By Mark W. Christy
The two eschatological camps that support a more literal interpretation of end-time prophetic material both support premillennialism. Historic premillennialists believe the Church will endure the final seven years of tribulation before being raptured, while dispensational premillennialists argue that the rapture occurs before the seven-year tribulation begins. To help readers determine which view is best supported by Scripture, this article will weigh the most significant argumentation offered by each side to this debate.
The term ‘rapture’ (harpazō) is used in Scripture to refer to Paul’s being caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2, 4) and Christ’s ascension (Rev 12:5). When this term is applied to the Church, it is understood in at least two different ways. Those who support a pre-tribulational rapture believe that the Church (i.e., those living right before the final seven years begin) will be caught up to heaven. Conversely, those who hold to a post-tribulational rapture incorporate this event (of being caught up in the sky) directly with the Second Coming of Christ.
Among the various texts used to support the rapture of the Church, the most direct support arises from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. In the first of these passages, Paul writes, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”[1] Here, Paul does not picture Christ coming to earth; instead, he foretells of believers being raptured (“caught up”) “to meet the Lord” above the earth (“in the clouds”). Similarly, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, may be addressing this same event: “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” In this passage, Paul neglects to mention both the gathering of believers with the Lord and the place of that end-time gathering. For this reason, it is possible that Paul may be thinking of events that are conjoined with the Second Coming of Christ.
Both of the texts just mentioned refer to a trumpet, with one even labelling this the “last trumpet.” In Revelation, John prophecies about the sounding of trumpets by seven angels (8:6). When the last of these angels blows his trumpet, John MacArthur (who is a premillennial dispensationalist) notes that his doing so “sets in motion the final events leading up to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the establishment of His earthly millennial kingdom.”[2] When this trumpet sounds, the seven bowls of wrath will be poured out (15:1; 16:1). When the seventh bowl is poured out, the angel says, “It is done” because “the wrath of God [will be] finished” (15:1; 16:17). In conjunction with the wrath being poured out from the seventh bowl, the nations will become stirred up and then set forth to make war with the Lord and His people (17:14). In response, the Lord will come forth with His heavenly army to destroy those in the world who oppose Him (19:11-21). Affirming this connection between the last trumpet and Christ’s final victory over the premillennial world, “loud voices” accompany the last trumpet and declare, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:5).
If the seventh trumpet of Revelation is indeed the trumpet mentioned by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, then one must conclude that these verses announce a posttribulational rapture. Those who understand these texts in this manner are quick to point out that none of the early patristic writers affirmed a pretribulational rapture. Even so, they admit that these same writers also failed to mention why Paul would picture living saints being “caught up…in the clouds” when a posttribulational rapture would be directly connected with Christ’s return to the earth. As to why believers may first meet the Lord in the sky at the time of His Second Coming, the earliest writer to address this is John Chrysostom, who penned his comments somewhere around 402 A.D. According to him, God’s people will go forth to meet their King just as people would have greeted the arrival of a king at their city in his day: “If He is about to descend, on what account shall we be caught up? For the sake of honor. For when a king drives into a city, those who are in honor go out to meet him; but the condemned await the judge within. And upon the coming of an affectionate father, his children indeed and those who are worthy to be his children, are taken out in a chariot, that they may see and kiss him; but those of the domestics who have offended remain within. We are carried upon the chariot of our Father. For He received Him up in the clouds, and “we shall be caught up in the clouds.” Seest thou how great is the honor? and as He descends, we go forth to meet Him, and, what is more blessed than all, so we shall be with Him.”[3]
Along with the silence of the early church on doctrine related to a pretribulational rapture, posttribulationists also draw support from other details within the eschatological views from that era that strongly favor their stance. For one thing, early church premillennialists understood the seven-year tribulation as a period where all of God’s people would suffer immensely. After surveying their works, Lea concludes, “It is impossible to see how the ante-Nicene fathers can be described as giving teaching that supports the view of a pretribulational return of Christ. Every reference that betrays any idea of a relationship between the tribulation and the return of Christ suggests that the return follows the tribulation.”[4]
While premillennial dispensationalists cannot deny this, they do see those who are incorporated into the Church as being raptured such that the nation of Israel is once again placed in the central position within God’s redemptive plans during the seven-year tribulation. This is not to say that Gentiles are prevented from receiving salvation, but it does mean that the so-called Church age will have ended just as the seven-year tribulation begins. For this reason, it is not at all clear how these tribulation saints from the Gentile world will be sustained.
To build their case for a pretribulational rapture, dispensationalists begin by positing a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy (9:24-27), and then they posit the 70th week as the final seven years of tribulation that occur right before Christ returns according to literal interpretation of the details of Revelation. In their view, Daniel’s 70th week accords with Revelations 6-19. This gap, originally supported by Irenaeus (130 to 202 A.D.) and Hippolytus (170 to 236 A.D.), is also affirmed by those who hold to historic premillennialism.
Most scholars, be they liberal, conservative, Christian, anti-Christian, or even Jewish, agree that the first 69 weeks described in Daniel followed recorded history precisely. For this reason, many liberal scholars even try to alter the accepted dating of Daniel to a date that more closely lines up with the 69th week. Since this is the case and since most scholars agree that the 70th week has yet to line up with history in a literal manner, dispensational premillennialists are looking forward to a literal fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy concerning 70th week when God’s dealings with Israel will return to prominence just has they had been in the first 69 weeks. To put this another way, Israel will become the primary focus of the final components of God’s redemptive plan leading up to the millennial reign of Christ.
Jesus speaks of a time that at least includes this gap in Luke 21:24 by announcing, “Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Apparently referring to this same period, Paul writes, “I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom 11:25). In the context, Paul is declaring that only a remnant among the Jews will be saved so long as this period continues, but in the end (i.e., the conclusion of the 70th week) “all Israel will be saved” (11:26).
In Revelation, John reveals that the time of the Gentiles continues throughout the second half of the 70th week (11:2). This being the case, historic premillennialists argue that the Church age must continue up until a posttribulational rapture. Dispensationalists, however disagree and prefer to see the Church age as ending in concert with the pretribulational rapture. To support their contention, they observe that the Church is frequently mentioned in Rev 1-3 and then no longer appears until Rev 22:16 where some closing remarks are made. This curious absence of any mention of the Church does indeed seem to allow Israel to take on a heightened role in this final week (cf. Rev 7:4; 12:13; 21:12). Likewise, Jerusalem once again takes center stage (cf. 3:12; 11:2, 8; 21:2, 10). As to whether or not this means that the Church has been raptured before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation, fizzled out to a large extent due to intense persecution, or simply sustaining themselves as usual without being accorded prominence in Revelation, one has to consider carefully any and all biblical evidence that supports a pretribulational rapture.
Among the various proofs offered by those who support a pretribulational rapture, this article will only focus on the more substantial lines of argumentation. First, they contend that a posttribulational rapture that occurs immediately before Christ’s arrival on earth would leave the world completely depopulated of anyone who would be able to populate the earth during Christ’s millennial reign because unbelievers alive at that time will certainly be removed from the earth in conjunction with the onset of the millennial kingdom (cf. Matt 13:41-42; 25:41). During this final 1,000 years, Scriptures clearly teach that the earth will be populated by fallen humanity who continue to bear children, some of whom will become deceived by Satan when he is released from the abyss one last time at the end of Christ’s millennial reign (Is 65:20; Rev 20:7-10).
Concerning 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, the greatest obstacle for pretribulationalists is disassociation of the trumpet mentioned in the passages with the seventh trumpet which announces Christ’s final victory. To address this dilemma, their counter argument, in part, focuses on the multitude of trumpets being employed throughout Scripture for a myriad of reasons. Another major issue, raised by many scholars, concerns the timing of Paul’s comments. Since his remarks in both of these passages predate John’s vision in Revelation, these scholars will associate Paul’s mention of the trumpet with a trumpet already recorded in prophecy available to him at the time of his writing of 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians. Among them, a common suggestion is that Paul is referring to the trumpet call announcing the coming day of the Lord and the gathering of Israel (Is 27:13; Joel 2:1; Zeph 1:16; Zech 9:14; cf. Songs of Sol 11:1-3; Matt 24:31). This trumpet, may not be the final trumpet, but it is the trumpet that announces the onset of the final events which conclude with Christ’s Second Coming.[5] For these reasons, Richard Mayhue, defending the pretribulational position, “instruct[s] the student of Scripture not to hastily equate the trumpets in any two texts without a great deal of corroborating contextual evidence.”[6]
Simply dispelling the posttribulationalists’ concerns regarding the trumpet will not suffice to end the debate in favor of pretribulationalists. Based on the context (1 Thess 4:13-15), the Thessalonians are sad concerning their love ones who have died. If they believed that their death meant no hope for them, then they would be denying Christ’s coming and God’s promises to redeem His people. If this were the case, one should rightfully expect a rebuke. Paul, instead, offers consolation. This response suggests that Paul is not addressing unfaithful doubts about bedrock matters in the Christian faith. Rather, it makes more sense that Paul is simply saying that those who have passed away will indeed partake in the rapture along with all other saints who are still alive at that time.
If Paul is indeed comforting the Thessalonians with teaching on the rapture, the concerns of the Thessalonians find some justification based upon the events associated with Christ’s Second Coming in Matthew 24-25 and Revelation 19-20. The sequence of these events demonstrates the necessity of some sort of rapture such that Christ’s followers will have populated His heavenly army before His descent. This chain of events is outlined in Revelation 19:1-10 where the Elect of God are shown to be gathered in heaven and rejoicing in their participation in “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Then, Jesus together with his heavenly army marches out to battle against the enemies of God and defeats them (19:12-21). Afterwards, Christ locks Satan into the abyss, and the elect of God who had been in heaven “came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Rev 20:1-6).
In this entire sequence of events, the Apostle John fails to mention any sort of rapture. Affirming this, pretribulationists will point out that Jesus had told the Church in Philadelphia that he would “keep [them] from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 3:10). This promise, which pretribulationists believe to have been given to the entire Church, seems to suggest that Jesus will rapture His people (i.e., the Church) before the seven-year tribulation begins.
In Matthew 24-25, more specific information is provided about Christ’s Second Coming. Pretribulationalists observe key differences between this event and the rapture. First, the rapture has the saints departing from the earth, meeting with Christ in the air, and then returning to heaven, while the Second Coming involves Christ coming to earth and sending unbelievers away from the earth (1 Thess 4:15, 17; Matt 24: 37-41; 25:31-32). Second, Christ gathers the Elect at the rapture, while the angels gather the Elect (who are still living on earth) at the Second Coming (1 Thess 4:16-17; Matt 24:31). Third, Christ rewards the Elect at the rapture, but during His Second Coming, His purpose is to judge (1 Thess 4:17; Matt 25:31-46; Rev 20:11-15). Finally, raptured believers receive glorified bodies while those alive at the Second Coming of Christ will not receive glorified bodies at that time (Matt 24-25; 1 Cor 15:51-57; Rev 19-20).
To conclude, it would seem that 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, at a cursory glance, offers little support in favor of the pretribulational view, especially since the trumpet mentioned seems to accord with the seventh trumpet announcing Christ’s return. Responding to this, pretribulationists offer an argument about the plethora of trumpets being employed for a myriad of reasons in the Bible alongside the fact that Paul would have penned his remarks long before John wrote Revelation. Their contention finds further support in the need to have the earth populated by fallen men who are capable of rebellion based upon John’s prophecy concerning the final rebellion at the end of Christ’s millennial reign. To further support the premillennial position, it has been shown that Paul’s comforting words to the Thessalonians make far more sense in they were referencing the rapture. More support comes when the events of Christ’s Second Coming are directly compared with texts that discuss the rapture. Based on this comparison and Jesus’ promise in Revelation 3:10 to save the Church from the “hour of testing which is about to come,” it would seem that a pretribulational rapture is entirely possible.
[1]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.
[2]John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11, in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Survey (Chicago: Moody, 1999). The referenced comment is taken from his discussion on Revelation 11:15-19.
[3]John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Thessalonians 8 (NPNF1 13:356).
[4]Thomas D. Lea, “A Survey of the Doctrine of the Return of Christ in the Ante-Nicene Fathers,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29.2 (1986): 177.
[5]Craig Blaising, Alan Hultberg, and Douglas J. Moo, Three Views on the Rapture: Pretribulation, Prewrath, and Posttribulation, 2nd ed., eds. Stanley N. Gundry and Alan Hultberg (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010). In this book, Blaising and Hultberg offer two opposing understandings of the day of the Lord. For Blaising, the day of the Lord begins at the onset of the seven-year tribulation period. Hultberg disagrees and supports an argument that positions the day of the Lord alongside Christ’s Second Coming.
[6]Richard Mayhue, “Why a Pretribulational Rapture?,” Christ’s Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer, eds. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 100.