Prophecy

---

Once again, the discussion about the rapture of the Church and those left behind has come to the surface, largely due to the movie "Left Behind" that premiered in theaters on October 3rd. There has always been much debate and controversy about the whole scenario. I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 has some very clear insights.

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (New American Standard Version, which is considered to be fairly accurate to the original manuscripts.)

Let's walk through this passage and make some observations.

1. There are those who are critical of this, saying the word "rapture" is not found anywhere in the Bible. They are correct; it is not. However, the concept of being caught up, clearly taught in this passage, derives from the word "rapturo" in the original language. A future event is coming when all believers will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.

2. Some people make an issue about it not being a silent rapture. Well, they are correct. This passage clearly teaches that it will be, as some say, noisy, because the Lord will shout from heaven, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. A question in my mind is, will it be only the true believers that hear the shout? If this is the case, to the rest of the unbelieving word it WILL be a silent rapture. Whether it is silent or noisy is not the point.

3. At what point will it occur in reference to the Tribulation Period? The pre-tribulation adherents have been challenged by people with the premise that it lets Christians have an easy way out in escaping this period of severe testing upon the earth. There is, however, some biblical precedence to that. Consider how God spared Noah and his family BEFORE the flood occurred. Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being as bad as it can get, we do not know on that scale how bad things will become leading up to the rapture. We are already seeing things like pestilences and beheadings, both of which are prophesied in Revelation. Things are already getting bad enough to where it is going to take some strong Christians with convictions who won't back down, to endure, as living for God is going to get more and more difficult. So, that is not a good argument to use.

4. Both at the beginning and end of this passage, hope and comfort are mentioned, respectively. If Christians are going through the Tribulation Period, how could they expect to "comfort one another with these words" as it says in verse 18? This verse is often omitted from the immediate context.

Maybe, these four points taken from observations clearly within the context of this passage, have helped to lessen the debate. (See my other article dated 10/4/14 entitled, "What To Expect If The Rapture Occurs And You Get Left Behind.")

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE