The document discusses the rapture and different views on its timing according to eschatology. It provides background on the rapture, summarizing it as an event where Jesus descends from heaven with a shout and trumpet call to gather believers to meet Him in the air. It then outlines the strengths and weaknesses of pre-tribulationism, mid-tribulationism, and post-tribulationism views on whether the rapture occurs before, at the midpoint of, or after the tribulation period. The document concludes by emphasizing that the exact timing is a mystery known only to God and that believers should focus on being faithful in light of Christ's imminent return.

2. (The Rapture)
1 Thess. 4:13-18, John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

3. Rapture
Came from the Latin name RAPIO which means a snatching away
 It is an event in which the Lord Jesus Christ descends from heaven
in the clouds and with a sound of a trumpet, calls from the earth
all of those who have chosen to put their faith, hope, and trust for
eternity and salvation in Him.
 It is the time when the Lord comes in the clouds of glory, BODILY
to take out of this world all those who have died in Christ and
those who are still living as believers.

4. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who
have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with
Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus.15 For this we say to you by the word of
the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always
be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

5. John 14: 1-3
1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many
[a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also.

6. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Behold, I tell you a [a]mystery: We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.

7. What do the three passages imply?
1.Provide doctrine and spiritual guidance (pastoral)
2.Provide comfort and encouragement for believers
3.Not to fuel prophetic speculations

8. Eschatology- a branch of theology that study the end times
Every Christians agree on these three things:
1.There is a coming time of tribulation such as the world has never
seen.
Tribulation – is a time of distress, misery, affliction and persecution that
the followers of Jesus Christ were instructed to expect. The New
Testament sometimes uses this phrase to denote a period of trial, trouble
and testing that will soon come to all mankind before the arrival of Christ
to rule the world.
2. Christ will return to establish His kingdom on earth
3. Rapture

9. The Plan of the Rapture
1. The Lord will return for His church . He will not send angels for it, in contrast to the
gathering of the elect that takes place at the Second Coming.
Rapture: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Second Coming: Mark 13: 26-27 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds
with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His
[a]elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

10. 2. Jesus will descend from heaven, where He has been since His ascension.
(Acts 1:9-11) 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched,
He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do
you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from
you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into
heaven.”

11. 3. When Jesus comes down from heaven, He will do so
with a shout.
4.The voice of the archangel will sound.
5. To the Lord’s command and the archangel’s voice will be
added the sounding of the trumpet of God.
6. The dead in Christ will rise first. The dead saints will in
no way be inferior to those alive at the rapture.

12. 7. Those believers who are alive and remain will be caught up
together with the dead saints in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Mat. 11:12- taking of the kingdom of heaven by force
John 10:12- wolf snatching sheep
John 10: 28-29- speaks of the impossibility of anyone’s snatching
believers out of the hands of Jesus Christ and God the Father
Acts 8:39- speaks of Philip being snatched away from the Ethiopian
eunuch
2 Cor. 12:2,4- describes Paul being caught up into the third heaven
Phil. 3:21- living believers are caught up that they are transformed and
receive their glorified bodies

13. Will there be judgement
during the rapture?
Judgement
Judgement
Judgement Judgement
Rapture
Rapture
Rapture
Rapture
Passages: John 14:3, Rev. 3:10, 1 Cor. 15:51-52, Phil. 3:2-21
Passages: Mat. 13:34-50; 24:29-44, Rev.19:11-21

14. Rapture Second Coming
1. Jesus comes for His saints.
2. Jesus doesn’t come all the way to
earth.
3. Jesus comes with a blessing for His
saints.
4. Can happen at any moment.
1. Jesus comes with His saints.
2. Jesus feet touch down on the
Mount of Olives and will reign on
earth.
3. Jesus brings judgement for those
who have neglected Him.
4. Can happen seven years after the
tribulation.

16. It teaches that the Rapture occurs before the
Tribulation starts. At that time, the church will meet
Christ in the air, and then sometime after the Antichrist
is revealed and the Tribulation begins. In other words,
the Rapture and Christ’s Second Coming (to set up His
kingdom) are separated by at least seven years.
1. PRE TRIBULATIONISM

18. PRE TRIBULATIONISMS
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1. The church does NOT experience Tribulation.
1 Thes. 1:9-10, 5:9- The church is not appointed to wrath.
1 Thes. 5:1-9- Believers will not be overtaken by the Day of the Lord
Romans 8:1- There is therefore no condemnation to those in Jesus Christ
Revelation 3:10- The church of Philadelphia (faithful church) was
promised to be kept from the hour of trial that is going to come
upon the world.
Note: The promise is not preservation through the trial but deliverance from the
hour, from the time period of the trial

19. PRE TRIBULATIONISMS
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2. The word “church” appears 19 times in the first 3
chapters of Revelation, but, significantly, the word is
NOT used again until chapter 22
Note: The Bible never uses the word church in passage relating to
the Tribulation

20. PRE TRIBULATIONISMS
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3. It is the only theory which clearly maintains the
distinction between Israel and the church and God’s
separate plans for each.
Note: The Tribulation is a time of purging and restoration for Israel
and Jerusalem, not for the church.

21. PRE TRIBULATIONISMS
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4. The early church viewed Christ’s return as imminent
that He could return at any moment.
Note: Emminence, which is incompatible with the other two Rapture
theories, is a key principle of pre tribulationism
Imminent- “about to happen, happening soon”

22. PRE TRIBULATIONISMS
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5. It seems to be the most in keeping with God’s
character and His desire to deliver the righteous from
the judgement of the world.

23. PRE TRIBULATIONISMW
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A
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1. Recent development as a church doctrine (early
1800’s)
2. It splits the return of Jesus Christ into two phases.
(Rapture and Second Coming)
3. There will obviously be saints in the Tribulation. (Rev.
13:7, 20:9)
4. Jesus promises believers resurrection at the last day.
5. Bible does not give detailed timeline concerning
future events.

24. It teaches that the Rapture occurs at the midpoint
of the tribulation. At that time, the seventh trumpet
sounds (Rev. 11:15), the church will meet Christ in the
air, and then the bowl judgements are poured upon the
earth.
2. MID TRIBULATIONISM

26. MID TRIBULATIONISMS
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1. Points to the chronology given in 2 Thes. 2:1-3.
Apostasy
Revelation of the Antichrist
The Day of Christ

27. MID TRIBULATIONISMS
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2. Antichrist will not be decisively revealed until the
“abomination that causes desolation” (Mat. 24:15)
which occurs at the midpoint of the tribulation (Daniel
9:27).
(Mat. 24:15)“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that
causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader
understand
(Daniel 9:27) Then he shall confirm a [a]covenant with many for one week;But in
the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on
the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,Even until the
consummation, which is determined,Is poured out on the [b]desolate.”

28. MID TRIBULATIONISMS
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3. Antichrist will have power over saints for three and a
half years to bolster their point.
(Daniel 7:25)
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people
and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will
be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.[a]

29. MID TRIBULATIONISMW
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1. Trumpet of 1 Cor. 15:52 is the same trumpet
mentioned in Revelation 11:15. This logic FAILS.
1 Cor. 15- trumpet call of God
(call of grace to God’s elect)
Rev. 11- anticipation of judgement
(pronouncement of doom to the wicked)
Even in Mat. 24:31 speaks of a later trumpet that sounds
at the commencement of Christ’s kingdom

30. MID TRIBULATIONISMW
E
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2. The church has not been appointed to suffer wrath
but to receive salvation.
3. Mid tribulation places the rapture in Rev. 11 prior to
the start of the great tribulation.
Rev. 11 (Rapture will happen at the seventh trumpet)
Rev. 7:14 the only occurrence of “great tribulation”- before opening the
seventh seal
Rev 6:17 only reference to “great day of wrath”- event of the sixth seal

31. MID TRIBULATIONISMW
E
A
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N
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S
S
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4. Bible does not give detailed timeline concerning
future events.

32. 3. POST TRIBULATIONISM
It teaches that the rapture occurs at the end, or near the
end, of the Tribulation. The Rapture and Christ’s Second
Coming happen simultaneously. The church goes through
entire seven-year tribulation.

34. POST TRIBULATIONISMS
T
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1. Jesus will return after the great tribulation.
Mat. 24: 21,29-31 (Revelation mentions only one coming
of the Lord)
21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of
the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.29 “Immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the
Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will
gather together His [a]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

35. POST TRIBULATIONISMS
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2. There will obviously be saints in the Tribulation. (Rev.
13:7 and 20:9
3. The resurrection of the dead in Rev.20:5 is called the
“first resurrection”- since this first resurrection takes
place after the Tribulation, the resurrection associated
with the rapture in 1 Thes. 4:16 cannot occur until then.
Rev.20:5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection.

36. POST TRIBULATIONISMS
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4. Historically, God’s people have experienced times of
intense persecution and trial.
Satan’s Wrath- or man’s wrath against the saints
(but God allows as purifying His faithful)
God’s Wrath- against the Antichrist

37. POST TRIBULATIONISMW
E
A
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1. The church has not been appointed to suffer wrath
but to receive salvation.
2. The absence of the word “CHURCH” in all biblical
passages relating to Tribulation
3. Bible does not give detailed timeline concerning
future events.

39. We should NOT major on WHEN,
but on WHAT are we doing knowing that He is coming.
We can just guess and think that we have the right interpretation but….
We can never level up the WISDOM of GOD.
Everything remains a MYSTERY based on GOD’s wisdom.
Wisdom that distinguishes man from being
man and GOD from being GOD…
HE is Coming!
And when He comes may He find you FAITHFUL!