The concept of the rapture has resulted from confusion about the meaning of resurrection. The teachings of the Gospels discuss many aspects of life in terms of metaphor, parable and symbol, but when those teachings are interpreted literally, confusion abounds.
To resolve the issue of what scripture refers to and what some folks believe points to the Rapture, its critical to examine what resurrection actually is, based on scripture.
Resurrection means passing from death to life, but, what is the biblical meaning or biblical standard of 'death'?
Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Here, Jesus is clearly referring to two different types of death: one, "the dead" = the spiritually dead, and two, "the dead" = the physically dead.
The Father had died physically, but those who were to bury him were (still) dead spiritually, because they had not accepted Jesus.
Physical death is where the body's physiological function ceases, and the spirit/soul departs from the flesh.
Spiritual death, however, is where someone is cut off from God's love, living spiritual under the influence and control of Satan's sovereignty.
This understanding is affirmed in Rev. 1:20 I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
John 5:26 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
What is Jesus telling us? That he who believes in Jesus, though he may die physically, he shall still live spiritually (be removed from Satan's dominion, and dwell with me spiritually in God's sovereignty).
Which was the death caused by the Fall? Here's what scripture records God said to Adam:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
"In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die". Did Adam die that day? Not physically. Adam went on to have children, and lived many years.
Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
So, how can it be that Adam died on the day he ate the fruit, and yet lived for 900+ years afterwards? Simply, because the death God was referring to was NOT a physical death, but a spiritual death.
God was warning Adam that if he ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would become separated from Him, become cut off from his ability to receive God's love, and fall under Satan's control.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
According to this biblical standard of life and death, life is when one dwells in God's presence, having been restored to the realm of God's sovereignty, and therefore naturally connected with God's love. The biblical standard of death is when one dwells under Satan's dominion and jurisdiction, cut off from God's love.
What, then, is resurrection?
Many believers, particularly in recent centuries, interpreted the death of the Fall of Adam to be the physical death. But clearly, the disciples and Jesus himself often emphasized a distinction between the physical death and being spiritually dead.
Resurrection is the process of passing from the spiritual death caused by the Fall, in other words the state of being under Satan's jurisdiction and therefore cut off from God's love, the source of spiritual life, to the realm of life, where one lives under God's sovereignty and is able to receive God's love.
Our spirits and hearts are created to grow through a relationship with God's love. By receiving God's love, and practicing God's love in our lives, our spirits and our hearts grow. As we dwell in a relationship with the Father, made possible because we leave the realm of death through faith in Jesus and enter into the realm of spiritual life, our hearts and our spirits grow.
From this viewpoint, resurrection is not simply an instantaneous event, but an ongoing process that starts once we accept Jesus into our hearts. We resurrect more and more as we draw closer to Jesus and the Father.
John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
In other words, he who hears Jesus words and believes in him, becomes reconnected to the source of all life, God the Father, and is no longer subject the judgment that will befall those who remain in Satan's jurisdiction. He has literally passed from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life. He has been resurrected.
Resurrection is not the recomposition of the physical body, but is the spiritual and internal (aka not visible to the physical eye) transition from being under Satan's dominion and control to being under God's domain and jurisdiction. It is not an external change, but an internal one.
Jesus himself was perfectly in union with the Father, and yet, externally he looked just like any other man to everyone around him.
Based on the biblical standard of life and death, we can understand that when Christ returns, "the dead who rise in Christ" refers to those who will receive Christ when he returns and are resurrected into the realm of unity with God.
Resurrection before and after the Return of Christ
Before the return of Christ, our resurrection is necessarily limited, because our bodies remain in the realm of death. We do not escape sin completely. But when Christ returns, the people who are alive physically at that time (and all generations thereafter) will have their flesh also restored to God's sovereignty. Thus, following the Return of Christ, complete and perfect resurrection will be possible.
(Note: Although we receive salvation through faith in Jesus, aka our spirits are restored to God's sovereignty, our flesh remains under Satan's jurisdiction. For example, see Romans 7:24, in which Paul laments: O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? This is why the Second Coming is necessary: the restore the physical world, and our physical bodies, to God's sovereignty, so that the Kingdom of God is BOTH in Heaven AND on Earth.)
The concept of the rapture has resulted from confusion about the meaning of resurrection. The teachings of the Gospels discuss many aspects of life in terms of metaphor, parable and symbol, but when those teachings are interpreted literally, confusion abounds.
To resolve the issue of what scripture refers to and what some folks believe points to the Rapture, its critical to examine what resurrection actually is, based on scripture.
Resurrection means passing from death to life, but, what is the biblical meaning or biblical standard of 'death'?
Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Here, Jesus is clearly referring to two different types of death: one, "the dead" = the spiritually dead, and two, "the dead" = the physically dead.
The Father had died physically, but those who were to bury him were (still) dead spiritually, because they had not accepted Jesus.
Physical death is where the body's physiological function ceases, and the spirit/soul departs from the flesh.
Spiritual death, however, is where someone is cut off from God's love, living spiritual under the influence and control of Satan's sovereignty.
This understanding is affirmed in Rev. 1:20 I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
John 5:26 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
What is Jesus telling us? That he who believes in Jesus, though he may die physically, he shall still live spiritually (be removed from Satan's dominion, and dwell with me spiritually in God's sovereignty).
Which was the death caused by the Fall? Here's what scripture records God said to Adam:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
"In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die". Did Adam die that day? Not physically. Adam went on to have children, and lived many years.
Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
So, how can it be that Adam died on the day he ate the fruit, and yet lived for 900+ years afterwards? Simply, because the death God was referring to was NOT a physical death, but a spiritual death.
God was warning Adam that if he ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would become separated from Him, become cut off from his ability to receive God's love, and fall under Satan's control.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
According to this biblical standard of life and death, life is when one dwells in God's presence, having been restored to the realm of God's sovereignty, and therefore naturally connected with God's love. The biblical standard of death is when one dwells under Satan's dominion and jurisdiction, cut off from God's love.
What, then, is resurrection?
Many believers, particularly in recent centuries, interpreted the death of the Fall of Adam to be the physical death. But clearly, the disciples and Jesus himself often emphasized a distinction between the physical death and being spiritually dead.
Resurrection is the process of passing from the spiritual death caused by the Fall, in other words the state of being under Satan's jurisdiction and therefore cut off from God's love, the source of spiritual life, to the realm of life, where one lives under God's sovereignty and is able to receive God's love.
Our spirits and hearts are created to grow through a relationship with God's love. By receiving God's love, and practicing God's love in our lives, our spirits and our hearts grow. As we dwell in a relationship with the Father, made possible because we leave the realm of death through faith in Jesus and enter into the realm of spiritual life, our hearts and our spirits grow.
From this viewpoint, resurrection is not simply an instantaneous event, but an ongoing process that starts once we accept Jesus into our hearts. We resurrect more and more as we draw closer to Jesus and the Father.
John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
In other words, he who hears Jesus words and believes in him, becomes reconnected to the source of all life, God the Father, and is no longer subject the judgment that will befall those who remain in Satan's jurisdiction. He has literally passed from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life. He has been resurrected.
Resurrection is not the recomposition of the physical body, but is the spiritual and internal (aka not visible to the physical eye) transition from being under Satan's dominion and control to being under God's domain and jurisdiction. It is not an external change, but an internal one.
Jesus himself was perfectly in union with the Father, and yet, externally he looked just like any other man to everyone around him.
Based on the biblical standard of life and death, we can understand that when Christ returns, "the dead who rise in Christ" refers to those who will receive Christ when he returns and are resurrected into the realm of unity with God.
Resurrection before and after the Return of Christ
Before the return of Christ, our resurrection is necessarily limited, because our bodies remain in the realm of death. We do not escape sin completely. But when Christ returns, the people who are alive physically at that time (and all generations thereafter) will have their flesh also restored to God's sovereignty. Thus, following the Return of Christ, complete and perfect resurrection will be possible.
(Note: Although we receive salvation through faith in Jesus, aka our spirits are restored to God's sovereignty, our flesh remains under Satan's jurisdiction. For example, see Romans 7:24, in which Paul laments: O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? This is why the Second Coming is necessary: the restore the physical world, and our physical bodies, to God's sovereignty, so that the Kingdom of God is BOTH in Heaven AND on Earth.)