Most of us know or have heard the famous rapture verses, and perhaps no passages of Scripture are more closely associated with the rapture than 1 Corinthians 15:51–53 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17.
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:51–53)
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thess 4:16–17)
On these two verses hang all the rapture books, movies, and sermons. But how accurate are these depictions of the resurrection once they are compared to what the Bible says? Let’s take some time to look closely at the Word of God and let it be the authority.
First, we must understand that the modern rapture view is a fairly new interpretation of Scripture on the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the just. This view is commonly associated with John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), a leader among the Plymouth Brethren movement and a principal figure in the development of dispensational theology. This theological system teaches that God's dealings with mankind are revealed through distinct periods, or dispensations, throughout biblical history. (Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism; Weber, Living in the Shadow of the Second Coming)
These teachings later gained wider influence through the work of Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, an American minister and writer. Scofield authored The Scofield Reference Bible, first published in 1909. The volume sold more than 10 million copies and became one of the most influential study Bibles of the twentieth century. By placing dispensational interpretations alongside the biblical text in its study notes, Scofield established a pattern that was followed by many subsequent study Bibles, further contributing to the influence of dispensational theology. Dispensationalism gained further influence through Bible colleges, seminaries, and theological institutions that taught it to generations of pastors and missionaries, who then spread this doctrine throughout the church. (Scofield, Scofield Reference Bible; Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism)
However, does this rapture interpretation line up with Scripture? More importantly, should the body of Christ be concerned if it does not?