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The view by the majority of evangelicals today is that there will be a rapture, per 1 Thess 4 and those living on earth will be "changed in the twinkling of the eye" per 1 Cor 15:52 and then be taken up to heaven. All this will occur before the Great Tribulation.
One small problem. There are no verses showing Jesus taking resurrection/raptured believers to heaven. In fact, the very word "rapture" isn't found in Scripture. The biblical word for living believers receiving their glorified bodies is "gathered".
Matt 24-
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earthwill mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
v.29 identifies the timing of this gathering to e "immediately after the distress", which is a reference to the Great Tribulation.
v.31 mentions a trumpet call, and angels will "gather His elect from one end of the heavens to the other". This is essentially what 1 Cor 15:52 says.
1 Cor 15-
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
The red words refer to ALL the saints already in heaven, who will accompany Christ to earth at the Second Advent. The blue words refers to all the believers alive on earth when He comes.
It is a common view among pre-tribulationists that the resurrection will be in "stages", or "waves" or a "series" of events, all of which is needed to accomodate the different verses that deal with resurrection.
However, the Bible is clear that there will be only ONE event, called the resurrection.
Luke 14:14 - and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Acts 24:15 - and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. This means one for each.
Both Jesus and Paul spoke of the resurrection of the saved in the singular.
1 Cor 15:23 - But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
This verse speaks of the resurrection of "the righteous". The red words is Christ's resurrection and called "the firstfruits" because He was the first human to receive a glorified body.
The blue words tell us when the singular resurrection will occur, which is the Second Advent.
The green words refers to ALL believers from Adam on.
So, iow, all believers will participate in that singular event called "the resurrection".
One more passage that shows when this event will take place and what happens after believers are resurrected.
Rev 20-
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
The red words refer to Tribulation martyrs, and how they died and why.
The blue words refer to their resurrection when they receive their glorified bodies, and shows what they do after receiving their resurrection bodies; they will reign with Christ for the Millennial reign of Christ. So this will include ALL believers, since all believers will receive their glorified bodies at the same event.
The green words clearly describe this resurrection as the "FIRST" resurrection.
Since there is only one resurrection for saved people, it occurs at the Second Advent when Jesus Christ returns to earth to reign on earth for 1,000 years.
So, there is no trip to heaven after the dead and living saints receive their glorified bodies.
One small problem. There are no verses showing Jesus taking resurrection/raptured believers to heaven. In fact, the very word "rapture" isn't found in Scripture. The biblical word for living believers receiving their glorified bodies is "gathered".
Matt 24-
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earthwill mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
v.29 identifies the timing of this gathering to e "immediately after the distress", which is a reference to the Great Tribulation.
v.31 mentions a trumpet call, and angels will "gather His elect from one end of the heavens to the other". This is essentially what 1 Cor 15:52 says.
1 Cor 15-
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
The red words refer to ALL the saints already in heaven, who will accompany Christ to earth at the Second Advent. The blue words refers to all the believers alive on earth when He comes.
It is a common view among pre-tribulationists that the resurrection will be in "stages", or "waves" or a "series" of events, all of which is needed to accomodate the different verses that deal with resurrection.
However, the Bible is clear that there will be only ONE event, called the resurrection.
Luke 14:14 - and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Acts 24:15 - and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. This means one for each.
Both Jesus and Paul spoke of the resurrection of the saved in the singular.
1 Cor 15:23 - But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
This verse speaks of the resurrection of "the righteous". The red words is Christ's resurrection and called "the firstfruits" because He was the first human to receive a glorified body.
The blue words tell us when the singular resurrection will occur, which is the Second Advent.
The green words refers to ALL believers from Adam on.
So, iow, all believers will participate in that singular event called "the resurrection".
One more passage that shows when this event will take place and what happens after believers are resurrected.
Rev 20-
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
The red words refer to Tribulation martyrs, and how they died and why.
The blue words refer to their resurrection when they receive their glorified bodies, and shows what they do after receiving their resurrection bodies; they will reign with Christ for the Millennial reign of Christ. So this will include ALL believers, since all believers will receive their glorified bodies at the same event.
The green words clearly describe this resurrection as the "FIRST" resurrection.
Since there is only one resurrection for saved people, it occurs at the Second Advent when Jesus Christ returns to earth to reign on earth for 1,000 years.
So, there is no trip to heaven after the dead and living saints receive their glorified bodies.