Question from Q&A: The Rapture

Thank you for your thoughtful question about the rapture, as it reflects a deep desire to understand God’s Word and its implications for our faith. Asking questions is vital for Christians, as it fosters spiritual growth, strengthens our trust in Scripture, and equips us to live out our faith with clarity and confidence. Engaging with challenging topics like eschatology not only deepens our understanding of God’s promises but also encourages us to seek truth diligently, as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11), ensuring our beliefs are rooted in biblical wisdom rather than assumption. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7)—it’s a beautiful part of the Christian journey!

The first question to address is this: “The word ‘rapture’ is never mentioned in the Bible.”

In response, this is an important observation, but one that should not discourage us. Many essential doctrines are not tied to a single term in Scripture. For example, the doctrine of the Trinity is never named explicitly in the Old or New Testament, yet the reality of the Triune God is clearly revealed (cf. Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14). As Millard Erickson notes, “The absence of the word Trinity does not negate the reality of the doctrine, which emerges from the pattern of biblical teaching” (Christian Theology, 3rd ed., 200). In the same way, the absence of the English word rapture does not nullify the teaching.

The concept of the rapture comes directly from 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where Paul writes that believers will be “caught up” (harpazō in Greek). The Latin Vulgate translates this as rapiemur, from which we get the term rapture. John Ritchie observes: “The English word Rapture does not appear in Scripture; it means to be caught up and transported from one place to another and is thus a convenient term for describing the event recorded in 1 Thess 4:13–18 where, incidentally, the Greek word for “caught up” (harpazō) is found in v. 17.” ( What the Bible Teaches. John Ritchie, 151). Therefore, while the word itself is not found in English Bibles, the teaching is both scriptural and theologically sound.

The second question to address is this: “Going back to the Hebrew, ‘the air’ refers to the ‘breath of life,’ in reference to meeting in the air.”

In response, this is an intriguing thought, and one that deserves more study. Scripture does often connect God’s Spirit, breath, and life in profound ways (Gen. 2:7; Ezek. 37:9–10). While Paul’s use of air (aēr in Greek, 1 Thess. 4:17) seems primarily to denote the atmospheric sky, the imagery of breath and life certainly resonates with the biblical theme of God breathing life into His people. Leon Morris points out that the imagery in 1 Thessalonians is “both personal and dramatic, emphasizing the immediacy of the encounter with Christ” (The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, NICNT, 142). Though I cannot make a definitive statement without more research, it is a thought-provoking suggestion worth deeper exploration.

The last question to address is this: “Why are our bodies going to rise up when we are already present with the Lord at the moment of death? (‘To be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord.’)”

In response, this touches on one of the central truths of Christian hope. Paul affirms that to be “away from the body” is indeed to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8; cf. Phil. 1:23). Yet this state, often called the “intermediate state,” is not the final goal. God created humanity as embodied souls—united body and spirit (Gen. 2:7). As Anthony Hoekema explains, “The Scriptures clearly teach that man is a unity, and that “body and soul” (Matt. 10:28) or “body and spirit” (1 Cor. 7:34; Jas. 2:26) belong together. Only in this kind of psychosomatic unity is man complete.” (The Bible and the Future, 95).

The Old Testament already looked forward to resurrection: Job confessed, “And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26), and Daniel prophesied that “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Dan. 12:2). In the New Testament, Paul proclaims: “The dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). Similarly, Philippians 3:20–21 declares that Christ will transform “our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”

Thus, when Christ returns, the souls of believers who are already with Him will be reunited with their glorified bodies (1 Thess. 4:14–16). This fulfills God’s design for humanity—not as incomplete, bodiless spirits, but as whole, redeemed beings who will reign with Christ in the new creation (Rev. 21:1–4).

As Proverbs reminds us: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). May these questions sharpen our faith and strengthen our hope in the promises of God’s Word.