Three Foundational Rapture Passages

Robert Dean Jr.

Three scripture passages demonstrate the pre–tribulation Rapture. Together these verses
answer the who, the what, the when, the where, and the how questions concerning the Rapture of
the Church. The central passage, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, details the sequence of events at the
Rapture and the correlation between the resurrection of the bodies of dead Church Age believers
and the Rapture of living saints. Paul borrows language from Jesus’ statement in John 14:1–3
which designates the destination of the resurrected and Raptured Church. First Corinthians
15:50–58 reveals details of the duration and purpose of our transformation at the Rapture and
confirms the sequence of events between the resurrection of dead and living Church Age
believers. These three passages are not the only scriptural basis for the pre–tribulational Rapture,
but together they provide a confident foundation that our future blessed hope precedes the
Tribulation, Daniel’s seventieth week.1

What Happens When the Lord Returns (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18)

The apostle Paul penned two short epistles to the persecuted Thessalonica congregation to
answer their questions concerning their loved ones who died before the return of Jesus. His
purpose was to comfort and encourage rather than to warn or alarm (1 Thessalonians 4:13; 5:11).
Paul states he already taught them about future events in God’s plan, and thus they had no need
know more about the “times and seasons” (1 Thessalonians 5:1). Jesus had used this exact phrase
when He answered the disciples’ inquiry about when He would restore the kingdom (Acts 1:6).
At that time, before Pentecost and the birth of the Church, the body of Christ, His answer was
that the disciples were not to know the times and seasons. Such a difference, from not to be
informed about the times and seasons to being informed and instructing others, can be explained
only by realizing that at the time of Acts 1 certain prophetic details were yet to be revealed.2
Paul’s writing of 1 Thessalonians twenty years later indicates many of these details had been
divinely disclosed. Since the Thessalonian Christians had thus obviously been taught about the
future return of the Lord and the Day of the Lord and understood the coming to be imminent,
they had become confused when some of their loved ones died before the Lord’s arrival. They
feared that these dead believers would not participate in the coming of the Lord. Perhaps they
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had received erroneous teaching indicating the day of the Lord had already arrived, and were
afraid that they might already be in the Tribulation.3 In any case, their confusion certainly
reinforces the belief that they had no expectation of any intervening prophecy which must
necessarily take place prior to either the return of the Lord for the Church or the Day of the Lord.
Paul writes both Thessalonian epistles to allay these fears by confirming that the dead saints had
a role in the coming of Christ and that those living were not already in the Day of the Lord. Their
misunderstanding and need for clarification clearly points to a contradiction with Paul’s previous
teaching about the imminent return of Christ.4 Pretribulationists define imminent as an event that
is “‘impending, hanging over one’s head, ready to take place.’ An imminent event is one that is
always ready to take place.”5
The Context of Paul’s Explanation. Five times in this epistle the Apostle speaks of the future
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each chapter, as divided in the English Bible, closes with a
reference to our Lord’s return. Three times in the epistle Paul references “wrath,” two of which
are uncontestably eschatological.6 The first of these declares that Jesus rescues or delivers us
from the “wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The second states that God has not destined or
appointed the believer (“us”) to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The wrath mentioned in these two
verses points forward to divine judgments upon the earth within history, which means during the
future tribulation period. Sandwiched between these two references, our passage explains how
that deliverance takes place. At no point in any epistle does the New Testament warn Church
Age believers how to protect themselves during the future tribulation period. If believers are
expected to endure this time of intense divine judgment on the human race, then one would
expect apostolic prescriptions for enduring such a horror. The context of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-
18 is one of comfort. Paul would have been quite irresponsible in his attempt to comfort
believers about the return of Christ if he failed to warn of the horrors they must encounter prior
to the return of Christ in the air.
The Purpose of Paul’s Explanation (4:13). Paul does not write this discourse as some
abstract explanation of eschatology. The apostle provides confident answers to comfort believers
whose Christian loved ones had unexpectedly died physically. By understanding and
internalizing this new information, the bereaved would not grieve like others, but would have
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confident expectation of a future reunion with their beloved dead. This hope Paul described is
not a wishful optimism, but objective eschatological certainty.7
The Basis for Our Confident Hope (4:14). The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was the
clarion call of the future victory over death for all who trust in him (1 Corinthians 15:54–57).
Our Lord’s resurrection from the dead is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1
Corinthians 15:20). If we believe he died and rose again, and Paul assumes we do, there is a
significant implication: Since Christ was victorious over physical death we should also believe
that all Church Age believers who die physically will also undergo bodily resurrection. Thus,
when He returns, we will be reunited with Jesus, and with all Church Age believers who
previously died.
At this point Paul informs us that when the Lord returns He will be accompanied by those
who “sleep in Jesus.” The euphemism “sleep” describes the temporary state of a believer’s
physical body between physical death and resurrection (Matthew 27:52, John 11:11, Acts 13:36,
1 Corinthians 11:30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15).8 Since the dead in Christ return with Jesus before
these saints receive their incorruptible resurrection bodies (cf., 1 Corinthians 15:52) this indicates
some sort of interim body which allows the individual to have a conscious presence before the
Lord at death (2 Corinthians 5:8).
The Events at the Coming of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17). To reinforce the divine
authority of his comments, Paul asserts that information regarding these events originates directly
from Jesus. This was part of the “mystery” revelation given to Paul by the Lord Jesus for the
edification of Church Age believers (1 Corinthians 15:51). This was new information,
previously not revealed in the Old Testament or the Gospels. No specific revelation on the
relation between the resurrection of living and dead believers had yet been given. Paul
summarizes his comforting answer in verse 15: those believers alive at the coming of the Lord
would be Raptured immediately following the bodily resurrection of those believers in Christ
who had already died. Paul’s inclusion of himself as part of the group that would still be alive at
the Lord’s coming reinforces his sense of the imminent return of the Lord. Paul then describes
the sequence of events.
First, the Lord Himself will descend from heaven (4:16a). When compared with John 14:3,
this confirms that the place to which Jesus said He was going and from which He would return
 Three Rapture Passages 4

must be heaven (more below at John 14:3; cf., 1 Thessalonians 1:10). Since His ascension, the
glorified resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ has been seated at the right hand of God the
Father, on the Father’s throne in heaven (Psalms 110:1 cf., Acts 2:33, 5:31; Colossians 3:1;
Hebrews 8:1, 10:12, 12:2; Revelation 3:21). The emphatic use of “Himself” reinforces that this
will be the same Jesus who ascended through the clouds to return to heaven (Acts 1:11, Hebrews
4:14) and not an angel or other divine representative. Just as Jesus ascended through the heavens
to God, so, too He will descend or come down from heaven (katabaino). In His descent He will
be accompanied by those church age believers who have already died and are in their interim
state (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
Second, the Lord’s descent will be heralded by three simultaneous sounds (4:16b). First,
there is a shout. ‘Shout’ (keleusma) was a common Greek word for the verbal directive or
command issued by someone in authority to those under him. Keleusma is used in the
Apocrypha for a military command, a royal directive, a prophet’s mandate or God’s directive.9
The New Testament uses the word in the same way—commands from human authorities as well
as divine mandates. The usage is too broad and general to claim that this is the shout of triumph
of the Lord returning to the earth in conquest, which would indicate the return at the end of the
Tribulation period. The shout alerts the Church to our Lord’s return and commands them to
‘form up’ on Him. Nothing informs the reader of the identity of the one who shouts the
command. Some have suggested it is the archangel, but John 11:25 indicates that at the “voice of
the Son of God” the dead will live (John 5:25).
The second of the three simultaneous sounds is the voice of “an archangel” (NKJV).10 Only
one archangel is mentioned in Scripture, Michael (Jude 9). At the same time there is a blast of
the “trumpet of God.” Trumpets are used many times in Scripture to herald some new event in
God’s plan for the future. In the book of Revelation the middle series of judgments are each
announced by a sounding trumpet. In 1 Corinthians 15:52 the dead are raised by the blast of the
“last trumpet.” More will be said of the identification of this trumpet later, but for now it will be
identified as the last trumpet of the Church Age and is identical to the trumpet mentioned in 1
Thessalonians 4:17 and Revelation 4:1. Though these three events may indeed describe only one
combined sound, the repetition of the preposition with each clause suggests three distinct, but
simultaneous events to signal the assembly of the Church with her Lord.
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The third event is the resurrection of the physical bodies of the dead believers. Paul comforts
his readers that those who have died “in Christ” participate first, immediately followed by those
still alive at His coming. He strongly emphasizes the timing: the living “will not precede” the
dead.11 This is extremely significant for both here and in 1 Corinthians 15 we see that the
resurrection of the dead precedes the translation of the living. This is also clear from the use of
the term “first” (proton), and “then” (epeita). These express a temporal or chronological
sequence.12
The dynamics of this transformation is described in more detail in the section below on 1
Corinthians 15:50–58. That this does not refer to a general resurrection of the dead saints from
all history is clear as they are described as the dead “in Christ.” Old Testament saints are never
described as being “in Christ.” Only those who believe in Christ subsequent to His death are
united with His death, burial, and resurrection through the baptism by means of the Holy Spirit
(Romans 6:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17) and entered into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The fourth event follows immediately after the resurrection of the dead church age believers.
All living believers will subsequently be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. “Caught up”
translates the Greek verb, harpazo, “to snatch, sieze, to suddenly grab or take something away.”
The translation of this verb in the Latin Vulgate, by the verb rapio, is the basis for the English
term “Rapture.” 13 Thus, the claim that “Rapture” is a word not found in the Bible is spurious.
The word Rapture is biblical.
The destination of both those resurrected and Raptured is the clouds in the air. There those
alive and translated are reunited with departed loved ones and with our Lord. Paul comforts
with the truth that from the moment of this reunion we will always be with the Lord (4:17c).
The emphasis in these verses is of a movement upward, to meet Christ who has completed
His descent and awaits in the clouds. No indication of a further downward movement is present
(the posttribulational interpretation). However, this alone is not sufficient evidence on which to
base the timing of the Rapture.
One final consideration in this verse is the meaning of the word, “to meet.” Some have
contended that this word, apantēsis, “is to be understood as a technical term for a civic custom of
 Three Rapture Passages 6

antiquity whereby a public welcome was accorded by a city to important visitors.”1 Those going
out to meet the dignitary would then return with him to the city. This analogy is then used to
support a post-tribulation view of the rapture. That Christians go up to meet Jesus then
immediately descend with him to the earth. Thomas Ice has delineated the errors in this view as
well as others. Gordon Fee has documented a number of other scholarly works which have also
rejected this view. Unfortunately Bob Gundry remains unconvinced. 14 Fee concludes, “a recent
investigation of the word has demonstrated that this is unlikely, and that all the other
accouterments of such ceremonial receptions are altogether missing from this passage.”15
The message of the Rapture is one of comfort (4:18). The conclusion from this description is
that rather than being frightened by events preceding the coming of the Lord, such as the period
of intense judgments during the time of Daniel’s seventieth week, we are to be comforted as we
anticipate the coming of the Lord for His own. Church age believers are not looking for the
antichrist, but for the Lord Jesus Christ; we are not looking for the signs of judgment, but for the
appearance of our Blessed Hope.
The Rapture precedes the Day of the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10). Beginning in 5:1 Paul
introduces a new and related subject, indicated by his use of peri de. Paul now answers the
Thessalonian believers’ worries by reminding them that they will not go through the Day of the
Lord. Paul describes the conditions preceding the Day of the Lord as a time of “peace and
safety,” which cannot describe any period during the period of Daniel’s seventieth week. The
Day of the Lord is further described as a time of “sudden destruction,” for the unbelieving world,
an unanticipated, unexpected time of divine judgment and wrath. The Old Testament sometimes
refers to this Day of the Lord with the idiom, “day of wrath” (Psalm 110:5; Ezekiel 7:12, 19) and
the time of “Jacob’s wrath.” The Thessalonians are comforted by knowing that God has not
appointed them (“us” in the text refers to believers) to wrath, but to deliverance. Throughout 1
Thessalonians Paul reminds them that Jesus will deliver them, and the rest of the Church, from
the “wrath to come.”2

1
E. Peterson, “Apantēsis,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols., ed. Gerhard
Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), 1:380–81.
2
Zane C. Hodges, “1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and the Rapture,” Chafer Theological Seminary
Journal 6 (October-December 2000):31-32.
 Three Rapture Passages 7

Though some attempt to restrict the Day of the Lord to only the latter half of Daniel’s
Seventieth week, the period following the abomination of desolation, and thus place the Rapture
at some point within the seven years, this view has two major problems. First, it voids the
imminent expectation of Christ’s return for the church, for something must necessarily intervene
between now and the rapture. Second, it misconstrues the timing of the first two series of
judgments (the seal and trumpet judgments) which must precede the abomination of desolation
and which must occur in the first half of the Tribulation.16

Fifteen Significant Differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming
A number of significant differences are found in the description of the Rapture and the
Second Coming of Christ.
• At the Rapture Jesus comes for His own [church age believers], at the Second Coming
Jesus comes with His own [church age believers].

• At the time of the Rapture Jesus comes only in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17), at the
Second Coming Jesus comes to the earth (Revelation 19:11-18).

• At the Rapture, living saints receive resurrection bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:17), at the
Second Coming, no living believers receive resurrection bodies.

• At the Rapture translated saints go to heaven, at the Second Coming translated saints go
to earth.

• At the Rapture, Jesus comes in the air and returns to heaven (John 14:3), at the Second
Coming Jesus establishes His kingdom on the earth.

• At the Rapture, there is no judgment on the unsaved upon the earth, the Second Coming
concludes God’s judgments on the earthdwellers.

• At the Rapture Christ claims His bride, at the Second Coming Christ comes with His
bride.

• The Rapture delivers the saints from the wrath to come, the Second Coming concludes
the wrath to come (Daniel’s seventieth week).

• The Rapture is imminent and its proximity is not announced by any prophetic signs; the
Second Coming is preceded by specific, recognizable signs.

• The Rapture involves only the saved of the church age, the Second Coming involves all
on the earth. The saved of the Old Testament are resurrected after the Second Coming.
 Three Rapture Passages 8

• The Rapture is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but the Second Coming is predicted
often in the Old Testament.

• Satan is not mentioned in reference to the Rapture, but after the Second Coming, Satan is
bound (Revelation 20:2–3).

• No prophecy must be fulfilled before the Rapture, many prophecies must be fulfilled
before the Second Coming.

• At the Rapture only those who meet Him in the air will see Him, at the Second Coming
every eye shall see Him.

• The Rapture is called the Day of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:2; Philippians 1:10; 2:16), the
Second Coming comes as part of the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:31–32; 1 Thessalonians
5:2).

Where Do We Go With the Lord When He Returns? (John 14:1–3)

The fourteenth chapter of John may not appear at first to be a strong Rapture passage.
However, the late Mennonite commentator on Revelation, J. B. Smith, noted eight striking
vocabulary parallels occur between these verses and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.17 Smith also
compared the vocabulary in these two passages to the Second Coming passage of Revelation
19:11–12 and found no significant similarities.18 It is also striking that these eight words or
phrases occur in the same order in both passages.19
Both John 14:1–3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 are designed to ease the mind of distressed
believers. In John 14:1 Jesus comforts believers who are confused and disturbed by the
announcement of His departure; in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Paul comforts those who are grieving.
Both passages emphasize belief in Christ as a central discriminating factor (John 14:1, 1
Thessalonians 4:14). Both passages focus on God and Jesus—“God…Me” (John 14:1),
“Jesus…God,” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Both passages instruct their audience, “told you,” (John
14:2), “say to you,” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). The return of Jesus is mentioned next in both (John
14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15). John records Jesus then saying He will receive them (John 14:3)
and Paul says believers will be caught up to Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Their destiny is “to
Myself” (John 14:3) and “to meet the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). And finally, in both
passages, believers will continue to be with the Lord (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Together, these eight phrases, common to both passages, reinforce their connection.
The night before our Lord went to the cross He celebrated the Passover seder with His
 Three Rapture Passages 9

disciples. Following the seder, Jesus announces his impending departure. Confused, Peter
inquires where He is going and why they cannot follow Him. Jesus answers by announcing that
He is going to His Father’s house to prepare places for them and, since He is doing this, He will
come again and receive all believers to Himself that where He is they also may be. The
announcement that He “will come again” certainly places His instruction here within the realm of
eschatology.
Understanding what Jesus meant in four key phrases demonstrates that He was indeed
speaking of what would transpire at the Rapture and where Church Age believers would go after
the return mentioned in John 14:3: the meaning and location of the “Father’s house” (John
14:2a), the meaning of “mansions” (John 14:2b), the location of these mansions (John 14:2c),
and Jesus destiny with those He returns for at that time (John 14:3).
What and where is the “Father's house” (John 14:2a)? The phrase “my Father’s house” has
only one other similar use. In John 2:16, Jesus used a similar phrase to refer to the Temple. The
important distinction between the two phrases is that in John 2:16 Jesus uses the masculine noun
oikos, but in John 14:2 He uses the feminine noun oikia. Though cognates, these two terms do
demonstrate a subtle distinction in their use. Oikos is typically used with “of God” as a
designation for the Temple in the Septuagint, as well as in John 2:16, oikia never is.20 Oikia is
used of a standard house or dwelling, but never for the Temple of God. This important distinction
clarifies that Jesus is not speaking of the Temple in John 14:2. By the analogy of Scripture we
discover that the place to which Jesus was going is the throne of God where he would be seated
at the right hand of the Father’s throne (Psa 110:1; cf., Acts 2:33–35; Revelation 3:21). Jesus’
destiny was not earthly but the heavenly abode of the Father.21 There he would sit until the
Father would give him the Kingdom (Daniel 7:14).
Determination of the meaning of this phrase would also be indicated through standard usage.
The phrase “father’s house” is used twenty-one times in the Old Testament. Analysis of these
passages, reveal that the literal meaning of the standard day to day dwelling place of the person’s
father is the meaning, e.g., Eleazar was sent by Abraham to “my father’s house” (Gen 24:38),
when he arrived he inquired of Rebekah if there was room to lodge in her “father’s house” (Gen.
24:23). Both of these passages, as well as numerous others reinforce the direct implication that
the focus is on the permanent abode of the father. Additional support for heaven being the abode
 Three Rapture Passages 10

of God the Father is found in ten passages which specifically refer to our “Father who is in
heaven.” (Matt 5:16; 6:1, 9; 7:11, 21; 10:32, 33; 16:17; Mk 11:25; Heb 8:1). As covenant
theologian Leon Morris concludes, “My Father’s house” clearly refers to heaven.”22
Mansions or dwelling places? (John 14:2b). The image of mansions in heaven has
unfortunately been firmly ingrained in the hymnology and idiom of Christianity due to Tyndale’s
use of the English word “mansion,” based on the Latin Vulgate “mansiones,” which translated
the Greek term, mone. However, the Greek mone has little to do with an expansive, impressive
dwelling. The word mone is best understood as a dwelling place, perhaps an apartment or flat,
but also of a temporary dwelling such as an inn.23 Mone is used only one other time in the New
Testament, (John 14:23) where it describes the indwelling abode of the Father and the Son in the
individual believer, a nuance quite different from that in 14:2, the abode of the Father. On the
basis of that usage, Robert H. Gundry stresses the connection with μένω, and sees a reference to
“spiritual positions in Christ, much as in Pauline theology.”24 Unfortunately, that view fails to fit
the context of the next phrase, “that where I am you may be also.” Scripture clearly teaches that
Church Age believers are positionally in Christ, but John does not use μένω  in the upper room
discourse except to describe a believer’s ongoing fellowship with Christ.25 The imagery Jesus is
using, that of rooms in the Father’s house, naturally fits the idea of individual residences within
heaven, the “house” of God the Father. In John 14:2 Jesus describes future abodes the believer
will have in heaven while awaiting the conclusion to the events of Daniel’s seventieth week, at
which time they will return with the Lord in power and glory.
Where is Jesus preparing these places? (14:2c) By combining the conclusions from the
previous two questions, Jesus does not speak of preparing dwelling places on earth, but in
heaven. Jesus is answering Peter’s question in 13:36–37, which is, “Where are you going?”
Peter is not ask a question in view of the crucifixion, Jesus’ immediate destiny, for that event was
still not clear to the disciples. Peter desires to know Jesus’ ultimate destiny. Since Jesus, the
Second Person of the Trinity, had been with his Father from all eternity (John 1:1–4) He
announces His return to the Father.
The idea of preparation is also important to understand. Jesus was not talking about a
construction project, but providing a temporary residence for the arrival of His bride, the Church,
until the wedding. The wedding feast occurs just prior to the Second Coming of Christ
 Three Rapture Passages 11

(Revelation 19:7–10).
Jesus promises to return to receive us to where He is (John 14:3). Though some
commentators attempt to interpret this to mean Jesus coming for the believer at death, this has no
support in Scripture, which instead speaks of the angels coming for the believer (Luke 16:22) and
of Jesus awaiting the arrival of the believer (Acts 7:56). Jesus use of the present tense—“I am
coming”—has a future nuance, for His future coming is so certain that it is expressed as a present
reality. 26 The present tense may describe an event that is wholly subsequent to the time of
speaking, expressed as if in the present. Such confidence comforts those confused or anxious
about a current situation. This same phrase, also in the present tense, is used seven times by
Jesus in His Revelation to John. Though the events of Revelation are revealed to John over sixty
years after the statement of John 14:3, the meaning is the same. Jesus’ future coming is certain,
it is not to be confused with the coming of the Holy Spirit or the events of the A.D. 70 judgment
on Israel.
Two more observations secure our understanding of this passage. First, since Jesus is going
away to the domain of the Father in heaven, it is to that location that He promises to take the
believers for whom He will come. If this does not refer to that location to which He was going,
then, as Wayne Brindle observes, this is irrelevant, if not worthless information.27 In the post-
tribulation analysis, the destiny of believers at the Rapture is not heaven, but the earth, a view
clearly in contrast to the statement of John 14:3. Since Jesus’ destiny was heaven, this must be
also be the location to which He will take the Church. Second, in the following verses (14:6–7)
Jesus answers Thomas’ question by saying clearly that He is going to the Father.
Thus, John 14:1–3 clearly speaks of Jesus departure from the earthly realm to the heavenly
abode of the Father. There He will prepare for the arrival of the Church and the marriage of the
Bride. Following Jewish wedding customs, He will later return to the earth to take His Bride to
the location He has prepared, which is not on the earth but in heaven.3 Once the bride is
gathered, then the purification which occurs at the judgment seat of Christ follows, and then the
wedding feast which occurs before the Second Coming.
This means that this future return to take believers to their heavenly abodes cannot be at the

3
Renald E Showers, Maranatha Our Lord, Come! (Bellmawr, New Jersey: The Friends of Israel
Gospel Ministry, Inc., 1995).
 Three Rapture Passages 12

same time as the coming to the earth described in Revelation 19:7ff. In that case, Jesus would
simply be catching up the bride to Himself on His way down to the earth with no time for either
the Judgment Seat of Christ or the Wedding Feast. The destiny of the church then would be the
earth rather than heaven. John 13:1–3 clearly tells us that our Lord will take us to heaven at His
return at the Rapture.

Our Victory in Christ:

How Christians are Resurrected and Raptured (1 Cor. 15:50–58)

The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians provides an in-depth apologia for physical bodily
resurrection from the dead. The first eleven verses list the evidence and witnesses for the
physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The following verses (1 Corinthians
15:12–34) explain that without Christ’s resurrection from the dead, Christianity has no
foundation. In this explanation Paul also provides a general order of events: the resurrection of
Jesus is the first in order, next the resurrection of all who are Christ’s at His coming, then the
end. The phrase “those who are Christ’s” has one clear parallel and one similar statement, both
indicate Church Age believers only, not inclusive of Old Testament believers (Galatians 5:24, cf.,
1 Corinthians 6:15).28 Since Paul is addressing the concerns of Church Age believers he does not
focus on other future resurrections (i.e., Old Testament saints, Tribulation martyrs, or the
29
unsaved). The certainty as Christ’s past resurrection makes certain the future resurrection of
the Corinthian believers.
Christ’s resurrection is further described through an Old Testament analogy, firstfruits, which
depicts the initial production of the field, but the term also implies that much more production
would follow. Consistent with what our Lord already promises in John 14:2–3, Jesus will return
for those who compose the Church, “those who are Christ’s at His coming.” This coming though,
would not include Old Testament saints, who are not resurrected until just prior to the Millennial
Kingdom, but would include all church age believers, both those “asleep in Christ,” and those
alive (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Evidence of different stages of resurrection comes from 1 Corinthians 15:23–25. First,
distinct groups are resurrected.30 Second, lengthy time periods separate some of these
 Three Rapture Passages 13

resurrections. The resurrection of Christ precedes the next group to be resurrected by at least two
thousand years. Then there is another period of Christ’s reigning over His kingdom before He
delivers the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). The term “the end” describes the
final victory of God and Christ over all opposing “rule and all authority and power.” The time
frame preceding “the end” must certainly include both the seven year Tribulation period but also
the one thousand year kingdom. It is during the time frame of Daniel’s seventieth week (the
tribulation) that the Lamb brings judgment upon the kingdoms of the earth through the seal,
trumpet, and bowl judgments which culminates in His victory at the Second Advent. But at that
point all enemies have not been vanquished. Even during the millennial reign Christ will still be
subduing His enemies. Death, the final enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), is not conclusively
defeated until after the annihilation of those who follow Satan in his last revolt against God, the
last battle of Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:7–9). Death is not finally conquered until Satan is
finally defeated (Hebrews 2:14). From this we see the firstfruits resurrection of Christ, followed
by at least two thousand years and another resurrection. Though amillennialism and
postmillennialism see only one final resurrection here, when this is compared with Revelation 20
we know that at least one thousand years must come between the resurrection of Revelation 20:4
and the resurrection of the dead (Revelation 20:12–14).
Paul then answers two questions: How are the dead raised? What kind of body do they have?
(1 Corinthians 15:35ff). In his answer the apostle explains what happens to those who have died
as well as their relationship to those who have not passed through death at the time of the
resurrection. As in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, first the dead receive their resurrection bodies, then
the living. In 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 Paul provides never before revealed information about
what transpires for those who are not dead at the time of Christ’s coming.
The previous verses established the truth that mortal, corruptible bodies must first be
transformed into immortal, incorruptible bodies before participating in kingdom rule. Now, Paul
gives previously unrevealed information, called a “mystery” (1 Corinthians 15:51).
The term “mystery” is critical to the significance of this passage for its bearing on the timing
of the Rapture. “Mystery” is most often a Pauline term for never before disclosed divine
revelation. The significance of this is often ignored or overlooked.31 The Old Testament clearly
revealed a future resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:2), but revealed nothing about the event or
 Three Rapture Passages 14

the timing of the Rapture. Furthermore, as Walvoord emphasizes, nothing is said in the Old
Testament about the Church, the Church Age, or the translation of the Church, although Christ’s
Second Coming is clearly described as subsequent to the Tribulation.
The Rapture, as the “catching up” of living, Church Age believers only (those who are “dead
in Christ” are resurrected first), could not be revealed in the Old Testament since nothing is said
of a future Church. To have revealed the existence of another people of God in the future, and
the intercalation between the cross and the crown, would have prejudiced the real offer of the
Kingdom by hinting of a future rejection by Israel. Thus nothing about the Church could have
been revealed in the Old Testament without affecting the legitimacy of the offer of the kingdom.
So the mention of the direct translation of living believers into the resurrection bodies is
something unknown in Old Testament revelation because it is not associated with the Second
Coming.
Paul explains that not all church age believers will undergo physical death, euphemistically
called “sleep”. Those still alive (cf., 1 Thessalonians 4:16) would be changed or altered in a
moment, “the twinkling of an eye.” The speed of this is described by the Greek word atomos, “a
moment,” a unit of time so small it cannot be subdivided—a nanosecond.
The timing of this event will be “at the last trumpet.” The sounding of a trumpet indicated an
announcement or signal of something about to happen. The attempt to equate this “last trumpet”
with that of the seventh of last trumpet of Revelation 11:15–18 is a stretch. Trumpets were used
in Old Testament times to summon God’s people to Himself (Exod 20:18; Lev. 25:9, Ps 98:6).
Many trumpets are described in reference to the end times. The seventh trumpet in Revelation in
fact contains seven additional judgments, the bowl judgments, which come during the second
half of the Tribulation. To identify the “last trumpet” of 1 Corinthians 15 with any of the trumpet
judgments of the Tribulation would not only contradict the imminent expectation of the Rapture,
but would provide a fairly precise time for the occurrence of the Rapture. This trumpet blast
indicated here, signals the end of the Church Age and the signal for Church Age believers to
form up on Christ in the air. The use of the “we” here indicates Paul expected to be alive at this
time, an evidence of his imminent expectation. If the tribulation were to intervene before this
transformation, then he would not have been able to make this assumption.
In both 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and in 1 Corinthians 15:52 the resurrection of the dead to their
 Three Rapture Passages 15

immortal body immediately precedes the instantaneous translation of the living saints into their
immortal bodies. Both occur within the twinkling of an eye. However, in Rev. 20:4, the
resurrection of the dead at the time of the Tribulation follows the arrival of Christ on the earth. If
there is no pre–Tribulation Rapture, then Church Age believers would not be distinguished from
Tribulation believers and both would become martyrs during the Tribulation since the Church, in
their view, would continue through the full seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week. The
sequence of events at the return of Christ does not mention the translation of the living. The
physical resurrection of the Tribulation martyrs occurs only after the return of Christ and His
victory of the Armageddon campaign, the casting of the Antichrist and False Prophet into the
Lake of Fire, and the incarceration of Satan in the Abyss. This sequence of events does not at all
resemble the sequence in 1 Thessalonians 4 or in 1 Corinthians 15. Thus the resurrection and
translation of Church Age believers cannot be placed at the end of the Tribulation.

Conclusion

From these passages we learn that a specific order of events occur at Christ’s return for for
the Church. He returns in the clouds; in a nanosecond the dead in Christ receive their resurrection
bodies immediately before the living believers are translated into their resurrection bodies and
snatched up to be with the Lord in the clouds. From there the Lord will return to the Father’s
house where He has prepared temporary dwelling places for His bride. Immediately following
this the purification of the bride occurs at the judgment seat of Christ and then Jesus will take the
seven sealed scroll and open it to begin the process of defeating His enemies on the earth. This
will take seven years, at the conclusion of which He will return with His bride to the earth, defeat
the armies of the Antichrist and the Kings of the earth, and then raise the tribulation martyrs from
the dead and give them their resurrection bodies. At that time he will then establish His kingdom.
One common thread connects these three passages, the thread of imminency. Nothing is said
to indicate some intervening event must occur before Our Lord returns. In all these passages, the
assumption is that Jesus could return for us today. No antichrist, no tribulation, no day of the
Lord, will indicate its proximity.

1
Daniel’s seventieth week refers to the last seven years God decreed for Israel as outlined in the chronology for
Israel recorded by Daniel (Daniel 9:24–27). In this paper, the final seven year period prior to the Second Coming of
 Three Rapture Passages 16

Jesus Christ, usually referred to as the Tribulation, will also be described by the more precise term, Daniel’s
seventieth week. Daniel’s Seventieth Week is also equivalent to the Day of the Lord.
2
Since a legitimate offer of the kingdom was still to be made to Israel by Peter in Acts 2 and Acts 3, and their
acceptance would have brought in the kingdom, our Lord was intentionally silent at this point to give Israel a second
legitimate chance to accept Him as their Messiah before the judgment of A.D. 70 would come. Alva J. McClain,
“The Greatness of the Kingdom, Part IV: The Mediatorial Kingdom from the Acts Period to the Eternal State,”
Bibliotheca Sacra, 112:148 (Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary), 305-307.
3
Gerald B. Stanton, Kept From the Hour: Biblical Evidence for the Pretribulational Return of Christ (Miami
Springs, Fla.: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1991), 84. The term “Day of the Lord” is much discussed. Even those who
believe it is sometimes used to describe some historic judgments of God, all see it as a term for the end time
judgments of God against His enemies. Among pre-tribulationists some believe it refers only to the seven-year
period of the Tribulation (Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah (Tustin, CA.: Ariel Ministries, , and
others also include the Millennial kingdom as well. At the very least, almost all agree that it refers to the entire
seven-year Tribulation.
4
Imminency might be defined in one of two ways. The first, that no prophecy must be fulfilled as a condition for the
Rapture, that it is a signless event. The second, that no prophecy will be fulfilled prior to the Rapture. It is this
writers belief that the first definition is preferable because it allows for the possible fulfillment of some prophecies,
such as the beginning of a return of ethnic Israel to the land in unbelief in preparation for the events which transpire
within the seventieth week prophesied by Daniel.
5
Ryrie, Come Quickly, 21–2.
6
Debate occurs on the use of wrath in 1 Thessalonians 2:16 because of the use of the aorist tense. By using a past
tense form, some commentators suggest this refers to the ongoing judgment of God on pagan Gentiles during human
history as Paul does in Romans 1:18. However, a strong case can be made that, since Paul is focused on a future
wrath in both Thessalonian epistles, the aorist tense of φθάνω views the future event with such certainty that it is
spoken of in the past tense.
7
Colin Brown, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1986), 2:241.
8
The Greek word koimao is often attested in extrabiblical literature as a euphemism for death. In the Scripture it is
only used for believers. This word does not refer to the nonscriptural doctrine of “soul sleep” but to the rest of the
physical body of the believer after physical death.
9
BDAG suggests “the Lord will come down with a cry of command = when the command is given” William Arndt,
Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 538.

10
Both “voice” and “archangel” lack the article in the Greek text. This anarthrous construction often emphasizes the
quality of the nouns and does not indicate the same thing as an indefinite pronoun in English. This should be
understood to refer to Michael, the archangel.
11
The grammatical structure here uses a double negative (ou me) with a subjunctive mood verb, the strongest way
to emphasize the impossibility of an action.
12
William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 361.
 Three Rapture Passages 17

13
The text of the Latin Vulgate translates the Greek verb, harpazo, with the Latin verb rapio. In this context the
form rapiemur (future active indicative, first person plural) is used. Over time, rapturo, the future active participle
was used in theological writings which then developed into the English word, “Rapture.” S.v. rapio, A Latin
Dictionary. Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten
by. Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1879. On the Perseus
website,
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:alphabetic%20letter=R:entry%20group=2:
entry=rapio&toc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DR%3Aentry+group%3D3.
14
Gordon D. Fee, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, The New International Commentary on the
New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 180.
15
Ibid.
16
Robert L. Dean, Jr. “Chronological Issues in the Book of Revelation,” Bibliotheca Sacra 168:670 (Dallas: Dallas
Theological Seminary, April-June, 2011), 217-226. A version of this paper is also available on the www.pre-trib.org
website.
17
Renald Showers cites the following individuals who see a connection between John 14:1–3 and 1 Thessalonians
4:13–18: J. H Bernard, James Montgomery Boice, Arno C. Gaebelein, Arthur Pink, Rudolf Schnackenburg, F. F.
Bruce, R. V. G. Tasker, and W. E. Vine in Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! (Bellmawr, N.J.: Friends of Israel,
1995), p. 162.
18
Smith wrote, “Hence it is impossible that one sentence or even one phrase can be alike in the two lists… And
finally not one word in the two lists is used in the same relation or connection.” J. B. Smith, A Revelation of Jesus
Christ: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1961), 312.
19
Ibid, “The words or phrases are almost an exact parallel. They follow one another in both passages in exactly the
same order. Only the righteous are dealt with in each case. There is not a single irregularity in the progression of
words from first to last. Either column [passage] takes the believer from the troubles of earth to the glories of
heaven.”
20
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Georffrey William Bromiley and Gerhard
Friedrich, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–1976). 5:121, 132. Gerald L. Borchert, vol. 25B, John
12–21, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 2003), 103.See also NIDNTT II, 250 as well as George Gunn, “John 14:1–3 “The Father’s House: Are
We There Yet?” Unpublished paper www.pre–trib.org.
21
Old Testament usage of the phrase “Father’s house” indicates a place that was previously left while the person
went away on a trip. In this analogy, Jesus left the Father’s house for a sojourn on earth and then returned at His
ascension, cf., Gen. 12:1; 20:13; Gen. 24:7; 28:21; 31:30, 34; 38:11 50:22; Lev. 22;12–13; 1 Sam. 18:1–4.
22
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 567.
23
Gerald L. Borchert, vol. 25B, John 12–21, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American
Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 104. Also, TDNT cites Pausanius who uses the
word for an inn or place of halt on a journey; E.J. Goodspeed who cites it as used for a watch-house in a police
district, and the Papyrus Grecs d’époque Byzantine, ed. J. Maspéro, 1911 ff. which uses it for a shepherds hut in a
field: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Gerhard
Friedrich, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-).
 Three Rapture Passages 18

24
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995). Morris lists the reference for Gundry’s statement as, ZNTW,
58 [1967], p. 70.
25
Robert Dean, Jr,
26
Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics - Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Zondervan
Publishing House and Galaxie Software, 1999; 2002), 536.
27
Wayne A. Brindle, “Biblical Evidence for the Imminence of the Rapture,” BibSac 158:630 (Dallas: Dallas
Theological Seminary), 2001, 138.
28
Other illuminating phrases are “body of Christ,” (Col. 1:24) which is composed of those who have put off the
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11.
29
Five discrete resurrections are identified in Scripture. The first four are combined as one event, the first
resurrection (Revelation 20:5). These four resurrrections are: 1) the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:1–8),
2) the resurrection of the “dead in Christ” at the time of the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), 3) the resurrection of
Old Testament saints, for they must be resurrected to participate in the future Kingdom of Christ (Psa. 50:1–6;
Isaiah 26:19), 4) the resurrection of tribulation saints (Revelation 20:4). The fifth resurrection is the resurrection of
the unbelievers of all the ages to appear before the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:12).
30
The resurrection of distinct groups at different times is indicated by the word tagma (“order”), a word which often
has military application, meaning divisions, companies, groups, or ranks.
31
John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition, 248.