The Rapture — Loved or Feared?
 Many
Christians like to talk and read about the rapture because
it is that blessed moment when Jesus will remove His
church from this planet. It is the singular event that
is longed for by untold numbers because it will mean
the instant end of heartache, sorrow and suffering for
all Christians, especially those living in Communist
and Moslem countries where persecution, torture and
death await anyone daring to worship anything except
the political system or the pagan god Allah. It will
be the greatest of all reunions when Christians will
for evermore be in the presence of Jesus Christ along
with loved ones who went to be with the Lord through
the door of death. It is the next event on God’s
prophetic calendar and is, according to Paul, the blessed
hope (Titus 2:13) which, according to John, purifies
our lives (1 John 3:3).
Of course, there are others who view the rapture with
condescension and even disdain. Some of those folks
never think about, much less study, the rapture because
they are afraid of it. Still, others assign it to some
corner of their theological minds under the label of
“fantasy”. They believe Christians who even
use the word “rapture” have been mislead
by false teachers about events regarding the future
and are, “...simply too fixated on all this prophecy
business.” They see the rapture as something in
the far distant future and thus believe we are all going
to die someday which is a very depressing, yet very
common religious belief. Unfortunately, most of those
who claim to possess the Christian worldview buy into
this belief system, and there seems to be several reasons
for it.
First, most Christians are ignorant of what God has
said about the end of this dispensation and the events
that follow such as judgment, hell, etc. They can sing
“Only A Little Boy David” and “Amazing
Grace”; they have been immersed (baptized) and
take communion; they can recite the books of the New
Testament (but probably not the Old Testament) and can
quote John 11:35; they can even lead in public prayer
and take their turn as Sunday morning greeters. But,
when it comes to the greatest event in the history of
the world since the resurrection, they are unsure at
best and fearful at worse. It is not that they cannot
know the truth about the rapture; for various reasons
they simply choose not to know. And, as is usually the
case, ignorance breeds fear.
Secondly, some sit at the feet of teachers who have
filled their heads with the idea that anyone who believes
in the literal interpretation of prophecy is a heretic.
I have personally been labeled a false teacher and consigned
to the infernal regions because I believe the Bible
clearly teaches the pre-millennial, pre-tribulational
return of Jesus. Many sheep, because of their predisposed
opinion of infallibility toward their shepherds, accept
what they are taught with no questions asked and with
no attempt at personal study. If this is the way a person
thinks, then it is natural for that person to fear the
rapture. After all, they have been told that the literal
view of prophecy is the false teaching of someone who
is obviously a hell-bound heretic.
Thirdly, some folks avoid talking about the imminent
return of Jesus for His church and the events that will
follow because they like things the way they are. The
rapture, you see, would interfere with their current
lifestyle and plans and is therefore something not really
needed at this time. Simply, they are not in any position
that would require God to “rescue” them
from this life. The danger for a Christian who is healthy,
whose family is healthy, who is doing fine materially,
who has a bright future in his/her profession and who
has everything going their way lies in seeing Jesus’
intervention in the rapture as anuninvited intervention
in their lives. It is the mindset that says, “God,
don’t call me — I’ll call You.”
However, for many Christians, and especially those who
experience suffering for any number of reasons, the
rapture is something else. It is a loved event; something
that cannot come soon enough.
The question, though, is this: Should a person’s
physical and material situation have anything at all
to do with whether they love Jesus’ appearing?
The answer is a very firm NO! If that is the case then
that person does not have a clue as to what the coming
of Jesus for His church is really all about. That way
of thinking betrays at least a degree of fear. After
all, things can get kind of scary when the “good
life” is suddenly interrupted and comes to an
abrupt end. Especially when what happens next is something
generally unknown and quite often feared.
It is true that no one can speak definitively on all
issues having to do with prophecy. We are not omniscient
and some things are just too complex to be able to completely
figure out. Plus, we can clearly see that God has not
told us everything about how He will do things in the
future. Our finite minds are simply incapable of understanding
the infinite. And besides, we believe the Bible from
a standpoint of faith and not from a standpoint of comprehension.
Being able to understand a doctrine should never be
the basis for believing that doctrine. We do not apply
that test to most other aspects of life. For example,
everyone believes in the awesome power of a thermo-nuclear
explosion, but few really understand how it works.
However! There are some things we can know and understand
without question. Being limited in some areas does not,
to any degree, decrease our capacity to understand those
matters having to do with events which are indeed clearly
and plainly presented in scripture. There are many truths
we can understand with absolute confidence, and to reject
them out of hand, or to apply them allegorically when
the evidence is contrary to such application, is to
place a profound liability upon ourselves. Additionally,
such a practice severely limits the blessings of joy,
hope and peace of mind such texts are meant to bring.
It is amazing that in a world that is filled with trouble
and heartache at every hand any number of Christians
choose to ignore or flat-out reject the very truths
that enable us to deal with those troubles and heartaches.
They will plead with God during times of distress to
send them comfort while at the same time refusing to
acknowledge the very scriptures that bring a soothing
balm that calms the weary soul and eases the pain of
loss and sorrow. After describing the rapture in some
detail to the church at Thessalonica, Paul closed with
the words, “Therefore comfort one another with
these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18 NASB). These
words alone should be sufficient to erase any fear about
the rapture!
Yet, for many such comfort does not come. Years of
incorrect teaching about prophecy, the rapture, etc.,
can so ingrain fear about future events that a person
might choose to remain in that condition instead of
studying those texts personally and allowing the Holy
Spirit to do His work in their hearts. In a manner of
speaking God sends in His cavalry, but it is turned
away because someone does not believe in horses.
Years ago during a sermon about the coming of Jesus
for His church an older lady in the audience became
irritated to the point of anger because I used the word
“rapture” any number of times during the
message. Each time the word was used she would tap on
the shoulder of one of the elders and would say, “You
must tell him to stop using that word...it is not in
the Bible!” This elderly lady was a fine Christian
in many ways who practiced hospitality and kindness,
but who had a real hang-up about the coming of Jesus
for His church. It was a frightful thought in her mind
and her only desire was to make sure she was theologically
correct on everything the Bible had to say so she might
go to heaven after she appeared before God at the Great
White Throne Judgment. She believed no one could know
if they were saved until “judgment day”.
She feared death because she did not know what would
happen. She often had trouble sleeping well. Must we
wonder why?
Ignorance brought fear to her heart. She had been taught
that only heretics thought the rapture was truly imminent
and was really something to look forward to. Her teachers
had told her that heaven is only for those who were
correct on every issue, that when Jesus did come (possibly
a thousand years from now) it was going to be a terribly
dark day of judgment for Christians because only then
would they find out if they were saved. She believed
death was inevitable and that when Jesus eventually
did come back for His church a host of very scary cataclysmic
events would happen and she did not understand where
Christians would fit into these things. She knew nothing
of prophetic truth and precious little about God’s
grace. No wonder she lived in fear of the rapture. Some
folks with this belief system might allow themselves
to become satisfied even in their sick and decrepit
bodies because the alternative to this life might be
too gloomy to contemplate.
God’s people should always remember the Holy
Spirit is never the source or supporter of ignorance.
Ours is a hope that is blessed (Titus 2:13) and loved
(2 Timothy 4:8). We should never allow what has been
traditional teaching in any particular church group
to rob us of the blessing of belief and hope. Fear of
the rapture, or of any future event, should not be a
part of any Christian’s belief system because
such fear is not of divine origin. DLM
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