What about the pre-tribulation rapture?

The Secret Rapture doctrine is not Biblical at all. It is based on the verses that say that God will come as a thief in the night, but nowhere in Scripture is this doctrine properly put together, it is a verse here and a verse there, some taken right out of the Second Coming passages, which are wide-spread in the Bible and easily recognizable. “As a thief in the night” merely says that God will come unexpectedly, not secretly, which fits right in with the Second Coming scenario, as Jesus said (See Matthew 24:36 below). If you look at the passage below, you will see that the “thief in the night” scenario is accompanied by a great noise, no secret there.

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.

1 Thessalonians 5     ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ 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.

⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

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.”

If we look at the whole description that Jesus gave in Matthew 24, about the Second Coming, we find that the two verses often quoted for the Secret Rapture (v 40, 41), is right in the middle of the Second Coming. How then can it be a separate event?

Matthew 24     ²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 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.”

If you compare the following two Second Coming passages, you will see that they are both noisy, linked with “the trumpet of God”, therefore not secret. They also both mention the dead in Christ being raised, and 1 Corinthians 15:52 mentions that we will be changed in the twinkling (blink) of an eye, to be given immortality. No Secret Rapture here!

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 arch-angel, 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.

1 Corinthians 15     ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Writing some novels, and making movies of them, does not constitute a Biblical doctrine. The Bible is solid on the Second Coming, but as far as the Secret Rapture is concerned, it is sadly lacking. And the biggest deception of all, is that it promises a second chance at salvation, which prevents people from deciding for Christ now, while there is time. Do yourself a favour, please study the Rapture properly, from the Bible, not what someone tells you. The Secret Rapture will never happen, but the Second Coming will.

I hope that this makes sense to you. God bless!