The return of Jesus to gather His people from this earth is the grand theme of the Bible.  One verse out of every eleven in the New Testament speaks of this momentous event. Evangelist Dwight Moody declared that the event is mentioned two thousand five hundred times in Scripture. Some refer to this glorious event as the rapture, although the term does not appear in the Bible.

This earthshaking event is the ultimate goal of all Bible prophecy.  This goal is more conspicuous in Revelation than any other book of the Bible.  In Revelation, Jesus’ return is “the most outstanding event of the book; the keynote of its messages; the hub around which its…visions revolve.  Each scene in this prophetic drama climaxes with the coming Christ”.  To study Revelation is to become acutely aware of Jesus’ second coming.  No wonder the devil keeps announcing that the book is sealed.

It is shocking to recall that at Jesus’ first coming, as a babe in Bethlehem, the people were surprised and unprepared.  This was true in spite of the fact that hundreds of Old Testament prophecies clearly described His first coming with detailed accuracy.  But the people were applying the prophecies of His second coming to His first coming and ignoring those that applied to the first advent.  Thus, they were prepared to reject His appearance as the infant son of a poor family.

History has a way of repeating itself.  It is shocking to consider, but could it be possible that Christian people today may be misconstruing the 2500 Bible prophecies of Jesus’ second return?  Could they be setting themselves up for one gigantic mind-boggling surprise? Could even some serious Bible students be fatally confused regarding His return?  Jesus solemnly warned of this sad possibility when He spoke of His return in Matthew 24.  He said, “Take heed that no man deceives you”, Matthew 24:4.  He further stated that erroneous concepts regarding His return would be so powerful and convincing that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect”, Matthew 24:24.  Then He capped it with, “Behold, I have told you before”.  We would say, today, “You have been warned!”

In light of this solemn warning by Jesus, let us now prayerfully see what the prophecies reveal regarding the blessed rapture.