Rapture Command

The rapture of the church is the transfer of all who believe in Jesus Christ to heaven. This will happen in the future, probably very soon. What are the characteristics of this rapture, and how will it be felt on earth?

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul writes the following:

'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

Here are mentioned three attributes with which the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven:

1. A commanding cry

2. The voice of an archangel

2. The trumpet of God.

The word "commanding cry" in the Greek text is "KELEUSMA," which means: an order, a command, a commanding cry, whether to incite or urge animals, such as horses by riders or dogs by shepherds, or as a signal for people, such as rowers by their skipper or soldiers by their commander. The word appears only once in the New Testament, and here. A unique word for a unique event.

Never before has something like what 1 Thessalonians speaks of happened, and never will it happen again. It is a unique event in the history of heaven and earth. Central to this event is a command from the Lord. After all, He holds "the keys of death and Hades." He has the power to raise the dead and to transform mortal bodies into immortals. He calls himself “the Resurrection and the Life.”

 

In a discussion with the Jews of his day, Jesus said:

'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth' (John 6:28,29)

For those who have believed in him, that moment of “coming out of the graves” has arrived once the rapture will take place. His voice is the command that calls them out of the tombs. Just as his voice once sounded at the tomb of Lazarus, his friend. This Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days when Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” At that, the deceased came out, his hands and feet still bound with grave clothes (John 11:43).

The loud voice of Jesus had almost never been heard during his ministry on earth. In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear God say of Jesus:

"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Mathew 12:18-21)

 

There are only four occasions on which Jesus cried out here on earth:

1. At the Feast of Tabernacles, six months before the crucifixion, in the temple. 'Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.' (John 7:28,29)

2. At that same Feast of Tabernacles. 'In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' (John 7:37,38).

3. At the resurrection of Lazarus, above. Jesus called Lazarus from the grave.

4. From the cross. Twice Jesus cried out from the cross. First:

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mathew 27:46)

A little later:

"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." (Luke 23:46)

The Epistle to the Hebrews says about this:

"He who, during the days of his flesh, with vehement cries and tears offered up both prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save him from death, and was heard for his godliness."

Following Jesus' cry from the cross, many dead were raised:

"Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

 

The word used here for 'appeared' - emphanizō - in the meaning of someone presenting himself, is only mentioned four times in the New Testament. Twice in the case of Jesus, about how his disciples would see Him after his resurrection: 'I will love him and manifest Myself to him' - that was about Him being in his resurrection body. (John 14:21,22). And once in case of Jesus about his presence before God in heaven: 'For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but in heaven itself, not to appear in the presence of God for us.' (Hebr.9:24) Therefore one might assume that the saints that rose at the cry of the Lord on the cross were risen in their 'resurrection bodies', never to die anymore. That is probably why the stayed in their graves till the resurrection of the Lord in order for Him to be the true first-fruits from the grave (1 Cor.15:23).

 

Such a loud voice of Jesus will be heard again, but this time from heaven and worldwide. And worldwide, all who have died "in Christ" will be raised from the dead. The voice of Jesus will have an even greater power than at the tomb of Lazarus. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus calls Himself "the Alpha and Omega." A little further on, the voice of the glorified Jesus is described as follows:

“...And his voice was like the voice of many waters” (Revelation 1:15)

The voice of Jesus in Revelation corresponds to the voice of God Himself:

“When he utters his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth: he makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasures.” (Jer.51:16)