WHERE IS THE
WORD “RAPTURE” IN THE BIBLE
THE GREAT DISAPPEARANCE MYSTERY
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. 1 Thess 4:17 NIV
The word rapture IS NOT in the Bible, but that’s not the end
of it. Read on.
- Wikipedia: Latin “rapio”, meaning caught up or taken away – Greek, “rapiemur”
meaning caught up or taken away. In fact the notion means to be
forcefully, quickly or suddenly taken away as in the blinking of the
eye.
- Webster says “rapture” is: A state or
experience of being carried away
by overwhelming emotion.
- NOTE: The Israelites saw something coming down out
of heaven and didn’t know what it was.
They wanted to call it something so they named it “manna” which
means “what is it”.
- There are references
to a “snatching away” in
scripture and there was a desire to name this process something and because
of the words “rapio” and “rapiemur” the English word “rapture” was selected. I wanted to call it “what is it” but that was already taken.
- The Bible teaches
that a time of tribulation is
coming. This statement sets
up the back ground for what the Bible prophecy says is on the way. Here’s the story.
- Jesus tells the
Disciples that He is going to leave
them soon and go to prepare a place with many rooms for all that have
embraced the Gospel.
- He tells them He is coming back to get them and
take them there.
- There are no other
events that must take place before Christ can return. It could be today.
- Christ does not want us to be ignorant
about these things and tells us plainly.
1 Thess 4:13 – DON’T BE IGNORANT
13 Brothers, we do not
want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve
like the rest of men, who have no hope. NIV
John 14:1-3 – A ROOM HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR YOU
1 "Do not let your hearts
be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2 In my Father's house are
many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that
you also may be where I am. NIV
- The apostle Paul
reports a mystery of Christ. A
mystery is a truth that has not been revealed before. The rapture is now revealed as a mystery.
1 Cor 15:51 -52
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all
sleep, but we will all be changed-
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. NIV
- Christ was the first
to be raised from the dead, and those that died believing in Christ
are next, then those of us who are still alive in Christ will follow. It’s a promise.
1 Cor 15:20 -23
20 But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who have fallen
asleep.
21 For since death came
through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own
turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. NIV
- There will be birth pains; signs before
the rapture and tribulation period.
There will be religious deception, international revolution, wars,
famines, earthquakes, plagues, and strange stuff happening in the sky.
Matt 24:4-8 – WARS – FAMINE - EARTHQUAKES
4 Jesus answered:
"Watch out that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in
my name, claiming, `I
am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 You will hear of wars
and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things
must happen, but the end is still to come.
7 Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the
beginning of birth pains. NIV
Luke 21:25-28 – UNEXPLAINED HAPPENING IN THE SKY
25 "There will be signs
in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish
and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
26 Men will faint from
terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies
will be shaken.
27 At that time they will
see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 When these things
begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near. NIV
Matt 24:21-23 – GREAT DISTRESS – FALSE MESIAHS
21 For then there will
be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and
never to be equaled again.
22 If those days had not
been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect
those days will be shortened.
23 At that time if anyone
says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!'
do not believe it. NIV
Rev 4:1-2 - THE DOOR OF HEAVEN IS OPENED
4:1 After this I looked,
and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I
had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must
take place after this."
2 “At once” I was in
the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting
on it. NIV
- This is the passage
in the Revelation as given to John the Apostle, that infers to the church being
“caught up” to heaven. Although it sounds cryptic, the fact is,
the church is not mentioned again in the scriptures till Revelation
chapter 22.
- After a brief
description of what’s going on in Heaven, John is given some letters of
warning to seven churches and then at some point the seven seals on the
scroll are opened and that’s when “All hell breaks loose”, the seven year “Tribulations”
known as “Jacobs Trouble”.
- “As far as time
goes”, we believe as soon as the rapture occurs, the tribulation also
begins. This is because the
restraining force of evil is the Holy Spirit and He leaves at the same
time as the Church does.
- Now let’s look at a
few scriptures about God’s promises to the saints about His “Saving Grace”
before the Tribulation begins.
1 Thess 5:9 – THE BELIEVER WILL NOT RECEIVE GOD’S WRATH
9 For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
KJV
Gen 19:16 – LOT IS
DELIVERED
16 When he (Lot ) hesitated, the men grasped
his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them
safely out of the city, for the
LORD was merciful to them. NIV
Gen 19:29
29 So when God destroyed
the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities
where Lot had lived. NIV
Gen 7:1 – NOAH IS DELIVERED
1 The LORD then said to
Noah, "Go into the ark,
you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this
generation. NIV
Gen 7:23
23 Every living thing on
the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that
move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only
Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. NIV
- What these scriptures
indicate is that Scripture supports the view that those that love the lord
will be delivered from “His Holy Judgments”. These examples are of God’s loving
extraction before His judgment begins.
1 Thess 4:16-17
16 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. NIV
Matt 24:37-41
37 As it was in the
days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before
the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in
the field; one will be taken and the
other left
41 Two women will be
grinding with a hand mill; one will
be taken and the other left. NIV
- Jesus clearly states He
is coming back for us and will meet us in the air and we will
receive a crown of glory.
Christians refer to this as the catching away or rapture of the
Saints.
- John states he was in
the Spirit in Heaven and sees Jesus Christ on the Throne. Sounds
like he was raptured to me. – Just saying.
- John’s body was not
yet glorified, so only his spirit was allowed before the throne.
Rev 4:2 – John sees Jesus on the throne
2 And immediately I was in
the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
KJV
Acts 1:11
11 "Men of
Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This
same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven." NIV
- NOTE: The Believers will hear
“a single sound”, described
three different ways.
- Only the believers hear
this sound. A shout – The Voice of an Archangel – A Trumpet
- When Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead, He called Lazarus’s name specifically so that all
the dead would not “come forth”.
Here he is specific again; and now ALL the dead in Christ
will come forth. John 11:43 When he had
said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth”)
1 Thess 4:16-17
16 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:
- NOTE: That those “who are asleep” or dead in Christ have a priority
with the Lord in the First
Resurrection, as they will go up first, then those that remain
alive will join them. Only the
believers in Christ are involved here.
The rest must wait for the
Second Resurrection.
17 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. KJV
1 Cor 15:51 -53
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not “all sleep”,
but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
- The
Greek understanding is; we will be caught up, snatched out or taken away
speedily - as fast as your eye can blink. I would love to see it in slow motion as
I go up, - just saying
- This is when we will get
a new immortal body – Mine will be about 32 years old and my body
will look like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s except I will talk
Southern Hebrew. ( “I’ll be bock”
in 7 years)
53 For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. KJV
4 When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory. KJV
1 Peter 5:4
4 And when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive
the crown of glory that will never fade away. NIV
- When someone speaks
to you in a different language, it needs to be translated into English in order for you to understand
it.
- When Jesus came to
earth, His spiritual attributes were translated into physical attributes, which is what we
see in Him as a physical mortal man.
- Man was made with physical
attributes like Christ and at the rapture when we are translated with spiritual
attributes we will be like Him
and we shall see him as He is.
1 Thess 1:10
10 Wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath
to come. KJV
John 14:2-3
2 In my Father's house are
many mansions: (ROOMS) if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. KJV
1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, now we are 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. KJV
- Interestingly, there were some
raptures in the Old Testament too.
Enoch zapped into another dimension as well as Elijah, and later
Paul’s spirit was caught up
there also.
- Notice: Twice Paul says
“Caught Up” in the scripture, so this seems to be an important point.
2 Cor 12:2-4 – PAUL RAPTURED
2 I know a man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was CAUGHT UP to the third heaven. Whether it was
in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows.
3 And I know that this
man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-
4 was CAUGHT UP to
paradise. NIV
Heb 11:5 – ENOCH RAPTURED
5 By faith Enoch was taken
from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found,
because God had taken him away. NIV
2 Kings 2:11-12 – ELIJAH RAPTURED
11 As they were walking
along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire
appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a
whirlwind. NIV
- The Holy Spirit
indwells every Believer and they are the “Salt” and “Light”
of the earth. When we, along with
the Holy Spirit are removed from the earth, the “Hour of Trial” will begin world wide and all nature will
respond accordingly.
Matt 5:13-14
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if
the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer
good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city
on a hill cannot be hidden.
NIV
Matt 24:21-22
21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the
beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again.
22 If those days had not
been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those
days will be shortened. NIV
Rev 3:9-10
10 Since you have kept my command to endure
patiently, I will also keep you from the
hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who
live on the earth. NIV
1 Thess 5:8-10
9 For God
did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ NIV
- After the rapture, the tribulation begins and will last for
seven years which we will not cover here, but its bad news. All
Hell will break loose.
- God selects 144,000
Jews and they preach to those that are “Left Behind”.
- All that’s left on
earth is the wicked unsaved,
demons, fallen angels and Satan.
Not much love is left behind. After seven years we will return to
rule and reign with Christ for one thousand years, then we get a new
heaven and a new earth and then eternity begins.
- Everyone will spend
eternity somewhere and that decision is made by you before you die.
We wait, watch and look
forward to His coming
with
great expectation and longing.
1 Thess 1:9-10
10 wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who
rescues us from the coming wrath. NIV
Titus 2:12-13
13 while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, NIV
Phil 3:20-21
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ, NIV
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
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I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses. Because
of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever
could have.
A survey of the New Testament – Gunry
All the Miracles of the Bible - Herbert Lockyer
Bible Commentary – F. B. Meyer
Compact Bible Dictionary - Zondervan
Complete Bible Handbook – Lawrence
Dake’s annotated Bible - Dake
Halley’s Bible Handbook – H.H. Halley
KJV Bible
Mystery of the Ages – Herbert W. Armstrong
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
NIV Bible
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Tyndale
The Layman’s Overview of the Bible – George W. Knight
The Bible Almanac – Packer Tenney White
Vincent’s Word Studies of the NT - Mac Donald
What the Bible is all about – Henrietta C. Mears
What in the World is going on? – David Jeremiah
Wikipedia encyclopedia
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Wycliff Bible Commentary, The
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