Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind (39 page)

Once again we see that eschatology is closely tied to ecclesiology. Our theology of the end times is inextricably bound to our theology of the Church. So how do average rapturists view the Church? They believe that it is
not
the zenith of God’s plan throughout the ages or even anticipated in the Old Testament. They call it rather a “parenthesis” in God’s eternal plan—a temporary stand-in for Old Covenant Israel. They believe that the Jews’ rejection of the Messiah in His first advent forced God to initiate “Plan B.” So God is left with two plans, the one foretold in the Old Testament for the Jews, and the last-minute substitute that became the Church. “Most premillenarians … would agree that
a
new covenant has been provided for the church, but not
the
new covenant for Israel” (
TMK
, 214). Because the original plan with its Messianic Kingdom could not be established without the Jews’ approval, God set up the Church for a couple of thousand years, waiting for the right time to offer His Kingdom to the Jews again.

That is the purpose of the future seven-year Great Tribulation: to prod the Jewish people into accepting their Messiah. It will do nothing for the Church, which will already have been raptured to the safety of Heaven—put forever onto the back burner of God’s eternal plan. Those Jews who “accept Christ” during the Great Tribulation and the Millennium will never become a part of the Church. Rather, they will remain an eternally separate, chosen Israel.

One major reason rapturists insist that a tribulation and millennium are necessary is God’s supposed failure to make good on His physical promises to Abraham. Abraham was promised that his kingdom would extend “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18). Rapturists claim that this has never been fulfilled, but the Bible tells us another story. At the pinnacle of the Davidic kingdom, King Solomon dedicated the Temple he built to God, and he claimed that this promise had already been fulfilled in his lifetime! In fact, he blessed the people of Israel by saying, “Blessed be the Lord … not one word has failed of all His good promise” (1 Kings 8:56).

According to rapturists, the Millennium will be the Messianic Kingdom that God had promised to David but never delivered. Ignoring the scriptures that indicate that the physical promises have already been fulfilled, they believe that Jesus must physically rule from an earthly throne in the Middle East.

As hard as this is to imagine, rapturists believe that during this reign of Jesus in Jerusalem, the Temple will be in operation again. Hal Lindsey opines, “Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it” (
LGP
, 56). This means that even its sacrificial system of animal sacrifices must be reinstituted.

But this does not conform with the New Testament writers’ view of the Church: as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies about the heavenly Jerusalem and the new Temple. As the Old Testament progressed, the prophets revealed more and more that the promises of God pointed to an everlasting, spiritual reign, rather than a merely physical kingdom. The spiritual graces we enjoy in the Church are the sum of all that God has been working toward in this world since the sin of Adam. In fact, St. Justin and Tertullian are not unique in teaching that the Church is the whole reason the world, along with Adam and Eve and everyone since, was ever created in the first place (
TSV
, II:4;
ACR
, II:7;
APO
, XXXI:3, XXXII:1)!

Have we lost sight of where we were in The Apocalypse? The angel informed us in the sixth trumpet that there would be “no more delay.” This mystery of God must soon be revealed for all to see. The powerful angel predicts that when the seventh trumpet is sounded, the “mystery of God, as He announced to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled” (10:7).

It has now been sounded, and the voices in Heaven proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (11:15). At the seventh trumpet, the New Covenant has publicly and unmistakably superseded the Old Covenant. This is one of the major messages of The Apocalypse: that the Old Jerusalem, with its sacrifices and rules, must make way, permanently and visibly, for the public establishment of the New Jerusalem. It is the picture of what St. Paul promised in Galatians.

And so it was in 70 A.D., if we follow the chronology given by Christ in the Olivet Discourse. When the Temple fell, it became obvious even to pagan Rome that Christianity was not a sect within Judaism. The Church was free to grow unencumbered by the baggage of the Old Covenant sacrifices being performed daily in the Temple in Jerusalem. The mystery of the Church was free to be fulfilled in the sight of all.

The Apostles understood the pre-eminence of Christ’s Church on the day of Pentecost. In Heaven it was understood from before the foundation of the world and completely accomplished with the Passion. We saw Heaven celebrating the Kingdom’s establishment back in the initial vision, before the very first seal. But the public establishment of the mystery of Christ’s Church became evident to non-Christians with the events of 70 A.D. The stone of Daniel’s vision had arrived and destroyed the statue of earthly kingdoms, and now everyone could see it.

This seventh angel, who announces the Kingdom to the world, is a parallel to the angels in the Olivet Discourse: “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds” (Matt. 24:31). At this point, the gospel message has been proclaimed throughout the civilized world. The mystery of Christ’s Kingdom is evident for all who care to notice. Now, after its dispersal and persecution, it is time for the spiritual revival of the young Church. After the public demise of the Old Covenantal system, the New Covenant could flourish unimpeded by confusion or mixed loyalties. Daniel’s time of covenantal transition has run its course and fulfilled its purpose.

We have now completed the initial vision: all seven seals, all seven trumpets, all seven thunders, and all three woes.

St. John used the seals and trumpets to give us a double look at the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem—first from the perspective of Christ, and then from that of the Sanhedrin. In so doing, he has mimicked Daniel. Daniel’s initial vision is about the statue: the ancient empires viewed from the king’s perspective. The first recapitulating vision of Daniel (the four warlike beasts) views the same empires from the perspective of the conquered. St. John has used both of these perspectives in his initial vision.

Now that we have finished the initial vision, ask yourself, “Is there really anything in this vision that was not already fulfilled in the events surrounding 70 A.D.?” Admittedly, St. John’s descriptions are vivid, but undoubtedly there has already been an adequate fulfillment in the events of the Temple’s destruction. And that is not the only problem for rapturists. Remember that before we examined The Apocalypse, we determined that there is no biblical evidence for a future seven-year Great Tribulation at all! Without it, there is no need for a secret rapture, so it is not surprising that we could find no biblical evidence for that event either. Even rapturists do not claim to be able to find any mention of their secret rapture in these first eleven chapters of The Apocalypse.

Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself. St. John’s first vision is completed. If you understand The Apocalypse through Chapter 11, you are over the hump. The mystery of the Kingdom has been revealed to the world. The remaining visions will recapitulate this initial vision, and some will extend all the way to the final eschaton.

Following Daniel’s outline, however, St. John will first insert a section that will focus more closely on the three key personalities behind the drama of Daniel’s final week of covenantal transition. This personality section provides the background for the rest of The Apocalypse.

The activities of these three personalities span the entire last week of Daniel, which encompasses seven decades. It should not surprise us that Daniel covered the events of three key personalities as well: the Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius. St. John will tell us the history of the Child, the Woman, and the dragon.

The first key personality of Daniel’s seventieth week is “a male Child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (12:5). The idea of ruling with a rod of iron comes from Psalms 2:9, which is generally accepted as a Messianic psalm pointing to Jesus. This Child who will rule with a “rod of iron” is identified in a later vision as “the Word of God” and “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (19:13, 16). The birth of the Child initiates the beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week.

There can be no doubt that the Child is Jesus Christ. That is the overwhelming view of all scholars. Further evidence that the Child symbolizes Jesus is that the “Child was caught up to God and to His throne.” This language is reminiscent of how the Scriptures have described the Ascension of Christ in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:9.

The second key personality of these seven decades is a Woman. In the heavenly Temple, the ark appears as “a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1). Like the two witnesses (11:3), the Woman symbolizes both a group and one specific person who ideally represents that group (GR4).

♦
Mary
. Everything said about the Woman is true of one person, and some of what St. John writes about the Woman is true of no one in all of history
but
that one person: Mary, the Blessed Mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Of course, this makes perfect sense, since, in the vision, the Woman’s identity is inextricably tied to her motherhood. If the Child of the Woman is Jesus, the Woman must be Jesus’ Mother.

Perhaps we read the end of the seventh trumpet so quickly that we missed something. St. John saw “the ark of His covenant … within His Temple” in Heaven (11:19). The Old Covenant ark resided in the Temple’s holy of holies (Exod. 26:33). There, between its two cherubim, God took up His abode with His people. In St. John’s vision, however, there are two temples: the one on earth about to be destroyed, and the one in Heaven, which will endure forever.

The Temple St. John sees is in Heaven, and then he immediately notices a “Woman clothed with the sun.” This is the Woman who bore the Child. Her womb nurtured the God-man before His birth. This makes her the perfect “ark of His covenant.” Mary is the ark of the New Jerusalem Temple.

So both Scripture and Church history point to one and only one woman at this point: Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is the Ark of the New Covenant. No one, absolutely no one, other than Mary fits this description.

Some rapturists, along with other Protestants, are very uncomfortable with Mary, especially the idea of her being enthroned in some role of authority in Heaven. They seem to think it is a doctrine the Church “invented” relatively recently. But this is not true. This teaching concerning Mary goes back to the earliest of the Church Fathers.

In fact, it can be traced back even further than that. Like virtually all the psalms, Psalm 45 is replete with Messianic overtones. Verse 9 speaks of the queen standing at the “right hand” of her King, her Son. The context of Psalm 45 makes it rather clear this is the King’s mother, not His daughter or wife. This can be taken as a small glimpse into the Messiah’s throne room in Heaven (cf. 1 Kings 2:19). Mary sits in Heaven in a place of honor because her Son is the King (cf. Songs 6:9–10).

♦
The Church
. At the same time, the symbolism of the woman goes deeper than just Mary, the individual. Just as Moses and Elijah were particular representatives of the Law and Prophets, Mary has been accepted since the early Church as a symbol and type of the Church. This Woman “clothed with the sun” also symbolizes the Church, just as the witnesses pointed to the Law and the Prophets (GR4).

We rapidly find assurance that our identification of the Woman is correct. “Her offspring” are identified as “those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (12:17). These offspring are clearly the children of Mother Church. From one of the seven letters, we know that even the responsibility to rule the nations will be delegated to the faithful of the Church (2:26–27).

The story of the woman does not progress very far before a third key personality is introduced. This new character is “a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads” (12:3). This dragon is none other than “that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (12:9). In typical apocalyptic language denoting political upheaval (GR5), “his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven” (12:4).

Those who would deny the existence of a personal Satan cannot adequately explain this passage. He is certainly described as more than just a force or influence for evil. In fact, the Church has always described him as more than just an evil influence. The Church speaks of Satan as an evil
person
or spirit who tempted man in his first sin (
CCC
, pars. 397–398).

In the interactions of these three key personalities, St. John summarizes Daniel’s entire seventieth week. This is the only time in The Apocalypse that all seven decades of Daniel’s seventieth week are in focus, making this the pivotal chapter of the book. John has just finished describing the victory of Christ over His foes in the first half of the book and will examine the parallel victory of the Church over her foes in the second half. But here St. John pauses to put into focus the entire seven decades of covenantal transition from the birth of the Messiah until the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple. Everything else in The Apocalypse flows from the historical events described here. In fact, everything in salvation history flows from these events.