THE RAPTURE
Sakkie Parsons
Someone asked me whether I believe in the rapture, and if I do, how I reason about when it will happen.
I want to begin by saying that I certainly do believe in it.
Regarding the question of when it will happen, I can only say with the testimony of the Word, as I understand it, three things with certainty:
Firstly – There will most certainly be a rapture.
Secondly – Neither I, nor anyone else except our Lord, knows when it will happen.
Thirdly – I am absolutely convinced that it will happen before the tribulation—or, to put it this way, before hell breaks loose on this earth.
Here, in a nutshell, is how I see this matter:
There will be a “rapture” when our Lord comes to fetch His children.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–17
13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, believers, about those who are asleep [in death], so that you will not grieve [for them] as the others do who have no hope [beyond this present life].
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God [in this same way—by raising them from the dead] will bring with Him those [believers] who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For we say this to you by the Lord’s own word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep [in death].
16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord!
18 Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].
Now, to me it is unthinkable that the loving Lord Jesus, whom I have come to know, after He has done what He has done for us—namely, to die on the cross for us—would allow us to go through that last terrible period before His return.
Here, then, is what I believe the Word says to us regarding this:
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10
9 For God has not destined us to [incur His] wrath, but [He has destined us] to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died [willingly] for us, so that whether we are awake [alive] or asleep [dead at Christ’s appearing], we will live together with Him [sharing eternal life].
Then, in my opinion, our Lord underlines what you have just read that Paul wrote, and He says:
Revelation 3:10–11
10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance [my command to persevere], I will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial, that hour which is about to come on the whole [inhabited] world, to test those who live on the earth.
11 I am coming quickly; hold tight what you have, so that no one will take your crown [by leading you to renounce the faith].
In Luke 17, starting from verse 20, Jesus speaks about the time before His coming. Since it is a long passage, I will just highlight what I think is relevant here, but you can read the whole passage for yourself.
He begins by saying, among other things:
Luke 17:26–27
26 And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man:
27 They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage [they were indifferent to God] until the day that Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Did you see when the flood – when hell on earth – broke loose?
Only after Noah and the other children of God were in the ark. And Jesus says that in the same way it will be before He comes to end the misery on earth. He will first come to fetch His beloved ones.
Jesus then goes further and gives us another example of what we can expect before His return, and in my opinion, to teach us something else concerning His coming:
Luke 17:28–32
28 It was the same as it was in the days of Lot: They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
29 but on the [very] day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day, whoever is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, must not come down [and go inside] to take them out; and likewise whoever is in the field must not turn back.
32 Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife.
Firstly, did you see when, concerning the people of Sodom, hell broke loose upon them?
Luke 17:29
But on the [very] day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
In my opinion, to put it this way, hell will break loose on this earth only after you and I are gone—out of this Sodom and Gomorrah.
Secondly, do you remember that the angel told them when they fled, that they must not look back? And do you remember that Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt?
Now Jesus, after telling us how it will be, tells us a very important thing to remember:
Luke 17:32 Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife.
Finally, just this:
I know there are people who would have you believe that they have all the answers about the rapture, tribulation, end times, second coming, and so on—but I certainly do not have all the answers.
What I do know with certainty regarding these matters is this:
I know that all I still need to know, my Father will certainly ensure that I will know it when I need to know it.
But two things regarding this subject I already know for certain, and I have just shared them with you.
The first, which you already read, is this:
Revelation 3:11
I am coming quickly; hold tight what you have, so that no one will take your crown [by leading you to renounce the faith].
The second, which you also already read, is that we must not return to our old sinful life behind us—not even look back at it with longing in our hearts.
Luke 17:32
Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife.
Let us simply keep our eyes on Jesus, so that we may also be able to say:
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
To then hear from our Redeaemer and Savior:
Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’
I close with the words of Paul, with which he concluded 1 Thessalonians 4, where he also wrote about this matter:
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].
Sakkie