The Rapture of the Church

I. THE FIRST PROMISE OF THE RAPTURE
In John 13:31–38, Jesus in an upper room in Jerusalem, made the disclosure to His disciples that He was going away and that they could not then follow Him to the place to which He was going. When Jesus saw that His disciples’ hearts were troubled, He, in John 14:1–3, promised them that after He had gone away and prepared a place for them, He would return and take them to be with Him in this prepared place. This is the Bible’s first promise that Jesus will someday come to rapture the church and take its members to heaven to be with Him there.

2. THE DEFINITION OF THE RAPTURE
THE WORD “RAPTURE” IS NOT FOUND IN ENGLISH BIBLES BUT IT IS FOUND IN THE LATIN VULGATE VERSION OF THE BIBLE
The Latin Vulgate translates 1 Thes. 4:17 “shall be caught up [Latin, “rapturo”] together with them in the clouds.” It means: (1) to transport (to move to another place), and (2) to enrapture (to make supremely happy).
“The Rapture of the church” is the coming of the Lord to transport the living and the dead church-age saints to heaven to make them supremely happy.

3. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN “THE SECOND ADVENT” AND “THE RAPTURE”
(These two events are more correctly labeled “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” and “The Rapture of the church”)

AT “THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH”:
AT THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

Christ is coming before “the Great Tribulation,” Rev. 3:10
Christ is coming after “the Great Tribulation,” Rev. 19:11–21.

Christ is coming to the church as “the bright and morning star,” Rev. 22:16
Christ is coming to Israel as “the Sun of righteousness,” Mal. 4:2.

Christ is coming secretly, 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes 4:17.
Christ is coming openly, Matt. 24:27; Rev. 1:7.

Christ is coming “in the air”, 1 Thes. 4:17.
Christ is coming to “the Mt. of Olives”, Zech. 14:4.

Christ is coming for His Bride, 1 Thes. 4:13–18; 2 Thes. 2:1.
Christ is coming with His Bride, Rev. 19:14

Christ is coming to return to heaven, John 14:1–3.
Christ is coming to remain on the earth, Matt. 25:31–46.

Christ is coming to bless His church, John 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 15:50–58; 1 Thes. 4:13–18.
Christ is coming to blast His enemies, 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:19–21.

4. THE SCRIPTURES DEALING WITH THE RAPTURE
The three chief passages are John 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 15:50–58; 1 Thes. 4:13–18.

5. THE SUBJECTS OF THE RAPTURE
THE CHURCH-AGE SAINTS WILL BE RAPTURED—Those who are in union with (“in”) Christ (this is true only of church-age saints) will be raptured.

ONLY THE CHURCH-AGE SAINTS WILL BE RAPTURED—Old Testament saints will not be resurrected until more than seven years after the Rapture of the church, Isa. 26:20, 21; Dan. 12:2; 12:13; Rev. 11:18.

ALL THE CHURCH-AGE SAINTS WILL BE RAPTURED—Both the living and the dead church-age saints will be raptured, 1 Cor. 15:50–58; 1 Thes. 4:13–18. Both immature and mature church-age saints will be raptured (even the baby Thessalonian Christians who had died after being saved for only 3 or 4 months will be raptured, 1 Thes. 4:13–18).

NO MERELY-PROFESSING CHURCH-AGE SAINTS WILL BE RAPTURED—The lukewarm, merely-professing Christians of the Laodicean church will be spewed out of Christ’s mouth at His coming, Rev. 3:16. The Laodicean Church will be left here on the earth to later be seen as the woman sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, Rev. 17:3.

6. THE SUDDENNESS OF THE RAPTURE
IT WILL TAKE PLACE IN “A MOMENT” “IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE” (1 Cor. 15:52)
THE CHURCH WILL BE “CAUGHT UP” (SNATCHED AWAY) (1 Thes. 4:17)

7. THE PLACE OF THE RAPTURE (1 Cor. 15:50–58; 1 Thes. 4:13–18)
SOME OF THE SAINTS WILL BE IN THEIR GRAVES (DEAD)—A great majority of those raptured will be raptured from their graves.

SOME OF THE SAINTS WILL BE ABOVE-GROUND (ALIVE)—Some of these will be sleeping, others eating, others traveling, others working, etc.

8. THE NUMBER IN THE RAPTURE
THE NUMBER WILL BE LARGE NUMERICALLY SPEAKING—No doubt millions of saints will be raptured.
THE NUMBER WILL NOT BE LARGE COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Compared with the total number of those who have lived during the church age, the number of those in the Rapture will be small and insignificant (hardly missed by those left behind). The proof: (1) The proof from analogy—Only a small number were spared in Noah’s day (eight), in Lot’s day (three), in Moses’ day in the wilderness (two), in Elijah’s day (7,000), in Paul’s day (a remnant), etc.; and (2) The proof from Scripture—See Matt. 7:13, 14.

9. THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE
BEFORE “THE GREAT TRIBULATION”—See 1 Thes. 5:9; Rev. 3:10; 4:4.

ANY TIME—The Rapture is imminent. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before the Rapture can take place.
There are signs which are to precede “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” These signs are now appearing. This means “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” is nigh. If “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” is nigh, then “the Rapture of the church” is even more nigh, for “the Rapture” precedes “the Revelation” by seven years.

10. THE PURPOSE OF THE RAPTURE
TO COMPLETE THE SAINTS—At the time of the Rapture, our salvation, our redemption, our deliverance, and our sanctification will be completed.

TO COMPLETE CHRIST (in His humanity)—See Eph. 1:23.
Just as Adam was complete when he married Eve, even so will Christ in His humanity be complete when He raptures and marries the church.

TO GLORIFY THE NEW EVE—When the church is raptured, the new Eve (the church) will be glorified and take her place at the side of the glorified new Adam (the glorified Christ).

TO PROVIDE GOD WITH AN EXAMPLE OF HIS GRACE—The exceeding riches of God’s grace manifested to church-age saints in raising them from spiritual death to eternal life in glory will be used by God to show people of future ages what His grace can do, Eph. 2:7.

11. THE EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE RAPTURE (1 Thes. 4:13–18)
CHRIST HIMSELF WILL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN

“With a shout”—The descending Christ will give a shouted command for the dead in Christ to arise (just as Christ gave a shouted command for Lazarus to arise, Jn. 11:43).

“With the voice of the archangel”—Michael, the archangel and the guardian angel of Israel, will become active at the time of the Rapture, for at this time, God will again resume His dealings with Israel.

“With the trump of God”—“The last trump” for the church, 1 Cor. 15:52, will call the church home from her battles here on the earth (“the church militant” will be made “the church triumphant”).

THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL ARISE—All the sleeping church-age saints will arise in glorified bodies in response to Christ’s shouted command.

THE LIVING SAINTS WILL BE TRANSLATED—This translation of the living saints from unglorified bodies to glorified bodies will happen a split-second after the dead saints are resurrected.

THE RESURRECTED SAINTS AND THE TRANSLATED SAINTS WILL RISE TOGETHER—The whole of the church will be together physically for the first time.

THE UNIFIED AND GLORIFIED CHURCH WILL MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR—For the first time, we will see our Husband to whom we became espoused when we believed, Rom. 7:4; 2 Cor. 11:2.

THE RAPTURED CHURCH WILL EVER BE WITH THE LORD—We will dwell with Him seven years in heaven, we will reign with Him one thousand years on the Millennial earth, and we will abide with Him forever on the New Earth.

12. THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE RAPTURE

WE SHOULD KEEP ON KEEPING CHRIST’S WORD (Rev. 3:8)—We should keep His word in the sense of guarding (retaining) it and in the sense of doing (obeying) it.

WE SHOULD KEEP ON CONFESSING CHRIST’S NAME (Rev. 3:8)—We should not deny but keep on confessing the Christ made known to us through divine revelation, a divine Christ.

WE SHOULD KEEP ON ASSOCIATING OURSELVES WITH THE FEEBLE FEW (Rev. 3:8)—“thou hast a little strength” as “thou art a feeble few.” The end-time true-church remnant of saints do have but little strength and we are a feeble few but we are to keep on associating ourselves together in worship services to admonish and provoke one another to love and good works, Heb. 10:24, 25.

WE SHOULD KEEP ON LOVING ALL THE BRETHREN (Rev. 3:7)—The word “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. We members of the end-time true Philadelphian church should keep on loving all members of the body of Christ, regardless of the denomination or the religious group to which they belong.

WE SHOULD KEEP ON ENTERING DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY (Rev. 3:8)—Christ has set before us an open door for witness and service which no man can shut. We can and should witness to sinners and serve the saints until He comes to receive us in the Rapture.