VANISHED WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SAYS ABOUT THE RAPTURE

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The Rapture: Understanding God's Promise of Hope in a Broken World
Have you ever thought, "If I had only known then what I know now, I would have done things differently"? Life would be much easier if we could see the future. While God doesn't let us see everything that's coming, He does give us glimpses through prophecies in the Bible.


Many biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, while others await their time. These future events aren't just interesting information—they serve a purpose in our lives today. They give us hope.


Why Does God Tell Us About Future Events?
An interesting experiment with laboratory rats demonstrates the power of hope. One group of rats placed in water drowned within an hour. A second group, occasionally lifted briefly out of the water before being returned, swam for over 24 hours. The difference wasn't rest—it was hope. The second group knew rescue was possible.


God tells us about future events to give us hope in a broken, grief-stricken world. One such event is what we often call "the Rapture."


What Is the Rapture According to Scripture?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul addresses concerns from believers about what happens to Christians who die before Christ returns:


"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again. And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him... For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. And after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever, therefore encourage one another with these words."


The term "rapture" comes from the Latin translation (raptius) of the Greek word "harpazo," which means "caught up." This same word appears elsewhere in Scripture to describe instantaneous transportation, like when Philip was suddenly moved from one place to another after ministering to the Ethiopian eunuch.


What Happens During the Rapture?
In 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Paul further explains: "Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed."


This describes an instantaneous event—one moment believers will be on earth, the next they will not be.


What Do We Know for Certain About the Rapture?
While Scripture doesn't answer every question about this event, here are three things we can know with certainty:


1. The Rapture Will End the Church Age
The Church had a beginning (Pentecost) and will have an end (the Rapture). During the Church Age, the Holy Spirit has played unique roles:



Baptizing believers into the body of Christ

Permanently indwelling believers

Equipping and empowering believers for ministry


The Rapture will remove the Church from the world. This means:



Old Testament saints won't participate in the Rapture (they aren't "in Christ")

Those who have rejected Jesus won't be included

The world will be without the Church—the place where people find hope, help, compassion, and truth


2. The Rapture Changes Those Who Are in Christ
At the Rapture, believers undergo a physical transformation. When believers die, their spirits go immediately to be with the Lord, but their bodies remain. At the Rapture, everyone in Christ—both living and dead—will receive imperishable bodies fit for eternity.


Jesus' resurrection provides an example of this transformation. After His death, He appeared not as someone injured and in need of medical attention, but as whole and glorified.


This gives us hope that "the best version of you is yet to come." We will no longer suffer from physical ailments, sickness, pain, or death.


3. The Rapture Permanently Reunites Those Who Are in Christ
Paul writes, "And so we will be with the Lord forever." The Rapture reunites all believers—those who have died and those still living—with each other and with Christ.


This offers tremendous comfort when we lose Christian loved ones. Though we grieve, we don't grieve as those without hope. Most of our time with fellow believers is in the future, not the past.


When Will the Rapture Happen?
Unlike other future events that have specific signs preceding them, the Rapture appears to be a "signless" event that could happen at any moment. First-century believers were watching for Jesus' return, not for signs of His coming.


While no one knows when the Rapture will occur, we are closer than ever before. Many signs that must precede events after the Rapture are already falling into place. If the Rapture is indeed the next event on God's prophetic calendar, it could be very close.


Life Application
The most important question is: Are you ready? If Jesus returned today, would you be caught up to meet Him, or would you be left behind?


To be "in Christ" means recognizing that our imperfections separate us from a perfect God. But God sent His perfect Son to die in our place. When we place our trust in Jesus' death and resurrection, our sins are taken away, making fellowship with God possible.


Take time this week to reflect on these questions:



If the Rapture happened today, would I be ready?

How does the hope of Christ's return affect how I live my daily life?

Am I living with an awareness that Jesus could return at any moment?

How can I share this hope with others who don't yet know Christ?


The promise of the Rapture isn't just about escaping this world—it's about giving us hope that sustains us through our struggles today, just like those rats who kept swimming because they knew rescue was possible.