The Rapture is Elevation

The Old Testament contains about 1,500 references to the Second Coming of Christ and more than 300 in
the New Testament. By the way, of every three verses in the New Testament, one refers to that
momentous event of the end times. According to the Holy Scriptures, the return of Jesus Christ to this earth
will be carried out in two phases. We call the first of these phases The Rapture and the second The
Revelation or Manifestation.

According to the most enduring prophetic word, the puzzle of history is missing a few pieces to
complete. Most of the pieces are already in place. They have been placed as you progress through your
course the stream of history. Among the missing pieces are: The Tribunal of Christ, The Wedding of the Lamb,
The Manifestation of the Antichrist, The Great Tribulation, The Armageddon Campaign, The Revelation or
Manifestation or current return of Christ to the earth in great power and glory, The Millennium, The Final Rebellion of
Satan, The Judgment of the Great White Throne and the New Heavens and the New Earth.

According to the eschatological scheme, the next event that is to take place is the Rapture or the transfer of the Church to
Heaven. The rapture or snatching away is the first phase of the Second Coming of Christ.

The word 'rapture' is not found in the Bible. But that does not make the doctrine of the rapture any less biblical.
Reina-Valera Bible, as well as a good part of the Spanish Bible versions, use the word
''abduction'' instead of abduction. We will use the word ''abduction'' throughout these discussions for
the various shades of meaning that the word 'abduction' carries. These nuances are compatible with
the multicolored details of the biblical idea of the rapture or translation to heaven.

The word 'rapto' is derived from the Latin 'rapio' or 'raptio.' It means what is taken from or upwards.
The Spanish dictionary defines the word 'rapto' as 'impulse or fit of passion'. It says that it comes from 'raptar' and raptar.
it means 'to commit a kidnapping or theft'. The dictionary also adds the meaning of 'ecstasy or rapture' to
this word. The idea of joy is therefore involved. Rapture also includes the idea of 'transfer from one place to
another

All these nuances are included in the idea of the thief from the Scriptures who unexpectedly assaults at night.
This analogy represents Christ as a thief who suddenly appears and snatches away the.
Church taking her out of the world, elevates her, transfers her to her ecstasy and rapture in the clouds. The raptor's claw.
it connotes the speed at which the transfer takes place.

We will therefore use the words 'outburst', 'elevation', 'translation', and 'abduction' interchangeably.

The New Testament, originally written in Koine Greek, uses at least five words in connection
with the advent or coming of Christ for the second time. Some of these words have their equivalent or
own and Spanish translation, while the others have been forced into our language by transliterating them, that is to say
castellanizing them. The first of these five words is of course the word 'arrival.' The second is
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"parousia" (which, believe it or not, appears in the dictionary of our language transliterated). The third
es la palabra''arrebato'', la cuarta es la palabra''epifanía''y la quinta la palabra''revelación''.

The word 'coming' is a general term that covers both aspects of the Lord's return, that is, the Rapture and
the Revelation or Manifestation. The word parousia, which we have already noted appears transliterated in the
Spanish dictionary, it also describes both aspects of the coming of the Lord and means 'presence'. It has to
to see with the presence of a high-ranking official or a dignitary who comes to visit a town. The
the word ''rapture'', contrary to what happens with the words ''coming'' or ''parousia'' used for the two phases of the
The coming of Christ is used in the New Testament solely to designate the first aspect of this coming.
kidnapping. The word 'epiphany' means 'to appear' or 'appearance' and is used exclusively to designate
exclusively the second phase of the coming of the Lord. The word 'revelation' is used only for
to signify the first phase of the coming of Christ.

In summary, 'coming' and 'parousia' refer to the two facets, the Rapture and the Revelation. 'Snatching away' is related.
The rapture only and 'epiphany' and 'revelation' are used exclusively for the Revelation or Manifestation.
We will use 'rapture' or its equivalents 'snatching', 'elevation' or 'translation' (transfer) to refer to this.
first phase and 'revelation' to mean the second. There are three weighings in the New Testament that we could
call 'keys' regarding the doctrine of the rapture: John 14:2-3, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-
18. In the Bible translated by Eloíno Nácar Fuster and Alberto Colunga Cueto, better known as the 'Bible
From Nácar-Colunga, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 reads as follows:

We do not want, brothers, that you be ignorant concerning the fate of those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve.
as others who lack hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God
Jesus will take with him those who have fallen asleep in Him. This we say to you as a word from the Lord: that we, the
the living, we who remain for the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep; for the same
Lord, at a command, at the voice of the archangel, at the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead
In Christ, the dead will rise first; then we who are alive, who remain, will be with them.
caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Comfort one another,
well, mutually with these words.

We note broadly that this passage offers comfort for living Christians regarding Christians.
dead. He asserts that when the Lord comes, living Christians will not have an advantage over those who have died,
For the dead in Christ will rise first. Then those of us who are alive will be transformed.
bodily. The essence, though not the appearance, of our bodies will be changed. Although all the
Christians will not die, we will all be transformed. And then, the claw that takes us to space.
We will be lifted there suddenly without the need for a launch platform, without the motorization of a
rocket or spacecraft, not special, without the clothing worn by astronauts. The transformation of
the living and the dead in Christ will be provided with a body suited for interstellar space travel. What a day of ecstasy, of
gibberish and taste for the Christian and for Christ himself!

Note that the passage speaks only of believers in Christ. It does not focus on the destiny of the non.
Christians. The passage deals with those who, through their personal faith in the Crucified, now participate in the transfer to the
Mansion where Christ is to be there forever with Him.

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 Christ's promise to his own in John 14:2-3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself"
I will take myself, so that where I am you may be also," is now becoming a reality for
his followers. The unconverted have no part in this transfer. They will be perplexed watching how the
"winners" rise and as the "losers" are left behind. The Rapture therefore is a point where
Christians and non-Christians part ways. It establishes the great separation between the sacred and the profane; the
believers and nonbelievers; converts and nonconverts; true Christians and false Christians;
among the Christians of Christ and the nominal Christians.

The Rapture is Imminent.

The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church is presented in the New Testament as a hope.
imminent and expectant. That the coming of Christ is 'imminent' simply means that he can come in
any moment. Nothing needs to happen before HE comes. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before
that He comes. It could be today. Such expectation has abundant support in the testimony of the Scriptures:

1. (John 14:3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where
I am, you all be too.
2. (Romans 13:11) And this, knowing the time, that it is now high time to awake out of sleep; for now
Our salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
3. (1 Corinthians 1:7) So that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
4. (1 Corinthians 11:26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death.
Lord, you announce until He comes.
5. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed.
transformed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound
trumpet, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be transformed.
6. (1 Corinthians 16:22) If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. The Lord comes.
7. (Philippians 3:20) But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also await the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
8. (Philippians 4:5) Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is near.
When Christ, your life, is manifested, then you also will be
manifested with him in glory.
10. (1 Thessalonians 1:10) And to wait for His Son, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from
the coming wrath.
11. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
12. (Titus 2:13) Waiting for the blessed hope and the glorious manifestation of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ.
13. (Hebrews 9:28) So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and
He will appear a second time, unrelated to sin, to save those who are waiting for him.

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 14. (Hebrews 10:25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another;
and all the more as you see the day approaching.
15. (Santiago 5:8) Be patient also, and establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Sir is approaching.
16. (1 John 2:28; 3:3) And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have...
confidence, so that at his coming we may not be ashamed away from him.
17. (Jude 21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for
eternal life.
18. (Revelation 22:20) He who testifies to these things says: Surely I come quickly. Amen; yes,
Come, Lord Jesus. (comp. Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12).

As the previous passages indicate, believers are to be constantly waiting and anticipating.
yearning for His coming and His manifestation. We must wish and eagerly await the manifestation.
glorious of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). It is interesting that we are not told
that we wait for the man of sin (the antichrist) to be revealed. We are not told to wait for the
144,000 Jews who will be sealed by God during the 70th week of Daniel. We are not told to wait.
that 'the abominable desolation' be seen in Jerusalem. We are told to wait for the Lord Jesus himself.

None of the events of the Tribulation will happen before the rapture of the Church; otherwise, the
The Rapture would not be imminent. If the Rapture were to take place only at some point during the last 3
1/2 years (as the pre-tribulation viewpoint teaches), this would destroy the doctrine of the imminence of the return of
Christ. We would know that before the Rapture occurs, it would be necessary for the treaty with Israel to be made.
beginning of week 70 of Daniel (Daniel 9:27) and the 'abomination of desolation' would have to be seen in the
Holy place in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel (Matthew 24:15). We would be expecting that to happen.
these things, before we could even start to hope that Christ would come for His Church.

Was Paul expecting the imminent return of Christ? Paul expected Christ to come for him,
because he was considered part of the group that would be alive on earth at the time of the Rapture. Note that Paul...
includes himself when using the personal pronoun WE—"WE who live, who will have
stayed until the coming of the Lord, we will not precede those who have fallen asleep.....Then WE who
we who are left will be caught up together with them in the air, and so we will be
always with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:15,17). By the way, we now know that Paul was not part of the
group of believers who would be alive at the time of the Rapture. Instead, he was part of the group of the
"dead in Christ" mentioned in verse 16 (who are also described as "those who
"they slept"—verse 15). But since he believed in the imminent return of Christ, Paul thought that he
would find among the believers who would be alive on earth at the moment when Christ comes for His
Church.

THE ABDUCTION

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 As taught by the Lord (John 14:1-3) As taught by Paul (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

Words of Comfort
Let not your heart be troubled encourage one another with these
words
THE NEED FOR A PERSONAL FAITH
Believe in God, believe also in me. if we believe that Jesus died and resurrected, so
God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in
he
WE CAN TAKE CHRIST AT HIS WORD
If it weren't so, I would have told you. we tell you this in the word of the Lord
THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING
I will come again the Lord himself will descend from heaven
THE NOTABLE TRANSFER FROM THE EARTH
and I will take you to myself we will be caught up to meet the Lord in
the air
PRESENT WITH THE LORD FOREVER
that where I am, you may be also and thus we will be with the Lord forever
you be

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