The Rapture Decoded: Deciphering the Startling Facts About the End-Times!
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body (Philippians 3:20,21).
The Rapture of the Church, which is Jesus coming to catch away the saints and take them to Heaven, is the first of the two bookends on either side of a seven-year period.
During these seven years, the Great Tribulation is taking place on earth and in Heaven, the giving of rewards and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb are taking place. The second bookend on the other side of this seven-year event is the return of Jesus with the saints to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth (the Second Coming).
In this chapter, we will examine the first event, the Rapture of the Church.
But 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.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Once we are caught up into the air and changed, we will be forever in resurrected bodies and together with Christ, ruling and reigning over natural mankind.
Harpazo = Rapero = Rapture
There are people who say the word “rapture” is not in the Bible, and because of that they say the Rapture is just fiction. While it is true that you can read the Bible from cover to cover and not find the word “rapture” even once, that proves absolutely nothing. The word “computer” is also not in the Bible, so does that mean computers don’t exist? Of course not!
The word “rapture” comes from the transliteration of the Latin word rapero from the Vulgate Bible, a late 4th century Latin translation of the Bible. We know the languages of the Bible are Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek in the New Testament. The word rapero was translated from the original Greek word harpazo which means to be “caught up or snatched away.” This is the word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
The bottom line is this. Jesus is coming back to catch away the Church. So whether you are reading in Greek, Latin, or English it makes no difference. Jesus is coming soon to catch away the saints and take the Church to Heaven.
The Catching Away
Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you (2 Corinthians 4:14).
Paul described to the Thessalonians how the catching away of the Church (the Rapture) will transpire. He told them that the Lord Jesus himself will descend from Heaven and that it will not be a quiet event. There would be a shout, like a shout from the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God will sound. When this event takes place, all of the dead bodies of everyone who believed that Jesus was the Christ will be resurrected out of the ground and caught away and ascend into the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).
Paul went on to say that the Christians who are waiting for the return of Jesus who have not yet died, will then afterwards also be caught up into the sky. When the living and dead in Christ meet Him in the air, an even more miraculous event will take place. The spirits of the saints who appear with Jesus will re-enter their bodies and the bodies of the living and dead in Christ will all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, into resurrected bodies.
Resurrection of the Dead
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
- 1 Corinthians 15:42-49
The first verse of this passage is talking about the bodies of Christians who have died. When my dad passed away recently, I saw a change in his body. Angels were in the room and they escorted him to glory. His body died, but he didn’t die. His spirit departed from earth and was transferred into the presence of the Lord.
The Bible talks about how Jesus was sown as a seed. His body was put in the ground into a tomb. Metaphorically it is talking about this. No matter what happens to your body, whether it goes into a casket and goes into the ground, whether it goes into an urn, or whether it gets eaten by sharks, God will raise it up on that day.
When I was a child, the concept of DNA would have been science fiction. When I was in grade school, a molecule was the smallest thing known to man. Then came the discovery of atoms, nanites, and other subatomic particles. Now there are continuing discoveries in physics that are so complex, they still aren’t understood.
The body of a twelve-year-old child that lived thousands of years ago was discovered in the western United States. Although he died several thousand years ago, through samples of his DNA they discovered that he came from Asia. Mankind can take the remains of a body that has been decaying for thousands of years and tell where it came from by examining a speck of it (the DNA).
The scientific abilities of man do not even compare to the vast re-creative power contained in the words spoken by God. Regardless of what happens to your physical body, man cannot destroy and scatter something beyond God’s ability to restore it. It is as though God has your DNA number and when He calls it out, your body will come back together and join with your spirit.
Sleeping in Jesus
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Behold, I tell you a mystery.” This is Paul’s way of getting our attention and letting us know that what he is about to say is important. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” “Sleep” is a term in the New Testament that is used for born-again believers whose bodies have died. Spiritually they are with the Father, and though physically they are dead. The biblical term for that condition is they are “sleeping in Jesus.” When Jesus comes back, the Lord will send with Him those who sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
My dad is sleeping in Jesus right now. His body is dead, but he is alive in Heaven. If Jesus were to return today, not everybody is going to be in a condition of sleeping like my dad. Some of us will still be alive. But whether you are asleep or alive, we’ll all be changed.
Redemption of the Body
My spirit man has already been changed, but my body has not yet been changed.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, (the spirit of Death) where is your sting? O Hades, (the spirit of Hades) where is your victory?
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
In other words, Death has not been swallowed up in victory yet, because we haven’t had the complete redemption. Our spirits have been redeemed, because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). The Bible also says that we are eagerly awaiting the adoption and redemption of the body (Romans 8:23). We are currently between redemptions. The redemption of our spirit is in our past and the redemption of our body is in our future. When that last redemption takes place at the Rapture, Death will be swallowed up and then our redemption will be complete. For the Church, Death’s sting no longer has power because Death is swallowed up in victory!
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24
Coming on the Clouds
When Jesus appears in the sky, the Scriptures tell us that we will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds. That’s not talking about precipitation, moisture, or weather conditions, but rather clouds of glory. Also, it is interesting that the word “cloud” is used in the New Testament to identify the spirits of those waiting in Heaven for their glorified bodies. The Bible says we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
- Hebrews 12:1
Over the years I have officiated countless funerals of Christians. Many times after the service we follow the hearse to the cemetery where the casket containing the body of the one who died is placed in the ground. While their body was placed in the ground awaiting the resurrection, the spirit of the deceased is in Heaven with the Lord and is a part of the cloud of witnesses that is still thinking, talking, understanding, looking on, and cheering us on.
