Matthew 24:27 “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (NIV).
Why is the doctrine of a secret rapture so popular?
The answer: The root of the problem is a misinterpretation of Daniel 9:24-27.
The angel Gabriel gave a prophecy to Daniel which involved 70 “weeks,” a “week” being a metaphor for 7 years. The 69th week ended at the time of Christ’s ministry. The misinterpretation, carried out by a number of theologians, is the conviction that the 70th “week” has not taken place yet. They say the 70th week will not take place until an undetermined time in the future. Detaching the 70th “week” by nearly 2,000 years and counting is a drastic error.
(With no intention of degrading those theologians, in a supplemental piece which will be posted in November, I will get into specifics on one Biblical interpretation which became a major influence in the 20th century regarding the rapture.)
So when Jesus starts talking about the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27, boom, they deduct that Jesus is talking about the “end times” tribulation.
They ignore the context of the first question by the disciples recorded in Matthew 24:3. So their error leads them to think that what Jesus is revealing here in Matthew 24:27 and in upcoming verses has to do with the second stage of the Second Coming of Christ, when Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives. (They see the Mount of Olives arrival as the first time He is visible to all people since His ascension.)
However, what Jesus is going to reveal in the upcoming verses does not fit the Mount of Olives return. Jesus does reveal a rapture in Matthew 24:31.
Confusing this Second Coming revelation in Matthew 24 with the Mount of Olives return, prophesied by Zechariah, their major details about the rapture go awry. They designate a rapture which would be unseen and unheard by everyone but believers. In their rapture, it would seem to people left behind that Christians suddenly disappeared. There is no solid Biblical support for such.
It all got on the wrong path with misinterpreting Daniel 9:24-27.
Does this matter? Yes. Misinterpreting Scripture is always a problem. Theologians are human, and not one of us has a perfect Biblical interpretation. Yet we all need to keep learning.
This secret rapture interpretation creates a false mystery about our relational Messiah, rather than putting an emphasis on the continued unveiling of Jesus Christ which will take place.
And this secret rapture interpretation makes the rapture a bit creepy, as opposed to the fact that the rapture will be a glorious celebration for those who love Jesus.
I close with one interesting fact, since it supports the general reality of a coming rapture. However, even though it has been used to infer a “secret rapture,” it is not solid evidence of such. In the book of Revelation, the focus of chapter two and chapter three is seven churches. But then, from chapter four to near the end of the book, the word church is not used again. Interesting.
God makes the statement at the beginning of chapter four: “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this” (Revelation 4:1).
So most theologians think the vision of John throughout the remainder of the book of Revelation takes place after the “rapture.” I think this is reasonable.
Yet the lack of any mention of the subject of the rapture in the book of Revelation does not establish a “silent rapture.”
Thus from where we stand in learning from the discourse of Jesus here in Matthew 24, the rapture has yet to be foretold. Yet brace yourself. As Jesus continues to unveil His Second Coming, there will be a rapture essence to it.
And that first stage of the Second Coming is going to be a loud, joyous celebration for all those who follow Jesus, our Savior and Lord!
Hunter Irvine
