A Critical Evaluation of the “Rapture” Doctrine: Part 2

The feasts of Israel also foreshadow the spiritual reality of the full stature life in Christ, the inheritance he died to give us. Although there were seven festivals or feasts prescribed for Israel, they can be organized functionally under three key celebrations: the feast of Passover, the feast of Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacles. Passover was a celebration of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and typifies salvation for Christians. The feast of Pentecost was celebrated on the 50^th day following Passover and foreshadowed the coming of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 we read of how the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. This would reflect the down payment, the giving of the earnest in anticipation of the full inheritance. The feast of Tabernacles was a time of jubilee and the utter forgiving of all debts along with the restoration of land to its original owner. Tabernacles foreshadowed the full stature life, the complete conformity of one to Christ.

One final reference reflecting the full inheritance in Canaan can be seen in the three parts of the Tabernacle. Here we have the outer court, the holy place and then the holy of holies. In the worship of Israel there was a natural progression from the outer court through the holy place into the holy of holies. It was in the holy of holies that God dwelt and met with the high priest. The outer court, which contained the brazen altar for sacrifice, shows us salvation. The holy place contained the table of showbread, the candlestick and the altar of incense all of which suggests Pentecost and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The holy of holies contained the Ark of the Covenant with its mercy seat and cherubim. It was here that the high priest came fully into the presence of God. The significance of the Tabernacle was only fully realized when the worship of Israel culminated with the high priest in the presence of God.

 Returning now to our former narrative in Numbers 14 and 15, we can begin to appreciate the disastrous meaning and consequences of Israel’s bringing an evil report out of Canaan demonstrating their utter unbelief and lack of faith with respect to God’s promise. Beyond Israel’s unbelief in returning an evil report, their response impugned the very character of God. In essence they were saying, God is not to be trusted in this matter.  Israel had come to the threshold of moving into all God intended for them from His very first call of Abraham, and they balked in unbelief exacerbated by their fear of the seeming obstacles before them. When I read this story and come to this point, I think of Mordecai’s words to Queen Esther, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Everything God had done for Israel was to bring them to this point of coming fully into the Promised Land.

Not only did Israel crumble in the face of this challenge by refusing to enter, but they also impugned the character of God through suggesting his motive for bringing them out of Egypt was to kill them in the wilderness. The Bible relates that these men who spied out the land and subsequently brought back an evil report were heads of tribes, leaders in the nation of Israel. How tragic that they would so blatantly shirk their responsibility to lead and end up causing the people to rebel before the Lord. The Hebrew text for “evil report” literally means calumny, false statements which bring slander and damage to the reputation of another. The real mark of biblical leadership is illustrated in Joshua 1 when God ordains Joshua as the new leader of Israel. The Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous and then tells him that he, Joshua, will cause the people to inherit the land. This is a glorious picture of what every Christian should realize regarding his own calling in Christ. Everything about our lives should in some manner be calling others more and more into the Kingdom of God, into the fullness of Christ.

I have taken considerable care here to establish the ultimate purpose in our salvation through the shed blood of Jesus. I have done this that we might firstly understand what the full gospel truly is and that we might more adequately evaluate the impact the rapture teaching has had on this truth. I have been around evangelical and full gospel churches most of my Christian and ministry life, yet I have yet to see any ministry that upholds the rapture theory simultaneously teach the full and true meaning of the gospel calling believers into the full stature life in Christ. It has been my experience that those churches teaching the escapism of a rapture doctrine treat salvation as analogous to getting out of Egypt. I have no desire or intent here to denigrate churches of whatever persuasion. However, unless the church is teaching that one’s initial commitment to Christ is but the beginning of a lifelong spiritual journey unto completion in him, it is failing to set neophyte believers in pursuit of God’s ultimate intention and therein failing to proclaim the full gospel in Christ.

Let us now examine more specifically the origin and history of the rapture teaching and attempt to ascertain how damaging it has been to God’s glorious eternal design for his people. In general, please keep in mind that the word “rapture” does not occur in the Bible, and that no mention of such a teaching can be found in the writings of the church fathers and church historians. The first reference to teachings on the rapture of the church can be traced to Edward Irving in the early 1800’s. One has to consider what the absence of any teaching relative to a church rapture for the first almost 18 centuries of the church’s history can mean. Irving’s teachings on the rapture were derived from revelations reported by a young Scottish lass by the name of Margaret McDonald who related a vision she had while in a trance. McDonald’s “revelation” was subsequently recorded in a book by R.N. Norton and printed in London in 1861. Irving was later condemned and deposed from the ministry by the Church of Scotland as well as excommunicated by the London Presbytery for his false teachings. This new theory—under Irving’s influence—was later picked up and taught by Bible teachers such as John Darby and C.I. Scofield. It was the Bible notes of these teachers which tremendously served to foster and popularize this heresy.

Prior to this time the church, extending back to the apostles, taught that the church would go victoriously through the tribulation. The emphasis of the early church was on the imminent second coming of Christ, not on the escape of the church from tribulation. Two important passages of Scripture serve to encourage us in times of tribulation:

Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain (Is 26:20, 21 NKJV).

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor 10:13 NKJV).

These Scriptures indicate that believers will be on earth during times of tribulation and that God is more than able to shield them from the chastisement of the wicked. It is significant that the meaning of “escape” from the Corinthian passage carries more of a sense of escaping through rather than escaping from something. It indicates that believers are being prepared to bear or endure rather than avoid what is coming. The very biblical concept of endurance is what leads believers into greater maturation in Christ.

It is interesting that so many persons who adhere to the escape rapture doctrine point to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 to support their argument. In this chapter Jesus expressly states that it is those who endure to the end that are going to be saved. Paul never taught the church that they should be ready to escape the coming tribulation but contrarily insisted believers take care to put on the whole armor of God “…that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Let us explore a little more deeply Jesus’ eschatological teaching from Matthew 24.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt 24:37-39 NKJV).

This passage is paraded out as almost a proof text by most Pentecostal and evangelical Christians attempting to demonstrate that believers are going to be taken, raptured, off the earth in the last days during the great period of tribulation. How could the rendering of this passage be more distorted? Reacquainting ourselves with the story of Noah we discover that it was the wicked, not the righteous, that were removed by judgment from the earth. Noah and his family were there during the flood protected in the ark the entire time. At the end of forty days and nights of rain when all other life on earth had been “taken,” Noah and his family set forth from the ark to inherit the earth. Among Bible students and scholars the ark is almost universally accepted as a type of Christ in the Old Testament. When we are sealed in Christ we are prepared to endure whatever comes against us in this life. This reality is not simply the result of an intellectual consent to belief in Christ. It is the outcome of a life of commitment and obedience in following Christ in the uttermost. The Bible says that Noah did all that was commanded of him culminating in the construction of the ark. When we are given to following Christ in a transformational walk we are in essence building an ark. As in the days of Noah, it will be the disobedient, the evil ones, those who reject Christ who will be taken.

The feasts of Israel also foreshadow the spiritual reality of the full stature life in Christ, the inheritance he died to give us. Although there were seven festivals or feasts prescribed for Israel, they can be organized functionally under three key celebrations: the feast of Passover, the feast of Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacles. Passover was a celebration of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and typifies salvation for Christians. The feast of Pentecost was celebrated on the 50^th day following Passover and foreshadowed the coming of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 we read of how the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. This would reflect the down payment, the giving of the earnest in anticipation of the full inheritance. The feast of Tabernacles was a time of jubilee and the utter forgiving of all debts along with the restoration of land to its original owner. Tabernacles foreshadowed the full stature life, the complete conformity of one to Christ.

One final reference reflecting the full inheritance in Canaan can be seen in the three parts of the Tabernacle. Here we have the outer court, the holy place and then the holy of holies. In the worship of Israel there was a natural progression from the outer court through the holy place into the holy of holies. It was in the holy of holies that God dwelt and met with the high priest. The outer court, which contained the brazen altar for sacrifice, shows us salvation. The holy place contained the table of showbread, the candlestick and the altar of incense all of which suggests Pentecost and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The holy of holies contained the Ark of the Covenant with its mercy seat and cherubim. It was here that the high priest came fully into the presence of God. The significance of the Tabernacle was only fully realized when the worship of Israel culminated with the high priest in the presence of God.

 Returning now to our former narrative in Numbers 14 and 15, we can begin to appreciate the disastrous meaning and consequences of Israel’s bringing an evil report out of Canaan demonstrating their utter unbelief and lack of faith with respect to God’s promise. Beyond Israel’s unbelief in returning an evil report, their response impugned the very character of God. In essence they were saying, God is not to be trusted in this matter.  Israel had come to the threshold of moving into all God intended for them from His very first call of Abraham, and they balked in unbelief exacerbated by their fear of the seeming obstacles before them. When I read this story and come to this point, I think of Mordecai’s words to Queen Esther, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Everything God had done for Israel was to bring them to this point of coming fully into the Promised Land.

Not only did Israel crumble in the face of this challenge refusing to enter, but they also impugned the character of God through suggesting his motive for bringing them out of Egypt was to kill them in the wilderness. The Bible relates that these men who spied out the land and subsequently brought back an evil report were heads of tribes, leaders in the nation of Israel. How tragic that they would so blatantly shirk their responsibility to lead and end up causing the people to rebel before the Lord. The Hebrew text for “evil report” literally means calumny, false statements which bring slander and damage to the reputation of another. The real mark of biblical leadership is illustrated in Joshua 1 when God ordains Joshua as the new leader of Israel. The Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous and then tells him that he, Joshua, will cause the people to inherit the land. This is a glorious picture of what every Christian should realize regarding his own calling in Christ. Everything about our lives should in some manner be calling others more and more into the Kingdom of God, into the fullness of Christ.

I have taken considerable care here to establish the ultimate purpose in our salvation through the shed blood of Jesus. I have done this that we might firstly understand what the full gospel truly is and that we might more adequately evaluate the impact the rapture teaching has had on this truth. I have been around evangelical and full gospel churches most of my Christian and ministry life, yet I have yet to see any ministry that upholds the rapture theory simultaneously teach the full and true meaning of the gospel calling believers into the full stature life in Christ. It has been my experience that those churches teaching the escapism of a rapture doctrine treat salvation as analogous to getting out of Egypt. I have no desire or intent here to denigrate churches of whatever persuasion. However, unless the church is teaching that one’s initial commitment to Christ is but the beginning of a lifelong spiritual journey unto completion in him, it is failing to set neophyte believers in pursuit of God’s ultimate intention and therein failing to proclaim the full gospel in Christ.

Let us now examine more specifically the origin and history of the rapture teaching and attempt to ascertain how damaging it has been to God’s glorious eternal design for his people. In general, please keep in mind that the word “rapture” does not occur in the Bible, and that no mention of such a teaching can be found in the writings of the church fathers and church historians. The first reference to teachings on the rapture of the church can be traced to Edward Irving in the early 1800’s. One has to consider what the absence of any teaching relative to a church rapture for the first almost 18 centuries of the church’s history can mean. Irving’s teachings on the rapture were derived from revelations reported by a young Scottish lass by the name of Margaret McDonald who related a vision she had while in a trance. McDonald’s “revelation” was subsequently recorded in a book by R.N. Norton and printed in London in 1861. Irving was later condemned and deposed from the ministry by the Church of Scotland as well as excommunicated by the London Presbytery for his false teachings. This new theory—under Irving’s influence—was later picked up and taught by Bible teachers such as John Darby and C.I. Scofield. It was the Bible notes of these teachers which tremendously served to foster and popularize this heresy.

Prior to this time the church, extending back to the apostles, taught that the church would go victoriously through the tribulation. The emphasis of the early church was on the imminent second coming of Christ, not on the escape of the church from tribulation. Two important passages of Scripture serve to encourage us in times of tribulation:

Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain (Is 26:20, 21 NKJV).

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor 10:13 NKJV).

These Scriptures indicate that believers will be on earth during times of tribulation and that God is more than able to shield them from the chastisement of the wicked. It is significant that the meaning of “escape” from the Corinthian passage carries more of a sense of escaping through rather than escaping from something. It indicates that believers are being prepared to bear or endure rather than avoid what is coming. The very biblical concept of endurance is what leads believers into greater maturation in Christ.

It is interesting that so many persons who adhere to the escape rapture doctrine point to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 to support their argument. In this chapter Jesus expressly states that it is those who endure to the end that are going to be saved. Paul never taught the church that they should be ready to escape the coming tribulation but contrarily insisted believers take care to put on the whole armor of God “…that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Let us explore a little more deeply Jesus’ eschatological teaching from Matthew 24.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt 24:37-39 NKJV).

This passage is paraded out as almost a proof text by most Pentecostal and evangelical Christians attempting to demonstrate that believers are going to be taken, raptured, off the earth in the last days during the great period of tribulation. How could the rendering of this passage be more distorted? Reacquainting ourselves with the story of Noah we discover that it was the wicked, not the righteous, that were removed by judgment from the earth. Noah and his family were there during the flood protected in the ark the entire time. At the end of forty days and nights of rain when all other life on earth had been “taken,” Noah and his family set forth from the ark to inherit the earth. Among Bible students and scholars the ark is almost universally accepted as a type of Christ in the Old Testament. When we are sealed in Christ we are prepared to endure whatever comes against us in this life. This reality is not simply the result of an intellectual consent to belief in Christ. It is the outcome of a life of commitment and obedience in following Christ in the uttermost. The Bible says that Noah did all that was commanded of him culminating in the construction of the ark. When we are given to following Christ in a transformational walk we are in essence building an ark. As in the days of Noah, it will be the disobedient, the evil ones, those who reject Christ who will be taken.

Jesus continued his teaching with two additional examples of one being taken while another was left. The first example is of two in the field and the second is of two women grinding at the mill. In each case one was taken while the other was left. How convoluted the hermeneutics are when the teaching claims it is the righteous that are taken. How could this possibly be consistent with what Jesus had just taught from the story of Noah? Please read Psalm 37 keeping in mind all that has been presented here. Psalm 37 wonderfully depicts the principle Jesus taught in Matthew 24. In this Psalm, there are 10 references to the wicked being cut off and 8 references to the righteous coming into their inheritance.