ABSTRACT
A cornerstone doctrine in premillennialist Christian eschatology, the Rapture is the muchanticipated and oft-debated “catching up” of living Christians from earth into the clouds, through the air to meet Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). Alternately designated the “Translation of the Saints” or the “Great Hope” (Titus 2:13-15), the Rapture occurs at the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ and follows the resurrection of Christians who have died. Like the resurrected, the raptured miraculously receive spiritual, imperishable bodies that enable them to inherit the kingdom of God and to live forever (1 Corinthians 15:50-55).
