The word rapture (in Greek harpazo, in Latin rapere) means to be caught up or taken away suddenly.  The rapture refers to the sudden removal of all of God's people on the earth.  In the twinkling of an eye, born again Christians will suddenly be transformed out of our human bodies to go and join Jesus Christ.  

Many Christians are afraid to talk about the rapture of the Church.  Deep down, they feel an excitement about the prospect of being snatched away in the twinkling of an eye to be with the Lord and Savior whom they love, worship, and have given their lives to.  However, they fear being labeled or criticized for a hope that many through the ages have had; a hope that God fully intended for us to have.  God warned us against ignoring the hope that end-times prophecy gives us in I Thessalonians 5:19 when he said "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.  Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil."

There is a reason Christ warned his end-times followers 13 times in the New Testament to not be deceived, and to watch and be ready.  He wanted us to be excited about His glorious appearing.

Satan, on the other hand, does not want us to be excited.  He is the master deceiver and wants us to believe his deception rather than the signs of Christ's return given to us by Jesus himself.  He will send many to deceive us and to rob us of the joy of living every day in anticipation of Christ's return.

For those who believe that the Bible is the Truth and is the very word of God, it's easy to believe in and rejoice in the prophecies that tell of the rapture of God's Church.  The Bible tells us of others who have been taken up into heaven in very much the same way that we will be at the time of the rapture.  Elijah was taken up into heaven, like a whirlwind.

II Kings 2:11-12 "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father!  My father!  The chariots and horsemen of Israel!  And Elisha saw him no more."

Enoch was also taken from this life so that he would not experience death.

Hebrews 11:5  "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because god had taken him away. for before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

So, when will the church be raptured?  We know there is more evidence today that He is coming for His Church soon, than at any other time in history.  As these signs intensify, all of us who know Christ as our savior will be looking toward heaven and awaiting the coming of our Lord. 

Many biblical scholars feel that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation Period, or a pre-tribulation rapture.  Because God want to spare his Church from the persecutions of the Antichrist, and the wrath of God that will fall upon the inhabitants of the Earth during the end times.  Those who come to Christ following the rapture will live through the persecution of Christians by the Antichrist, and even martyrdom for their faith.  There are several other views of the timing for the rapture of the Church, however, here we will examine the pre-tribulation view and the biblical support for it.

One of the best supporting verses from the Bible for the rapture of the Church is found in Revelation 3:10.

"Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth."

This verse is a promise made by Christ to one of His seven churches, the church of Philadelphia.  The hour of trial Jesus speaks of in this verse is the period of time that our Lord calls the "great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:21).

There are many verses in the Bible that describe the rapture.  Christians in the first century church were so driven by the coming of their Lord and savior in the end-times that they shared their faith everywhere.  Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church in I Thessalonians 1:6-10

And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.  For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place.  Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.  For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and  true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

This belief in being taken up to meet Christ is the essence of hope.  A hope that Satan will fight and challenge with all of his might.

We also read the following in I Thessalonians 4:16-18

 "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 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 in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage each other with these words."

The Lord will shout a loud command as he descends from heaven, and we will hear the voice of the archangel, perhaps to lead Israel during the seven years of tribulation as he did in the Old Testament.  It should be an encouragement to all of us in these times of lust, greed, corruption, self-centeredness and resistance to all things that are of God.

I Corinthians 15:51-53 says, "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed.

 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable first, and we shall all be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality." 

 The Greek word here is harpadso, meaning "snatched up" to be with Christ.  When Christ comes to set up his earthly kingdom at the end of the tribulation, He will come with power and the holy angels to bind Satan, and to deal with the earthly Kings who are gathered at Jerusalem to oppose Him.  When He comes for his Church at the time of the Rapture, He will leave his Father's house and come in the clouds to call the dead in Christ and then the living church to "come up hither," where they will join with each other in the clouds to live with Him in His Father's house.  Belief in this kind of resurrection was common among the Jews of that day.  Martha believed Jesus when he challenged her to understand the coming resurrection of the dead.  She responded to Jesus, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last days."