One of the most frequently asked questions concerning the Last Days is, “When will the Rapture take place?” Since the Bible does not give us times or dates, we must answer this question by describing where the Rapture will fall within the Order of Events of the Last Days. When responding in this way, the answer becomes: “The Rapture will take place after the dead are raised,” as explained in the following passages.
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. I Thess. 4:14-17
From these verses, we learn that after the dead are raised, the living will be caught up (raptured) and together they will meet the Lord in the air. This places the Rapture as occurring after the Resurrection of the Dead in the Order of Events of the Last Days. This same sequence of events is found in the following verses where the Rapture is, again, described as taking place when the dead are raised.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51-52
In these verses, the rapture of God’s people is referred to as being changed. Accordingly, when we read that those who will not sleep will be changed when the dead are raised, it means that those who are still alive on earth will be raptured when the dead are raised. In this way, we again learn that the Rapture will take place after the Resurrection of the Dead. Based on the connection of between these two events, we can say that if we know when the dead are raised, we also know when the living will be caught up.
When Will the Dead be Raised?
The timing of the Resurrection of the Dead, (and therefore the Rapture), can be found in the following conversation between Jesus and a Jewish woman named Martha, which took place following the death of her brother. In that conversation, when the Lord told Martha that her brother would rise again, she responded by saying that she knew her brother would rise again on the last day.
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jn. 11:23-24
Based on what we know from the history and culture of the Jews, we can say that Martha’s understanding of the Resurrection of the Dead would have come from her time spent in Synagogue, as it is almost certain she did not have her own copy of the Scriptures. Therefore, her statement that the dead would be raised on the last day gives us a glimpse into what was being taught by the priests and the teachers of the Law of her time, which, in turn, would have been handed down from the prophets. In this way, we learn that it has always been the belief of God’s people that the world would have a final day, and on that day, the dead would be resurrected. This teaching is confirmed in the following Scriptures, where the Lord repeatedly states that He will raise up the dead on the last day.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. Jn. 6:39
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Jn. 6:40
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. Jn. 6:44
As we mentioned earlier, when we learn that the Resurrection of the Dead will occur on the Last Day, it tells us that the Rapture will also occur on this day as well, as these two events will occur together. Thus our answer concerning the timing of the Rapture can be added to as follows: “The Rapture will take place after the dead are raised on the Last Day.”
The Last Day
More information concerning the Last Day, itself, is given to us by the Apostle Peter who describes how at the coming of the Lord, the heavens will disappear with a roar and the earth will be destroyed by fire.
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 2 Pet. 3:3-7
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Pet. 10-13
In the above account, we learn that at the Return of Christ, fire will engulf the earth, which will cause the heavens to disappear with a roar and the elements to melt in the heat. Obviously, this will be the last day on Earth, as no other events can take place on a world that has been melted by fire. Based on this description, we can say that when the Scriptures tell us that the dead will be raised on the last day, they are speaking of the literal last day of events on earth. Accordingly, at the Return of Christ the dead will be raised, and the living will be caught up before the world will be destroyed by fire. In this way, the Resurrection of the Dead and the Rapture of the Living will be the last events to occur on earth. Based on this information, we can, again, add to our original answer as follows:
“The Rapture will take place after the dead are raised, on the last day, when Christ returns and the heavens and earth are destroyed by fire.”
Following the Resurrection of the Dead and the Rapture of the Living, the above verses tell us that the ungodly will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment when the works of God’s people will be tested, and the world will be judged. Thus, the Rapture will be preceded by the Resurrection of the Dead and followed by the Day of Judgment in the Order of Events of the Last Days.
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Bryan Coray is the author of Keep Watch: The Order of Events of the Last Days, available
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