Is the Rapture in the Bible?

Introduction

When it comes to thinking about the end times, Christians are divided in their interpretation over how certain prophecies may or may not be fulfilled. Let the reader understand that there is room for debate within the realm of prophecy primarily because it is not a core tenet of the Christian faith – meaning that we are able to agree or disagree on certain minor details while still maintaining and sharing our common bond we have in Christ. As long as the second coming and the inauguration of His eternal kingdom is held [which is the finality of all prophecy], various symbols and chronological timelines and minute details are provided a measured allowance for varying interpretational viewpoints.

However, this brings up in important and hotly debated question: What about the Rapture?

First, what is the Rapture?

“The Rapture” is the term that is used to describe the event of God’s people being raised up in the air, removed from this world, and resurrected to receive glorified bodies at the time of our Lord’s second coming.

So then why is there disagreement on the doctrine of the Rapture?

This is the hardest section to communicate because, while debates rage on and opinions differ, there really is no disagreement on this concept. You may think, “Wait, what!? How is there no disagreement?” After all, you probably know Christians who say they do not believe in the Rapture and perhaps there are some even reading this post who reside in that camp. The fact is, however, that even Bible scholars have failed to clearly articulate what they mean when they say they do not hold to this viewpoint. The point of contention does not have as much to do with the Rapture itself as it does with the possible events surrounding the Rapture.

Here’s what I mean: Christians who say they do not believe in the Rapture are not really speaking of the Rapture as the event. If they are, then either the legitimacy of their faith or their basic understanding of Scripture is brought into question because they would be denying the return of Christ, the rescue of God’s people, and the resurrection to come in which we will receive our new glorified bodies. Obviously, no sincere believer would reject these core Biblical truths because the revelation of Christ is what we pray for, hope in, and anxiously anticipate!

Clarifying the Disagreement

Now, I know that some of you are probably thinking back to the movie “Left Behind” and deciding whether or not you fall into the same belief system as Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. The image of people’s clothes being left where they were sitting or sleeping and the world left wondering what had happened that could have caused such a mass disappearance. However, what needs to be made clear is that those who would say they do not believe in the Rapture are not referring to the event of God’s people being taken away to glory…what they are not believing in is the after effect that the “Left Behind” series attempted to portray.

Thus, what believers disagree on is not the Rapture, though that is the terminology often misused and mishandled, but whether or not there are multiple aspects to the return of Christ. For example [and here’s where it makes more sense]: many godly Christians reject the idea of the Rapture because they reject the seven-year tribulation and the thousand-year kingdom and all that those two time-allotments entail. Thus, they do not reject the Rapture as the event, rather, they reject the idea of Jesus taking His Church out of the world and not returning until seven years later.

Where is the Rapture seen in Scripture?

The Rapture “event” is directly mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Again, regardless of how one interprets the events of the end times, even if they see all of Revelation as symbolic, no one can deny the fact that someday soon Jesus is going to return and rescue His people by resurrecting them – this is the Rapture! Sure, you will not find this word ever mentioned in Scripture, but neither will you find trinity, germination, or dinosaurs and yet the Bible describes all of those things in detail.

The word “rapture” is taken from a Latin word (which is why it was not written in the Greek New Testament). It means “to seize, carry off, transport, or snatch away” and served as the Latin translation for the Greek verb “will be caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The truth behind the Rapture event is also directly spelled out in 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. Indirectly, the concept of the Rapture was foreshadowed in the disappearance of Enoch (Genesis 5:24), Elijah being taken up to Heaven (2 Kings 2:11-12), and the Lord’s ascension into the heavens (Acts 1:9-11).

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

To wrap this post up though, all Christians believe in the Rapture event because the Rapture is the resurrection of believers that takes place at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Thus, when some Christians say they do not subscribe to a “rapture viewpoint” what they are really saying is that they do not believe there will be a seven-year tribulation or thousand-year kingdom period. They simply believe that when Jesus comes back, that’s it – we who are in Christ will be resurrected (which is the Rapture event) and those who reject Christ will be condemned.

While we at Watermark Church hold to the understanding that Jesus will resurrect (Rapture) His Church and then return with His people to this world seven years later at the end of the Great Tribulation, the reason for this blog post was to clearly communicate what is meant by some when they say that they do not believe in the Rapture…because the truth is, they do. They just do not believe in events surrounding the Rapture which we would affirm and hold up as the next phase in God’s dealings with His people Israel and the rest of the world. Remember, the Rapture event is the resurrection of the saints at the revelation of the Savior. So, if you believe that Jesus will return one day and give His people glorified bodies, then you believe in the Rapture.

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