The Mystery of the Rapture of the Saints
“BEHOLD, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep “I What an amazing statement, in the light of the declarations made over and over again by ministers and laymen that “we must all die.”
“We must,” say they. “We shall not,” says the apostle, by the Holy Spirit’s direction. Here, then, is a mystery deserving our careful consideration, in view of the grave discrepancy between the teaching of the Bible and the belief of Christendom.
To the epistles of Paul alone do we turn for the revelation of this mystery. He was the special vessel chosen to make known the heavenly calling. The twelve were, as we have seen, connected primarily with the testimony to Israel. Paul as one born out of due time. was selected to be the messenger to the nations, announcing the distinctive truths of the present dispensation.
The Lord Jesus dearly instructed His disciples as to His second advent in glory to destroy His enemies, and to set up His world-kingdom. After His ascension, this is everywhere proclaimed, as His heralds go about making known His gospel. It was understood that ere that day should come there would be for Israel a period of unparalleled tribulation, “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” At its close, the Lord was to appear, to bring in the long-promised reign of peace. All this was in full accord with the teaching of the Old Testament as to “the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow.”
In order to make this clear to the reader who may have given but little attention to these important subjects, it may be well to briefly review what is there set forth, but in a somewhat fuller way than in our first chapter. In doing this it will be necessary to do little more than refer to a large number of passages of Scripture, many of which lack of space will forbid quoting in full, but it is hoped the reader will carefully read any that are unfamiliar to him.
First, then, let it be noted that Old Testament prophecy never refers to the dispensation in which we live (extending from Pentecost to the Lord’s coming for His own) save in a most indefinite way, as, for instance, in Dan. 9:26,26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26) a passage which will come before us a little farther down. From Moses to Malachi, Scripture is mainly occupied with one nation, Israel, (Amos 3:22You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2); Deut. 7:66For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6); Psa. 147:19, 2019He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 147:19‑20)), and the hope of that nation, namely, the raising up of the Prophet (Deut. 18:1515The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (Deuteronomy 18:15)), Priest (Psa. 110:44The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4); Zech. 6:1313Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:13)), and King (Isa. 32:11Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1); Psa. 2:66Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2:6)), who is to bring them into everlasting blessing as a people (Psa. 132:11-1811The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 12If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. 13For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. 14This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. 15I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. 18His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish. (Psalm 132:11‑18); Isa. 35:10; 51:11; 61:710And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)
11Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:11)
7For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. (Isaiah 61:7)), though not until their regeneration (Ezek. 36:24-3024For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. (Ezekiel 36:24‑30)).
The Gentile shall share in that blessing (Isa. 56:6; 65:16Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; (Isaiah 56:6)
1I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. (Isaiah 65:1)), but not as on the same footing with Israel; rather in subjection to them (Isa. 14:1-3; 60:3-5; 62:1, 21For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, (Isaiah 14:1‑3)
3And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. (Isaiah 60:3‑5)
1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. 2And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. (Isaiah 62:1‑2)).
The prophets predicted, however, that ere the ushering in of that day of Jehovah’s power and Messiah’s glory, there would be a rejection of both the looked-for Redeemer (Isa. 53) and the nation (Isa. 50); the former by Israel to whom He came; the latter themselves set aside by God because of having refused His Son when He came in grace to offer Himself as both Lord and Saviour (Zech.?: 13:14); while the rejected Messiah takes His place in the heavens on Jehovah’s throne (Psa. 110:11<<A Psalm of David.>> The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1)), which He will occupy until the future repentance of the people (Hos. 5:1515I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. (Hosea 5:15)).
This setting aside of Israel is, however, not final, as we have seen when looking at the mystery of the olive tree; and this the 30th and 31St chapters of Jeremiah, together with many other portions of the Word, plainly declare. But it is before their restoration to the divine favor that they must pass through the time of trouble above referred to. See Jeremiah 30:77Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:7).
At the expiration of this period of chastisement a remnant will be ready to acknowledge the Crucified as their Messiah, and “will mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and as one that is in bitterness for his first-born” (Zech. 12:10-14; 13:6, 910And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zechariah 12:10‑14)
6And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. (Zechariah 13:6)
9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. (Zechariah 13:9)). In the darkest hour of their sorrow, when Jerusalem is compassed about with armies, and they are in direst distress, He will appear as their deliverer, and as the destroyer of their foes. The tabernacle of David will then be set up once more, and the reign of righteousness ushered in (Zech. 14; Amos 9:8-158Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. 9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. 11In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. 13Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God. (Amos 9:8‑15)). At His apocalypse He is to appear “with all His saints.” Who these saints are, whether men or angels, is not disclosed here. The appointed time had not yet come to reveal it.
Thus far, the Old Testament. Turning to the later revelation, we find many new data introduced, without which the present working of the Spirit of God in the world would be inexplicable. Bearing in mind what we have seen as to the mystery of the eleventh of Romans, we see how Israel’s rejection has but made way for unforetold grace to be shown to the nations, though the apostle quotes Old Testament promises of blessing to the heathen as proof that such is compatible, not in collision, with the word of God before made known. This special work among the Gentiles, however, is not to go on forever; for if these continue not in the dine goodness shown them, they too shall be cut off, and the natural branches grafted in again, for “God is able.”
He now is doing a work unmentioned in the Jewish oracles during the time that His earthly people are “Lo-ammi” (not My people; Hos. 1:99Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. (Hosea 1:9)), and unacknowledged by Him: thus “blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” The Lord Jesus confirms this (but rather from the political side) in His prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the long period of Gentile supremacy following it, finally ending in His personal appearing (Luke 21). In verse 24 we read, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
At first sight it might be supposed that “the fullness of the Gentiles” would synchronize with the closing of “the times of the Gentiles.” But it is just here that a distinction is made by the revelation of the mystery of the rapture, which will come before us as we proceed. In order to fully prepare the way for it, I would ask the reader to turn to the ninth chapter of Daniel, and note carefully what is written concerning the prophecy of “the seventy weeks.” A lengthy exposition of this passage cannot be attempted here, but I briefly notice the main points. From the cycle of time, seventy weeks (or sevens) of years (note the periods before the prophet’s mind in verse 2), making in all 490 years, are “determined,” or “cut off,” and given to Daniel’s people—of course, the Jewish nation.
Ere this length of time expires, six important events will have taken place: 1St transgression will be finished; 2nd an end will be made of sins; 3rd atonement (rather than “reconciliation”) will be made for iniquity; 4th everlasting righteousness will be brought in; 5th vision and prophecy will be sealed up, or finished, i.e., all fulfilled; and 6th, the most holy, or holy of holies, of the millennial temple at Jerusalem will be anointed. (See Ezek. chapters 40-48 for a description of the temple to be rebuilt, and its millennial glory.)
The seventy weeks are divided into three unequal periods: 1St seven weeks, or 49 years; 2nd sixty-two weeks, or 434 years; 3rd one week, or 7 years. During the first seven weeks, “the strait times” (see margin), the city and wall of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt. The date from which to count is found in Nehemiah, chapter 2, when a “commandment went forth to restore and build Jerusalem.” The sixty-two weeks seem to have immediately followed, and ended in the coming of Messiah. After the conclusion of this period, He was cut off and had nothing; but by this atonement was made. Then comes in the present long interval of Jerusalem’s treading down. The city is destroyed, as our Lord foretold, and “even unto the end shall be war,” until one arises who confirms a covenant with the mass of Jews for the final, last week. Clearly, then, this week is still future. The prophetic clock, as noted before, stopped at Calvary. It will not start again till “the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” The present is a timeless epoch, parenthetically introduced between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks, in which God is taking out from among the Gentiles a people for His name (Acts 15:1414Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (Acts 15:14)). Not that He has utterly given up the Jew now, but both Jew and Gentile stand on one footing—” there is no difference, for all have sinned” (Rom. 3). Both alike are saved through faith in Christ, and all such are made members of the one Body, the Church, by the Holy Ghost united to the Lord Jesus Christ as Head in heaven, according to the revelation of the mystery which we have already considered. The Church began with the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. How long will it exist on earth? Will it remain here throughout “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” and until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled?
Scripture answers, No! Another mystery was made known to the apostle Paul, declaring the close of the Church’s history by a mighty miracle which may take place at any moment.
He writes, “Behold, I show 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” (1 Cor. 15:51, 5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In 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. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52)). This is the proper hope of the Christian, and it is this marvelous event which marks the “fullness of the Gentiles.” The “times of the Gentiles” will not end until the tribulation period is over, which begins upon the rapture of the Church. The Church has no part in that time of trouble. It belongs to heaven, and will be taken home to glory ere it begins. In order that this may be made plain to the least-instructed reader, I would note briefly the characteristics of that period of judgment. It will be a short dispensation, in which divine wrath will be poured out upon Israel, apostate Christendom, and the nations at large. It is to be the awful result of the rejection of the Prince of Peace.
The book of Revelation, from chapter four to nineteen is occupied entirely with its solemn events. The promise is given to the Church in chapter 3:10, “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” In full accord with this, the heavenly saints are seen enthroned in heaven as the four and twenty elders, who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, ere the storm of judgment breaks. When all is over, they ride forth as “the armies of heaven,” with “the Word of God,” at His glorious appearing, no longer seen as worshiping crowned priests, but now as warrior-saints. This accords with Zechariah’s declaration, “The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee” (ch. 14:5).
In the time of woe intervening, Antichrist will “come in his own name,” and be owned by the apostates of Judah and Christendom as Messiah; the Roman empire having been revived in a new and dreadful form by direct satanic energy, Babylon the great will control it, until judged by God for her blasphemies and her abominable wickedness. The seals will be opened, the trumpets of judgment sounded, and the vials of wrath poured out, while men repent not of their deeds, but blaspheme the God of heaven. This is the great tribulation; but we search in vain for any mention of the Church or the heavenly saints on earth during that fearful time. No! they are above it all—with the Lamb who redeemed them, and who shall have taken them to be with Himself.
The manner of the rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-1813But 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. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For 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. 16For 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: 17Then 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. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18). Some in Thessalonica had been put to sleep by Jesus. Their living brethren feared they had missed the glory of the kingdom thereby. Writing to assure their hearts, the apostle says: “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 (or, sleep through Jesus) will God bring with Him.” But how can this be, since they have passed away in death? The “mystery” explains it. God will bring them with Jesus at His glorious appearing, because He will first raise them up, and then change the living, prior to the appearing in splendor to establish the kingdom. “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 anticipate 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.”
This is the mystery of the rapture. The shout of the Lord will awaken all the sleeping Church; the voice of the archangel (Michael, who is the prince of Israel) will summon the saints of by gone dispensations from their tombs; the trump of God will sound (the last trump of 1 Cor. 15:5252In 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. (1 Corinthians 15:52)), closing up this dispensation; and in a moment all the redeemed, whether raised or changed, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
This is the uniform testimony of the Pauline epistles, and the proper hope of the Church of God.
How shocking the temerity, or how gross the ignorance, of men who declare we must all die, in view of such a declaration as that we have been considering!
Not for death did the Thessalonians look, but “they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven” (chs. 1:9,10). May reader and writer so serve and so wait till the voice the shout, and the trump, shall summon us into the presence of our Beloved!