Another question on the Rapture?

No scripture supports that idea. Death is sleep (see John 11, Dan 12:13, 2 Kings 15:22). A soul is the dust of the earth + the breath of life from God (Gen 2:7).

You can't be resurrected (1 Thess 4:13-18 and Rev 20:5-6 and 11-15) unless you're first dead. While we (Christ followers) will not all sleep (die), we will all be changed.

Perhaps the analogy is to reinforce that the dead know nothing? Wehn someone wakes up from sleep or a coma, they have to catch up on everything that happened from the time they laid down to the time they arose; they are unaware.

The Bible does NOT give us all the answers to the *next life*, if only gives us glimpses of it...

When and if you think of the Rapture, rather believing it is a *truth* or not, here are some important details the Bible does tell us... Most are in Revelation...

1. it speaks of the 144,000 who will go around the world *teaching the Kingdom Gospel*, that is the Jewish way of religion, NOT the Christian...

2. God is dealing *again* with the Jew during the 7 years of Tribulation, or mainly with..

3. The Temple will be rebuilt and the *worship* of God will return to the Law...

4. Gentiles are NOT under the Law, we have Jesus on this side of the Cross...

5. Why would God leave the Gentiles behind in a world that will return to *Temple Worship* ?? We Christians would be *going backwards* !!!!!

*Asleep* means only that we are NOT of the earth any longer... It may also mean that are *souls* may be at *rest* in the Heavens... Revelation mentions that , John heard the MANY voices of those who have been martyred crying out, *When will our blood be avenged O'Lord ?* and God gave them robes of white and said , *rest yet for a little while*....

Child of God - X atheist

We do accept that the departed are not unconscious, but fully aware and active in the after life, based on the following verses:

Mk 12:26-27... "not God of

the dead, but of the living...”

1 Cor 12:25-27; Rom 12:4-5

... body of Christ.

Eph 6:18; Rom 15:30; Col

4:3; 2 Thess 1:11 ... intercessory

prayer.

Jos 5:14; Dan 8:17; Tob

12:16 ... veneration of angels

united with God (Mt 18:10).

1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2 ...

saints also united with God.

Lk 20:34-38 ... those who

died are like angels.

2 Mac 15:11-16 ... deceased

Onias and Jeremiah interceded

for Jews.

Rev 8:3-4; Jer 15:1 ... saints'

intercession.

The ancients have a long history of equating sleep and death, but it is only a literary thing. It is not meant to imply that the dead are in a less than conscious state, or that sleepers are dead.

Actually, I beg to differ with most of the answers here which state that 'asleep' means 'dead'. If you read the new testament, you will notice that when the bible is referring to the dead in christ it uses the word 'asleep'. Unfortunately, there are others who are not asleep but really dead. What do i mean by this, you can only be 'asleep' if you died in Christ Jesus. But if you die a sinner, you are dead coz there will be no resurrection for you but a second death.

If you read John 11:11, when the Martha tells jesus that lazarus is dead Jesus says that Lazarus is only asleep... why? coz he dies a believer, remember he was a friend of Jesus.

I believe, the word 'asleep' is used to differentiate between the dead in Christ and the dead in sin. Why?.. coz they shall rise back to life again. So you say they are asleep but they shall wake up again. Unfortunately, you cannot say this of the ones who die in sin, coz there is no more life for them so they are dead. :)

in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the "souls" under the alter in heaven are the beheaded tribulation saints. They are told they must wait a while. However at the end of the tribulation period, these same "souls" are specifically mentioned as being brought to life again (receive their body), they are the only one's brought to life at that time in the "1st resurrection" This is clearly mentioned in Revelation chapter 20.

The rapture happens before that, for 1st Thessalonians clearly says the Lord shall descend from heaven. The Beheaded Martyers accept Jesus after the rapture but before the anti-christ starts beheading people for refusing the mark and refusing to worship the beast as god.

The church, the Bride of Christ, get their eternal bodies at the time of the rapture. Whether they are dead in Christ (souls) or still living (souls), God will rearrange the atoms of their bodies to come alive again and meet Him in the air.

Jesus himself used the analogy of sleep for being dead. He did that when Lazarus died and also the 12 y.o. girl who died. I know this Scripture is difficult to compare with other Scriptures on the subject and understand what actually happens, but I am sure they do go to Heaven when they die (or to Hell if not saved). Jesus uses the parable about a poor man, Lazarus dying and going into the bosom of Abraham while the rich man who scorned him went to Hell. He wouldn't have painted a false picture on death when he told this, and many have gone to heaven and back and some to hell and back to tell about it. It's not the common thing, but it happens. When Jesus said he or she is asleep (and the person was dead), it was in a prophetic sense because that person was about to rise from the dead. Jesus was more than a prophet.

actually, it is my understanding that we will not get our glorified bodies at the rapture. we will not get them until the end, the Last Day, the Bible says. below is a very interesting and informative article with Scripture supporting this teaching. our earthly bodies will all be resurrected at the same time on the Last Day.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articl...

when the Bible refers to sleep, it means death, death of our earthly bodies. so our bodies sleep, but there is no such thing as soul sleep. the Bible is quite clear on this.

below is a link discussing Scripture and this teaching. very interesting subject.

http://www.libertygospeltracts.com/question/preque...

Yes because people drink blood from my penis and the scripture is why the analogy of sleep exists

What if the Ragnorok happens? Will Odin chose you for his army? Make sure you are ready in case that mythological events occurs too.

Rapture as defined by some Protestants in not in the Bible.