORIST, IMPERATIVE, MIDDLE] the armor which God has supplied. That this word is in the Middle voice clearly implies that it is the "new man" via regeneration that empowers the Body saint to "suit up". Indeed, we are told to put on the ENTIRE (whole) armor of God. The word for whole armor is PANOPLY form PAS (all, each) and OPLON meaning weaponry, armaments). Thus, the evil days are our "Boot-Camp" whereby we suffer (Rom 8:17,18) as a "good soldier" of Christ (remarkably similar thoughts [2 Tim 2:3]). Indeed since Paul is our example (1 Cor 11:1) then our life ought to be similar to that of Paul's life as he describes it (2 Tim 4:7,8). We are to suit up with this great armor so that we "stand" (HISTEMI-to stand) against the wiles (METHODS) of Satan. Notice that we are fighting against a spiritual being and his forces.
Verse 12: We are not (OUK-emphatic no) wrestling physical persons, but with high spiritual leaders, i.e., Satan and his hordes. Now how can this be, for the beings that have persecuted the church are clearly human beings? Paul's point is that our true battle is with the demons "behind" the human beings that persecute true saints. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit "behind" (rather leading) the Body, while Satan and his demons are behind those that speak against and persecute the church. Those that persecute the church are precisely the "anti-body".
Verses 13-17: Wherefore (actually "because of this"), that is, because we are fighting against principalities and powers, we are to take up this great armor so that we may be able to withstand (ANTI-HISTEMI = ATTACK) in the Evil Day. We are to do all that we can to STAND today, that we might be able to ANTISTAND in the evil day. Thus, today is the day of preparation for this battle; the church age is the age of preparation => our BootCamp.
The armor of God (the One Father God) by which the Body saint is to put on is presented in the form of an Introversion and beautifully correlates with the seven Ones of Ephesians 4:4-6:
The Armor of God is precisely that instrument which prepares the Body saint for that great day of evil, when the Body fights through the domain of Satan (Eph 2:2) to rightfully take its hope. Thus, the Panoply of God must be the mastering of and submitting to Paul's gospel - the Great Mystery. This mastery of Paul's gospel in light of the seven ones is clearly seen in Eph 4:7-16.
Today (the evil days) we are to stand against the methods of Satan - today our posture is a defensive one (standing), while in the evil day we take the offensive (attack). The following table illustrates the contrast between our present warfare with that of the Rapture-Battle.
This day of battle is also called the day of fire (1 Cor 3:13) and clearly associates the Rapture-Battle with the judgment seat of Christ (see below).
Christ began His earthly ministry with a direct conflict with Satan at His temptations (Mat 4:1-11; Luke 4:1- 15), with no human intervention. Once His temptations were completed his "wrestling" ministry consisted mostly with human rulers (Pharisees, Sadducees, and false Israel). These were the "anti-Israel" of Christ's day. Thus, Christ's ministry prepared Him for the ultimate triumph over Satan, and thus was able to cry from the torture stake, "it is finished". The redemptive price was complete and He was then successfully and most willingly crucified.
The Body mimics Christ's earthly Humanity in many respects and this is not an exception. The Body began with a direct demonic infliction upon Paul (2 Cor 12:9). Notice that Paul asks three times to be released from this demonic bondage; the answer he is given is, "My Grace is sufficient for thee". Notice there is no angelic mediation nor comfort. Paul is directly comforted via the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Grace. Contrast this with Christ's 2 sets of three Temptation whereupon afterwards Christ is sent the Father's angels for comfort (Mat 4:11). Similarly, at Gethsemene Christ prays three times for this cup to be removed from Him - the Father's Grace too was sufficient.
D. The Battle Proper
Upon Christ's passion and resurrection He ascended to the Father at least twice. Christ humiliated Satan by parading the devil about, leading Satan and his hordes captive (Eph 4:8 [leading the captivity (demons) captive (defeated). The Body mimics Christ in this defeat by passing through the realm of Satan and his hordes (for he is the prince of the powers of the air) and taking our hope (the Father's throne). Like Christ, the Body ascends to the angelic clouds whereby we fight Satan and again like Christ utterly defeat him (Rom 16:20) under our feet. The following table summarizes the characteristics of the preparation and Rapture Battle.
Christ began His ministry defending against Satan directly at the temptations. The mode of preparation was the articulation of Scripture. This was a direct Satanic attack upon Christ. Christ took no physical action himself, but "defended" via the Scriptures. Direct demonic activity (no humans involved)! |
Paul began his Body ministry with the direct buffeting of a demon. He took no physical action to correct this matter. Direct demonic activity (no humans involved)! |
Christ main ministry after the Temptations were with "flesh and blood" via the Pharisees, Sadducees, and apostate Israel. These are the "anti-Israel". Until His passion this aspect of ministry was defending and articulating the Jewish scriptures. Christ took no physical action against these physical persons, but "defended" via the Scriptures. No direct demonic attack outside of physical creatures. The demons are behind the human rulers. |
Paul's ministry consisted of defending the Body gospel the to reprobate Jews and Gentiles. These were men and women of "flesh and blood" (the anti-body). This ministry was primarily defending and articulating the Body gospel. He took no physical action against these physical persons, but defensive using the Scripture (Acts 28:31). No direct demonic attack outside of physical creatures. The demons are behind the human rulers. |
Christ parades Satan about, "leading captivity captive" (Eph 4:8). Direct attacking upon demons (no "flesh and blood" involved). |
The Body humiliates Satan (Rom 16:20). Direct attacking upon demons (no "flesh and blood" involved). |
E. The Battle Assessment
The success of a Body's saint is manifested in this Rapture-Battle and declared at the Judgment Seat of Christ [or Bema] (Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10). Details of this declaration is discussed in 1 Cor 3:10-15.F. Miscellaneous Items
Many items related to this great Rapture doctrine have not been covered in this outline. Some of them are