1 Thessalonians 4:13-18;
(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The words “caught up” come from a Greek word that literally means to seize as one seizes a prize. The Latin word is rapto, meaning to seize forcefully. The most commonly used Greek word in connection with this event is parousia, (“coming”) which stresses the actual personal presence of the one who arrives. At “the coming [parousia] of the Lord” the dead in Christ will be raised and believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thessalonians 4:15-17)
The doctrine of the rapture of the church, or the "catching away" of the saints, with its promises of the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the "translation" of the living church, was a prominent feature in the church of the first century. Most scholars agree that the early church believed in the imminent return of the Lord and considered it a possibility that the Lord could come at any time. Such hope permeated apostolic thinking. In I and II Thessalonians, for instance, it is mentioned in every chapter. Most of the epistles make some mention of the coming of the Lord and anticipate the end of the age.
Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. This involves the descent of the Lord from the third heaven, or the immediate abode of God, into the atmospheric heaven. At His arrival on the earthly scene, the Lord will give “a shout.” The particular Greek word used for “shout” has the meaning of a military command. Accompanying the shout of command that the Lord Himself issues will be the voice of the archangel, who is called Michael five times in the Scriptures. The voice of the archangel may be best interpreted as a shout of triumph. The voice of the command of the Lord is accompanied by the archangel’s voice of triumph.
I Thessalonians 4:16 is the sounding of the trumpet of God. This trumpet has to do with the resurrection of the dead and the translation of the church and should not be confused with other trumpets in Scripture. The expression here, “the trump of God,” is a parallel to “the last trump” of I Corinthians 15:52, but it should not be confused with the trumpets of angels in Revelation 8:2-9:21 and 11:15-18. This is a trumpet of God, a trumpet of grace, a trumpet of triumph, and a trumpet pertaining to the righteous dead and living saints. The trumpets of angels in Revelation, by contrast, are related to judgments poured out upon a Christ-rejecting world and signal various catastrophes in the future time of tribulation.
So lets look at this again, there will be the shout of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Immediately following the resurrection of the dead in Christ, the living saints will be caught up together to meet the Lord with the resurrected.
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:17)
The expression “caught up together” is the biblical source of the word rapture. Though often the word rapture means to be carried away with joy, here it refers to a bodily snatching up, that is, the bodily removal of the living church from the earth and meeting the Lord in the air. The wonderful revelation concerning the coming of Christ both for the dead in Christ and living saints culminates in the exhortation,
“Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:18).
The word translated “comfort” implies much more than simply help in times of sorrow. It has the idea of help in general, of exhortation, of urging on in the task, and of encouragement. The subject of the Rapture should be included not only in the teaching and preaching ministry of the church but also in the conversation of Christians. Students of prophecy have different views regarding the timing of the Rapture. Of course, no one knows or can set the time of the Rapture or coming of the Lord. Nevertheless, the question is whether the Rapture will come before, during, or after the period of time known as the Tribulation.
(We can and will discuss this at a later date)
1 Corinthians 10:11, speaking of some Old Testament events says, "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, . . ." The word "example" is from the Greek word tupos, which means "form, figure, or pattern." The English word "type" is developed from the Greek word and provides the basis for why Bible students coined the term "typology." Typology refers to Old Testament patterns that illustrate doctrine—usually New Testament doctrine. Types serve only to illustrate a doctrine that is taught clearly, or directly from the biblical text.
Old Testament raptures, while not teaching the New Testament truth of the rapture of the church, do provide us with Old Testament types, patterns, or illustrations of the rapture. Thus, Enoch and Elijah stand as types of the rapture of the church.
I am a firm believer that if your New Testament doctrine is not backed up with the Old Testament Scripture that New Testament doctrine has no ground to stand on. So let's look into the Old Testament Types, Shadows, Pictures, Examples, Patterns, Prophecy, and Prophesy to see the strong Biblical support for the doctrine called the rapture.
Enoch:
As far as the biblical account records, Enoch became the first individual to be raptured. Genesis 5:24 records the remarkable event of Enoch’s translation to heaven. "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). What does it mean that Enoch "was not, for God took Him?" It means that Enoch was translated, without dying. Enoch was raptured, to use the language of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 or he was "taken," to use the language of John 14:3. That Enoch was raptured or translated to heaven is clear when compared with the dismal refrain "and he died" that accompanies the legacy of the other patriarchs mentioned in Genesis 5.
Hebrews 11:5 which says, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God." The New Testament word "taken up" in Hebrews is the same one selected by those who translated the Old Testament into Greek. This word conveys the idea of being removed from one place to another. Thus, it is clear that both the Genesis passage and the thrice-repeated reference to Enoch in Hebrews teaches the idea of translation to heaven.
The Story of Joseph
Joseph (a type of Christ in many ways) takes a Gentile bride before the 7 year famine begins (Genesis 41:45). Notice in the account of Joseph that after he received his Gentile bride, his brethren (the Israelites) and the entire world suffered a seven year famine (Genesis 41:54-57). During this time of famine many came to Joseph for food. Similarly, after Jesus receives His Bride, his brethren the Jews (and many in the world), will turn to the Lord Jesus for relief (Revelation 7).
How fitting that the Great Tribulation is called "the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it" (Jeremiah 30:7). It is also referred to as "the time of the Gentiles" (Ezekiel 30:3), and many Gentiles will also be saved out of it (Revelation 7). The famine is a type of the Tribulation (Amos 8:11), and Egypt is a picture of the world. This account strongly suggests that Jesus will receive His bride before the 70th Week of Daniel — before the famine that will come upon the entire world.
Moses's experience and the Rapture of the Church:
Remember that The Law is only a Shadow of the Good Things that are Coming. A model of the Rapture is in Exodus 19.
This is one of the most intriguing parallels between Moses's experience and the Rapture of the Church. I’ll list a few more similarities here to give you a better idea.
The "trumpet of God" and an audible voice are present at both events and both events create a kingdom.
At Mt. Sinai the Israelites were redeemed from slavery, at the Rapture we'll get our final redemption from these bodies.
God came to the Mt. top, Jesus comes to the air.
At Mt. Sinai Moses and Aaron went up, at the rapture we go up.
At Mt. Sinai Israel was wed to God. At the Rapture the Church is wed to Jesus.
At Mt. Sinai God dwelt with Israel and at the rapture the Church dwells with Jesus. (Compare Exodus 19:10-25 & 1 Thes 4:16-17 and you'll get a clear picture of the rapture of the Church.
Elijah:
He will make some kind of visitation during the tribulation (Malachi 4:5) and was joined with Moses as the two from the past who appeared at Christ’s transfiguration (Matthew 17:3). Like Enoch, Elijah was translated to heaven without dying. 2nd Kings 2 records this interesting event with an emphasis upon the mode of Elijah’s transportation to heaven. 2 Kings 2:1 says he was taken "by a whirlwind to heaven." In 2:11 the whirlwind is further described as "a chariot of fire and horses of fire." No doubt this was an appearance of the Shechinah glory of God since Hebrews 1:7 says, "and of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.’" God objectively marked Elijah as a genuine prophet by identifying him with the glory of God and his rapture to heaven.
The Song of Solomon and the Rapture?
Song of Solomon 2:8-13;
(8) The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
(9) My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
(10) My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
(11) For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
(12) The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
(13) The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
The Song of Solomon is an amazing picture of Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:29-32). In the Song of Solomon 2:8-13, the Bride (the Church) hears the voice of her Beloved (Jesus) coming for her. Then, in verses 10 and 13, the Bridegroom speaks and calls His bride to "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." This is a beautiful foreshadow of our marriage and honeymoon in heaven!
I don’t think that the concept of a rapture is such a strange event for those who have an understanding of biblical events....
This is the most well known rapture in the Bible to the average Christian. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, "we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." Of all the raptures in the Bible, this is the first time that our Lord will take a large group to heaven in a single instance, without first facing death. This is such a clear teaching in the Bible that even those Christians who do not emphasize the rapture as a distinct event, merge it into to the second coming in some way. Yet, this is the event that will take place before the seven-year tribulation.
