TH,
I’m above 95% in my belief that the Last Days’ Rapture is a phased event. My journey to this position started with my struggle to understand the following passage:
“Watch
therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man.” Luke 21:36 NKJV
That worthiness aspect weighed on me. And over time, I’ve come to question whether that first comma is in the right place. Are
we to “watch therefore, and pray always that we may be counted
worthy…”, or “Watch therefore and pray always, that you may be counted
worthy…”. For me, the latter placement gels better with Scripture as a whole. But to
borrow from your words, “We all have to answer this for ourselves.”
The Bible is clear that our salvation is free. (John
3:16, Rom. 6:23), and I’m convinced that once we claim Jesus' death and
resurrection as the pardon for our sin, we are sealed by the Holy
Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and guaranteed the promise of eternal life (2 Cor.
1:22, Eph. 1:14). But I’m coming to understand that not everyone will be translated from mortal to immortality at the exact same instance.
The Dead in Christ Rise First
Most of us are familiar with 1 The. 4:15-18 where we’re told that the “dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain” are caught up with them (the dead in Christ) to meet the Lord in the air, Hallelujah! That sequencing (i.e. “First” and “Then”) confirms that the Last Days’ Rapture is by definition is a phased event. But
I think your question was related more toward those that are alive at
the moment of our Blessed Hope, and here’s what I’ve been sifting
through.
Great Expectorations
In
Rev. 3:10, the “Philadelphian Church” has “endured patiently” and
receives the promise to be kept from “the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world”. On the other hand, six verses later, our Lord tells the Laodicean Church “I am about to spit you out of my mouth”, because they say they are “rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (Rev 3:17). Note, Jesus says “I am about to spit you out of my mouth”, period. There’s no “unless” clause. It’s a decisive statement. He will most certainly spit them out. The question then is where? For me, the word “about” links the timing of the destinies of these two Churches. One will escape the “hour of testing” while the other endures it. But note, for the Laodiceans, it’s not so much a punishment, but an act of mercy. Jesus “counsels” them in Rev. 3:18 to use the hour to store up heavenly wealth. Clearly,
He loves the Laodicean Church (Rev 3:19) and this chastisement is
intended as a last opportunity for them to gain eternal treasure. We know from 1 Cor. 3:15
that there will be differing amounts of rewards for believers at the Bema seat judgment. Some will have store up vast treasure, while others escape with just their soul. Why
we need these rewards other than to lay them at His throne (Rev. 4:10),
is not clear to me, but they are certainly something to be desired and
sought after (Matt. 6:20).
So
after the dead in Christ rise first, for me, it’s a reasonable
possibility that the Philadelphia Church may be taken next, leaving the
unaware balance of the living Church (the Laodiceans) with a last
opportunity to live lives that glorify their professed savior.
Is Left Right?
Perhaps
the 1 Thessalonians 4 passage gives a further hint to Rapture
sequencing when it distinguishes the group that follows the dead in
Christ as those who are “alive and remain”. The predominately accepted alternative definition for the word translated “remain” is “are left”. This strikes me as an odd adjective to expand upon the condition of being “alive”. It seems obvious that if the dead in Christ are taken the alive in Christ are left. Since
the Greek word in the passage
translated as “remain” can also mean “to survive”, and only appears
twice in the Bible, and then only here, I’ve wondered if the Greek might
also translate to something akin to “perseverant”, which implies
survival in a sense. But not being a Greek scholar, I’ll trust smarter minds than mine that “remain” is the best English representation of the Greek.
I’ve uncovered several other passages I believe support what you call a “partial rapture” scenario. But this response is already feeling too long, so let me try and wrap up quickly.
Prize-Worthy
“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phi. 3:14 NKJV
The crux of your question seems to be centered on what the consequences are for not being watchful during the End Times. I believe the “upward call” Paul refers to above is the “come up here” command in Rev. 4:1. Paul sees this call as a prize to be won. Whatever it is, there’s an undeniable worthiness aspect to it, which for me links it back to Luke 21:36 (see above).
I’m Lovin’ It!
“Finally,
there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but
also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:8 NKJV
While
I’m sure that the Philadelphians will love His appearing, I’m skeptical
the same will be true for the Laodiceans when their worldly pursuits
are interrupted.
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Rev 3:11 NKJV
This is an exhortation to the Philadelphian Church that the risk loss of a particular crown if a member doesn’t “hold fast”. In English, “hold fast” and “remain” are synonyms. Is this a reference back to the 1 Thessalonian 4 passage? I can’t say for sure, but somehow I think so. Because
this exhortation in Rev 3:11 begins with a reference to the Lord’s
coming, I believe the crown at risk is likely the crown of righteousness
promised to those that love His appearing in 2
Tim. 4:8. Does that imply that a
“Philadelphian” can lose that standing and find themselves amongst
another of the seven churches of Revelation, perhaps even Laodicea? Again, somehow I think so.
So What Becomes of the Laodicean Church?
So
if the Philadelphian Church follows the “Dead in Christ”, and the
Laodicean Church is spit out into the hour of testing, what becomes of
them? The Bible says the entire
body of Christ receives immortal bodies (1 Cor. 15:53) and also says we
are not destined for God’s wrath. So
I would expect to see somewhere in Scripture where a body of believers
is translated to Heaven prior to or even at the moment of God’s Wrath,
and I believe we see this in Rev 7.
Rev. 6:16 is the first mention of God’s wrath in the last book of the Bible. It’s voiced by the survivors of the great earthquake which follows the opening of the 6th seal. After
this, the 144,000 Jewish servants of God are sealed (Rev. 7:2-8), which
I believe indicates that the Church age is officially ended and the
ministry of witnessing for God once again resides with Israel. Then
John sees a diverse and uncountable throng of people which he’s told
are “the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:14). I believe this group is made up of the Laodiceans and those that come to faith during the hour of testing.
That’s a lot to digest, I know, and my apologies for the long –winded answer. So much for wrapping up quickly, huh?
RJ Marin
Folsom, CA