Rapture in the Bible
The Lord will descend and the dead in Christ will rise first then those who are alive[edit]
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Notes[edit]
Some Christians believe that if Christ had returned they would no longer be on earth but along with these Christians who died believing in Christ at their death they would all be lifted into heaven together to meet the physical body of Jesus in the clouds
The following accounts are mutually exclusive of the events that will surround the actual appearance of the Return of Christ (therefore, the interpretation must be spiritual):
- See "Every eye shall see Him" in the Bible#Stars to fall from heaven and sun and moon to darken (so not possible to see and would destroy the earth anyways) discussion of (Matthew 24:29-31) that outlines stars falling on earth before Christ returns which would incinerate humankind making Rapture impossible: “The stars fall from heaven ... then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds.”
- The Book of Revelation, Chapters 20 & 21 details an entirely different set of events than “the Rapture” with a First Resurrection of beheaded Christian martyrs and later a Second Resurrection of all other Christians and the remaining dead on earth 1,000 years later.
- Also see One Mediator between God and man in the Bible quotes which establish another physical being than Jesus will be sent as Christ’s Return with a “new name”: Spirit of Truth, the Helper, the Comforter, etc. This did not happen at Pentecost as Christians would know all truth which they do not as there are 23,000 sects and they openly state that the “Trinity” is a mystery to them, and Paul states after Pentecost that “Now I know in part...” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
- Christ will return as a “Thief in the night...” (1 Thessalonians 5:24) (2 Peter 3:10) (Matthew 24:42-44) (Revelation 3:3; Revelation 6:15). [When do you know a thief has come?]
(The hour that would be least expected is in the past)[edit]
“Therefore you must also be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
(Christ indicates Christians may recognize His Return, but it is not an automatic event)[edit]
“Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all things that shall come to pass and stand before the Son of Man.”