Is There A Secret Rapture Coming? thebiblesaysthat.com

Many Christians mistakenly point to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 in support of the idea of a secret rapture. There is a lot packed into these verses but a secret rapture is not one of them.

For one, it confirms the biblical teaching that the dead are in the grave and not in heaven or hell, specifically pointing to the dead in Christ –  “And the dead in Christ will rise first.”(verse 16) It also refers to the dead as “those who have fallen asleep.”(verse 13)

But the main point of this section of scripture is to highlight the events around Christ’s second coming and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. It will be far from a secret and will be quite a spectacle to all alive at that time. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God.”.(verse 16)

As He descends to establish His Kingdom, His saints will be both resurrected, in the case of those who have died, and changed to spirit beings. “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.” (verse 17).

No – these verses don’t point to a secret rapture but to an exciting time when God’s way of life will be established on earth for all mankind.