As our title suggests, this five-part series focuses on The Rapture in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament).
Some of the passages we cite are crystal clear, others are nuanced, and still others are to be considered allusions. These allusions within this study series will be clearly identified and are generally for portions of Scripture that speak generically of the resurrection, as we know that the rapture is intrinsically linked to the resurrection of the church.
Many of these allusions are found in the gospels in some of Christ’s parables, as well as His teachings on the resurrection, while others are found throughout the epistles. Hence, this is why they are included within this study.
Some of the passages within this series have already been covered in past study articles. Therefore, links to those past study articles are provided in this series so that the reader may access them for a more enhanced understanding of those passages.
Past articles:
The Rapture in the Brit Chadashah – Part I
The Rapture in the Brit Chadashah – Part II
Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
Colossians
Colossians 3:1-4 – When Christ Shall Appear
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1-4
In God’s eyes, we are already “risen with Christ.” It is a done deal as the omniscient foreknowledge of God saw everything, including our salvation and glorification, before He ever created – as He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10)!
Therefore, we are encouraged to “set our affections on [those] things [that are] above,” as citizens of heaven, “not on things on Earth.” For we were once dead in sins, but are now dead in Christ, “and [our] life is hid with Christ in God.”
Then, “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear” at the resurrection/rapture of the church, “then shall [we] appear with Him in glory,” just as God had seen and known before creation!
“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.
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” – 1 John 3:2-3
1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 1:10 – Service to God: Waiting for God’s Son from Heaven
“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:10
The thematic context leading up to 1 Thessalonians 1:10 is service to God, as true Spirit-filled believers in Thessalonica “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
Paul then reassures the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica that, because of the promises of Jesus Christ to come again for His bride as they “wait for His Son from heaven,” they will be “delivered from the wrath to come” – that is, God’s wrath on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting world following the resurrection/rapture of the church.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 – Soul Winning: At His Coming
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
The thematic context leading up to 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 is soul winning, as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians that they “… would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:12-13).
Though all Christians and other Saints will be with Christ at His Second Coming, the context of Paul’s words is to those who were presently alive at that very time in Thessalonica, who were Paul’s hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing.
In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul will make it abundantly clear that those who are alive on Earth when Yeshua fetches His bride will meet our Lord in the air – along with the dead in Christ – and be “in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming.”
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 – Completing That Which God Started: At the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
The thematic context in 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 is that of God completing that which He had started within the hearts and lives of the Thessalonian believers.
This promise again is made to those alive in Thessalonica who are encouraged in the Lord “to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men… to the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all of His Saints” – i.e., those who have died in Christ and have had a personal relationship with Him through His church and indwelling Holy Spirit – when He returns for His bride.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The Divine Promise of the Resurrection/Rapture of the Church: To Meet the Lord in the Air
The thematic context of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is the divine promise of the resurrection/rapture of the church that culminates our other Thessalonian passages above.
Here Paul gives his most well-known discourse on the resurrection/rapture of the church.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
“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 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
For more on this wonderful resurrection/rapture passage, please see Instantly Changed and Caught Up.
1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4-5, 9-11 – We Should Live Together with Him
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night…
“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness…
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation [deliverance] by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4-5, 9-11
We shall all in the body of Messiah, whether in wake or sleep (alive or dead in Christ), “live together with Him” forevermore at the resurrection/rapture of the church.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – Sanctification: Blameless unto the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Lastly, in 1 Thessalonians, the thematic context of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is the sanctification of the believing Thessalonians, who will, by the Lord’s provision and the Thessalonians Spirit-filled dedication, be “preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” for His bride.
As with other Scriptures, these precious promises of God are for all believers in every generation of the church age, for you and for me!
2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3, 6-7 – The Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Letting of the Holy Spirit
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him… Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…
“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3, 6-7
2 Thessalonians 2:3 is probably the most difficult and contested verse in the Brit Chadashah. Articles on the above passages that the reader may find of interest include 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 – The Day of Christ and ‘Apostasia’ (the interpretation I had held for years), 2 Thessalonians 2:3 – A Rebellion Interpretation (the interpretation I lean toward now), and QFTBOC: Salvation in the Tribulation.
Suffice it to say, in my personal assessment, Paul speaks either directly and/or indirectly, depending upon one’s contextual evaluation and interpretation of the overall passage of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, of the resurrection/rapture of the church.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, however, is almost universally acknowledged by the pre-Tribulation community to be referring to the resurrection/rapture of the church.
Again, the articles above may be of some interest to the reader, where I offer my own understandings of these unique passages, along with two alternative interpretations of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 and the Greek word, apostasia.
2 Thessalonians 3:5 – The Patient Waiting for Christ
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:5
All believers are called to “direct [our] hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ” when the Father sends His Son for His bride in the resurrection/rapture of the church.
Every generation since these words were penned has been patiently watching and waiting for our Lord and Savior from heaven, and one glorious day – prayerfully soon – the Lord will finally come for His bride as promised and our patient watching and waiting will finally be over, forever present with our Lord and Savior!
1 Timothy
1 Timothy 6:13-14 – The Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ
“I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…” – 1 Timothy 6:13-14
“The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,” when applied to the watching and waiting Spirit-indwelt church age believer, speaks of the coming of Messiah Yeshua for His bride in the resurrection/rapture of the church. Therefore, like our Lord “who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession,” we, like Timothy, are to “keep this commandment (1 Timothy 6:11-12) without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
These commandments – as all of Christ’s commandments, made personally or through His apostles – are not grievous to Messiah’s Saints but are our reasonable service for the One who first loved us and gave Himself for us!
2 Timothy
2 Timothy 1:11-12 – Unto That Day
“Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” – 2 Timothy 1:11-12
The Greek word translated “against” by the King James translators is 1519 εἰς “eis” and can mean into, to, unto, until, for, in, on, toward, among, against. Virtually every other translation, with very few exceptions, translates this word due to context as until.
Paul is encouraging Timothy that by Jesus – who he knows personally and believes in – Paul is “persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him [those Gentile (and Israeli) converts who Paul led to Christ] until that day.”
“That day,” as it so often is in the Brit Chadashah, is the glorious day of the returning of Messiah Yeshua for His bride, the church!
2 Timothy 1:18 – In That Day
“The Lord grant unto him [Onesiphorus] that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.” – 2 Timothy 1:18
As with 2 Timothy 1:12, “that day” is the glorious day, known only to the Father, when He will send His Son to fetch His bride in resurrection/rapture of the church.
Paul eagerly desired that Onesiphorus, because of his great friendship in the faith and deep love for Paul, would “find mercy of the Lord in that day.” That is, that Onesiphorus would finish well and be granted abundant blessings and eternal life for His service to Paul and the Saints when our Lord comes back to raise the dead in Christ and snatch up those alive on Earth at the resurrection/rapture of the church.
Jude, as we shall see in Part IV, also uses “mercy” in relationship to the rapture of the church.
2 Timothy 2:11 – We Shall Also Live with Him – Allusion
“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him…” – 2 Timothy 2:11
All who are reborn by grace through faith in Jesus Christ shall all live with their Lord in perpetuity.
For believers who are alive on Earth at His coming for His bride, they will forever be with the Lord after receiving glorified eternal bodies at the resurrection/rapture of the church.
For the dead in Christ, they will live with Him in heaven in temporary spiritual bodies until He brings them back with Him at the resurrection/rapture of the bride of Christ, where they will then receive their resurrected, glorified eternal bodies.
Either way, because “we be dead with Him [as Spirit-indwelt believers we were all crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)], we shall also live with Him.”
2 Timothy 4:1 – At His Appearing and His Kingdom (Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven)
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom…” – 2 Timothy 4:1
Jesus is the Judge of “the quick (alive) and the dead” that begins “at His appearing” for His bride at the resurrection/rapture of the church. This “kingdom,” therefore, is His Salvation Kingdom, the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of heaven, that begins with salvation and is fully realized in the Eternal Kingdom.
It should go without saying, however, that approximately 7-plus years after His appearing for His bride, Jesus will be coming back at His Second Coming to judge those alive on Earth and will then set up His Messianic Millennial Kingdom. There will be another judgment following the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, the Great White Throne Judgment, and then His glorious Eternal Kingdom will commence.
Paul’s context in this section of Scripture, teaching Timothy how he must minister and preach the Word, with warnings of false doctrines, favors the Salvation Kingdom at Christ’s “appearing” for His bride at the resurrection/rapture of the church and His Bema Seat Judgment. The other judgments will follow in their proper order.
For more on God’s Kingdoms, please see the following study series:
Is it Just Me? The Messianic Millennial Kingdom
God’s Kingdoms – Part 1 – Mark and John
God’s Kingdoms – Part 2 – Matthew
God’s Kingdoms – Part 3 – Luke
God’s Kingdoms – Part 4 – Acts Through Revelation
God’s Kingdoms – Part 5 – Summary and Conclusion
2 Timothy 4:8 – All Them Also That Love His Appearing
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:8
A favorite verse for many Christians, Paul encourages himself, Timothy, and us that we shall all receive “a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give [us all] at that day” to those “that love His appearing” at the resurrection/rapture of the church.
Now that is a special promise!
Titus
Titus 2:11-14 – Our Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing of the Great God and Savior Jesus Christ
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” – Titus 2:11-14
Another favorite passage for many Christians.
Paul speaks of “the grace of God that bringeth salvation,” that this salvation “hath appeared to all men,” and how we should live in light of this truth.
While we do, we should always be watching and waiting, loving and serving the Lord and loving and serving others, and “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” at the resurrection/rapture of the church!
May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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