Rapture & Heaven

"Oh! Heaven. I'm Goin' There!" This statement in some ways addresses a question that Christianity answers. What happens to us when we die? Death and specifically the fear of death nag at the human mind (see "The Principality of Death"). We simply do not know what happens to us or know what to expect after the event of death. The Bible answers this question resoundingly with the concept that all people will enter the afterlife upon death; however, where will one go? Popular theology asserts that the Christian will enter heaven after death. Sinners, on the other hand, will not be able to make it to heaven; they will have to go to the place of torments. And with this outcome all will be well. So goes the mainline Christian sermon, Jesus came to die for our sins so that we could leave this earth and go to heaven when we die. Additionally, belief about the "Rapture," the catching up of all believers right before the great Tribulation is connected with this view of the afterlife. A majority of Christians adopt the view at some point that Jesus will come down from Heaven, raise the dead, and take all the people that are dead back to heaven with him. Understanding the afterlife and the "end-times" all deal with the same theme in scripture, which is what can we expect from our salvation in the hereafter.

Although many Christians, the majority, hold this view, we are sad to say that it completely misses the mark. One of the major problems with this belief is that one cannot find a single passage in the New Testament that asserts that Christians will go to Heaven when they die. In actuality, Christians tend to take texts that say something that seems to be talking about Heaven, analyze them, and purport that God wants us to go to Heaven after we die or even as we are living (via the Rapture). "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3). Allow us to interject at this point to clarify some terms. Jesus tells us something very interesting here. He explains that in his Father's house, ALREADY, there are many mansions or dwelling places. So here is the problem, why does he need to build us a mansion if there are already ones built? Here is another problem: in order to correctly understand this passage we must first know what the house of God is. If we can figure out what God's house is, then we can better answer this question. As we learned in "The Church" section, the church is God's house, which is Jesus, whose house are we. We have the presence of the Lord abiding inside of us. Understanding these principles lets us interpret the passage much better. Notice the emphasis here: if "I go," "I will," "unto myself," "where I am." Jesus is talking about placing us in himself and with himself. We know from Colossians 3 that this understanding makes sense: "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). The emphasis was never going to some place but rather being united with our Lord and Savior. The New Testament has very little concern for the concept of going to Heaven. In fact, when one reads the Gospels one sees the emphasis Jesus makes with regard to our salvation is on this concept of eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Partly because many of us have a western education, being influenced by the Philosopher Plato, we were taught that eternal life rests in the soul/spirit. As a result, we assume that Jesus is referring to us going to Heaven one day. This concept, however, is in error. Life eternal, as defined by John 17, is based on knowing—understanding and trusting—the Lord. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Therefore, the whole idea goes beyond the scope of heaven. God's promise to us is one much more powerful and so much better.

So if we do not go to Heaven when we die, does that mean we will not experience the rapture? The link may not seem to be there between these two concepts but it exists. To begin to explain this, we must understand the book of The Revelation; the book discussing what is going to happen on the Day of the Lord. When one reads this book, one discovers that it does not talk about a rapture of the church as a whole. Rather, there are individual "catching up's." John is taken up (Revelation 4:1-2), the 144,000 are taken up (Revelation 14:1-3), and the two prophets are taken up (Revelation 11:3-12). There is, however, no discussion of the church ever making it up there. Rather, all, but one of the churches—Philadelphia—in chapters 2 and 3, are told to endure to receive their crowns: "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Why would they be told this? The reason is because God does not want to take us out of the world, ever. Jesus prayed, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (John 17:5). For God's plan is that "the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it" (Proverbs 2:21). Moreover, "The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth" (Proverbs 10:30). God wants to use us in the world. We know that God did not take the Jews out of Egypt during the plagues, even though the last seven did not affect them in Goshen (Exodus 8:22), but the premise is the same. God wants us to be here: "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men" (Psalm 115:16). Therefore, we see the link between these two ideas emerge. The Rapture and going to Heaven after death are both about leaving this evil world; however, we know that this world is God's world. "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:18). "Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever" (Deuteronomy 4:40).

In the beginning, he looked at it and called it good. Why would he want us, those who were created to take care of this place, to shirk our responsibilities from the very thing we messed up? Again, God has a better plan for us. "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). After all, the promise to Abraham was not about Heaven but about this world: "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Genesis 12:7). "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13), "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).

THE RAPTURE

God's plan for us has always been to resurrect us. After we die, it does not matter where we go temporarily (Heaven or Hell), for what we know is that God will raise us again for judgment, some to life and some to death. Scripture indicates that God is the God of the living not the dead: "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:31-32). As soul/spirits in heaven we would be dead as shown in Revelation 6: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled" (Revelation 6:9-11). In other words, when we reign with him it will be in our resurrected state. God wants us to be whole, and in order to be whole we must have a body. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). With a body we are living and without a body we are dead.

Now let us evaluate the scriptures that are being interpreted to say something they do not say. Starting with a verse which explains the state of the dead in Christ: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). This verse marks the beginning of a passage that has confused people so much over the centuries. People overlook this verse when interpreting the passage because they believe the verse to be supporting their previously held conclusion; Jesus is going to take us away from here to heaven. In order to understand it, however, one must focus on what the verse actually says. This verse begins a discussion on what is to happen to the DEAD. Not the living. Ironically enough, the belief in the rapture has more to do with living people than dead people. In fact, in portrayals of the rapture there is very little discussion on what is supposed to happen to dead folks. The idea of the Resurrection is completely forgotten in exchange for a belief in going to heaven. In this verse, since we are talking about the dead, if they are resting in heaven, why would there be "no hope"? If heaven is our ultimate end, why would Paul presume people are worried about those that are dead? Are they not enjoying themselves in heaven? Well, we are not ready to say yes or no on this question but we would like to add this simple fact, there is no need to be raised like Christ if heaven is our ultimate end, apparently we were missing something. Let us look into 1 Thessalonians 4 further: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). There is no mention of heaven at all in this verse. Just God bringing us with "him." Moreover, in the beginning of the verse the comparison is on the resurrection of Jesus. So the Lord is saying the same thing in another way with reference to us being brought with God. This verse is an introduction to the more detailed explanation forthcoming in verses 15-18.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

Notice that this passage never says we go to heaven. Rather, it says that we are with the Lord forever no matter what place. The concept of the resurrection is a serious concept. It is a heavily Jewish belief. They believed, as it explained in Daniel 12 that God would one day raise the dead, some to everlasting shame and some to everlasting life. To argue for the rapture is to say there is more than two periods for the resurrection, which is unscriptural: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4-6). Let us look another passage that deals with this very concept: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:50). At first glance, this text seems to be saying less than it actually does. The concept that it lays out is the actual receiving of the kingdom of God. In other words, the end-time kingdom of God finally coming to pass on earth, "thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) this prayer is finally being answered. As a result, preparations have to be made; i.e., you cannot have the physical (corruptible) body you now have. So God changes our physical bodies as we will see in the verses below; but what is important right now is to note that God is going to do something to our bodies. We do not need bodies to live in heaven, but we need bodies to live on earth.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

The Lord is saying we shall be raised as he was. We shall receive incorruptible bodies, which never die, for us to live, as he did for 40 days, on earth. Our bodies are important: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). There will also be no death. "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. THEN cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The LAST enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:21-26). So if the end is coming with the occurrence of the resurrection—the destruction of death, according to this passage, is to then say that there is no separate rapture. Many will say, no one claims that to be the case. Well, we beg to differ. Rapture doctrine holds that Jesus is to come once for the Rapture and a second time on the last day. Apollos, the writer of the book of Hebrews, however, is specific in saying that all of this marks the very coming of the Lord spoken of throughout the Bible. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:27-28). When he comes, the dead will be raised either to live and reign with him or to suffer for eternity in the lake of fire. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29). And to those that will participate in the resurrection of life, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God" (Revelation 19:7-9).

THE DAY OF THE LORD

We know that there is only one period known to us as the Day of the Lord. This is the time when God will, as scholar N.T. Wright argues, "put the world to rights." In other words, like what 1 Corinthians 15 describes, Jesus is going to deal with all of the powers and authorities that are not right. We have a part to play in this event as well. Since the Gospels, however, Jesus has been warning us to "watch and pray" (Mark 13:33) so that day doesn't overtake us. Wait a minute! Why would we have to watch for something that will never happen to us? We believe, if we believe in the rapture, that we will escape the Day of the Lord through the rapture. So what ends up happening is instead of watching for the Lord, we watch for the Rapture. Well, scripture does not indicate this at all. What it does indicate is that the Day of the Lord comes after the Antichrist ("the son of perdition") has been revealed. "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). In other words, the Day of the Lord comes after the great tribulation not before.

The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

Jesus himself told us of the order of things at "the end of the world": the unrighteous are gathered first and then the righteous. To believe the Rapture is to negate the Words of our Lord and "he that believeth not God hath made him a liar" (1 John 5:10).

Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:36-43)

We are supposed to watch for the Day of the Lord and to say that the Rapture is the Day of the Lord is to make it that the Rapture is the Second Coming, which destroys the very foundation of the belief. Let us see what the Word says on this issue.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

Notice in verse 9 the word "salvation" is contrasted with "wrath," which is better translated as "the wrath of God" (Romans 1:18). The wrath of God comes after the great tribulation. "That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath" (Job 21:30). "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). In Revelation 3 the things that are about to happen to the earth is summed up as the "hour of temptation," which is the same as the great tribulation not the wrath of God. Secondly, the wrath of God is eternal punishment, not things that happen on earth: "thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Romans 2:5). The wrath of God is complete and utter banishment from his presence in the lake of fire for all eternity.

God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:2-3)

Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 1:13)

There is only one Day of the Lord in which he will come as a thief in the night; but those of us who are ready will be able to receive the reward of resurrection and translation: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." We will be able to receive the kingdom of God.

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (2 Peter 3:7-14)

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:13-16)

Again the Day of the Lord comes as a thief not the Rapture. As a result, we must endure unto the end and be ready for his coming: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). For we will see a new era dawn.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away [HEAVEN IS TEMPORARY]; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:1-5)

So we see the conclusion is this: the point of being saved is not to go to heaven: heaven is temporary. Heaven comes to us and we live with our God forever on Earth!

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