“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (St. Matthew 24: 37 41).

In a nutshell, the Rapturists claim that Christ will return not once, but twice! The first occasion will be in secret and the Rapturists quote Revelation 3: 3, and similar Scriptural passages, as substantiating evidence to prove the secrecy, i.e., He is coming as a ‘thief in the night” (Revelation 3: 3). They combine this passage with I Thessalonians 4: 16 17 to show how Christ will rapture His believers, both dead and living in Christ, during this secret return and then escort them to Heaven. Quoting St. Matthew 24: 37 41, the Rapturists then suggest that two people might be in a field or elsewhere and instantly, the Christian will be raptured leaving the nonbeliever dumbfounded as to what happened. In fact, it is one of their most effective passages in encouraging a call to Christ.

Finally, the Rapturists claim that after three and a half, or, seven years later, again depending on the source of the story, Christ will come again, along with ten thousand of His believers, to deal with the wicked. At that point, He will establish His Kingdom. Some theologians say this Kingdom will be on earth while others say it is to be in Heaven.

There are basically five contentions here, (1) Christ will return twice, (2) that the first time will be in secret, (3) that in the Rapture, the wicked will be left and the believers, both living and dead, raptured, (4) that Christ will return with ten thousand of these believers three and a half or seven years later to deal with the wicked and (5) the Kingdom will be established. This report will review each contention.

Does Christ return twice? It is odd that when Jesus described the signs of His Second Coming (St Matthew 24:), He made no mention whatsoever that He would first briefly return to rapture the believers from the pangs of the end time woes. One would think that He would have at least alluded to such an important event. But, He didn’t! The Pre-Tribulation Rapturists counter by saying this Rapture will come quietly, in secrecy. But, does Christ return quietly in secrecy? If I Thessalonians 4: 16 is studied, then obviously He doesn’t. For the passage clearly states, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” This can only demonstrate that when the Lord returns, it will be anything but quiet. And in reviewing the entire passage of 2 Peter 3: 10, it ends, “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise.” So, obviously, when the Lord arrives, it certainly won’t be in secret.

Is it the believers who are taken away and is it the wicked who will remain? And who are the ten thousand who will return with Christ to deal with the wicked? These are two very confusing questions for Christians today, primarily because the false doctrine of the Rapture has become so firmly entrenched in our thinking that it is difficult to even consider the real truth. For reasons which are not clear to most of Christendom, modern theologians have misinterpreted both I Thessalonians 4: 14 18 and St. Matthew 24: 37 41, two favourite passages of the Rapturists.

Obviously, Jesus Christ is going to return at the end of the age to save the believers. At that time, the dead in Christ will be resurrected to meet him in the air, followed by the living in Christ. The Rapturists claim this act will take place at the beginning of the tribulation, although a study of their often-stated passages will demonstrate it is at the end. Still, to answer the question “is it the believers who are taken away and is it the wicked who remain”, it first must be asked “what is their destination after they meet the Lord?” The Rapturists suggest they are to be escorted to Heaven; yet, there is no Scriptural foundation for this. Indeed, as will be shown, it is quite the opposite. In fact, when the believers go to meet Christ, they are doing so to honour Him and to escort Him to earth, as the Queen would be honoured if she came to this continent. We wouldn’t let her fly from England, grab a taxi and go to our place of government. Our government leaders would be there to meet her. In this sense, it will be no different when Christ returns.

Then too, it must be asked, “Who are these ten thousands who will accompany the Lord”. Christ Himself said that He would be coming with his holy angels (St. Matthew 25: 31). The prophet Jude quoted the prophet Enoch, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints” (Jude 14). The Rapturists claim these saints to be the believers, but they are likely the same ten thousands who accompanied the Lord at Sinai (Deuteronomy 33: 2). What is interesting is that Jude says nothing about their returning to Heaven. On the contrary, he states that this gathering will be coming to earth to execute judgment upon the wicked (Jude 15).

So, who is left, the believers or the wicked. To restate the theory of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, modern theologians believe the Christians will be taken away to Heaven and the wicked and unbelievers left to pass through the tribulation. Yet, in Matthew 24: 37-41, it refers to the wicked being taken away and it compares the last days with the time of Noah. In these passages, Jesus basically said that if you want to understand what will happen at His coming, you must understand the situation at the time of Noah when the wicked were destroyed. Every Bible student knows that it was the wicked who were taken away at that time and the just, meaning Noah and his family, were left on the earth. It will be the same when Christ returns.