The Rapture is an event that quickly devolves into wild speculation if we do not adhere to the plain-sense of meaning of Scripture. Indeed, there are details that elude our understanding—often because there are aspects too wonderful for our minds to comprehend.
Still, God’s Word offers enough prophetic foreshadowing to outline what He has in store for followers of Christ at the end of the Church Age. With that in mind, here are the facts of the Rapture, presented in a “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” format that would please Joe Friday.
Who
Jesus promised to gather His Church Age followers—collectively referred to as the Church or “Bride”—rescuing them from the wrath to come and bringing them to the place He is preparing in His Father’s House. (John 14:1-4, 18; Romans 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10)
What
In a singular event, the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air. A split second later, His living followers will be rescued from the wrath to come as well. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
When
This event has no precursors per se, making it an imminent event since Jesus’ ascension into Heaven in Acts 1. While signs of the times will precede the Second Coming of Jesus to reign upon the Earth, no prophesied sign or occurrence has to happen before Jesus comes to gather His Bride. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)
Where
Jesus said that He would bring us to a place He is preparing for us. We generically refer to that place as “Heaven”—whether it is a physical location, an unknown dimension, or a spiritual state. Scripture describes it as a place where the angels and saints engage in perpetual worship of God. (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-23)
Why
Scoffers dismiss any excitement about the hope of the Rapture as escapism or avoidance of a worsening reality. I suppose both of those charges are accurate on their face, but they are based not on wishful thinking but the promise of God.
There are a few distinct reasons why the Lord elected to reveal the Rapture to those of us who are the recipients of the blessed hope of that promise. (Ephesians 5:23-25; 2 Corinthians 4:14, 11:2; Revelation 19:7-8)
1. The first beneficiary of the Rapture is Jesus Christ. He referred to Himself as the Bridegroom and to Church Age saints collectively as the Bride. The analogy speaks to Jesus’ own eagerness to gather His Bride to Himself because He loves her, gave Himself to the point of death on her behalf, and does not want to see His Bride suffer the consequences of God’s outpouring of wrath during the Tribulation.
2. The second beneficiary is the Bride, the Church. Knowing in our heart that Jesus has made a provision for us, is readying a place for us, and will soon call us heavenward to be with Him offers us tremendous encouragement as we see the world spiraling out of control. Clearly, there is the promised benefit of being rescued before the wrath of God falls on the Earth.
3. The final chapter of God’s plan for the ages will not commence until that which restrains is removed from the world. Right now, the Holy Spirit indwells millions upon millions of Christians scattered all around the world. When the Church is removed, although the Holy Spirit will still be drawing individual hearts to God, He will no longer work through the Church to restrain the rapid multiplication of wickedness, violence, and ungodliness on the Earth. In short order, once Christians are removed, the world will descend into chaos, the Antichrist will emerge, and the outpouring of God’s wrath known as the Tribulation will ensue.
How
Scripture is unclear regarding the exact means by which God intends to fulfill this promise. Given Jesus’ reference to a Jewish wedding and His own consistent submission to the will of the Father (and His revelation that even “the Son does not know the day or the hour”), we can envision God the Father telling Jesus, “It’s time. Go and get Your Bride.”
When that occurs, Jesus will burst forth from Heaven. Based on His call to John in Revelation 4:1 (“Come up here”), the call to the two Prophets of Revelation 11 (“Come up here” 11:12), and Lazarus in John 11:43 (“Lazarus, come out” or “Come forth”), it is possible that He will simply say, “Come up here!”
Jesus said in John 10:27 that His sheep hear His voice. Just as His followers heard the voice of God in John 12:28—reminiscent of the Father’s voice at Jesus’ baptism (“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” Matthew 3:17) and Transfiguration (“This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him” in Luke 9:35 and Mark 9:7)—His followers will hear that booming command. It is quite possible that the unsaved will merely hear the sound of thunder (John 12:29).
In an instant (many times quicker than the blink of an eye), Paul told the Corinthian church that “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). The obvious context of that passage clarifies that only the dead in Christ (to use his language from 1 Thessalonians 4:16) will be raised imperishable, and only the still living followers of Christ will likewise be changed.
It takes the average person 0.1 to 0.4 seconds to blink. But the words Paul used (atomos and rhipē in Greek) point to something even faster. They denote an “indivisible moment” or a “twinkling” of the eye. Modern science has measured a “zeptosecond” as a trillionth of a billionth of a second. That is the time it takes for a photon of light to cross a hydrogen molecule. By contrast, that same photon of light would travel over 18,000 miles in 0.1 second. The point is that the Rapture will happen so fast that anyone not already hearing Jesus’ voice and ready for His upward call will be left behind.
Those are the facts. Are you ready?
