What Is the Secret Rapture?

Many people believe that the coming of Jesus will take place in two separate stages. The first phase in this theory CANNOT be supported by the Bible. This first stage is the idea of the secret rapture—or the carrying away of the saved to heaven in a secret manner at the beginning of a time of tribulation or time of trouble. The second phase, which CAN be supported by the Bible, occurs at the close of earth’s history when Jesus will return to earth openly in the clouds of heaven with triumph and glory to take His faithful children home to heaven.

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The Rapture and the Bible

Jesus did indeed promise that He would return to earth to take His people to be with Him. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:1-3, NKJV).

Did Jesus mean that He would return secretly and “rapture” His people from earth, leaving behind those who are lost to wonder where their raptured friends and relatives have gone? This is the belief of those who hold to the idea of the secret rapture. In these verses, Jesus doesn’t say how He will return—secretly or otherwise. But other Bible texts make plain what will happen when Jesus returns.

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Signs of Jesus' Second Coming

Will Jesus' Second Coming Be Secret?

Man lifting up his soul and arms on grassy field

After His resurrection, Jesus returned to heaven, and the disciples watched as He rose into the sky. The Bible says, “While they [the disciples] watched, He [Jesus] was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men [angels] stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11, NKJV).

Two points stand out in these verses. First, the Jesus who returns to earth the second time is the very same Jesus who lived here on earth with human beings and went back to heaven following His resurrection. Second, He will return to earth the same way—“in like manner”—as He went back to heaven. How did Jesus go to heaven following His resurrection? Did He go secretly? No. The disciples watched Him rise, literally, bodily, into the air until a cloud hid Him from their sight. These verses tell us that Jesus will return to earth the same way—not secretly, but openly and in the clouds.

Another Bible text makes it even more clear that Jesus will not return secretly. “Behold, He [Jesus] is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him” (Revelation 1:7, NKJV). This text says that when Jesus comes, every eye—everyone on earth—will see Him come. That doesn’t sound like He is coming secretly! Matthew says that Jesus’ coming will be as visible as the lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other. “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:27, NKJV). The Bible says that Jesus will come in glory with the angels (see Matthew 16:27); that He will come with the shout of the archangel and a blast from the trumpet of God (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17); that the wicked will see Him coming and cry out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from His face (see Revelation 6:14-17); and that He will return as King of kings, leading the armies of heavenly angels (see Revelation 19:11-16). All these texts make it clear that Jesus’ coming is anything but secret!

Will Jesus Come Like a Thief in the Night?

The Bible does say, “The day of the Lord [the second coming of Christ] will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10, NKJV; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:2). But does this mean that He will come secretly and snatch away the saved, leaving the wicked behind? No. This very text that says Jesus will come like a thief in the night, also says that the heavens will pass away with a great noise. That can’t be secret!

So what does it mean for Jesus to come “like a thief in the night”? The apostle Paul says, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, NKJV). Jesus’ coming will be unexpected by those who are not watching and waiting for Him. It will come upon them like a thief in the night. But God's people—who are not of the night nor of darkness—will be looking for Him. They will be aware of the signs of His coming and will know that it is near. Jesus’ coming will not overtake them like the unexpected appearance of a thief. Jesus clarifies this even more by saying, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:43-44).

Therefore, what the Bible means by saying that Jesus’ coming will be like a thief in the night is that it will be unexpected to those who are not watching for Him.

Raptured or Left Behind?

But doesn’t Matthew 24:37-42 say that when Jesus comes, some people will be snatched away and others will be left behind? Let’s see what Matthew says: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:37-42, NASB).

Matthew says that when Jesus comes it will be like it was in the time of Noah—some people will be saved and other people will be destroyed. There is no third party that is left on the earth to continue their life as usual. At the time of Jesus’ second coming, the righteous that have chosen Jesus above everything else will go to heaven with Him and those who have consistently rejected Him, will perish in the tomb.

The Seven Years of Tribulation

Those who hold to the idea of a secret rapture also believe that there will be seven years of tribulation following the rapture, and that, during this time, individuals who were left on earth will have another opportunity to accept Jesus and be saved. Is there any Bible evidence for this belief?

First, as we have seen above, there is no one left alive on the earth after Jesus’ second coming. The righteous are in heaven with Jesus for 1,000 years and the wicked are dead in the tomb.

Second, there is no biblical evidence for a seven-year period of tribulation following Jesus’ return to earth. The Bible is clear that when Jesus returns, every person’s eternal fate has been decided; individuals who are lost will not have a second chance to be saved.

Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12, NKJV). The Bible presents Jesus’ second coming as the great climactic event of the ages when men and women are either saved or lost for eternity. There is no seven-year period to reconsider our lives and change our destiny.

That is not to say there will not be a tribulation. The Bible does certainly foretell a coming “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time” (Daniel 12:1). However, this time of tribulation will occur before Jesus’ return, not after. But the Bible continues the same verse by saying, “And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” What a great promise of hope! We do not need to fear if our names are written in the Book of Life. Each of us who have claimed the blood of Jesus over our sinful lives and accepted His promise of grace and mercy will be saved.

Are the Elect Raptured Before the Tribulation?

Does Scripture support the interpretation that Christian believers will be raptured before the time of trouble, and thus saved from the time of tribulation and the schemes of the antichrist?

Jesus doesn’t leave us in the dark but rather sheds light on the event that will be like none other before it. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

One must question, if the “elect,” or God’s people, are raptured before “the great tribulation,” why would they need the days “shortened?” They will need them shortened because God’s people are still on earth. They would not survive if it went on for much longer. Because of His love for us, God shortens those tumultuous days.

Actually, all throughout the Bible, we are given examples of God’s people being saved in the middle of tribulations, not being saved before them.

  • When the Israelites were captive in Egypt, God preserved them in the midst of the plagues that devastated Egypt. Just as Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage after the plagues, so God's church will be protected through the plagues and be delivered from the hand of the oppressor (1 Corinthians 10:11; Psalm 91; Psalm 46).
     
  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego entered the flames when they refused to yield to the universal death decree of Babylon's King. Their death-defying faith led them to face the flames of tribulation, and in those flames, God miraculously delivered them (Daniel 3:16-28).
     
  • Daniel’s decision to be faithful in his daily prayers caused him to be tossed into the lion’s den. God saved Daniel while he was going through tribulation, not before it came (Daniel 6).
     

Similarly, right before Christ returns, the faithfulness of the God’s people will cause them to be the target of the ungodly, bringing about a time of persecution and great tribulation by the antichrist. However, just as throughout all of Biblical history, God will preserve His people. The same Jesus that was with the Hebrew people during the plagues and in the fire and lion’s den, will go with us through our trials in the last days. When the last day judgments are poured out on the world, God will shield those who follow Him with all their heart and mind.

How Old Is the Rapture Theory?

Historically, the belief in the secret rapture is relatively new. Although a few early church writers dipped their toes into ideas connected to the rapture, the idea of a secret rapture as we know it today didn’t become popular until the 1830s. And many of the early leaders of the Protestant faith such as John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon, among others, understood from the Bible that Christ’s coming would be a literal, audible, glorious event for God’s persecuted people who would be taken to heaven after they endured the great tribulation.

Conclusion

Therefore, we see that the Bible does not support the idea of a secret coming of Christ for a few good people prior to His magnificent, visible coming in glory.

Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, describes the great day of Jesus' second coming: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).

What a great day that will be! Jesus will come and rescue us, His children, from all evil and pain. He will take us home to live with Him in perfect happiness for all eternity. Will you be ready to go to heaven with Jesus when He comes?