Rapture Question #3: How is the Rapture a “Mystery”?
Recommended: Rapture Question #1: Is the word “Rapture” found in the Bible?
The previous article Rapture Question #2: What Does the Term “In Christ” Mean?” pointed out that Post-Tribulation proponents believe that since the 1 Thessalonians passage describes the resurrection of the dead, this must be referring to the resurrection which occurs at the 2nd Coming. The first issue with this view is that only the dead “in Christ” are resurrected and this term only refers to members of the Body of Christ.
A second issue with believing this to be the resurrection at the 2nd Coming is regarding the word “mystery” being used in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. The English word “Mystery” is translated from the Greek word mystērion μυστήριον. It is a secret that hitherto has not been revealed.
What is the Biblical Definition of a Mystery?
In Colossians 1:26 Paul indicates that a “mystery” is something that had been hidden from past generations, but is later revealed to the saints.
In a similar way, Paul explains in Epheisans 3:2-6 that the “mystery” that “the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” was revealed to him by Jesus who “made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is NOW revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Paul then reveals another “mystery” when he states: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”1
Was the Coming of the Lord Revealed in the Old Testament?
This event (the Rapture of the Church) was unknown until Paul revealed it to the Church by revelation directly from Jesus Christ. This is very important, because the 2nd Coming and the resurrection of the just and the unjust were clearly discussed in the Old Testament.
In Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel states “I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Zechariah describes the coming of the Lord in Zechariah 14:4-5 in which He stands on the Mount of Olives and it divides in two. In verse 5 it states “…and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.”
Daniel 12:2 describes the resurrection that will occur at the “end of days.” “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt…v13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of days.”
So the “Mystery” that Paul revealed in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 could NOT be referring to the resurrection that occurs at the 2nd Coming because the 2nd Coming was clearly described BEFORE the Church even came into existence, and therefore, wasn’t an undisclosed mystery.
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Notes
1Even though Paul doesn’t specifically state the dead “in Christ” in this passage, at the beginning of this Epistle to the Corinthians, he indicates that he is writing it to “the Church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints which are in Achaia.” He is writing to the believers who by definition are “in Christ.”