Rapture Of The Saints Essay Research Paper

The rapture is an important event that will probably happen sometime in the near future, which poses the question, what is the rapture? According to the Bible, Jesus will come in the air, gather all of the saints from the earth and return to Heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives a clear understanding of what the rapture is the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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. (http://www.novia.net/ todd/rap199.html, pg.1) The English phrase caught up translates from the Greek word harpazo , which means to seize upon with force or to snatch up . Latin translators used the word rapere , the root of the English term rapture . At the time of the rapture, God s children will be caught up and taken to Heaven. The rapture of the saints is said to be the next great event in the redemptive plan and purpose of God. It is the time that Christ will fulfill His promise in John 14. (http://members.sockets.net/ cady/rapture.html, pg.2) The rapture is described in Titus as the blessed hope and it is indeed for the believer. It is the hope of deliverance from sin, the devil and the iniquity of this world. However, the blessed hope is more than just escape from these things, it is a precious hope of being forever with the Lord.(The Second Coming of Jesus, DeHaan, pg.18) Though the Old Testament and the Gospel accounts speak many times about the Second Coming of Christ, the specific fact bout the Rapture was not revealed to the disciples until the night before His crucifixion. In the book of John 14:1-3, we see that Jesus told them, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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 if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

In the Bible, Scripture that talks about the Second Coming usually includes progressive events that take place in the years preceding it. However, Scripture referring to the Rapture of the saints is seen as a next event occurrence. In other words, it is not necessarily dependent on immediate preceding events. Believers won t recognize the Rapture until the moment it happens, while the Second Coming will be recognizable by the seven years of tribulation before it. The Rapture of the saints is said to be the next great event in the eternal purpose and plan of God. It is the fulfillment of Jesus promise in John 14 when He promised to take us to His Father s home. Of all the passages in the Bible that describe the Rapture, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 best presents it. The English phrase caught up translates from the Greek word harpazo , which means to seize upon with force or snatch up . Latin translators use the word rapere , which is the root of the English term rapture . In all, the word describes the sudden translation of God s children and the reception of their glorified bodies.