Is there something about the rapture that I and many others are missing? Perhaps you can bring some light to this. Many Christians, perhaps like me, believe that the pre trib rapture is sort of a Great Escape for people who don’t deserve to escape (like me) the hour of trial coming upon the world. It seems too easy. But perhaps we don’t see the rapture for what it really is. Is it true that the Davidic Kingdom cannot be set up on earth as long as the Church is on earth and that to remove the Church from the earth is the real reason for the rapture?
There are several good reasons why the Church will escape all the end times judgments, even though from a purely human perspective we don’t deserve to be taken away. (I say human perspective because from God’s perspective we are perfect and don’t deserve to be left here during that time (Hebrews 10:12-14).
In Jeremiah 30:11 God said the two fold purpose of these judgments is to discipline Israel and destroy the nations among which Israel was scattered. It would serve no purpose of His to have us there. Jesus loves us so much that He gave Himself up for us to make us a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless (Ephes. 5:25-27). We don’t need discipline and we don’t deserve destruction.
The Age of Grace is not one of the steps in the progression of God’s plan for man. It was a departure from the progression and when it ends, there will never be anything even remotely like it again. Paul said we will be the example of the incomparable riches of God’s Grace in ages yet to come (Ephes. 2:7). Even after the 70th Week of Daniel ends and the New Covenant comes to Israel, it won’t be like it has been for us. All through the millennium there will be a functioning Temple in Israel, with daily sacrifices for sin and periodic Holy Days (Ezekiel 40-46). Gentile nations will be required to come to Israel for the annual celebration of the Feast Of Tabernacles and will be punished for failure to attend (Zech. 14:16-20). The Lord will rule with an iron fist and no deviation from His ways will be tolerated (Psalm 2:8-12).
Because of this the Church cannot be on Earth when God’s progression resumes with Daniel’s 70th Week. We would be an ever present contradiction of His requirements for the rest of mankind. Taking us off the planet in the rapture and relocating us to our permanent home in the New Jerusalem eliminates the contradiction we would otherwise present while preserving us as the example of His grace.