Why is the Caught-Up Controversial?
I have used the Bible to define the Caught-Up, and I have also accounted for who will experience it, but today, I shall explore, when is the rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ? When is the Caught-Away?
The timing of the rapture is a very controversial and debatable topic. However, if we know how to navigate the Scriptures it removes the doubts and debate from it.
I have written on this topic in my new book: “The Golden Candlestick – The Seven Spirits of God”.
Consequently, I will utilize chunks of data from it for this Bible Study.
When is the Rapture?
“Today, the religious community is divided into multiple factions concerning the timing of the rapture.
One assumes that it will occur before the Great Tribulation; another proposes a mid-tribulation rapture; and other guesses that it will occur after; and still, another thinks there will be no rapture. But which of them is correct and biblical?
However, there is no need for conjectures. The good Lord God provides adequate details concerning the timing of this spiritual event.
Nobody knows the time of the rapture. Nobody! Not even the angels in heaven nor the saints on earth. Only the Father who is in heaven has this information.
Do You Know the Season of the Rapture?
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” .
(Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32)
But, we are capable to discern the environment to predict the weather, yet we cannot identify the season of the rapture?
The holy Lord God foretells major events through his prophets and the Bible. He informs us of them long before they happen.
The Lord Doesn’t Want us Guessing About the Timing of the Taken
For example, He informs us of the first advent of Jesus Christ long, long, before he came.
Therefore, He didn’t just provide an account of the birth of Jesus Christ. All His prophets spoke of it starting from Moses until it happened.
As early as the third chapter of Genesis the Word of God begins to sensitize us of the first advent of Jesus Christ. However, this trend didn’t stop there for it traverses the entire Bible.
As a result, the Lord God promises Satan:
The Seed of the Woman Will Bruise the Head of the Seed of the Serpent
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”.
(Genesis 3:15)
The seed of the woman, “her seed”, is Jesus Christ. Similarly, the seed of the devil, “thy seed”, is the Antichrist or the Abomination of Desolation (Genesis 3:15).
In part, the scripture quotation above is the first of a series of Messianic Prophecies. However, Moses continues to prophesy of Christ’s first coming.
He Provides Examples for Us to Learn From Them
“And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself [as] a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together”.
(Genesis 22:8)
Indeed God provided Himself as a lamb when He became Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God, (John 1:29, 36).
The prophets Daniel and Isaiah and many others continued this trend. Again Isaiah writes concerning Jesus Christ:
The Sign of the Virgin Conception & Birth
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” .
(Isaiah 7:14)
Finally, the NT references being built on their OT counterparts record the fulfillment of these prophesies.
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”.
(Matthew 1:22-23)
What Could We Learn About the Rapture From John?
Take John the Baptist as another example. He didn’t just appear on the scene and start to preach. No! We know that he would come; what he would do; and of his sermons, because the Scriptures foretell this event long before he came.
Thus, the Lord God, through the Bible, has prepared us for future events such as the first advent of Jesus Christ and of John. And He does the same thing regarding the rapture of his church.
Consequently, despite us not knowing the hour or the day of the rapture it should never surprise us as those who have no knowledge or hope. Seeing that we are waiting for it, we must be watchful for it!
Did the Rapture Happen Already?
We are waiting for Jesus Christ to return because he makes a promise to us.
“… I go to prepare a place for you [a]nd if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,”.
(John 14:2-3)
Some may say that Jesus has returned already, but if he has, our faith is vain. Others have said the same thing to shake our hope in God.
“… Where is the promise of his coming? [F]or since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”.
(2 Peter 3:4)
But beloved of God, the Word of God is sure. In the fullness of time, it will manifest for he will come again.
Patiently Waiting for Christ
So let us wait patiently manifesting His spiritual gifts as He has given to every Believer.
“So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
(1 Corinthians 1:7)
Indeed the rapture is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the saints but not for the world. We are watching and waiting for His coming and this gives us hope in God.
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ”.
(2 Thessalonians 3:5)
What Could We Learn About the Time of The Rapture From the Ten Virgins?
Jesus utilized his parables to teach us to be vigilant for the season of the rapture. Watch for the sign. Read, “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” (Matthew 25:1-13).
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come”.
(Matthew 24:42)
Therefore, Believers need to know this and to be happy in the legacy of hope that is in the Word of God.
Reject any demon that tells you there is no hope of a rapture. Refuse that word.
Apostle Paul encourages us not to be ignorant, sorrowful, or hopeless concerning the rapture.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are [dead], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope”.” [1]
(1 Thessalonians 4:13)
Conclusion
Finally, we know what is the rapture; we know who will experience and now, we are aware when it will occur.
We know that one day we will all die, but we don’t know when.
Similarly, we are also cognizant that one day the rapture will happen, but we just don’t know the day and the time.
Nevertheless, we know the season for the rapture. The Lord, in His Word, the Bible, informs us of a particular sign that we should watch for which indicates the imminence of the rapture.
He did a similar thing with the birth of Jesus. He provides a sign. The sign of the virgin birth. What is the “sign” of the rapture? Matthew 24:3.
Read the Golden Candlestick and learn this sign of the rapture.
[1] (Daley 2019)
A good article. We are commanded more than a dozen times to watch – so there must be signs to watch for… There are many, new ones which are showing us the promised book of truth open now to anyone.
Yes, the Bible did say to “watch” but it also tells us about “the sign”. If there are many signs, how will we know which is the sign. Thanks for commenting. Blessings!