Will there be a Rapture followed by an earthly reign of Jesus?

Followers of this doctrine believe that there will be an earthly millennial reign of Jesus on earth following an event where Jesus Christ will “snatch away” his saints to heaven. This event is called the "Rapture".  Following this event, Jesus will supposedly reign on Earth for a thousand years.  The doctrine of millennialism and the rapture contradict some very compelling Biblical scripture.  

First, if the Rapture is true, there will have to be more than one resurrection in the future separated by a significant time period.  The Bible clearly states that the resurrection of the just and the unjust will happen in the same hour.

John 5:28-29
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
KJV

If "all that are in the graves" are resurrected to their final reward in the same hour then there can be no time span of centuries between resurrections. 

Second, if the Rapture is true, Jesus Christ will have to return to earth more than once.  The Bible clearly states that Jesus is coming back to earth once and when He does, the earth will be removed. 

Hebrews 12:26-27
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
KJV

Thirdly, if the Rapture is true, Jesus will return to earth, establish an earthly kingdom and rule it from Jerusalem.  If Jesus were to rule from Jerusalem, He would violate a vow given by God to Coniah or Jeconiah, King of Judah. 

Jeremiah 22:30
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
KJV

The key words in this passage are "in Judah" No descendant of Jeconiah will ever sit on the throne of David and rule from Jerusalem which was in Judah.  Jesus was a descendant of Jeconiah from both the lineage of Joseph and Mary.  The lineages of Joseph and Mary crossed paths through Zorobabel, who was the great grandson of Jeconiah.  Matthew traced the lineage of Jesus through Joseph.

Matthew 1:11-13
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
KJV

Luke traced the lineage of Jesus through His mother Mary and the lineage crossed paths with Joseph's.

Luke 3:27
Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel , which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

Jesus was therefore descended from Jeconiah through both the lineage of His mother and His earthly father.  God left absolutely no doubt in anybody's mind on this, nothing was left to speculation.  Jesus was the descendant of Jeconiah 22 generations through Mary and 14 generations through Joseph. 

God emphatically stated that "no man of his [Jeconiah's] seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah"

We know that Jesus reigns from Heaven setting on the right hand side of God, (1 Peter 3:22).  This is not in Judah.  God said never again "in Judah", which eliminates the possibility of Jesus ruling an earthly kingdom from Jerusalem.

In the next chapter of Jeremiah, the inspired writer prophecies the coming of Jesus and proclaims that a king will descend from David and will reign and will execute judgment and justice in the earth and he will be called Our Lord our righteousness, (Jeremiah 23:5-6)  But Jesus can never rule from within Judah without violating the Word of God, written by the inspired writer, Jeremiah, only 6 verses earlier.  Both Joseph and Mary were related to David too.  Mary was a descendant of David through Nathan, (Luke 3:31).  Joseph was a descendant of David through Solomon, (Matthew 1:6). 

Many people who teach millennialism believe that Jesus tried to set up an earthly Kingdom at the time of His life on earth but was rejected by the Jews and crucified.  The truth is that one time the Jews tried to force Jesus to be an earthly king and He refused to.

John 6:14-15
⁽¹⁴⁾ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
⁽¹⁵⁾ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king , he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Those who saw Jesus feed 5000 wanted to take Him by force and make him a king.  If Jesus had come to set up an earthly reign, certainly this would have been possible at that time.  Yet the Bible says Jesus departed from them and went into a mountain alone.

In summary.

The rapture and the millennial reign of Christ cannot be true if it is not 100 percent Biblically supported and it is not.  This is by no means an exhaustive look at what scripture teaches about the kingdom of God. But it is enough when God says it won't happen in Jerusalem, that honest Biblical students will seek further for the truth.

added July 23, 2005