Changed vs Raised vs Caught Up

There is a difference between being changed in the twinkling of an eye and being caught up into the clouds in view of the world. All of 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of the resurrection, whether it is the resurrection of Jesus or the resurrection of all saints on the last day.

1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

1Co 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

1Co 15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

1Co 15:32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

1Co 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 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.

Verses 51 and 52 are not speaking of disappearance, but rather, being changed. Those who are alive go through the same change that the dead experience. Our natural and corrupt bodies are changed in the twinkling of an eye. These verses are not talking about being raptured, and certainly not being raptured in the twinkling of an eye. The Resurrection does take place at the same last trump that announces the arrival of Jesus in the clouds for His New Testament elect, simply because the body must be raised or changed to spiritual before it can be raptured. The aforementioned verses should read like this: We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. Changed is not disappeared, and it is not raptured. If we and the rest of the world will see Jesus coming in the clouds in His resurrected body, then we and the rest of the world will see the resurrected saints. There is no firm word on how long the Rapture will take, but Jesus said that every eye will see Him, and that He will come like the dawning of the day. The Resurrection could be a full 24 hour day. It is the Day of the Lord, which begins with deliverance and then follows with years of wrath. There is no reason why God would rush things. Why wouldn’t He taunt those who have rejected Him, and make it clear that the punishment is from Him alone, and that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The verses below are talking about being raised from the dead, or resurrected. None of them speak of being raised up into the clouds.

The last verse tells us that the dead will be raised out of the ground at the last trump. That is not the same as being raised up off of the ground. However, when you add 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 we see that we are caught up into the clouds at the same last trump as when the dead are raised out of the ground and those who are alive and remain are changed in the twinkling of an eye in the Resurrection.

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 (out of the ground) first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together (along with, side by side) with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Nothing about this even comes close to suggesting that the Church will disappear. Especially when you add to that all the Scriptures that speak of all eyes observing Jesus when He comes in the clouds for His New Testament elect. I say this in an attempt to try and move people beyond the “Left Behind” type of theology and a disappearing Church before the Tribulation. There is no way that you make 1 Corinthians 15 say that we disappear in the twinkling of an eye.