Most rapture believers use I Thessalonians 4:16-17 to support their belief. It reads like this:

1Thes 4:16-17: (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._ (NKJ)

Note first, that the description in verse 16 does not describe a secret or quiet taking away (rapture) of believers. It pictures an event involving a shout from an archangel and the sounding of a trumpet. You might say, it is loud enough to raise the dead, which is exactly what it will do. Something this loud is not a secret! In fact, all the people of the earth will be roused to observe Christ's second coming (Matthew 24:30).

If the event pictured in verse 17 of I Thessalonians, chapter 4, is understood, it not only debunks the rapture theory, it provides a powerful image of a glorious monarch being met by his loyal subjects who form an entourage to accompany him to his rightful throne. That is the essence behind the phrase in verse 17, "to meet the Lord. The same Greek word translated "to meet" in verse 17 is used in Matthew 25:6 to describe the meeting of the bridegroom in the parable of the Ten Virgins.

In this parable, the bridegroom is pictured approaching the location of the marriage ceremony. The parable is a metaphor describing certain aspects of the return of Christ. When the cry that the bridegroom is approaching goes out, the virgins, waiting to celebrate his arrival, are told to go out to meet him to accompany him back to the marriage ceremony.

There are a number of Bible commentaries that fully explain this. One that is especially helpful is Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words that gives insight to help us understand. Vines tells us that the word _meet_ (Grk: apantesis), as used when the virgins go out to MEET the bridegroom, signifies the type of official welcome given to a newly arrived dignitary. The virgins were the welcoming committee, so to speak.they were not going out to meet the bridegroom to accompany him to some unspecified place.

This is how the word _meet_ is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 also. Christians will rise to meet the Lord in the air, and they will return with him to the Mount of Olives, as described in Zechariah 14:4-5:

Zechariah 14 4-5: (4) And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Instead of searching the scriptures for evidence of the rapture theory, it is enlightening to review what the Bible clearly teaches concerning the sequence of events of Christ's return. These events are described in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Christ warned his disciples that after his death false teachers would come in his name, and the world would experience wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. These he described as the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:. Christ went on to explain how sorrows and persecutions would mount (in intensity) until the time of the Great Tribulation preceding his return to establish his kingdom (Matthew 24:9-20).

These accounts make it clear that true Christians will be on the earth during these difficult times. Christ warns Christians not to be deceived during this time. In verses 23 thru 26 of Matthew 24, he warns "you" not to be deceived. Who is the "you"? It certainly is not non- Christians. Why would they believe what he says? They don't believe in his existence! It is clear that during the Great Tribulation Christ has not yet returned. Christians are on the earth battling to remain faithful. Christ says he will shorten the tribulation for the elect's sake. Obviously, there would be no threat to the elect if they had been raptured off to heaven.

Immediately after the tribulation, comes the cataclysmic, dreadful day of the Lord described in Matthew 24:29-30. It is anything but secret!

Matthew:24:29-30: (29) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (NKJ)

Reading on through verse 31 of the same chapter, we learn that Christ's angels will gather the elect from the four corners of heaven (that is, from everywhere on the earth), so that they may rise to meet him. The specifics of the resurrection of the saints can be found in I Thessalonians, chapters 4 and 5. In chapter 4:13, we are told that those who have died in Christ will be resurrected ahead of the living. Paul is explaining this so the brethren will not be ignorant, sorrowing over those who have died (Chapter 4:13, 18; and chapter 5:11). Verse 14 of chapter 4 tells us: "God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus.

To summarize: Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and I Thessalonians, Chapters 4 and 5, provide the following:

1. Christ's second coming will be accompanied by universally observed signs, wonders, and sounds. It will be anything but secret or invisible. 2. Christ will be joined, as he returns, by the resurrected saints -- first those resurrected from death, and then those who are alive and are "changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (see also I Corinthians 15: 51-52). 3. The elect are told they are NOT to be ignorant of these matters. Christ revealed them beforehand so they would not be deceivedSby fictitious ideasSlike those found in novels or movies. So where is the scriptural basis for the "doctrine" of the rapture? If you were to research Bible commentaries, and other religious writings before 1800, you would not find any mention of it. It was invented by an Anglican preacher, John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). Darby is known as the father of the rapture doctrine.

The followers of the rapture theory try to shoehorn the rapture idea into the scriptures already mentioned in this article. But like a size 10 foot in a size 8 shoe, they don't fit. The rapture theorists also point to well-known scriptures in which Christians are told to be watchful and not slumber (Matthew 25:1-13). These verses are a warning for Christians to always be awake to the times they are in; to be personally prepared for Christ's return living a righteous life as the end of man's misrule approaches.

God Bless