What Is the Rapture?

The rapture is described most clearly in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, where Paul writes that 'the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout' and that believers — both the dead in Christ and those alive — will be 'caught up together... in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.' The word 'rapture' comes from the Latin rapturo, translating the Greek harpazo ('caught up'). Jesus alluded to this event in John 14:3: 'I will come again, and receive you unto myself.' Paul also describes it in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 as 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 trump.' Christians differ on the timing of the rapture relative to the tribulation period — some hold to a pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation view. All agree, however, that Christ will return for His church, and believers should live in anticipation of that day.