Full Preterism

The 'Rapture' of the Saints is the Day of the Lord.

By Todd D. Dennis

I Thess. 5:1 "But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you."

Having shown that a future 'tribulation period' is unbiblical,
what becomes of the 'pre-tribulational rapture'?

After having established that the Dispensationalist event known as the "Great Tribulation," a future seven year period of God's vengeance, is unbiblical (Matt 24:21,34 - See The Tribualtion Period is Past.), we must identify what is commonly known as the "pre-tribulational rapture" of the church, as, clearly, it is not 'pre-tribulational'.

The word "rapture" is never used in the Bible, but one can clearly tell from Scripture that there was to be a second coming of Christ 'in the clouds of heaven' after his first advent... but in what fashion was it to be? The key to understanding the seeming 'rapture of the church' is found in the identification of Christ's second coming, because a proper dating of His second advent will locate when the 'rapture' is. But before we can locate the second coming of Christ, we must identify what it is... and isn't.

Most teach that the second coming of Christ will be in two stages: First, the partial return of Christ to secretly 'rapture' the saints away prior to the 'Great Tribulation,' and, second, His return to the earth after the 'tribulation period' to rule the wicked with a rod of iron during the 'millennial reign.' This actually makes the 'second coming of Christ' the second and third coming! Having established that there is no future tribulational period, the question we must answer at this time is not whether there was a pre-tribulational 'rapture' in A.D. 70 ( See When was the Second Coming? ), but whether there are two 'second comings' of Christ, the first to secretly 'rapture' the righteous, and the second to judge the wicked, as is commonly taught.

Judging from the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13 we can tell, first of all, that if there is a two-part second coming, it is the judgment of the wicked that comes first! In verse 38, Christ identifies that the wheat are the righteous, and that the tares are the wicked. With this context in mind, notice that He is recorded as saying in verse 30, "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Based upon this verse alone, we can establish that there is no secret rapture of the saints prior to that of the wicked. But this portion of scripture, identifying the harvest as "the end of the world" (verse 39) establishes a much more important point- the gathering is at the end of the world that then was (II Peter 3:7).

In Matthew 24:3, Christ's disciples pose a very important question, which is, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?" Christ's response concerning His 'second coming,' not only displays that the gathering of the wicked is in judgment (not the righteous prior to the wicked), but that also it occurs at the end of the Old Covenant, which Christ declared was in that contemporary generation (Matt 16:27-28; 24:34, etc.). He says, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only. But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." This is commonly taught as referring to the fact that Noah's family was 'raptured of the earth' as it were, thereby supposedly showing a forerunner of the rapture. But notice, as Christ continues, who is identified as being taken away, "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Was it the righteous who were taken? Luke 17:28 clarifies this by recording Christ as saying, "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." Knowing that Noah and his family weren't destroyed, we can see that Christ is saying that the wicked are going to be destroyed when he returns, not almost seven years after (which, in truth, is now over 1900 years later!), as is commonly taught.

Having established that the wicked would be destroyed at the return of Christ, let's consider what would happen to the righteous at that time. Again in the parable of the wheat and tares, Christ says, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Going back to Matthew 24, after teaching about the destruction of the wicked, Christ says, in verse 44, "Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." This implies, as well, that both groups would be gathered at the same day.

We must also take into consideration the fact that both the righteous and wicked dead will be resurrected on the same day. I Thess. 4:16 says the dead in Christ rise on the day of his return. This resurrection is described, by Christ, in John 6, as being the 'last day'. This day of resurrection is also reserved for the wicked. John 5:28,29 reads, "the hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Therefore, based upon these verses alone, we could establish that the gathering and the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked will occur at the same 'last day', when the Lord Jesus Christ was to come again.

For final, undeniable confirmation for a single time of gathering, we can turn to the portion of Scripture most often quoted as justifying of a secret, pre-tribulational rapture: I Thess. 4:13-18. Verses 16-17 tell us that the dead in Christ will rise, and "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." This portion of scripture does not end here, however, but continues into chapter five to specifically pinpoint when this was to happen. Verse two reads, "for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." The day that the righteous are gathered is called the 'day of the Lord'. But, if our understanding of Christ's second coming is going to be proven correct, we must also show that some sort of gathering and judgment upon the wicked occurs at this same time. The very next verse explains this, as it reads, "For when they shall say Peace and safety (like those in Noah's day, remember), then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." Thus, we have confirmation that the 'last day', also called the day of the Lord, is a day of judgment upon the wicked, as well as a gathering of the righteous to meet (apanteas) the Lord in the air. For confirmation of this fact, John 12:48 reads, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

The day of the Lord is a distinct Biblical event, clearly described throughout the Old Testament as being when Jesus Christ would bring all 'accounts up to current' in the establishing of the New Covenant. Just as a temporal contract does not become fulfilled until all terms of that contract are carried out, so too, the contract between the Father and the Son was not completed, until all of the terms were executed. Included in these terms was the destruction of the Old Covenant nation, king, kingdom, temple, etc., for the establishing of the new and eternal fulfillments in Christ (See God's Warning Through Moses). This ending of the Old Covenant contract in that generation, was that 'which decayeth and waxeth old (which was) ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13). This explains what Christ meant in Luke 21:22, declaring "these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled," and again, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all (written) be fulfilled". Christ fulfilled the covenant, through this very destruction.

The Biblical descriptions of the day of the Lord, then, most notably the 'rapture' verse of I Thess. 4-5, clearly place the gathering and destruction of the Old Covenant wicked (tares) as being the same time as the gathering of those of faith under the Old Covenant. It is hereby clearly identified as being the 'second coming' of Christ. Therefore,

The 'Second Coming' Of Christ is the Day of the Lord,
And There is no Future 'Rapture'.

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