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RAPTURE*
Christian term used to denote the ascension (or lifting up) of Christians at the time of Christ’s second coming. This is the noun corresponding to the verb used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where those believers who are still alive at the coming of Christ are described as being “caught up” together with their resurrected fellow Christians to meet him “in the air.” (It may be relevant to note that the verb of 1 Thes 4:17 is used in 2 Cor 12:2-3 to denote Paul’s mysterious experience of being “caught up” into the third heaven, or paradise.) Differences of interpretation about the chronology of the rapture at the time of Christ’s second coming in relation to other end-time events has led to the emergence of distinct schools of eschatological thought.
See also Eschatology; Second Coming of Christ.