Resurrection of Believers (Rapture)
Matthew 24:29-31 — “Immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of
the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in heaven, 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 His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together
His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
Luke 21:28 — Now when these things begin to happen, look
up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 — Now, brethren, concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to
Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled,
either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as
though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away
comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of
perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is
called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the
temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not
remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in
his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;
only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken
out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom
the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy
with the brightness of His coming.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 — For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who
sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the
Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
an 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 together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
2 Peter 3:3-15 — knowing this first: that scoffers will
come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and
saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget:
that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of water and in the water, by which the world
that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But
the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the
same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one
thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass
away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned
up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on
fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless
we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking
forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in
peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our
beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has
written to you,
Hebrews 9:28 — so Christ was offered once to bear the
sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a
second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Revelation 1:7 — Behold, He is coming with clouds, and
every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the
tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Revelation 14:13-20 — Then I heard a voice from heaven
saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may
rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Then I
looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One
like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in
His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the
temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud,
“Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You
to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on
the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was
reaped. Then another angel came out of the temple which is in
heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came
out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a
loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in
your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the
earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his
sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and
threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came
out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one
thousand six hundred furlongs.
Revelation 3:3 — Remember therefore how you have received
and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not
watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know
what hour I will come upon you.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 — since it is a righteous
thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and
on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He
comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be
admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among
you was believed.
See Also: End Times: Putting
the Pieces in Place.