The Resurrection and Rapture — House of David Ministries

Mystery of the Resurrection and Rapture: A Transformative Event in Christian Eschatology

The Apostle Paul said, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52); “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).[i]

Paul’s statement provides the strongest argument for an instantaneous future transformation of the believer from our corruptible to imperishable bodies. The word commonly used to describe this mysterious event is “Rapture,” taken from the Latin verb rapio, meaning “to catch up” or “take away.”[ii] The Latin was translated from the Greek word harpazō (ἁρπάζω) and Koine Greek rapiemur (ἁρπαγησόμεθα), meaning “we shall be caught up” or “taken away.”[iii] Some Christians believe in a partial rapture of the church, inferring that only those deemed worthy will be taken.[iv] However, Paul tells us that a sudden rapiemur or harpazō, catching away of all believers, will happen at the resurrection. This, of course, does not include anyone who is unregenerated and unsaved. All who are in Christ will be changed, and the dead in Christ will rise first, becoming like Jesus in body and spirit.[v] If the dead in Christ rise first, then all who are alive in Christ will be raptured with them, and it will happen suddenly without any prevenient sign or warning of when a great trumpet will be sounded from heaven.

Evangelical scholars generally agree that a rapture will occur. However, they have different opinions about its timing, some thinking it will happen before the seven-year tribulation and others during or at the end of it. The seven-year tribulation, derived from the seventieth week of Daniel, correlates with God’s final dealing with unsaved Israel and the unrepentant nations.[vi] A growing number of Christians believe the rapture will come during the mid-point of the tribulation, immediately before the Great Tribulation, also called the pre-wrath rapture theory.[vii]

Jesus spoke of a time of tribulation that would precede His return, saying we would have tribulation in the world. Hence, these scholars do not consider the first three and one-half years to be a time of God’s wrath but rather Satan’s tribulation against the church. However, there can be no distinction as Satan is God’s instrument of judgment. We read, “For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Revelation 17:17). God’s wrath is poured out in the first half of the tribulation. It dramatically increases in the second half, especially towards the end, and Satan is used by God throughout the entire seven years, manifesting as the beast, the Antichrist.[viii]

Other scholars believe the rapture coincides with Christ's physical return at the end of the seven years. To resolve the dilemma of God’s wrath coming against the church, they argue for supernatural protection, like how God separated the Israelites from the Egyptians in Goshen during the Exodus. They often cite Revelation twenty, which seems to place the resurrection after the return of Christ. However, a careful reading of Revelation shows those resurrected are part of a select group who were martyred during the tribulation; there is no mention of the church.

Jesus spoke of two resurrections, a first and a second. In Daniel chapter twelve, we read that the Old Testament saints are resurrected at the end of the tribulation.[ix] However, after Jesus was resurrected, the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep, we read, “The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”[x] During the second half of the tribulation, two witnesses stand in Jerusalem, are killed, and then resurrected and taken into heaven. Lastly, when Jesus returns, all martyred for Christ during the tribulation are resurrected, and these are called out separately from the church.[xi]

All who die in Christ before the Millennial Kingdom are considered part of the first resurrection.[xii] Scholars arguing for a post-tribulation rapture say that the return of Christ and the resurrection are one singular Advent.[xiii] However, the dispensation of the first resurrection, which began at Christ's resurrection and is completed at His return, is not one singular event but several resurrection events that occur over time. Yet, the resurrection crescendos in one transcendental event: the physical return of Christ and the revealing of the sons of God.[xiv]

The most significant challenge with assuming a mid- or post-tribulation rapture is that it precludes the imminence we are so warned about. Throughout the New Testament, the exhortation is given to be watching expectantly for the imminent return of Jesus.[xv] We are reminded of the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom tragically failed to prepare for the return of Christ. Jesus warned, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).[xvi] If the tribulation were to come first, along with the revealing of the Antichrist, there would be no need for the church to look for the imminent appearance of our Lord.

While the precise timing of the resurrection and rapture remains a mystery, the Lord may have given us some insight from the Old Testament. In the Book of Daniel chapter seven, we read about four beasts representing four kingdoms that will rule over the nation of Israel. Traditional Jewish and Christian scholars agree that these four beasts represent four kingdoms in this order: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman.[xvii] At the beginning of Daniel’s vision, he sees a small horn arise, a fifth kingdom that emerges from among the ten horns of the fourth beast. It says, “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words” (Daniel 7:8). This man is also called “the lawless one” and the “Antichrist.”

Daniel’s vision suddenly changes from an earthly realm to a heavenly one. We read, “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened” (Daniel 7:9-10). Daniel sees a heavenly courtroom with thrones set up for judgment. These thrones are initially empty, but then the court is seated.

Paul said, “Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” (1 Corinthians 6:3). And Jesus said, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21). Therefore, we surmise these thrones are reserved for the church, the redeemed of men, not the angels; and the court's time to be seated is at the beginning of the seven-year tribulation, God’s time of judgment for unsaved Israel and the unrepentant nations.

Daniel’s vision then changes back to an earthly realm where he says, “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time” (Daniel 7:11-12). This part of the vision reveals God’s final judgments against the Antichrist at the end of the seven-year tribulation.

Daniel’s vision concludes with a view of the heavenly realm. We read, “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14). This part of Daniel’s vision is consistent with the Apostle John’s, where we read, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:11-13).[xviii] Jesus has returned to Jerusalem.

The order of Daniel’s vision is significant as it gives us a window into the order of the seven-year tribulation. Initially, the heavenly courts are empty but are seated when the Ancient of Days begins His time of judgment for the nations. The seating of this court suggests that the resurrection and rapture will occur at the onset of God’s hour of trial for the earth, which would be at the beginning of the seven years. Later, towards the end of the tribulation, the pompous one is destroyed when Christ returns to the earth with power and great glory to destroy the kingdoms of the earth who have come against Jerusalem. This order is consistent with Paul’s writings, as he declared, “And THEN the lawless one will be revealed [beginning of the tribulation], whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming [end of the tribulation].”

Everything we read in the book of Revelation, from chapter three until the return of Christ in chapter nineteen, is written from a heavenly perspective. In Revelation chapter four, The Apostle John is taken up into the angelic realm, into the Ark of God’s covenant, as it is written, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Jesus declared, “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark” (Matthew 24:38). Here, the ark implies a place of divine protection, most apparently in the heavenly realm, as it is written, “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple” (Revelation 11:19). Revelation does not mention the church from chapter four until chapter nineteen, inferring the church has been resurrected and raptured into this heavenly realm.[xix]

While the seven-year tribulation is God’s final dealing with Israel and the unrepentant nations, God never brings judgment against His people without first warning them.[xx] Jesus said, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things” (Matthew 17:11). Given that the First Elijah and the second, John the Baptist, were prophets sent to Israel, it is most likely that the last Elijah will also be an actual person sent by God for a unique task immediately before Christ returns. Many believe that Elijah is one of the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation, and we are given a foreshadowing of the resurrection on the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and spoke to Him.[xxi] On that mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Matthew 17:10).

Malachi declared, “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). Malachi says this messenger, Elijah, will be sent to Israel before the Lord comes near for judgment. We read, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).

The Angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, concerning his unborn son and declared, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17). The Lord makes it clear that the coming of Elijah is according to the Law of Moses and the faith of Abraham for the restoration of Israel’s priesthood. Elijah will restore the hearts of the children of Israel to the Patriarchs, not a familial restoration, but a restoration to the fathers of Israel—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron. Malachi says, “He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, As in former years” (Malachi 3:3-4).

God calls out Israel’s sins in three distinct areas, repeatedly saying, “You have gone away from My ordinances:” offering imperfect sacrifices, robbing the Lord of tithes and offerings, idolatry, divorce, exploiting widows and orphans, and turning away strangers. We read, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them” (Malachi 3:6-7). Notice there is no mention of the church or the Gentiles. God loves Israel, but He is angry with them for these sins and for rejecting Him as their King, and He is sending Elijah to warn the Jewish people to repent and return to His covenants. As the Lord declared, “Return to Me, and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7).

The second witness we see in Revelation is likely Moses, the person besides Elijah revealed to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses is the mediator and witness of God’s Mosaic Covenant and the priest who interceded on behalf of Israel in the Tabernacle of Witness.[xxii] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying to Israel, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:17-19). God was speaking of a prophet “like” Moses, not the Christ who is God incarnate. This raises an interesting question: While Elijah was taken up into the heavens in a chariot of fire, Moses died. Because we know that these two witnesses are killed and then resurrected, and Moses has already fallen asleep, he is unlikely to be resurrected twice.[xxiii] However, notice the language, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you,” inferring that God will bring another prophet, like Mose, with his spirit the same way God sent forth John the Baptist in the spirit of Elijah.[xxiv]

In Malachi, God tells Israel to remember the Law of Moses and obey His statutes, saying, “And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6); “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name. They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him” (Malachi 3:16-17).

When Jesus was asked by one of the Pharisees, a lawyer, about the greatest of God’s commandments, Jesus said, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). We are reminded that Israel is still subject to the Old Covenant until Israel turns to Christ and comes under the New Covenant— “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah 31:33). After what days? After Israel’s days of captivity, when Jesus returns to Jerusalem, it says, “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’” (Jeremiah 33:23).

Therefore, it makes sense that God would send these two prophets to Israel during the tribulation, Moses, the witness of the Old Covenant, and Elijah, the Lord’s prophetic witness to Israel, who said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again” (1 Kings 18:36-37).

However, the regenerated believer does not need to return to the Lord as we are already under a new and better covenant. Christ has fulfilled the Law for us, and we are already in Him, a new creation. Nor can there be any imminence in Christ’s sudden return if God first sends His two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, to restore all things in Israel according to God’s Mosaic Law and statutes. The prophets will indeed declare, just as Isaiah and John did, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). It is not that the church should be ignorant of God’s statutes, nor His Law. On the contrary, we read, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)” (Galatians 3:13). Yet, Israel remains under the judgment of God’s Law until Jesus returns and redeems them also from the curse of the Law.[xxv]

The timing for the resurrection and rapture of the church (emphasis on this church age) is not, nor can it be, directly associated with God’s dealing with Israel, nor does it occur on the same day as the physical return of Christ.[xxvi] The resurrection and rapture of the church is a distinctly separate event from the bodily return of Christ. It will become more apparent when we look at God’s Hebrew calendar and holy convocations given to Israel.

God has appointed seven years to bring Israel and the nations to repentance. Before His judgment, God sends two prophets to warn Israel of their impending judgment and bring about national repentance. However, the church will be gathered to Christ at the last trumpet that precedes this time of wrath. Instead of the church continuing to advance the Gospel, the Lord will send an angel throughout the earth to declare it.[xxvii] When Jesus physically returns at the end of the tribulation, the church will appear with Him to judge the nations. Jesus will pour out His wrath upon all those who have come against His people, Israel, and His holy city, Jerusalem.

Paul spoke about the resurrection and rapture happening at the “last trumpet,” with the resurrection immediately preceding the rapture. Some scholars correlate this verse with the last trumpet judgment in Revelation. We read, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15). This belief places the rapture near, but not necessarily at the end of the tribulation. However, there is no mention in Revelation of the resurrection or the rapture. So, what is the last trumpet, and when will it be blown?

In the Old Testament, there are two types of trumpets mentioned in the Temple's services, a ram’s horn (Shofar) and two silver trumpets (chatzo’tza’rote), made per the instructions given to Moses. The Hebrew English translation only uses “trumpet” to describe a Shofar or a silver trumpet; it makes no distinction. In the New Testament, the Greek word used is salpigx (σάλπιγξ, ιγγος, ἡ, origin salpizó, pronounced sal'-pinx) to describe any trumpet, trumpeter, or trumpet sound, including the trumpet of God.[xxviii] This lack of distinction in English and Greek creates confusion as there is an essential distinction in Hebrew between the Shofar and the silver trumpets.

The Shofar was commanded to be blown on the Festival of Trumpets. It was also used at the commencement of the Shabbat, the beginning of the months (new moons), and the fiftieth year of Jubilee (Yovel). On the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, the last Shofar blast of the year was sounded as the high priest stood silently at the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The sages tell us that on the Festival of Trumpets (Yom Teruah, the day of blowing) when the Lord hears the call of the Shofar, He rises from His throne of justice and sits on His throne of mercy and judges the personal accounts of each man and woman.[xxix] This time of judgment is called the “Shofar blast of remembrance (zich’ron teruah),” as God is reminded of His covenant with Israel. We have already concluded that God’s wrath imminently begins when the Lamb opens the first seal.

Additionally, the Shofar reminds us of Abraham's great test of faith when he prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah, God’s first and foundational covenant with Israel.[xxx] It reminds us of the revelation of the Torah and the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Mosaic Covenant. It reminds us of our prophets and Jesus, who warned the people of the judgment to come if we did not repent.[xxxi] It reminds us of the walls at Jericho that fell with the blowing of the Shofar, God’s judgment against the Gentiles.

Lastly, the Shofar reminds us of the Day of the Lord at the end of this age, the ingathering of the Jewish people to their homeland, and the assembling of the nations to Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles and the resurrection of the dead.[xxxii] We read, “The great day of the Lord is near… A day of trumpet [blowing the Shofar] and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers” (Zephaniah 1:14 & 16). “So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet [Shofar] will be blown” (Isaiah 27:13). “All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet [Shofar], you hear it” (Isaiah 18:3).

Two silver trumpets were also blown on the Lord’s Holy convocations along with the Shofar, as it says, “With trumpets [va’chatzo’tza’rote] and the sound of a horn [Shofar]” (Psalm 98:6). The sages tell us that the silver trumpets were blown abruptly. In contrast, the Shofar was blown for an extended time. However, the silver trumpets held a unique purpose. They were used exclusively to call forth God’s army for battle. We read, “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets (be’ chatzo’tza’rote), and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 10:9). Therefore, we conclude that while Shofar and silver trumpets are ritually connected, they also have distinguishably unique applications.

Since the Greek language in the New Testament does not distinguish between the various trumpet types, we must compare the broader context of its vocabulary with the commanded instructions in the Old Testament. Exploring the Greek, we find that each variation of the word salpigx (sálpigks) correlates with a war trumpet that boldly announces God’s victory over the vanquishing of His enemies. The Shofar, on the other hand, connects with the Law of atonement. Thus, the silver trumpets announce God’s wrath against His enemies, while the Shofar declares God’s mercy over His judgments.

With this understanding, the trumpet that precedes the resurrection and rapture of the church is an announcement of God’s mercy, salvation, and redemption for His people, not His wrath, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). As such, we cannot align Paul’s statements in First Corinthians with the seven trumpet judgments in the book of Revelation. They are not the same.[xxxiii] Paul’s declaration is God’s call of redemption for His people, our great reward.[xxxiv] Revelation is a battle call of war to destroy God’s enemies, notably, the nations who come against God’s land and His people.

It says, “With the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God,” the Shofar of a ram’s horn, God will call us home. Abraham spoke to his son, saying, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb (Ha’seh) for a burnt offering… Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram (A’yil) caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram (A’yil), and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:8). The Apostle John declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). After being caught up in the heavens, John said, “I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6).

Again, the Shofar calls for repentance and redemption, and the silver trumpet is a clarion call for war. After the seventh trumpet in Revelation is blown, the heavens are opened, and Christ, the Word of God made flesh, appears in the clouds with power and great glory.[xxxv] It says, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). Once again, this verse does speak of a sudden, imminent catching away of the church. Every eye will see Jesus returning, and they will mourn because He is coming for judgment and war. His return happens near the end of the seven-year tribulation, not the beginning. Therefore, the rapture and the return of Christ are two separate events. The rapture is the gathering of the saints to Christ, and the return of Jesus reveals His church to the world. One is imminent and concealed, and the other is predetermined and revealed.

The return of Christ will be visible, and the explicit signs given to Israel can be correlated with prophecy according to the numerical timeframes provided in Daniel and Revelation. In contrast, the rapture is a mystery; it is imminent and will happen without warning. There are likely inferential signs on the earth of the near return of Christ, such as an increase in lawlessness. Hence, Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). However, there will not be one explicit sign that marks the rapture. As Paul said, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” the resurrection and rapture will occur in a fraction of a second before God’s judgments are released upon the earth, the first judgment being the rise to power of the Antichrist.

Paul gave critical details concerning the Antichrist: "Now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).[xxxvi] We are reminded of the Bible’s warnings of Christ’s imminence, which can only be explained by the sudden removal of God’s restraint, the Holy Spirit, and His church being taken out of the world in the blink of an eye. The Antichrist will not be revealed until God’s restraint against Satan is removed. This removal must also be imminent and without any warning. When it occurs, the world will be thrust into sudden darkness, with no restraint against the evil works of Satan.

However, the church is encouraged that we will be kept from the hour of trial, as Jesus said, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).[xxxvii] This verse gives us tremendous hope. It implies regenerated born-again believers will escape a great hour of trial and global calamity.[xxxviii] Jesus told His disciples, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). This is our blessed hope that Christ is returning for His church, to remove and keep us from God’s wrath and tribulation. It provides a formidable incentive to live a holy, Godly life dedicated to serving Jesus and advancing His Kingdom.[xxxix]

When Jesus comes for His saints in the air at the resurrection and rapture, while not visible to the world, He will receive the church as His bride and take us to His Father’s house. After God’s hour of trial and His wrath has passed, Jesus will be revealed and physically return with His church to the earth to rule in power and glory.[xl] Again, we affirm that the gathering of the saints to Christ is a distinctively separate event from His physical return, and we will be gathered in Him before the hour of judgment is unleashed upon the earth. Yes, the church will be judged at the bema seat of Christ.[xli] However, ours is not a judgment unto eternal condemnation but a judgment that burns away all impurities and anything not of infinite value.

Paul said, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). And Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). Quickly again infers imminently. And when Jesus comes for us, we will receive our eternal reward in Him. As we read, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Peter 5:4).

[i] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.
[ii] Duffield, Guy P. and Van Cleave, Nathaniel M. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Foursquare Media. 1910.
[iii] Wikipedia. Rapture.
[iv] Hebrews 9:28. Luke 21:36. 1 John 2:28. Matthew 25:1-13.
[v] 1 John 3:2-3.
[vi] Daniel 9:24. Jeremiah 30:4-7.
[vii] Daniel 9:27.
[viii] Revelation 3:10, 6:12-17. 1 Thessalonians 5:9. 2 Peter 2:9.
[ix] Daniel 12:1-2.
[x] 1 Corinthians 15:20. Matthew 27:52-53.
[xi] Revelation 5:9-10, 7:12-17, 11:11-12, 20:4. Matthew 25:21. 2 Timothy 2:12.
[xii] Revelation 10:13, 15.
[xiii] Revelation 20:4-6. Daniel 12:1-2.
[xiv] Romans 8:22.
[xv] Matthew 24:42-43, 25:13. Mark 13:35. 1 Thessalonians 5:6. Titus 2:13. Hebrews 9:28.
[xvi] Matthew 24:44-51.
[xvii] Wikipedia.
[xviii] John 1:1.
[xix] Revelation 6:15-17.
[xx] Daniel 9:24. Jeremiah 30:4-7.
[xxi] Matthew 17:1-3.
[xxii] Numbers 17:7.
[xxiii] Deuteronomy 34:5-7.
[xxiv] Matthew 17:10-13.
[xxv] Galatians 3:10-13.
[xxvi] Roman 11:12, 25-27.
[xxvii] Revelation 14:6. Exodus 7:20, 8:1-12, 29. 1 Kings 17:1, 18:41-45. 2 Kings 1:10-12. Zechariah 4:3, 12. James 5:17-18.
[xxviii] Strong’s Concordance & NAS Exhaustive Concordance. Bible Hub.
[xxix] Vayikra Raba, 29:10.
[xxx] Gemara, Rosh Hashanah, 16:1.
[xxxi] Sefer Kol Hakemach LeRabeinu BChai.
[xxxii] Machzor Hameforash, R’ Saadya Gaon.
[xxxiii] 1 Corinthians 15:52. Revelation 11:2-3, 15.
[xxxiv] Revelation 19:5-9. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. 2 Corinthians 5:9-11.
[xxxv] John 1:1.
[xxxvi] Revelation 13:1, 19:11-21, 20:1-22:21. 1 John 2:18. Daniel 7:8. 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
[xxxvii] 2 Peter 2:9. Luke 21:34-36.
[xxxviii] Matthew 24:21. Revelation 16-22. Daniel 12.
[xxxix] Titus 2:12-14. 1 John 3:3.
[xl] Revelation 5:9-10, 20:4. Matthew 25:21. 2 Timothy 2:12.
[xli] Romans 14:10.