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THE DIFFERENCE FROM THE RAPTURE TO THE SECOND COMING

Finally, the rapture is quite distinct from the Second Coming in which Jesus returns to the earth, to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14). At the rapture, Jesus draws the Saints to Himself in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). At the Second Coming, He returns with the Saints (Revelation 19:11-16). The post-tribulation view virtually has the Saints of God acting like a yo-yo -- arising into the air, only to return immediately to the earth. This further gives no time for the Bema seat of Christ or the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Mid-Tribulation

The mid-tribulation view of the rapture is that it will take place midway through the tribulation period.

Such a view is a curious exposition of scripture, for the Antichrist makes a covenant with the Jewish people and then breaks it three and a half years into the tribulation (Daniel 9:27). Even if the mid-tribulation rapture occurs earlier than this time, it still must take place after the Antichrist has been revealed, which can only happen after the "restrainer" is removed (I1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).

Some have suggested that the identity of the "restrainer" is the Antichrist himself -- an incorrect notion indeed, particularly in light of Paul's teaching that "the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed" (I1 Thessalonians 2:7-8). Others suggest the "restrainer" is the Holy Spirit (Dake, 1963, p. 230). However, John sees those who have become Christians during the tribulation, and martyred for their faith (Revelation 7:14). It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that one can be brought to Christ (John 16:8), not by man, and so the Holy Spirit can not be the "restrainer" removed from the earth. The "restrainer" is in fact none other than the Church (however please remember that the HOLY SPIRIT dwells within the heart of the believer, GOD is Omnipresent so the Holy Spirit can never be removed from the earth HE is EVERYWHERE)—the church however is the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13) and the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Hence, the Church must be raptured before the Antichrist may be revealed and so the mid-tribulation view of the Antichrist being revealed before the rapture is not possible. When the salt and light of the world is removed all hell will break loose, evil will abound in forms that was never before seen on the earth.

Some scholars identify the "last trump" of 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the blowing of the "seventh trumpet" in the middle of the tribulation (Revelation 11:15-18). Rosenthal (1995, p. 5) states, "One of the major fallacies which has led to so much confusion in prophetic interpretation has been the tendency to identify Paul's 'last trump' with 'the seventh trumpet' of the Book of Revelation"

Due to the fact that 1 Corinthians was written about 55 A.D. and Revelation was written about 96 A.D. (some would say 70 A.D., but nevertheless, it was written after 1 Corinthians and Paul's martyrdom). Explicitly John states that the contents of the book of Revelation were given by God the Father to the Lord Jesus, who in turn used an angelic messenger to convey the message to John (Revelation 1:1-2). The very word "revelation" means an unveiling of that which was otherwise unknown or concealed. Rosenthal (1995, p. 5) continues,

"Therefore, when Paul wrote of a generation of believers who would experience the rapture (being 'changed') at 'the last trump,' neither he nor the Corinthians knew anything concerning the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls of the Book of Revelation. BECAUSE JOHN HAD NOT YET WRITTEN THE BOOK OF REVELATION Paul's 'last trump' and the Book of Revelation's 'seventh trumpet' are not the same."

The true meaning of "the last trump" requires an understanding of the Jewish meaning of the "Day of the Lord" used nineteen times by eight Old Testament prophets. This was the future time when God would go to war (Rosenthal, 1995, p. 5). Associated with this would be the blowing of a trumpet -- the Jewish "shofar" (Joel 1:15; 2:1;”the day of the Lord is on the way Zephaniah 1:14-16). “That day will be a day of wrath, a day of terrible distress and anguish. (16) A day of trumpet and battle cry Indeed, the phrase "the last trump" hardly shows a mid-tribulation rapture because it instead refers to the commencement of the very last time of battle in this age -- the very start of the dreadful Day of the Lord -- the tribulation period itself.

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