RAPTURE
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For 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. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago�whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows�such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man�whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows� 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)
�1 �Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father�s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 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. (John 14:1-3)
The Bible teaches that there was a literal rapture of the saints at the time of the second coming of Christ. The saints were taken to heaven circa 70 A.D. This is why the church writings are silent on the fulfillment of end time prophecies. The rapture was not merely a covenantal catching up. It was an experience, not just a change judicial status. The phrase �caught up� denotes an experience. Whether it was a catching up of the body or not in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, either way it was an experience, not a covenantal change. This man (maybe Paul) actually went to heaven. So in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 the phrase �caught up� is also a literal catching up.
Jesus clearly told His disciple He would come back for them and take them to heaven in John 14:1-3.
Many Preterist try to explain these passages by saying they were fulfilled covenantally, not literally. Their view is a hyper-covenantal view and leads to a �heaven now, immortal body now� theology.
Read the books Expectations Demand A Rapture by Ed Stevens and Taken To Heaven In A.D. 70 by Ian Harding available at IPA.
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