It is taught by many "Fundamentalist" religious groups, and is often a theme of popular TV and radio evangelists. Several best-selling religious books have been written about it. A few years ago Hal Lindsey wrote The Late Great Planet Earth, and it was also made into a movie. "Some drivers and pilots supposedly suddenly vanish, causing many wrecks and crashes."
Currently the book Left Behind by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, along with a very professionally made movie of the same name, in a popular entertainment format teaches this same dispensational premillennial idea. The result of this "blitz" of teaching is that many people accept this teaching as though it is a commonly known and established future event. The idea of "the rapture" is that Christ will soon appear and snatch away from the earth all who are saved, while leaving the unsaved on the earth for a period of time. Most of us have probably read articles or have heard hair-raising narration's of what these people say will occur when Christ "raptures" the saved. They tell of men awakening and finding their wives and children gone. Others at work suddenly disappear from their machines and desks. Some drivers and pilots supposedly suddenly vanish, causing many wrecks and crashes. Those not "raptured" panic, not knowing what has happened. They jam the phone lines as they call the police. Generally, chaos is pictured as resulting. Finally, remembering what they had formerly heard taught, they begin realizing that "the Rapture" has taken place, and they were not ready, so they were left behind!
Separate resurrections of the good and evil are taught in this theory. According to dispensationalists, the righteous are to be resurrected when the rapture occurs; then some seven years later the martyred tribulation saints are also to be resurrected to take part in the thousand year earthly kingdom. It is only after this that the wicked are resurrected. Jesus' statement. In John 5:28-29 belies this idea. He said "the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth..." Some have tried to escape the force of this by saying that "all" simply refers to the saved. If this were so, their theory would still be wrong for it has the saved being resurrected at two different hours, seven years apart! But the remainder of Jesus' statement even takes care of this quibble, saying, "...they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." He clearly taught that all of the good and evil will be raised the same hour!
A secret coming of Christ is demanded by this theory, but no such coming is taught in the Bible. In discussing the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24, Jesus warned the disciples not to believe those who would say, "Lo, here is Christ, or there" (verses 23-26). Why could they be so certain Christ had not returned? Jesus explained, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (verse 27). Just a flash of lighting from horizon to horizon can be seen by all, so Christ's coming will be seen by everyone! It will not be a secret event that will happen so furtively that most people will not even realize Christ has come until hours later. Acts 1: 11 assures us, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Two future comings of Christ are demanded by the dispensationalists. They, themselves, call one of these "the rapture" and the other "the revelation." Jesus promised in John 14:3, It is noteworthy that he did not say, "I will come again, and then again." Hebrews 9:28 tells us that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." This theory would also demand a third time! Aware that the Bible only speaks of a second coming, dispensationalists like to downplay this by referring to the first and second "phase" of his coming. However, this play on words does not cover the fact that they teach that he is coming two more times, with a seven-year interval between his second and third comings. The Bible teaches one future coming of Christ!
A great tribulation period is not a teaching of the Bible. True, times of tribulation are mentioned in several passages, but none such period at the end of the age is taught in the Bible. Matthew 24:21, which mentions "great tribulation," is often misused by dispensationalists to establish their claim This tribulation, though, was to occur at the destruction of Jerusalem - not at the end of this dispensation. Verses 16-20 show that they could not possibly refer to conditions when Christ returns, for of what benefit would these statements (concerning not taking time to return to the house for possessions, the hardship of expecting a child or nursing one, and the fleeing during the winter) be if this describes Christ's second coming?
Revelation 7-14 is also claimed as a proof text for this idea. But it simply speaks of victorious saints who had suffered "great tribulation" for the Lord, who, having overcome all obstacles, were now rewarded by the Lord. Neither of these scriptures (nor do any others) teach a great tribulation period at the end of this dispensation of time.
The antichrist concept of premillennialism is foreign to the scriptures. "Anti" means against."Antichrist" simply means against Christ. The term is never used in the Bible to designate one person who is to be leader of the forces of evil at the end of this age. 1 John 2:18 helps answer this false emphasis. John here said, "even now (at the time John wrote during the first century) are there many antichrists..." That there were many antichrists refutes the claim that the Bible teaches that one Antichrist will appear at the end of this age and be prominent during a seven year period. It would be amusing (were it not so serious a matter, resulting in misled souls) if we could see a complete list of names of those who have been names as the coming Antichrist through the years. Such names as various popes, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and even Henry Kissinger have been given as the one who would be the coming Antichrist! Who their current candidate for this is, I do not know! That the "prophets" for dispensationalism have obviously missed the mark in past predictions does not seem to bother their followers. Deuteronomy 18:22 is commonly ignored by all followers of modem prophets!
The battle of Armageddon, as a coming confrontation between the forces
of the Antichrist and those of Christ at his coming is foreign to all scripture.
Verse 14 of Revelation 16 mentions a "battle," and verse 16 mentions a
place called "Armageddon." The Antichrist is not mentioned in this context
at all, nor do we find anything about Christ's second coming here. Those
teaching these premillennial doctrines are noted for saying that prophetic
statements should be accepted in a literal sense. Yet they are quite arbitrary
in making literal only the parts that can be fit to their theory! The battle
in this text they always make literal, carnal warfare.
But will they really accept everything in this context as literal?
I think not! According to verse 13 "three unclean spirits like frogs" came
"out of the mouth of the dragon, and ... of the beast" and gathered the
kings to the battle. Which dispensationalist will teach that three frog-like
spirits will literally come out of literal dragon's mouth to prepare for
this battle? The truth is that the battle of Revelation 16 is no more literal
than the instigator of it being a literal frog-like spirit who came from
a literal dragon!
That the kingdom will begin when Christ comes again is a concept that is exactly opposite from Bible teaching. The Bible teaches that the kingdom now exists and that it will end when Jesus comes again. It began on Pentecost (Acts 2) during the time of the Roman rule as foretold in Daniel 2:44. Paul, the Colossians, and John were spoken of a being in it (Colossians 1:14; Revelation 1:6, 9). 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of Christ's second coming. Then verse 24 says, "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power." The next two verses then tell us that Christ's reign will end when death is destroyed. Although the saved will enter "the everlasting kingdom" at the end of time (2 Peter 1: 11), the reign of Christ in the first dominion of the kingdom (Micah 4:8) has been in force since Pentecost and will end at his second coming.
Days of judgment are taught in this theory. While some list as many
as seven separate days of judgment, as far as I know all dispensationalists
list at least three: one at the claimed rapture of the saints, one for
the nations at the end of the claimed seven year tribulation period, and
one for the wicked at the end of the claimed Millennium. In contrast, notice
that the Bible teaches just one day of judgment. In just two or three successive
pages in Matthew we can read of "the day of judgment" at least four times
(10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36) and in judgment (singular) as least two more
times. Acts 17:31 informs us: "He hath appointed a day in the which he
will judge the world..." This leaves no room for different days of judgment
for various groups of people!