Sermon Title: "Rise Before the Wrath: My First Unbiased Search for the Rapture."

Terry W. Bailey
Jul 5
5 min read

Opening Prayer: Father, thank You for the truth of Your Word. Thank You that You are not the author of confusion, but the God of clarity, comfort, and covenant. Open our eyes today as we open Your Word. Let us lay aside every tradition, assumption, or influence that clouds our vision. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Introduction: Brothers and sisters, today I stand (post) before you with an honest heart and a wide-open Bible. For years, I’ve preached to others, “Study it for yourself. Don’t just take a man’s word for it.” And today, I take my own advice.

This message is the result of my first unbiased search of the Scriptures concerning the Rapture — the catching away of the saints. I approached this without commentaries, without denominational glasses, and without my favorite preachers whispering in my ear.

I’m not here to tell you what to believe — I’m here to share what I’ve found, and to challenge you to search it for yourself. Amen?

Point 1: What the Bible Says Plainly — A Pre-Tribulation Hope

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV): "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds..."

Key Word: "Caught up" (Greek: harpazo) — sudden, forceful snatching.
Explanation: This is not poetic — it’s prophetic. Paul is describing a rescue mission. Jesus comes down, we go up. Fast. Loud. Visible.

1 Thessalonians 5:9: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation..."

Explanation: This is a promise, not a maybe. If God has not appointed us to wrath, then we must not be present (or protected) when wrath falls.

Revelation 3:10: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation..."

Key Phrase: "Keep thee from" (Greek: tereo ek) — to guard from or remove from within.
Illustration: Like Noah entering the ark before the flood — not treading water hoping to survive it.

Point 2: What the Bible Hints — A Mid-Tribulation Possibility

Revelation 7:14: "These are they which came out of great tribulation..."

Explanation: Some believe this indicates the Church is present for the first half of the Tribulation but is removed before the worst begins.

1 Corinthians 15:52:"...at the last trump... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Explanation: If the seventh trumpet in Revelation is the same trumpet Paul mentions, then perhaps the Rapture is at the midpoint.
Illustration: Like being evacuated in the middle of a storm — protected before it becomes lethal.

Point 3: What Others Teach — A Post-Tribulation Return

Matthew 24:29-31: "Immediately after the tribulation... he shall send his angels... and they shall gather together his elect..."

Explanation: This clearly describes a gathering of believers after a time of tribulation. But is it the same event as the Rapture?

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10:"...when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven... taking vengeance... and to be glorified in his saints."

Explanation: This could describe the Second Coming, when the Church returns with Jesus — not to meet Him in the air, but to reign with Him.
Illustration: Like soldiers marching through the battle only to be crowned in victory.

Point 4: What the Old Testament Adds — Prophetic Foundations and Foreshadows

Daniel 12:1-2: "And at that time shall Michael stand up... and there shall be a time of trouble... and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book... many of them that sleep in the dust... shall awake..."

Explanation: Daniel saw a time of great tribulation paired with a supernatural deliverance of God’s people and a resurrection. It strongly parallels Paul's New Testament teaching.

Isaiah 26:20-21: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers... hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."

Explanation: A prophetic picture of God hiding His people during a time of judgment — a foreshadowing of a rapture-like rescue.
Illustration: Like God sheltering His people while His judgment falls outside — a spiritual safehouse during tribulation.

Point 5: What About Those Left in the Field? Clarifying the Mystery of Who Goes

Luke 17:34-35: "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

Key Word: "Taken" (Greek: paralambano) — can mean to receive near, to take alongside. It is the same word used when Jesus said in John 14:3, "I will come again and receive you unto myself."
Explanation: This implies a welcoming, not a removal for judgment. Jesus uses this term to describe taking His followers to be with Him — not casting them away.
Illustration: If the saints are the ones taken, it’s like a bridegroom receiving the bride — a gathering, not a discarding.

Counterthought: But if we confuse this with passages of judgment, where the wicked are removed first (e.g., the flood), we must examine the context carefully.

Context and keyword usage matter.

Noah & Lot as Types (Luke 17:26-30): Jesus compares His return to the days of Noah and Lot:

In Noah's day, the righteous entered safety; the wicked were swept away.
In Lot’s day, the righteous were removed from danger; the city was destroyed afterward.

Conclusion: The consistent pattern is this — the righteous are preserved or rescued, while the wicked are left for judgment. That strengthens our understanding that those "taken" in Luke 17 are taken to safety, not judgment.

Conclusion: What I've Found So Far

After searching the Scriptures without bias:

Most Likely: A Pre-Tribulation Rapture, based on clear promises of rescue from wrath.
Less Likely: A Mid-Tribulation Rapture, depending on how you interpret the trumpets.
Least Likely: A Post-Tribulation Rapture, though not without some textual support, it blends the Church’s rescue with Christ’s final return.

However, by expanding this study to include the Old Testament and the words of Jesus Himself, we find that the foundations laid by the prophets and patterns set by God confirm the hope described by the apostles.

While the Old Testament doesn’t use the term “Rapture,” it paints a clear prophetic picture: God delivers His faithful people before or during His judgment.

This is not the end of my study — it’s the beginning of a deeper dive. I challenge you: don’t believe something just because I said it. Go, search it for yourself.

The Word is a lamp. The Spirit is our guide. And Jesus is on His way!