The Three Raptures: The Church, the Wicked, and the Elect of Israel

The Rapture of the Worthy

The Coming Tribulation (Luke 21:5–36)

In Luke 21:5–36, Jesus speaks about the coming tribulation. After describing the trials to come, He turns to those who will live during that time, saying that they "will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:27–28).

Although this prophecy describes intense suffering, Jesus ends His message with a hopeful warning: "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly." He then adds, "For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34–36).

This promise of escape echoes the message to the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:10, where Jesus says that because they have remained faithful, He will keep them "from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." Both passages describe a worldwide judgment and the hope of being taken out before it begins.

Those who are "counted worthy" to escape Jacob's Trouble and stand before Christ must be alert and faithful, avoiding the distractions of sin and worldliness. Ultimately, this promise applies to those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become His followers.

This aligns with Jesus' promise in John 14:1–3:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.

This promise includes both the faithful remnant of Israel and the faithful remnant of the Church. Scripture also suggests that there may be multiple raptures, occurring in a sequence or pattern.

The Purpose of the Tribulation: The Time of Jacob's Trouble

Many understand the tribulation as a future seven-year period of divine judgment upon the earth. However, its main focus appears to be the nation of Israel. Stanley E. Porter notes that the New Testament writers were "probably heavily influenced within this Jewish eschatological framework." Thus, the concept should be interpreted through a Jewish lens, with the Old Testament serving as the foundation and the New Testament clarifying its meaning.

The term "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7) further emphasizes this focus. Christopher Cone explains, "This is the time of Jacob's distress (Jer. 30:7), preceding the restoration of the nation." While the tribulation centers on bringing Israel back to God, others—including the non-remnant of Israel and non-remnant Christians—will also experience its judgments.

Who is Jacob

Cone identifies the events of the Tribulation or Jacob's Trouble as beginning in Revelation 4:1 and ending in 19:10. As stated in Revelation 3:10, its purpose is "to test those who dwell on the earth."

If one assumes that the Church has replaced Israel, then this would be a time of the Church's trouble rather than Jacob's. However, Scripture does not support this view. God's covenant with Israel remains intact. As Isaiah 49:14–16 declares:

"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me."

The same hands that bore the nails of the Cross are inscribed with the name of Israel. If God could forget Israel, He could also forget the Church—but such a thing is unthinkable.

Rapture of the Wicked: The Great Winepress of Wrath

Matthew 24:36–44 is often interpreted as referring to the rapture of the Church, since it describes the coming of the Son of Man and says, "One will be taken and the other left." However, a parallel passage in Luke 17:25–37 sheds more light. When the disciples ask where those "taken" will go, Jesus answers, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Craig A. Evans explains that this refers to judgment, not deliverance: "The answer is grim, Where the body is, that is, where the slain lie about, there the vultures will be gathered." This interpretation aligns with Revelation 19:17–21, which describes "the supper of the great God" where "all the birds were filled with their flesh." Thus, in this context, those "taken" are the wicked who are removed in judgment, not believers taken to be with Christ.

Rapture of the Elect

Mark clarifies the fate of the faithful remnant. Jesus says in Mark 13:24–27 that "after that tribulation," when those alive "see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory," He "will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."

This raises the question of timing: which comes first, the removal of the wicked or the gathering of the elect? Jesus answers in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43). In verse 30, He says, "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Summary of the Rapture Sequence

1. The Worthy (Luke 21:34–36 / John 14:3–4 / Revelation 3:10) – The faithful Church is taken before the time of Jacob's Trouble, escaping the global trial.

2. The Wicked (Matthew 24:40–41 / Revelation 19:17–21) – The "Earth Dwellers,"(1) including the false Church, are taken in judgment.

3. The Elect (Mark 13:27 / Matthew 13:30) – The faithful remnant of Israel is gathered from among the living tribulation saints by Christ's angels after the tribulation.

Those taken in the first rapture receive glorified bodies and are taken to heaven to stand before Jesus. The second and third raptures involve earthly relocations—some to judgment ("the supper of the great God") and others to blessing ("the marriage supper of the Lamb"). Revelation 19:7–8 describes this glorious event:

"His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

If one believes that it is silly to think in multiple raptures, know also that Many Jewish people reject Jesus as the Messiah because they think it is foolish to believe that the Messiah of the Bible will come to Earth multiple times, as well. See below. (2)

(1) Earth Dwellers

Rev 3:10

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Rev 6:10

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Rev 8:13

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

Rev 11:10

And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

Rev 13:8

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:14

And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

Rev 17:8

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The Messiah only comes once Argument

(2) Many Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah primarily because their traditional eschatological beliefs, rooted in the Hebrew Bible, hold that the Messiah will come only once to fulfill all messianic prophecies in a single, transformative event. Scriptures such as Isaiah 11:1–9 and Ezekiel 37:24–28 describe a Messiah who will restore Israel, rebuild the Temple, and establish universal peace in one definitive advent. In contrast, the Christian belief in Jesus' first coming, death, and anticipated second coming to complete these prophecies introduces a concept foreign to Jewish tradition. Historical sources like the Talmud (e.g., Sanhedrin 43a) and Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (Hilkhot Melachim 11:1–4) emphasize that a true Messiah must accomplish all tasks within one lifetime, rejecting any candidate who dies before fulfilling them. Medieval disputations, such as Nachmanides' arguments in the Disputation of Barcelona (1263), and modern scholars like Rabbi Tovia Singer further underscore this view, asserting that the Hebrew Bible does not support a second coming, leading to the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah for failing to meet the expectation of a singular, complete messianic mission.