If you are wondering where is “the rapture” mentioned in the KJV Bible, you have a very valid question. The short and quick answer is that the word “rapture” is never mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible. But just because the specific word rapture does not appear, the event referred to by this word does. The doctrine of the rapture is the teaching that Jesus Christ will come back and take His people, both living and dead, to heaven before this present world undergoes a series of very severe judgments commonly known as “the great tribulation.”
Specifically, this Bible doctrine is dubbed “the pre-tribulation rapture.” At the time of the rapture, not only will Jesus Christ take away those believers who are alive on Earth at that time, He will also resurrect the bodies of dead believers to unite them with their souls first.
Where Is the Rapture Mentioned In the KJV Bible? – The Rapture or The Second Coming of Christ
The rapture is a New Testament revelation, but the Second Coming of Christ is both an Old Testament and a New Testament teaching. The rapture is also called “the second coming of Christ.” This is partly true. In the rapture, Jesus will come in the air and will remove His people from Earth, first resurrecting the dead bodies of believers and then “catching away” His living believers. Approximately seven years later, Jesus Christ will return to Earth with His people to judge and to rule and reign 1,000 years.
When using the phrase, “the Second Coming of Christ,” it is necessary to define whether one is referring to the rapture, where Jesus will come in the air to escort His people to Himself, or the later event when Jesus will come as a ruling king to reign on Earth as it is prophesied both in the Old Testament and also in the New Testament.
The first time Jesus came to earth, He came as a helpless baby. The second time He comes, He will be the King of the world.
One of the prophecies of the coming kingdom of God is found in
Daniel 2:44
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (KJV)
This coming of Jesus Christ to Earth to set up His kingdom after the rapture of the church is found in
Revelation 19:11-15
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” (KJV)
When Jesus Christ comes back in judgment to establish His kingdom after the rapture of the church, then the prophecy found in Matthew 24:30 will be fulfilled.
Matthew 24:30
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (KJV)
The minor prophet Zechariah gave more information about the return of Christ to this earth:
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.” (KJV)
After the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on Earth, He will usher in a new heaven and a new Earth. This is promised in the Book of Revelation.
Revelation 21:1
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (KJV)
In the new heaven and new Earth, Jesus Christ will reign forever. This will fulfill the prophecy of
Luke 1:33
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (KJV)
To the thinking mind, the world must have had a beginning. Logically, if it began it would also have to end. The Bible tells both about the beginning of the world and the end of the world, too. The rapture will effectively end the world as it is today. The end of this world will be for those taken out of the world by Jesus Christ, they will be with Him forever in heaven.
Also, at the time of the rapture, the resulting worldwide change, the chaos of the mysterious disappearance of millions of people followed by the seven years of coming judgment, will characterize the end of the world as it is known presently for all those who are left behind on the Earth.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
When Jesus was on Earth he did not teach about the rapture. But He hinted at it when He talked with His apostles shortly before His crucifixion.
John 14:3
“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.”
Although He promised to come back and get them to be with Him forever, He did not go into detail as to exactly how that He would do this.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
The next hint of the rapture was spoken by angels to Jesus’ disciples after Christ ascended into heaven. Their words are recorded in Acts 1:9-11.
Acts 1:9-11
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
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.” (KJV)
After Christ ascended bodily up into heaven, angels, the “two men in white apparel,” told the wondering disciples that Jesus will return in the same way. Their words were “in like manner” as He had left.
This fact was a new revelation to the disciples, a fact they did not understand at the time. It would be the Apostle Paul who was chosen by God and taught by God to bring this revelation to light. Paul told about how God called him to serve Him, and sent him to “Bible school” to learn God’s Word so he could teach others, as recorded in Galatians 1:15-18.
Galatians 1:15-18
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” (KJV)
One of the things that God taught Paul in the three years that he was in Arabia, quite possibly on Mount Sinai — the mountain of God — was about the rapture. That is why Paul could confidently write and explain about it to the Christian believers. The majority of what we know about the rapture is from the writings of the Apostle Paul.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
The word “rapture” is derived from the Greek word “harpazo,” used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 for the words “caught up.” The entire verse reads,
1 Thessalonians 4:17
“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.” (KJV)
Bible scholars have anglicized the Greek “harpazo” and dubbed it “the rapture,” which comes from the Latin “rapturo.” To better understand the rapture, which is an unique future event foretold in Holy Scripture, the Bible must be consulted and analyzed.
The New Testament books are not in chronological order. According to Bible scholars, the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica was the earliest of Paul’s epistles. So Paul, when he referenced the rapture, he was reminding the Christians there about this doctrine that he may initially have taught them.
This Bible verse is not the first reference in the Bible concerning the rapture. But these verses clearly explain this future, supernatural event in the best way. Paul wrote this particular passage to comfort and encourage Christians, especially those who had lost loved ones.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“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.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (KJV)
Paul called those to whom he was writing “brethren,” indicating that his audience were Christians. He told them not to have an overabundance of sorrow or grief concerning “them which are asleep” because of the hope of the resurrection. Many times the word “sleep” is used concerning dead Christians, since the word “sleep” has the understanding that the person is alive, only sleeping. When a Christians dies, their body stops functioning, but their soul is alive and with God because Jesus promised everlasting life to those who put their trust in Him.
Paul did not tell these Christians to whom he was writing that they should not be sad when their loved ones pass away, but rather, that they should not be as sorrowful as those who had no hope of ever being reunited with their deceased loved ones ever again.
Paul went on to explain why he said this. Addressing Christian believers, he told them that those “which sleep in Jesus” — dead Christians — whose souls, their real and eternal essence, were with God in heaven since they were “absent from the body, and present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
God would bring these individuals with Him when Jesus Christ comes at the time of the rapture. Then, when Jesus Christ comes back to collect His people, He will first raise and reunite the resurrected bodies of the those who had died with their souls.
The phrase “shall not prevent them which are asleep,” uses the word “prevent,” which used here means “come before.” This timeline of the rapture is repeated in verse 16 when Paul said, “the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
The powerful return of Jesus Christ in the clouds with His shout, possibly calling each dead believer by his or her name simultaneously, will awaken the dead bodies of Christian believers. Jesus Christ will resurrect the dead, even the cremated bodies of His people, when He returns in the clouds during the rapture.
Immediately after this resurrection, Jesus Christ will catch away those living Christians who are on Earth. He will then take these believers to Himself to be with Him forever. Christian believers who are alive at this coming of Jesus Christ will cheat the experience of death by being snatched off of Earth and will enter into heaven, their bodies never having to succumb to the process of dying.
During this great event, all of the Persons of the triune Godhead will be present. God the Father will be coming with His Son. Christ Jesus, God’s Son, will be in the clouds calling His people to Himself, and the Holy Spirit, Who is on Earth and sealed in the hearts of all believers, will go up with all of the believers who will be taken to heaven.
Then, all those formerly dead Christians, some, if not all, of the holy angels, since Paul mentioned “the voice of the archangel,” and all living Christians will meet together in the clouds, with Christ Jesus the Saviour as the focal point, will be escorted into the realm of God’s holy heaven forever and ever.
Truly, the anticipation of this coming event is a great comfort for those alive, those facing death themselves, and those facing the loss of their loved ones. This great promise of deliverance for those who are alive or have passed from this world is based on the trust of Jesus Christ, Who died and then rose from the dead, proving that He had conquered death. Those who don’t have this saving faith in Christ Jesus have no such hope, but rather, face a very grim future.
Where is the rapture mentioned in the KJV Bible?
Obviously, Paul wrote the letter 1 Thessalonians before he wrote the sequel — 2 Thessalonians. After getting his first letter, those church members had much to digest and try to understand. Today we have the completed Bible, and for us, Bible doctrine is easier to grasp since we have the completed Word of God.
For the early Christians at Thessalonica, their concept of the future return of Jesus Christ was fuzzy. This future event may even have both excited, and even scared, them a bit, and they had no idea when the coming of the Lord would occur. Paul needed to write another letter to these dear Christians, and in the book of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2 verses 1-12, he referenced the facts that he had introduced to them initially and gave them (and us today) much more information. Here is what he said.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
1 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (KJV)
In this letter, Paul expounded on what he had introduced in his first letter. He knew that the concept of the rapture, which he had referred in his first letter, had troubled those believers in Christ, and that they needed to have more information.
They, like us today, needed to be reminded of what he had said to them and that they needed clarification.
In giving a timeline of when the rapture would occur, Paul introduced two distinct players. These two individuals are not only associated with the rapture, but are also influential in the lives of every Christian.
These players are what he referred to as “the mystery of iniquity,” and the other is “he who now letteth.” The words “letteth” and “let” are old English words for “allow” or “permitting.” The Person who allows the “mystery of iniquity” to work (a reference to Satan and his minions) is the Holy Spirit. Paul is saying that the evil in the world is allowed by God, and He will allow it to continue for a time. But according to verse 6, the Holy Spirit is withholding, that is, restraining the mystery of iniquity. Satan can work his evil, but he is hindered and limited by God’s Holy Spirit.
Then, Paul uses the little, but powerful word “until.” Iniquity will work until… “he be taken out of the way.” When Jesus Christ comes back to take His people, those who have His Holy Spirit sealed inside of them, He has to remove the Holy Spirit as well. So at the rapture, not only will believers be taken out of this world, but so will God’s Holy Spirit.
Then, when the Earth no longer has the restraining force of God’s Holy Spirit, the fullness of the “mystery of iniquity,” the “Wicked,” (capital “W” indicates an individual) will be revealed. This individual will be the antichrist.
In verse 8, after the comma, following the word “revealed,” comes a promise that God Himself will destroy the Antichrist. But in this short verse, after the comma, is a time period of seven years. The Lord Jesus Christ will consume the antichrist, but not until He comes back to Earth after coming in the clouds to get His people, and after seven years of tribulation.
Verses 9 through 12 Paul continued to describe the world and general events of those left behind after the Rapture occurs. After God takes His people home to heaven, Satan will have his way with those left on the earth. Those left behind who did not believe the truth of Scriptures and accept Jesus Christ as Savior when they had the opportunity, will believe the lies of the antichrist. Because of their unbelief, they will face God’s severe judgment. There will be no second chance for them after the rapture occurs, regardless of what some teach.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
Paul also wrote the book of 1 Corinthians to the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth. First Corinthians was probably written after First Thessalonians. First Corinthians chapter 15 is known as “The Resurrection Chapter” because Paul describes the future of believers who have passed away from this life. This chapter is a very comforting passage of Scripture. Not only does Paul explain about life after death in heaven with Christ, but he also mentions the rapture for those Christians who will be alive when Jesus Christ returns.
This concept must have been a new teaching to these Christians at Corinth because Paul introduces this topic by calling it “a mystery.” Here is what he said in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52.
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.” (KJV)
Most people die and world events and activities continue on. The majority of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is about the promise of life after death for the Christian, a comfort to both those facing their own death and for those grieving their deceased loved ones. In verse 51, Paul shifts from the experiences of dying to the living, telling them about how they will enter heaven when Christ returns, thus cheating death.
In this Bible passage, Paul again describes the two parts of the rapture, a different experience for different people. The first part of this catching away will be the resurrection of the dead Christians. At this point, when Jesus comes back, their dead bodies will be raised and changed into glorified bodies to clothe their souls, which have been with Jesus Christ from the moment of death, according to 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (KJV)
Then, the living Christians will also have their physical bodies changed, and be given glorified bodies so that they, too, will be able to enter heaven.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
Matthew chapter 24 is famous when considering the topic of the rapture, especially in trying to figure out exactly when the coming of Christ will occur.
Matthew 24:36-44
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (KJV)
This account in Matthew is repeated in the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 14:34-36
“I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (KJV)
I believe that although these Scripture passages, which are commonly referenced in regard to the rapture when spoken by Jesus concerning future events, neither are referring to the Rapture. I believe that what Jesus was referring to when He spoke these words was not the rapture, but He was foretelling about what would occur after the rapture, when He comes again in judgement. In these passages, He was telling His listeners about Him coming back to Earth bodily and setting up His kingdom, not catching away Christian believers.
The reference to the “days of Noah” means that the normal activities of life, eating, drinking, and even marriage, will be going on as normal up until Christ returns in judgment.
The passages in the Gospels about people being separated, “one shall be taken, and the other shall be left” is referring to the coming judgment when Jesus Christ returns. The individuals who will be taken in this context will be taken for judgment; specifically to hell, not taken to be eternally with Jesus Christ, as in the rapture.
The setting of the events of Matthew 24 is a warning to the Jews who would be left behind to endure the tribulation. They will see the antichrist, called “the abomination of desolation” by Christ in verse 15. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).” Believers will not see this person as they will already be in heaven with Christ Jesus.
Matthew chapter 24 describes the day of the Lord, the judgement of Jesus Christ.
Earlier in Matthew chapter 24 are these words that, in the context of the rapture, clarify information about Christ’s Second Coming.
Matthew 24:29-31 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Since the rapture will occur “in a twinkling of an eye,” this verse in Matthew cannot be referring to this event. The time period referenced here is after the tribulation, as the verse reads, “after the tribulation of those days…” This is a reference to the return of Christ to rule the world. The people on Earth will see the sign of the Son of man, and when this is revealed, then everyone will mourn as they will see the triumphant Christ coming in great power and glory.
Again, with the loud voice of a trumpet, Christ will collect His people out of heaven and bringing them with Him to assist Him in His worldwide reign. This event will happen at the end of the tribulation.
The Jewish people were familiar with the concept of God’s coming judgment. One of the verses in the Old Testament Scriptures, which was very familiar to the Jewish people in the time of Jesus, is Joel 3:12. “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” (KJV)
The grim verse of Matthew 24:28 says “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” (KJV)
This concept is repeated in Luke 17:37. “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” (KJV)
This appears to indicate that sinners will not be able to hide from being “taken” to judgement. Wherever the unrepentant sinners will be, they will be found and taken away.
Unlike the rapture, when it will be desirous to be removed from this world to enter heaven, the time of God’s judgment will be a fearful, not joyous, time to be taken.
The Book of Matthew was written to the Jewish people. In Matthew, the context was that Jesus was answering a question posed to Him by His Jewish disciples. The Jews, at the time of Jesus, had no idea about the concept of the church. Nevertheless, they were very interested in knowing about Christ’s kingdom, where the Jews and the nation of Israel would have an exalted place. The disciples were inquiring about “the coming of the Son of Man” which in their minds, accurately so, referred to Christ’s earthly kingdom.
The events recorded in the Gospels occurred before the time of the Church. The birthday of the Church occurred in Acts chapter 2, when believers were indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit. The rapture is an event for Christian, collectively called “the church.”
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
Finally, in the Book of Revelation written by the Apostle John after he was shown future events by an angel, the rapture is alluded to again. The Book of Revelation composes past, present, and future events, according to the instructions given to John in Revelation 1:19 “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (KJV)
The majority of the events in Revelation is future events. After John wrote to the seven churches in Asia in the first three chapters, the focus of the book changes. This change is recorded in Revelation 4:1-2,
Revelation 4:1-2
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” (KJV)
What John saw was a vision, but it is also symbolic of the rapture. John, a Christian believer, was invited into heaven by Jesus Christ, specifically with the voice that sounded like a trumpet.
Where is the Rapture Mentioned in the KJV Bible?
1 Corinthians 15:52
“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.” (KJV)
and
1 Thessalonians 4:16
“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” (KJV)
The invitation was comforting. The Lord was inviting John to “come” to Him, and without John doing anything himself, he found himself in heaven. This incident portrays the rapture of the church of God.
Just because the word “rapture” is not contained in the King James Version of the Bible does not mean this even will not occur. Just as surely as the events predicting the birth of Jesus, and all of the events of the crucifixion, happened exactly as God had prophesied, so, too, will God make sure that all of His prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, both in the air and to establish His kingdom on Earth, will happen exactly as recorded in Holy Writ.
Knowing that someday each individual will come face to face with a holy God, it is imperative that in light of this event, which will occur either in the rapture itself or immediately after death, it is important to prepare for this meeting. God has given each person the privilege of a lifetime to prepare to meet their Maker.
With the knowledge of the rapture, and the coming of a powerful, reigning Jesus Christ, now is the time to make sure that you will be on the right side, that you will be taken in the rapture, and not taken in the severe judgment of God.
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