Purpose and Peace in the Last DaysSample

The Rapture of the Church and the Antichrist

All of us, as human beings, like to know the future. We’re interested in future things.

The Bible is a book that is filled with prophecy – which are simply predictive statements made today (or at some time in the past) concerning the future.

Prophecy tells us so much about the second coming of Jesus in both the Old and New Testament books.

All true Christians believe in the second coming of Jesus because the Bible clearly says that it is going to happen. Jesus said Himself, “I will come again.” But Christians differ as to the specifics surrounding His coming.

One of the major things on which Christians differ is the rapture of the church. It’s likely you’ve grown up hearing about or learning about the rapture.

Paul calls the fact that Jesus is coming again in the clouds for His children “the blessed hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, Titus 2:13). So, is the rapture of the church really the blessed hope … or is it just one big hoax?

The Bible clearly teaches there will be a rapture of the church.

It’s very clear in the Bible that there is going to be a rapture. We don’t know when, but we know it is coming. Now some dismiss the concept of the rapture because the word rapture is not actually used in the Bible.

Can I tell you another term that’s not in the Bible? The term Trinity is not in the Bible. But the concept of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit—is taught throughout the Bible.

Yes, the term rapture is not used in the Bible, but it’s taught in the Bible. First Thessalonians, chapter four very clearly says that those saints who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. “Caught up” is one Greek word, harpazo. It means “to catch away, to seize away by force.” The Latin word for this is rapio, from which we get rapture.

It’s just a matter of timing.

So, we can know that the Bible clearly teaches of the rapture. It’s just a matter of timing, and there are different positions and views on the timing of this predicted future event. Regardless of exactly when it occurs, we can rest in the fact that it will take place, just as the Lord promises.

It precedes the Day of the Lord.

Whenever the rapture takes place, whether before the tribulation, during the tribulation, or at the end of the tribulation, we know it will happen before the millennial kingdom – the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth (see Revelation 20:1–10).

The Lord will gather His people to Himself before He pours out wrath on Christ-rejecting people and establishes His kingdom on earth.

The Bible tells us that preceding all of this will be a great falling away from the faith. Many will turn from God and rebel against Him. We are already seeing many signs of this today.

After the falling away, we will see God’s hand of restraint removed. Many believe the rapture comes at this exact point in history as God removes His children from the wrath that it to come. When God’s restraining hand is removed, the Antichrist will come to power. The Antichrist is the antithesis of Jesus Christ. He is against Christ and presents himself as king, instead of Christ.

There is much we don’t know about this figure, but the Bible makes three things explicitly clear about the Antichrist:

He will be revealed after the rapture.

Some people spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the Antichrist is. But according to the biblical timeline, you can’t know who the Antichrist is because he’s going to be revealed after the Lord takes the church up in the clouds to be with Him in the air.

He will claim to be God and demand to be worshipped.

The Antichrist is going to claim to be God. He’s going to demand to be worshipped. He will demand those who swear allegiance to him wear his mark (666), and he wage war with everyone who opposes him. The Christians on earth, who come to know Christ after the rapture, will be his targets.

But there is good news …

He will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. The Antichrist will be defeated by King Jesus at the Battle of Armageddon (see Revelation 19).

The rapture is real and will come at God’s appointed time. Likewise, the Antichrist is real, and he will also come at the appointed time. These truths are clearly taught in the Bible. It’s a glorious hope for believers to know that, in the end, the Antichrist will be defeated by our conquering Savior.

2 Questions:

1. How does knowing that the rapture is real give you hope as a Christian? Thank God for His promise to take those saints who are living when Christ returns to meet the Lord in the air.

2. Are you certain that if Christ were to return today you would be one of those taken to meet Him in the rapture? If not, ask the Lord to give you assurance of your salvation, or ask Him to come into your heart for the first time so that you can be counted among the saints He will call home.