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During the past one and a half centuries, the rapture of the saints has been a troublesome matter for many seeking Christians. Mainly, there are three schools of understanding concerning the rapture: the school of pre-tribulation, the school of post-tribulation, and the school of the so-called partial rapture. Those in the school of partial rapture say that the overcomers will be raptured earlier than the majority of the believers. In each of these schools there have been some very spiritual saints who knew the Bible quite well. Because of conflicting opinions, there has been much debate about the rapture. Soon after I was saved, I began to study prophecy and, as a result, I became quite familiar with all these schools. As the fruit of many years of study, observation, and consideration, I wish to present in this message and in the message following a clear and simple word on the rapture according to the pure word of the Bible. Let us forget about all the schools and care only for the pure Word.
In the Bible we see two aspects of the rapture: the rapture of the overcomers and the rapture of the majority of the saints. That there are two aspects of the rapture does not mean there are only two raptures. With the rapture of the overcomers there are at least three categories. For instance, the rapture of the firstfruit differs from the rapture of the man-child. The man-child (Rev. 12:5) is composed of the dead overcomers in resurrection, and the firstfruit (Rev. 14:1-5) are the living overcomers, those who have never passed through death. When we come to chapter twelve, we shall see that the man-child, like the woman clothed with the sun, is a symbol. The man-child in Revelation is begotten, brought forth in birth. Consider the Lord Jesus. He was begotten of God to be the Firstborn Son in resurrection (Heb. 1:5; Acts 13:33). The man-child will also be begotten in resurrection. The resurrection of the man-child will be his birth. Rev. 12:11 says that the overcomers who are a part of the man-child are faithful unto death, overcoming the enemy by the blood and by the word of their testimony, and not loving their soul lives unto death. This indicates that all those included in the man-child are faithful unto death. Many of them have been martyred. Hence, the man-child, which includes all the dead overcomers, is different from the firstfruit, who are the living overcomers. In addition to the man-child and the firstfuit, there is another company of overcomers in chapter fifteen: the late overcomers who overcome Antichrist, his mark, the number of his name, and his image, and who will be raptured to stand on the sea of glass to praise the Lord. Therefore, with respect to the overcomers, there are at least three different raptures. Besides this, there is the individual rapture of the two witnesses in chapter eleven.
The rapture of the overcomers is the first category of rapture, and the rapture of the majority of the saints, considered in Revelation as the harvest (Rev. 14:15), is the second. In Lev. 23:10 we see a type of the rapture — the type of the crops ripening in the field. Some crops ripen earlier and others ripen later. Those that ripen first are considered the firstfruit. In Old Testament times, the firstfruit was always brought, not to the barn, but into the temple of God. Exo. 23:19 clearly says, “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God.” The firstfruit was brought from the field into the temple of God for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction. When the field was completely ripe, that was the time of the harvest. After the harvest was reaped, it was brought into the barn. This is a type. The crop is God’s people (1 Cor. 3:9), and the first of the crop to ripen is the firstfruit which will be brought directly to God’s temple in the heavens. After that transpires, the sunshine will become brighter, and the unripened crops, which are still green, will begin to ripen. When all the crop has ripened, the majority of the saints will be harvested and taken to the air. The air corresponds to the barn. On most farms the barn is between the field and the farmhouse. The harvest is stored in the barn, but the firstfruit is brought into the farmhouse for the farmer’s first taste. While many teachers have written concerning the rapture, most of them have not taken care of this matter of God’s crop. In Matthew 13 the Lord Jesus revealed that He came to sow seed into the field. In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul tells the Corinthians, “You are God’s farm.” Finally, in Revelation 14, we have the firstfruit and the harvest. This gives us the basic concept with respect to the rapture.
Many Christians are too shallow and shortsighted. They do not read or study the Bible in a thorough way. Rather, selecting a few verses as their basis, they teach that all Christians will be raptured before the tribulation. They say that we were sinners who have been washed by the Lord’s blood, who have been regenerated by the Spirit, who have been saved, and who are now waiting for the coming back of the Lord Jesus, at which time we will all be raptured. Generally speaking, this is correct, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, it is a brief, careless, and superficial consideration of the matter. As an illustration of the vagueness and generality of the traditional teachings concerning the rapture, let me use the example of my former apartment on Arden Place in Anaheim. Everyone unfamiliar with the area had difficulty locating Arden Place. Some who knew that it was in the vicinity of Ball and Euclid have spent as much as an hour looking for Arden Place. They knew how to get to the corner of Ball and Euclid, but they did not have the detailed directions to get from there, by means of many small streets, to my apartment. Although it was correct to say that we lived near Ball and Euclid, the precise spot, Arden Place at Juno, was somewhat hidden. In order to get there, one had to travel through a maze of small streets.
Understanding the matter of the rapture in the New Testament is also like driving through a maze. It is very difficult to know this matter precisely. Perhaps the Lord meant it to be this way in order to arouse our watchfulness. Do not be confident that you know all about the rapture, for you may be like those who thought that they knew where I lived, but only knew the general vicinity of Ball and Euclid. Perhaps you know the rapture in a general way, but you are not familiar with the details. What we need is not a general map, but a detailed map. Most of the talk among Christians regarding the rapture is too general. It is like knowing the corner of Ball and Euclid without knowing the specific directions to my apartment. During the past fifty years, I have spent much time studying the rapture. Since 1925, whenever I could read or hear about this matter, I seized the opportunity to do so. Concerning the matter of the rapture, I have the assurance to say that the Lord has shown us the minute details, and in these two messages we need to examine some of these details.
The Lord Jesus will definitely come back before the millennium. Once there was a school of theology which taught that the Lord’s coming back would be after the millennium. Although this school was still there fifty years ago, it may be out-of-date by now. When I was young, I studied both the school that said the Lord would come before the millennium and the school that said He would come after the millennium. During the past fifty years, the second school has faded away, and hardly anyone seems to care for it. Perhaps you have never even heard of it. To say that Christ will come back after the millennium is absolutely unscriptural. Thus, only one school remains — that Christ will come before the millennium. This, however, is very general. We need to be much more exact and specific. It is absolutely correct to say that the Lord Jesus will come back before the millennium and that all Christians will be raptured, but we must still become familiar with the details.
I am concerned for some of the readers of this message. Whatever first enters into our mind is difficult to extract. Once anyone has taken in the thought that all the believers will be raptured before the tribulation, it is difficult for him to be delivered from it. Nevertheless, all the old, inaccurate concepts must be cleared away.
Let us firstly consider the need of the rapture of the overcomers. Matthew 24:21 reveals that the great tribulation is coming. Matt. 24:22 says, “And except those days were cut short, no flesh at all would be saved; but because of the elect, those days shall be cut short.” The great tribulation will be so severe that its days must be shortened if any are to be saved.
Another need for the rapture is that a snare on all the earth’s dwellers is coming (Luke 21:34-35). Just as a fisherman spreads a net to snare fish, so Satan is spreading his net to snare us. In Luke 21:34 the Lord mentions three things related to the snare spoken of in verse 35: “And take heed to yourselves lest at some time your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare.” In this verse the Lord mentions dissipation (eating), drunkenness (drinking), and the anxieties of life. Since World War II, nearly everyone on earth has been occupied with these three things. Industry, for example, is altogether for the cares of this life. The same is true of finance. All the universities are for industry, industry is for money, and money is for the cares of this life. Consider the billions of people on the earth today: their only concern is the cares of this life. Everything they are involved in — education, industry, politics, warfare — revolves around the cares of this life. Eating, drinking, and the cares of this life are the three main elements of the devilish snare, the net used by Satan to trap everyone on earth. In these verses in Luke, the Lord Jesus is saying that the time will come when all the dwellers on earth will be snared. I have been alive for more than seventy years and I have been observing the world situation for nearly sixty years. I know what human life is. I have studied human history, I have read the newspapers, and I have observed the world situation. I have discovered that, especially since World War II, people care for nothing except their physical life. God did not create the earth in a haphazard way. No, His creation is beautiful and contains many fine things. However, if we are snared by any of these things, we shall be caught by them. For instance, it is necessary and proper to maintain a suitable dwelling place for ourselves, but we must be on the alert not to be snared by it.
Although there is the grave danger of being snared by eating, drinking, and the cares of this life, we still need to live a normal human life. The young people need to obtain a good education, for this is necessary in order to earn a living. Do not excuse yourself by saying, “I don’t care for this life. Since I only love the Lord, I will give up studying and just praise the Lord all day long.” If you do this, you will be a burden to others. You may be all right, but others will not be. You may claim to have faith, but your so-called faith will force others to labor for you. No, you must study diligently and do well in school. However, do not do this for the purpose of making a name for yourself or of becoming a person of renown. Although you must study, do not allow education to be your snare. Still some may say, “Because I don’t want to be snared, I won’t go to school. It’s better to spend all my time reading the Bible and fellowshipping with all my young colleagues. Wouldn’t this be wonderful?” Many young people have this mistaken concept, saying, “The Lord Jesus might come tomorrow. Why then should we study so much? This is a waste of time.” Although the Lord might come tomorrow, because of your laziness, He may tarry until you have learned to study and have graduated from school.
As fallen people, we are unbalanced. Matthew 24:40 speaks of two being in the field. It does not say that two are sleeping, fellowshipping, or living wholly for the Lord without engaging in any work. Some might say, “Since the Lord might come back tomorrow, why must we work in the field? If necessary, we could even fast for three meals until He comes.” I once heard a message in which the speaker said, “How wonderful it would be if, when the Lord comes, my wife and I would be praising and praying.” But the Bible does not indicate that we shall be doing these things when He appears. Rather, Matthew 24:41 speaks of two women grinding at the mill. In ancient times, the most difficult work for women was grinding wheat. If I were one of the women in those days, I might have said, “The young brothers have helped us to know that the Lord Jesus might come back tonight. What then is the need to labor at grinding wheat? This is a waste of time. Why must we still grind flour if the Lord is coming tonight? Let’s just sit here and wait for His coming.” This is an illustration of one extreme.
On the other extreme are those Christians who care for nothing except making money and spending it. They say, “Oh, we shouldn’t be so spiritual. We must be practical and take care of our wives and children. I must support my family and care for many other things. I don’t have the time to attend the church meetings. Can’t we worship God at home?” To those at this extreme, the Lord may say, “I will come as a thief. I will come at the time when you least expect Me. Perhaps I’ll come when you are engrossed with making money.” But to those on the other extreme, He may say, “Because of you, I will delay My coming. You are too earnest for My coming back. You are so earnest that you don’t do anything. You don’t even take care of your cooking. I will delay My coming until you learn to cook, make money, and take care of yourself and others.” I mean what I am saying and I am serious about it. This is the poor situation among Christians today.
We all must do our duty to earn a living, yet we must do it without being snared by it. We may have many things, but we must never allow them to rule us. Learn to be balanced, falling neither into the extreme of idleness nor into the extreme of being occupied with the affairs of this life. With this matter, as in so many other things, there are two sides. Consider the example of the apostle Paul. Was he not waiting for the Lord’s coming back? If you examine his writings, you will see that all of them were for the long run. He never said, “Dear saints, because the Lord Jesus might come tomorrow, you don’t need to do so many things. You should just sit around and pray.” No, in his epistles Paul seemed to be saying, “While we are waiting for the Lord’s coming back, we must still live in a normal way.” Although we do not know when the Lord will come, we do know that as long as we are on earth, we must have a normal living to be the proper testimony of the Lord Jesus. We must obtain the best education and have a balanced daily living. We also must maintain our houses and, in every respect, be normal people.
As those who are waiting for the Lord’s coming back, we must have a proper living without being snared by anything. Our heart is on nothing but the Lord Jesus. However, this does not mean that we do not study, conduct business, and take care of daily chores, such as cleaning. Do not say, “Why must I keep my clothes neat and clean? It is a waste of time and money to do the laundry. The Lord doesn’t care for the flesh; He only cares for my spirit. As long as my spirit is clean, everything is fine.” I have the assurance that many young people still have this attitude. They do not even make their beds in the morning, considering it to be a waste of their time. As long as they have a place to lie down, they are satisfied, thinking that they can spend their time reading the Bible or spiritual books. They do not know why they must work to keep their room neat, clean, and orderly. Their sloppiness may delay the Lord’s coming back. The Lord may tell them, “You must learn to make your bed early in the morning, comb your hair, and shine your shoes. Then you must arrange all your books in a good order. Don’t put the New Testament before the Old Testament.” No elder who is careless can be useful in building up the church. We must learn to be diligent, keeping everything in good order. However, we should not dream about those things at night. Rather, when the Lord says, “Behold, I come quickly,” we must be able to forget everything. Some keep their things in good order, but this becomes a snare to them. This is a test to determine where we are. We are here as the testimony of Jesus. We are normal people living a normal life, but nothing of this life can touch us. We are not sloppy, idle, lazy, or careless. Yet, nothing in this world has any control over us. These two sides of the matter will force us to be one with the Lord.
What is the meaning of rapture? It is to be taken into the Lord’s presence. If you would be taken into His presence, you must be in His presence today. Much of your praising and fellowshipping may not be in His presence, but may simply be according to your own choice. You are not in the presence of the Lord, but in your preference and taste. When you desire to fellowship, the Lord may say, “Go to work or study.”
Another aspect of the need for the rapture of the overcomers is that the trial is coming on the whole inhabited earth (Rev. 3:10). This trial will be the great tribulation, consisting of the three woes of the last three trumpets probably with the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets. Those woes and calamities will be the most severe trial to the earth’s dwellers. To be saved from this trial, we need to be raptured before it comes.
First Thessalonians 5:3 says, “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.” This verse indicates that destruction will come as birth pangs upon those who talk of peace and safety. Those in the United Nations take the words peace and safety as a slogan. While people are talking about peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them.
Another aspect of the need for the rapture of the overcomers is that the Devil will come down to earth with great wrath as a woe to the earth and to the sea (Rev. 12:12). By then, he will know that his time is short and thus he will do everything possible to torment man to the uttermost. We surely need a rapture to keep us away from his evil torment.
After the great dragon, Satan, has come down to earth, he will be angry with the woman and will go to war with the remnant of her seed (12:17). The woman in chapter twelve is the totality of God’s people, including both the church and the children of Israel. Her children are of two categories: those who keep the law and those who have the testimony of Jesus. The one hundred and forty-four thousand chosen remnant of Israel will certainly be faithful to the law, and the redeemed ones, the believers, will be faithful to the testimony of Jesus. The great dragon, who will be angry with this woman, will war with the remnant of her seed, with the Jews who keep the law of Moses and the Christians who have the testimony of Jesus. An early rapture is needed before this.
Speaking of Antichrist, Revelation 13:7 says, “And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.” The saints are God’s people as signified by the woman in chapter twelve. This indicates that in the great tribulation a number of believers, against whom Antichrist will war and whom he will overcome, will still be there. This means that he will persecute the believers during the great tribulation. How much we need a rapture before that time!
Because all these terrible, horrible things are coming, there is the need for us to be taken away. We are not waiting for these dreadful events to take place. We are waiting for the Lord to take us away before any of these things come to pass. Thus, there is definitely the need for the rapture of the overcomers.
Now we come to the promises with respect to the rapture of the overcomers. Luke 21:36 says, “But be watchful, at every time beseeching, that you may prevail to escape all these things which are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” According to the Greek, the words be accounted worthy may be rendered “fully strengthened.” In Greek this phrase has both meanings. When we are fully strengthened, we are counted worthy. We must be fully strengthened in order to escape the snare and to stand before the Son of Man. Before the Lord comes back, He, the Son of Man, will be in the third heaven. Luke 21:36 reveals that the overcomers will stand before the Son of Man. This means that they will be raptured to the presence of the Lord in the heavens. While the snare is about to come, we must be fully strengthened to escape it. If you are familiar with fishing, you will realize that some stronger fish are able to escape the net. Likewise, the overcomers will be fully strengthened to escape the snare and to stand in the presence of the Lord in the heavens. This is a promise of being raptured before the great tribulation.
Another promise regarding the rapture is found in Revelation 3:10. “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.” Some say that all Christians will be raptured after the tribulation. This concept is found among the so-called Newton group of the Brethren which separated from Darby’s group. The Newton group teaches that all Christians will pass through the tribulation. Once I asked one of the leading teachers in the Newton group about Revelation 3:10, and he admitted that this verse was a problem to them. According to this verse, the overcomers will not only be kept out of the trial but also out of the hour of the trial, meaning that they will be raptured before the great tribulation. Hence, the rapture of the overcomers will precede the great tribulation.
