Rapture Before The Tribulation

The Blessed Hope

(Interpret Scripture with Scripture )

NOAH AND THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

Matt 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

In these two verses, Jesus has told us that there is a parallel between the events of the days of Noah and the days of the second coming of Christ. Therefore, to understand the end times more fully we must study the events of the days of Noah.

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Because Noah believed GOD even though Noah had never seen rain because it never rained upon the earth before the flood, Noah built the ark, Noah entered the ark, and Noah was saved from the judgment of the flood. Noah was saved by faith in God. We also are saved by faith in God, even though we have not seen God's Son, Jesus Christ, we believe in Him for the salvation of our souls. John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Because we believe, we will escape the wrath of God just as Noah escaped the flood.

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR ARK OF SAFETY

1 Pet 3:18-21 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

The Baptism spoken of here is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. To be Baptized by the Holy Spirit means to be placed into Christ, to be identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit placed us into Christ when we believed in Him. As Noah and his family were saved from the judgment of God by being in the ark, we are saved from the judgment of God by being in Christ Jesus. As Noah entered the ark by faith, we enter into Christ, our ark of safety, by faith.

Rom 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

1 Cor 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

We can say that those who believe in Jesus Christ are in Christ; and those who are in Christ are to be saved from the judgment to come, at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, as Noah was saved by being in the ark, we are saved by being in Christ Jesus, our ark of safety.

THE CLOSING OF THE DOOR OF THE ARK

IS THE SAME AS

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

Gen 7:13-16 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

On the day that Noah and his family and all the animals entered the ark, God closed the door. It is very clear; it all happened on one day, and once the door was shut no one else could enter the ark.

1 Cor 15:51-52 Behold, I shew 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.

The changing of believers is an event that parallels that of God closing the door of the ark. Once the rapture takes place there will no longer be access into the Church, the body of Christ, our ark of safety. The church age will come to an end at the rapture of the Church, there will no longer be a Church on earth, the Church will be with Christ.

SEVEN DAYS ARE SEVEN PERIODS OF TIME

SEVEN YEARS ARE SEVEN PERIODS OF TIME

Gen 7:1-5 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

It did not rain on the day that Noah entered the ark, on the day that God closed the door of the ark, but after seven more days God sent rain.

Gen 7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

There were seven days or seven periods of time from the time that God closed the door of the ark until the flood of judgment came upon the earth. Parallel to that, there will be seven years or seven periods of time from the time that God closes the door of the Church, our ark of safety, until the judgment at the second coming of Christ.

THE FIRST RAPTURE OF BELIEVERS

1Thes 1:9-10 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

As believers we are to wait for Jesus Christ to come from heaven; furthermore, we are to expect Him to deliver us from the wrath to come. We are not told to look for the wrath to come.

1Thes 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

These verses speak of the rapture of the Church, the body of Christ. All church age believers will be raptured, taken up to meet the Lord in the air.

Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

God delivered Lot, the believer, from the city of Sodom before He destroyed it because He does not destroy the righteous with the unrighteous. God does not treat believers as He treats unbelievers.

1Thes 5:8-11 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

It is great encouragement to know that God has not destined us for wrath, but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no encouragement in looking for the tribulation to come, but there is great encouragement in looking for Jesus Christ to come from heaven and to take us out of this world.

II Th 2:1-10 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The day of the Lord refers to the tribulation and the tribulation will not come until the lawless one, the antichrist, is revealed. The antichrist will not be revealed until after He who restrains is taken out of the way. The restrainer is the Church, the body of Christ.

Matt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Salt is a common food preservative. The Church the body of Christ acts as a preservative to restrain the world's corruption. As long as the body of Christ is in the world the anti-christ will not be free to do as he wills to do. He is a politician who needs the approval of the majority of the people, and as long as the body of Christ is in the world he will not have the approval he needs to do his dirty deeds.

Matt 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Jesus Christ lives within the believer; and as a result, His light shines through from us and gives light to the world. The world is in total darkness, and does not know right from wrong. As long as the body of Christ is in the world it acts as light in guiding the world to do that which is right, and in exposing that which is wrong. As soon as the body of Christ is removed from the world there will no longer be anyone to oppose the anti-christ in all that he desires to do.

The Holy Spirit will not actually leave the earth, but He will stop working through the Church, the body of Christ on earth. Because the Holy Spirit of God is God, He is always everywhere; and always has been upon the earth and always will be. In the old testament days, He came upon men of God to empower them to do the will of God; furthermore, He also gave the word of God to the prophets. In the church age, He indwels and empowers everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. In the future tribulation, He will be on the earth bringing salvation to those who will believe.

SECOND RAPTURE OF BELIEVERS

Matt 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

These verses are speaking of a second rapture after the tribulation, a resurrection of the saints who died during the tribulation. Many people will come to believe in Jesus Christ during the tribulation, and many of them will die, these will be caught up in the second rapture. Rev 6:9-10 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? These are the believers who die during the tribulation and then are raptured, resurrected, after the tribulation.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This verse, Rev 20:4 refers to the believers who were slain in Rev 6:9-10 and were raptured, resurrected, in Matt 24:31.

REMOVAL OF THE WICKED

AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

Matt 24:38-42 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, 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 coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be 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. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

This passage does not speak of the rapture of the church, but it speaks of the judgment at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom. All unbelievers will be removed from the face of the earth when our Lord comes again; just as, all the unbelievers were removed from the face of the earth in the days of Noah. There will be some people left alive on the earth when Jesus Christ returns to establish His Kingdom on the earth; the unbelievers will be removed from the earth and the living believers will go on to repopulate the earth during the Kingdom Age.

Matt 13:36-43 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

From the parable of the wheat and the tares we learn that the unbelievers will be gathered to be destroyed, at the end of the age, and the believers will continue to live on into the kingdom. See again Matt. 24:38-42 .

Matt 13:47-50 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

THE BLESSED HOPE

II Th 2:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

There is no comfort at all in believing that we are going to go into the Great Tribulation. But it is a great comfort to know that we are not destined to go into the Great Tribulation. Furthermore, the knowledge that we are going to be raptured before the Great Tribulation gives us peace of mind and motivates us to do good works.

I Jn 3:2-3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

If we live in hope of seeing Jesus Christ we will live a pure and productive life. If we do not look for His return we will not live a pure life, but instead we live in anxiety trying to prepare ourselves to somehow survive the Great Tribulation.

1Thes 1:9-10 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

No matter what a person believes about the rapture of the Church one thing is certain, Jesus Christ is coming back to this world and He is not coming in weakness as He did the first time, but He is coming as KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

All scripture taken from King James Bible