No other biblical teaching receives as much ridicule within the Christian community; it’s not even close. It even happens within the walls of churches that claim to believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. What doctrine receives so much scoffing? It’s none other than our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture.
The online Cambridge Dictionary defines a scoffer as “someone who laughs and speaks about a person or idea in a way that shows that they think that person or idea is stupid or silly.” This accurately sums what often happens when such people hear about our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
The book of Proverbs describes scoffers as those that:
- Spurn reproof – Proverbs 9:7-8, 13:1, 15:12
- Exhibit pride and arrogance – Proverbs 21:24
- Cause quarreling and division – Proverbs 22:10, 29:8
- Seek wisdom in vain – Proverbs 14:6
The Apostle Peter warned that such people who would arise during the last days asking, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).
The word for “coming” in the above text is parousia, a word that denotes Jesus’s presence and its resulting impact on the world. The Lord used the same word in Matthew 24:37-38 to denote the sudden onset of judgment on the earth at His coming.
Former pastor and author Ray C. Stedman, in his book What on Earth Is Happening? wrote this about Jesus’ use of parousia in these verses: “In one sense, He is describing one event: His parousia, His presence on earth. The parousia begins with His return to remove the church, and it climaxes with His glorious manifestation. So these two events are really different aspects of one parousia, one presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Beginning with the pre-Tribulation Rapture, the earth will feel Jesus’ presence via the Day of the Lord wrath during the Tribulation period, His spectacular Second Coming, and His thousand-year reign.
Today’s scoffers ridicule our belief of Jesus’ unexpected and sudden intervention in our world, His parousia.
They Cause Division in the Church
Please know that the blame for divisions that arise because of our belief in Jesus’ imminent appearing does not result from our adherence to it, but rather from those who suppress any mention of the Rapture in their churches. Such places of worship often seek to take the “high road” by regarding the Rapture as tertiary, or of lesser importance than other doctrines, and therefore not an issue that should divide believers.
However, more times than not, such a stance silences those of us who watch for Jesus’ imminent appearing. It often leaves us out in the cold without a church home. Pay close attention to the words of Jude 17-19: “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”
There will always be people who disagree with the message of God’s Word. If division erupts as a result of our adherence to what Scripture tells us, the fault lies with those who scoff at our beliefs. This is particularly true for those who scoff at our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
Scoffers Don’t Recognize the Signs of the Times
I’m shocked by how many writers, pastors, and teachers deny the reality of the approaching seven-year Tribulation and thus the Rapture that precedes it. They misinterpret John’s words in Revelation 6-18 as symbolism or past history, which blinds them to how so many world events are shaping the world for the fulfillment of the judgments described in these chapters.
They boast of a wisdom that enables them to understand what the biblical prophets actually meant. They retrofit their words to fit their errant understanding that God has rejected Israel.
During a long lunchtime conversation with a pastor who denied a future for Israel, he accused prophecy watchers like us of “reading the paper in one hand with the Bible in the other.” In other words, he claimed that what we see today is not the fulfillment of prophecy but rather our attempts to make it fit with what Scripture says. In reality, his inability to recognize that we live in the last days results from following current events with a closed Bible.
I recognize that there’s a significant difference between those who ridicule our belief in the Rapture and those who are willing to respectfully listen to us despite not agreeing with our beliefs. In my experience, however, scoffing is much more prevalent when it comes to Jesus’ imminent appearing than that of those genuinely seeking to discern the truth from Scripture.
My passion is to defend the biblically sound teachings of premillennialism and the pre-Tribulation Rapture. That’s what gets me up in the morning and keeps me writing. The ability to recognize the signs of the approaching Tribulation comes from the wisdom that flows from a biblically sound approach to prophecy.
So, what do the scoffers tell us about the Rapture?
First, they tell us it’s exceedingly close because their mocking is itself a sign that we live in the last days before we meet Jesus in the air.
Second, the widespread dismissal of the Lord’s imminent return, which has given rise to mocking of our hope, tells us that the fulfillment of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:45 is at hand:
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
When the Rapture happens, Jesus will quickly take us to glory, and sudden destruction will fall on those left behind. Although we don’t know when, we obey the Lord by watching for it.
