Introduction The state of mind of Old Testament believers was one of both imperfect knowledge and confusion concerning what occurs to a person at the time of death. They believed that everyone went to sheol, which is the Hebrew phrase for the “ underworld ” or the “ home of the dead ”. In their mindset it did not matter whether they were believers or not, it was the resting place of all dead. Their expectation was that there would come a time at the end of the age, where there will be a time of judgment, where the books are opened and everyone’s lives will be examined in microscopic detail. The righteous will inherit eternal life, while the unbelieving dead would receive eternal damnation as wages for their seeds of destruction. This thinking is evident just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead where He told Martha: “ Lazarus will rise again ”, to which she responded: “ I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day “ , (Jn. 11:23- 24) . The fate of the wicked or unbelieving dead has always remained the same. Jesus warned everyone: “ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell ”, (Mt 10:28) . He described it as a place of “blazing fire ”, “ outer darkness ”, where there will be “ weeping and gnashing of teeth ”, (Mt. 13:24-30 & 22:1- 14) . Hell was originally designed “ to be a place of torment for Satan and his demons ”, (Mt. 25:41) and a place of eternal destruction. It is certainly not God’s desire that any human being should choose this destiny. However, with Jesus death and resurrection things changed substantially for the believer. To the repented thief who died with Him on the cross, He said: “ Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise ”, (Lk. 23:43) . Many people wonder why death had no hold over Jesus. It is because the “ wages of sin is death ”, (Rm. 6:23) , the reward for those who sin against God. Since Christ was perfect and sinless, death had no hold over Him. Paul encouraged all believers describing that at the time of death, there is a great separation between the soul, spirit and the body of the believing man. He encouraged Christians: “ To be absent from the body is to be present with Christ ”, (2 Cor. 5:8) . Paul was caught in a conundrum as he desired to “ depart and be with Christ ”, (Phil. 1:23) , but realized he still had a mission to fulfill. During Paul’s missionary journeys he was facing these same type of questions by those in Thessalonica. What happens to the believing saints who have already died and by implication to those who have already died have a benefit in participating in Christs eternal kingdom over the living, or do the living have a benefit over those who are already dead and are present with Christ? The foundation of the Rapture Paul wanted to set the record straight so believers would not be confused. He provides an orderly account answering these deep rooted fears. To set their ignorance of this matter aside, once and for all, he informs everyone that “ those who have fallen asleep in Chris t” will simply have no advantage over the living, (1 Thes. 4:13-14) . The word: “ sleep ” is always used as a simile to the physical bodies of departed Christians and never applied to the soul or spirit. It is the “ Lord Himself who descends from heaven ” with those who had died “slept” in Christ. He then sets out exactly what was revealed to him, “ by the Word of the Lord ”. God does not send His angels to reap, but together with “ a shout ” and the “ voice of an archangel ” and the “ trumpet call of God ”, the “ dead in Christ will rise first ”. In other words, since Paul already described those who had died as being with Christ descending from heaven, they are the first to receive their eternal immortal bodies”, (1 Thes. 4:15-16) . It is only after those who have already died and received their immortal bodies, that whose “ who are alive ” are “ caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ”, (1 Thes. 4:17) . The great reunion of all Christians takes place, where they all have their immortal bodies given to them. He closed off this orderly account, by stating that “ we shall always be with the Lord ” from this moment into eternity. The phrase “caught up” is the Greek word “harpadzo” which means to “ be suddenly removed or snatched away ”. It is used on many occasions in the New Testament in reference to the acts of a thief, who steals or plunders, (Mat 11:12, 13:19 & Jn. 10:12) . It is also used by Paul in describing him being “ caught up ” to the third heavens, (2 Cor. 12:2) as well as Christ’s ascension into heaven, (Rv. 12:5) . The word that Christians have latched onto to describe this sequence of events is not “ caught up ”, but rather the Latin translation “raptus”, of this Greek word, which is translated in English as “ the rapture ”. Since the events and the order of it supplied by Paul only relates to believers in Christ, it has became aptly known as the “rapture of the church” .

The expansion of this foundation The rapture of the church is largely revealed by the apostle Paul, as both a mystery, (1 Cor. 5:51) and as a blessed hope, (Tit. 2:13). It is a natural desire for any believer to not only be comforted with these words, but also to be excited about it. While Paul had revealed the order of events to those in Thessalonica, he also had provided certain details of this event to those in Corinth. He reveals the message as “mystery” which by implication is somewhat of a secret. He was explaining to them that flesh, (the physical body of man), can never inherit the kingdom of God, as the body by nature is steeped in sins against God, (1 Cor. 15:50) . He explains that: “ we will not all fall asleep, but we shall be changed - in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet ”, (1 Cor. 15:51-52) . This process of believers receiving their immortal eternal bodies, is described also with the “sounding of a trumpet”, where the dead will be the first to receive their eternal bodies and in this manner receive our eternal inheritance into the Kingdom of God. However, once again he emphasizes that many Christians will not experience death in this process. They will simply be instantly transformed with their old bodies being discarded and new sinless eternal bodies given to them in an instant. The speed at which this occurs, is described by Paul as “ in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye ”. Naturally the twinkling of an eye differs depending on what a person is doing. In a recent study of bus drivers, it was found to be 8.23 milliseconds in the case of tired bus drivers and 5.19 milliseconds in those who were wide awake. If you are blessed to be part of this event, you certainly won’t even have time for your brain to register as to what just happened.

Events relating to the Second Coming of Christ There are so many Biblical references relating to the Second Coming of Christ, (some have actually estimated over 300 scriptures in the New Testament alone), that it stands out as one of the most significant events recorded in all the scriptures. There are only 4 out of the 27 books in the New Testament where it does not receive a mention. Of course, it is a critical event as without the return of Jesus, sin and lawlessness will continue to flourish. It is often referred to as the “ glorious appearing ”, since the entire earth witnesses Jesus return with power and great glory. The picture in Revelation describes Jesus returning on a white horse, symbolic of warfare and victory, along with the armies of heaven, described as wearing white robes, (Rv. 19:11-14) . Those wearing white robes is a picture of all the saints of all ages. They are also described throughout the New Testament as “the redeemed” and “the overcomer”.

T he fact that all believers are with Christ at His return, is mentioned by both Old and New Testament authors. Zechariah prophesied that when “ the Lord my God comes, all the saints are with Him ”, (Zec. 14:5) . Jude mentions in the New Testament, that when “ the Lord comes, ten thousands of His Saints are with Him ”, (Jd. 1:14-15) . While this Greek word “myriad” can be translated as “thousands”, it better describes an innumerable number of saints. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus sends His angels to “ gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other ”, (Mt 24:31) , before He returns to earth. The Second Coming has many signs preceding it including that “ he comes immediately after the Great Tribulation ” as spoken of by the prophet Daniel, (Mt. 24:15 & 29) . It is an event that effects the entire human race, where “ every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him ”, (Rv. 1:7) . His return comes when the world is in darkness and He emerges with a sword out of His mouth, which He smites the nations of the world remaining into submission. It is a scene of absolute chaos, as all the wild animals and birds are gathered to partake in the Great Supper of God, (Mt. 24:28 & Rv. 19:21) . There is a great harvest of destruction of the ungodly outside the city of Jerusalem, where hordes are cast into the “ winepress of God’s wrath ”, resulting in a bloodbath of unprecedented proportions, (Rv. 14:19-20) . The scenes across multiple prophecies, whether attributed to the Messiah in the Old Testament or to Jesus in the New Testament all provide absolute clarity that upon the return of Christ, every knee shall bow.

The contrasting of the events We cannot simply compare the events described by Paul relating to the “catching away” and transforming of believers, to any prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Christ. It necessitates that the rapture is a separate event and occurs at a much earlier time. We are left with no doubt that when the Second Coming occurs, the bride of Christ accompanies Him, (Rv. 19:6-9) . This means that the “ Bema Judgment Throne ”, (the judgment of believers), as well as the marriage supper of the Lamb has already occurred. Jesus described His own return of believers with the words: “ My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 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 . You know the way to the place where I am going ”, (Jn. 4:1-4) . It is evident that when Christ returns at His Second Coming He returns to establish His kingdom on the earth, while His promise to eternally transform His followers takes place in mid-air and they return back with Him to heaven.

Promises given to the church While the contrasting events described by the scriptures alone prove the rapture is an independent event, there are promises given, specifically to the church that must be satisfied. As believers, we are instructed: “ to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath”, (1 Thes. 1:10) . I t is openly evident just like Paul indicated with regards to the rapture, that it is Jesus who personally returns for His own. The same promise is echoed elsewhere by Paul where he tells us: “ God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ ”, (1 Thes. 5:9) . In Revelation, the wrath of God is revealed as commencing upon the release of the sixth seal, where there is a general acknowledgement by all those upon the face of the entire world: “ They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb ! For the great day of their wrath has come , and who can withstand it?’ ”, (Rv. 6:16-17) . As there are still sixteen judgments described before Jesus returns in chapter 19, it is evident that the rapture has to occur before the wrath is revealed to fulfill the promises given. Even if these scriptures did not exist, it would make no sense for Jesus to incur the wrath of God on our behalf, (when He was crucified), just to allow us to suffer wrath during the last three and a half years of human rule. The faithful church in Revelation is also promised: “ because you have kept my command to endure patiently I will also keep you from the hour of trial coming upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth ”, (Rv. 3:10) . It is important to note the words “ kept from ”, it does not mean what some others suggest as “enduring through”. A very similar phrase is recorded of Jesus words after He described the terrible events on the earth, before His Second Coming. He said: “ Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap . For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth . Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man ”, (Lk. 21:34-36) . Not only do these scriptures speak yet again “ from escaping ” or “ to be kept from ”, but it also indicates that believers need to be on the lookout and alert. In other words, Jesus return for believers has always been imminent. Every generation had reason to believe that there was the possibility that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. It is unlike the Second Coming, not bound by any prophetic events which are required to occur before the Second Coming of Christ.

Anyone who suggests that the rapture does not exist, by Paul’s definition is only illustrating their own ignorance of this matter, (1 Thes. 4:13). This is why the return of Christ for His own is called the “Blessed Hope”, (Tit. 2:13). While most Protestants believe in the rapture there are many viewpoints concerning it’s potential timing, which is both highly technical and supercharged. It is the subject matter of another article.