How long is the Rapture?
Resurrection then Rapture
by Craig C. White
How long will the Rapture of the Church take? Most say, the twinkling of an eye, but wait! OK wait a little longer. The Rapture will take as long as the trumpet plays.
Q. How long was it between Jesus’ resurrection and rapture?
A. It was 40 days (Acts 1:3).
So a person doesn’t necessarily have to be raptured immediately after being resurrected.
Q. How long between the resurrections of the dead at Jesus’ coming for his Church, and their being caught up (harpazo) to meet the Lord in the air?
A. The length of God’s Trumpet call (1Co 15:51-52). Perhaps an hour? Perhaps 40 days!? It will be longer than the twinkling of an eye!
It is true that believers living at the time of Christ’s coming for his Church will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52). It is true that when Elijah (2Ki 2:11) and even Phillip (Act 8:39) were raptured (harpazo) that it was done swiftly. During the Rapture however; before we are caught up, the world will hear God’s trumpet call. While the dead are rising; before we are changed, before we are caught up, God’s trumpet call will sound. How long is the Rapture? How long will God’s trumpet call last? That is the question to ask. The Rapture may not last 40 days, however it will last as long as God’s trumpet call!
1Co 15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Th 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
High Time to Awake 
Hi Craig,
It’ll be interesting to see what the dead in Christ do after they are resurrected and waiting during the trumpet call before being taken to heaven. There could be global mass fear/hysteria/joy during this time. But could there also be a sudden and intense mass evangelism before the trumpet call ends and believers are taken up?
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Hi Brian. That is an amazing thing to think about. I hope that shiny new people visit their loved ones and put the fear of God into them!
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amen! Doubting Thomases would believe!!
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Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
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after the ‘blessed hope’, there is still ‘hope’…
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