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IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPTURE . . . There are many sound reasons for believing in the Rapture, or the First Resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6). We shall list a few of them here with brief explanations and scripture references:(1) To not have the church called out would mean that Christians stay on the earth and meet Jesus on the earth when He returns. The Bible plainly states that this is not the manner in which we will meet our Saviour. In addition to the reference above from I Thessalonians 4:16-18, which states that believers are to be “caught up,” remember that Jesus said, “. . . if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) This clearly is a separate event from the Second Advent when Jesus returns to the earth to destroy the wicked and establish His kingdom.(2) The Rapture is necessary in order that Christians might be called up to heaven before the Judgment Seat of Christ and then be judged and rewarded for their service (Rom. 14:10; II Cor. 5:10). No lost people will be present at this judgment, yet millions of lost people will be on the earth.(3) The Rapture is also necessary in order for Christians to take part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and then return with Christ at the Second Advent (Rev. 19:9-21).(4) If the “he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (II Ths. 2:7) is a reference to the Holy Spirit indwelling the church, then the church must be removed from the earth so the Antichrist can arise and fulfill his satanic calling (II Ths. 2:8-12).(5) The church must be taken out of the world so as to escape the wrath of the Great Tribulation. I Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 1:10 says that we are waiting for God’s Son from heaven, “. . . which delivered us from the wrath to come.”(6) It is in the Rapture that Christians receive their new incorruptible bodies, a special event that doesn’t concern the world in any way (I Cor. 15:51-52).(7) The Rapture doctrine is supported by Biblical typology. It’s truly sad that so few Christians have an appreciation for (or even an understanding of) the many types that God has planted in His word. When it comes to prophecy, there are types of the Second Coming, types of the Great Tribulation, types of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, and, yes, there are types of the Rapture. We here offer three examples:(a) Enoch’s translation without dying before the flood is a type of the church being translated to heaven before the Tribulation (Gen. 5:2; Heb. 11:5).(b) Lot’s special deliverance from God’s judgment on Sodom is a type in the same way (Gen. 19).(c) In John 11:24, Martha told Jesus that her brother Lazarus would not be resurrected until the “last day,” but Jesus disagreed in verses 25 & 26, and He then raised Lazarus BEFORE the last day in verses 43 and 44, just as He will one day raise the church.