The Rapture - When? (Part 1)

See The Rapture Series here

The Lord God has promised three significant, overarching ‘next events’ on His calendar for His faithful saints – people who embraced Him by faith before Christ, and we who embraced Him by faith in Christ. These three next events are:

1.   A great falling away of the unfaithful from among our ranks ¹

2.   The resurrection of deceased saints, and rapture into Heaven of all saints, deceased and alive (for 7 earth-years)

3.   A co-reigning on Earth for a thousand years with Jesus as global King

Opinions among believers today literally run the gamut on every aspect of these events, including whether they are to be understood as literal or figurative events, and whether they may have either happened already, or may be happening now. Literally, all over the map! The Bible is written in a way that supports a wide range of interpretations of these events, depending upon how one isolates and packages relevant verses. Nothing new there, right?

So answering the question of when the rapture will occur should not be approached with the typical mindset. Rather, I believe a completely different perspective is warranted, even demanded. Please hear me out.

Earth – Our Proving Ground

In many respects, Earth is indeed The Lord’s testing or proving ground for each person, society (sub- and general), nation and for humanity, in general, and He has clear, excellent reasons for such. (Genesis 22:1, Jeremiah 17:10, Zechariah 13:9. See: The Anti-Christ (Series), especially Part 5) Consider the historical context. He created a huge host of angels in Heaven, and endowed them with the power of choice/free-will. One-third exercised their choice to rebel. They launched a rebellion, were defeated, and were cast out of Heaven onto Earth. Their leader, satan, pridefully wanted to replace The Lord, Whom Father God had delegated authority over ALL things. Imagine that!

The timing of this event relative to the creation of man is debatable. However, it is clear that satan’s rebellious nature was displayed in Eden, tempting Eve, and convincing Adam to disobey The Lord. I presume the creation of Adam in The Lord’s  image, and to be god over the Earth likely occurred right under satan's spiritual nose, so to speak. Talk about sparking jealousy! This event set the stage for him to wrestle away from Adam exactly what he (satan) wanted, but was denied in Heaven - godship, to be worshiped and adored. Deceiving Eve was the bait, and Adam bit it, ‘hook, line and stinker’, turning life on Earth into a stinking mess. Adam’s children, which we all are, became sinful beings by nature. In Their foreknowledge, Father God and The Lord Jesus had pre-determined to apply a framework of tests to humans, His highest created beings (See: Psalm 8:5 AMP & Young's Literal translations), before allowing us an eternal home in Their Heaven. In this manner, Heaven would never again be the host of rebels and their rebellion. Smart move! Since any tests require clear options from which to choose, humans are apparently allowed three options to the question:

Whom will you choose as your god,
to whom you will be loyal?

The clear options are God Almighty, satan the rebel, or yourself. Our answer is revealed over the course of our life in the nature of decisions we make and actions we take on a wide range of life matters. Since The Lord is The Just Judge Potentate of everything, He allows us ample opportunities to express our choice before departing this life, with the exception of aborted babies and possibly people who depart prior to what The Bible refers to as ‘an age of accountability’.  ² 

An often typical, human answer to the above question is played out in the patterned life of ancient Israel, dating from Abraham to the fall of Israel and Judah (the split tribes of ancient Israel). Over the period of several millennia, generations and individuals were iteratively tested to weed out and punish the unfaithful. By the fall of Judah (with the third Babylonian invasion), the level of faith toward God was minimal.

The perceptive reader will understand this exact same pattern is playing out in The Church, writ large, since Pentecost. Jesus even signifies this in His last (7^th) letter to the churches in Asia – the letter to the church at Laodicea. ³ Some Bible scholars intuit these churches not only represented actual first century churches, but also represent ages or stages The Church would transit before Christ’s return. The seventh letter describes a condition that is parallel to the condition of faith in Judah prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s authorized third, final assault on Judah and Jerusalem (one in which he did not personally engage). That’s when his captain destroyed Solomon’s temple, and took back to Babylon additional items of wealth and more Jewish captives as slaves. He likely took captives to Babylon during each of his assaults, each time leaving life in Judah and Jerusalem more precarious. During the third siege on Jerusalem, some people cannibalized their children in the face of starvation. This was The Lord’s specific, predicted punishment in response to their practice of sacrificing babies to idol gods, as surrounding pagan nations did.

How does this relate to the likely timing of the Church's rapture? 

See Part 2

Are you aware the Bible predicts several more raptures

of the living and the dead,

not just one?

See: Bible Raptures (Q&A)

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¹ See: 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

² The age of accountability is believed to be the age at which a child is spiritually accountable to understand good from evil, and therefore be responsible for his/her words and actions. See: What is the age of accountability? Also see: Children in the Rapture? (Poem)

³ See: Revelation 3:14-22