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All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” In the postmillennialist view the millennium is seen as an indefinitely long time thus precluding literal interpretation of a thousand-year period. According to Loraine Boettner "the world will be Christianized, and the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace, commonly called the millennium." [107] Postmillennialists commonly view the rapture of the Church as one and the same event as the second coming of Christ. According to them the great tribulation was already fulfilled in the Jewish-Roman War of 66–73 AD that involved the destruction of Jerusalem. [ citation needed] Authors who have expressed support for this view include the Puritan author of Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney.

An 1828 edition of Matthew Henry's An Exposition of the Old and New Testament uses the word "rapture" in explicating 1 Thessalonians 4:17. [72] Don’t let your past keep you from trusting God for a second (or third, or fourth) chance. The God of grace loves to forgive.Marvin Rosenthal, author of The Prewrath Rapture of the Church, is a proponent for the prewrath rapture view. His belief is founded on the work of Robert D. Van Kampen (1938–1999); his books The Sign, The Rapture Question Answered and The Fourth Reich detail his pre-wrath rapture doctrine. In the post-tribulation premillennial position, the rapture would be identical to the second coming of Jesus or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth before a literal millennium. The post-tribulation position places the rapture at the end of the tribulation period. Post-tribulation writers define the tribulation period in a generic sense as the entire present age, or in a specific sense of a period of time preceding the second coming of Christ. [103] The emphasis in this view is that the church will undergo the tribulation. [104] Matthew 24:29–31 – " Immediately after the Tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect..." – is cited as a foundational scripture for this view. Post-tribulationists perceive the rapture as occurring simultaneously with the second coming of Christ. Upon Jesus' return, believers will meet him in the air and will then accompany him in his return to the Earth. In the Epistles of Paul, most notably in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 ("the dead in Christ shall rise first") and 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, a trumpet is described as blowing at the end of the tribulation to herald the return of Christ; Revelation 11:15 further supports this view. Moreover, after chapters 6–19, and after 20:1–3 when Satan is bound, Revelation 20:4–6 says, "and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." Elwell, Walter A., ed. (1 May 2001) [1984]. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (2nded.). Baker Academic. p.910. ISBN 978-1441200303. Book preview Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Harvard University Press, 1994) Radmacher, Earl. "The Nature and Result of Literal Interpretation". Pre-Trib Research Center . Retrieved 5 December 2019.

Drum, Walter (1 July 1912). "Epistles to the Thessalonians". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.14. New York City: Robert Appleton Company . Retrieved 12 December 2010. Jesus’ words in John 14:1-3 were spoken to His disciples—men who were obviously believers. He assured them that He would prepare a place for them in His Father’s house; they were members of the family of faith in the same way Christians are today. “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (verse 3) describes what we call the Rapture—the uniting of Jesus Christ with His faithful followers. The Koine Greek of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the verb form ἁρπαγησόμεθα ( harpagēsometha), which means "we shall be caught up" or "we shall be taken away". The dictionary form of this Greek verb is harpazō ( ἁρπάζω). [10] This use is also seen in such texts as Acts 8:39, [11] 2 Corinthians 12:2–4, [12] and Revelation 12:5. [13] Linguist, Dr. Douglas Hamp, notes that Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates lists harpagēsometha as the first-person plural future passive indicative of the Greek stem, harpagē (har-pag-ay), [14] “the act of plundering, plunder, spoil.” The future passive indicative of harpázō (although not used by Paul in 1 Thess. 4:17) can be viewed at verbix.com: αρπασθησόμεθα ( harpasthesometha). [15] GS724 harpagē means : 1. the act of plundering, robbery; 2. plunder, spoil. [16] When the rapture and the "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:20-21 [17]) are viewed as simultaneous events (according to Romans 8:19-21 [18]) then it makes sense why Paul would use "shall be plundered" to match the verbiage of the distortion of the Earth described in Isaiah 24:3, [19] "The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered...". [20] Latin [ edit ] That event is a beautiful example of the willingness of God. In fact, there are no instances of Jesus being asked to help or heal and Him answering, “I am not willing.” There is a place where the Bible says God is “not willing,” and that is 2 Peter 3:9. In writing about the timing of the Day of the Lord (the end of the age), Peter says God is waiting for all who will be saved to come to Him. He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Said another way, God is willing for any who want to be saved to come to Him (John 6:37; 7:37). The question is never whether God is willing but whether man is willing. Some predictions of the date of the Second Coming of Jesus (which may or may not refer to the rapture) include the following:Comparison of Christian millennial interpretations, including premillennialist, postmillennialist, and amillennialist viewpoints Comparison of differing viewpoints amongst premillennialists about timing of tribulation. John Nelson Darby (trans.), Holy Bible Darby Translation (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013) Nelson, Chris (18 June 2002). "A Brief History of the Apocalypse; 1971–1997: Millennial Madness" . Retrieved 23 June 2007. It is no wonder that Paul told the Thessalonians to comfort themselves with the truth concerning the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18). The Rapture can impact our life now, in three ways, while we wait for it to happen. We can live with expectation. For deeper study of Revelation and prophecy, visit Dr. Jeremiah's Prophecy Academy where you will find a panorama of prophetic materials to enhance your understanding of God's Plan for the end of the world.

Were Jesus and Paul talking about you? Will you be a participant in the Rapture? What about your family and friends? According to Titus 2:14, Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed.” What lawless deeds do you need to confess to Him? Take a few minutes to do that now. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988 and On Borrowed Time". June 15, 1988 – via Internet Archive. That’s just when God appeared to him as he was among the exiles by the Kebar River. Ezekiel looked up and saw remarkable visions of God—the throne of God surrounded by angelic beings. Amid the strange and apocalyptic vision described in Ezekiel 1, God called the thirty-year-old exile to be a powerful prophet. If you need a victory in your life, begin every day by renewing your faith in Christ in whom all our victories are to be realized. Rosenthal, Marvin J. (1990). The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-0840731609.