By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #154 ~
When we speak of the rapture, we are talking about a most spectacular, life-changing, and God-glorifying event! It’s when Jesus Christ comes back in the clouds and powerfully and lovingly snatches all the Christians from the earth and brings them to Himself. The rapture is a specific event occurring at a specific time, but many believers use this term in a general way, referring to it as more than Christ coming and taking the Christians from the earth. Today, we will look at some verses in this general sense, helping you see that your life will immediately, dramatically and wonderfully be changed when Christ returns.
* 1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” This is the classic “rapture” verse. Now the words “caught up” are from the Greek “harpagisometha”, which was translated as “rapiemur” in the Latin Vulgate, from which we get the English word “rapture.” This phrase caught up, or rapture, means to snatch, seize, carry off, or take by force. When Christ returns, Christians will be suddenly, quickly and forcefully taken from the earth to forever be with their Savior. That it says “caught up together” means Christians will be jetted off the earth to be instantly united with all believers from all of history, and then together be taken to the Lord.
* Matthew 24:29-31 – “He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Jesus Christ will come from heaven with His angels and dispatch them to the world below and the skies above, gathering to Himself all the believers, those still living on earth, and those who have already died. This glorious “rapture” event will occur at the end of this age, after the skies are suddenly darkened, and then immediately lit up by Christ’s coming.
* 2 Thessalonians 2:1 – “We request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.” Again, we read that the believers will be gathered together to be with Jesus Christ. This gathering takes place at Christ’s coming, and is, in fact, the first event to occur at His coming. Verses 2-9 tell us that the rapture and the gathering take place after the apostasy, and after the “man of lawlessness” is revealed, which happens at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week. This most evil man is the Antichrist, a devilish man who desecrates the Jewish temple.
* Luke 17:34, 36 – “On that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left… Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.” When the rapture occurs, believers and unbelievers will suddenly be separated, for Christ, with “lightning speed” quickness, will lovingly take His bride from the earth. For some Christians the rapture happens at night, and for others it’s during the day. For the saved, it means immediate perfection, and for the unsaved, it means wrath on earth and wrath in hell.
* Luke 21:8 – “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” The “redemption” takes place at the rapture. One result of the rapture is that earth-dwelling believers will be redeemed, delivered, rescued, and quickly escape from a wicked world and their sinful body, and be taken to Jesus.
* John 14:3 – “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Jesus comforts His troubled disciples by telling them that He is coming back to bring believers to Himself, and to a special place in heaven that He has prepared for them. That you now live in the end-times means there is a strong possibility that the rapture may happen in your lifetime.
* 1 Corinthians 15:52 – “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 will be changed.” This verse tells us many things that take place at the rapture. First, it will happen quickly, “in a moment,” in a split second. Second, it will occur at the loud blast of the last trumpet. Third, the believers who have already died will, at that time, be resurrected, be glorified. Fourth, immediately after the resurrection of these heavenly believers, the Christians who were living on earth will be changed, be glorified, be given brand new bodies!
* 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10 – “To give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” Throughout history, Christians have suffered and been persecuted, and so too in the end times. God will give rest and relief to His children who are greatly suffering on earth. This happens when the rapture takes place, when Christ is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. What a relief the rapture will be for the Christians, but not for the unsaved unbelievers.
* Matthew 24:13 – “The one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” Jesus had just mentioned four difficult things affecting the believers – great tribulation, being betrayed, false prophets, and increasing lawlessness. So He tells us to endure, to persevere, with the result that we will be saved. This word “saved” is not referring to spiritual salvation, but physical salvation that occurs at the rapture, when we are suddenly and safely taken from the earth and miraculously glorified, and are then with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
* 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” Judgment and wrath are coming, for Christ is coming to judge the world. Thanks be to God that He is sending His Son down to earth to rescue us from this world-deserving, world-devastating wrath.
* 1 John 3:2 – “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” At Christ’s coming, He appears, and we will see Him, and be like Him, meaning we will be given a glorified soul, mind and body. That we will have a Christ-like body shows God’s incredible mercy and kindness, for then we will finally be with Jesus, have fellowship with Him, be greatly loved by Him, and be able to greatly love Him.
* How do we respond to this good news, this most glorious news? 1 Peter 1:13 – “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 – “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Matthew 24:42 – “Be on the alert, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming.” 1 Thessalonians 4:18 – “Encourage one another with these words.”
P.S. The rapture is a most important subject which is why I write so much about it. Here is a list of many of my rapture posts: “The Rapture, a Love Story”, “The Rapture Occurs at the Coming of Christ”, “When Does the Rapture Take Place?”, “The Return of Christ and the Rapture of the Church”, “The Resurrection and Rapture – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18”, “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church“.