Tag Archives: Rapture

Daniel and the Rapture

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Journal 2019

There was a time in the 1970s and ’80s when prophecy conferences were all the rage. Fueled by Cold War anxieties and Hal Lindsey’s book The Late Great Planet Earth, scholars dissected end time prophecies in the book of Revelation, comparing them to the book of Daniel and words by Jesus and His disciples. They created complicated charts, graphs, and timelines for each event and posited various theories for the rapture of believers. In the 1990s, Jerry Jenkins, who adheres to a pre-tribulation rapture position, became a millionaire with his Left Behind series. A quick Google search reveals several current popular leaders on eschatology.

Admittedly, at one time I joined the fray with verses to match each theory and was called heretical for my conclusions. But “Uncle Bill” O’Donovan, my favorite Bible teacher in junior high, taught us to hold our theories loosely. Today I shake my head at the dogmatic positions, camps, and conclusions many come to. Prophecy is proven in retrospect. I don’t want to be so blind as to make up my mind ahead of time and then have to eat my words.

I’m reading through the book of Daniel right now and note that in chapter 12 he refers to a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked at the same time. I can’t see anywhere in the book where there’s a separate resurrection or a rapture.

We may try to figure out Daniel’s prophecies, but no matter what happens or when, we can rest in the fact that God has the future all planned out—He knows the end and the beginning and everything in between. The critical phrase “at the appointed time” is repeated three times in the book (11:25, 29, 35).

Two verses intrigue me:

Some of the wise will stumble, SO THAT they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will come at the appointed time. (11:35 NIV, emphasis added)

Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. (12:10)

Rather than focusing on a future timeline, perhaps we would be better off examining our hearts to prepare for whatever the future holds.

Wrestling with Scripture

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Journal 2005

I Thessalonians 4:13-17 has always puzzled me.

God will bring with Him those who are dead.

  • Bring them to heaven?
  • Bring them back to life?
  • Bring them to earth?

We who are alive and remain till the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep

  • If you stop here, it makes sense. Obviously, the dead arrive before or ahead of the living.
  • But if this happens “in the twinkling of an eye,” how can one really “precede” the other?

The Lord returns with a shout and a trumpet and the dead in Christ will rise first.

  • First before whom?
  • Before the living?
  • Before unbelievers?
  • What will rise? Their bodies? Aren’t their spirits already risen?

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’ll always be with the Lord.

  • If this passage, along with I Cor. 15 were the only teaching on eschatology, I’d be convinced of a post-tribulation rapture.

And why the word asleep instead of dead? From earthly perspective, death is final. From heavenly perspective, we’ve just begun to live! On earth, we’re body/soul/spirit. In heaven (or wherever the holding place is for spirits separated from their bodies) there’s only spirit. Or is our soul there too? After the resurrection of the dead, there will be a reunion of the body and the spirit/soul.

I find it fruitless to discuss this subject with those who have already made up their minds about their position on eschatology, but I’m willing to listen to a fellow struggler.

2023 Update. I don’t think it’s wrong to wrestle with eschatology Scriptures and search out wisdom and understanding, but I object to those who pick an interpretation, dogmatically defend it, and shun those who differ in their conclusions. I think we’ll all be a little surprised at how things shake down in the future.