The Rapture

Jesus is very clear that there is a resurrection, see Our Resurrection from Death.
Note that only the body is resurrected, see Body, Soul, and Spirit in
The Danger with Gnosticism. There is something called the rapture which refers to the end time event when all Christian believers, living and dead, will ascend in the air with new immortal resurrection bodies and join Christ. 

The word "rapture" isn't in the Bible. It comes from "caught up" (in 1 Thess 4:17)
("harpazo" in Greek, meaning "to seize", "catch up", "snatch away", "carry off").
In Latin, that word is "rapturo". That's where we got the word "rapture". 

When we talk about the return of Jesus, we must distinguish between the following:

1. The rapture when Jesus comes in the air for the Body of Christ.
2. The return of Jesus when he comes down to Earth to fight for Israel.

Some common explanations of the rapture are as follows:

1. Pre-Tribulation Rapture:
   Occurs before the Tribulation begins.
   
   
2. Mid-Tribulation Rapture:
   Occurs in the middle
   of the Tribulation.
   
   
3. Post-Tribulation Rapture:
   Occurs at the end of the Tribulation.
   
   
4. Pre-Wrath Rapture:
   Occurs at the end part of the Tribulation, before the seven bowls of wrath are emptied.
   Not in the picture. 

Jesus' disciples asked Jesus when he would return (Mat 24:3, Mark 13:4, Luk 21:7). Jesus answered this question in Mat 24–25, Mark 13, Luk 17:20–34, and Luk 21.

He doesn't come in secret (Mat 24:27–30, Mark 13:24–26, Luk 17:24, 21:25–27).
The gospel must first be proclaimed among all nations (Mat 24:14, Mark 13:10).

The rapture is described in 1 Thess 4:15–17: The dead in Christ will rise first.
They are the ones in God's Heaven. Then the Christian believers who still are alive
on Earth, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so will we always be with the Lord. At the rapture, we will get resurrected
and immortals bodies that will appear as described in 
Jesus appeared in his resurrected body in The Resurrection of Jesus. 

See this explained in these videos at the following times:

• 34:18–35:54 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ August 2023. 
• 17:00–18:59 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │ October 2023.
• 43:16–44:00 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023.

The term "asleep" or "fallen asleep" in 1 Thess 4:13–15 describes death, see it described in The Book of Thessalonians. Apostle Paul uses it only for believers. See it also described at time 10:05–11:37 in Revelation 6 • The Tribulation Period Begins.

People who believe in numbers 1, 2, or 4 mean that Jesus will then return but stay in the air and take the believers up to Heaven. Later, at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus returns again, but now to Earth. People who believe in number 3 mean that
the believers are taken up in the air and then Jesus immediately returns to Earth.

Some of the Christian believers in Thessaloniki were afraid that the rapture had already occurred (2 Thess 2:1–2), and that they had been left behind. See the meaning of The Day of the Lord. This was also the case for some believers in Ephesus (2 Tim 2:16–18, 1 Tim 1:19b–20). Apostle Paul explained that Antichrist must first be revealed before it occurs (2 Thess 2:3), meaning that the Tribulation must begin before the rapture occurs. This means that option 1 can't be applied.

The time between the start of the Great Tribulation (the second half of the 7-year Tribulation) and the rapture will be shortened, and the reason is for the sake of the believers. (Mat 24:15–22, Mark 13:14–20). This means that the rapture is a time during the Great Tribulation, and that option 2 can't be applied.

There will be people who be saved after the rapture and will be alive when
Jesus returns. See this explained in The Sheep and the Goats. This requires time after the rapture and means that option 3 can't be applied.

It's at the last trumpet call that the rapture occurs (1 Cor 15:51–53, 
1 Thess 4:16). The last trumpet call probably refers to the seventh and final trumpet call at the Great Tribulation. This suggests that option 4 is the correct one according to Scripture.

The Book of Revelation describes seven seals that are broken, see The Horses in the Book of Revelation. When the seventh seal is broken, seven angels will blow their trumpets, one at a time, see The Seventh Seal and the Seven Trumpets in the Book of Revelation. It's when the seventh angel blows the trumpet (the last trumpet call in The Book of Revelation (Rev 10:7, 11:15–19)), that I believe the rapture occurs. It's when it's harvest time in Heaven (Rev 14:14–16). 

The Book of Revelation describes seven bowls of wrath being emptied, one at a time (Rev 16). It seems that this occurs after the seventh angel blows the trumpet,
that is, after the rapture. This means that the believers will avoid the seven bowls
of wrath. Jesus returns when the Great Tribulation ends (Rev 19).

The Bible teaches that some people will be taken and some left behind
(Mat 24:40–41, Luk 17:34–35). This event is related to the rapture when some
are left behind. As it was in the days of Noah, see The Flood at the Time of Noah,
so it will be at the rapture (Mat 24:37–39, Luk 17:26–33). 

There is a trumpet call also in Mat 24:31 when Jesus sends out his angels to gather his elect, but this occurs when Jesus has already returned. It's likely that there will be trumpet calls also during the millennial kingdom and throughout eternity.

To understand the timing of the rapture above is an example of a debatable issue, see Disputable Matters in The Book of Romans. It's not essential to salvation. See time 26:18–28:14 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ September 2023.

See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.

Jesus is God

Content:

• Jesus claims to be God
• Other people who claim that Jesus is God
• Jesus is the Creator
• Further evidence
  
  

Jesus claims to be God

God says he is the first and the last (Isaiah 44:6). 
Jesus called himself "the first and the last", and "Alpha and Omega"
(Revelation 1:17–18, 22:12–13).

God is "I AM" (Exo (2 Mos) 3:14). Jesus says he is "I AM" 
(Mark 14:62, Luk 22:70, John 8:28, 58). See also Jesus – I Am.

Only God can forgive sins (Psalm 51:4 (6 in some translations)), see
Psalm 51: Coming to God when we fail. Jesus forgives sins, making him equal with God (Mat 9:2–7, Mark 2:5–12, Luk 5:20–25). See Whose Sin can We Forgive?

God is our final judge (Joel 3:12–14, Psalm 9:7–9 (8–10 in some translations)). Jesus claims to be the final judge (John 5:22–29), see The Sheep and the Goats and The Great White Throne Judgement at The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement. 

Jesus gives eternal life, which only God can do 

(John 10:27–28, 5:21), see Salvation.

Jesus said that he and God the Father are one (John 10:30), 
and that God the Father is in him and that he is in God the Father
(John 10:38b). The meaning of this is that 

Jesus has the same divine nature as God the Father, 

see The Order between Jesus and the Father in the Trinity.

God's word is Truth (Psalm 25:5, 43:3, 86:11, 119:160).
Jesus calls himself "the Truth" (John 14:6). See 
Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

God raises the dead (1 Samuel 2:6).
Jesus raises the dead (John 5:25–29, 11:25).

We are to give glory only to God (Isaiah 42:8). Jesus is given glory (Mat 2:11, 14:33, 28:17, Luk 24:52, John 9:38, 17:5).

Jesus says he is Lord over the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).

Jesus says he is Lord over king David (Mat 22:42–45),
see Whose Son Is Messiah?

Jesus says he is greater than the temple (Mat 12:6).

Jesus says he can answer prayer
(Mat 18:19–20, John 14:13–14).

Jesus allowed people to worship him, something that only God can do (Mat 2:11, 14:33, 28:9, 17, Luk 24:52, John 9:37–38).

Jesus says that he has received all authority in Heaven and on Earth (Mat 28:18–20), and that all that God the Father has belongs to him (John 16:14–15). See this explained at time 21:47–28:38 in
John 7:1-13 – Opposed by His Family.

See also Who Did Jesus Think He Was?

Other people who claim that Jesus is God

The apostle Thomas called Jesus "God" (John 20:27–28).

The apostle Peter called Jesus "God" (2 Peter 1:1).

The apostle Paul called Jesus "God" (Titus 2:12–14, Phil 2:6).

The apostle John called Jesus "God" (John 1:1–3, 14, 18).

The Book of Hebrews' author said Jesus is unchangeable (Heb 13:8),
see God is immutable in God's Attributes.

Isaiah the Prophet said that Messiah would be "God" (Isaiah 9:6),
see The Birth of Messiah in The Prophecies of Isaiah.

Isaiah prophesied: "I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior." (Isaiah 43:11 (ESV)). An angel said to the shepherds when Jesus was born: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you:
you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." (Luk 2:11–12 (ESV)). 

The Jews who wanted to kill Jesus understood that he said he was equal with God (John 5:18, 10:33).

God the Father has given everything to Jesus and has a unique relationship with him (Mat 11:27). He called Jesus "God", see General in The Book of Hebrews.

Jesus is the Creator

"You, Lord, laid the foundation of the Earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end." (Heb 1:10–12,
Psalm 102:25–27 (26–28 in some translations) (ESV)).

"All things were made through him (Jesus), and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3 (ESV)).

"He was in the world, and the world was made through him  (Jesus), yet the world did not know him." (John 1:10 (ESV)).

"For by him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him." (Col 1:16 (ESV)).

"yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (1 Cor 8:6 (ESV)).

"in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe." (Heb 1:2 (NIV)).

"By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." (Heb 11:3 (ESV)). See time 3:49–5:24 in Hebrews 11 (Part 2) :2-7 • Without Faith it is Impossible to Please God.

"I am he; I am the first, and I am the last (Jesus). My hand laid
the foundation of the Earth, and my right hand spread out
the heavens. ... The Lord God (God the Father) has sent Me (Jesus), and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit)." (Isaiah 48:12b–13a, 16b).
See Jesus – I Am and The Trinity.

"The words of the Amen the faithful and true witness (Jesus himself), the beginning of God’s creation." (Rev 3:14b (ESV)). What Jesus is saying is that he is the source of God's creation, he is the Creator.

Jesus is the Creator, not to the exclusion of the other persons in 
The Trinity. The work of the creation was the work of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God the Father can be seen as the main architect of the creation. Yet Jesus is the Creator. 

This means that Jesus must be God, because it's God who is the Creator (Gen (1 Mos) 1:1).

Further evidence

Jesus says that he has seen Abraham (John 8:56–58).

The blood of Jesus is called the blood of God (Acts 20:28).

Examples of the deity of Jesus Christ are also shown in 
Why the Quran is wrong about Jesus.

See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of
The Four Gospels.

Does God Exist?

(The information in this article is taken from interviews with Dr. William Lane Craig.)

1) God is the best explanation of the origin of the universe.

Watch the animated videos: 

• The Kalam cosmological argument
• The ontological argument 
• Leibniz' contingency argument

See the following explanations:

• Modern science believes that the universe isn't eternal in the past but has a beginning a finite time ago. See also The Big-Bang Model Revealed.

• All matter, energy, but also space and time, came into being in this beginning. It means that the universe came out of nothing. But out of nothing, nothing can come without a cause. It's then reasonable that a transcendent cause brought the universe into existence. One explanation has been that through quantum mechanics, particles can be created from
  quantum fluctuations in quantum vacuum, without a cause. But 
  quantum vacuum isn't nothing, it gets weaker with time and isn't the
  origin of the universe. Quantum vacuum has a beginning in itself.
• Why did the origin of the universe occur? What created the universe?
  This points to a transcendent cause for the universe as the best explanation. A transcendent cause of the universe must be:

o   Not-caused.

o   Non-physical.

o   Intangible.

o   Non-temporal (timeless).

o   Changeless.

o   Powerful.

o   A personal agent who freely chooses to create a new effect
without any predetermined conditions.

2) God is the best explanation for the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life.

Watch the animated video: The fine-tuning of the Universe. 

See the following explanations:

• The complex order of the universe points to an intelligent designer.
• The number of subatomic particles in the entire known universe is about 10 to the 80th power (1 followed by 80 zeroes). The following examples of fine-tuning requires some sort of explanation, the best being a personal agent:

o   In order for the universe to allow life, the gravity and week force in the atom must be fine-tuned to the precision of 1 chance out of 10 to the 100 power (1:(10^100)).

o   The cosmological constant governing the accelerating expansion of the universe is fine-tuned to 1 chance out of 10 to the 120 power 
(1:(10^120)).

o   Roger Penrose, a well-known physicist, has estimated the odds that the initial low-entropy state of the early universe would achieve by chance only to 1 chance out of 10 to the 10 power to the 123 power
(1:(10^10^123)).

• There are three possible explanations for the fine-tuning of the universe:

o   Physical necessity. It depends on the laws of nature.
But there is nothing in the laws of nature that requires these constants to have these values ​​for life to exist.

o   Pure coincidence only.
The chance that the laws of nature allow life is too small to be feasible.

o   Product of intelligent design.
The only rational and remaining option.

Many persons see the fine-tuning of the universe as the most powerful proof of God's existence ever to come out of science.

3) God is the best explanation of the existence of objective moral values and duties.

Watch the video: 

• Can you be good without God? (Animated)
• Atheists Trying to Have Their Cake and Eat It Too on Morality
  (See especially time 12:44–15:34) (Not animated)

See the following explanations: 

• If God doesn't exist, it's impossible to find an objective standard of
  right and wrong, good and evil.
• According to a naturalistic, atheistic view, there are no objective moral values and duties, but they still exist. God is the best foundation for
  these moral values and duties.

4) God is the best explanation for the historical facts about Jesus of Nazareth.

See Historical Facts that Jesus Rose from the Dead.

If Jesus really rose from the dead, he must be who he claims to be.
It means that God has publicly vindicated his claims, and that God must exist.

5) God can be personally known and experienced.

For many people, God isn't an idea that has been assumed by the mind,
but an experienced reality that gives meaning to their lives.
This can be achieved in the following ways:

• Pray. Ask God to to prove to you that he exists.
• Read but also study the Bible, first and foremost about 
  Jesus’ life in the gospels in the New Testament.
• Ask yourself if Jesus can be who he claims to be, could he have been God incarnate? Is it possible to come into a personal relationship with God?
• Make a commitment to Christ that you believe in him as your Savior and Lord, that he was God incarnate, and that he rose  from the dead.
  Ask Jesus to come into your life, that he forgives you of your sins,
  and that he makes you the person he wants you to be, see Salvation.

Summary.

Apostle Paul wrote: "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Rom 1:19–21). See also What is Information?

King David wrote: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard." (Psalm 19:1–3 (2–4 in some translations)).

See The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man and 
What Happens to Those Who Have Never Heard About Jesus?

See also Scientific Proofs of the Bible.

Historical Facts that Jesus Rose from the Dead

(The information in this article is taken from interviews with Dr. William Lane Craig.)

There are four established facts agreed upon by the majority of New Testament scholars that are best explained by the fact of The Resurrection of Jesus. 

See also these two animated videos that describe this: 

• Did Jesus rise from the dead? - Part one: The facts
• Did Jesus rise from the dead? - Part two: The explanation.

1) Jesus was crucified.

Jesus died for our sins (1 Cor 15:3, Isaiah 53:8), see The crucifixion of Jesus.

See the following video about the crucifixion of Jesus:
Nabeel Qureshi: Jesus in Islam vs. Jesus in Christianity - Apologetics to Islam:

• Time   4:31–22:22        : The crucifixion of Jesus.
• Time  4:31– 6:24   : Historical evidence.
• Time  6:25–22:22  : The crucifixion:
•   6:25–  9:42  : The process of flogging.
•   9:42–13:07  : The crucifixion process.
•  13:08–14:20 : The result of crucifixion.
• Time 14:21–15:28 : Supporting evidence.
• Time 15:29–16:03 : Prophesies in the Old Testament,
                                see Psalm 22: the Crucifixion Psalm.
• Time 16:04–22:22 : Arguments against Jesus' death.
  
  

2) Jesus was given a proper burial by Joseph of Arimathea:

·     

·      This is attested in independent early sources (Mat 27:57–61, Mark 15:42–47,
Luk 23:50–55, John 19:38–42, 1 Cor 15:4a, Isaiah 53:9), with the earliest sources dating to within the first five years of Jesus’ crucifixion.

    

     If an incident is awkward or embarrassing to the early church, it's more likely to be historical. For example, the burial was not done by Jesus' family or by his disciples,
it was done by a member of the hated Jewish court.

3) Jesus’ tomb was discovered empty by a group of his female followers on the Sunday morning after his crucifixion:

·     

      The empty tomb story is attested in independent early sources
(Mark 16:2–7, Luk 24:1–12, John 20:1–10, 1 Cor 15:4b).

·      It was discovered by women. The testimony of women in Jewish society was considered worthless. The disciples had by that time abandoned Jesus and
weren't with these women at the discovery.

·     The disciples' enemies said the tomb was empty (Mat 28:11–15).

4) Various individuals and groups experienced appearances of Jesus alive after his death:

·     

     Jesus was seen by several people after his resurrection (Mat 28:5–10, 16–20,
Mark 16:9–20, Luk 24:13–53, John 20:11–21:25, 1 Cor 15:5–8). Most of these witnesses were alive at the time, making it possible to be corroborated.
This includes James, the half-brother of Jesus, who probably became a believer because of this (Acts 1:14, Gal 2:9).

5) The disciples suddenly and sincerely came to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead:

·     

     According to Jewish thinking, Messiah wasn't supposed to be executed.  Even so, they came to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead very suddenly.
See this described at time 1:03:04–1:05:49 in Math And The Bible.

Summary:

If Jesus really rose from the dead, he must be who he said he was, see 

Jesus is God. The best explanation of these facts is the hypothesis that God
(The Trinity) raised Jesus (God the Son) from his physical death as a man,
which means that God must exist.

See also:

• Prophecies that Jesus Fulfilled.
• Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.
• Scientific Proofs of the Bible.