Spring Warrior Church of Christ

7432 S. Red Padgett Road

Perry, FL 32348
584-5176

Prove All Things Vol. 1 No. 42

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Premillennialism: Is There Going To Be A “Rapture”?

By Scott Mixon, rsmixon@perry.gulfnet.com [11/21/01]

The word rapture comes from the Latin, rapare, which means to "take away" or
"snatch out." The Rapture is a vital link in the Premillennial theory. The Rapture
doctrine teaches that Christ will come again to silently and secretly remove from
the earth all of the saints, both resurrected and living. This is followed by a
tribulation on earth that will last for seven years during which time the Lord will
pour out His wrath upon all those who have rejected Him. At the end of the
tribulation, the Lord will return to the earth again with ten thousand saints and a
great battle will be fought. The Lord will then usher in His Kingdom on earth,
which shall last for 1,000 years. Afterwards, God will execute final judgment on
all who remain, followed by heaven and hell. Specific beliefs vary between
religious groups but that is the basic theory.

When compared to the word of God, we find undeniable discrepancies with the
theory of Rapture as taught in the doctrine of Premillennialism. If I entitled this
article, “What The Bible Says About The Rapture”, it would be blank. The word
Rapture isn’t found anywhere in the Bible.

Premillennialism uses 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 to support the Rapture theory.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Then 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.”
However, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and many other scriptures contradict the
theory.

When Christ comes, it will not be a secret and it will not be silent. 1
Thessalonians 4:16 states, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” In
addition, 1 Corinthians 15:52 states, “for the trumpet shall sound and the dead
will be raised.”

Bibleweb.com, Copyright © 2001 Scott Mixon All Rights Reserved

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According to the Bible, there will not be a tribulation on earth. 2 Peter 3:7-10
tells us that, at the end of time, the earth will be destroyed and God’s judgment
will occur in the “last days”, John 12:48. 1 Corinthians 15:23-26 states that “at
His coming, then cometh the end…” 1 Thessalonians 4:17 states that when Christ
comes, “So shall we ever be with the Lord.”

The theory of a "tribulation" is based upon an erroneous interpretation of

Matthew 24. In Matthew 24, Jesus described a perilous time for His disciples,
“not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down”. In verse
three, the disciples asked Jesus when this would occur. Jesus describes the
tribulation in more detail with, “wars and rumors of wars”, “famines and
earthquakes”. In verse 34 Jesus says, “this generation will not pass away until all
these things take place” and all that is described in Matthew 24 came to pass with
the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Premillennialism teaches that a second resurrection will take place at the end of
the “tribulation”. All who remain from the time of Adam will be raised at the
second resurrection to receive their just desserts. However, John 5:28-29
describes both wicked and righteous being raised at the same time. 2
Thessalonians 1:7-9 states blessing and punishment both occur at his coming.

Finally, the idea of a “1000 year” reign of Christ on earth is a misinterpretation of

Revelation 20:1-7. The context of Revelation 20:1-7 is a highly figurative context
within a very symbolic book. The “1000 year” reign viewed in Revelation 20 is not
an "earthly" reign of the Lord. It is a spiritual reign with victorious saints
(Revelation 20:4). This was a prophetic indication that Christianity would be
triumphant over its enemies. The 1,000 years is a symbol of the completeness of
that victory. The number 1,000 is used more than 20 times in the book of
Revelation, but not in a literal sense.

In the next article, we will address in more detail the “1000 year” reign and other
contradictions of Premillennialism with plain and simple Bible passages.

Bibleweb.com, Copyright © 2001 Scott Mixon All Rights Reserved

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