(2)
In Matt. 24:39-42 we see the fact of the rapture. Verses 40 and 41 say, “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.” Here we see two brothers in the field and two sisters at the mill. One of the brothers and one of the sisters are taken and the others are left. Some among us, especially the young people, may love the Lord and think that they need not care for their human living. But in these verses we see two brothers working in the field and two sisters grinding at the mill. This is for eating. As long as we live on earth, we cannot ignore the need of eating. We must work in order to eat. Therefore, if you truly love the Lord, you must realize that while you are loving Him, you must still earn a living for yourself. While two are working in the field for their living, one will be taken and the other left. Outwardly they are the same, but inwardly they are different. If you read the context, you will see that one is watchful and ready and the other is not. While one is getting ready, the other is not watchful.
The fact of the rapture of the overcomers is also found in Revelation 12:5. This verse says, “And she 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.” Notice that the man-child is not caught up to the air but to the throne of God. The throne of God is in the third heaven. This rapture will transpire before the three and one-half years of the great tribulation (Rev. 12:6, 14).
The fact of the rapture is also found in 14:1-5, where we read of the one hundred forty-four thousand becoming the firstfruit to God and to the Lamb. Being firstfruit, they are brought into God’s house, the temple of God in the heavens, not to the air. The hundred forty-four thousand will be raptured to Zion in the heavens before Antichrist forces people to worship him during the great tribulation.
These facts regarding the rapture of the overcomers cannot be denied. The one in the field and the one grinding at the mill are taken before the others, the man-child is caught up to the throne of God before the last three and one-half years, and the firstfruit is taken before the harvest. No one can say that the harvest will be taken at the same time as the firstfruit. As Revelation 14 makes clear, the firstfruit is raptured first and the harvest is raptured later.
Now we come to the time of the rapture of the overcomers. According to Revelation 3:10, it will precede “the hour of trial.” Moreover, chapter twelve indicates that the man-child will be caught up to the throne of God before the last three and one-half years, that is, before the great tribulation (12:5-6, 14, 17). Furthermore, the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruit will stand on Mount Zion before Antichrist forces people to worship him and his image at the time of the great tribulation (14:1-5, 9-12). If you read chapter fourteen carefully, you will see that after the firstfruit is taken to Mount Zion in heaven, on earth Antichrist will erect his image in the temple and force people to worship it. Unless you do not believe the Bible, there can be no argument about this. If we believe what the Bible says, then we must admit that some Christians will be raptured to the third heaven, not to the air, before Antichrist persecutes God’s people.
The place to which the overcomers will be raptured is before the Son of Man in the heavens (Luke 21:36). At the time of the rapture of the overcomers, Christ will not yet have left heaven and have come down to the air. Much less, will He have come down to earth. The overcomers who have overcome the snare of the Devil will stand before the Son of Man in the heavens.
As 12:5 indicates, the man-child will be caught up to the throne of God in the heavens. Probably most Christians know that 1 Thessalonians 4 says that those who are alive and remain will be caught up to the air. But here we see that the man-child will be caught up to the throne of God in the heavens.
The fact that the firstfruit will stand on Mount Zion in the heavens also proves that the place to which the overcomers will be raptured is the heavens. All these verses indicate that the overcomers will not be raptured to the air but to the third heaven. Therefore, with respect to both time and place, the rapture of the overcomers is absolutely different from the rapture of the majority of the believers.
Now we come to the conditions of the rapture of the overcomers. By conditions we mean the terms and price we must pay for this early rapture. Firstly, we must watch and pray always (Luke 21:36). To watch and pray always does not mean that we only pray and do not work, sleep, or eat. It means that while we are working, we have a praying spirit and are constantly praying. To have this constant prayer does not require that we cease working. If you cannot pray while you are working, then your prayer must not be very genuine; rather, it must be a formal, religious performance. The best prayer is that while you are busy working, you constantly and simultaneously look unto the Lord with a living spirit. This is real and genuine prayer. We all can pray constantly. Even when I speak, I am praying. While you are fellowshipping with others, you should be praying. We need to be a praying people with a praying spirit. We need to pray all the time. This is what it means to pray always.
A second condition is that we must watch and be ready (Matt. 24:40-44; Luke 12:35-40). We should be able to say, “Lord, I’m busy working, but I’m ready to go. Lord, here I am cleaning my things and keeping them in order, but I don’t want to live here forever. Lord, I’m ready to be taken.” Can you tell the Lord this? To be ready does not mean that we stop working and do nothing. In the last century, some people did this. A certain teacher told them that at a particular time Christ would come. After hearing this, they bathed thoroughly, put on white garments, and did nothing except pray. This is not the proper way to wait for the Lord’s coming back. The proper way is to live a normal life. The Bible nowhere tells us to take a shower, put on white clothing, and wait for the Lord to come back. Rather, the Lord Jesus says that no one will know the time. As two brothers will be working in the field, much to their surprise, one will suddenly be taken away and the other will be left.
We must not understand the Bible according to our human concept. Many Christians who care for the Lord’s coming back hold the concept that since the Lord is coming soon, it is better for them to do nothing. No, everything depends upon a normal living and upon contacting the Lord all the time with a living spirit. Tell the Lord, “Lord, I have no ties on earth. I’m ready to go anytime You want to take me.” This is the way to watch and to be ready.
A third condition is to love the Lord’s appearing. In 2 Timothy 4:8 Paul said, “Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me in that day; and not only to me, but also to all those who have loved His appearing.” Paul said that the crown of righteousness is laid up for all those who love the Lord’s appearing. We must tell the Lord, “Lord Jesus, I love You and I love Your appearing. Because I love You, I love Your appearing.” However, to love the Lord’s appearing does not mean that we should not live a normal life. Rather, the more we love His appearing, the more we need to live a normal life today.
Still another condition is keeping the word of the Lord’s endurance (Rev. 3:10). In order to be the testimony of Jesus, we must keep the word in the Bible. But if we do this, we shall be persecuted. Throughout the centuries, the saints were persecuted and martyred because they were faithful to the Lord’s word. Today, we also must be faithful to the Lord’s word. We do not follow the traditions or care for religion. We only take care of the word of the Lord which is the word of His endurance. Due to this, we are suffering persecution. For this we need the endurance of the Lord. We must endure the persecution of religion. The word we keep is the Lord’s word of endurance.
Lastly, if we would share in the first rapture, we must overcome degraded Christianity and keep the Lord’s works. In 2:26 the Lord said to those in Thyatira, “And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” No one can dispute the fact that the Roman Catholic Church has denied the Lord’s works. What are the Lord’s works? Firstly, His death on the cross. The Roman Catholic Church even denies this, for it does not teach people to trust in the Lord’s death for their salvation. Rather, it teaches them to pray to certain saints, to donate money, to behave themselves, and even to suffer. In doing this, those in the Roman Catholic Church forsake the Lord’s work in His crucifixion for our redemption. The Roman Catholic Church also denies the Lord’s resurrection; it absolutely forgets whatever the Lord has done. Catholicism even teaches that by offering a financial gift you can shorten the time that a relative will spend in purgatory. This is an example of ignoring what the Lord has done through His resurrection. In the epistle to Thyatira the Lord seemed to be saying, “You must overcome Catholicism and keep My works. You must keep all that I have done for you. You must not worship Mary, but rather keep My redemption, My ascension, and My indwelling. These are My works. Don’t trust your good deeds — your contributions, your prayers to the saints, your fastings, and your sufferings.” Nevertheless, in spite of the Lord’s word, those in the Roman Catholic Church still fail to keep the works of the Lord.
We must overcome devilish Catholicism and keep all that the Lord has done for us. We would never worship Mary. Although she is a sister and we would speak other as such, we would never address her as “Mother Mary.” She is not the mother of God, and it is terrible to say that she is. Catholicism teaches that Christ is the Son of Mary, but in the epistle to Thyatira, the Lord Jesus said that He is the Son of God (2:18). Since Catholicism has ignored the works of Christ, those in Catholicism will not be raptured before the tribulation. Rather, according to Revelation 17:16, God will use Antichrist and his ten kings to kill many of those in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2:23 the Lord Jesus said of those in Thyatira, “I will kill her children with death.” Hence, they will not be raptured. We must overcome degraded Catholicism and come back wholly to the works of the Lord Jesus, the One who died for us, who resurrected and ascended, and who will come back for us. We must keep His works until the end.
Now we come to the rapture of the majority of the believers.
The fact of the rapture of the majority of the believers is that “the harvest is reaped” (14:14-16). In 14:1-5 we see that the firstfruit is taken to Mount Zion in the heavens. In verses 6 through 13 there is the persecution under Antichrist, who will set up his image and force people to worship it. After this, we are told that the harvest is ripe. Hence, according to Revelation 14, there are two kinds of rapture: the rapture of the firstfruit and the rapture of the harvest.
The people who are raptured in the rapture of the majority of believers firstly are the resurrected saints (1 Thes. 4:15; 1 Cor. 15:23). First Thessalonians 4:15 says that those who “are living, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall by no means precede those who have slept.” At the sound of the last trumpet, which will be the seventh trumpet, the dead saints will be resurrected and, with the living saints, will be taken to the air to meet the Lord there.
First Thessalonians 4:15 and 17 speak of those who are “living, who remain.” This phrase suggests a great deal, for it implies that there will be some living ones who no longer remain on earth. If it were not so, the apostle Paul would never have used the word remain; he simply would have used the word alive. This indicates that the living saints will be of two categories: those who are alive but who do not remain on earth, and those who are alive and still remain on earth. Those who are alive and do not remain are those who have already been raptured. At that time, some of the living saints will already have been taken up to the throne of God in the third heaven.
The time of the rapture of the majority of the believers will be at the last trumpet, that is, at the seventh trumpet near the end of the great tribulation (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 10:7; 11:14-15). Some say that the last trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 is not the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11, but that it is another trumpet, perhaps resembling the trumpet sounded for the movement of the Jewish army. This is a strange interpretation. I do not see how anyone could accept it, for it is not an interpretation according to the Bible. When the apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15, he spoke of the last trumpet. Do you believe he meant the last trumpet of the Jewish army? How ridiculous! Where do people get this concept? What a mistaken way of interpreting the Bible! Some propound this interpretation because they teach that all the saints will be raptured before the tribulation. But they know that the last trumpet, the seventh, will be sounded near the end of the tribulation. Thus, in order to say that all the saints will be raptured before the tribulation, they must say that the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 must be a different trumpet from the seventh and last trumpet in the book of Revelation. They keep away from the truth of the Bible which unveils that the majority of the believers will be raptured at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the last trumpet, which will be toward the end of the great tribulation. This is a strong proof that the majority of the believers will pass through most of the great tribulation. Therefore, the teaching that all the believers will be raptured before the tribulation is absolutely not according to the Scriptures.
The rapture of the majority of the believers will be after the man of sin, Antichrist, is revealed (2 Thes. 2:1-4). Second Thessalonians 2 gives us a strong basis for saying that the rapture of the majority of believers will be at the end of the great tribulation. This portion of the Word clearly says that before the saints are raptured, the man of sin, Antichrist, will be revealed and that he will sit in the temple of God “proclaiming himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:4). This idol worship will transpire before the rapture of the majority of the believers. Whenever those in Newton’s group placed these verses before those in Darby’s group, those in Darby’s group were embarrassed. Darby taught that all the believers would be raptured before the tribulation but, as the Newton group pointed out, Antichrist must first be revealed and set up his image in the temple and force people to worship it before the Lord comes back and the saints are gathered to Him. Whenever this portion of the Word is brought up, the mouths of the teachers who say that all the believers will be raptured before the tribulation are silenced.
The rapture of the majority of the believers will be after the beast, Antichrist, forces people to worship him and his image in the great tribulation (14:9-16). This is revealed clearly in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation.
This rapture will also be after Satan’s, the great dragon’s, war with the remnant of God’s people at the time of the great tribulation (12:17, 14, 5). This will be after the rapture of the man-child. According to Revelation 12, the man-child will be caught up to the throne of God prior to the last three and one-half years. Approximately three and one-half years later, the majority of the seed of the woman will be taken up. This means that after the man-child has been taken away, the remnant of the seed of the woman will suffer Satan’s persecution. Hence, the majority of the believers will still remain on earth and will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation.
The rapture of the majority of the believers will be at “the consummation of the age” (Matt. 13:39). The completion of the age is the end of the great tribulation. According to Matthew 13:39, this will be the time of harvest. Christ came to sow the seed into the field to produce a crop for God. This crop will be harvested at the completion of this age. The completion of this age will be the last three and one-half years. Starting from the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, a period of seventy weeks has been determined. The first sixty-nine weeks, extending from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the crucifixion of Christ, spans a time of four hundred eighty-three years. After Christ’s crucifixion, there is a long gap. Eventually, the gap will be closed, and the last week, the last seven years, will begin. The last half of this last week will be the completion of the New Testament age, which extends from the cross to the end of the great tribulation. No one knows how long will be the gap between Christ’s crucifixion and the beginning of the seventieth week. But Daniel 9 does reveal clearly that the end of this age will be the seven years of the last week. The completion of the age is the last half of these seven years. Toward the end of these three and one-half years, the majority of the saints will be taken away. The overcomers will be raptured some time prior to the last three and one-half years. The time of this is unknown. While the time of the rapture of the overcomers is unknown, the time of the rapture of the majority of believers is known, for we are told that it will be at the seventh trumpet, which is near the end of the great tribulation.
Now we come to the place to which the majority of the believers will be raptured. First Thessalonians 4:17 reveals that the place is “in the air,” and Revelation 14:14-16 indicates that it will be “on the cloud.” The overcomers will be raptured to the throne, to the presence of the Son of Man in the third heaven. But 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us plainly that the majority of the believers will be caught up to the air, and Revelation 14 reveals that the harvest will be reaped to the cloud. At that time, Christ will no longer be clothed with the cloud, but will be sitting on the cloud in the air.
The condition of the rapture of the majority of the saints is that the harvest is ripe. Revelation 14:15 says, “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Hence, ripeness is the condition of the rapture of the majority of the believers.
Besides these two kinds of raptures, the rapture of the overcomers and the rapture of the majority of the believers, there are two other kinds of raptures: the rapture of the two witnesses (11:12) and the rapture of the saints who will overcome the beast, his image, and the number of his name (15:2).
