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After we have believed in the Lord and are saved, because of the demand of the divine life which we have received and because of the intensity of our love toward the Lord, we desire to pursue a life that awaits the Lord’s coming. In such a life of loving the Lord and waiting for the Lord, we also expect, according to that which is revealed and prophesied in the Bible, to be raptured to the Lord, to meet together joyfully with Him.
According to the Bible, the rapture of the believers is divided into two categories according to the difference in their individual life and work before the Lord after their salvation. The first is the rapture of the overcoming believers, and the second, the rapture of the majority of the believers.
1) “For then there shall be great tribulation, such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21).
The Lord Jesus prophesied here that, at the end of this age, great tribulation, such as is unequaled either before or after its time, will come upon the people of the world.
2) “...and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare; for it will come in upon all those dwelling on the face of all the earth” (Luke 21:34-35).
“That day” refers to the day mentioned above, the day of the coming of the great tribulation, which is unequaled before or after its time. At the end of this age, the day of the great tribulation will suddenly come as a snare upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
3) “...the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10).
This verse tells us that the great tribulation, which is about to come, is to try the people of the whole inhabited earth.
4) “Whenever they say, Peace and security, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as birth pangs to a woman with child, and they shall by no means escape” (1 Thes. 5:3).
The coming great tribulation mentioned previously will come suddenly upon men when they are saying, “Peace and security,” that is, when they are seeking peace and security. It will come upon them as birth pangs to a woman with child, and they will by no means escape.
According to the revelation in the foregoing Scriptures, the believers who live in this corrupt, dark age, which will be beset with calamities, definitely need to be raptured that they may be delivered out of this evil earth to be with the Lord, whom they long for.
1) “But be watchful, at every time beseeching, that you may prevail [or, be counted worthy] to escape all these things which are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
In the original language, “to stand” in this verse is in the passive voice; hence, it has the meaning of being put in a certain place, referring to our being raptured to the presence of Christ. In this word the Lord promised that if we are watchful and beseeching so that we overcome to escape (or, are counted worthy to escape) all the coming tribulations, we will be placed in, that is, raptured to, His presence.
2) “Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10).
In this word the Lord promised us that if we keep the word of His endurance, He will keep us out of the hour in which the people on the whole earth will be tried, that is, He will take us out of the hour in which the whole earth will suffer the great tribulation.
1) “...so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left” (Matt. 24:39-41).
This is the Lord’s prophecy, that at His coming, some believers will be raptured and others will be left. Undoubtedly, those who are raptured are the believers mentioned previously, who overcome or are counted worthy to escape; those who are left are the believers who are defeated and who remain.
2) “And she [the woman] brought forth a son, a man-child, who was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev. 12:5).
The woman refers to the totality of God’s chosen people throughout the generations. The man-child refers to the overcomers among God’s chosen people, who will rule the nations. Before the end of this age, the overcomers among God’s chosen people will be raptured to God and to His throne in the heavens.
3) “...the Lamb standing on mount Zion [in the heavens], and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand...These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. These were purchased from among men as firstfruit to God and to the Lamb” (Rev. 14:1-4).
This word of prophecy discloses to us that before the end of this age, a group of overcomers, signified by the one hundred and forty-four thousand, will be raptured to the heavens to stand with the Lamb-Christ on the heavenly mount Zion. Purchased from among men, they are those who follow the Lamb absolutely and who have become the firstfruit to God and to the Lamb.
1) “I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10).
The hour of trial for all those who dwell on the earth is the time of the great tribulation. Here, the Lord promises the overcoming saints that He will keep them from the hour of trial; that is, He will take them away from the earth, which is under trial, to the heavens before the great tribulation.
2) “...a man-child...was caught up to God and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness...so that they might nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days,” that is, “a time, and times, and half a time” (Rev. 12:5-6, 14).
One thousand two hundred and sixty days, or three and a half years, is the time during which the people of the earth will be tried by the great tribulation. Before the three and a half years, the overcoming man-child, the overcoming saints, will be raptured to God and to His throne in the heavens.
1) “Caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev. 12:5); “On mount Zion [in the heavens]” (Rev. 14:1).
These two verses show us that the overcoming believers who are raptured before the great tribulation are taken to mount Zion in the heavens, where God and His throne are.
1) “But be watchful, at every time beseeching” (Luke 21:36); “Watch...be ready...” (Matt. 24:42-44); “...looking for their own lord...that when he comes...” (Luke 12:36).
The items mentioned in these verses — to be watchful, to beseech at every time, and to look for the Lord’s coming — are the conditions for us to be raptured as the overcomers among the believers.
2) “...those who have loved His [the Lord’s] appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8); “You have kept the word of My [the Lord’s] endurance” (Rev. 3:10); “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My [the Lord’s] works [which the Lord accomplished and will accomplish] until the end” (Rev. 2:26).
The items mentioned in these verses — to love the Lord’s appearing, to keep the word of the Lord’s endurance, and to overcome and keep the works which the Lord accomplished and will accomplish, that is, to keep all that the Lord has accomplished for us — are also conditions for us to be raptured as the overcomers among the believers.
1) The fact — “And He who sat on the cloud [the coming Christ] thrust His sickle over the earth [that is, sent the angels], and the earth [the believers] was reaped [raptured]” (Rev. 14:16).
This verse speaks of the rapture of the majority of the believers, which is apart from that of the overcoming believers.
2) The persons — the resurrected saints and the believers “who are living, who remain” (1 Thes. 4:16-17).
These verses indicate that the majority of the believers who will be raptured are the dead saints, who will be resurrected, and the believers who are living and remain after the rapture of the overcoming believers.
3) The time — “...the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together [being raptured] to Him...the day...will not come unless...the man of lawlessness [Antichrist] is revealed” (2 Thes. 2:1-3); “...at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52).
These two passages tell us that the time of the believers’ rapture will be after the revelation of Antichrist, at the end of the great tribulation, when the angel sounds the last trumpet and the Lord comes to gain His kingdom (Rev. 11:15; 1 Thes. 4:16).
4) The place — “...in clouds...in the air” (1 Thes. 4:17).
The majority of the believers will be raptured to the air, unlike the overcoming believers, who will be raptured to the throne of God in the heavens.
5) The condition — “The harvest [the believers]...is ripe” (Rev. 14:15).
The condition for the rapture of the majority of the believers is maturity in life. Like the unripened harvest that cannot be reaped, an immature believer cannot be raptured.
