Because Christ can be trusted, we know that He will keep His promise to return for His own. He promised His disciples: “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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14: 2-3).
What Will Happen?
This event is described in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17, 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 (vv.16-17).
At a predetermined time, the Son of God will leave the Father’s side and descend toward earth. As He does, three mighty sounds will echo across the halls of heaven and sweep over the earth: a shout, the voice of an archangel, and a blast from the trumpet of God. When these sounds are heard, all believers since the time of Christ will be resurrected. The bodies of the Christians who have died will arise, be transformed, be reunited with their souls and be taken to Christ’s side in the air. Then every living Christian will be removed from the earth, “caught up” to join with the resurrected believers for a great and glorious meeting in the air. Christ will take them to be with Himself, and they will “always be with the Lord” (v. 17).
This is also in view in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52, where Paul wrote: “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.”
In a moment of time the earth will be emptied of Christians.
When Will It Take Place?
No one really knows when this event will occur. The time is not spelled out in prophecy. We are told instead to maintain an attitude and condition of readiness, for Christ said: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Mt. 24:44)
Christ taught this attitude of watchfulness in two similar parables recorded in Luke 12. In the first parable (vv.35-40), He likened His coming to the return of the master of the house from a wedding. In the second (vv.42-48), a man has left his household affairs in the hands of a servant.
The key element in both parables is that day of the master’s return could not be known. Because of that, the servants were to maintain constant readiness. The same is true of us as we wait for Christ’s return.
This could occur at any moment. That’s what the word imminent means. But that does necessarily mean His return will occur soon. Yes, it’s imminent – it could take place before you take your next breath, but it is not necessarily immediate. The Lord could delay His return another few hundred years.
We believe that this event will be the first of the endtime events. It is referred to as “the rapture of the church.” The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapere, which literally means “to seize” or “to catch away.” For an explanation of why we believe that the rapture is separate from the second coming of Christ to the earth, (the Two Phases of Christ’s Return).
The Judgment Seat Of Christ
Those who are taken from the earth will meet Christ in the clouds and go to be with Him. Then they will stand before the Lord in judgment. This event is called the judgment seat of Christ. Paul foresaw it when he wrote: We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
The issue for those at the judgment seat of Christ will not be salvation. They are all God’s children – forgiven and adopted on the basis of their acceptance of Christ. The purpose is to determine the degree of reward they receive. They will be called into account and receive what is due them (2 Cor. 5:10). The primary issue will be faithfulness ( 1 Cor. 4:2,4). This is emphasized in three of our Lord’s parables: the worker in the vineyard (Mt. 20:1-16), the talents (Mt. 25:14-30), and the 10 minas (Lk. 19:11-27).
Some will receive reward at the judgment seat of Christ; others will suffer loss. We are not told just what this will involve. There will be no punishment, for Jesus Christ bore a penalty for our sin on the cross. We may be shown our shortcomings and failures. We may be reminded of our selfishness and of the sins we did not confess. The “loss” we suffer will be in the receiving of less reward that we could have received.
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