What is the Rapture?
The Rapture is the next event on God’s prophetic timetable. It’s the promise of the Lord that one day He will come and receive us unto Himself before the Tribulation begins on the earth. It’s the blessed hope, the great expectation of every Christian.
Where do we find the Rapture in Scripture?
The truth of the Rapture is taught throughout Scripture, but three passages rise above the rest: John 14, 1 Corinthains 15, and 1 Thessalonians 4.
The events of the Rapture into four “R’s”:
- The Return describes Jesus Christ Himself descending from heaven with sounds like no other: a shout, an archangel's voice, and God's trumpet.
- The Resurrection speaks of those who died in Christ rising first, emphasizing a relationship with Jesus that neither life nor death can sever.
- The Rapture explains the suddenness of believers being taken, using the Greek verb harpazo, which implies forcefully and eagerly claiming, snatching away quickly, and rescuing from danger.
- The Reunion anticipates a moment when Christians, both deceased and living, unite in the air, having grand reunions amongst themselves and with Christ. They'll all enter heaven in new, glorified bodies where they will spend forever in the presence of God.
The Rapture - In the Words of Jesus
In John 14, Jesus talked with His disciples in the Upper Room just four days before His crucifixion. His words were filled with comfort, instruction, and emotion. In the middle of that message, Jesus said:
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. (vv. 1–3)
Highlight those words, “I will come again and receive you to Myself.” That’s Rapture talk. During one of the most comforting messages Jesus ever gave His followers, including us, the Rapture was at the forefront of His mind.
To give some context, our Lord Jesus opened His public ministry with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7. Three years later, He closed His earthly work with the Upper Room Discourse, which is recorded in John 13–17. Remember, Jesus knew everything that was about to transpire: His arrest, the false accusations, the trial, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension soon after. The disciples, on the other hand, knew nothing about the chaos they were about to endure. Therefore, Jesus sought to prepare them and comfort them in advance.
As we read the Upper Room Discourse today, it’s apparent that the Rapture was heavily on Jesus’ thoughts. In fact, He spoke eagerly and wistfully about His future absence and His eventual return.
He told His followers, “Little children. . . . ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’ ” (John 13:33).
That disturbed the disciples, and Peter asked Him about it: “Lord, where are You going?” (v. 36).
In response, Jesus told them about His Father’s house and its many rooms. He told them about preparing a place designed specifically for them, and for us. Then Jesus spoke those wonderful words: “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:3).
Shortly after, He prayed, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am” (John 17:24).
How Jesus loves us! How He loves you! Don’t let your thoughts about the Rapture be confined to people vanishing or trumpets sounding. Instead, focus on the truth that Christ came and died to save you, returned to heaven to prepare a place for you, and is shortly coming to receive you to Himself. Why? Because He wants you to be where He is, to see and to share in His glory!
The Great Disappearance is the culmination of decades of Dr. Jeremiah studying the end times throughout the Bible. In this definitive volume he will explain the meaning of the word rapture, the difference between the rapture and the second coming, and the joy of expecting our Savior to come at any given moment.
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