The RAPTURE

Rapture:

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Rapture)

RAPTURE God’s taking the church out of the world instantaneously. The Latin term rapio, which means to “snatch away” or “carry off,” is the source of the English word

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia Rapture, The

RAPTURE, THE. The NT teaches that the believer will be removed from the earth by Christ prior to the outpouring of the wrath of God which precedes the second coming of Christ to reign over the earth

1 Thessalonians 4:14–17 (NKJV)

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Rapture)

Pre-Tribulational view Christ raptures the church before any part of the seven-year tribulation begins

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (Rapture, The)

Midtribulation rapture theory. According to this view (cf. J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., Systematic Theology, II, 456), believers will be taken away halfway through the seven year period of the covenant made by the Antichrist with Israel. Christ will come “as a thief in the night,” that is, suddenly and unexpectedly as far as the unbeliever is concerned

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Rapture)

Post-Tribulational view holds that the rapture and the second coming occur at the same time. Therefore, the church remains on earth during “the time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7 NASB). Unlike the world, however, believers who go through the tribulation will be protected from the devastating outpouring of God’s wrath and judgment