J.D. Farag: The Rapture Comes First, 2 Thessalonians 2:3

In this prophecy update, Pastor J.D. Farag shares part three of his series on why the rapture of the church must take place before the seven-year tribulation. He explains the biblical foundation for the church as the bride of Christ and how our purity in Him points to the imminence of the rapture.

Pastor J.D. Farag – The Rapture Comes First, 2 Thessalonians 2:3

This is the portion of our Sunday morning service that we set aside each and every week to look at Bible prophecy. We believe we’re living in what the Bible describes as the last days—really, the last moments of world history as we know it—and that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Rapture of the church is at the door. Nothing has to happen prophetically before the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise first, and we who are alive and remain are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It could happen at any time.

Looking at the news today, I have four words for you: Gaza, Libya, Syria, and… (see?). [Applause]

Because we are so into Bible prophecy and look at it all the time, I think it’s easy to get so close to the proverbial tree that we don’t see the forest. As I look around and see everything taking place, it’s almost surreal. I’ve been studying and teaching Bible prophecy for many, many years, and as I see what’s happening today—how prophecy is being fulfilled in real time—I have to step back and say, “Wow, this is really happening,” exactly as God’s Word foretold by the prophets of old. In the last days there would be enemy nations gathered against Israel, surrounding peoples, and nuclear threats. It’s all described and prophesied in the pages of Holy Writ.

As I see these things beginning to come to pass, yes, I look up and lift up my head, knowing my redemption draws near, as Jesus said in Luke 21:28. But there’s also this component of, “Well, maybe it’s not as close as we think.” I wonder sometimes if, as the church—the bride of Christ—we really believe that the knock we’re hearing on the door is Jesus.

Remember in the book of Acts when Rhoda gets up to answer the door during a prayer meeting? They were praying for Peter’s release from prison. There’s a knock at the door—right in the middle of their fervent prayer—and Rhoda goes to answer it. She opens the door and, though it’s not in the text, you can almost see her shut it again and run back: “You guys, this is weird. I think I just saw Peter at the door!” They’re like, “Rhoda, stop… Peter at the door?” Sure enough, what they had been praying for was at the door (Acts 12:12–16). I wonder if Jesus is at the door, and it feels almost surreal—like we can’t believe it.

Many years ago, before my father passed away, I tried to glean as much as I could from his knowledge of the Middle East. One thing he told me was, “Watch Syria.” Syria, in a way, becomes the nexus—the linchpin—the pivotal point in the Middle East that everything hinges on and even waits on. I was astonished as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said what she did, demanding Assad step down. You have the Muslim Brotherhood woven into everything happening in the Middle East under the banner of the Arab Spring. “Arab Spring” sounds so pretty, doesn’t it? It’s anything but.

This is why we’re talking about the Rapture. My sense is that God is saying, “You’d better get the bride ready, because I’m coming.” One reason we’re talking about the pre-tribulation Rapture is because I believe the next event on God’s prophetic clock is the Rapture of the church. It will come as a surprise, at an hour we do not expect.

Sometimes I ask, “Do you believe Jesus could come today and rapture His church between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.?” I didn’t ask if you hope He does; I asked if you expect that He would. If the truth be known—probably not. “I’ve got plans between 2 and 3. I’m going to work tomorrow. I’ve got plans next week.” There’s nothing wrong with having plans—just don’t let those plans have you. Hold on loosely. Don’t hold them like this (tight); hold them like this (open). He’s coming at an hour we don’t expect.

We would do well to occupy till He comes—to be busy about the things of the Kingdom until He comes. We want to be found faithful when He comes. We long to hear those words from the Savior, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter in.” I want to be that faithful servant—ready, watching, knowing that at any time my Master could return.

Today is part three in a study of the pre-tribulation Rapture and why it must happen before the seven-year tribulation—and why it matters that we know this. I’ve selected seven reasons, using the acronym R.A.P.T.U.R.E.:

• Revelation to us

• Affect upon us

• Purity of us

• Trumpets for us

• Uniformity with us

• Responsibility on us

• Encouragement from us

In part one we looked at “Revelation to us.” Last week we covered “The Effect upon us.” Today, one of my favorites: The Purity of us.

The Rapture of the church must happen before the seven-year tribulation because of the purity of His bride. Three passages:

1. 1 John 3:2–3
   “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

2. 2 Corinthians 11:2–3
   “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. But I am afraid that, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

3. Ephesians 5:25–27
   “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

Our relationship with Jesus is that of a bride-to-be engaged to her Bridegroom. Since we are betrothed to Christ, it should have a purifying effect on us: we are to be presented as a virgin—without blemish, pure, and holy.

“Holy” gets a bad rap. People imagine robes, collars, and incense. But to be holy is to be whole—filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered to live a holy life. Absent the Holy Spirit, we have no hope of living the Christian life. When Jesus left, He said He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell, empower, and enable us so that, when He comes for us, we are pure and holy—a bride cleansed and dressed in white.

How does the pre-tribulation Rapture relate? It motivates sanctification. Anticipation of the Bridegroom’s imminent coming motivates us to live as a radiant church—without stain, wrinkle, or blemish.

Now, the typology here is profound. The ancient Jewish bridal customs paint a prophetic portrait of our wedding to the Lamb and harmonize with a pre-tribulation Rapture:

• The Father chooses the bride; the Son approves. The Father has chosen us; Jesus approves (John 10:28; 15:16).

• A written covenant is made. God gave us the New Covenant in His Word; the Old Covenant promises are fulfilled in Christ (2 Cor. 3:5–6).

• Bread and cup seal the betrothal. Jesus sealed the New Covenant with bread and the cup at the Last Supper (Matt. 26:27–29; Luke 22:14–20).

• The bride price is paid. Jesus paid our price at the cross (1 Cor. 6:20; John 15:13).

• The groom promises to return. “I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again” (John 14:1–3).

• The groom returns to the Father’s house to build a bridal chamber. Room additions in Israel picture this. Jesus prepares our dwelling place (John 14:1–3).

• Only the Father knows the day or hour. The Father announces the time; likewise, only the Father knows the day or hour of the Son’s return for His bride (Mark 13:32–33).

• Love gifts are given. The Groom gives gifts; Jesus gives peace and eternal life (John 10:28; 14:27). The Father gives gifts of the Spirit (John 14:16–17; 2 Cor. 1:21–22).

• The bride takes a purifying bath (mikvah). This pictures the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit, cleansing and preparing us (Acts 1:4).

• Bridesmaids keep lamps ready. We let our light shine, with oil in our lamps, ready for the Bridegroom who comes as a thief in the night (Matt. 25:1–13).

• A shout and trumpet blast announce the Groom. The shofar sounds; likewise, the Rapture includes a shout and the trumpet of God (Rev. 4:1; 1 Thess. 4:16–17; 1 Cor. 15:51–52).

• The Groom snatches the bride. He comes as a thief in the night and takes her to the bridal chamber—unexpectedly (Luke 17:34–36). Jesus will snatch His bride (the church) at an unknown hour.

• Seven-day consummation and celebration. The marriage is consummated and celebrated for seven days (a “shavua,” a week). This typifies seven years: while the world is in tribulation, the church is with Christ in consummation and celebration (Joel 2:15–16; Dan. 9:27). At the end comes the wedding supper of the Lamb.

• Three groups at the wedding: the Groom (Jesus), the Bride (church), and the invited guests (those saved after the Rapture—the tribulation saints). The bride returns with Christ at His Second Coming; the guests are invited to the feast (Rev. 19).

• New home: The couple dwells in Jerusalem. We will reign with Messiah in the Messianic Kingdom (the Millennium) and ultimately in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 20–22).

If you place the Rapture anywhere but before the seven-year tribulation, you disrupt this consistent typology and compress the wedding feast into a “sack lunch.” It doesn’t fit the prophetic pattern.

A related question: “Is there a second chance after the Rapture?” There is no second chance to be the bride after the Rapture, but there is a chance to be saved during the tribulation. Tribulation saints are guests at the wedding feast and will serve at the throne, while the Bride is seated with Christ.

One final note: the partial Rapture theory—that only especially ready or watchful Christians are taken—is unbiblical. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Eph. 2:8–9). All who are born again will be caught up. Christ’s body will not be dismembered; His bride will not be disfigured; His building will not be incomplete. The typology and New Testament teaching demand a complete, pre-tribulational catching away of the entire church.

We’re out of time. Let’s stand and pray.

Father in heaven,
Thank You for Your Word and the blessed hope of Your soon appearing. Let the imminence of the Rapture purify our hearts, steady our steps, and fuel our witness. For those who have never asked, fill and baptize us afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Draw every heart to Jesus today. In His name we pray, Amen.