In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes at length about resurrection, first Jesus', and then ours. In verses 51-54 he reaches the climax of the topic when he says, "Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believe in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death]. And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, 'Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever)'" (AMP 2015).
In short, not only will believers in Christ who have died be resurrected no later than His second coming, but the people alive at that time will experience their bodies changing from mortal to immortal form without having to go through death. This was a mystery--a hidden truth of God--revealed for the first time ever to these first-generation Christians. The depths of our God, the ways of our God, will never cease to amaze, and because he is infinite and we are finite, there will be no end of His mysteries to search out (Proverbs 25:2).
Wait, though. Why did I say dead believers would be resurrected "no later" than His second coming? Because of what is commonly called the rapture, which is a word that doesn't appear in any English translation of the Bible, but which is said to describe an event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that uses the Greek word harpazo, which means "to snatch" or "to catch up." The Latin Vulgate Bible actually translates harpazo as rapturo, further explaining how the English word "rapture" came into use. Verses 16-17 say, "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord" (AMP 2015)!
Are these the same event, or separate events? They certainly have in common the trumpet blast, the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the transformation of the living in Christ. As you will guess if you don't already know, there are differing beliefs about this. For one thing, we know that the second coming will involve Jesus literally ruling from Jerusalem, but the 1 Thessalonians passage doesn't even show Him coming all the way to Earth; it appears to bring us up to Him rather than He coming down to us. On the other hand, support for the "same event" view might lie in the passage's context. Is Paul's primary goal here to teach a "catching away of the saints to heaven" that occurs some time before the second coming of Christ to the earth (and the raptured saints returning with Him) when every eye will see Him? I don't think so; I think Paul's purpose is to explain to the Thessalonians, who had asked questions about the fate of the dead, that their deceased loved ones will not miss out on the return of Christ. Those who argue for a rapture usually say that verse 18--"Therefore comfort one another with these words"--means comfort one another with the fact that there will be a rapture, but I don't believe the context proves that. In fact, the Amplified 2015 version of the Bible expands on the meaning in the way I believe is correct: "Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died]. Paul's whole point is to reassure them that their friends and family who have passed away won't miss out on reunion with Jesus and His people, not to reassure them that they will be snatched off a sinful planet.
Many who don't believe in a rapture argue that all of Revelation has already been fulfilled by horrific events that Israel endured in the years soon after Jesus' resurrection and the deaths of the twelve apostles; in other words, there is no future great tribulation to be raptured out of. Most who do believe in a rapture place themselves in either a pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib camp, depending on when they think the rapture will occur relative to a future seven-year tribulation they believe is described by the books of Revelation and Daniel. This can get complicated fast, so much so that many thinkers have devoted their scholarly lives to the topic of eschatology and end-times prophecy. I don't want to get too far into the weeds here. Let's just say that there is mystery and controversy about these things, that many well-meaning, studious, and honest people come down on different sides of the argument, and that as long as they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for forgiveness of their own sins and believe in His resurrection, they are all born again.
What do I believe? I lean toward a pre-tribulation rapture of the church, in large part because I spent most of my adult life in a denomination that taught the final timeline in great biblical detail. While some on the other side of the issue argue convincingly that the events of Revelation have already happened, that doesn't rule out a possible double fulfillment, so on that basis I don't think we can assume there's nothing left to happen except the actual second coming.
One thing we do know is that first-century Christians believed Jesus could and probably would come back in their lifetime, because they wrote their letters, which became canonized Scripture, in that spirit. Skeptics could argue they were wrong. I think the better take is that they were examples to us, and we, too, should live as though He could come at any time--staying busy with the assignments He gives us, staying in fellowship with Him and each other, and always keeping watch, because we do not know when our Lord is coming. It's one of His mysteries.
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