Question: Is the Rapture and Resurrection the same? Some one told me that there are altogether 5 raptures in the Bible, is it true, or we can differentiate between rapture and resurrection? Can you please explain it in a detailed manner, so that I can understand and grow in faith to be a part of it.
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
There is no literal word in the Bible as 'rapture', because it is used to explain a theological concept, just as the Church has used the word 'Trinity' to preserve and identify the true doctrine passed on by the apostles of the first century.
The word "rapture" is used in the Bible in Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and Revelation 12:5. The Greek verb "harpazo" is used in these passages, and it means "to seize upon, spoil, snatch away or take to oneself". "Harpazo" is translated as "caught up" or "caught away".
The rapture is the belief that both living and dead believers of the Church will ascend into heaven to meet Jesus Christ in the air before the Great Tribulation and the succeeding wrath of God which will continue until Jesus and the Church will establish the Kingdom of God on earth to rule in it for a thousand years time. Meeting together with the saint's in the mid air, from where Jesus will take the Church saints straight to the Father's House in New Jerusalem, the City of God and then will resettle the Church in the New Heaven and New Earth.
Rapture is called to identify the Church resurrection from all other resurrections in the Bible. So Rapture can be termed as the one unique resurrection for all the Church saints who ever lived in Christ!
But yes, when it comes to resurrection, there are at least five resurrection and Rapture of the Church is one of them.
1) The Resurrection Of All Old Testament Saints, Along With The Body Of Jesus when He rose from the dead (Matt 27:50-53; Isa 26:19; Rev 12:5).
2) The Rapture of the Church (1 Thess 4:17).
3) The Resurrection Of the two witnesses (Elijah and Enoch) after three and half years of their ministry of repentance will be over and done, they will be killed by Antichrist (Rev 11:11-12). After three and half days, the two prophets will stand up by resurrection, and will ascend up by the cloud in to heaven, for all their enemies to see in Live broadcast.
4) The First Resurrection - This will happen in which all the martyred saints from Abel the son of our forefather Adam, to the last Saint who will die during the Great Tribulation by the atrocities of Antichrist, will all rise up in their physical bodies to make a wild card entry in to Millennial rule of Jesus and the Church, and therefore live for a thousand years time and reign (Rev 20:4-6).
5) The Implied Second Resurrection - We can clearly infer from the second death (Rev 20:1-15), that the second resurrection will happen before it, so that those unbelievers burned alive by the heavenly fire as they surrounded the camp of the saints in Jerusalem, when burned by that fire, the resurrected saints will rise up un-burned like as Daniel's un-burned friends to be honored with an eternal bodies with which they will thereafter live in the new heaven and new earth for the Glory of God (Dan 3:20-30).
As for the remnant saints who entered physically in to the Millennial rule of Jesus and the Church to multiply their offspring (Zec 13:9; Matt 25:32, 34, 35-40, 41, 46), they too will join in the Second Resurrection along with those who were part of the first resurrection at the end of the Millennial rule of God! They will all receive a eternal body to go along with the other saints who reigned through the Millennium who were part of the First Resurrection that happened at Christ's Second Coming to the earth. Hallelujah!
The above five resurrection are the ones to "everlasting life", which is to live with God experiencing His goodness and grace forever and ever in the new heaven and new earth through the resurrected glorious bodies (Dan 12:2).
Jesus said, "Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment." (John 5:28-29, NLT). Those who have done good will rise again hearing the voice of God in different timings of the above 5 resurrection.
6) RESURRECTION OF THE WICKED DEAD : Those unsaved will hear the voice of God's Son at the White Throne Judgment for unbelievers in which they will rise up in their condemned eternal bodies, and judged based on their earthly works which is like filthy rags before God that cannot save them forever and ever, only for them to be later thrown in to the lake of fire where the fallen angels and Satan and Antichrist along with the false prophet are already there (Matt 25:41,46; Rev 20:7-10). This is the reason, God never wanted to call the unbelievers resurrection as resurrection at all, but rather calls it second death as they were all resurrected in their condemned resurrected eternal bodies to be thrown in to the lake of fire where worms does not die and the torment of fire is never quenched at all.
This final one and only resurrection of unsaved which leads to judgment of all unbelievers works which we have discussed above, which will then lead to reproaches—and to continuous abhorrence from God which will keep them in a transparent pit of display before the righteous to remind how much God hates sin and also remind them why they were there forever which is, they loved themselves more than they loved God or want to obey Him, thus these who were thrown in to lake of fire pit which burns eternally which is second death and eternal separation from God forever and ever (Rev 20:11-15; Isa 66:24; 65:17-24). Praise God for His mercies, grace and His righteous judgment!
Finally, in the above resurrection and preceding White Throne Judgment, those who have done evil and have continued in it without repentance, will be evaluated and judged based on their works, which actually are like rags, and cannot justify them before God (Isa 64:6), but rather will condemn them worthily to hell fire for their sins and evil works.
Much Blessings......
This final one and only resurrection of unsaved which leads to judgment of all unbelievers works which we have discussed above, which will then lead to reproaches—and to continuous abhorrence from God which will keep them in a transparent pit of display before the righteous to remind how much God hates sin and also remind them why they were there forever which is, they loved themselves more than they loved God or want to obey Him, thus these who were thrown in to lake of fire pit which burns eternally which is second death and eternal separation from God forever and ever (Rev 20:11-15; Isa 66:24; 65:17-24). Praise God for His mercies, grace and His righteous judgment!
Finally, in the above resurrection and preceding White Throne Judgment, those who have done evil and have continued in it without repentance, will be evaluated and judged based on their works, which actually are like rags, and cannot justify them before God (Isa 64:6), but rather will condemn them worthily to hell fire for their sins and evil works.
Much Blessings......
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