Rapture Doctrine Taught to the Disciples

Dr. Couch, how could the rapture doctrine be in John 14:3 when the Lord was speaking to the disciples? He said He was coming again to receive them to Himself, but they would all died by or before 70 AD. ANSWER: Christ at this point was speaking to the disciples as part of the church age that would begin at Pentecost. Nowhere in the NT, nor in the words of Christ, is a timeframe given as to when the rapture would take place. All of the disciples would die by or before 70 AD, except John who died sometime around 90-95 AD. So the coming to get them had to refer to their bodily resurrection when they would receive a new body and be taken home with the Lord. Their souls and spirits had already gone home at the point of death. Then Christ would bring their souls and spirits back with Him and unite them with their new bodies. This is all explained in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. In that 1 Thessalonian 4 passage, Paul writes: (1) for those who have fallen asleep IN JESUS, He will bring back with Him (v. 14). That which He would bring back with Him would have to be their souls and spirits. (2) then, those who are "alive and remain" will be caught up together in the resurrection for the church saints, that is, those who previously "had fallen asleep" in Him (v. 15). The resurrected, and those still alive (could be us today!), will be "caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord" that is, in the new resurrected body. When the disciples died, their souls and spirits would go home to be with the Lord, and their physical bodies would be placed in the ground. When Christ then "would come for them," He means He would come to resurrect them from the earth, they would be given their new bodies, and go home to be with Him in the "mon'e," the private apartments that He had prepared for them—for their new bodies in glory. The problem we have with the John 14:1-3 passage is all the details are not spelled out here as they will be later in Paul's epistles. Now it all makes sense, when we tie it all together. I hope this helps. Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch (Feb., 10)