This is a question that is often asked. The world does not believe that the Lord is coming, and treats the Christian's hope as the dream of a disordered mind But the coming of our Lord is bound to be secret, seeing it is to take place in a moment, and that measured by the twinkling of an eye. But its effects, the removal of the Church of God from the earth, manifestly cannot be secret. A vast number of believers in all parts of the world, and in all positions of life, could not simultaneously and suddenly be removed from the earth to heaven without it causing amazement and frightened consternation.
Doubtless it will be a relief to the world when suddenly the "kill-joys" and "marplots" have disappeared. There will be none to oppose the course of unrighteousness. The wheels of Modernism will no longer be checked by the brake of Fundamentalism. Apostasy will be hailed as the greatest triumph of man's progress.
The effect on the world of the removal of the two witnesses, as narrated in Revelation 11:3-12, will, doubtless, have its counterpart when the Church is raptured to glory. When the bodies of the witnesses in a future day, shall lie in the street of Jerusalem as prophesied, the sight will be gloated over by their enemies. We read what the effect will be, " And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." (Rev. 2:10).
Doubtless the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the saints at the rapture will be a nine days' wonder, and produce a similar result, and then shall sweep in "the strong delusion", as prophesied in 2 Thess. 2:11, 12.
As to the sounds that accompany the rapture—the Lord's shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God—does not Scripture bear out the thought that they may be secret, so far as anything intelligible to the world is concerned? For instance, Paul, narrating his conversion, says, "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me." (Acts 22:9).
Evidently they heard a sound, but it conveyed nothing intelligible to them. Our Lord prayed in the presence of others, " Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to Him." (John 12:28, 29).
Evidently the voice, intelligible to our Lord, conveyed no information to the bystanders. Indeed some imagined what they heard was merely a peal of thunder.
In 1 Cor. 15:51-54 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18, the sounds are not said to affect more than the sleeping saints and the living saints. Nothing is said about the world hearing the sounds. The Lord's shout is a signal. To whom? Not to the world. It is like the word of command of the captain to his company, that is meant for them alone, and not for bystanders.