Does The Bible Teach The Doctrine of The Rapture?
The rapture doctrine supposedly fits into the
premillennial scheme of things. This doctrine specifically
refers to a time when the Lord will secretly come and take
his people to heaven for a period of seven years. Only the
righteous dead and righteous living will be exported. When
Jesus comes, it will be FOR the Saints. Those who espouse
this doctrine say the rapture is the next thing on God’s
prophetic calendar. A period of seven years will occur, and at
the end of the seven years, Jesus will come again, this time
WITH the Saints. Therefore, there will be two comings of
Christ.
The rapture theory is built around a misunderstanding
and misapplication of several passages of scripture. This
doctrine outright contradicts many clear passages of
scripture. Just a couple of scriptures will suffice to prove
the rapture false.
In John 5:28-29, Jesus declared, “Marvel not at this: for the
hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have done good,
unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation.” My friends, these passages are a
death-blow to the rapture. There is no plainer statement in
the Bible that depicts a simultaneous resurrection of all
people – the good and the evil. Jesus plainly taught that ALL
(not some) that are in the graves shall come forth in “the
hour.” There is hardly any room in these passages for a
space of seven years (really a thousand years according to
Premillennialists). For those who have an honest and good
heart, these scriptures are as plain and forthright as can be.
In Acts 24:15, Paul spoke of “a resurrection of the dead,
both of the just and unjust.” There is clearly a single
resurrection, involving two groups of people – the just and
the unjust. This obviously includes all of humanity. Hence,
what Paul said is in complete harmony with what Jesus said.
It is true that there are several contexts in which only
the resurrection of the righteous are under consideration (i.
e., I Thess. 4:16-17). However, these do not cancel out the
plain declarations of other scriptures affirming a general
resurrection of all people, at the same time. The rapture
theory is false, according to the teachings of the Bible.