Chuck Missler: What about the Rapture? – Ron Matsen and Chuck Missler Q&A

In this Q&A session, Ron Matsen sits down with Chuck Missler to address one of the most debated topics in Bible prophecy—the Rapture. Is the Rapture truly biblical? Has it already taken place, or is it still to come? What signs should believers be watching for? And will the Body of Christ really be spared from God’s wrath? Join the discussion as Chuck Missler unpacks Scripture and tackles these critical end-times questions.

What about the Rapture? – Ron Matsen and Chuck Missler Q&A

Ron Matsen: Hello, I’m Ron Matsen. This is the Q&A program here in New Zealand. I’m joined by Dr. Chuck Missler. Welcome, Chuck—how are you?

Chuck Missler: Nice to be with you, my friend.

Ron: In today’s session, we’re going to do something a little different. When we look back at all the questions coming in, without exception the topic people keep coming back to is the doctrine of the Rapture.

Chuck: I’ve called it the most preposterous doctrine. I think we, as Bible believers, need to admit that it has to be the most preposterous belief that we embrace. And the only excuse we have is that it’s clearly biblical.

Ron: Right—and many people wince at that because it’s so hard for us to visualize.

Chuck: Exactly. Yet if you take the Bible seriously, the Rapture is all through it. We’re all familiar with it: Jesus announces it in the Upper Room discourse, and then 1 Thessalonians 4, 2 Thessalonians 2, and 1 Corinthians 15 are classic. Those passages are so well-traveled we don’t have to get into them here—other than to acknowledge that yes, it seems like a pretty weird view. Our only excuse is that it clearly is biblical.

Ron: Another thing people bring up is that the Rapture is a New Testament concept.

Chuck: Of course it is—your teaching on the Rapture has a whole list of New Testament references. That’s where most people go, because while we take the whole Bible, we tend to be New Testament–focused. But the shock to many Bible-believing men and women is that it’s in the Old Testament too. I’ve been challenged many times, “Where in the Old Testament?” We’re going to talk Rapture—but only in the Old Testament first.

Ron: All right, Isaiah?

Chuck: Isaiah. Let’s go to chapter 26. I’ll read from verse 19 to the end of the chapter:

Isaiah 26:19–21
“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”

That’s a resurrection in verse 19—and then, “Come, my people, enter your chambers…hide yourself…until the indignation is past.” That sure sounds like the Rapture and protection from wrath.

Ron: Agreed. The first part is clearly resurrection. Then there’s a second group alive at some event, placed into a closed chamber while indignation is poured out. It echoes Jesus’ promise: “I go to prepare a place for you.”

Chuck: Exactly. Now, Psalm 27:5:

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me upon a rock.”

The “rock,” of course, is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10). Hidden in His pavilion.

Ron: That builds on Isaiah—hidden in His tabernacle.

Chuck: Psalm 57:1 as well:

“Be merciful unto me, O God…yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

Again, a hint—refuge until calamities pass.

Ron: People ask, “Is the word Rapture in the Bible?”

Chuck: If you have a Latin Bible, yes. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate uses rapturo to translate the Greek harpazō—“to be caught away by force.” That’s 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The concept is precisely that: snatched away.

Ron: Let’s try Zephaniah 2:3.

Chuck: Good. Zephaniah 2:3:

“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth…seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.”

Another allusion to being hidden during wrath.

Ron: Psalm 83 also mentions “your hidden ones.”

Chuck: Yes—Psalm 83:3: “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.” Again, an allusion to a group hidden away.

So we’ve looked at five Old Testament passages that hint at the Rapture/harpazō. If the concept is valid, it should be consistent Old and New Testament—and we find veiled patterns in the Old.

Ron: The Bible is an integrated system. We arbitrarily divide it into Old and New Testaments, but prophecy is also pattern. For example, Numbers 21—the brazen serpent. The Old Testament never explains why God did it that way—until John 3.

Chuck: Right—John 3:14–16 ties it together: “As Moses lifted up the serpent…even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” The Old plants a pattern; the New reveals its meaning. Design.

Ron: You also show seven “Rapture patterns” in Scripture. For instance, Enoch in Genesis 5—taken prior to judgment.

Chuck: Enoch walked with God; he was not, for God took him. He was given a prophecy (Methuselah’s name means, in effect, “his death shall bring”), and the Flood came the year Methuselah died. The Flood wasn’t a surprise—it had been preached for generations.

Ron: Elijah in 2 Kings 2—caught up without dying. So, we have veiled references and personal patterns.

Chuck: Exactly. On timing: people ask about pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath, post-trib. It really hinges on understanding Daniel 9:24–27.

Ron: The last four verses of Daniel 9 are the backbone. If you grasp them, everything else falls into place.

Chuck: Verse 24 sets the scope. Verse 25 breaks out 7 + 62 “weeks”—that’s 69. Verse 26 describes events after the 69 but before the 70th: Messiah cut off (crucifixion) and the Temple destroyed (AD 70). That necessarily implies a gap—an interval we’re currently in. Verse 27 is the 70th week itself, split into two halves. The midpoint is the “abomination of desolation” (cf. Matthew 24). The last half is what Jesus labels “the Great Tribulation.” The Holy Spirit is precise: 42 months, 1,260 days, time-times-half a time.

Ron: What starts the 70th week?

Chuck: The text says a coming leader “confirms a covenant” with many for one week (not necessarily signs a new one). In the middle, he breaks it—ending sacrifice. That implies a functioning Temple by mid-week. Whether the Rapture is before that week begins is inferred from other doctrines—especially imminence.

Ron: Right: imminence means we’re to expect Christ at any time—not after specific countdown markers. If the Church were still here after the abomination, you could just count 1,260 days—contradicting imminence.

Chuck: Precisely. That’s why I’m pre-trib and pre-wrath (labels aside). Those Old Testament allusions imply we’re removed from the time of wrath, not merely protected through it. Views that deny imminence don’t fit the full biblical data.

Ron: Paul had to correct the Thessalonians twice (1 & 2 Thessalonians): they hadn’t missed the Rapture—and if they were still present, the Rapture hadn’t happened yet. Clear pastoral guidance.

Chuck: Exactly. The Rapture changes how we live: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” If you think you’re destined for the Great Tribulation’s judgments, you won’t pray that way.

Ron: And all of this rests on careful exegesis, precision with terms, and letting Scripture define Scripture.

Chuck: Amen. Be precise. The Holy Spirit is precise.

Ron: Chuck, thank you. I know this will answer many questions—and raise a few more! Friends, don’t believe anything just because we said it. Go through the Scriptures yourself, verse by verse, with precision, and see where you land.

Thank you, and may God bless you as you continue to study His Word.