The Rapture

Epistles of Paul, most notably in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ("the dead in Christ shall rise first") and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, a trumpet is described as blowing at the end of the tribulation to herald the return of Christ; Revelation 11:15 further supports this view.

Wondering about the end times and the rapture can cause confusion, worry and fear for a lot of people, even Christians! For ages people have tried to figure out the exact and time that the prophecy of Jesus's return will happen. The best place to turn for answers about the rapture is Scripture! We have compiled Bible verses about the rapture for you to read and study. God tells us everything we need to know in the Bible. There are some things that God has left a mystery for us. Let us be confident in what He has revealed and live a life of joy knowing we will spend eternity in heaven! 

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  1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV / 615 helpful votes

  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

  Revelation 3:10 ESV / 431 helpful votes

  Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

  1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV / 430 helpful votes

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

  Matthew 24:1-51 ESV / 421 helpful votes

  Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ...

  Revelation 1:7 ESV / 331 helpful votes

  Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

  1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV / 307 helpful votes

  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, and we shall be changed.

  1 Thessalonians 5:2 ESV / 302 helpful votes

  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

  1 Thessalonians 4:1-18 ESV / 299 helpful votes

  Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; ...

  Titus 2:13 ESV / 293 helpful votes

  Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

  1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV / 286 helpful votes

  For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ESV / 282 helpful votes

  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

  Philippians 3:20-21 ESV / 256 helpful votes

  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

  Matthew 24:42 ESV / 245 helpful votes

  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ESV / 229 helpful votes

  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

  Mark 13:32 ESV / 229 helpful votes

  “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

  Luke 17:34-37 ESV / 227 helpful votes

  I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

  Matthew 24:27 ESV / 226 helpful votes

  For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

  Matthew 24:30-31 ESV / 222 helpful votes

  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

  John 14:3 ESV / 218 helpful votes

  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

  Matthew 24:36 ESV / 217 helpful votes

  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

  Matthew 24:29-31 ESV / 214 helpful votes

  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

  2 Peter 3:10 ESV / 213 helpful votes

  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

  Daniel 12:1 ESV / 201 helpful votes

  “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

  John 14:1-3 ESV / 197 helpful votes

  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

  1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ESV / 187 helpful votes

  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all 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, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

  Acts 1:9-11 ESV / 186 helpful votes

  And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

  2 Thessalonians 2:8 ESV / 183 helpful votes

  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

  1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ESV / 180 helpful votes

  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all 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, and we shall be changed.

  Matthew 24:31 ESV / 177 helpful votes

  And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

  Luke 21:34-36 ESV / 169 helpful votes

  “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV / 168 helpful votes

  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ...

  Daniel 12:1-2 ESV / 167 helpful votes

  “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

  Mark 13:32-37 ESV / 165 helpful votes

  “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. ...

  Hebrews 9:28 ESV / 160 helpful votes

  So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

  John 17:15 ESV / 160 helpful votes

  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

  Luke 17:37 ESV / 158 helpful votes

  And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

  Matthew 24:30 ESV / 158 helpful votes

  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

  1 Corinthians 15:51 ESV / 155 helpful votes

  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

  Daniel 9:24-27 ESV / 155 helpful votes

  “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

  Luke 12:40 ESV / 150 helpful votes

  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

  Luke 17:1-37 ESV / 147 helpful votes

  And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ...

  Revelation 20:2-5 ESV / 142 helpful votes

  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

  Luke 17:34 ESV / 141 helpful votes

  I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.

  1 Thessalonians 5:3 ESV / 140 helpful votes

  While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

  2 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV / 138 helpful votes

  Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

  Daniel 9:27 ESV / 135 helpful votes

  And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

  1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV / 133 helpful votes

  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

  Revelation 20:4 ESV / 132 helpful votes

  Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

  Acts 1:11 ESV / 130 helpful votes

  And said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

  Revelation 19:11-16 ESV / 128 helpful votes

  Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ...

  Revelation 22:12 ESV / 127 helpful votes

  “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.

  Luke 17:35-37 ESV / 126 helpful votes

  There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

  Matthew 25:1-46 ESV / 123 helpful votes

  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ...

  Romans 10:9 ESV / 119 helpful votes

  Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

  1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 ESV / 118 helpful votes

  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

  Colossians 3:4 ESV / 110 helpful votes

  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

  Revelation 12:14 ESV / 108 helpful votes

  But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

  2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 ESV / 108 helpful votes

  Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

  Romans 5:9 ESV / 107 helpful votes

  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

  Matthew 24:21 ESV / 106 helpful votes

  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

  Revelation 7:14 ESV / 102 helpful votes

  I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

  2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 ESV / 102 helpful votes

  Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

  Revelation 11:15-19 ESV / 101 helpful votes

  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

  1 Thessalonians 2:19 ESV / 101 helpful votes

  For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

  Matthew 26:64 ESV / 101 helpful votes

  Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

  Psalm 91:1-16 ESV / 101 helpful votes

  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...

  1 Thessalonians 5:4 ESV / 99 helpful votes

  But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

  Matthew 16:27 ESV / 99 helpful votes

  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

  Matthew 24:44 ESV / 95 helpful votes

  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

  Matthew 24:37-42 ESV / 95 helpful votes

  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ...

  Jeremiah 30:7 ESV / 95 helpful votes

  Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

  Matthew 24:21-22 ESV / 94 helpful votes

  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

  Revelation 12:1-17 ESV / 93 helpful votes

  And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, ...

  Jude 1:14 ESV / 93 helpful votes

  It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,

  Revelation 19:14 ESV / 92 helpful votes

  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

  Matthew 13:24-30 ESV / 92 helpful votes

  He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ...

  1 Peter 1:13 ESV / 91 helpful votes

  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

  Matthew 28:20 ESV / 91 helpful votes

  Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

  Matthew 24:22 ESV / 91 helpful votes

  And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

  1 Thessalonians 4:13 ESV / 89 helpful votes

  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

  Luke 21:36 ESV / 89 helpful votes

  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

  Mark 14:62 ESV / 88 helpful votes

  And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

  Matthew 13:1-58 ESV / 87 helpful votes

  That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ...

  Acts 1:9 ESV / 86 helpful votes

  And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

  Revelation 3:1-22 ESV / 85 helpful votes

  “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ...

  1 Corinthians 15:1-58 ESV / 85 helpful votes

  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ...

  Daniel 12:1-13 ESV / 85 helpful votes

  “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ...

  Daniel 7:1-28 ESV / 85 helpful votes

  In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ...

  John 14:1-31 ESV / 83 helpful votes

  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ...

  Matthew 25:31 ESV / 83 helpful votes

  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

  Matthew 13:30 ESV / 83 helpful votes

  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

  Daniel 12:7 ESV / 83 helpful votes

  And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

  Revelation 6:14-17 ESV / 80 helpful votes

  The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

  Philippians 3:20 ESV / 79 helpful votes

  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

  John 3:16 ESV / 79 helpful votes

  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

  Matthew 24:34 ESV / 79 helpful votes

  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

  Mark 13:24-27 ESV / 77 helpful votes

  “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

  Matthew 25:1-13 ESV / 72 helpful votes

  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ...

  Matthew 24:40 ESV / 71 helpful votes

  Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.

  Mark 13:1-37 ESV / 70 helpful votes

  
  

  And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. ...

  
  

  
  

  2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

  
  

  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)

  
  

  
  

  The rapture is an eschatological concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with the resurrected dead believers, will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air". This theory grew out of the translations of the Bible that John Nelson Darby analyzed in 1833. It was promulgated by the cultfollowers of Darbyism, a doctrine that has been deemed heretical by most mainstream Christians. ^[1][2] Some adherents believe this event is predicted and described in Paul the Apostle's First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible,^[3] where he uses the Greek harpazo (Ancient Greek: ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch away or seize. Though it has been used differently in the past, the term is now often used by certain believers to distinguish this particular event from the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Earth, mentioned in Second Thessalonians, Gospel of Matthew, First Corinthians, and Revelation, often viewing it as preceding the Second Coming and followed by a 1,000 year millennial kingdom.^[4] Adherents of this perspective are sometimes referred to as premillenial dispensationalists, but amongst them there are differing viewpoints about the exact timing of the event.

The term "rapture" is especially useful in discussing or disputing the exact timing or the scope of the event, particularly when asserting the "pre-tribulation" view that the rapture will occur before, not during, the Second Coming, with or without an extended Tribulation period.^[5] The term is most frequently used among Christian theologians and fundamentalist Christians in the United States.^[6] Other uses of "rapture" were simply as a term for any mystical union with God or for eternal life in Heaven with God.^[7]

There are differing views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return, such as whether it will occur in one event or two, and the meaning of the aerial gathering described in 1 Thessalonians 4. The majority of Christian churches do not subscribe to rapture-oriented theological views. Though the term 'rapture' is derived from the text of the Latin Vulgate of 1 Thess. 4:17, "we will be caught up", (Latin: rapiemur), Catholics, as well as Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mormons,^[8] the United Methodist Church,^[9] United Church of Christ and most Reformed Christians, do not generally use "rapture" as a specific theological term, nor do any of these bodies subscribe to the premillennialist dispensationalist theological views associated with its use, but do believe in the phenomenon—primarily in the sense of the elect gathering with Christ in Heaven after his Second Coming.^[10][11][12] These denominations do not believe that a group of people is left behind on earth for an extended Tribulation period after the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.^[13]

Pre-tribulation rapture theology originated in the eighteenth century with the Puritan preachers Increase and Cotton Mather and was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby^[14][15] and the Plymouth Brethren,^[16] and further in the United States by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20th century.^[17]