(OPINION) Crosswalk – When I think of the word “rapture” or “enraptured,” I’m a lot like you. I think of being deeply in love with someone, perhaps captivated by their personality or their looks. When we are enraptured, many deep feelings overwhelm us in a good way.
The word can also refer to a memorable, dramatic experience. As followers of Jesus Christ, the word “rapture” has a very special, specific meaning. While the word “rapture” is never specifically found in the Bible, the concept is deeply embedded in God’s Word. “Rapture” is from the Latin word “rapturo,” which means “to catch away.”
In biblical terms, the rapture is an event near the end times, when Jesus will secretly come in the air to gather His followers up into heaven. Those Christians who are already in their graves will be resurrected and join with Christians who are alive and be taken straight into heaven. “rapture” is from the Latin word “rapturo,” which means “to catch away.”
It is used here to describe this moment when we will be “caught up together…to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Those people who do not know Christ as their Savior will be left behind. Jesus explained the nature of the rapture in Matthew 24:39-41: That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Later,
Paul expanded on Jesus’ teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death…For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord, himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. I imagine that Jesus will shout the same words that he shouted when he called Lazarus up out of the grave in Bethany: “Lazarus, come forth”! (John 11:38-44). Have you ever thought about the fact that if Jesus had not specifically shouted the name “Lazarus,” the entire graveyard may well have emptied? What a sight the rapture will be! His shout will penetrate every grave, pierce the deepest seas, and be heard by every one of His followers on earth. CONTINUE
