People have told me they don’t believe in the Rapture because Jesus never talked about it. But is that really true?

For one thing, it may be a stretch, but Paul talked about the Rapture and it is quite possible that he got his information from Jesus. When was on the road to Damascus Jesus appeared unto him and said, “rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee” (Acts 26:16). Jesus commissioned Paul to witness to what he had seen and what he would see in the future. Some might say Jesus didn’t reveal the Rapture to Paul in the future, but there is evidence that he did.

We find that in Paul’s words to the Thessalonians when he said, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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” (I Thess 4:13-18). Notice that he said he was speaking “by the word of the Lord” (verse 15). He is saying this teaching on the Rapture is a direct revelation from Jesus. He made a similar claim about the gospel he preached (Gal. 1:11-12).

Then, there is that conversation that Jesus had with Martha when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Our Lord said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (Jn. 11:25-26)? Deceased believers (the dead in Christ) will live or be raised from the dead. And the living believers will never die (will be changed. And both will be caught up or Raptured in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (I Thess. 4:17; I Cor. 15:51-52).

Those who think Jesus didn’t talk about the Rapture are on shaky ground. He proved that He can raise those who are dead and buried when He raised Lazarus (Jn. 11:42-43). And the fact that Enoch was translated without dying (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5), and Elijah went up without dying (II Kings 2:11), and Paul was called up into the third heaven (II Cor. 2:2-4) proves that God can do that. In fact, “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

Jesus told the thief on the cross, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Three days later, He told Mary Magdalene, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17). This prompts the question, “If Jesus went to paradise on the day He was crucified, but He had not yet ascended to the Father three days later, where did He go when He went to paradise” or “Where was He during those three days?”

Part of the answer can be found in the writings of Paul. He said, “When he [Jesus] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?) (Eph. 4:8-10). Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth before He ascended into heaven three days later.

More of the answer can be found in the writings of Matthew. When the Scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign He said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39-40).

Its speculation, but some preachers believe paradise was like a two-room apartment at the heart of the earth before the cross. From the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) some believe there was a paradise side and a torment side with a great gulf in between.

Some say after Jesus died on the cross, He descended into theParadise side of Abraham’s bosom for three days and three nights. He talked to the dead Old Testament saints. He brought them out and some were raised when He was raised (Matt. 27:32-33). Paradise was moved to the third heaven and the souls and spirits of those who weren’t raised went directly there  Later, Paul was caught up into Paradise which is the third heaven (II Cor. 12:2-4).

Again, there is speculation here, but this theory makes more sense than any this writer is aware of.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck