Without A Trace - The Great Rapture Controversy
The rapture of the Christian is a well known matter among
believers around the world. It is sometimes referred to as the
catching away. Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 24:37-42 But as the
days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating
and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood
came, and took them all away; so shall also the coining of the
Son of man be. Then two shall he in the field; the one shall be
taken. And the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the
mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The Apostle Paul further elucidates the matter by adding to it a
few details that the account in Matthew leaves out. 1
Corinthians 15: 51-52 Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
Like so many other prophecies of the second coming believers
can't seem to fully agree on this one. The three common views
are what are known as, pre-tribulation, mid- tribulation and
post-tribulation rapture. That all believers dead or alive will
be instantly transformed and carried up to meet the Lord at his
second coming is not the argument. It is only when their going
to be caught up that so puzzles the believer.
Not wanting to add to the confusion I can say that only the
first two views have any possibility of being correct. The main
purpose of Christ's return is to judge a world that has plunged
into the worship of the devil in the flesh (antichrist) and it
culminates in the pouring out of God's wrath on the entire
world.
When the pouring out of God's wrath actually begins in the
course of the antichrist's reign is extremely hard to pinpoint
with accuracy. But whenever it is we who believe in Christ won't
be here. The reason this can be said without one shred of doubt
is based on a promise God has made to his children that he will
save them from the wrath to come. The wrath of God is for the
wicked not for his own children. This promise is found in
1Thess.1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to
come.
The idea that we are not removed from the world before God
starts to pour out his wrath, not only flies in the face of this
clear promise but it smacks of absurdity. We would he directly
in the line of fire and only a cursory perusal of God's
judgments would he enough to see that no one will escape some
damage. In modern warfare that is called, collateral damage, but
even this term would not adequately describe the damages to
almost everything and everyone during God's judgments.