What is the concept of a secret rapture?

The Bible does not teach a single, indivisible return of Christ at the end of the tribulation period, as some are teaching and contending for today. We are persuaded that the Scriptures do teach Christ's coming for His Church before the tribulation period that begins in Revelation 6, the secret rapture of the saints first, and then His coming to earth in power and great glory with His saints at the end of the great tribulation as seen in Revelation nineteen.

The rapture is the special expectation of Christians, though all the sleeping saints will share in it. And it will take place without premonitory signs to arouse the saints then alive. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, figures to express the suddenness of the event, are the terms used by the Apostle when writing to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:52) concerning it. Then of the order of the events on that day the same Apostle has enlightened us by his first letter to the Thessalonians (4:16-17): "For the dead in Christ shall rise first." This clearly includes Old Testament saints as well. Then those Christians still alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And all those who have slept and those who have not died will be for ever with the Lord.

There are two classes specified in this scripture — those who will be "changed," and those who will be raised from the dead; and turning to another epistle we, have further details of this mighty and divine operation. There we read: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 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 prevent" (anticipate, or go before) "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." (1 Thess. 4:14-17.) Nothing could be clearer than the teaching of this scripture. When the Lord descends from heaven, He will call all His sleeping saints — all who have died ere He comes — out of their tombs; and when that vast army shall issue forth, every one will be clothed with an incorruptible body — a body like the glorified body of Him who has summoned them forth; and then all the saints who are living at that instant upon the earth will be changed in a moment — a wave of life and power, as it were, will pass instantaneously over their bodies — and that which was before mortal will have put on immortality; mortality will have been swallowed up of life, for they will all have been "clothed upon with their house which is from heaven." (2 Cor. 5) Thereon all alike are caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. He had come from heaven, and there, as a mighty magnet (if we may venture so to speak), He draws up to Himself all His own, whether sleeping or alive, that He might ever have them with Himself. Redemption by blood has now been consummated in redemption by power (Rom. 8:23), and the Lord Himself sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied. He has other redemption-fruit yet to reap during the thousand years; but as far as the Church is concerned, together indeed with the saints of former dispensations, His work, and the consequences of His work, are finished, and God's purposes for them have now been unfolded in their perfection; for every one of these myriads of saints has now been conformed to the image of His Son.

The last clause of verse 16 and verse 17 give us the response that will be at once found in the saints. The first effect of His power will be seen in the resurrection of the dead saints. Then they, with those of us who are alive and remain until that hour, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so be for ever with Him. How simple it all is; and, thank God, as certain of accomplishment as simple.

The good are first taken care of and put into vessels by those fit for that work; after that selection (how long is not said), the angels do their work. The parable gives only the putting of the good into vessels; nor is this confined to one act, but rather, we apprehend, gives the character of the time (so far as the good are concerned) which will elapse from the first separation to the establishment of the millennial kingdom. And we know that the rapture of the church will take place before judgment descends upon the wicked. For when the Son of man is revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance upon them that know not God, the heavenly saints will appear with Him, and, consequently, must have been gathered to Him before (Col. 3). Be the interval then between that rapture and the revelation of the Lord Jesus with these saints in flaming fire, long or short, the two events cannot be at the same moment. The dead saints will be raised and the living saints changed, and both shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4). This is a very different scene from the time when He and His armies shall be revealed to His enemies. It is a great mistake to confound these distinct parts of His coming or presence. The church of God is ever directed to expect the coming of the Lord Jesus at any moment. His disciples are always to be waiting, always expecting. This is the true position of the church of God. There is no event given which must precede His coming to receive us in the air. There are many prophecies which must be fulfilled before His and our appearing can take place. We know that the restraining thing must be taken away and the lawless one revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of His mouth, and with the appearing, or shining forth, of His presence (2 Thess. 2). There are signsgiven which shall usher in the great and terrible day of the Lord. There are times and dates given, days, and months, and years, which must pass before thatevent (see Daniel and Revelation).

This, then, I believe is what we really ought to gather from the expression of the Holy Spirit here. In short, in the first verse the Spirit of God speaks of His coming without a word about the appearing. In the eighth verse He speaks about not the coming only but the appearing — the manifestation of His coming. Now observe the difference. When the coming alone is spoken of, what is the connection? What the revealed effect of His coming? "We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of the Lord Jesus and our gathering together unto him." The effect of the Lord's coming or presence (for such is the strict meaning of παρουσία), is that the saints are gathered to be with the Lord. Whether found sleeping or awake — in other words, whether alive or dead — the saints are gathered to be with Christ. "We beseech you by the coming of our Lord Jesus and our gathering unto him." The moment the Lord Jesus comes — not when He appears, but when He comes and instead of being absent is present — the saints at once are assembled to be with Him above. But the lawless one is not judged until the Lord not merely comes but appears. Therefore it is said, "whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appearance of his coming." The manifested presence of the Lord is appointed and said in the word to deal with the adversary.

A. — I see no reason to doubt that all saints who have died will be raised up when Christ comes and changes us, the living, that remain to the moment of His presence, and both shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. "Those that are the Christ's," in 1 Cor. 15:23, seem to me a category put in an expressly large style so as to embrace the saints before the Church as well as such as compose it. Compare Heb. 11 {: 40}. And this is confirmed by the special communication which begins at 1 Cor. 15:51; "Behold I shew 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." Here there is a secret beyond the Old Testament which revealed no more than the resurrection and the coming with the Lord in the day of' His appearing. (Job 19, Zech. 14). But the apostle was inspired to add both the manner of raising the dead saints and especially the change of us, the living, then found here below, who shall all be alike changed, and, according to 1 Thess.4, caught up to meet the Lord above. Hence in this latter scripture "those put to sleep through Jesus" may be said of dead Christians (the occasion of the need of comfort to the living), while the next verse speaks with greater comprehensiveness of those fallen asleep in general. Again, "the dead in Christ" need not be restrained to those since redemption; it is in contrast with the dead in Adam or after a merely natural sort.

The coming of the Lord for His saints also occupied my attention. We had maintained that, while His coming would be pre-millennial (before the Lord's 1000 year reign over the earth), there were intervening events before the "rapture" of saints. Hence, the Church would have to pass through the great tribulation and thus be on the earth during the Antichrist's reign. I devoted the whole winter to this subject. I searched the Scriptures with other Christians, and finally concluded that the Church would not be in the "tribulation" — the time between the Lord's coming to the clouds for believers (the "Rapture") and His return to the earth to reign (His appearing). For instance, I saw that Matthew 24 does not apply to the Church.

After the rapture, at which point in time all believers will be taken out of this world. Then seven years of tribulation will occur (often divided into two halves of three-and-a-half years, especially in Revelation).

This terrible tribulation will culminate with the sign of the most tremendous magnitude, that of which the Lord spoke to the high priest when He was a r rested, "the Son of Man sitting an the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" ( Mt.26:64). The tribes of the land (of Israel ) will mourn (Cf.Zech.12:9-14; Rev.1:7). This is the event toward which all history has looked forward, of which Enoch prophesied early in the world's history (Jude 14-15), the prophets also declaring it with one concerted voice. Observe however that this is totally distinct from the rapture, the truth of which was a mystery (not a subject of prophecy) before Paul was inspired to reveal it (1Thess.4:15-18); and which will take place a full seven years before this awe-inspiring revelation in power and great glory.