And at midnight there was a cry made…
Matthew 25:6
Few errors in the last 150 years have distracted the church and the world from the primacy of the Triune God and Salvation through Jesus Christ alone than the teaching of the secret rapture.
While not as widespread as it was 50 years ago, in some areas of the evangelical world, belief in the secret rapture seems to be the litmus test for a Christian profession. It is discussed as if when the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved in Acts 16:30 that Paul and Silas responded, “believe in the secret pre-tribulation rapture of the church and you shall be saved.”
Of course Paul and Silas said something quite different. Nevertheless in our day it is a very common, perhaps even a majority evangelical position, that ascension into heaven by God’s people will take place in secret. If you have read the “Left Behind” series or seen any number of movies based on those books, it is portrayed with planes falling out of the sky and cars crashing because their Christian pilots and drivers have been secretly raptured.
The cry described in Matthew 25 is not a cry that only the wise virgins hear or experience. It is a cry that goes out to all. It is a public cry. The public cry is the testimony not only of Matthew 25 but of the whole Scripture. In chapter 24, the Lord told us that like in the days of Noah when all men saw the flood coming and it was too late for it was upon them, so when the Lord returns all men will see His coming and it will be too late to obtain salvation.
As much description is given to the public nature of the Lord’s return as any other aspect that is described in this parable or throughout the Scripture. The coming of Christ will be with noise that the world has never heard. The sound will be so great that the whole world will audibly hear it. Every man, woman, and child will hear the Lord’s coming. There will be nothing secret about it. It will be the most public event to ever take place. Just how loud will the sound be? It will be so loud that the dead will hear and will respond to it with rising from the dead! (I Thessalonians 4).
In the parable of the virgins, the Lord refers to a cry being made at midnight. Notice the public nature. It is in the middle of the night. All are sleeping. Then a cry goes out that all can hear. This adds to the shock of Christ’s return. Like when a loud clap of thunder suddenly wakes you out of a deep sleep, so much more the coming of the Lord will be.
The public nature of the Lord’s return is even further on display in I Thessalonians 4 where the Lord describes His return as coming “with a shout”; “with the voice of the archangel” and “with the trumpet of God.” For the righteous, it is the shout, voice and trumpet declaring the day of glorification. For the wicked it is as the thunders of the Lord that disquieted the Philistines.
Christians, this day is coming! Comfort each other with these words as they were intended for you to do. When you hear the shout of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, there will be no mistaking it, all will hear and see and know. You will not miss the day for no one can miss the day, not even the dead. The dead will be rising from the ground and from the depths of the sea. At that day dear friend, and at that moment, look up and see the salvation of our God! Jesus Christ Himself will be descending with all power and glory to judge the living and the dead for He has been given a dominion which is everlasting and a kingdom that shall never be destroyed!
Yea, Amen! let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne;
Saviour, take the pow’r and glory,
Claim the kingdom for thine own:
O come quickly, O come quickly:
Alleluia! come, Lord, come.
Charles Wesley
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