There has been and will always be the great eschatological debate on the end-time topic of the “Rapture” or removal of the Church prior to the Tribulation Period or “Day of the Lord.” This of course is the theme, if you will, of the RR site to get the message of the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ out to as many souls as possible – that Jesus is coming back one day to take the believers out of the world before his wrath or judgment comes on the unsuspecting earth. Are you going?
This is a warning to lost souls so they would see what’s prophesied in the Bible concerning the coming judgment, and repent of their sins to Christ to get saved. Of course, there are believers and non- believers that have a different opinion on “how all this end-time stuff will take place, and in what order.” The primary message is that you give your life to the Lord and become a child of God and inherit eternal life with Him.
The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word rapturo, which is a translation of the Greek verb “caught up” that is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Read “The Origin of the Concept of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture” at this link.
This event is not the “Second Coming.” You can research more of this in detail.
So, if this is possibly true and going to take place soon, what are the Bible scriptures that show this, you might ask? I’m going to present a few of them, but this is where the big debate comes in. Each person has their opinion on which ones apply, which ones are not that clear, and which ones definitely do not. Some believe there will be no such event as a Rapture.
All I can do is give you my opinion and add a comment as to why. Remember, each word and verse is there for a reason, and we always want to back up scripture with scripture. I believe “context-and cross-reference” is the key component to validating what a scripture is stating.
1 Corinthians 15: 51-52 “Behold, I show 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
[The Apostle Paul is revealing the mystery to the Corinthian church in A.D. 57, which has been revealed five years earlier to the Thessalonians – that, in a millisecond, something is going to take place and your body will be changed when the last trumpet sounds, with the dead being raised up in new bodies also. They won’t know when, but something dramatic is going to take place].
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the Trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
[So here for the first time in A.D. 52-53, Paul is revealing his mystery to the church in Thessalonica, that Jesus is coming back one day to take them up in the clouds to meet him in the air and go to heaven. But the dead believers will precede them first, and there will also be a shout and the voice of an archangel. Paul is trying to bring comfort to them evidently regarding a conversation of someone dying back in verse 13. Also, in verse 18, Paul tells them to comfort one another by his words. Talk about hope for us now – we will escape death if we are here when Jesus comes back for us!]
1 Thessalonians 5: 9-10 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”
[Paul is continuing his discourse on the removal of the church and is now reminding them of the coming “Day of the Lord” that is not known also. It comes as a thief in the night (Chp. 5:2). Again, he is emphasizing that the saints alive at the appointed time will not go through the judgment that’s coming. Notice, he states whether we are awake (alive at his coming) or dead, we will be with Jesus. In verse 11, Paul brings up comfort again: peace and hope.]
Revelation 3:10 “Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them them that dwell upon the earth.”
[This is a letter to the church of Philadelphia showing their spiritual condition at the time. We believe that Jesus is revealing that, before he comes back the second time, he is returning to deliver his church from the wrath or Tribulation that’s coming, and the church is not going to go through that. Thus the Rapture, in the air, to the clouds, taking us out of harm’s way.]
Here are some verses that just shout out: use your common sense and think about it.
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
[John is saying that the Father loves us so much, we as believers are called the sons of God. How awesome is that? The world doesn’t know us or God. They don’t care, but God does. Here, God is revealing again in the Scriptures that He has something special for us that are living when his Son comes back. When “He shall appear” we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Now, we know that when we go up with Jesus to heaven, we will come back “with him” to earth at his Second Coming (Revelation 19:14). Look at what it’s saying! “When he shall appear,” and out of Revelation, “following him on white horses, clothed in white linen” are two separate events separated by seven years at least. See the significance. It’s not hard. Scripture is plain and clear.]
Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.”
[The writer of Hebrews is encouraging the brethren here in many ways in the faith and love of others. Hey, continue to meet and assemble for the edification of the church and comfort one another as the “day the Lord” draws near or approaches. It is extremely unlikely that the writer is speaking of the Tribulation period here due to the severity of it, thus he would be warning them of what’s coming that they already knew of, from knowing the Old Covenant prophecies.]
In finishing up on this, I wanted to bring up one more reference that is well known. It is from Luke Chp. 21, one of the three End-Time discourses that Jesus explains, with the other two coming from Matthew and Mark. In this one from Luke, Jesus is telling them about the conditions and judgment that will take place at the end. “It appears” that Jesus himself could be referring to the Rapture because of the following verses:
Matthew 24:37-42 “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour are your Lord doth come.”
[Many of us prophecy believers consider that this passage on Noe and the Ark refers to the time we are in due to the way the world conditions are. But this time, the saints will be removed to safety instead of destruction. Therefore, look right after that; verses 40-41 show the metaphor of “one taken,” and the other person left. This resembles the rapture in that some will be taken and the others (the non-believers) will not. I consider this a high probability that Jesus is the “first” giving the church a clue of the Rapture, before Paul and the others.]
So these are a few verses to show you what God’s word states on this subject that is so much written about here at R/R. It is so highly controversial now, even among believers. All of this is my opinion from studying the Scriptures for a long time. We will wait and see how it turns out…sooner than later. I believe this will be my last article on the Rapture, as I have covered this enough in some of my previous articles. Some believers say it’s coming, but not until the mid-point of the Tribulation period of which Daniel speaks in Chp. 9. It’s not my opinion, nor the opinion of Rapture Ready. See “Defending the Pre- trib Rapture” at this link.
God Bless You,
Clay
All Scripture is from the King James Bible