Pre-Trib Rapture Answered

The Rapture 

 The Bible says that Jesus is coming to pick up the believers. Before the great tribulation begins, the believers will suddenly be led away to Jesus. This event is called the The Rapture. 

This Bible study explains what the rapture is. In this Bible study we will also consider the question of who will be raptured. Finally, we will consider the judgment of the works of the believers. This will take place right after the recording. The following Bible study explains when the rapture will take place. 

What is The Rapture? 

• “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet from God. And the dead that are in Christ shall rise first. Then we, the living who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet with the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. ” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) 

 Before the great tribulation begins, Jesus will return to collect His congregation. [1] Jesus comes to collect both the deceased believers, "the dead who are in Christ" , and the then living believers, "we who remain alive until the coming of the Lord" . Both will receive a glorified body at that time. “But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also wait for the Saviour, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our vile body, that it may be conformed to His glorified body.” [2] (Philippians 3:20,21) This event is called the rapture, because the believers,“to be caught up in the clouds, to a meeting with the Lord in the air.” After this encounter with Jesus in the air, we will be taken by Him to the Father's house. “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 when I go and prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to myself, that where I am you also may be.” (John 14:2,3) There we will be until we return to earth with Jesus.

So not all believers will die. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep…” (1 Corinthians 15:51) The believers who are on the earth at the time of the rapture will never die. Just like Enoch and Elijah, who also never died (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). These believers are given a glorified body while they are still alive. The rest of the believers will die. They will rise from the dead at the time of the rapture. At that moment they also receive a glorified body.

• The sequence of events during the Rapture is as follows: 

(1)There will be a cry and a trumpet blast. 

This is the signal for Jesus to come down from heaven to collect his congregation. 

(2)Jesus will descend from heaven into the air. 

(3)The deceased believers will rise from the dead and receive a glorified body. 

(4)The believers who are on earth at that time will be changed. They also receive a glorified body. 

(5)Both the deceased believers and the living believers will meet Jesus in the sky. 

(6)Jesus will take all believers to the house of the Father. 

2. An Indivisible Moment 

In the previous point we saw that a lot happens during  the Rapture. Yet this event will take place in an indivisible instant, in the twinkling of an eye. The recording is over before you can blink. 

• “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye , at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised as incorruptible men, and we also will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51,52) 

 The people left behind on earth will undoubtedly be amazed at this. Suddenly a large group of people disappeared. “Then there shall be two in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding with the mill; the one will be taken and the other will be left.” (Matthew 24:40,41) One moment you are sitting in the office with your unconverted colleagues. And the next

moment you're gone and they don't see you anymore! 

Who will be included? 

•  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed , in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised as incorruptible men, and we also will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51,52) 

 All Christians will be raptured, no one excluded. Paul says, "we shall all be changed." The rapture therefore does not depend on the degree of holiness you have reached. Or the extent to which you faithfully serve God here on earth. Nor does it depend on the completeness of your devotion. Jesus will take everyone, no one will be left behind. Much was wrong in the church of Corinth. Paul calls the Corinthians carnal Christians (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). The Corinthians were saved, but their sanctification was still much lacking. Yet Paul tells these Christians, "We shall all be changed." [3] 

4. What happens after the Rapture? 

 After we meet Jesus in the sky, He will take us to His Father's house. There we will be until we return to earth with Him (1 Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 19:14). During this sojourn in the Father's house the judgment of our works will take place. 

• “And behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to each as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:12) 

• “For I am conscious of nothing, but by that I am not yet justified. Whoever judges me, however, is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and make manifest the purposes of the heart. And then each will receive praise from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:4,5) 

 Just after Jesus takes us to His Father's house, we must appear before Him. At that time, He will judge our lives. We will be rewarded for all the good we have done: “You know that whatever good everyone has done, he will receive it back from the Lord…” (Ephesians 6:8). 

Something good will be found in every believer. For in 1 Corinthians 4:5 it says, "then shall every man receive praise from God . " But with one more good will be found than with the other. The good spoken of in Ephesians 6:8 includes many things. In any case, this includes everything that God commands us in his Word. For example, read Romans 12:9-21 or 1 Timothy 5:9,10. 

This judgment on the works of the believers should not be confused with the final judgment. The final judgment will take place after the millennium of peace. The judgment on the works of the believers will take place before the Millennium, just after the rapture. During the final judgment it is determined that the unbelievers have deserved the punishment of hell. During the judgment on the works of the believers, Jesus determines what reward we have earned. So the judgment of works has nothing to do with punishment, it has to do with reward. 

The judgment of our works does not change our salvation. “ If a man's work burns up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved…” (1 Corinthians 3:15) In this Bible verse, Paul speaks of Christians who have engaged in dead works here on earth. When they have to appear before Jesus to account for their life on earth, nothing will be left of it. They are saved, but they will receive but little reward. 

For the difference between the judgment over the works of the believers and the final judgment, see Bible study 77 about the different judgments. 

Test questions

1. What is the Rapture?

2. What happens during the Rapture?

3. How much time will this event take?

4. Prove from 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 that no believers are left behind?

5. When do we receive a new body?

6. Which group of believers will never die?

7. What event takes place after the rapture into heaven?

8. Name five things that Jesus will reward us for?

9. Explain that the judgment of the believers' works has nothing to do with their salvation.

10. Explain why the judgment on the works of believers is not the same as the final judgment.

 [1] For a discussion of the great tribulation see Bible studies 70A and 70B 

[2] For a discussion of the resurrection body, see point two of Bible Study 72 on the Resurrection. 

[3]Some Christians believe that not everyone will go along with the rapture. This view is called the partial rapture. According to them, part of the believers will be left behind. Only the believers who are ready will go. Whether you are ready to go with the rapture depends on the state of your spiritual life. Only believers who are committed and diligent in serving God will go along with the rapture. They base this on Bible passages such as Matthew 25:1-30, Revelation 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10. According to the partial rapture followers, there are two groups of Christians, those who are watchful and those who are not watchful, those who expect Jesus and those who do not expect Jesus. One group will be included, while the other group will be left behind. Whether you are admitted according to them depends on whether you are vigilant and expecting Him. According to them, passages such as Matthew 25:1-30, Revelation 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10 distinguish between spiritual and carnal believers. However, that is not the case. In Matthew 25:1-30 a distinction is made between true and false believers. The wise virgins are true believers and the foolish virgins are false believers. The faithful slaves are true believers and the wicked lazy slave is a false believer. That the wicked lazy slave is a false believer is evidenced by the fact that He is cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). So the wicked lazy slave is thrown into hell. Revelation 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10 distinguish between believers and unbelievers. Every believer can be said to expect Jesus' return. That cannot be said of unbelievers. They do not believe in the return of Jesus, and therefore they do not expect the return of Jesus.