1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ESV Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
Most Christians believe in the rapture, the event where all believers, both dead and alive will at one point in time be called by Jesus, rise to meet Him in the sky, and be transformed into a new body. The main debate is when that will happen. There are four main views on when the rapture will occur.
The most prevalent view in the American church is a pre-tribulation rapture. That view holds that the rapture will occur immediately before, or at the very beginning of the Great Tribulation, the last terrible seven years before Jesus’ Second Coming.
As a young Christian, this was the only view I had ever heard of. I had no idea there was any other view. I assumed every Christian world-wide believed this. It was a great shock to me when I went to China as a missionary and found that many of the British and Australian missionaries believed other eschatology.
When I did some extensive research into the matter, I learned that while the pre-tribulation rapture is accepted by around 90% of American Christians, it is actually a minority theology in the rest of the world. In addition to the pre-tribulation teaching, there is also post-tribulation (rapture happens after the tribulation), mid-tribulation (rapture happens at various points during the tribulation), and Preterist (the rapture has already happened).
I have studied the different views and compared them to what the Bible says. My conclusion is that all of them have some scriptural basis and every one of them has scriptural weaknesses. I know which one I believe is most likely to be true, but I am not 100% convinced that I am correct.
This post is not to give a teaching about each of the rapture theologies. Neither is it to convince the reader that one is better than the others. My question is simply, “Is your faith strong enough to handle being wrong?”
Since 90% of the American church believes in the pre-tribulation rapture, it seems prudent to ask, “What happens if it ends up being different than most people expect?” I have said before and I will state emphatically here, “I WANT THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE THEOLOGY TO BE CORRECT!” Since I believe we are getting very close to the end, I want God to pull us out before things get really bad. The problem is that I am not convinced that is what is going to happen.
If the rapture happens prior to the tribulation, there is no issue. If someone believes in post-tribulation or mid-tribulation, they are not going to be upset if they end up being proven wrong. They will not complain to God that He took them too soon and demand to be placed back on Earth to endure His wrath being poured out.
However, if a pre-tribulation rapture adherent finds themselves living through the tribulation, they may have a crisis of faith. If they are not prepared to persevere till the end, then they could find their whole belief system crumbling.
Some will read this and defensively state, “Well, I’m not wrong! The rapture will happen before the tribulation so there will be no problem!” OK, great! BUT WHAT IF YOU’RE WRONG?
I am afraid the Church in America will be totally unprepared if the rapture doesn’t happen in the timeline so confidently preached from the vast majority of pulpits throughout the nation. So I encourage all Christians everywhere to examine their hearts. Is their faith in God so secure it is unshakeable, even if they find out that a cherished theology turns out to have more scriptural weaknesses than they realized?
Eschatology is not a salvation issue. Godly men and women can differ on this view and still spend an eternity together. While eschatology does not affect salvation, it seems impossible that all of the theologies are equally correct. Therefore, most, if not all, are flawed. Many Godly men and women will be proven wrong. You may be certain you are correct, but WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE WRONG?
Almighty Father, I fully believe You have a plan. You know how and when You will draw Your people to You in the rapture. Lord give me the peace and faith to hold on tightly to You, even if my beliefs regarding the end-times prove to be incorrect.