Welcome to Authorized Sword Ministries. This is Lesson 1 in our new series, The End Times. Today's lesson is called The Return of Christ and the Rapture.

We're so glad you're here.

A lot of people are worried about where this world is headed. They watch the news and wonder what's coming next. But the Bible doesn't leave the child of God guessing. God has told us how history ends, and it ends with Jesus Christ coming back. In this series we'll look at what the Bible says about His return, the tribulation, Israel, and the signs of the times. We'll start with the most comforting promise of all.

Our Key Verse

Today's key verse is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

"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." — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV)

Read that slowly. The Lord Himself is coming. Not an angel, not a messenger, but the Lord Himself. The dead in Christ will rise, and the believers who are still alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And then the best part: "so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Jesus Promised to Come Back

On the night before He went to the cross, Jesus knew His disciples were troubled. He was about to leave them. So He gave them this promise:

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." — John 14:1-3 (KJV)

Notice the words "I will come again, and receive you unto myself." Jesus did not say He would send for us. He said He would come Himself and take us to be with Him. He is preparing a place right now, and the same Lord who made the promise will keep it.

The Angels Said the Same Thing

Forty days after He rose from the dead, Jesus was taken up into heaven while His disciples watched. As they stood there staring at the sky, two men in white apparel stood by them and said:

"Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." — Acts 1:11 (KJV)

"This same Jesus." Not a different Jesus, not a spirit or an idea, but the same Jesus who walked with them, who was crucified, and who rose again. And He will come "in like manner," the same way they saw Him go. He went up bodily and visibly, and He will come back bodily and visibly.

What Is the Rapture?

You won't find the word "rapture" in the King James Bible. It comes from the Latin word used in old Latin Bibles for "caught up" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. But the event itself is clearly taught. The Lord descends, the dead in Christ rise, and living believers are caught up to meet Him in the air.

Paul describes the same moment to the church at Corinth:

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." — 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV)

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." It will happen faster than you can blink. Not everyone will die, Paul says. Some believers will be alive when the Lord comes, and they will be changed in an instant. Our bodies will be made new, and they will never get sick, grow old, or die again.

Why Paul Wrote This

The believers at Thessalonica had a real worry. Some of their loved ones in the church had died, and they wondered if those loved ones would miss out when Jesus came back. Paul wrote to comfort them:

"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." — 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (KJV)

Christians still grieve when someone they love dies. But we do not grieve "as others which have no hope." If you have a loved one who died trusting Christ, you will see them again. God will bring them with Jesus. And look at how Paul ends this passage:

"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." — 1 Thessalonians 4:18 (KJV)

The coming of the Lord is not meant to scare God's children. It's meant to comfort us.

Saved from the Wrath to Come

Paul tells the same church something important about God's plan for believers:

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," — 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV)

And in the first chapter, he says Jesus is the one which delivered us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Jesus also gave a promise to the church at Philadelphia:

"Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." — Revelation 3:10 (KJV)

Here we need to be clear about what is plain Scripture and what is interpretation. The Bible plainly says that Jesus will come, that believers will be caught up to meet Him, and that God has not appointed us to wrath. Many Bible-believing Christians, including our church, understand these verses to teach that the Lord will catch away His church before the seven-year tribulation begins. This is called the pre-tribulation view. Other believers who love the Lord place the rapture in the middle or at the end of the tribulation. We hold the pre-tribulation view because of verses like these, but we want you to read them for yourself and let the Bible speak.

Two Stages of One Coming

When you read all the verses about His coming, you notice two different pictures. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the Lord comes in the air, and His saints are caught up to meet Him. In other places, He comes all the way down to the earth in power and glory, with His saints. Zechariah says:

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." — Zechariah 14:4 (KJV)

And Jude says:

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints," — Jude 1:14 (KJV)

In the pre-tribulation view, the first is the rapture, when Christ comes for His saints. The second is His glorious appearing at the end of the tribulation, when He comes with His saints to judge the world and set up His kingdom. We'll look more closely at that in our next lesson.

No One Knows the Day

There is one thing we must be very careful about. Over the years, many people have tried to set a date for the Lord's return. Every one of them has been wrong. Jesus told us plainly:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." — Matthew 24:36 (KJV)

If the angels don't know the day, no preacher, no book, and no website knows it either. We are not called to set dates. We are called to be ready.

How Should We Live?

If Jesus could come at any moment, how should that change the way we live today? John tells us:

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." — 1 John 3:2-3 (KJV)

The hope of His coming makes us want to live clean. Paul calls it a blessed hope:

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" — Titus 2:13 (KJV)

So we watch, we work, and we keep looking up. And if you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, this is the most important question you'll ever face. The rapture is only for those who are in Christ. Today is the day to turn to Him, repent of your sin, and trust Him alone to save you.

Why This Matters

The world is full of fear about the future. But the child of God knows the end of the story. Jesus is coming again. The dead in Christ will rise. We will be changed in a moment and be with the Lord for ever. That is not a fairy tale. It's the promise of the same Jesus who rose from the grave, and He has never broken a promise yet.

A Simple Step for This Week

Here's our challenge for this week. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 every day this week, and memorize verse 17. Then think of one person who is grieving or worried about the future, and share these verses with them. Remember Paul's words: comfort one another with these words.

A Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the promise that Jesus is coming again. Thank You that the dead in Christ will rise, and that we will be caught up to meet our Lord in the air and be with Him for ever.

Lord, help us not to be afraid of the future, and help us not to grow careless either. Keep us ready, keep us clean, and help us tell others about Jesus while there is still time.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending this time with us.

This is Authorized Sword Ministries. God bless you.

Study Questions

1. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. List the events Paul describes, in order.
2. In John 14:1-3, what is Jesus preparing, and what does He promise to do?
3. What did the two men in white apparel tell the disciples in Acts 1:11? Why do the words "this same Jesus" matter?
4. Where does the word "rapture" come from, and what Bible phrase does it describe?
5. According to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, how quickly will believers be changed?
6. Why did Paul write 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18? How should Christians grieve differently?
7. What do 1 Thessalonians 5:9 and Revelation 3:10 say about God's people and His wrath? Which parts are plain text, and which are interpretation?
8. What is the difference between Christ coming for His saints and coming with His saints (Zechariah 14:4, Jude 1:14)?
9. What does Matthew 24:36 teach us about setting dates for the Lord's return?
10. According to 1 John 3:2-3, how should the hope of Christ's return change the way we live this week?

Verified Scripture References (KJV)

All quotations were checked word for word against the King James Version (bible-api.com, translation=kjv) on October 26, 2026.

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 — "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."
2. John 14:1-3 — "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
3. Acts 1:11 — "Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
4. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 — "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
5. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 — "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."
6. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 — "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
7. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 — "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,"
8. Revelation 3:10 — "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
9. Zechariah 14:4 — "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
10. Jude 1:14 — "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,"
11. Matthew 24:36 — "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."
12. 1 John 3:2-3 — "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
13. Titus 2:13 — "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

Sources

All sources were opened and checked on October 26, 2026.

1. The word "rapture" from the Latin rapiemur ("we shall be caught up") in the Latin Vulgate at 1 Thessalonians 4:17: "Rapture," Wikipedia, section "Etymology." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture
2. Pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation views: "Rapture," Wikipedia, section "Timing views." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture