THE RAPTURE

The Rapture, unfortunately for those who insist

that it will take place before the tribulation, will
actually happen after the tribulation as clearly implied
in the following verses:

29 
“But immediately after the tribulation of
those
days the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light, and the stars will

fall from the sky, and the powers of the

heavens will be shaken. 
30 
And then the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of the sky with
power and great glory. 
31 
And He will send forth His angels with a
great trumpet and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from
one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:29-
31)
 But for those who have fallen asleep in Jesus
even before the actual Rapture happens, Paul told the
Thessalonians not to grieve for them. For if they believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so GOD will also
bring them with HIM most probably to heaven since it
is not specified in the Scripture.

13 
But we do not want you to be uninformed,
brethren, about those who are asleep, so that
you will not grieve as do the rest who have no
hope. 
14 
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so God will bring with Him those
who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

These are possibly the souls who have

been or will be persecuted and killed because of their
love for the word of GOD and who will probably
be kept underneath the altar in heaven while waiting
for the Final Judgment.

9 
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal,
I saw underneath the altar the souls of those
who had been slain because of the word of
 God, and because of the testimony which they
had maintained; 
10 
and they cried out with a loud voice, saying,
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You
refrain from judging and avenging our blood
on those who dwell on the earth?” 
(Revelation 6:9-10)

Those who will die through martyrdom or natural

death during the great tribulation will probably be
brought up to heaven to be part of the big multitude
described in Revelation 7:9-14.

9 
After these things I looked, and behold, a great
multitude which no one could count,
from every nation and all tribes and peoples
and tongues, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes,
and palm branches were in their hands;

10 
and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 
And all the angels were standing around the
throne and around the elders and the four
living creatures; and they fell on their faces
before the throne and worshiped God, 
12 
saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and
wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power
 and might, be to our God forever and
ever. Amen.”
13 
Then one of the elders answered, saying to
me, “These who are clothed in the white robes,
who are they, and where have they come
from?” 
14 
I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he
said to me, “These are the ones who come out of
the great tribulation, and they have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9-14)

Then finally heaven will open, and Christ will

come down in all His glory and splendor along with His
armies, ready to fight Satan and his followers.

11 
And I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse, and He who sat on
it is called Faithful and True, and
12 
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His
head are many diadems; and He has a name

written on Him which no one knows except

Himself. 
13 
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood,
and His name is called The Word of God.
14 
And the armies which are in heaven,
clothed
 in fine linen, white and clean, were
following Him on white horses. 
15 
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so
that with it He may strike down the nations, . .
16 
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a
name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS.” (Revelation19:11-16)

The dead in Christ will rise first and those

righteous individuals who will survive the Great
Tribulation will be caught up together with them in the
clouds. They will meet Jesus in the air when He
descends to the earth to do battle against Satan and
his armies.

16 
On the other hand, those who will have
endured and remained alive at the end of the
Great Tribulation will be caught up together
with the resurrected souls to meet Jesus Christ
in the air when He finally descends from
heaven.
15 
For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord, will not
precede those who have fallen asleep. 
16 
For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice
 of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. 
17 
Then we who are alive and remain will
be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall
always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians
4:17)

Meanwhile, seeing the great force coming down

from heaven, Satan will immediately gather all his
supporters led by the beast and the kings of the earth
and their armies assembled.

19 
And I saw the beast and the kings of the
earth and their armies assembled to make war
against Him who sat on the horse and against
His army. (Revelation 19:19)

A great war will follow. Jesus will defeat Satan

and his armies. The beast and the false prophet will be
thrown alive into the lake of fire. The rest will be killed,
their bodies eaten by all the birds, and their spirits
kept in Hades to wait for the Final Judgment.
 20 
And the beast was seized, and with him
the false prophet . . .; these two were thrown
alive into the lake of fire which burns with
brimstone. 
21 
And the rest were killed with the sword
which came from the mouth of Him who sat
on the horse, and all the birds were filled with
their flesh. (Revelation 19:20-21)

Satan will be bound, thrown into the great abyss,

sealed, and imprisoned for a thousand years.

1 
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in
his hand. 
2 
And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of
old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him
for a thousand years; 
3 
and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it
and sealed it over him, so that he would not
deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand
years were completed; (Revelation 20:1-3)

With Satan bound and his angels kept in pits of

darkness, at last there will be peace, justice, and
harmony among the people under the rule of Christ but
only for a thousand years. This period will be known as
the Millennium.
 The souls who will be part of the first
resurrection are those who will be beheaded because of
their testimony of Jesus and the word of GOD and those
who will not worship the beast or his image and will not
receive the mark of the antichrist. They will be priests of
GOD and of Christ and they will help Christ rule the
world during the millennium.

4 
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was given to them. And
I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded because
of their testimony of Jesus and because of the
word of God, and those who had not worshiped
the beast or his image, and had not received
the mark on their forehead and on their hand;
and they came to life and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years. 
5 
The rest of the dead did not come to life until
the thousand years were completed. This is the
first resurrection. 
6 
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in
the first resurrection; over these the second
death has no power, but they will be priests of
God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a
thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)
 Those who will be included in the rapture will
also help Jesus Christ in running the newly formed
government during the millennium.

26 
He who overcomes, and he who keeps My
deeds until the end, to him I will give
authority over the nations; 
27 
and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to
pieces, as I also have
received authority from My
Father; (Revelation 2:26-27)

After the great war, most of the people will have

perished. The only remaining inhabitants of the earth
will be the unbelievers, the non-believers, and a few
others who will manage to survive the tribulation and
the war. For the next 1,000 years these people will
multiply like the sands of the sea and they will all be
converted to Christianity. Jesus Christ will be their
Shepherd and they will walk in His ordinances, keep
His statutes, and observe His commandments.

14 
“And to Him was given dominion, Glory
and a kingdom,
 That all the peoples, nations and men of
every language Might serve Him. . .
(Daniel 7:14)

15 
In those days and at that time I will cause
a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He
shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.
(Jeremiah 33:15)

24 
“My servant David will be king over them,
and they will all have one shepherd; and they
will walk in My ordinances and keep
My statutes and observe them. (Ezekiel 37:24)

During His reign, Christ will destroy all other

existing religions on earth. He will rule the earth with
justice and righteousness until Satan is finally freed
again from the abyss.

24 
then comes the end, when He hands
over the kingdom to the God and Father,
when He has abolished all rule and all
authority and power. 
25 
For He must reign until He has put all
His enemies under His feet. 
(1 Corinthians 15:24-25)