Feb. 22, 2026

The Rapture—It’s for Real! 

Introduction - Today we’re going to talk about the “rapture” of the church.  This is an important prophetic concept which many Christians don’t believe, simply because it sounds too good to be true.  We have taken several lessons to tell everyone why the Literal method of Bible interpretation is the most responsible and reliable one.  Having established that, we can now understand a number of important prophetic sections of the Scripture, including ones concerning the translation or “rapture” of the church.  The evangelist Philip was translated in similar manner:

Acts 8:39-40 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.  NASB

The prophecy  below was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Thessalonica.  It described an event which we call “the rapture” of the church.  This was a straightforward, understandable statement, not modified by being a parable.  It applies to the church age, not the Old Testament:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who remain, 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. 18Therefore, comfort one another with these words.  NASB

These verses teach that just as Jesus died and rose from the dead, everyone who has died as a believer will likewise be resurrected through Christ, that is, their physical bodies will be reassembled, transformed into healthy, living spiritual bodies, as Jesus had. Just as Jesus did before His resurrection, He went in a spiritual body to hell and then to His Father and finally returned to take up His resurrected physical body from the earth. The resurrected church-age saints will await the arrival of all who are alive at the time of the rapture and both parties will meet in the air, undergoing similar transformation of their physical bodies, to be taken to the New Jerusalem to take part in the marriage of the Lamb, in which Jesus becomes vitally united to His bride, the church.  We naturally have some questions to ask about this big change in our lives:

Q. When will it happen? A. Prior to the Tribulation.  

The tribulation is a time of wrath (Revelation 11:18, 14:8, 10, 19, 15:1, 7, 16:1, 19) and judgment             (14:7,15:4, 16:7, 17:1, 18:10, 19:2)  Christians will not be in the tribulation!  There is not one word saying that the church, the bride of Christ, is in the Tribulation.  

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.  

We must keep in mind that there are two separate programs that God is executing,  one for Israel and one for the church.  Israel’s covenants, the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and the New Covenant, are all eternal.  They promise Israel national salvation, a permanent land, a promise of numerous descendants, a house, a king, a throne, a new heart, and the favor of God.    the Tribulation description as the time of Jacob’s trouble

Jeremiah 30:1-7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3For behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “For this is what the LORD says: I have heard a sound of terror, Of fear, and there is no peace. ‘Ask now, and see  If a male can give birth, Why do I see every man With his hands on his waist, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? ‘Woe, for that day is great. There is none like it;  And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,  Yet he will be saved from it.  NASB

There are at least 24 major differences between the church and Israel showing that the two cannot be lumped together into one program: 1) the church takes up about 1/5 of the Bible, Israel 4/5; 2) The divine purpose—the church, the heavenly promises in the gospel, Israel—the earthly promises in the covenants 3) The seed of Abraham—Israel the physical seed , of whom some became spiritual, the church—a spiritual seed; 4) Birth: Israel—Physical birth that produces a relationship, the church—spiritual birth that brings a relationship 5) Headship: Israel—Abraham. The church—Christ 6) Covenants:Israel—Abrahamic and all the following covenants 7) Nationality: Israel—one nation church—from all nations 8) Divine Dealings:  Israel—national and individual. church—individual only. 9) dispensations: Israel seen in all dispensations, the church only in they present age.  10)Ministry:  Israel No mission and no gospel to preach, the church—the great commission 11) the death of Christ:  Israel—guilty nationally, to be saved by it, the church—perfectly saved by it now 12) The Father:  Israel—Father to the nation, the church, God is our individual Father. 13) Christ: Israel—Messiah, Immanuel, King, the church—Savior, Lord, Bridegroom, Head.  14) the Holy Spirit: Israel—came upon some temporarily, the church—indwells all 15) Governing principle: Israel—Mosaic Law system, the church—Grace system. 16) Divine Enablement:  Israel—none. The church—the Holy Spirit 17) Two farewell discourses: Israel—the Olivet Discourse, the church—the Upper room discourse 18) the promise of Christ’s return: Israel—in power and glory for judgment. church—to receive us to himself 19) Position: Israel—a servant. church—members of the family 20) Christ’s earthly reign: Israel—subjects, church—co-reigners. 21) Priesthood: Israel—had a priesthood, church—is a priesthood.  22) Marriage: Israel—unfaithful wife, church—Bride. 23) Judgment: Israel—must face judgment, church—delivered from all judgments 24) positions on eternity: Israel—spirits of just men made perfect in the new earth, church—church of the firstborn in the new heavens

It is easy to see that the church is very different from Israel, and will be dealt with differently by God.  We must not place the church in the tribulation, as it is a program to reach Unsaved Israel and unsaved Gentiles.  Don’t let a faulty method of interpretation tell you that you just know we’ll be in the Tribulation because you always have bad luck and you just feel like we will be!  The literal method of interpretation leads us to one conclusion—the rapture!

Q Who will be in the rapture? A. Anyone who lived in the church age and believed in Jesus.  

The church age was a mystery, not understood by anyone in the Old Testament, whereas the election of Israel and the covenants concerning its future were plainly announced in the Old Testament.  The Old Testament saints have their own glorious resurrection at the return of Jesus.  Similarly, the saints saved during the Tribulation who die will have their own resurrection at the return of Christ.  

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. NASB

The above verse explains that God has been reaching out to people perfectly, giving every person on earth a chance to be saved.  If they respond in faith to his entreaty, they are saved.  This is a generous and loving approach to all peoples.  He then applies the finished sacrifice of Jesus to their sin and it is washed away., whether they know the doctrine of Christ or not.  He did this for people before the cross, knowing absolutely that Jesus would sacrifice Himself.  He does it after the cross obviously knowing that it was accomplished. The church then is commissioned to reach the living, saved people of the church age and introduce them to the Holy Spirit, who was not given to anyone living in the era before Christ.   

God is not willing that anyone perish.  He makes it easy to stay out of hell.  There will be no perfect people in the Bride of Christ.  Conceivably, many will be part of the Bride not even knowing that it was Jesus who saved them.  Eventually, they will know when the church meets them and baptizes and teaches them.  The thief on the cross (discussed last week) is a good example that we are saved by grace.  Please understand I am not talking about a universal salvation based on man’s own goodness.  The only way salvation occurs is through the application of the blood of Jesus to our sin problem. This comes about as a sovereign act of God by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 Let’s address some related questions which may seem juvenile, but many Christians actually wonder about them:

Q What will I look like? What if I’m disappointed in my looks or stature? What if I’m afraid of heights?

A We will probably look much like we do now, only with all imperfections and signs of weakness and ugliness completely replaced by beauty.  When Jesus appeared after his resurrection, His disciples recognized Him.  On the mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were recognized by Peter, James, and John.  Numerous testimonies from saints who had near death experiences report that they easily recognized family members and old friends. You were made a unique person on earth; shy would you be a completely different person in heaven? Many report that there were no old people, as we would surmise, as there is no aging there. Also, negative emotions like dissatisfaction or envy are not known there.  Everyone loves the healthy, strong bodies they have which are beautiful and never need to rest or eat. Translation is defined as the changing of locations by a person who does not travel through the space or distance between the two points.  We aren’t going to feel the wind rushing through our hair or have to balance as we fly.  Here one moment, there the next.

Conclusion- It is interesting that the well-known Left Behind series of 16 books and 5 movies reached a lot of the world’s audience.  Three of the books were the highest selling books in their class thus far in the 21st Century, according to the New York Times Bestseller lists. 65 million copies of them were sold in many languages all over the world.  It is interesting that this series of books resonated with so many people.  Interesting that it clearly illustrates the rapture.  Maybe God had something to do with this!