While we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
The night before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them, and He would come back and get them when everything was ready. Then they would be with Him always (John 14:1-3).
The promise Jesus made to the disciples that night is a promise He makes to every believer in the church age, corporately known as His bride.
It is also the first mention of what we call the rapture. The term rapture isn’t in Scripture; it comes from the Latin word rapturo and means “caught up” or “snatch away.”
Nevertheless, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 teaches us that Jesus will return, and any believers who are alive will get caught up to meet Him in the air and be with Him forever.
The idea that Jesus was leaving and then later returning to take them to the Father’s house was a new concept for the disciples. At this point, they still thought Jesus planned to set up His kingdom on earth. They didn’t realize He was coming a second time to do that.
So, when asking when Jesus will come for His bride, we are really wondering when the rapture will happen.
Although there are several views on when it takes place, I believe the pretribulation view makes the most logical sense when studying what Scripture says.
Why?
Let’s look at six reasons.
Table of Contents
When Will Jesus Come for His Bride?
There is nothing that has to happen before Jesus comes for His bride. The rapture is imminent. He could come today or in a hundred years. However, the Bible teaches a future seven-year tribulation before He returns to the earth to set up His millennial kingdom. So, it must happen before then. Other reasons are the things that occur during the tribulation and what is happening in heaven.
1. The Rapture is Imminent
As has already been said, the rapture can happen at any moment. So believers must be patient in the waiting and look forward to it. The New Testament writers often spoke of it, as reflected in the following passages:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.
1 Corinthians 1:7 So that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
James 5:7-8 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming…Strengthen your hearts because the Lord’s coming is near.
1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 For you are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled.
Are You Ready?
Imminence, by definition, means the rapture has to take place before the tribulation begins. If it happens during or after, it wouldn’t be imminent.
Since we don’t know when the rapture will happen (or when we will die, for that matter), it is essential to be ready. First and foremost, that means knowing you are going to heaven.
RELATED > > > > > Will Everyone Go to Heaven? – What the Bible Says
2. The Earth Will Have Believers When Christ Returns
Immediately after the rapture, there will be no believers because the church is gone; Jesus has come for His bride.
There is no evidence that the church goes through the tribulation. You won’t find a single reference to the church in Revelation 4-18, the very chapters that describe God pouring out His wrath on the earth.
Although having no references doesn’t prove the church isn’t there, you can see why one might come to that conclusion. Especially when you consider the verses that say the wrath isn’t for the church.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
Where the Believers Come From
However, many people will be saved during those seven years because the gospel is still known and preached. It could be by the 144,000 sealed Jews evangelizing, the two witnesses in Jerusalem, or those who heard the truth before the rapture, rejected it, and now believe.
Furthermore, the tribulation saints who survive will go into the millennium without resurrection bodies and be the ones to repopulate the earth.
There has to be an interval between the rapture and the second coming of Christ. Otherwise, all believers would be part of the church and receive resurrection bodies. And no one would be left to repopulate the earth after God judges unbelievers at the White Throne Judgment.
What Does It Mean That the Church is the Bride of Christ?
3. The Church Receives Rewards in Heaven
Some Christians think we will go through the tribulation. However, as already mentioned, that leaves no one to repopulate the earth in the millennium. It also doesn’t allow certain things to take place in heaven before Christ returns, namely, two events.
The first event is the Judgment or Bema Seat of Christ.
After the rapture, all believers will stand before Jesus to give an account for their actions. It has nothing to do with salvation as you are already “in Christ.”
This judgment is more like an awards ceremony. So, it makes sense that it takes place in heaven (see Revelation 4 for a description of the Throne Room), especially if the rapture is before the tribulation.
However, no Scripture tells you the exact time and location, only that it will happen.
Romans 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
RELATED > > > > > Will I Receive Crowns at the Bema Seat of Christ?
4. The Bride Gets Married in Heaven
Scriptures portray Christ as the bridegroom and the church as His bride. Jesus Himself says He is the groom.
When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t fast, Jesus replied:
Matthew 9:15 Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
And when they told John that Jesus was baptizing and everyone was going to him, John said,
John 3:28-30 You yourselves can testify that I said, I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So, this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.
Later, Paul compares marriage to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:25-27 He [Jesus] gave up his life for her [the church] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
The second event is the wedding.
The wedding takes place in heaven.
Revelation 19:1 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying…
Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.
It will be a wonderful day!
5. God’s Purpose for Israel in the Tribulation
The tribulation is not the general suffering and persecution the Bible promises that believers will suffer. It has a unique purpose that has nothing to do with the church.
In the Old Testament, God chose Israel to be the nation in which He would send the Messiah. They became God’s special possession, and He made promises to them.
Some of those promises have been fulfilled, and some haven’t.
When Jesus was on earth, the Jewish nation rejected Him as their Messiah. So, God said (and I paraphrase), “Fine, I will offer my gift of salvation to the Gentiles too. But I love you and am not finished with you. I still have promises to fulfill, and you will one day accept Jesus as your Messiah.”
Following Jesus’ first coming and the rejection by the Jews, the church was born. But God has not forgotten Israel.
The tribulation is primarily a time when God will prepare Israel to accept Jesus as their Messiah. A secondary purpose is to pour out His wrath on unbelievers everywhere.
But if you miss what God is doing with Israel, you have missed the most crucial part.
Below is my favorite song about Israel’s future.
Zion
6. The Rapture and the Second Coming Are Different
Although there are similarities between the rapture and the second coming of Christ, there are also differences.
And those differences are enough to make a case for them being separate events. Differences in themselves don’t prove a pretribulation rapture, but it certainly allows for it.
I will name three.
1) At the rapture, the church meets Jesus in the air; at the second coming, we come back with Him, and His feet stand on the Mount of Olives.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 We who are alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Revelation 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Zechariah 14:3-4 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day [the day the nations gather to fight against Jerusalem] his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.
2) Rapture scriptures (1 Thess 4:13-17; 1 Cor 15:51-53; Jn 14:1-3) lead you to conclude it is imminent. Whereas second coming passages (Joel 3:9-15; Rev 19:11-21; Zech 14:1-8; Matt 24:29-31) are preceded by many signs and events.
3) At the rapture, the church, both living and dead, receive resurrection bodies that will live forever. However, there is no mention of this in the second coming passages (because the church already has their new bodies).
When Will the Rapture NOT Happen?
Final Thoughts
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using the affiliate link below, I receive a small commission.
Thank you for reading “When Will Jesus Come for His Bride? – When Everything is Ready”
You may agree or disagree with what I’ve written, but let me be clear. Your rapture view is not a matter of salvation. And no one will lose their salvation because they had the wrong view.
I presented six reasons to consider the pretribulation view.
- The rapture is imminent. It can occur in the next five minutes or not for 500 years. In other words, nothing has to happen first. Only God knows.
- The earth will have believers when Christ returns. And they will be the ones to repopulate the world during the millennium. On the other hand, the church will be in heaven with their resurrection bodies escaping the wrath that God is pouring out on the earth.
- The church receives its rewards in heaven before Christ returns. That means they have to be there, not on earth.
- The marriage of the Lamb (wedding) is in heaven. Again, that means the bride has to be present.
- God has a purpose for Israel during the tribulation. He is preparing them to meet their Messiah…again. Israel rejected Jesus the first time He was here, but they will not the next time they see Him. God’s focus is on Israel, not the church.
- The rapture and the second coming are not the same. You have Scriptures describing the rapture and others discussing the second coming. Even with some similarities, they are clearly different.
If you would like a comprehensive book that goes into much more detail, I recommend “Understanding End Times Prophecy” by Paul Benware.