The end of the world: Why is it all so complicated?

Many Christians today believe that Jesus’ second coming will happen in phases. According to this view, Jesus will first come unexpectedly and invisibly in order to gather believers out of the world, and then come again later in the visible, awesome way described here in Matthew 24. This prior coming is sometimes called the “secret rapture.” It’s secret because the world won’t see Jesus at this event and won’t have any warning of his coming. And it’s a “rapture,” which means that Christians will be “caught up” out of this world to be with Jesus. However, we should remember that “rapture” is not a word found in the Bible.

At the secret rapture, all the Christians will mysteriously vanish from the world and those who are left behind will suffer the terrible judgments and tribulations described in the book of Revelation. The period between the secret rapture and the visible return of Jesus is often referred to in this view as “the tribulation.”

The “secret rapture” theory was first made popular in the late 19th century by a Bible teacher named John Nelson Darby, and spread widely through the Scofield Reference Bible. It is part of a larger theological school known as “Dispensationalism.” Many Christians are familiar with this view today through books like Left Behind.

Will there be a secret rapture prior to Jesus’ public return? Perhaps we should start by affirming that the Bible clearly teaches a rapture. Paul put it this way:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4 v 16-17

Jesus will gather his people by “rapturing” them up to himself. All Bible-believing Christians should be able to agree on and celebrate this truth!

But the question remains: will that rapture happen prior to Jesus’ visible second coming? The challenge for this “left behind” scenario is that there isn’t a biblical text that clearly teaches a secret rapture as an event distinct from the second coming. Bible verses supposedly teaching the secret rapture could also be read as depicting Jesus’ public return. For example, the text we just read from 1 Thessalonians 4 v 16-17 describes a seemingly public return of Jesus similar in many respects to what we’ve been reading about in Matthew 24. In both texts we have Jesus returning, trumpets blasting, angels mentioned, and believers gathered up. While it is theoretically possible that 1 Thessalonians 4 and Matthew 24 describe separate events, isn’t it more natural to read them as both depicting the same global, visible return of Jesus, although with slightly different language? If you had never heard of the “secret rapture” theory, would a plain reading of 1 Thessalonians 4 v 16-17 lead you to think: “This must be a different event from the visible return of Jesus”?

Regardless of our view of the rapture, we need to keep this issue in perspective. The rapture should not be an issue that divides Christians or churches. One’s rapture theory isn’t an essential Christian doctrine like the Trinity or the resurrection of Jesus.

If you’re a Christian who remains unconvinced by the “secret rapture” teaching, will you be upset if you’re wrong and you get secretly raptured? “Sorry Jesus, but I don’t want to you to take me prior to your second coming until you prove the ‘secret rapture’ theory from the Bible.” On the other hand, if you do believe in the secret rapture, will you stop faithfully following Jesus if the secret rapture doesn’t happen?

This is an extract from our exciting new book, How will the world end? This great little book is part of the Questions Christians Ask series, available to order HERE from your friendly neighbourhood Good Book website.