…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11

One Witness?

The great expectation of the modern church is to be caught up in the rapture, thereby escaping THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Is this what the Bible teaches? Is the rapture the great hope of the church? Did our Lord teach us to pray, “take me out?”

If the rapture is the great hope of the church, why is the word “rapture” not in the Bible? If escapism is God's answer to trouble, why is there only one verse in the Bible that the rapturists base their whole doctrine on? The Lord established the “Law of Confirmation” by stating that; “At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established,” (Deut. 19:15) and “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (II Peter 1:20)

God tells us plainly that we cannot establish any matter based on one witness. Every valid doctrine in the Bible is evidenced by multiplied verses of scripture. Why then, is there only one verse of scripture to prove the 'doctrine' of the rapture?

God Delivers His People

There are many witnesses in the Word of God that clearly prove that God's way is to deliver His people out of trouble, but never to 'rapture' them from off the earth. Psalm 34:17 states:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivered him out of them all.”
The following are just a few of the many examples where God delivers and preserves His people during times of trouble or even severe persecution.

The three Hebrew children The Lord preserved them through the fire, but they were not taken out of the world.

Daniel in the lions’ den God closed the mouths of the lions, but he kept Daniel while still in the lions' den.

David and Goliath God anointed David's aim, but he did not remove David from the fight.

Israel in Egypt By the means of the ten plagues, God delivered Israel out of Egypt, but did not remove them from off the earth.

Israel at the Red Sea God took Israel through the Red Sea, but not from off the earth.

These are just a few of the many miracles that God performed for His children. Both Old and New Testaments are filled with many more such deliverances. The most elementary Bible student can see the hand of God over and over again in delivering His people out of troubles, trials and difficulties as recorded in the Holy Scriptures.

In the life of Jesus, we see miracles on a daily basis. His life was one tremendous miracle from the beginning to the end. Jesus was also delivered countless times from death and destruction at the hands of His enemies. Many times the Gospels record that His enemies sought to kill Him. They took counsel together how they might trap him in His words in order that they could have good reason to charge Him with blasphemy and put Him to death. He was delivered out of their hands until the time appointed of the Father that He should lay down His life on the cross and thereby purchase our salvation and redemption.

Is there one example in the Scriptures of anyone being “raptured out” of any trial or trouble? The answer is NO. There is not one example anywhere in the Bible of anyone being raptured out of any situation. However, there are a multitude of examples of God preserving His people during times of severe trials and even bloody persecutions.

The Sacred Record tells us that there were those “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33, 34).

In fact, the whole of Hebrews II shows God's amazing grace in delivering and preserving His people throughout history. It looks like the whole of Scripture confirms the fact that Jesus is in the business of saving His people from all their afflictions.