The Other View of the Rapture

The Rapture’s meaning, point in time, and the event itself, taking into account the special nature of Christ’s body, the Church.

Who are we? Where do we belong? And what is it that we belong to? When we have clear answers to these questions, we can also discern when we can expect the Rapture. In this respect, it’s essential to have perspective (often in decline!) when speaking about the Rapture, because we lose sight of the big picture. To that end, I’d like to consider the following questions with the goal of clarifying them.

1. What does the Rapture mean?
Don’t we often think that the Rapture can’t be of any great importance, since the Bible says so little about it? But no! The fact of the Rapture doesn’t by any means occupy a subordinate or trivial position.

We are familiar with sayings like, “That’s just the cherry on top.” The Rapture is the cherry on salvation’s sundae. It has a conclusive, crowning status. Every pending promise made to the Church of Jesus Christ will be obtained through it. That’s why Paul, for example, directed the infant church in Thessaloniki toward the Rapture, telling them, “encourage one another with these words.” There is currently so much that can trouble us. Isn’t a glance into the future the greatest possible comfort that we could have? The view of the Rapture. Of the cherry on top. Of, “and so we will always be with the Lord.” Could it get any better? No. In this sense, we can also practice “encourag[ing] one another with these words.”

If the Rapture is a conclusion (a “cherry on top”), then many other things must certainly have happened beforehand. So, we’re making a big mistake if we don’t consider the whole biblical context when examining the subject. This means we can’t simply stop at the “Rapture chapter,” 1 Thessalonians 4, if we want to better understand the Rapture as an event. For one thing, we need to see the entire richness of the Church. Or the facts of who we are and to whom we belong. And, these truths which Paul wrote about in his letters have something overpowering about them, which can’t be described in words—it’s almost overwhelming.

Let’s ask ourselves: Where are we with regard to the Rapture? In the time of the Church of Jesus Christ, in the Age of Grace. We have this today. We can consult one verse of the many that explains the entire state of affairs succinctly: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13).

This shows us that in this present age, every person who comes to faith belongs to the Church, the body of Christ. It’s what defines this Age of Grace. We’re members of the body of Christ. We are the body, and we belong to it. First Thessalonians 4:16 speaks of how the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. “In Christ” means those who have been baptized into His body. The Rapture also involves the members of the body.

The phrasing “in Christ” appears in the Bible more than 83 times, 80 of them written just by Paul. That speaks for itself. The body of Christ isn’t merely an illustration, but a fact of redemptive history. The Church’s blessings are heavenly, in Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven—beyond all circumstance, beyond time, beyond transience, beyond sickness, beyond all hardship. This view of the Rapture allows us to relax, and we can see certain difficulties immediately growing smaller.

Accordingly, the Rapture is the conclusion—the cherry on top—of the Age of Grace for the body of Christ. And this means two things:

For our Lord Jesus Christ: In a sense, He Himself will be completed. Through the Rapture, Jesus Christ comes into full possession of His limbs and organs. He achieves His body. Second Thessalonians 2:1 says that we will be united with Christ—more precisely, gathered into Him … to and with Christ for all time. He is the head of the Church, and God the Father “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:22-23).

Through the Rapture, our Head draws His limbs to Himself, into His fullness. Can you see this richness that you and I have been allowed to possess? We are a part of that fullness—this completion of our Savior. Doesn’t that exceed every limit of our imagination? No feeling or thought will be able to separate us. He, as your Head, will then be able to completely rule over you, in the same way that we can rule over our own bodies now. You’ll be possessed by Him as a limb that no longer fails, succumbs, or gives way. So, we could also say that Jesus Christ comes into possession of His executive authority.

In what sense? Let’s consider how it is for us. In everything that we do—whether walking or grasping for something with our hands—the command comes from the brain. Even when we’re too quick to speak, our mouth is still under the rule of the head that commands it, and the limbs act accordingly. How marvelous that God has granted this bond between the Son and His body! There’s no connection more intimate than the connection between head and limb, and that’s how closely we belong to Christ.

For us, it’s the most natural thing in the world when our hands do what we want. We should also imagine ourselves that way, as limbs of the Lord. We will fulfill the tasks that He gives us. As Paul writes, “For every one of God’s promises is ‘Yes’ in Him. Therefore, the ‘Amen’ is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory” (2 Cor 1:20, HCSB).

“By us,” the Bible says. God has determined that the “Yes” and “Amen” of all promises lie completely in Christ. Nothing gets past His precious Son. Fulfillment is in Him, and everything will be achieved through us as His executive authority, for God’s joy and to His praise. Christ uses us as His body, just as a carpenter crafts furniture with his hands. “By us…”

Isn’t it glorious that Christ is using us as a part of His body for God’s joy today, and will do so directly someday? He wants to use us for God’s joy and praise, to accomplish God’s purposes. You might feel useless sometimes, because you’re not one who is overflowing with gifts. But know this: In our Lord’s eyes, it won’t work without you. That’s the wonderful thing: God wants to use you in Christ to fulfill His promises.

Dr. Hans-Joachim Eckstein once appropriately commented, “You’re a wish that God fulfilled Himself!” And God wants you to be fulfilled to such an extent that you don’t dare wish for more. This also represents our Lord’s resurrection. He achieved that on Calvary. With His resurrection, God literally opened up heaven for us, and enabled us to achieve the tasks He intended for us.

This causes us to see a second meaning of the Rapture as a culmination, although events overlap somewhat.

For the Church, Christ’s body: Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:52), we will have no more imperfections, no more suffering, no more oppression. All of a sudden, there will be no misunderstandings, no untruths, no deception.

Let’s just imagine: all of a sudden, being with Jesus forever. From now on, an unhindered possession: the perfect representation of our life, that had been hidden with Christ in God until then. Let’s consider this fact: one body and one spirit. Everything that God promised His Son—Christ, who was made heir to all things—His body also receives.

The Rapture isn’t just the deliverance of the faithful. It is the fusion of head and body. And a head without a body (and vice versa) can do nothing. Do we belong to it? What will it be like if the Lord has to tell us one day, “I never knew you…”?

All of the limbs are raptured, because half a body won’t function as it should. Moreover, He naturally knows His own body, and very well indeed.

He also wants to use you, and will continue to in the future, in the fulfillment of His promises. “Yes” and “Amen” are in Christ, and we are His members.

2. How does the Rapture happen?
Paul describes the event for us. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then they will be collected with the living. Collected … Christ comes to meet you and fetches you.

We are fetched. Have we ever considered that God has many servants who could do that on His behalf? Angels are called ministering spirits. It would be an honor for them to fetch us, because we are exalted above the earth in Christ. But no, not just anyone will come to collect majesties. The Lord Himself comes to take away the household of God. “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” (1 Thess 4:16).

Ever since Christ ascended into heaven, He has been seated at God’s right hand. But He arises and comes toward us, in order to collect you and me. We have been given such a high position that the Lord Himself is coming to retrieve us. He comes toward us. A king doesn’t go out to meet His servants, but a king goes out to meet his family when they arrive. What will happen in heaven when the Lord collects His body? It will be said, “Now they’re coming, the joint heirs of His royal majesty and glory. They’re coming, the whole family of God’s sons and daughters, the likenesses of His nature” (cf. Rom 8:29).

How high do you consider your own worth to be? So high that the Lord Himself is coming to meet you? Consider this additional quote from Dr. Eckstein: “Whether we feel like our lives have significance and value depends less on our wealth, social status, or estimated value than on the personal appreciation that we experience from others.”

God values you! Christ is coming to meet you and collect you. That’s how great God’s love is. Let’s console ourselves with these words.

The sequence of events: When Christ comes to collect us, the command comes first: the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God sound. Everyone will be able to hear it. The Rapture won’t be a secret.

This kind of event has been obvious throughout redemptive history. When the voice from heaven spoke to the Son of God on earth (John 12:28), some said that it must have been thunder. At the Crucifixion it became dark, and many more things happened. Jesus’ enemies also became very aware of the Lord’s resurrection. However, they didn’t see the risen Lord Himself. Only His own were permitted to see Him, just as it will be at the Rapture!

The Lord Himself goes out to meet His own. First, those who died in Christ will be raised (1 Thess 4:16). After that, the Lord takes those who are still alive in Christ to Himself in an instant (v. 17). We are caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

The place of the meeting: We won’t be meeting the Lord on the Mount of Olives, or even in Jerusalem. It won’t happen at any place on this earth. This demonstrates the Church’s heavenly character: We meet our Lord in the sky. When Christ ascended into heaven, He was taken away in a cloud. Likewise, we will be caught up in the clouds. This also shows us how we will be made equal to our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and we will be there too.

And who is still ruling the air today? The prince of this world, the devil. So, isn’t this event a first sign of the reversal that is about to take place? Satan is facing the end.

Forever with the Lord: Then we will finally be one with Him, as well as all being one with each other. He is in complete possession of us, and He can fully do as He sees fit. So, He will entrust us with tasks (whatever they may be) that the Father has given to the Son. We will play a most intimate role in His work, both in judgment and in the redesign of things and relationships.

3. When can we expect the Rapture to take place?
It isn’t that we should start running calculations. There have always been misleading speculations. But, it isn’t even possible to calculate the date of the Rapture. Why? The Bible contains many numbers related to Israel, because earthly promises were made to Israel. The earth is bound to times, borders, and transience. One day Israel will have the highest possible status here on earth. But the Church has a heavenly nature, and with God there is no space or time. There are no restrictions or limiting circumstances. Everything is eternal, with no transience or flow of time. That’s why we don’t find numbers relating to the Church, the body of Christ. Its place is in heaven, outside of time and space, where Christ, her Head, is. He is fundamentally higher than the sun, moon, and stars, which are symbols of time. Moreover, in his many references to the Lord’s imminent coming, the Apostle Paul doesn’t mention a single event that would precede the Rapture.

In all of these considerations, we must always focus on the essentials. Otherwise, we will flatten the depths of God’s Word. We want to be humble, but in this case, we must not display false modesty. This isn’t just about “getting to heaven.” Rather, the Rapture shows where we belong, and the riches we possess. That’s why it’s so essential and important to always remember the nature of the Church as we read through the New Testament, including passages which concern the Rapture.

We mentioned Jesus’ executive authority, His members, earlier. Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (1 Cor 6:2a). This is one of the duties that await us: judging the world. Bearing this in mind, all of the information points to this: The Rapture is the grand finale. Paul calls us to encourage each other with these words. The Church’s citizenship is in heaven, and it has every heavenly blessing. It is the body—in a way, the completion—of Christ. The members are in Christ, and they are His executive authority. Christ is the head, and the body is collected by the Lord Himself. They meet, not on earth but in the sky. The Bible doesn’t give any numbers in relation to the church; nothing earthly. Our perspective will be from the right hand of God, with the Lord, forever. The body is also there.

Isn’t it natural that the Church, called to such an honor and ministry, won’t be on trial on that day? It can’t be the object of any divine punishment. When we look at the big picture, this turns out to be an internal necessity. Therefore, at a point in time before the Great Tribulation—which cannot be calculated—the body of Christ will be led toward the Lord, their Head, and united with Him.

Jesus has already borne the penalty of the Cross for you and me. This is precisely what shows our oneness with Him.That is our position in Christ. Someone once asked a park ranger at the Grand Canyon, where the Grand Canyon was. The ranger could only laugh; how could this visitor have missed the spectacular panorama right in front of his eyes? But isn’t that also the case for us sometimes? Paul writes the phrase “in Christ” around 80 times, and yet we still miss this Grand Canyon. This is our identity. We are in Christ, who died, rose, and is in the vast heavenly places.

When the Tribulation begins, this Lord will then open the seals—the seals of judgment (Rev 5). But until then, He remains concealed in heaven. He hasn’t publicly appeared since His Ascension. He advocates for His own, but in the background. Our life today “is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). But at the beginning of the Tribulation, the Lord acts and opens the seals. He emerges from obscurity as the only worthy One.

And will He do that, when He hasn’t yet been united with His body? Without an executive authority, which is said to be His fullness and completion? Without hands and feet? Without those who are said to help judge the world? Bearing all of this in mind, along with the close bond between His head and body, it causes us to assume a pre-Tribulation Rapture.

This could happen very soon, even today. Let this be our joy and hope, that the Lord Himself is arising to meet us. I’d like to conclude with one last quote from Dr. Eckstein, since it’s so appropriate:

“Happy are those who remember the future and find their way back to the cheer of the hopeful, who know that the most beautiful things are yet to come.”

Midnight Call - 03/2025