One of the most exciting events on the end-times timeline is the Rapture of the Church - the day when believers in Jesus will suddenly be “caught up” to meet Him in the air.

Paul speaks of this great day in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 when he says that we will be caught up to meet Christ in the air. The Greek word for “caught up” is the term “harpazo.”

There are 3 basic ideas conveyed in the word harpazo that will help us understand this great event.

1. To seize with a sudden and overwhelming force. Don’t imagine us all floating up into the sky. No, the Rapture will be a sudden snatching up.

2. To transport to another setting. This usage of the word harpazo is found in Acts 3 where we read of how Philip the evangelist, after leading the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ, is transported suddenly by the Spirit of God to a completely different city. Similarly, in the Rapture we will be transported from earth to a new heavenly location.

3. To seize and rescue from imminent peril. In this usage of harpazo found in Acts 23, Paul is saved from a violent mob when Roman troops suddenly step in to seize and thus rescue the apostle.

The term “rapture,” then, speaks of all 3 of these elements: seized suddenly, transported to another location, and rescued from harm.

The timing of the Rapture has been a matter of debate by Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians for years. There are 3 classic views of the timing of the Rapture.

1.     Pre-Tribulation: This view believes the rapture will take place before the Antichrist ever shows up. They believe we could be taken up at any moment and we will see none of the events of the final 7-year period we’ve been talking about.

2.     Mid-Tribulation: This view maintains that we will be here for “the beginning of sorrows,” but will be taken out at the 3 ½ year mark, before the Great Tribulation.

3.     Post-Tribulation: This view takes the position that we will be here for all of it. We will be vulnerable to the Anitchrist’s persecution, but we will be supernaturally protected from God’s wrath.

There is an adaptation of this view that I have come to embrace, called The Pre-Wrath view. It seems to line up with both Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 as well as the book of Revelation.

In the timeline we’ve been working with, the final 7-year period begins when the Antichrist rises to power with a peace plan for the world and a special covenant with Israel. Three and a half years into this covenant, this ruler, aided by the False Prophet, will set up an idol in the newly constructed Temple and demand to be worshiped. Persecution then breaks out against all who refuse.

This is the beginning of The Great Tribulation. Jesus says that if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.

What will cut those days short? The great cosmic event of cataclysmic proportions described in Matthew 24:29 and Revelation 6:12-17.

In Jesus’ description, this event is followed immediately by the Rapture. And then comes the pouring out of God’s wrath on the earth. The church is here for the persecution but taken out before God’s wrath.

We may be called upon to suffer and even die for our faith.  But if God allows that, we need to know that He will also give us the same capacity He has for His people down through history.

God never commands something without giving the capacity to obey it.

Text: Revelation 7:9-17

Originally recorded on April 9, 2000, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.