Last week, I received the sad news of the death of my friend's son. It hit incredibly close to home since his son and mine were around the same age. My friend is a pastor, and his son was a believer. I rejoice in this reality. However, some of the comments that followed gave me pause. Phrases such as "he is no longer in pain and is enjoying a new body" were common. But is that biblically accurate? Is it correct to say that when a believer dies, they have a new, resurrected body at that moment? I think not.
What will the end of our present existence look like? I have learned that there are various views among evangelicals on the question, and most are related to folklore or an incomplete understanding of the subject matter rather than the Scriptures. Topics such as the Rapture, the Second Coming, the Intermediate State, the Resurrection, and the Millennium can be pretty involved and reveal several opinions.
If one area of study tends to pique the interests of believers and unbelievers alike, it is the study of "last things." Theologians refer to this area of theology as eschatology, from the Greek ἔσχατον. In the next few posts, I will give a thumbnail sketch of what many scholars see as the order of events in the final days. Hopefully, this will bring some clarity and spark readers' interest.
Many believe that the next event on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture. Interestingly, the term is not found in the Bible. This occurrence refers to the Church being "snatched away" (from the Latin rapio) from the Earth before a time of God pouring out His wrath on the planet. Prooftexts supporting the idea include 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18, describing believers rising "to meet the Lord in the air." Much of the discussion concerning this incident is about when it will happen. Scholars are typically divided into three camps. Pre-tribulationists believe that the Rapture of the Church occurs prior to the Tribulation, which is also referred to as Daniel's Seventieth Week (Daniel 9) or the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). This will be a horrific time of judgment where God's wrath is poured out on the world.
The next position is held by those called Mid-tribulationists. This group believes that the Body of Christ will be removed midway through the tribulation period. It is at this time that the Antichrist turns on Israel and seeks to destroy her. They buttress their position with passages such as Daniel 7:25, 9:29 and Revelation 11:2.
Yet another view is referred to as the Post-tribulation Rapture. As the name implies, this position is that the Church will experience and endure the difficulties of the seven years. Posttribulationism teaches that the Rapture commences at the Tribulation's end or near the end. At that time, the Church will meet Christ in the air and then return to Earth to begin Christ's Kingdom on Earth, which will be discussed later. As one might observe, the Rapture and the Second Coming happen virtually simultaneously.
These views have been debated vigorously over the millennia, especially in the twentieth century. The safest position is to assume that before pouring out His wrath on the Earth, God will rescue His people whenever that may be. We may take comfort in the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
In our next episode, we will observe what the Scripture says about the next event on the calendar after the Rapture: The Second Coming of Christ.