The Order of the Rapture: Who Rises and When

The Order of the Rapture: Who Rises and When

There is a lot of confusion about what Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 when he described the rapture of the church. Some think the dead will rise at one time, and then the living saints at another. Others believe that all believers must go through the tribulation before Yeshua returns for His people. The Word of God, however, is clear when we read it in context.

Paul lays out the order plainly. He writes that the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. At that moment, the dead in Christ will rise first. Who are these? They are the believers who died before the rapture, those whose souls are already with Yeshua in Heaven. When this trumpet sounds, their earthly bodies will be resurrected, glorified, and reunited with their spirit.

Immediately after this, Paul says, we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is not a separate event years later , it is one continuous moment. First the dead in Christ are raised, then the living believers are transformed in an instant and caught up with them. Together, both groups are gathered to Yeshua.

This is why the rapture is called the blessed hope (Titus 2:13). It is the promise that the bride of Christ will be taken before the outpouring of God’s wrath in the tribulation. Those left behind will still have the chance to repent and endure to the end, but they will face hardship, persecution, and the full weight of a world under Antichrist rule.

It is important to understand what this event is not. It is not a resurrection of every dead soul. Only those who died in Christ are part of this first resurrection. Those who died without Christ will remain in their graves until the end of the thousand-year reign, when they will stand before the Great White Throne for judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

The rapture, then, is both a resurrection and a transformation. It is the moment when Yeshua fulfills His promise to gather His people to Himself. It is not dependent on our strength, our works, or our perfection, but on His covenant sealed by His blood.

For those who belong to Him, this is not a day to fear but a day to long for. The dead in Christ will rise, the living will be caught up, and together the bride will be united with her Bridegroom forever.

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