I’ve never heard any pastor, layman or brethren explain fully the rapture. When it is explained it’s always in ethereal terms and without a whole lot of sense. I’ve of a mind it’s not something we can regulate with the many varieties of explanations currently being taught. Hence, I’ve been skeptical of this phrase as well as the whole concept. Would you like to give me your explanation?
In a nutshell, here’s what the Bible says. In 1 Thes. 4:16-18 Paul wrote that at some point in time Jesus will call both deceased and living believers from the entire Church Age together to meet Him in the air, and from that time on we will always be with Him. In John 14:2-3 Jesus said the place He will take us to is His Father’s House. In 1 Cor. 15:51-53 Paul said this will happen instantaneously and without advance warning. At that time the dead will receive new physical bodies and the bodies of the living will be changed from mortal to immortal so we can exist in His presence. From 1 Thes. 1:10 and Rev. 3:10 we learn that the reason for this is to take us away from both the time and place of the judgments that are coming upon the Earth, so He’ll come for us before these judgments begin.
Next to His promise to save us from the penalty due us for our sins, this is the most important promise the Lord has made to us. At the moment we came to belief He placed His Spirit within us as a guarantee that this will happen, whether we understand it or not.