"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Do the words of the apostle Paul here—and in other passages of Scripture—describe a secret, end-time rapture of God's followers into the heavens? Or are they referring to something different? What will really happen when Christ returns? Find out below!