Full disclosure, I started writing this article before the rapture was supposed to happen…I think? The deadline has changed several times as I have written this, as the rapture time keeps being postponed. Personally, I feel confident in writing this article in advance.
So if you’re still here, buckle up!
Let’s talk about it. Why are we all still here?
“Turn with me in your Bibles…” (source: every pastor ever!) to Matthew 24: 36-39 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:36-39 ESV). While guessing at the date of Jesus’s return may be fun, it is just that. A guess. While the Bible is relatively quiet when it comes to the rapture, it is very clear that we will not know the time or day of Jesus’s return.
Many of us grew up in terror of the rapture. Jokes would be made if we lost track of someone, “Maybe they were raptured!” I personally spent months purposefully trying to convince myself it was happening every day in an effort to put it off longer (using the above verse as my proof). But what will the rapture actually look like? Let’s talk about it.
Let’s look at the Olivet Discourse in more detail. It begins “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3 ESV). This introduction clearly tells us that Jesus is most definitely talking about his coming and the end of the age, rather than unrelated events. The important part is yet to come, though.
“And Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:4-8 ESV).
First, Jesus describes what will come before the end, but specifies that it is not the end. He describes wars and famines and earthquakes. All of these things are terrible events that seem like the end of the world. There are also events that happen repeatedly in history. This is, in fact, probably what has led to so many predictions of the end, as each person sees the world as worse than they themselves have ever seen it before.
The passage continues:
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:9-14 ESV).
This passage is somewhat less cut and dry than the last. The word “tribulation” (or θλῖψις, for the language nerds) can be translated as oppression or affliction as well (Strong, 1890). “…and you will be hated by all nations…” could refer to a range of possibilities from individuals hating Christians in every nation (which has always been true) to every nation outlawing Christianity altogether. Many falling away and betraying each other likely refers to Christians. Both of these have happened on a wide scale in some places in the past, although in the USA, persecution is not widespread, and, while I’m not saying it never happens, calling most “persecution” in the United States by that name is a slap in the face to those actually being persecuted.
The “false prophets” are also a recurring theme in history, and even include those making predictions about the end times. According to Spriggs, somewhere around 300 different dates have come and gone that were predicted to be the end (Spriggs, 2016). Many other topics are the focus of false prophecies as well. Deuteronomy speaks of how to tell the false from the true: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22 ESV). While Joshua Mhlakela (aka, the original source for Tuesday’s rapture predictions) has previously left a nearly nonexistent digital footprint, it does appear he has not made any previous predictions upon which he might be authenticated.
Continuing, “…Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold…” is again a statement that applies to many times in history. While it is somewhat unrelated to our topic, it is worth noting that frequently Christians react poorly to bad circumstances. The recent death of Charlie Kirk is a good example of this. This terrible act of lawlessness caused many Christians to say, “We’re done talking. We want war,” and instead of reacting with love, they threatened violence upon all non-Christians, whether they were involved or not, based solely on their political views. Ecclesiastes says that there is “a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8 ESV), but this passage in Matthew continues “but the one who endures to the end will be saved” right after stating the love of some will grow cold, implying we are still to love through the end times.
On a different strain, “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” While no country remains completely unreached at this point, many groups still have not heard the gospel (see https://joshuaproject.net/global/countries for a complete list). Again, this is not as cut and dry as it sounds. “all nations” (οἰκουμένη) is the same word as is used for the entire world or the entire known world throughout the Bible (Strong, 1890), although it seems most likely to mean the entire world. That said, does this include every single person, or just each group? If it means every person, we are far from the end. Thus, we should do as Paul, who said, “and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’” (Romans 15:20-21 ESV).
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” (Matthew 24:15-21 ESV).
You may say, like me, “No, I do not understand!” but no matter the details of the “abomination of desolation”, we do see this: there will be a tribulation worse than any other. Oftentimes, humans assume their tribulation is the worst there has ever been when, in fact, it is not. It may be the worst tribulation that an individual has gone through, but it is not the worst that has ever been. Many tribulations happen from day to day, but consider that even within the last 100 years, we have had WWII and the mass genocide that came with it. What is to come is way worse than what we can imagine now. The next verse brings us hope, though: “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:22 ESV). No matter how bad the tribulation, it will still end.
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:23-26 ESV). (See above for my thoughts on false prophets!)
“For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Matthew 24:27-28 ESV).
Don’t worry, you won’t miss the second coming!! When Jesus comes back, everyone will know. It won’t be a handful of rumors on Facebook or a localized visit. Every single person will know.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31 ESV).
This is a key passage to our study. “Immediately after the tribulation…Then will…” As easy as it would be to be raptured early on and miss the tribulation altogether, personally, I feel the Bible is clear here that is not going to happen. First comes the tribulation, then physiological changes to the universe as we know it, then the rapture.
If the Bible is so clear about this, then where did the idea of the pre-tribulation rapture come from? While there are rumors that the idea may have come from the dreams of Margaret Macdonald, the first real evidence originates with John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). Darby became a teacher who influenced many, including other teachers such as Moody and Scofield. (Fazio, n. d.). While Moody did not believe in the pre-tribulation rapture aspect of Darby’s teachings, Scofield not only did, but also promoted and popularized the idea.
Some Christians justify their view using 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which states: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV), which does not mention the tribulation at all. Personally, this does not feel like good evidence that we will be caught up pre-tribulation to me. It seems more likely that we are jumping in partway through the story and skipping over that part, as it was not a part of the topic of discussion.
Continuing with the Olivet Discourse:
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:32-35 ESV).
“You will see all these things…” The passage continues to state that no one knows the hour, but this is obvious: we will see the tribulation.
“Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.” (Matthew 24:40-41 ESV).
“Then” again indicates progression. After trials, we will be taken.
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44 ESV).
How do we prepare? We live every day like it matters. I cannot say it better than Jesus Himself:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’”
(Matthew 25:34-46 ESV).
Bibliography
English Standard Version Bible, 2016
Fazio, J. John Nelson Darby: A Brief Sketch of His Life and Impact. Southern California Seminary.
Joshua Project. (2025). https://joshuaproject.net/global/countries
Spriggs, J. (2016). Predicted dates of the Second Coming of Jesus through history. Bringing God’s Word to the Nations. https://www.julianspriggs.co.uk/pages/SecondComingDates
Strong, J. (1890). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB10658005
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