The primary debate in the Church regarding the Bible's teaching on the substance and sequence of end time events concerns the timing of the "rapture," or Christ's gathering of His Church upon His return and prior to His judgment of the earth.

We teach that Christ will literally return for His Church prior to judging the earth with His wrath. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10) This will not happen, however, until after the revelation and reign of antichrist, which initiates the time of "great distress" and persecution of "the elect" or the Church. (Matthew 24:15-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

While this view was universally taught in the Christian church for the first 1800 years of its existence, it differs significantly from the view popularized more recently by the Scofield Reference Bible and Tim Lahaye’s Left Behind novels. Evidence for this interpretation includes the following. First, the phrase "the elect" (Greek eklektos) as used in Christ’s description of end time persecution (Matthew 24:22, 24, 31), always includes the Church in the New Testament. (Romans 11:7; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1) Christ Himself uses the word this way in the two other times He is recorded saying it. (Matthew 22:14; Luke 18:7) This makes it very unlikely that Matthew 24 only applies to Jews as is popularly taught. The "rapture" or gathering of the Church by Christ at His return is described in Matthew 24:29-31, placing it "immediately after the distress [persecution] of those days" (v. 29) The similarities between 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and Matthew 24:30-31 indicate they are describing the same event (i.e. the presence of a "trumpet call," "angels," and "clouds"), and this event is the "rapture" or gathering of the Church. It should be noticed as well that Paul introduces his description of the "rapture" with, "According to the Lord’s own word . . ." (v. 15) indicating Christ had taught on the rapture. Where else would this be except in the "Olivet Discourse" of Matthew 24? 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 is further biblical evidence that, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him . . . will not come until . . . the man of lawlessness [antichrist] is revealed." This is in perfect harmony with the sequence of events that Christ teaches in Matthew 24:1-31.

This would seem to correct the popular idea that the "rapture" could occur at any time, without the occurrence of the events described in these passages. We believe the biblical warnings of Christ’s return surprising people apply to non-Christians. One reason for this is that Christ taught if you are surprised by the timing Christ’s return (which would be true of you if He returned right now while you are reading this), you are damned, (Matthew 24:48-51) something that cannot be said of a Christian. We do not believe that the period of end time persecution (the "Great Tribulation") for "the elect" is the same as the outpouring of God’s wrath to judge non-Christians ("the Day of the Lord"). The "Great Tribulation" is the time of Satan’s wrath against God’s people. (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 6:12:6,14; 13:5-7) The use of "saints" in these passages again includes the Church just as it does throughout the New Testament. The "Great Tribulation" cannot be a time of God’s wrath as God’s people are being persecuted, which is not the wrath of God but the wrath of Satan. While God has promised His people persecution on this earth (2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:18-21; 16:33), He has promised that they will not experience His wrath.

Finally, we do not believe that the issue of the biblical substance and sequence of end time events is merely an academic one to be debated by scholars, but rather, it may have very practical ramifications on the Christian life, which explains the great deal of Scripture addressing the topic. Understanding what the Scriptures teach on this topic will obviously be especially important to the generation of Christians who experience the end time events. More specifically, if Christians believe the popular teaching that the real Christ comes before the antichrist and that they are to be rescued from the end time persecution, they will be in great danger of being devastated and disillusioned when the antichrist and the persecution comes before the real Christ and the rapture, as taught in Scripture. This is precisely what happened with the persecuted Thessalonians who were "unsettled" and "alarmed" (2 Thessalonians 2:2) because they were thinking the "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him . . . has already come" and they had been "left behind." Paul corrected their thinking and comforted them by telling them, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him . . . will not come until . . . the man of lawlessness [antichrist] is revealed. . . Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5) If both Paul and Jesus felt the true substance and sequence of end time events were important for people to know, we should as well.