Sequence of Events Leading to the Rapture

More than once, I have been asked questions related to the rapture, on my views on when the rapture is going to happen, and also why I strongly reject the dispensational view of the “pre-tribulation rapture” that so many churches and Christians all over the world have accepted as the eschatological truth. To begin, I would like to start with Paul’s statement in:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "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: 17 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."

Here, Paul was making a clear statement on the sequence of the rapture: the trump of God shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. The trump of God shall sound, and dead in Christ shall rise first are the criterion before the rapture can take place. We find a reference to that in:

Job 14:7-15 refers to the hope for the dead in Christ. Notice in verse 15 “Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee?” In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, we find the connecting words “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel… and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Also, what was Job referring to when he spake by inspiration of the Holy Ghost in verse 14 “till my change come?” The answer may be found in 1 Corinthians 15:52, when Apostle Paul confirms by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “and we shall be changed,” referring to the change of our body from natural to spiritual form. However, this cannot happen until “the dead in Christ shall rise first” according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Paul also gave the details in 1 Corinthians 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,” and Job confirms with Paul with these words “Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee” (Job 14:15). But Job also gave two very important clues concerning the timing of the resurrection for the dead in Christ and the rapture, in Job 14:12-13:

1. “… till the heavens be no more”

2. “… until thy wrath be past”

Therefore, “… till the heavens be no more” and “… until thy wrath be past,” the dead in Christ should not be raised out of their sleep, and until the dead in Christ shall rise first, there should be no rapture according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. This presents a very serious conundrum for those who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture theory. Also, will God's children, those which are alive and remain unto the coming of the LORD, witness the wrath of God poured out unto the unbelieving world?

The word of God is:

Isaiah 28:10 "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

Paul taught us by the Holy Ghost in 1 Corinthians 2:13 to compare spiritual things with spiritual, and not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches. Isaiah 28:10 tells us that the word of the LORD is “here a little, and there a little” and so that’s why we will find similarities between two or more passages of scriptures in the 66 books of the Holy Bible, and that’s how we dig for information, if we want to know more about what a particular verse is about. Compare the following scriptures:

Isaiah 13:6-8 "¶ Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames."

Luke 21:25-26 "¶ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

Isaiah 13:6 starts with “the day of the Lord,” and in verse 7, it tells us that “every man’s heart shall melt.” The same thing is also found in Luke 21:26 where we read that men’s hearts shall fail them for fear because of “those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” That explains why Isaiah said in Isaiah 13:6 that the day of the Lord shall come as a “destruction from the Almighty.” Isaiah continues in the next verses:

Isaiah 13:9-10 "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."

Prophet Isaiah repeats the term “the day of the LORD” in Isaiah 13:9, and he tells us that it will be a day cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, where God shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it, like how he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Isaiah also told us to watch out for certain things when the day of the LORD comes:

1. the stars of heaven and the constellations shall not give their lights.

2. the sun shall be darkened.

3. the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

According to Job 14:12-13, one of the criteria that must precede the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture is “… till the heavens be no more.” In Luke 21:26, we find the words “for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” and that was what Isaiah meant in Isaiah 13:10. In fact, Luke 21, Matthew 24 and Mark 13 are all talking about the same things, and so we will find the details of Isaiah 13:10 being reiterated in the following verses:

Matthew 24:29 "¶ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:"

Mark 13:24-25 "¶ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken."

Luke 21:25 "¶ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;"

Therefore, we can be sure that the end time passages of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 which references one to another are all pointing us back to Isaiah 13, talking about the day of the LORD. Notice that all these will only take place “after the tribulation of those days.” Consolidating from what we have gathered so far, the sequence of events that must take place according to scripture would be as follows:

1. Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”

2. Job 14:12 “… till the heavens be no more.”

3. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “… the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

4. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…”

Prophet Isaiah continues in:

Isaiah 13:19 "¶ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah."

The day of the LORD will be as how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Compare this to:

Luke 17:28-30 "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

Here, Jesus compares the day of the LORD to the day that Lot went out of Sodom. After Lot departed from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Therefore, in like manner, the children of God shall also be rescued before the fierce anger of the LORD lay “Babylon” (Isaiah 13:19) desolate. Notice how Isaiah used Sodom and Gomorrah to describe Babylon? How Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed would be how Babylon would be laid desolate. John tells us in:

Revelation 18:2-4 "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils… 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

This passage of scripture is an angel of God calling out to God’s people to come out of Babylon before destruction shall come upon her. This is like the days of Lot when righteous Lot and his family were rescued before God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah in his fierce anger. This confirms with the witness of Job in Job 14:13 “… until thy wrath be past.” God’s people will be here to witness the wrath of God poured out in that great city Babylon.

Revelation 18:10 "Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."

Jesus tells us in Luke 17:30 that the day of the LORD is the day when the Son of man would be revealed, and that would also be the day when that great city Babylon shall be judged for her sins against God, and the destruction will be very sudden and unexpected. The words “come out of her, my people” in Revelation 18:4 tells us that God’s people will be here to witness the destruction. Still, these things must precede the resurrection of the dead and the rapture. Consolidating what we have gathered so far on the sequence of events leading to the rapture:

1. Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”

2. Job 14:12 “… till the heavens be no more.”

3. Job 14:13 “… until thy wrath be past.”

4. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “… the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

5. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…”

God’s wrath will be poured out on Babylon, however, there is hope for every born again believer, just like righteous Lot, when that evil day comes, even though we will be here to witness the destruction. Prophet Jeremiah tells us in:

Jeremiah 17:17 "Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil."

The words “thou art my hope” was Jeremiah saying that God was his hope in “the day of evil.” The Spirit of God confirms that in the words of Apostle Paul in:

Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

The day of evil will also be the day of the blessed hope for every born again believer, both the dead and the living, and Jesus is that blessed hope for every born again believer in the day of evil. Solomon tells us in:

Proverbs 16:4 "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."

God hath made all things for himself, even the wicked, for the day of evil, even the day of the LORD when the LORD shall come and lay Babylon desolate and destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Jeremiah 17:18 “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.”

Notice the term “the day of evil” following the words of Jeremiah in the previous verse? The day of evil will be accompanied by “double destruction.” It will be a day of double destruction upon the wicked by the LORD. However, the day of the LORD is also the day of the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus confirms that in the following passages:

Matthew 24:30-31 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Mark 13:26-27 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."

Luke 21:27-28 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

The day of the coming of the Son of man is the day of every born again believer’s blessed hope. Luke 21:28 tells us that when all these things as laid out in the following sequence come to pass, our redemption draweth nigh. Apostle John added the following detail:

Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

Every eye shall see him when the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, which means that there will be no “secret rapture.” The day of the LORD will be the day of our blessed hope, the day of redemption for every born again believer, both the dead and the living. When the King returns, he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Morever, there will be a glorious change in the body of every born again believer. Paul tells us in:

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 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."

Notice the words “at the last trump” in 1 Corinthians 15:52? Link this to “great sound of a trumpet” in Matthew 24:31, right before the resurrection of the dead and the rapture living happen. This is a reference to Job 14:15 “Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee.” Consolidating from what we have gathered so far on the sequence of events leading to the rapture:

1. Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”

2. Job 14:12 “… till the heavens be no more.”

3. Job 14:13 “… until thy wrath be past.”

4. 1 Corinthians 15:52 “… at the last trump.”

5. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “… the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

6. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…”

Therefore, when Jesus shall send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven at the last trump, that is also the time when the body of every born again believer shall be changed: the dead shall be raised incorruptible,and the mortal must put on immortality. So then when the corruptible have put on incorruption, then shall it be brought to pass the say that is written “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Acts 14:22 "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

But before all these can happened, there will be great tribulation for the children of God, and the wrath of God will be poured out at the same time the children of God undergo great tribulation. Recall a similar event that was recorded in the Bible — in the Book of Exodus, and how the LORD delivered the children of Israel from their cruel bondage in Egypt. To Egypt, that was Almighty God's wrath being poured out onto them in ten successive judgments, as in:

Exodus 15:7 "And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble."

But to the children of Israel, it was a time of great tribulation imposed upon them by their Egyptian masters even as God's wrath was presently being poured out upon Egypt. However, throughout that period of tribulation, the children of Israel did not suffer from the wrath of God even though God's wrath was presently upon the land of Egypt, right where they lived.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,"

It is true that God did not appoint the children of Israel unto wrath, which is why they were kept safe when God's wrath was poured out on the land of Egypt, even though they continued to suffer under the hands of their Egyptian masters. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9 “that which is done is that which shall be done.” Indeed, the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, "… as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." (Revelation 10:7) But, will there be a pre-wrath rapture? Of course the answer is a firm ‘No’ based on Job 14:13. The rapture will take place according to the sequence of events that God has said it would happen in his word. There will be no pre-tribulation rapture or no pre-wrath rapture.

Isaiah 35:3-4 "¶ Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you."

During the time of Exodus, the children of Israel had Moses. Today, we have the 66 books of the Holy Bible. It took faith for the children of Israel to believe in Moses. In the same way, it will take real faith for born again believers which are alive and remain unto the coming of the LORD to hold fast unto the words and promises written in the Holy Bible. There are those who will “fall away” (Luke 8:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:3), but there are also some who will endure unto the very end (Matthew 24:13). That's why it is so important to anchor our faith in the 1611 King James Bible. That's also the reason why the Holy Bible is constantly under attack.