Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/75

Contributor - H. Van Essen

Title - Eschatology

Topic - Eschatology

VI. THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH: A FEW "FACTS".

This time an introduction to a subject which is more and more discussed these days, also in the Reformed churches: the rapture of the Church. First a few remarks.

1. The word "facts" is in quotation marks, because I am convinced that there is no biblical basis for the theory of the rapture of the Church. But in order to discuss a subject you have to know something about it. What follows is therefore what others teach as biblical truth, but which - I am convinced - does not at all agree with our reformed understanding of the Scriptures. Charles Caldwell Ryrie, writer of the book Dispensationalism Today (Moody Press, 1965), who believes in the rapture of the Church, wholeheartedly agrees with me in this.

2. The title says "a few "facts", because it is impossible to present a whole system of doctrine in one short article. (A retreat will be held Friday evening, October 17 at Camp Shalom for all Classis delegates, and for all others interested, at which our attention will focus at "The Rapture of the Church in the context of Reformed Theology" - in other words, whether the rapture of the Church can have a place in Reformed theology, and if not, why not. I expect to present that material later on in some form in Pioneer. But I am sure that the discussion is going to be very interesting. We will meet at 7.30 over coffee, while the meeting will start at 8.00 o'clock sharp). What follows is just a rough outline concerning the rapture of the Church as taught by most of those who believe in it.

3. The rapture of the Church is taught by Christians, who follow the teachings of Dispensationalism. It is a system of doctrine which did not reach its present form until the late eighteen hundreds. The rapture of the Church was never heard of in the Christian Church until about 1830. Most Baptist and Pentecostal churches teach it, while it also finds wide support in independent churches and in the charismatic movement. Through popular Christian writers and teachers, such as Dave Wilkerson, Hal Lindsay and Richard DeHaan, many people in other churches have been exposed to bits and pieces of this teaching. Especially the subject of the rapture of the Church, the great Tribulation (suffering), the return of Christ, and the millennium (the thousand year reign of Christ on earth) have caught the interest of many. In The Netherlands this teaching was presented, more Or less, by the Maranatha movement (Het Zoeklicht), the Free Evangelical Church (Rev. C. J. Hoekendijk, Aan Jezus' Voeten, vol. I & II), and Johannes De Heer.

But usually the theological consequences of these teachings, that is, the theological position which these teachings will force you to support, are not noticed. Just to mention one: those who hold that the rapture of the Church is biblically true, have in effect also rejected infant baptism as unbiblical. This is not the time to prove this statement, but let me for the moment just say this: infant baptism is based on covenant theology, which is Reformed theology; infant baptism is based on the reformed conviction that the "Church has been from the beginning of the world and will be to its end" (Belgic Confession of Faith, (= Ned. Geloofsbelijdenis) art 27, one of our doctrinal standards). The rapture-of-the-Church-theory is built on the thought that the Church did not exist and was not established until Matthew 16 :16, where the Lord Jesus said to Peter, "On this rock (= Peter's confession) I will build my Church"; the church is an in-between-happening, which came about when the Jews upset the original plans of the Lord Jesus to bring in the Kingdom of God right there and then by rejecting the Lord of glory. Therefore the Church has nothing to do with the Old Testament, and Psalm 105 vs. 8, 9, has nothing to say to us or to our children, because it was and is directed only to Israel descended from Abraham according to the flesh. But do you remember, if you know Dutch, how at baptism of children the congregation sang "God zal Zijn waarheid nimmer krenken, etc.."', Psalm 105, vs. 5. And read Romans chapter 4!

Therefore, let's be clear: Dispensationalism (and therefore the rapture of the Church) and Reformed theology do not mix. I am a Reformed Church minister by conviction and have promised to uphold the Reformed interpretation of Scripture and not to publish in any way anything contradictory to this teaching; and I continue to become more and more convinced that the Reformed interpretation of Scripture is fully biblical. I gladly admit that the Lord Jesus Christ has many disciples outside the world-wide family of reformed churches. And all these disciples are through and in Christ our brothers and sisters; but that does not mean that we have to accept all their teachings as biblical! Therefore in all Christian lovie I reject the teaching of the rapture of the Church as unbiblical.

The rapture

The word "rapture", so the dictionary informs us, means "the state or experience of being carried away by an overwhelming emotion" (Webster). In our expression it means that the Church is carried away by the power of the risen Lord. It is taught that at an unpredictable moment the Lord Jesus Christ will return from heaven with a blast on the trumpet and a cry of the mighty archangel (I Thessalonians 4). At that moment the dead, who have fallen asleep in Christ, will rise, while the living Christians will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and both groups will ascend up into the sky, to meet the Lord in the air, and go with Him as He returns to heaven, where the wedding will take place between the Church, the Bride, and the Lord Jesus C,,hrist, the Bridegroom. The rapture of the Church, then, is the Bridegroom coming for His Bride to take her home.

A moment

This being raptured, being swept away, will only last a moment, and will affect all truly born-again Christians, alive or passed away, from the whole earth (sea, universe). It will all happen so fast that most of those holding to the rapture believe that it will be secret, that is, the rest of mankind will not -see it happen-, the unbelievers will only notice that suddenly people are missing. Dave Wilkerson writes in one of his books that buses will suddenly be without their driver, planes without pilot and/or co-pilot, children, fathers, mothers, etc. missing.

There are films about this, which are also sometimes shown in our churches, such as "The Missing Christians".

Any time

Furthermore, the rapture will be totally unexpected, and there is no way in which it can be predicted; yet the present-day happenings in the state of Israel are said to point to time running out; but then, many have thought so for years.

Those left behind

After the rapture the liberal churches, those "who got religion, not Jesus", will of course be left on earth, together with the unconverted in the evangelical churches, the unsaved and the unbelievers. But now life becomes very difficult. For with the true Church the Holy Spirit has also left the earth, as the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Thus the earth is left in the power of satan and the powers of darkness, to be dealt with as Satan sees fit. Only then will the Antichrist appear. No Anti-Christ is Possible, according to this theory, until after the rapture, until the Holy Spirit is gone from the earth. Everything in the book of Revelation following chapter 3 still has to happen.

After the rapture of the Church the clock of Israel, which was stopped at Matthew 16 :16, will once again start to tick. Israel will make an agreement with Satan, and will rule the earth for 31/2 years from Jerusalem, where the Temple will be rebuilt. However, after these 31/2 years the devil will double cross Israel, and the Beast and the powers of evil will wage war with the Lamb on His throne, which will cause great sufferings, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, etc. It will be very hard to survive. This is the great tribulation, which also will last 3 1/2 years. At the end of this period the Lord Jesus Christ will return with His Church, descend on the Mount of Olives. and reign from Jerusalem on' this earth, in its present condition, for 1000 years (the millenium). After these 1000 years the end and the last judgement will finally come.

Reformed position

So much for now on the rapture of the Church. Books and books have been written on this subject. But if you want to know what the Reformed Church believes concerning the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, look at article 37 of the Belgic Confession of Faith (= Ned. Geloofsbelijdenis). You can find it in Liturgy and Psalms, pg. 457, 458. (Your church and/or minister will have a copy; older readers may look in the back of their Dutch Psalmen en Gezangen boek). And once again, for Ontario people, if you are interested, come to Camp Shalom Friday evening, October 17.

ARTICLE XXXVII

BELGIC CONFESSION

The Last Judgment

Finally, we believe, according to the Word of God, when the time appointed by the Lord (which is unknown to all creatures) is come and the number of the elect complete, that our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, corporally and visibly, as He ascended, with great glory and majesty to declare Himself Judge of the living and the dead, burning this old world with fire and flame to cleanse it.

Then all men will personally appear before this great Judge, both men and women and children, that have been from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, being summoned by the voice of the archangel, and by the sound of the trump of God. For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies in which they formerly lived. A,; for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible become incorruptible. Then the books (that is to say, the consciences) shall be penned, and the dead judged according to what they shall have done in this world, whether it be good or vil. Nay, all men shall give account of every idle word they have spoken, which the world only counts amusement and jest, and then the secrets and hypocrisy of men shall be disclosed and laid open before all.

And therefore the consideration of this judgment is justly terrible and dreadful to the wicked and ungodly, but most desirable and comfortable to the righteous and elect; because then their full deliverance shall be perfected, and there they shall receive the fruits of their labor and trouble which they have borne. Their innocence shall be known to all, and the shall see the terrible vengeance which God shall execute on the wicked, who most cruelly persecuted, oppressed, and tormented them in this world, and who shall be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences, and shall become immortal, but only to be tormented in the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

But on the contrary, the faithful and elect shall be crowned with glory and honor; and the Son of God will confess their names before God His Father and His elect angels; all tears shall be wiped from their eyes; and their cause which is now condemned by many judges and magistrates as heretical and impious will then be known to be the cause of the Son of God. And for a gracious reward, the Lord will cause them to possess such a glory as never entered into the heart of man to conceive.

Therefore we expect that great day with a most ardent desire, to the end that we may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. AMEN.

Amen, come, Lord Jesus.-Rev. 22:20.

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