As the next event on God’s prophetic calendar, the Rapture is perhaps the most important piece of prophecy for us to understand. It could very well impact us personally. According to Scripture, all who have put their trust in Christ, living and deceased, will suddenly be caught up from the earth, be joined with Christ in the air, and taken to heaven. Paul describes the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 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. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

While Paul’s description in First Thessalonians is the most complete account in Scripture, John 14:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 also mention the Rapture.

The Definition of “Rapture”

Rapture is derived from the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which translates the Greek harpazo (to catch up or carry away) as rapiemur from the Latin rapio. The Greek harpazo occurs fourteen times in the New Testament with four variations of meaning, each of which contributes to our understanding of what Paul is describing in verse 17: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with [the dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

Christ will use His power to remove living and deceased believers from the last enemy, death.

First, harpazo can mean “to carry off by force.” Christ will use His power to remove living and deceased believers from the last enemy, death.

Second, harpazo can mean “to claim for oneself eagerly.” Christ purchased us with His blood, and He will return to claim those who are His.

Third, harpazo can mean “to snatch away speedily.” The Rapture will occur “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Fourth, harpazo can mean “to rescue from the danger of destruction.” This meaning supports the idea that the Rapture will save the Church from experiencing the terrors of the seven-year Tribulation.

This coming event is the first part of Christ’s two-part return to earth. First, He’ll remove the Church from the world. Second, seven years later, He’ll establish His Kingdom on earth. For every prophecy in Scripture about Christ’s first advent, there are eight about His second. The 260 chapters of the New Testament contain 318 references to the Second Coming of Christ.¹

The Difference Between the Rapture and Christ’s Second Coming

Will the Rapture occur at Christ’s Second Coming? The short answer is, “Yes, but….” The Rapture sets in motion the end-time events leading to Christ’s Second Coming. The two stages, Rapture and Return, will be separated by a seven-year Tribulation on earth. According to Revelation 3:10, the purpose of the Rapture is to spare Christ’s own from the horrors of the Tribulation.

The purpose of the Rapture is to spare Christ’s own from the horrors of the Tribulation.

The prophets saw what appears to be the Tribulation—“the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7)—not the Rapture. But that is not surprising; they didn’t differentiate clearly between the first and second advents of Christ. The prophets “inquired and searched carefully” (1 Peter 1:10-11), but they saw more of the big picture than the details. And they didn’t see the Church at all, which is who the Rapture affects. The prophets saw the future like seeing successive mountain peaks through a telephoto lens. They saw the peaks (events), but not the distance that separates them.

The Details Surrounding Paul’s Rapture Account

Paul gained his understanding of the Rapture via special revelation from God—he called it a “mystery” in 1 Corinthians 15:51, meaning a truth not previously revealed. The revelation was “by the word of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15).

By sharing this revelation, Paul also met a practical concern of the Christians in Thessalonica. They were worried about the fate of Christians who died before Christ’s Second Coming and about the timing of the Rapture—whether it had already happened (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). After describing the details of the Rapture, Paul instructed the Thessalonian believers to “comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The Distinction of the People Raptured

Each of the three major passages that teach about the Rapture indicates that it only involves the family of God, including innocent children too young to believe. Anyone who does not trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior will not be raptured into the Lord’s presence and will be left to suffer the horrors of the Tribulation.

The Rapture is restricted to believers.

John 14:1-3 is a beloved passage. In it, Jesus provides this assurance: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And 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.”

What we need to understand is that Jesus was speaking to His disciples—men who were obviously believers. They were members of the family of faith in the same way Christians are today. “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (verse 3) describes what we call the Rapture—the uniting of Jesus Christ with His faithful followers.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talked about “those who are Christ’s at His coming” (verse 23). Verse 1 informs us that the passage was written to “brethren,” and verse 58 concludes the passage by talking about abounding in the work of the Lord, an obvious reference to Christian believers.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul refers to believers as “brethren” (verse 13), as those who “believe that Jesus died and rose again” (verse 14), and as the “dead in Christ” (verse 16).

These passages are clear: the Rapture is restricted to believers. Only those who are followers of Christ will be taken up into heaven when He returns—and there will be no warning before it occurs. This could be the day!

¹“The Second Coming of Christ” preceptaustin.org, updated January 20, 2021, www.preceptaustin.org/the_second_coming_of_Christ.htm, accessed December 15, 2021.