Thank you for this good question regarding the Rapture of the church.  Let’s begin by reading Revelation 14:14-20, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” 

This time of harvest is descriptive of the Lord’s return at the end of the Tribulation period.  A time when He comes in power and judgment over all those who had rejected Him.  Let’s compare this to what we read in Matthew 13:37-43, “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  In this portion, the Lord is explaining a previous parable of a man that went forth to sow good seed as given in Matthew 13:24-30.

These two narratives certainly speak of the same event.  An event where the Lord sends His angels to exact revenge.  What a pitiful and harsh situation when the Lord comes without mercy…only strict and pure judgment upon the world that had refused to bow their knee to Him. 

This event is not the Rapture.  We read of that event in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 which says, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: 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.”  As you can see, these are two different events.  Of course, we long for and wait for the Rapture of the church.  That time when the Lord Jesus will return in the clouds to receive His own and take them to glory to be with Himself.  When will that day occur?  We do not know, but we do know it could happen at any time.  What a grand and wonderful day that will be when we are taken out of the world and “so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  It is what is referred to as the ”blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).  My friend, are you ready for the Lord to return to take out His church from this world?  Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior?  If the Lord should return today, and you have never accepted Christ as your savior, then you will not have another opportunity to receive Him. We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”  Tomorrow may be too late.  I encourage you to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today before it is eternally too late.  (CC)  (651.2)