Question
All my life I have been taught about the Rapture, when Jesus will come secretly to earth, to gather all those who are ready to meet Him. I have been taught that it will happen secretly, without Him being seen, but that those that are left behind on earth, will have another chance to get to heaven, during the seven years of tribulation. But I have read a number of Bible passages that don’t seem to match up to that teaching, so can you please help me to get the true picture?
Answer
You obviously believe in the Secret Rapture and the 7-year tribulation. Many churches preach this but it is not biblical at all. The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming back, that every eye will see Him, that it will be a very visible and audible event, and definitely not a secret. He says that He will come as a thief in the night, but that simply means that He will come unexpectedly, not secretly. I’m afraid that there is no Secret Rapture, and that everyone will have to go through the tribulation time. And nowhere in the Bible does it say that the tribulation will last seven years. During the tribulation time, the only difference is that the wicked people will get the seven last plagues, and the saved people will be persecuted for their faith. But God will always be there with us, and will help us through the time of trouble. Remember Daniel was not saved from the lion’s den, but through it, and his three friends were not saved from the fiery furnace, but through it. In the same way, we will be saved through the tribulation time, not from it. And because there is no Secret Rapture, there is no second chance for the wicked. We all only get one chance, not two, so it tells us that we have to be ready right now, today.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
Here is the Bible evidence that the Secret Rapture is not true. According to this doctrine, God will one day secretly take away from this earth all who are ready to go with Him to heaven. The rest of the population will find that all the good Christians are gone, but they will all get a second chance to get ready for heaven, when God comes again. This doctrine is built around the following passages:
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
Matthew 24 38 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
The idea is that God will come quietly and stealthily and take away His people, but look at the following.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Revelation 3:3 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”
According to the above passages, we can see that this will not be a quiet event, but the idea is of suddenness and unexpectedness, not quietness or secrecy. Let’s look at some of the other texts about Christ’s second coming, and see whether they support a secret event:
Acts 1 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
1 Thessalonians 4 15 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 will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 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.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
2 Thessalonians 1 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
From the above it is clear that the Second Coming of Christ is not a secret, nor is it going to be quiet! It will be a very glorious, visible, noisy and totally non-secret event, and “every eye will see Him”. The great danger about the Secret Rapture doctrine is that it teaches that it doesn’t matter if you’re not ready, you’ll be given a second chance! This is simply not biblical, and can lull many into a false sense of security.
According to all the signs given in the Bible, Christ’s second coming is very near, and we will get only one chance. The rapture is no secret, and don’t be fooled into believing it. One other text:
1 Thessalonians 5 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
In 1 Thessalonians 4 above, it says that all those who have been Christ’s followers, will go with Him to heaven, and “shall always be with the Lord”. There is therefore no time of tribulation after Jesus comes. This awful time happens just before He comes and is ended by Him coming, as we see in the passage below. In verse 1 it talks about the time of trouble, and in the next sentence it says, at that time your people shall be delivered. That means that Christians who are alive at that time, will all go through the time of trouble (tribulation), with God to help them, and at the end of that awful time, Jesus will be there to deliver them.
Daniel 12 1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
When we look at one of the scenes in heaven, with the multitude of the saved standing before the throne of God, this is what happens.
Revelation 7 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Here we see that the saved, who have come out of the great tribulation, not saved from the great tribulation. We don’t escape from the tribulation, but will go through it with God’s help.
I’m afraid that the Secret Rapture is a non-event, and those that are waiting on it, will be disappointed. The first thing that will happen is that Jesus will return to earth, to receive His children, in a very public, noisy, visible way. There is no second chance, because there is only one Second Coming, not a secret first one, and then a public second one.
