The Rapture

            

“The return of Jesus Christ is the blessed hope for every believer.”

 

For many years, Bible scholars have searched Scripture for insight into when and how the Rapture will occur within the context of the end times. Various concepts exist on how the Rapture will happen, but the Pre-Wrath Rapture, occurring after the ‘times of wrath’ caused by man, Antichrist, and Satan; but prior to the outpouring of God’s wrath, is most in line with Jesus’ Word and “the scheme of Revelation.” This happens near or at the sixth seal and the last trumpet.

 

Knowing when the Rapture happens isn’t about sensationalism but about obedience, readiness, and fidelity. Jesus Christ warned believers repeatedly not to let themselves be deceived, not to grow spiritually complacent, or to misunderstand the phenomenon of His arrival. The Pre-Wrath Sixth-Seal Rapture respects Jesus’ words and positions those words precisely where Jesus placed them – after the tribulation, not prior to it.

 

THE TRIBULATION

 

One of the most common misinterpretations in end-time prophetic revelations is that God’s wrath embraces the entire period of the tribulation. This is not true, for God does not bring about the tribulation. Jesus says that this is ‘a time of great distress’ occurring as a result of earthly and demonic forces.

·        God’s love: Jesus Christ, love, forgiveness

·        Antichrist’s wrath: The rise of the beast, The mark, The persecution of the saints

·        Man’s wrath: war, betrayal, hatred, persecution

First, Satan’s anger, spurred by his loathing for God’s church after he was banished to earth, lets his evil forces roam free on earth. Such forces exert tremendous pressure on believers. Jesus terms this “tribulation.” It is a period that tests everyone on earth. This is very clear in the Book of Revelation. The seals (Chs. 1-5) depict human aggression, Satan’s deceit, and martyrdom but not God’s wrath. God’s wrath is only visible after the sixth seal has opened, meaning that the period of suffering or “tribulation” and God’s wrath are distinct.

“Tribulation” refers to the believers’ experiencing attacks from the devil and his cohorts.

“Wrath” is God punishing a rebellious world.

They are not the same. They are often confused but are very different from each other

 

THE SIXTH SEAL: THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN

 

“Revelation 6:12–13 (KJV)

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.”

These were the signs that will follow:

 

·        The sun becomes black

·        The moon becomes blood red

·        The stars fell

·        The skies shake

·        The sky divides to resemble a scroll

·        Persons conceal themselves out of fear

Both are identical to those spoken by Jesus in Matthew 24:29-31. Jesus said;

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days… then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. “

 

This is where God, in Christ, gathers His elect. This is the moment of Rapture. This is the unsealing of the sixth seal.

The wicked also sense that something divine is occurring, and cry out, “the great day of His wrath has come.” Do you notice how the phrase has come indicates what is about to happen, not has happened as something that has been taking place. This is the exact point in which the Rapture happens.

 

THE LAST TRUMPET: THE POINT OF TRANSFORMATION

 

More information on this topic is provided in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. The Rapture happens at the last trumpet.

“The dead in Christ rise first”, and these events follow;

·        The believers are transformed in an instant

·        We are caught up to meet Jesus in the air

 

This trumpet is not “the first trumpet” described in Revelation but rather “the last trumpet” calling the saints together. It matches exactly with the signs of the sixth seal in fulfilment of Jesus words that His angels would gather His elect together with ‘a great sound of a trumpet.’”

The last trumpet is the sound that denotes salvation. The sixth seal is the sign of His coming. Collectively, they illustrate when Jesus raises up the church.

 

GOD’S WRATH COMES AFTER THE RAPTURE

 

After the sixth seal has been opened and the church has been removed, there is a very dramatic change in Revelations. The seventh seal introduces:

·        Earthquake

·        Angelic announcements

·        The trumpets of judgment

·        The bowls of wrath

 

Both are acts of supernatural judgment. Neither is an accident, nor are they human wars or Satan’s plans—rather, they are God’s wrath poured out on earth.

 

The Pre-Wrath position correctly distinguishes between;

 

·        Tribulation (Satan and man attacking believers)

·        Wrath (God judging the world after removing believers)

 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Paul encourages believers by saying; “For God hath not appointed us unto wrath.”

Thus, believers are not on earth during God’s wrath. They pass through the period of tribulation to prove their loyalty, but they are not on earth on the Day of God’s punishment.

 

REASONS THE PRE-WRATH RAPTURE AT THE SIXTH SEAL IS THE SIGN OF CHRIST RETURN

 

These views uphold why prophecy researchers believe this;

·        References Jesus’ precise timing: after the tribulation

·        Fulfills every sign within cosmic revelations in Matthew 24, Joel, and Revelations

·        Distinects between man’s anger and God’s wrath

·        It preserves the church on earth for purification, not judgment

·        Does not fit into the patterns established in Revelation

This explains why the great multitude appears suddenly in heaven in Revelation 7

It is irrefutable when Scripture is read straightforwardly and literally. The church is not caught up prior to any kind of trouble. The church is not caught up after God has destroyed the earth. The church is caught up after the era of testing, but prior to the era of punishment.

 

THE CALL TO WATCH AND PREPARE

 

Jesus warned repeatedly:

 

·        “Watch

·        “Be sober.”

·        “Endure to the end.”

·        “Do not be deceived.”

Preparation is not fear but faithfulness. To know the right order of events enables believers to stand firm during the stress of trial. The trial will reveal where one has placed loyalty, purity, endurance, and strength. Many will prove untrue to Christ, as they expected to suffer no trouble. “They that have wives, as though they had none. . so also, they that buy things, as though they possessed them not.  .. they that use this world, as though they abhorred

The Rapture is a rescue but, prior to rescue, comes refinement. The trial proves the world. God’s wrath judges the world. Finally, after the sixth seal, Rapture removes God’s faithful by the last trumpet. The church must always be awake, alert, and ready for the glorious return of the King.