Will the Rapture Be Secret, or Public?

From: May Christ Come at Any Moment: Will the Church of God Go Through the Tribulation? By: Algernon James Pollock

• 3 min. read • grade level: 8

This is a question that is often asked. The world does not believe that the Lord is coming, and treats the Christian's hope as the dream of a disordered mind But the coming of our Lord is bound to be secret, seeing it is to take place in a moment, and that measured by the twinkling of an eye. But its effects, the removal of the Church of God from the earth, manifestly cannot be secret. A vast number of believers in all parts of the world, and in all positions of life, could not simultaneously and suddenly be removed from the earth to heaven without it causing amazement and frightened consternation.

Doubtless it will be a relief to the world when suddenly the "kill-joys" and "marplots" have disappeared. There will be none to oppose the course of unrighteousness. The wheels of Modernism will no longer be checked by the brake of Fundamentalism. Apostasy will be hailed as the greatest triumph of man's progress.

The effect on the world of the removal of the two witnesses, as narrated in Revelation 11:3-12,³And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁴These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. ⁵And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ⁶These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. ⁷And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. ¹⁰And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ¹¹And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. (Revelation 11:3‑12) will, doubtless, have its counterpart when the Church is raptured to glory. When the bodies of the witnesses in a future day, shall lie in the street of Jerusalem as prophesied, the sight will be gloated over by their enemies. We read what the effect will be, " And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." (Rev. 2:10¹⁰Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)).

Doubtless the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the saints at the rapture will be a nine days' wonder, and produce a similar result, and then shall sweep in "the strong delusion", as prophesied in 2 Thess. 2:11, 12¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11‑12).

As to the sounds that accompany the rapture—the Lord's shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God—does not Scripture bear out the thought that they may be secret, so far as anything intelligible to the world is concerned? For instance, Paul, narrating his conversion, says, "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me." (Acts 22:9⁹And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. (Acts 22:9)).

Evidently they heard a sound, but it conveyed nothing intelligible to them. Our Lord prayed in the presence of others, " Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to Him." (John 12:28, 29²⁸Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. ²⁹The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. (John 12:28‑29)).

Evidently the voice, intelligible to our Lord, conveyed no information to the bystanders. Indeed some imagined what they heard was merely a peal of thunder.