What does the Bible say about the end times?
Does the word appear in the Bible?
The word "the end times" does not appear in the Bible.
The English phrase 'end times' as a fixed expression does not appear in the Bible. The closely related phrases 'last days' (Greek: eschatais hēmerais), 'latter days,' and 'the end of the age' (synteleia tou aiōnos) do appear. The English word 'rapture' does not appear in any standard Bible translation; its source is the Latin Vulgate's rapiemur translating the Greek harpagēsometha at 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Every relevant passage
Matthew 24:3-14 (the Olivet Discourse)
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?' Jesus answered, 'See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ''I am the Christ,'' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. […] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.'
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. […] And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 24 — known as the Olivet Discourse — is Jesus's response to a question from his disciples. The question itself is debated in scholarship: in Matthew 24:3 the disciples ask about both 'the sign of Your coming' and 'the end of the age,' which some commentators read as two distinct events while others read as one. A long-standing scholarly discussion concerns whether the discourse refers primarily to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, to a future event, or to both. Mark 13 and Luke 21 contain parallel discourses with significant differences in detail.
Daniel 7:13-14
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Daniel 7 contains a series of apocalyptic visions including the four beasts, the Ancient of Days, and the Son of Man. The phrase 'one like the Son of Man' (Aramaic: kebar enash, כְּבַר אֱנָשׁ) is later picked up by Jesus as a self-designation in the Gospels. The book of Daniel is the longest sustained apocalyptic vision in the Hebrew Bible.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4 is the passage most commonly cited as 'the rapture passage.' The Greek verb harpagēsometha (ἁρπαγησόμεθα, 'we will be caught up') was rendered in Latin as rapiemur — the source of the English word 'rapture.' The English word 'rapture' itself does not appear in any Bible translation. The verse describes believers being caught up to meet the Lord in the air; the timing and sequencing of this event relative to other events is the subject of multiple interpretive systems (pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, amillennial, etc.) that the text itself does not adjudicate.
2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3 addresses scoffers who question the delay of the Lord's coming. Verse 10 uses the simile 'like a thief' — the same image found in Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, and Revelation 16:15. The phrase 'the Day of the Lord' (Greek: ἡμέρα κυρίου, hēmera kyriou) appears throughout the Hebrew prophets and the New Testament with varying scope.
Revelation 1:1-3
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
The opening of the book of Revelation. Two phrases in Greek are particularly significant: en tachei (ἐν τάχει), translated 'soon' or 'shortly,' and ho kairos engys (ὁ καιρὸς ἐγγύς), 'the time is near.' The natural sense of these phrases describes nearness in time, which raises a long-standing interpretive question: did the original recipients (late first-century churches in Asia Minor) understand the events as imminent in their own lifetimes? Multiple interpretive traditions read these phrases differently.
Revelation 13:16-18
And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark — the name of the beast or the number of its name. Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
Revelation 13 introduces the figure of 'the beast' and the number 666. The text treats the number as a code requiring 'wisdom' to decode. In ancient gematria — the Hebrew and Greek practice of assigning numerical values to letters — the Hebrew transliteration of 'Nero Caesar' (Neron Kaisar, נרון קסר) sums to 666. Some Greek manuscripts of Revelation 13:18 read 616 rather than 666; 'Nero Caesar' without the final nun (נ) sums to 616, which has been read as evidence supporting the Nero identification. Other interpretive traditions read the number differently.
Original language
Original language
Several Greek terms shape the modern discussion of biblical eschatology: • ἔσχατον (eschaton), 'last thing' — the root of the English word 'eschatology.' The term in classical and Koine Greek refers to a general concept of finality rather than a specific event. • παρουσία (parousia), often translated 'coming' or 'second coming.' BDAG s.v. parousia notes that the word's primary meaning in Hellenistic Greek is 'presence' or 'arrival,' commonly used for the formal arrival of a king, dignitary, or military commander. The word appears 24 times in the New Testament. • ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis), 'revelation' or 'unveiling' — the title of the last book of the New Testament (Apokalypsis Iōannou, 'the unveiling of John'). The English word 'apocalypse' has acquired connotations of catastrophe; the Greek word does not carry that sense in itself. BDAG s.v. apokalypsis glosses it as 'making fully known.' • ἁρπάζω (harpazō), 'to catch up, snatch up.' The future passive in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (harpagēsometha) was rendered rapiemur in Jerome's Latin Vulgate, the source of the English 'rapture.' The English word 'rapture' itself does not appear in any English Bible translation.
What the text does not say
Passages commonly cited in this discussion that, in full context, are about something else.
- Specific dates or years
Matthew 24:36 (BSB): 'No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.' Mark 13:32 contains a parallel statement. Specific date predictions are inconsistent with this verse.
- Specific modern nations or geopolitical entities
Interpretive traditions identify modern nations (Russia, China, the European Union, Iran, etc.) with figures in the prophetic texts. The texts themselves name only ancient peoples and places known to their original authors and audiences.
- The word 'rapture'
The English word 'rapture' does not appear in any major English Bible translation. The concept derives from a Latin translation choice (rapiemur for Greek harpagēsometha) and from later interpretive systems.
- A unified sequence of events
Pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, amillennial, postmillennial, and preterist readings all derive from the same biblical texts and reach significantly different conclusions about sequence. The texts themselves do not specify a single sequence that all interpretive traditions agree on.
What we are showing you
This page presents the principal Bible passages cited in modern discussions of the end times. We do not endorse a particular eschatological framework, and we do not predict events. We document the texts and the contested vocabulary.
Three things to know about the texts
First, the English word “rapture” does not appear in any English Bible translation. The concept derives from the Latin Vulgate’s rapiemur — the future passive of rapio — translating the Greek harpagēsometha at 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Greek verb means “to be caught up” or “to be snatched up.” Whether and how the verse describes a specific event distinct from other end-time events is the subject of multiple interpretive systems.
Second, the Greek word parousia (παρουσία), often translated “coming” or “second coming,” primarily means presence or arrival in Hellenistic Greek — the standard term for the formal arrival of a king or dignitary in a city. BDAG s.v. parousia documents this usage. The word’s translation choice in English Bibles (“coming” rather than “arrival” or “presence”) shapes the way English-speaking readers understand the texts.
Third, the dating problem. Revelation 1:1 says the events “must soon come to pass” and 1:3 that “the time is near.” The natural sense of the Greek (en tachei, ho kairos engys) describes nearness in time. Christian interpretive traditions read this differently: preterist readings hold that the events have already occurred (in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD), futurist readings that they are still to come, idealist readings that they describe ongoing patterns, historicist readings that they map onto the period from the first century to the present. We document the texts and the vocabulary; the choice between systems is interpretive.
External references
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