In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul writes, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
From this passage we read the details of the Rapture, which Paul received from the Lord Jesus. We also get our definition for the Rapture here: it is an event where everyone, the living and the dead, who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ will be called up from the earth to join Christ in His kingdom in heaven. We have also determined, in an earlier blog, that the word ‘Rapture’, even though such a word is not found in our English translations, comes from the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. But the question that this blog will aim to answer is this: When will the Rapture occur? I have three answers for this.
Question: When Will The Rapture Happen?
My first and simplest answer to this question is this: Nobody knows. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, “concerning the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” This tells us the rapture can take place at any moment without any warning. In fact, Dr. David Jeremiah says, “There are no biblical signs that let us know the rapture is about to happen.” Even though we do not know when the rapture will take place, what we do know is that God has fixed a day for this event to happen because Jesus said in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the has fixed by his own authority.” We also know when the rapture takes place it will be sudden, because Paul said it will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52).
My second answer is this: even though there are no signs for exactly when the rapture will take place, Jesus does give us some indications that we can look for that tell us the rapture is near. Indication #1: There will be a rise in false Christ’s rise (Matt. 24:5) – “For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray.” Indication #2: There will be an increase in war (Matt. 24:6) – “will hear of wars and rumors of wars.” Indication #3: There will be an increase in natural disasters (Matt. 24:7) – “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places”. Indication #4: There will be an increase in persecution for those who follow Jesus (Matt. 24:9) – “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” Indication #5: Many will fall away from following Jesus (Matt. 24:10) – “many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another”. Indication #6: There will be a rise in false teachers (Matt. 24:11) – “many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” Indication #7: Love will become absent (Matt. 24:12) – ”because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” So while there are no signs of exactly when the Rapture will take place there are some indications that could reveal that the rapture is near. Now, if you look at these 8 indications these all have been going on for some time now, which means the Rapture of the church could take place at any moment.
My third answer is this: it depends on what view you hold. There are three views or theories on the timing of the rapture – pre-tribulation theory, mid-tribulation theory, and post-tribulation theory. Before I explain those, let me define what is meant by the word ‘tribulation’. The tribulation is a seven year period when God will pour out His wrath on the unbelieving world.
The pre-tribulation theory says that God will rapture the church before the seven years of tribulation; so believers will not have to suffer any of God’s wrath. The mid-tribulation theory says that God will rapture the church sometime in the middle of the seven years of tribulation; so believers will have to undergo some of God’s wrath but not all of it. Those who hold to this view believe God will rapture the church before the final three years of the tribulation, which is known as The Great Tribulation. Lastly, the post-tribulation theory says that God will rapture his church after all seven years of the tribulation are complete; so believers would have to undergo all seven years of God’s wrath on earth.
Now keep in mind these are theories, implying they are not facts. Many people in the church get divided over these things when they shouldn’t. What matters is this: we may not know for sure when the rapture will take place, but we do know for certain the rapture will happen according 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, on the day God has determined according to Acts 1:7.