Jesus Himself made the promise to return for the Church in John 14:2-3. He said, “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that were I am, there you may be also.”

Around A.D. 62, the apostle Peter also emphasized the importance of this blessed event. He wrote, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Peter 1:13).

Indeed, the Bible mentions the Second Coming of Christ nearly 400 times. Clearly, this is of great importance in the eyes of God.

In the Greek, the Second Coming of Christ is called the parousia, also referred to as the Revelation of Jesus Christ, or the apokalypsis. This event is to be the motivating force of every Christian. It is to be our motivation to sanctification, to holiness, to hope, to peace, and good works. For when the Lord Jesus comes, He is coming for a bride “without spot or wrinkle” (Eph. 5:27).

“Therefore”, Peter exhorts us, “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, `Be holy, for I am holy.'” (1 Peter 1:13-16).

The joy and the expectation that surrounds this event is well-deserved. What a joyous event this will be. But what exactly will happen at when the Lord comes? And where can the rapture be found in the Bible?

One of the most glorious descriptions can be found in 1 Thess. 4:16-18:

“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.”

And what an amazing sight that will be! There will be a loud blast of a heavenly trumpet, drawing all eyes to the sky. The clouds will roll back — I am imaging something like the powerful billowing clouds of dust beneath the rocketing space shuttle, only in reverse, from the sky —  Jesus will appear in a blaze of glory. Then, as the world stands amazed, the ground will shake and the earth will begin to crack. Millions of believers who “sleep in Christ” will burst from the grave to be transformed into perfect, incorruptible bodies. In the next moment, living believers — “those who are alive and remain” — will also be transformed, and all will be lifted up into the sky to be with Jesus forever.

No more death, no more sorrow, no more crying (Rev. 21:4). No wonder it is called the blessed hope! Although the word “rapture” is never used in the Bible, it is from this verse that the word comes. The Latin word for “caught up” is rapere.

Paul describes this moment again in 1 Cor. 15:51-54:

“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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: `Death is swallowed up in victory.'”

For Christians, what a blessed moment this will be. But for unbelievers, what a terrifying one! Can you imagine? The God they have blasphemed and disbelieved will appear in the sky, gather together His children (Matt. 24:31), and take them home. And, as in the days of Noah, they will know that He has come to judge their sin. But first, He has taken His children out of harm's way — and they have missed it.

“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” (Matt. 24:30-31).

“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” (Rev. 1:7).

I believe that many will get saved at that moment, but they will also have to endure the most terrifying period in world history — the last half of the 70th Week. This is why the first half of the 70th Week, which Jesus describes in Matthew 24, will be one of intense evangelism. Once the Antichrist confirms the seven-year treaty with Israel (Dan. 9:24), Christians will know that the countdown has begun and the most intense period of missionary work in world history will begin.

This is one of the reasons for the detailed, chronological descriptions of the 70th Week in Revelation. God, in His mercy, has supplied us with the greatest witnessing tool ever devised — detailed prophetic scripture, which we will be able to watch unfold like pages in a book. Even after the rapture, people will be able to pick up a Bible to see the unfolding revelation of God.

So, gird up the loins of your mind, for the time is short. There are many seeds to be planted, and there can be no harvest without seeds. For as Jesus Himself lamented, “The harvest is truly plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:37).

Recommended reading on the rapture debate