The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word “raptu”, which means “caught away” or “caught up.” This Latin word is equivalent to the Greek term harpazö that is found in 1Thes. 4:17 and translated as “caught up.” This event, described here and in 1Cor 15:35-58, refers to the time when Christ will take his followers from the earth to meet him in the air and be with him in heaven. It involves only those who are part of Christ’s true church–his faithful followers worldwide who are in a right relationship with him.
(1) Just prior to the rapture, as Christ is descending from heaven for his church, the resurrection of the “dead in Christ” will occur (1Th 4:16). This is not the same resurrection described in Rev. 20:4, which is an event occurring after Christ returns to earth, de
stroys the forces of the antichrist and confines Satan to the bottom less pit (Rev. 19:11–20:3). The resurrection in Revelation 20:4 re lates to those who turned to Christ and died for their faith in him during the tribulation (i.e., the period following the rapture, during which the antichrist will rise to power and God will execute his se vere end-time judgments on the earth. The Rev. 20:4 reference may possibly involve OT followers of God as well.
(2) At the same time as the dead in Christ rise, followers of Christ who are alive on earth will be transformed, their bodies be coming imperishable and immortal (1Cor. 15:51, 53). This will hap pen in an instant–“in the twinkling of an eye”.
(3) Both the resurrected Christians and those who are in stantly transformed will be caught up together to meet Christ in the air (i.e., in the atmosphere between earth and heaven).
(4) They will be visibly united with Christ (1Thess. 4:16-17), taken to heaven and reunited with other believers who have died knowing Christ (1Thess 4:13-18).
(5) They will be removed from all suffering and distress (2Cor. 5:2, 4; Php 3:21), from all persecution and oppression and from the entire realm of sin and death (1Cor. 15:51-56). The rapture also rescues Jesus’ followers from “the coming wrath”–the great tribulation.
(6) The hope that our Savior will soon return to take us out of the world to “be with the Lord forever” (1Thes. 4:17) is the blessed hope of all who have yielded their lives to Christ. It is a major source of comfort for suffering Christians (1Thes. 4:17-18; 5:10).
(7) Paul uses “we” in 1Thes. 4:17 because he believed the Lord’s return could have happened in his own lifetime. He communi cates this same sense of urgency and anticipation to the Thessaloni ans. The Bible insists that Christians in all time periods must remain alert and ready for the Lord’s return (cf. Ro 13:11; 1Co 7:29; 10:11; 15:51-52; Php 4:5).
(8) Those who claim to be Christians and part of the church, yet are unfaithful to Christ and do not truly have a personal saving relationship with the Lord, will be left behind. They will be left with only a false system of religion and will experience God’s wrath during the tribulation period.
(9) Following the rapture is “the day of the Lord,” referring to a time that brings distress and judgment on the ungodly (1Thes. 5:2- 10). That will be followed by the second stage of Christ’s coming, when he literally returns to earth at the end of the tribulation to de feat the forces of the antichrist, destroy the ungodly and reign on earth for a thousand years at the end of time as we know it.
What is The Rapure?
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 New Living Translation 13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
In chapter four of 1 Thessalonians starting with verse 13, the apostle Paul begins with a different topic than what he was previously writing the Thessalonian congregation about. His pur pose with this new topic was to remove any ignorance, grief and confusion concerning the rapture or the resurrection of believers who were dying. As it was for the Thessalonian believers then, many Christians today are not informed of what the Bible teaches us concerning the rapture. There are also some believers who are misinformed and have been influenced by beliefs and teachings that are not found in the Bible.
There are many Biblically based resources available that are available to help believers to better comprehend the topic of the rapture. Many of which are study Bibles that give us an explana tion to most of verses in the Bible. Some study Bibles will also give us excellent contemporary articles of many Biblical and secular topics of importance and interest. The following are just a few study Bibles that I regularly use. The Apologetics Study Bible, The New International Version Study Bible, The Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, The Faith Life Study Bible, The New Living Testament Study Bible and The Cultural Background Study Bible. The study Bible that I mostly recommend is The Fire Bible, which the commentary of the verses and articles are from a Petecostal Doctrinal perspec tive.
The following is an article from the Fire Bible regarding the rap ture. I want to encourage you when reading the article to please look up each scripture reference given.
Pastor John
