The word rapture comes from the phrase “caught up” in I Thessalonians 4:16. The Latin translation of the Greek word is RAPIEMUR, hence, our word “rapture.” The word, therefore, does not lack biblical support, but the concepts and doctrines surrounding the word have no biblical foundation. In I Thessalonians 4 the time in which the saints are “caught up” is the same time in which the day of Lord comes as a thief in the night (I Thessalonians 5:2) and brings judgment on the wicked. In John 5:28-29 Jesus states that the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth, some to a resurrection of life and some to a resurrection of condemnation. In Matthew 25:31-33 Jesus tells us that on the day of judgment all nations will be gathered before Him and He will divide them as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
However, in the doctrine of Premillennialism, the rapture is a temporary exodus of the saints from the earth while a great seven-year tribulation takes place on the remaining inhabitants of the earth. Following this seven year period, the saints are to return to the earth where they live for 1000 years. This contradicts I Thessalonians 4:17 where Paul tells us that we will meet the Lord in the air “and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” The scriptures never have the Lord returning to the earth. In fact, Jesus claimed that He had finished the work God had given Him to do on the earth (John 17:4).