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Listen to the True Biblical Case for a Rapture

I got saved back in the 70s, in the middle of the Jesus Revolution. If you ever saw the movie, you know what the Jesus Revolution was all about. Back then, the rapture of the church was prominent in Christian thought. If you don't know what the rapture is, the rapture is that moment in the future when the followers of Christ will be transported from this life to the next without experiencing death.

In the 70s there were many books written about the rapture, like The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. There were even rapture movies like A Thief in the Night that were meant to scare young people into getting saved. Did it work for some of us? Often you would see bumper stickers on cars that said, "Caution: in case of rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned." You don't see those bumper stickers anymore.

As I studied the Scriptures, I realized that even first-century Christians thought the rapture would happen in their lifetime. Some of the Thessalonians quit their jobs and went up to the hills, just waiting for Jesus to come back. But here we are over 2,000 years later, and we're still waiting for Jesus.

Where Is This Jesus Anyway?

Peter prophesied that in the last days, people would mock the return of Jesus Christ, saying, "Where's this Jesus anyway? Didn't he promise to return?" Look at what Peter had to say:

Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:8–9

Think about that. If a day to the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day, it's only been a couple of days since Jesus left. That's one way of looking at it.

Ezekiel 33:11 says, "The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked." God's desire is that everyone be saved. Everyone. And Jesus is patiently waiting to give people more time to repent before the tribulation period.

The rapture is a very real event, and it's going to happen one day. Only those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord will instantaneously disappear from the earth. So what does the Word of God have to say about it?

The Promise for the Dead in Christ

Let's go to that classic passage in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, beginning at verse 13. Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who do not have hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

Notice those two words: caught up. I'm going to talk more about that in just a moment.

If you read the book of Acts, you know that Paul established the church in Thessalonica and stayed there only three weeks. But he taught them everything they needed to know, including the rapture of the church. Now they were concerned about those who had died before the rapture had taken place. Would they miss out? So Paul wrote to eliminate any confusion in the minds of these believers: "I don't want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as those who have no hope."

You know how it is when unbelievers die. The family has no hope. They don't know what happens beyond the grave. They're despondent.

For those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, death is only a transition from planet earth to eternity with the Lord.

Paul wanted these people to know that followers of Jesus Christ have hope beyond the grave. It's interesting that he uses the word asleep. It's a euphemism for death. We have all kinds of euphemisms for death. We say that person passed away, or they're departed, the dearly departed. When Paul uses the word asleep, it's just a euphemism for death.

When a person dies, a separation takes place. Your physical, breathless body is buried in the ground, but your soul and your spirit live for eternity in either heaven or hell. Second Corinthians tells us what happens to believers:

When we're absent from the body, we're present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:8

Unbelievers, on the other hand, are eternally separated from God: separated from his light, separated from his grace and from anything that is good. They are doomed to eternal torment in hell. Believers, as this verse tells you, enter into the presence of the Lord.

Many years ago I read about a tombstone that was found in Alabama. It was on the grave of a man named Solomon Pease, and it said this: "Here lies the body of Solomon Pease, under the grass and under the trees. But Pease is not here, only the pod. Pease shelled out and went to be with God." That's actually a pretty good picture of what happens when you die as a believer. The body goes into the ground, but the soul and the spirit go to be with the Lord.

The Resurrection of the Body

Paul says, "Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep." We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and even so, we have faith and hope that our bodies are going to be resurrected. Jesus said it himself:

Because I live, you will live also.

John 14:19

The immaterial part of a believer who dies goes to be with the Lord. One day his body is going to be resurrected and rejoined with his soul and spirit in a glorified body, just like the one Jesus had when he rose from the dead.

You might be thinking, "Well, what about those who died at sea? They're just fish food. What about those who've been cremated? What about those who have been in the ground so long their bodies are decomposed?" Is anything too hard for the Lord? It doesn't matter what state of decomposition the body is in. At the appointed time, the bodies of dead believers will be resurrected and reunited with their souls and spirits.

Remember how Jesus was after he rose from the grave? He could appear, and he could disappear. He could walk through locked doors and walls. He could ascend into heaven, and he didn't even need a space suit. Glorified. That's our resurrected state, and we're going to have a body just like Jesus had after his resurrection. Look at what he told Martha, in one of his seven "I am" statements:

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

John 11:25–26

That's the promise for those who are dead in Christ.

The Procedure for the Rapture

Now let's look at the procedure for the rapture. We go back to our text in 1 Thessalonians 4, and this time I want to look at verses 15 through 17. Paul says, "This we declare to you by a word from the Lord." He got this directly from the Lord:

That we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:15–17

I like the King James here: "with a shout." That wakes you up, doesn't it? It's a shout, with the voice of an archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God, a trumpet loud enough to wake the dead.

Here Paul is giving you a play-by-play of how it's going to happen. Those who are alive at the time of the rapture of the church will not go first. Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and a blast from the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ are going to rise first, and their dead bodies will be resurrected. Then all the believers who are still alive at that point will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.

God is giving you a slow-motion picture here so you can see what's going to happen frame by frame. But in reality, it's all going to happen in a split second, in the blink of an eye. Blink. Did you blink? That's how fast it's going to happen.

The Mystery of the Rapture

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul calls the rapture of the church a mystery. The mystery of the rapture is that there's going to be a whole generation of people who will not experience physical death. Look at what he says:

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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:51–53

"This perishable body" is talking about this body of flesh. "Imperishable" is the glorified body. There's a whole generation of believers who won't die, but they will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the time it takes you to blink, which is about half a second. When the trumpet sounds, every Jesus follower who is alive at the time of the rapture is going to be transformed into a glorified body and immediately go to the presence of the Lord.

Several years ago I attended a church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and they had verse 51 on the wall in the nursery: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." Think about it. That is not an accurate interpretation of that verse. That is not good exegesis. But it's a pretty good application, if you've worked with babies.

Caught Up: Where the Word "Rapture" Comes From

One of the arguments against the rapture is that people say, "Well, that word rapture isn't even in the Bible." Neither is the word Trinity, right? But we believe in the Trinity. No, the word rapture is not in the Bible. But let me explain.

The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek. The phrase caught up, which I told you I'd come back to, is actually one Greek word: harpazo. It means to snatch, to seize, to take away suddenly, or to transport from one place to another.

So how do we get to the word rapture? Back in the fourth century, one of the early church fathers, Jerome, translated the Bible into Latin. You may have heard of the Vulgate translation. He translated the Greek word harpazo, "caught up," with a Latin term that means the same thing. The root of that Latin term is rapio, and that's where the English word rapture comes from.

If you still have a hard time believing in the rapture, let me share a couple of other places where we find that Greek word harpazo.

Philip Is Caught Up

Take a look at Acts chapter 8. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch? The Holy Spirit commanded Philip, "Go meet the Ethiopian eunuch," who was on his way back from Jerusalem. When Philip caught up with him, there he was, sitting in his chariot, reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him, "Do you understand what you're reading?" And the eunuch said, "Well, how can I understand unless somebody teaches me?" He invited Philip up into his chariot to sit with him.

So Philip got in the chariot and preached Jesus to him from Isaiah 53. Could you do that? Could you lead somebody to Christ from Isaiah 53? The eunuch believed. He became a believer. Pick up the story in Acts 8:36:

And as they were going along the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?" And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 8:36–40

Pay attention here: the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. That's harpazo. Philip was snatched away, caught up by the Spirit of the Lord, and taken to Azotus, which was twenty miles away.

Paul Is Caught Up

Paul is another witness. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul says:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know. God knows.

2 Corinthians 12:2

Caught up. Harpazo. Caught up to where? The third heaven. Who is Paul talking about here? A lot of people think he's talking about himself, because later in that same chapter he says, "To keep me from bragging about it, God gave me a thorn in the flesh." You remember that? He asked God to take it away three times, and God said, "No, my grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). So people think Paul was talking about himself. He says this man, whether himself or somebody else, and probably himself, was caught up to the third heaven. In case you don't know, the third heaven is where God lives.

What It Will Look Like

So when the rapture takes place, it will happen in the blink of an eye. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The rapture is imminent. That means it can happen at any time. So you need to be ready. Are you ready?

What is it going to look like when it happens? Here's a down-to-earth illustration. Imagine you go out in your garage and find an old box. It contains some nails and screws and nuts and bolts, things you can use, but it also has a lot of other stuff in it: dirt and trash and unusable things. You could go through the box and pick out every piece of metal you wanted to save individually. But the fastest way would be to get a big, strong magnet and hold it over the box. Everything metal would immediately cling to it, and everything else that is not metal would be left behind.

It's not the best illustration, but it's a fairly good picture of what's going to happen at the rapture. The Lord is going to descend from heaven, not all the way to the earth, because it says we're going to meet the Lord in the air. He will suspend himself in the clouds, and everyone who has been saved by grace through faith in Jesus will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. All unbelievers will be left here on planet earth to go through the tribulation period.

More Witnesses from the Old Testament

Does it sound too bizarre to say that someday Christians will disappear from the earth without dying? If you're skeptical, let me bring in a couple more witnesses.

Enoch

Anybody ever heard of Enoch? Enoch was raptured from the earth way back in the book of Genesis. He went to heaven without dying. If you've never heard of Enoch, you've heard of Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old, longer than anybody (Genesis 5:27). Well, Enoch was his dad. Let me refresh your memory:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

Genesis 5:21–24

Enoch is walking along, praising God, having a good day, and all of a sudden, boom, he's gone. What happened to Enoch? I don't know. He was here a minute ago. He walked with God, and he was not, because God took him. Can you imagine walking so close to God that God says, "Hey, come on up here, fella"?

Elijah

Need another witness? How about Elijah? In 2 Kings chapter 2, here he is with his servant Elisha:

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken away from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Yet if you see me as I'm being taken from you, it shall be so for you. But if you do not see me, it shall not be so."

And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more.

2 Kings 2:9–12

Think about that. Elijah went up to heaven in a blaze of glory. When I read the Scriptures, Elijah and Enoch are the only two who never died, and that's why I think they are going to be the two witnesses in the book of Revelation, because it's appointed unto every man to die once (Hebrews 9:27). But that's another subject altogether.

What I want you to see is that these are literal, historical events that took place, and the rapture of the church is going to be a literal event with historical precedent. One old lady said, "I'm not looking for the undertaker. I'm looking for the uppertaker." That's what you ought to be doing as well.

The Prize Is Being with Jesus

We've seen the promise for the dead in Christ. We've seen the procedure for the rapture. One more thing I want to point out is that the prize is being with Jesus. Let's go back to our text, 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18

Paul spells it out here. Jesus descends from heaven with a shout loud enough to wake the dead, the voice of an archangel, and a blast from the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ rise first, their dead bodies resurrected. Then all believers who are alive at this point will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And it says, "So we will always be with the Lord." So comfort one another with these words. Encourage one another with these words, because we get to be with Jesus for all of eternity.

Jesus is the climax of the passage. It's not the street that is paved with gold. It's not the gates made of pearl. It's not the mansions in glory. It's not even the reunion with our loved ones. The greatest promise of heaven is Jesus: the one who gave his life on the cross for you, the one who redeemed you with his blood, the one who saved you by his grace, the one you worship by faith. One day, every true believer will get to see Jesus face to face.

Heaven is heaven because Jesus is there.

Jesus is our blessed hope. That's what it says in Titus 2:11–14:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11–14

Jesus is the prize. Wherever Jesus is, that's where heaven is.

Living in Light of Our Blessed Hope

This doctrine of the rapture should not just inform you. It should transform you. And remember, it can happen at any time. It's imminent. What if Jesus were to come in the clouds today? Are you ready to meet him? Are you living in a way that is pleasing to him? Are you telling others about Jesus?

Prophecy is not meant to be sensational. Prophecy is given to make you faithful to the Lord.

Look at what John wrote in 1 John 3:2–3:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

1 John 3:2–3

"What we will be has not yet appeared" is talking about that glorified body. Everyone who's saved is a child of God, and that's who John is talking to here. When Jesus appears, we're going to be just like him. We will see him as he is. And notice the last sentence: if you have this blessed hope, you ought to be purifying yourself as he is pure. How are you doing? Are you purifying yourself as Jesus is pure?

Like those who are running a race, Scripture says you need to lay down everything that weighs you down. Put off those sins that keep tripping you up, and press on with endurance:

Lay aside every weight and the sins which cling so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and now sits at the right hand of the Father.

Hebrews 12:1–2

One day he's coming back for his people. He made that promise, and God is not a man that he could lie (Numbers 23:19).

Why Setting Dates Is a Waste of Time

Because he is coming at a time we don't know, there are many date setters out there, and it gets annoying. I don't understand why people try to set dates for when the rapture is going to occur or when the second coming of Christ is going to occur, because Jesus said it plainly: "No man knows the day or the hour, only my Father in heaven" (Matthew 24:36). So it's a waste of time. If somebody is setting dates and telling you this is when the rapture is going to happen, you can know that they are wrong. Absolutely and sincerely wrong.

A broken clock is right twice a day, so somebody might get lucky. But the days are getting darker, and the time is drawing near. A lot of people don't even have the capacity to understand anything righteous. They're bent toward sin, and they look at sin as righteousness. Our blessed hope is in Jesus Christ, not in a date.

The Great Commission Still Stands

Some will say, "I'm going to be raptured out anyway, so it doesn't matter." But we still have a great commission to follow. No matter where you stand on the rapture issue, whether you're pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, whatever, we're commanded to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). We need to get busy sharing the message of Jesus Christ with anyone who will listen. You just never know. God may already be dealing with that person you share Jesus with, and what you say at that time might be just the thing they need to hear so that they will come to Christ. Eventually, all true believers are going to go be with the Lord, but the goal is to take as many people with us as possible.

A Hope the World Can't Understand

As followers of Jesus, we have a hope beyond the grave. We have a hope that the world can't understand.

Where the world sees a grave, we see a resurrection. Where the world sees a farewell, we see a reunion. Where the world sees uncertainty, we see Jesus.

One day the skies are going to open. One day the Lord Jesus is going to descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel. One day the trumpet's going to sound, and the dead in Christ are going to rise from the grave. One day believers who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and from that moment on we will be with the Lord. So comfort one another with those words. Encourage one another with those words. We're not looking for the undertaker. We're looking for the uppertaker.

Jesus is our blessed hope. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.