What happens at the rapture according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17?
At the rapture, the Lord Himself descends from heaven with a shout. Then those who are alive and remain are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The term rapture is coined from this catching up to meet the Lord in the air.
Les explains that 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. Verse 17 then says we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. He points out that those words are what the term rapture has been coined from: caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
More Questions
What is 1 Thessalonians 4:17 describing when it says believers are caught up?
In 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul is talking about himself and believers, and these verses are what we refer to as the rapture of the church, the being caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
How fast will the rapture happen?
The rapture will happen suddenly, in a split second, with believers instantly taken out of here.
When does the rapture happen relative to the resurrection of the dead?
The rapture of living believers occurs after the resurrected saints are reunited with their new bodies and souls/spirits Christ brought.
What does the word raptured mean in the Bible?
The term 'raptured' means 'caught up' in the King James Version, and that is where the term comes from.