Page 57 - Eschatology - Masters revised

Chapter 6: The Rapture of the Church

Connect…

The Bible describes an event that will occur in the future which may happen anytime. It is called the
Rapture of the Church. Sometimes people call this event the second coming of Christ, but that confuses
this event with Christ’s actual coming to earth to be King of kings in Jerusalem. The Rapture is not the
second coming of Christ, but a prelude to it. We could call it Phase I of His coming.

The Bible says Christ will come down only as far as the clouds and that a trumpet will sound. Who all
will hear that trumpet is not told, but definitely those who are believers will hear it. Then, in a twinkling
of an eye, believers will disappear and meet Christ in the clouds. You ever wonder how long a twinkling
of an eye is? According to General Electric, it is 1/50 th of a second or really fast. There will be no time
to prepare or change your mind. One second people will be around you, then the next they will be
gone. Are you prepared for such an event?

Objectives…

1. The student should be able to describe the event called the Rapture and validate where it is found in
the Bible.

2. The student should be able to explain how Israel will fit into end time events as described in the
Bible.

The Lesson ...

The Rapture of the Church

I Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another
with these words.

While the word, “rapture” is not used in this passage or any other passage in the Bible, the concept of
being “caught up” to meet Christ in the air is clearly taught in this verse. The word, rapture, is a Latin
word meaning “to be caught up.” Other key doctrinal teachings in Scripture are not specifically worded
in the Bible but are certainly taught, for example, the word, “trinity.”

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