The Rapture: When Will It Take Place? Part 7: Conclusion

The Rapture: When Will It Take Place? Part 7: Conclusion
Monday, September 1, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / The church / Thought for Today

When will the Rapture take place? What conclusions can we reach? What can we know with certainty?

Our best option is to trust God. In Matthew 24, Jesus has told us a number of signs to watch for. Doing that is wise. But what about the timing of the Rapture?

We cannot know. God the Father alone knows when Christ will return. We have looked at the major positions about the nature of the Rapture. We have found that most of them have some scriptural support, but all of them also have scriptural problems.

Only one position has such severe problems that it is ruled biblically out of bounds to start with. Full preterism insists that most prophetic passages found in Scripture are not to be taken literally. It is arguably the one view that has no biblical basis. Partial preterism is little better.

Amillennialism insists that a literal millennium does not exist. Some Scripture passages can be found to support aspects of the view. For example, the emphasis on the two covenants biblically fits. Nevertheless, that denial, plus its uncertainty about Israel and the Jews is extremely problematical. As we noted, some of the Dutch Reformed theologians went so far as to say that if the nation of Israel ever came back into existence it would prove dispensationalism; a position they had to backtrack from in 1948.

Then there is dispensationalism and the pretribulation Rapture. We did find that, like amillennialism, Scripture can be found that supports it. The reemergence of Israel is significant. Nevertheless, we also found that many biblical texts used to prove the pretribulation Rapture could not stand up to close biblical analysis.

What do we see? Regarding the Rapture, every theological system has problems. None of them possess absolute biblical certainty. None of them perfectly align with Scripture. As was said at the beginning of the study, the timing of the Rapture is not an eternal life and death issue. It does not determine whether a person is saved or not. That is decided by what one does or does not do regarding Jesus Christ, who He is, His death on the cross and resurrection.

God does not tell us everything. He does not even directly answer some of our most urgent questions. After all, when Jesus was about to return to heaven the disciples asked about the timing of the kingdom’s restoration. That is something we have always wondered about. Think also of the world’s fascination with Nostradamus. How did Jesus answer their question? He told them that it was not for them to know. Still, God does tell us enough.

We will close as we started:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV): But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

We can be certain that Jesus will return. We will be with Him for all eternity. Our loved ones who died in Christ will be with us as well. While on this earth, we grieve their passing, but unlike the world, we do not grieve without hope.

More than anything, we can comfort one another with these words. As believers in Christ, even with our differences regarding the timing of the Rapture, we can encourage one another with the certainty of Christ’s future return. Let us rest in the assurance of that hope!

Share This Blog: