Rapture
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Rapture
The Rapture of the church is the event in which God "catches away' all the believers in Jesus from the earth just prior to the seven year Great Tribulation period.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
In the Rapture, all those who have put their faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord will be instantly given glorified, resurrected bodies.
This event will include both those who have died in faith from the past, as well as all those living believers present at the time of this event. The Rapture is noted in many portions of the Bible, and clearly explained in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
At the Rapture, the faithful followers of Jesus will experience the glorious event that they had been waiting and longed for throughout the ages.
They are finally free from sin... now in God's presence forever.
The Rapture was meant to be a comforting hope for all those who trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is why we were to "encourage each other with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
(Check out GotQuestions.org for more information about the Rapture and all the big questions of life.)
The Rapture will involve an instantaneous transformation of our bodies to fit us for eternity. "We know that when he [Christ] appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).
The Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus are closely related, but are different in many ways.
At the Rapture, the Lord comes "in the clouds" to meet us "in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
The Rapture
Rapture explained.. — 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Christ comes in the air (v. 16)
Christ comes for the saints (v. 15-17)
Effects only believers (v. 16)
Not visible to all (v. 16)
Blessing for the faithful (v. 18)
Resurrection of believers — 1 Corinthians 15:51
Rescue from judgements — Revelation chapters 6-18
The Return (Second Coming)
Return explained — Revelation 19:11-16
Christ comes with the saints (V. 14)
A time of judgement (v. 15)
Affects all earth dwellers (v. 15)
Christ comes to earth — Zechariah 14:4
Visible to all — Matthew 24:27, Revelation 1:7
Many signs precede... Israel is key — Matthew 24:1-25
A word on the Great Tribulation, as foretold in the Bible...
Daniel 12:1 And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time.
This "time" is described in detail (see Revelation 6-19) as the final seven years before Jesus literally returns and sets up His Millennial Kingdom... Matthew 24:21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
Summary of the Great Tribulation and Beyond:
The Antichrist (the beast) will come into power and will sign a covenant with Israel for seven years (Daniel 9:27) and this will launch this prophetic time period.
During the Tribulation there will be wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters.
God will be pouring out His judgments against sin, evil, and wickedness.
The Antichrist will break the peace covenant with Israel at the mid-point (3.5 years), and then turn on them in severe persecution and war.
He will commit "the abomination of desolation" and set up an image of himself to be worshiped in the Jerusalem temple (Daniel 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10), which will have been rebuilt earlier in the Tribulation.
At the end of the seven-year Tribulation, the Antichrist will launch a final Armageddon battle to thwart the plans of God and return of Jesus Christ, but he will finally be defeated.
Christ will then bind Satan in the Abyss for 1,000 years and He will then rule and reign in His earthly kingdom (this is the promised Millennium; see Revelation 20:1-6).
At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released, defeated one final time, and then cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10) for eternity.
Christ will then judge all unbelievers from throughout the ages at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:10-15).
He will then usher in a New Heaven and New Earth, along with the New Jerusalem- the eternal dwelling place of all believers throughout the ages.
There will be no more sin, sorrow, or death (Revelation 21:3-4).
John 1:10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
A Prayer of Hope
Lord, I come to you now and turn away from my sin and receive Christ as my Savior and Lord.
I believe that Christ Jesus gave His life, through His crucifixion on a Roman cross, to pay my sin debt so that I could be forgiven and redeemed.
Jesus, I desire to follow You as my Lord and God from this day forward.
In Jesus name I pray, amen.
❤️🙏🙌