The doctrine of the rapture remains one of the most misunderstood truths of Scripture. Many deny its reality outright, while others misplace its chronology, thereby setting the rapture at an unbiblical point in God’s prophetic timeline. This article will not address those debates, but rather focus on a more fundamental question: What is God’s purpose for the rapture? The discussion assumes a pre-seventieth week rapture “What we believe about the end times–eschatology“).
Apostolic Testimony and the Expectation of Death
Contrary to much popular teaching, Scripture does set forth certain events that must occur before the rapture. Paul wrote: “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death” (1 Corinthians 4:9). This declaration indicates that the apostles were not anticipating translation, but rather martyrdom. Paul himself was executed before Peter, and Peter likewise spoke of his impending death: “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” (2 Peter 1:13–14).
Christ’s prophecy of Peter’s death is recorded by John: “This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God” (John 21:19). In this same passage, John further clarifies a rumor that he himself would not die, correcting it with the statement: “Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” (John 21:23). By recording this clarification, John acknowledges that he too expected to die rather than to be raptured. Thus, Scripture explicitly teaches that the apostles were appointed to death before the rapture would occur.
Apostolic Commission and Christian Witness
This observation is crucial to understanding the larger purpose of God in relation to His people. The Lord commissioned the apostles: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). The command to teach the nations is inseparably linked to the charge to observe all things commanded by Christ.
In His high-priestly prayer, Christ petitioned the Father: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). This prayer extended beyond the apostles, as He immediately added: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 17:20). These words reveal that throughout the Christian era, people would continually come to faith through the apostolic witness, which obligates all believers to participate in the ongoing proclamation of the gospel.
Thus, God’s purpose is not to remove His people immediately, but to preserve them in the world as witnesses. To this end, He has given the Holy Spirit to empower believers: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8).
The Removal of Restraining Influence
Why, then, would God eventually remove Christians from the earth? Paul explained that the revelation of the man of sin, the Antichrist, is restrained until the Spirit’s indwelling influence in the church is removed: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Properly understood, this passage clearly supports a pre-seventieth week rapture. Its context speaks of the great apostasy of the last days (2 Thessalonians 2:3). As apostasy increases, obedience to the Great Commission diminishes. When the stewardship of the gospel has been largely abandoned, God will terminate the present dispensation.
Charles Ryrie defines a dispensation as “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose.”1)Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Moody Press (Chicago, Illinoise: 1995), p. 28 The term “economy” refers to the management of a household, indicating the responsibility of stewardship. Scripture identifies Christians as stewards of the mysteries of God: “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1–2; cf. Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 4:10). The defining mark of apostasy is the abandonment of this stewardship.
Therefore, the purpose of the rapture is not primarily to reward Christians for endurance through life’s trials, but rather to remove unfaithful stewards. God will then transfer the stewardship of His testimony to Israel, who will bear faithful witness during the tribulation (Revelation 7:3–8).
Ryrie identifies four “important characteristics of a stewardship, or dispensational arrangement,”2)Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 26. which may be discerned in the Lord’s parable in Luke 16:1–2.
1 Basically there are two parties: the one whose authority it is to delegate duties, and the one whose responsibility it is to carry out these charges. The rich man and the steward (or manager) play these roles in the parable of Luke 16 (v. 1).
2 There are specific responsibilities. In the parable the steward failed in his known duties when he wasted the goods of his lord (v. 1).
3 Accountability, as well as responsibility, is part of the arrangement. The steward may be called to account for the discharge of his stewardship at any time, for it is the owner’s or master’s prerogative to expect faithful obedience to the duties entrusted to the steward (v. 2).
4 A change may be made at any time unfaithfulness is found in the existing administration (“can no longer be steward”).3)Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Moody Press (Chicago, Illinoise: 1995), p. 26
Paul’s Exhortation and the Mercy of God
This principle of accountability is dramatically emphasized by Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. He begins chapter 12 with a solemn exhortation: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1–2). Paul warns against being “conformed to this world,” which here functions as an admonition against apostasy. His appeal is grounded “by the mercies of God,” and the placement of the word “therefore” directs the reader to the preceding chapter for the contextual meaning of these mercies.
Romans 11 forms the necessary background to Paul’s exhortation. In Romans 11:1–7, Paul explains that there has always been a remnant of Israel preserved by grace, in contrast to those in Elijah’s day who conformed to Baal worship within the surrounding pagan culture. In Romans 11:7–10, Paul declares that blindness has come upon the majority of Israel because of their unfaithfulness, a condition parallel to God’s giving the Gentiles over to blindness and idolatry, as described in Romans 1:21–26. From the earliest period of redemptive history, God chose Abraham to enter into an everlasting covenant with his descendants. Yet Paul affirms that Israel’s present “fall” (Romans 11:11–12), understood as their apostasy, has served the purpose of opening salvation to the Gentiles.
Addressing specifically the Gentile believers at Rome (Romans 11:13), Paul explains these matters so as to “provoke to emulation them which are my flesh” (Romans 11:14). In other words, he sought to encourage Israel to emulate his example both in believing upon Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and in faithfully proclaiming the gospel (cf. Hebrews 10:24). He describes Israel’s rejection as “the casting away” (Romans 11:15), but assures that their future “receiving” will be “life from the dead,” a metaphor evoking resurrection.
Paul then employs the imagery of the olive tree. Israel is portrayed as the natural branches which have been broken off, while Gentile believers are likened to wild branches grafted into the tree (Romans 11:17). Paul warns the Gentiles against boasting over Israel (Romans 11:18–19). Israel’s unbelief led to their being broken off, and the Gentiles’ inclusion should be viewed not as cause for pride, but as a reason to continue in faith and fear: “Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee” (Romans 11:20–21).
God’s Goodness and Severity in Redemptive History
Paul proceeds to address both the goodness and the severity of God. His goodness is displayed toward the Gentiles, who were received into covenant blessings; His severity, however, is revealed in His judgment upon Israel, who were broken off so that the Gentiles might be grafted in (Romans 11:22). To the Gentiles comes a solemn admonition: “Otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Paul then raises the rhetorical question of ease: how much simpler is it to restore the natural branch than to maintain the grafting of the wild one? Indeed, “they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again” (Romans 11:23).
Paul emphasizes that he does not wish the Gentile churches to be ignorant of this truth. He designates it a mystery (Romans 11:25)—the same word he employs when speaking of the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51–54). Dispensations appear to be intrinsically tied to the mysteries of God, which are revelations entrusted to His stewards (1 Corinthians 4:1; Ephesians 3:2; Colossians 1:25). The mystery in Romans 11 is that Israel’s blindness to the gospel is temporary, lasting “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). Thereafter, “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). For now, their unbelief has opened the way for Gentiles to “obtain mercy” (Romans 11:30). This mercy is what Paul later calls “the mercies of God” (Romans 12:1)—the Gentiles’ grafting into covenant blessing through Israel’s temporary rejection.
In the present dispensation, therefore, Gentile believers are to remain faithful stewards of this mystery (1 Corinthians 4:1), building with “gold, silver, precious stones” upon the foundation of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11–12). These mercies received call believers to present their bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), wholly surrendered to God’s will. The stewardship given to Christians is the proclamation of the gospel. Failure in this stewardship results in judgment, as seen in Israel’s removal from their role. Christ Himself asked: “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). This growing apostasy is the reason God will remove Christians through the rapture, restoring Israel to her natural position as steward of His Word. Thus, the rapture functions not as an escape from tribulation, but as a judgment upon Christian unfaithfulness—a removal prompted by silence and fear in witness (Luke 16:1–2).
Dispensations, Testing, and Human Failure
Charles Ryrie notes that a “secondary characteristic” of every dispensation is a test. He explains: “In one sense every dispensation contains the same test: Will a person respond favorably toward the responsibility of the particular economy under which he is living? Specially, this general test is particularized in each dispensation by the nature of the revelation God gave in each instance concerning man’s responsibility.”4)Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Moody Press (Chicago, Illinoise: 1995), p. 34-35
Ryrie then poses the critical question: “Is failure a necessary part of each dispensation? It is a fact of biblical history that mankind has failed throughout all the ages of time. Each dispensation is filled with failure–the realm of governmental economy and the realm of salvation. On both areas not all people have failed, but in both realms most have. Sin often seems to come to a climax at certain points in human history, and such climaxes mark the end of the various dispensations.”5)Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Moody Press (Chicago, Illinoise: 1995), p. 35
The climaxing sin of this current dispensation is the omission of the Great Commission—the failure of God’s appointed stewards to fulfill their entrusted duty.
Cultivated Plants and the Vineyard Motif
The imagery of cultivated plants recurs throughout Scripture as a depiction of God’s people. In Isaiah, Israel is called “the vineyard of the LORD of hosts” and Judah “his pleasant plant” (Isaiah 5:7). The Lord cultivated His vineyard expecting fruit: “My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill” (Isaiah 5:1). Yet when the fruit turned corrupt, His judgment came: “I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste” (Isaiah 5:5–6). Likewise, Jeremiah records God’s lament: “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?” (Jeremiah 2:21).
Jesus Himself spoke a parable of a vineyard planted by a householder and leased to husbandmen who refused to render fruit to the owner (Matthew 21:33–41). When asked what the owner would do, the crowd responded: “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” Recognizing the force of the parable, the chief priests and Pharisees “perceived that he spake of them” (Matthew 21:40–41, 45). Here the Jewish nation is depicted as the natural branch cut off, while another branch is grafted in.
Christians, as the grafted-in branch, are called to bear fruit—“the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22–23). The Father is glorified when believers bear much fruit (John 15:8). Yet the warning is clear: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away” (John 15:2). When the present branch—Christians in this dispensation—fails to bear fruit, it will be removed so that the natural branch may again be grafted in and bear its own fruit.
The Salt of the Earth and Christian Stewardship
Similar thoughts were expressed when Christ said, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13). Salt was used to preserve food from decaying. Similarly, Christians should be restraining lawlessness in the world as an outworking of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As more people are converted, society should be preserved from moral decay. Obviously, this is not happening. The overwhelming majority of those who claim to be “Christians” are, as Christ put it, “good for nothing.” Paul reminds us, “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
As Paul wrote to the Colossians:
whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. (Colossian 1:25-29)
Misunderstandings of the Rapture: Escapism or Judgment?
This stewardship is bound to the proclamation of the gospel and the faithful warning of men. Yet, many who have mocked the rapture have dismissed it as an “escapist theology.” They question why God would remove one generation of Christians before tribulation occurs, when throughout church history believers have suffered persecutions and afflictions. This objection, while serious, is built upon a misunderstanding of the biblical doctrine of the rapture, which has too often been presented as an escape from trial rather than as an act of divine judgment upon Christendom itself.
In 1983, Dave Hunt proposed “A Contrary Scenario” to the common teaching of popular prophecy teachers who claimed that Scripture predicted an imminent economic collapse and nuclear holocaust. Hunt wrote:
A worldwide economic collapse followed by the greatest war in history and a nuclear holocaust do seem to be prophesied in the Bible. These events are part of that period described in Scripture as the “Great Tribulation” prophesied for the “last days” that lead up to Armageddon.6)Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust, Harvest House (Eugene, Oregon: 1983), p. 16
If the economic collapse and wars occur during the Great Tribulation, then they do not precede the rapture, which must occur first. Indeed, Revelation depicts such catastrophes only after the Antichrist is revealed (Revelation 6:2–6). Instead, Paul described the time of the rapture as one of deceptive peace: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Dave Hunt concluded:
Economic collapse and another great war do not seem to be the next events predicted in Scripture. In spite of appearances to the contrary in the world around us today, a careful examination of the Biblical description of the “last days” prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ seems rather to suggest that boom, not bust, lies just ahead.7)Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust, Harvest House (Eugene, Oregon: 1983), p. 17-18
Hunt reasoned that the days preceding the rapture mirrored the days of Noah, which Christ described as a time of prosperity and indifference (Matthew 24:37–39). Likewise, the Laodicean church exemplifies physical wealth and comfort while spiritually impoverished and apostate (Revelation 3:14–18). Other passages suggest the rapture occurs when Christians least expect it, as Jesus asked, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). If the rapture were intended to rescue the faithful from chaos and collapse, it would not come at a moment of peace and prosperity. Instead, this prosperity contributes to lukewarmness and apostasy, revealing the failure of Christian stewardship in fulfilling the Great Commission.
The Failure of Stewardship and the Great Commission
Thus, the rapture itself should be understood not as “escapist,” but as an act of divine judgment upon unfaithful Christianity. Following the rapture, believers must appear before Christ at the Bema Seat judgment. There, the overwhelming majority will not hear the commendation: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23). Instead, many will resemble the unprofitable servant described in the same parable (Matthew 25:24–30). The fate of such a servant raises the sobering question of whether he was truly saved, for Christ also taught that fruitless branches are cast into the fire (John 15:1–6).
The distinction between false Christians and merely “fruitless” Christians collapses in Scripture, for the latter category is unknown to the New Testament witness. Christ warned of those who will profess Him as “Lord, Lord” on the Day of Judgment, yet will be condemned as workers of iniquity (Matthew 7:21–23). He declared, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). The issue may not only be the presence of corrupt fruit but also the absence of any fruit at all.
Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Paul similarly concluded that the preaching of the gospel was “according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26). True faith is therefore manifested in obedience and love—expressed through the proclamation of the gospel. Anything less is disobedience, the works of iniquity, and not of faith.
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