Question: Is there anything that should happen before the Rapture?
If you are studying the end times described in the Bible and are anticipating our Lord’s glorious return, you are blessed indeed.
Revelation 1:3 (King James Version)
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
The answer is – nothing. There is nothing that must happen before the rapture – the rapture is imminent. We at AskBible.org believe this is what the Bible teaches. Let us see why.
The rapture and the second coming of Christ are two promises that every believer is waiting for and anticipating. These events are clearly taught in the Bible and it is impossible to deny them. While there may be disagreement among Christians about the timing of the Rapture, this is because of a flawed approach to studying the topic. While there is no one verse that specifically addresses the rapture, understanding the timing of the end-time events including the rapture is a matter of deduction based on a careful study of the passages that address the Lord’s return, and one can only arrive at a rapture that precedes the 7 year tribulation period.
The Rapture
Let’s look at the verses that talk about this event called the rapture. The English word ‘rapture’ is not found in the Bible, it comes from the Latin word ‘rapturo‘ used in the Latin Vulgate Bible. Rapturo itself is a translation of the Greek verb harpazo which means ‘to snatch out or away’ or ‘caught up’, found in 1 Thes. 4:16-18:
1 Thes. 4:16-18 (KJV)
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.
There are different views of the Rapture held by Christians but only one can be true. We believe that the pre-tribulational view is the one best supported by the Bible. Briefly, in the pre-tribulational view, the rapture occurs before the 7 year tribulation period begins.
The Pre-tribulational view teaches the Doctrine of Imminency
Imminency, meaning nearness, is the doctrine that Jesus can return at any moment to take believers with Him to the Father’s house.
Indeed look at these verses that warn the believer to watch for the Lord Himself, not for signs:
1 Thessalonians 5:6 (King James Version)
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Titus 2:13 (King James Version)
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Revelation 3:3 (King James Version)
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Thus a pre-tribulational rapture means that Jesus’ return is imminent. The Bible does not identify any event that needs to happen before the Rapture – there is nothing that needs to happen before Jesus comes to rapture His own and take them to the Father’s house! How wonderful the promises of God are!
Are you waiting for the trumpet to sound, signaling the rapture of the saints? If not, do not waste a single moment, read the Gospel and receive the gift of eternal life God has freely made available to all men!
Copyright notice: This photo is a derivative of “img095” by Heng Fu Ming, used under CC BY 2.0. This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by AskBible.org
