The truth is that the events of the rapture will be visible and huge. The whole earth will go dark, the sky roll back like a scroll and then the Son of Man will be seen in great power and glory.
When Jesus comes and the skies roll up like a scroll, every eye will see Him. The common idea that the rapture will be “invisible” is bad theology. The rapture will be so visible, that even the “one's who pierced the Lord and murdered Him, will see Him coming on the clouds in great glory,” right from their place in hell (Revelation 1:7). How can the powers of heaven be shaken, the sun go black and the moon turn blood-red as Jesus foretold in Luke 21:25-28 and no one know but, the Christians, that the rapture is going on? And why would God want to be secretive?
The rapture will be a time of deliverance for Christians, a time of the harvest for God and a time of judgment for the wicked. It is the end of the age of salvation and the beginning of God's wrath on the most wicked generation that ever lived.
Please prayerfully consider these verses and commentary.
Matthew 26:63-64 Then the high priest said to Him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Mark 14:61-62 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
Jesus told the evil priest and his cohorts, in essence, that they will see Him at the rapture. In that great Day, He will have His Father with Him because what Jesus is saying is that He will be “seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.” And He will be coming with the “clouds of heaven” which represent angels and Christians (in spirit, that have preceded those living to be with the Lord in heaven), and the glory of the Lord (see the next section of verses and more later).
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 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 by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
This is the rapture. Some wonder: How can those who sleep in Christ come with Him and also rise first? "They" are coming in spirit form and their bodies in the graves will change from corruptible to incorruptible because there can be no corruption in heaven. Another verse that shows people in heaven coming with the Lord at the rapture, is found in 1 Thessalonians 3:13.
Jesus Christ is coming enthroned at the right hand of the Father and bringing with Him those who sleep in Jesus and every eye will see Him and His glory. "Everyone in all places" will "bless the Lord" and "give Him glory, including the wicked.
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
Also, every knee will bow to the Lord.
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
When the wicked see the rapture happening, they will be in a state of "shock and awe" as the Son of God suddenly bursts through the atmosphere. In the next verses, when John records that the “world mourns” and “gives Him glory,” it will be because the situation will demand it.
See "the visibility" of the rapture in these next sections of Scripture. First recapping our initial verse with explanation.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all “the tribes of the earth” will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
This verse in Revelation 1:7, completely explains how the high priest (Matthew 26:64 and Mark 14:62) and other evil cohorts will see Jesus coming. “All” on the earth and all below the earth, all will see Him as in Revelation 5:13 (as in the verse also previously shown above; and all the "tribes of the earth who will mourn" are certainly not the Christians being raptured up- the Christians will see also, but it will naturally be joyous).
Mark 13:24-27 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."
The rapture is when the Lord calls out His harvest, His people who are Christians. The wicked will mourn and grieve for the trouble that will be upon them, for these wicked ones will have rejected and blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ, His Gospel, rejoiced and celebrated the killing of His Two Witnesses as well as persecuted the true followers of the Lord, Christians. Not to mention, they will have chosen the Antichrist, worshiped his image and have taken his mark.
The following verses are not only representative of the Two Witnesses being raised from the dead and called up to heaven, but Christians will rise up to the Lord also. This is part of the rapture. And the evil ones will see it all.
Revelation 11:12-13 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
“The rest” are “the lost” who “will give glory to the God of heaven.” They will fear God because they will have rejected Christ and bowed to the blasphemous Antichrist who will proclaimed himself as God. When Jesus Christ appears above the whole earth, calling up His own, the wicked will fear, give glory to the God of heaven bowing on their knees and confessing with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father whether they like it or not.
Jesus Christ will be glorified by all. All beings (human and angelic) of the kingdom of heaven will glorify the Lord joyously and all the wicked ones (both human and demonic) will have no choice but to fear and also give Him glory. This is also the beginning of judgment on the wicked. Look at this following verse and see how it will be fulfilled.
Revelation 3:9 “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”
“All believers” will be with the Lord, together above the earth joyously glorifying the Lord, while the wicked will be forced to “see the Lord and bow before Him” and “give Him glory.” Will this not be the fulfillment of Revelation 3:9? While bowing and giving glory to the Father and Jesus, the wicked in hell and those alive who will have chosen the Antichrist will "see" the very people they will have persecuted and some even killed, standing with the Lord in the air.
Next, verses will be presented that show it to be impossible to be a secret, invisible rapture as put forth by the “Left Behind” series and taught by many famous people. God's Word is true, no matter how much myth and bad theology has been accepted. Jesus said a lot about His coming. Every eye will see and experience the whole event.
Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
How could “the sun go dark and the moon not give its light, and stars fall from heaven” and "the powers of the heavens be shaken," and no one see or notice? How could the whole earth go dark and no one notice or be able to see or tell what is going on?
The Lord said He will be seen both by those who will fear and by those who are about to be redeemed. The Lord never said "only Christians" will see Him.
Luke 21:25-28 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
“Those who will fear” are the wicked and the ones Jesus wants to “lift up your heads” are the Christians about to be redeemed. If Christians were not here, why then would Jesus say "look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near"? This shows that it is not at Armageddon which comes at the end of the 7 years. Christians will already be with the Lord by then.
Matthew 24:30-31 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn [because they will know they are in trouble], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect [Christians] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Once again, this is an “all-encompassing” event. "Global" is too small a word. "Universal" is too small a word. All on the earth are involved. All of heaven are involved and all of hell will see and participate. “All-encompassing” is the best description that I have found so far.
Next please consider, what does the Lord mean by “the sign of the Son of Man appearing in heaven”?
Revelation 6:12-14 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
"The sign of His coming” is that "the dimension" we now live in, including our entire atmosphere and all its light, will “cease as we know it” - as this “all-encompassing event” takes over the whole earthly scene. The world as we now know it will go 100% completely dark (sun, moon and stars) and our atmosphere above “roll up like a scroll” - this is huge. This is the sign of the Son of man coming!
And while the “whole world” will have become completely dark and our atmosphere have collapsed like a scroll rolling up, then the entire earth will be illuminated by the glory of the Son and His Father, together with the Christians from heaven and the angels coming through. All the earth will come to a stand still and come to “Attention.” Every living being will pay attention to what is going on, whether “above, on or below the earth” or “even in the sea.” It will be an “all-encompassing event.”
Jude 1:14-15 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
Once the saints return to heaven, along with those who will have been raptured up, and all with the new incorruptible bodies, the results of judgment will follow with the 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of wrath on all who had rejected the Lord and gone the way of the Antichrist.
See the Lord in His brightness and glory coming suddenly, in these next verses.
Matthew 24:27 "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (This is how sudden and bright His coming is, not how fast people disappear! - The Lord will light up the whole earth.)
Luke 17:21-24 Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day."
The lost will see and fear.
Revelation 6:14-17 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man [All the ones not being raptured up], hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The wicked will try to hide, because they will see Him. These verses are not about Armageddon when Jesus will come riding on a horse or even the Great White Throne of Judgment; this is the rapture when He will come with the clouds of saints, a throne and great glory. This will be “judgment time” for the lost, having been blasphemous and utterly wicked; for having utterly rejected the real God and the Gospel, for having taken the mark and worshiping the beast. There is more than just "the rapture of the saints" that will happen at the coming of the Lord.
Many people seem to overlook these next verses about the rapture.
Matthew 25:31-33 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” (Jesus will surprise the “lost” like a thief in the night and they will know their error.)
Jesus will not separate (or re-separate) “the sheep out” at the Great White Throne of Judgment. That day will be the “final day in court” for the people in Hell. He will not do that at Armageddon for it will be a time of war. The Lord will separate out His sheep at the rapture. The Lord will pull out His sheep and the goats will be left.
The Bible gives us “little views in various places” of Scripture of what will happen. Look closely at the next section of Scripture. You can see that the rapture will have just happened and the 144,000 remnant Jews have to be sealed.
Revelation 7:1-4 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
It will be very important for the 144,000 remnant Jews to be sealed for their protection from the wrath of Satan and those on his side and for the wrath of the Lord that will be coming upon the earth. For 3 ½ years, “judgment and wrath” in the form of the trumpets of judgment and the bowls of the wrath of God will fall on the wicked. The Battle of Armageddon and “the crushing of the grapes of wrath” (Revelation 14:17-20, 19:11-21) will be the conclusion of God's judgment upon the evil ones of the current age.
Revelation 7:9-17 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" [I believe these are Christians!] All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
So we can see that when the rapture happens, all people and all beings will “give Him glory” on and under the earth and in heaven.
Here are some additional verses for consideration, just to emphasize more of how “every eye will see Him.”
Luke 17:30 “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
This is speaking of the rapture, which you can read more about in the preceding verses at your convenience.
The following verses not only speak of Jesus “being revealed” but also of the judgment to come and why it will be coming.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
That “Day” is “the day of the rapture.” That is "the Day" that “He will be glorified in His saints and admired among all those who believe.” He is not speaking of Armageddon or the Great White Throne of Judgment. There is only one time that fits it all and it is the Day of the rapture.
Following are two more verses about the Lord being revealed.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Isaiah 40:5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
This could be no other time than “the Day” of the rapture. More proof? By the time of the Great White Throne of Judgment, the Lord’s glory will already have been revealed. The Lord coming in His glory at the rapture will be wonderful for the saints awaiting Him but it will be utterly shocking for the wicked. But one thing is sure; just as Isaiah recorded, all flesh will see Him together.
OTHER "GENERAL RAPTURE" ARTICLES
ANCIENT JEWISH WEDDING CUSTOMS & JESUS CHRIST, HIS BRIDE THE CHURCH Amazing correlation such as, only the father of the groom could say "go, call the wedding" when he felt all were prepared according to him and more. AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT Understanding this idiom, its real meaning and how it correlates with other Scripture! AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH What did Jesus really mean by this? It is much more than the common interpretation. BRIDE OF CHRIST Jesus is coming for a church pure and true. By her faithfulness, she will be counted worthy of her Lord. CAN THE RAPTURE HAPPEN AT ANY TIME? When all the events line up according to prophecy, the rapture will happen. So what is left that is necessary for the Word of God to be fulfilled? EVERY KNEE WILL BOW The lost will bow to the Lord Jesus. The Father will see His Son glorified; whether they like it or not. And they will confess He is Lord. IMPORTANT COMPONENTS TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION An overview of some of the major components of the book of Revelation. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FOR REVELATION UNDERSTANDING A few keys are offered here that can unlock some of the doors to understanding prophetic Scripture. IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE This is about one of the most misquoted verses of all time. If you have not seen it yet, once you see the real meaning, it is amazing. THE APOSTASY, THE GREAT FALLING AWAY Many are looking for "the whole world to come to Christ" before the Lord returns. The opposite will happen. See it in God's Word and explained here. THE BIGGER PICTURE, UNDERSTANDING GOD AND THE DEVIL IN THIS DAY AND HOUR A timely commentary for living during these days. THE LAST TRUMPET There are many trumpets in the Bible. There are 7 special ones foretold of by John the Revelator. But which one happens at the rapture? THE LORD WILL RULE WITH A ROD OF IRON This article explains the real meaning of the verses that make this statement. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SALVATION WILL END AT THE RAPTURE Sadly many think they have their whole lives to decide to turn to God and for some it turns out to have been a foolish mistake. And so it is with the rapture. THE TWO FINAL BATTLES BETWEEN GOD & SATAN See it shown with Scripture, that Armageddon happens at the end of the 7 years and the battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium. TWO WHITE HORSES, TWO VERY DIFFERENT RIDERS AND TIMES This article shows how the first white horse that we see in the book of Revelation, is the imitation Christ. Jesus comes at Armageddon on His horse, not at the first seal.