The rapture is a significant event in Christian eschatology, describing the moment when believers are taken up to meet Christ. Below, you’ll find 40 Bible verses from the ESV translation that provide insights and context on this event.
Foundational Rapture Verses
1. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
2. Matthew 24:30-31
“Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
3. 1 Corinthians 15:52
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
Other Key Rapture Verses
4. Titus 2:13
“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
5. Revelation 3:10
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”
6. Luke 21:34-36
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
7. John 14:3
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
8. Hebrews 9:28
“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
9. Philippians 3:20-21
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
10. 1 Thessalonians 5:9
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
11. Revelation 1:7
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”
12. Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.”
13. 1 John 3:2
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
14. Colossians 3:4
“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
15. 1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
16. Revelation 20:4
“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
17. Acts 1:11
“And said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'”
18. Mark 13:32
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
19. 2 Peter 3:10
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
20. Matthew 24:42
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
21. Matthew 24:27
“For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
22. 1 Thessalonians 1:10
“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
23. Romans 8:19
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
24. Revelation 3:11
“I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”
25. John 14:1
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
26. 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
“So that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
27. 1 Thessalonians 4:18
“Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
28. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
29. 2 Timothy 4:8
“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
30. 1 Corinthians 15:23
“But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”
31. Matthew 24:44
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
32. Revelation 2:25
“Only hold fast what you have until I come.”
33. Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”
34. Luke 12:40
“You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
35. 1 Peter 4:7
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”
36. James 5:8
“You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
37. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
“And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
38. Philippians 1:6
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
39. Luke 17:34-37
“I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.'”
40. Romans 13:11
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”
These are yet more reasons to strongly consider the doctrine of the rapture, as it is upon us.
