The rapture concealed in the Old Testament prophecies confirms New Testament revelations identifying the event immediately before the rapture.

READ TIME: 6-7 Minutes

The Rapture Timing

In my last post, I described paradigms of the rapture as foreshadowed through the events of Noah and Lot. But the Old Testament also includes specific prophecies relating an escape or rescue of God’s people to the Day of the Lord. These events are also consistently linked in the New Testament so that we will recognize the time immediately preceding the rapture.

The rapture’s timing may seem like a mere curiosity, but it is a crucial clue to explaining the nature and purpose of the rapture in relation to the events at the end of the age.

By understanding the timing, we can better understand these questions:

1. Why the saints will be raptured,
2. To what extent, if any, will we experience the great tribulation, and
3. How much longer we may have on this earth?

Understanding the rapture is key if we want to understand how the events of the end of this age transpire.

The Rapture Concealed in Old Testament Prophecy

Surprisingly, the concept of the rapture was first introduced about 800 years before Christ, concealed in Old Testament prophecy.

The Day of the Lord is mentioned throughout the Bible to describe a time of God’s wrath. Some of these references are for fulfilled prophecies, but others refer to the end of the age.

The prophecies about the end of the age are easy to recognize. The first prophet to use the term “Day of the Lord” and describe its attributes was Joel (~790-760 BC). Joel described this time is as follows:

“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.“

These themes are echoed in prophecies by Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zephaniah, and Daniel. Even Peter quotes Joel’s words in Acts 2, under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

But far less attention is paid to the next part of Joel’s prophecy:

“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.“

So the question that comes to mind is what is meant by the words delivered and escape?

Unraveling the Concealed Rapture

Many Old Testament prophecies were mysteries until Jesus revealed them.

The Hebrew words Joel used for delivered and escape are malat and peletah. Malat means to slip away or slip through and is based on a root word denoting slipperiness. Peletah means escape and generally refers to a remnant, not the population as a whole.

Physical escape is not possible on the Day of the Lord. No one will escape God’s wrath. This insight comes from the words of the prophet Amos. “It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him.“

Confirming Joel’s prophecy, an angel told Daniel of an escape around 200 years later. “And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time, your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.“

The Hebrew word used by the angel translated as rescued is the same Hebrew word used by Joel, malat (to slip away).

So it is clear from these Old Testament prophets that a remnant will slip away or be rescued by God after the signs in the skies.

But is the slipping away a worldly escape or a supernatural one?

The New Testament reveals this mystery.

Jesus Reveals the Rapture in a Time of Great Tribulation

In answering His disciples’ questions about the end of the age, Jesus describes a series of events that will occur up through the rapture.

In Matthew 24, Jesus reiterates the words of Joel, stating, “…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Immediately after describing the Day of the Lord, Jesus tells of the escape or rescue. “…they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.“

The order of events Jesus gives of the Day of the Lord followed by a rescue or escape is the same as described in Joel and Daniel.

But Jesus also reveals the nature of the escape first prophesied in the Old Testament. He tells us angels will come and gather the elect. These are the remnant, the few of many, consistent with Joel’s use of the word peletah.

So from these scriptures, we confirm the relative timing of the rapture. But we also learn that the escape prophesied by Joel and Daniel will be supernatural.

Paul then confirms this.

Consistency of Rapture Timing

Paul gives us still another view of this event. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.“

So we can clearly see from all of these scriptures that the Day of the Lord will come with signs in the sun, moon, and stars, then Jesus will appear, and then the angels will gather and bring us up into the air to meet Jesus.

But some argue that the concept of rescue isn’t consistent with our mission as believers. Aren’t we as believers called to overcome? Do we not have authority over demons? Why do we need to be rescued?

The timing reveals the answer.

Why the Rapture is a Rescue

In Revelation 6, John uses this same language related to the sixth seal as Joel, Daniel, and Jesus. “… the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth…“

But Revelation 6 gives us even more insight. Revelation 6 tells us that this event marks the beginning of God’s wrath. “…for the great day of Their [the Father and the Lamb] wrath has come…“

Before the rapture – before God pours out His wrath in the Day of the Lord, we believers will experience tribulation. This tribulation will come in the form of conquered governments, war, famine, social upheaval, and death by pestilence, famine, and violence.

This tribulation comes as Jesus opens the first four seals and releases the four horsemen. We will also experience great persecution, and many will be martyred following the opening of the fifth seal. But when Jesus opens the sixth seal, the Day of the Lord will commence.

And Paul wrote, “…that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.“

So you can see that we are not rescued from the Beast/Antichrist and the False Prophet. We are called to overcome them. We are rescued from God’s wrath, which starts with the sixth seal.

This is consistent with the days of Noah and Lot. See, Noah was not rescued from the violence and corruption of the earth, but from the judgment of the flood. And Lot was not rescued from the evil inhabitants of Sodom but from God’s judgment. Likewise, we will not be rescued from the evil of the Antichrist but from God’s wrath.

So what does this tell us about our time, if any, in the Great Tribulation?

The Rapture and the Great Tribulation

Eight verses before Jesus described the Day of the Lord in Matthew 24, He said a time of “great tribulation” will begin. It begins after an event known as the abomination of desolation. Paul tells us what this event will entail. “…it [the Day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.“

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24, that this will begin a period of great tribulation and that after a short period of destruction, the rapture will follow.

Revelation confirms this concept.

John describes the effect of the rapture after the sixth seal, with a great multitude arriving in heaven in Revelation 7. “…a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.“

So while we will technically be on earth for the beginning of the period known as the great tribulation, we will not be here long.

The Rapture is Coming

I don’t subscribe to the belief that the rapture can occur at any moment. This theory ignores specific scriptures referencing the rapture and the sequence of events leading up to it. The Day of the Lord is the final event before the rapture, but there are more. Working backward, these include the abomination of desolation, the persecution of the church, and the four horsemen.

As documented in my last series of posts, I believe the four horsemen are already riding upon the earth. The persecution of the church is just starting, and we may be only a few years away from the rise of the Antichrist.

In my next post, I will talk more about this timeline and the possible windows of time for when these events may occur.

Related Posts:

Rapture: What Happens if We Look Back?

The Rapture – Scripture Settles the Pre-Tribulation and Post-Tribulation Debate

Dead Sea Scrolls Research Frames Timing of Jesus’ Return

Sign up for Updates on New Posts (email not shared)

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human: