The Two-Part Rapture: The Sixth Seal and the Gathering of the Elect

Introduction

For a long time, I have believed and taught that the rapture was post-tribulation based on Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 24:29-31.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:29-31 NKJV

I interpreted the gathering of the elect as indicated in verse 31 to be the rapture, and therefore the timing was post-tribulation. This is not the full truth nor the complete picture. The rapture can be pictured as a harvest with first fruits and then the remainder during the rest of the harvest. In other words, it comes in two stages.

Earthquakes and Noises

What led me to this corrected understanding was the prompting of the Holy Spirit/Ruach Kodesh to consider how earthquakes were repeatedly used throughout the book of Revelation. That was in the back of my mind when I read this passage in Ezekiel 37 from the Tree of Life version of the Bible.

So I prophesied just as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, an earthquake. 

Ezekiel 37:7 TLV

I am more familiar with modern mainstream translations using words that describe the sound of bones coming together such as the NKJV and NASB.

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.

Ezekiel 37:7 NKJV

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

Ezekiel 37:7 NASB

Needless to say, the differences in translation caught my attention and I started digging deeper. Brenton’s translation of the LXX uses “shaking” which parallels the KJV. Lamsa’s Peshitta uses “quake”. So what are the Hebrew words behind “noise” and “rattling, shaking, earthquake”? Let’s consider “noise” first.

H6963   (Strong)

קֹל    קוֹל

qôl    qôl

kole, kole

From an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound: –  + aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (+ out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, + hold peace, [pro-] claim, proclamation, + sing, sound, + spark, thunder (-ing), voice, + yell.

The corresponding word study for this Hebrew word notes
qôl: A masculine noun meaning a voice, a sound, a noise, a cry. This is an all-encompassing word that is used of any kind of sound.

It seems that noise or sound are secondary meanings and perhaps we should be considering voice or cry to translate קוֹל in this verse. Now let’s consider the word translated variously as “rattling”, “shaking”, “quaking”, or “earthquake”.

H7494   (Strong)

רַעַשׁ

ra‛ash

rah’-ash

From H7493; vibration, bounding, uproar: – commotion, confused noise, earthquake, fierceness, quaking, rattling, rushing, shaking.

The corresponding word study for this Hebrew word notes
ra‛aš: A masculine noun referring to an earthquake, a shaking, a rumbling, a commotion. 

Aside: there seems to be a tendency on the part of modern translators to use the less intense word and that may be incorrect in this instance.

Ezekiel 37:7 is part of a larger passage colloquially known as the “Valley of Dry Bones” prophecy (Ezekiel 37:1-14). That this prophecy is about the resurrection of the dead is shown by 37:3, 6, 9-10 and 12.

Ezekiel was not the first prophet to teach on the resurrection of the dead. Isaiah in the 8th century had also discussed this topic.

Resurrection of the Dead

Let’s see what Isaiah prophesied.

O Lord, in distress they sought you;
they poured out a prayer
when your chastening was on them.

Like a woman with child
    about to give birth
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we because of you, O Lord;

we were with child; we writhed,
    but we gave birth only to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
    and no one is born to inhabit the world.

Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.
    Those who dwell in the dust will awake and shout for joy!

For your dew is a radiant dew,
    and the earth will give birth to those long dead.

Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
    until the wrath is past.

For the Lord comes out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
the earth will disclose the blood shed on it
    and will no longer cover its slain.

Isaiah 26:16-21 NRSVUE

In 26:16, distress is

H6862   (Strong)

צָר    צַר

tsar    tsâr

tsar, tsawr

From H6887; narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, that is, trouble); also a pebble (as in H6864); (transitively) an opponent (as crowding): – adversary, afflicted (-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, trouble.

This word is the masculine form of another word translated distress in Jeremiah 30:6-7.

‘Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
But he will be saved from it.

Here distress translates the Hebrew word

H6869   (Strong)

צָרָה

tsârâh

tsaw-raw’

Feminine of H6862; tightness (that is, figuratively trouble); transitively a female rival: – adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble.

Please note that tsarah (Jeremiah 30:7) is the feminine form of tsar used by Isaiah 26:16. Therefore, the case can be made that Isaiah 26:16 is referencing Jacob’s Distress or Jacob’s Trouble.

Isaiah 26:17-18 clearly describe the resurrection from the dead.

In Isaiah 26:20, YHVH clearly tells His people to hide themselves from the wrath for a little while.

Then Isaiah 26:21 has YHVH coming out to punish the world.

Therefore, the sequence of events that Isaiah describes is as follows:

1. Jacob’s Distress
2. Birth Pangs
3. Resurrection from the Dead
4. YHVH punishes the world

Let’s consider a time marker that appears to correspond between Isaiah 27:20 and Revelation 8:1 which is the opening of the seventh seal and before the sounding of the first trumpet.

Isaiah 27:20	Revelation 8:1
Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.	When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

The process of entering the chambers and closing the doors appears to correspond with silence in heaven for 30 minutes. Now let’s look at the detail of the punishment by the Lord of Hosts described in Isaiah 29:6 with what happens just before the sounding of the first trumpet in Revelation 8:5.

Isaiah 29:6 NKJV	Revelation 8:5 NRSV
You will be punished by the Lord of hosts With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire.	Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

Let’s see the parallels:

thunder, storm and tempest	thunderings, lightnings
earthquake	earthquake
flame of devouring fire	fire from the altar
great noise	noises

They match up perfectly. Therefore, the judgment of Isaiah 29:6 is referenced by Revelation 8:5. That means the resurrection happens before the seventh seal following Isaiah’s ordering of events. That being demonstrated, let’s look at the sixth seal.

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Revelation 6:12-17 NRSVUE

Remember I was talking about the voices and earthquake/shaking that Ezekiel prophesied in 37:7? Well, here they match up perfectly!

Ezekiel 37:7	Revelation 6:12-14
earthquake, shaking רַעַשׁ	there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

Ezekiel 37:7	Revelation 6:15-17
noise (noises) קוֹל	And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Let’s return to Matthew 24 and consider the timeline that the Lord Yeshua explained to his disciples. If we compare what Isaiah and Yeshua said, then we can pretty well match them together.

Isaiah 26:16

Matthew 24:4-7

O Lord, in distress they sought you; they poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.

Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places

The distress of Isaiah 26:16 corresponds well with the distress described by Yeshua: false Messiahs, wars and rumors or wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and famines and earthquakes.

Isaiah 26:17-19	Matthew 24:8
Like a woman with child     about to give birth     writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we because of you, O Lord; we were with child; we writhed,     but we gave birth only to wind. We have won no victories on earth,     and no one is born to inhabit the world. Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.     Those who dwell in the dust will awake and shout for joy!	all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Yeshua’s brief reference to birth pangs goes back to Isaiah 26:17-18. Because the resurrection is associated with birth pangs, I put that event here.

For those who were not part of the resurrection during the birth pangs, Yeshua describes what will happen to them during the Great Tribulation.

Matthew 24:9-28

Revelation 7:13-17

“Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see the desolating sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains;the one on the housetop must not go down to take things from the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

So now we come to Yeshua’s Glorious Second Coming and the Gathering of the Elect.

Isaiah 27:12-13

Matthew 24:29-31

On that day the Lord will thresh from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel. And on that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

“Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

These two passages match up very well.

Isaiah 27:13	Matthew 24:31
great trumpet	loud trumpet call

Isaiah 27:12-13	Matthew 24:31
you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel…those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem	And he will send out his angels and … they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Through understanding the Gathering of the Elect at the sound of the trumpet, we can easily place Paul’s revelation about the resurrection in its proper place in the timeline. This resurrection is for what some have termed the “Tribulation Saints” and they will be a great multitude (Revelation 7:9).

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

I Corinthians 15:51-52

For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. 

I Thessalonians 4:15-17

Conclusion

By looking into the Hebrew words behind the English translations and letting scripture interpret scripture, we gain a more clear and accurate understanding. The concept of “first fruits” is Hebraic to its core as we have a feast called the “Feast of First Fruits” that happens during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Applying this concept to the Resurrection, we can make sense of different scriptures that speak of the Resurrection of the dead.

Moreover, alone of the seven congregations of Revelation chapters two and three, the only one that is chosen to be taken from the time of testing is the congregation of Philadephia. The other six must go through the refining process of the Great Tribulation.

The resurrection spoken of by Isaiah 26 and Ezekiel 37 do not speak of a trumpet. Because Isaiah 26 associates a resurrection with the birth pangs, that one is associated with Matthew 24:8 while the noises and shakings of Ezekiel 37:7 is associated with the sixth seal of Revelation 6.

In contrast, Isaiah 27 does speak of a trumpet for the gathering of the saints, many of whom have died or are about to die. This gathering is associated with Matthew 24:31, I Corinthians 15:51-52, I Thessalonians 4:15-17 and Revelation 7:13-17. Since both groups are rewarded with resurrection, the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-15) may illuminate this concept.

It is this author’s prayer that we can put an end to all of the arguments and discord that happens when Yeshua’s people discuss the Rapture and/or Resurrection. Through this analysis, there is no support for a pre-tribulation or not even a “pre-wrath rapture” (that would really be stretching the term a bit too far). Perhaps, we could adopt the terminology of the “Sixth Seal/Philadephia Resurrection” and the “Gathering of the Elect Resurrection” for greater clarity and to reduce if not eliminate entirely the disagreements.