Bible prophecy topic

The Rapture

Who is caught up, when, and why the timing matters. 10 questions, each answered from the books of Apostle Mary Banks with the scriptures it rests on.

• What is the Rapture?

  The rapture is the moment when the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible and living believers are changed and gathered to meet the Lord, an event Scripture places at the sound of the last trumpet, after the great tribulation, not at Revelation 4:1 as many suppose.

• When will the Church be raptured?

  According to this teaching, the Church will not be raptured at Revelation chapter 4, as many suppose, but after the Great Tribulation, when the seventh (last) trumpet sounds and the mystery of God is finished, just before the wrath of God is poured out on the earth.

• Will the Church go through the Tribulation?

  Yes, Scripture teaches that the Church will remain on earth through the Great Tribulation and be persecuted by the Antichrist, but the Church will not experience the Day of the Lord, which is the outpouring of God's wrath, since believers are not appointed to that wrath.

• Who was raptured when Christ rose from the dead?

  When Christ rose from the dead, the graves of many sleeping saints, including the Old Patriarchs who had been held captive in death, were opened, and their bodies came out of the graves and went into the holy city.

• What happens at the last trump?

  At the last trump, the seventh angel sounds and the mystery of God is finished: the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible, the living are changed, and the rapture of the Church takes place as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and His wrath begins.

• What does 1 Corinthians 15 teach about the change in a moment?

  First Corinthians 15 teaches that at the last trumpet, in a single instant, the bodies of the dead in Christ will be raised and the bodies of the living will be transformed, so that what was corruptible and mortal becomes incorruptible and immortal, and death is swallowed up in victory.

• Will the dead in Christ rise first?

  Yes. Scripture plainly teaches that the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those believers still living on earth will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

• Under which Seal does the Rapture of the Church take place?

  According to this teaching, the Rapture of the Church takes place under the Sixth Seal, which serves as a preview of the Trumpet and Vial Judgments, including the sealing of the 144,000 and the rapture of the Church.

• What is the rapture of the 144,000?

  The rapture of the 144,000 refers to the taking up of these sealed Jewish male servants of God, who are shown standing with the Lamb on Mount Sion after being sealed and protected from the wrath that is about to fall on the earth.

• Why does the timing of the Rapture matter for believers today?

  The timing of the rapture matters because it determines whether believers expect to be removed before hardship or must be spiritually prepared to endure persecution, the mark of the beast era, and the trumpet judgments while remaining faithful to Christ.