Riff's Christian Journal

So much is being said these days about an event happening to the Christian Church called “The Rapture”. However the teaching surrounding this particular view has only been around for about the past 150 to 200 years. It was never taught in the early Church at all. Without going into how this teaching came about, as time and space won’t allow, let us instead look at a parable that Jesus taught with a couple of supporting verses by the Apostle’s Paul and Peter.

In Matthew 13: 24 – 30 Jesus taught the following parable:

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Then in verses 36 through 43 Jesus was asked to explain this parable and here is what He said:

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ⁴² and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

After reading this, what would your reaction be? When anyone always talked to Jesus and mentioned about the resurrection at the last day Jesus never corrected them. Why? Because He knew that this was, in fact, the right thing to say. The resurrection of believers and non-believers alike would occur on the last day; the Day of Judgment.

In 2 Thessalonians 1: 3 – 10 the Apostle Paul wrote the following:

³ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, ⁴ so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, ⁵ which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; ⁶ since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe,^[a] because our testimony among you was believed.

Here Paul talks about God’s final judgment and glory. He talks about believers being patient and for keeping their faith in the face of persecutions and tribulations and for enduring until the coming of Christ, in flaming fire, Who will take vengeance on those who do not know God and will punish them with everlasting destruction. This all happens on the day that He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe. All of this is a one time occurrence that takes place on the last day – the Day of Judgment.

Looking at one last Scripture verse, the Apostle Peter, in 2 Peter 3: 7 and in verses 10 – 13 writes the following:

⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Peter is talking about the “day of judgement”, what will happen at that time, and why, and that this is something for which we should be looking. In short, the “day of judgment”, the “last day” and the “resurrection” all happen at one time. They are all one and the same.

As Jesus taught, and supported by both Paul and Peter, at the “end of the age”, which is the “last day” and “the day of Judgment” is also the day of “resurrection” for both the believers and non-believers alike. The non-believers (tares) will be gathered and thrown into the Lake of Fire and the Believers (wheat) “will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

As stated at the beginning, the teaching of the so-called “Rapture” entered into certain denominational teachings in only about the past 150 to 200 hundred years. Before that there was no teaching like this and the only teaching was a biblical one in that there was only going to be a one time event at the end of the age, or the end of time, also known as “last day”, the “day of resurrection” and the “day of judgment”.

On that day, the great day of the coming of the Lord Jesus, Believers in Him, both the dead and those who are alive will be raised up to be with Jesus and they will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. It is a day that the Apostle Paul said that Jesus will be glorified in His saints and will be admired among all those who believe, and the Apostle Peter said that this is a day that we should be looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

As Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (John 8: 47 Jesus tells us who they are who will hear)