09/09/2025
The Rapture Series – Part 1
The Rapture Controversies
What is the Rapture ? The modern dictionary defines the word as "excessive joy - a degree of delight that arrests the whole mind." However , when researching using the old Webster dictionary i found the word ENRAPTURE, v.t. [from rapture.] which means to transport with pleasure. And it continues to link it to another ancient word TRANSPORTEDLY, adv. which is the news of victory received with transports of joy. So Rapture is a transport of delight.
Rapture refers to the event where JESUS comes to pick the Church from the Earth to take them to Heaven. It is a separate event from the Second coming where JESUS physically lands on Planet Earth.
There are two passengers in this Rapture flight as follows
1. The ones who had died already
a. These ones are in Heaven as we speak, with their spiritual body. Jesus opens their graves and transforms their earthly body to a new glorified body and they re-enter heaven with a new upgraded form
2. The ones who are still alive on earth
a. These are caught up to join the resurrected ones in the sky. As they fly their earthly bodies are also glorified. So both the former dead and the living enter heaven in a new glorified state..
The one scripture that captures the above in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 states that
" We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. [16] For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. [17] Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
Controversies around the Rapture
One would think that an event as clearly explained in the above scripture should not cause any disagreement. But the Rapture teaching has been wrapped in myriad controversies for many reasons, but I will dwell on only these three:
1. Controversy #1 : The word Rapture
a. Many challenge it because the word Rapture is not in the Bible. They take that to mean that the event doesn't exist.
2. Controversy #2: The timing of the Rapture
There is disagreement whether it is before the Great tribulation or after. The two views are as follows :
• The Post-tribulators say: “ we have to go through the tribulation in order to “endure and be saved” Matthew 24:13
• The Pre-tribulators say : "Apostle Paul said “ God hath not appointed us to wrath” so we must be evacuated before the tribulation" 1 Thess_5:9
3. Controversy #3: Whether to watch out for its “coming”
The issue here hinges on JESUS statement in Matthew 24:36 where He says “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
a. The non-watchers say: "..because JESUS said no one knows the day or the hour , we should not exert ourselves looking out for timings of seasons or warning others "
b. The watchers say: "...because He said the day or hour does not mean we are not to discern the times and seasons - especially when most end-time prophecies have been fulfilled and the ones not yet are looking likely to be fulfilled in our lifetime - should we not take that as a sign to prepare and start watching the calendar with a microscope"
To address all the above controversies, I have started this 7-part Rapture Series. This teaching aims to unpack what the Bible says about the Rapture.
How the Bible usually solves controversy
To resolve bible controversy, we go back to the Old Testament to look for shadows and patterns because GOD always uses a template. For example, the Old Testament hides Christ. The New Testament reveals Christ. If there is a controversy regarding Christ in our age, we search for patterns in the OT to seek clarity. Because the OT was a just tutor to prepare us for the actual class in the NT. So let’s see how JESUS uses this problem-solving template to explain the End times
How JESUS resolved the rapture/end-times controversies
JESUS used the above shadow & patterns method to tackle the questions regarding the end-times. He went back to the stories of Noah and Lot when He was asked about the coming of His Kingdom, as follows:
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of S***m it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. Luk 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Luk 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.
1. Controversy #1 resolved : Is Rapture there ?
a. To find the Rapture in the Bible, we have to the go to the original language to find the meaning from 1Th 4:17 which says we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The translation of the word "caught up" in the original language is "harpazō" which according to the Thayer Definition means:
1) to seize, carry off by force
2) to seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly
3) to sn**ch out or away
b. Both the main actors in JESUS teaching above, namely Noah and Lot, were rescued before the Judgment came. Since Jesus used their stories to parallel His second coming , we can take it that there will be a similar pre-rescue beforehand. While I studied the above scripture for this article, I noticed a very small detail -it turns out to be significant. JESUS says in verse 29 that "the very day that Lot was rescued, judgment fell on S***m." Some versions say the "same morning" - judgment could not happen while he was still in S***m
c. For those who doubt the occurrence of the Rapture saying "it has not happened before", we still reference the Noah example. It is written that he obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. Similarly the Rapture has never happened before.
2. Controversy #2 resolved: Is Rapture a pre or a post-tribulation
Jesus in setting the above end-time scene shows two rescues before judgment. Noah was evacuated before the flood -he escaped the flood-tribulation. Lot was rescued before the fire and brimstone - he escaped the judgment of sodomites together with his family. The above scenarios supports Apostle Paul teaching that God hath not appointed us to wrath” - 1Thess_5:9
This is made plain when the story of Lot is repeated in Hebrews 11:7 which states that later, God condemned the cities of S***m and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. [7] But God also rescued Lot out of S***m because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. [8] Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. [9] So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
Note the last verse above that states how God "knows how to rescue godly people from trials." It speaks of a pre-tribulation rapture.
3. Controversy #3 resolved: Whether we are to know its “coming” &"timing"
The key thing to note is JESUS' opening statement when He said, “...as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” Luk 17:26 . That already is an advisory to be on the look-out for a timing and a season.
The people watched Noah building the Ark. That alone was an announcement that there is danger coming. The ark was too big to be built in secret. We know it took time because Peter tells us that those who disobeyed God long ago did so when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Even God waited for the Ark to be finished- 1 Peter 3:20. Noah also warned the world of God’s righteous judgment . so that means timings and seasons are to be watched out for with warnings - 2 Peter 2:6-9. Even God, before bringing judgment to S***m, in Genesis 18:17, asked, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”
How the Apostles taught on watching and timing of seasons
Apostle Paul, expected saints to know "times and season" accurately when he said in 1Th 5:1-5 that concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. He continued to say those who are in the light are not to be caught by surprise when it comes to "timings and seasons" because you brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness - 1 Thess 5:5
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
"Mercy triumphs over judgment" is a popular verse from James 2:13. It is used to teach that before God exacts judgment, he offers Mercy. This is the standard operating procedure of GOD, to show the heart of Mercy before the Hand of Judgment. There are many instances where the people of God were evacuated before the wrath of God fell. These two are notable
1. Israelites leaving Egypt – Exodus from slavery before Red Sea judgment (Exodus 12–14)
2. Rahab and her family – Rescued from Jericho before its destruction (Joshua 6)
The Rapture is the Mercy of God towards believers so that they are not judged together with the unbelievers. This is why Jesus asked end-times Christians to "pray 🙏 that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things"- Luke 21:36
So as we begin the study of the Rapture , it is important to get the above controversies out of the way. I will continue to address them as I go through the series.
In the next installment we shall deep-dive into the scriptures that prove that Rapture and the Second Coming are two separate events.
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