Time To Leave The Rapture Behind
Millions of Christians put great hope in the rapture as a way to escape the Tribulation. But the protection offered to Christians isnt being raptured to heaven, but instead is a place of protection on earth . The idea that Jesus will return secretly and rapture people to heaven is a modern idea contrary to the words of Christ and the New Testament writers.
We encourage our readers to study what the Bible actually teaches about Christs return. The rapture is great fodder for fiction, but has no biblical basis. Leave it behind and put your hope in the visible second coming of Christ to rule this earth with power, justice and truth.
To learn more, including a discussion of Matthew 24:40-42, read Rapture: Will There Be a Secret Rapture?
What The Bible Has To Say About The Rapture
Should Christians believe in the rapture or not? I’ve been reading and hearing a lot about this in Christian fiction and on evangelical talk shows. Is there a scriptural basis for this popular teaching?
A great deal depends on what you mean by the word should. If youre asking whether Christians ought to believe in the rapture or have to believe in it in order to be saved, the answer is no. Despite everything that can be said in its favor, the doctrine of the rapture cannot be considered one of the indispensable essentials of the Christians faith. When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, What must I do to be saved? they replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.
If, on the other hand, you want to know whether its reasonable, sensible, or biblically supportable to believe in the rapture, we would have to say yes. This teaching is based upon two important New Testament passages. The first and plainest is I Thessalonians 4:13-18:
The second, I Corinthians 15:51-52, is similar in content:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
If you think it might be helpful to discuss your concerns at greater length, . Focus on the Family has a staff of pastoral counselors who would love to speak with you over the phone.
St Century Catholic Apologetics For Mary’s Spiritual Warriors
The Rapture. The name is Latin for caught up. It basically comes from one particular verse in the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 4:17:
then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we shall always be with the Lord.
The Rapture has inspired a whole series of fictional books called the Left Behind series. In it, the saved are raptured into heaven, while the unsaved are left behind to fend for themselves on earth.
The rapture is a mysterious disappearance of people, who leave their clothes here on earth. Cars which were driven by the saved are left unmanned. The folks left behind are in a quandary as to what happened. A great tribulation then comes upon the earth, and the anti-christ makes his appearance. The ones left behind then get a second chance at salvation, if they can withstand the forces of the world-uniting anti-christ. Then Jesus returns again to defeat the antichrist.
None of this, except for the overall premise of a rapture is biblical. Why? Well for starters, the Bible says in Revelation 1:7:
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, andevery eye will see him, every one who pierced him and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
In the Left Behind series, no eye sees Jesus. Everyone left behind is clueless as to what is going on. Its plain that if they had seen Jesus, they would know what was going on.
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King James Bible Verses About Rapture
rapture bible verses
THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE NEVER READ BEFORE OR PROBABLY HEARD TOO! PAY ATTENTION TO EACH ONE AND CAREFULLY THINK ABOUT THEM ALL!!!
THE THIRTY-ONE SILENT FACTS ABOUT THE RAPTURE
1.It is going to be the next greatest event that will shock all the continents of the world. Matt. 24:40-42
Then shall two be in the field the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
2.It is going to take place suddenly, abruptly, unexpectedly, without warning and without prior notice. 1 Thess. 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3. There shall be no second version of the event. 1 Thess. 5:4
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
4.A greater percentage of Christians may be taken unawares. Matt. 24:38-39
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
5.Careless Christians who miss the event will have no other similar gracious opportunity. Matt. 13:49-50
6.The event shall have no regard or respect for ecclesiastical titles or church leadership positions. Matt. 5:20
Expectancy Is Not Imminency
We should expect Jesus to return and rapture His people up, but we should also expect some prophecies must be fulfilled first too. The Bible says that the Antichrist must be revealed before Jesus returns.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Does the Antichrist come before the rapture? Yes! The Antichrist is the man of sin, the son of perdition. He is the one who makes war with the Saints during the great tribulation.
When Paul said, For that day shall not come, he is referring to verse 1, where he mentions the second coming and rapture. The Bible clearly teaches here that something must happen in time before Christ returns in the air and gathers us to Him: the Antichrist must be revealed!
I will also note here too that the Temple of God must be rebuilt. Now that Jerusalem is Israels capital again, I wonder how long it will be before this prophecy is fulfilled.
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Tom Meyer Recites Revelation 16 From The Bible
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The end of the world will coincide with war and natural disasters, according to prophetic scripture in the Christian Bible. Before the end times and Second Coming of Jesus Christ, many Christians believe the Antichrist will arive to deceive the world during a seven-year period known as the Tribulation.
Bible Verses About Rapture Of Church
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.Behold, I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Do not let your heart be troubled believe in God, believe also in Me.In My Fathers house are many dwelling places if it were not so, I would have told you for I go to prepare a place for you.If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.read more.For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
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What Is The Rapture
rapare
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Apparently, doubts had arisen among the Thessalonian Christians regarding the fate of those Christians who had died before Christ returned. Would they miss out on the glorious events of Christ’s second coming and the resurrection? Paul assured them in this way that God would save those who had already died, as well as those still living.
Why Do Christians Talk About The Rapture So Much
The rapture is not a word that’s found in Scripture, but it’s a Biblical idea and a Biblical concept, which is that at the end of the age, Jesus returns and calls his people to him in the air so that as Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, those who are dead are raised first, and then those who are still alive are caught up with the Lord Jesus in the air.
Where Christians disagree is not over whether or not there is a rapture, all Christians of every stripe believes there is a rapture. The question is when? And so, most Christians in the history of the church have believed in one singular coming of the Lord Jesus, the second coming of Christ, where believers are called to join Jesus in the air and return together to the earth. There are some Christians in the history of the church, dispensationalists they’re called, who believe in something called a pre-tribulational rapture. So these people believe that because God is going to restore Israel and keep His promises in a literal, earthly fashioned Israel, that he’s going to do this during the seven year tribulation period. So God ends His working with the largely Gentile church by removing the church out of the world. So believers are raptured away in the secret coming of Jesus, taken to heaven for seven years, and then there is a public, visible coming of Christ.
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A Brief Overview Of The Rapture
One of the most common forms of the rapture theory teaches that Jesus will return to earth in two phases.
According to this theory, in the first phase, Jesus will come secretly at an unexpected time to snatch up believers and take them to heaven. From the perspective of non-Christians, millions of people will vanish in an instant. Fictional works on the rapture colorfully describe chaotic scenes of planes and automobiles crashing as their pilots and drivers disappear.
Immediately following the rapture, the Antichrist appears, beginning a seven-year Great Tribulation. Believers will be protected in heaven during this time.
In the second phase of His coming, Jesus and the saints return to earth in triumph and glory and begin the millennial rule.
The Rapture: Truth Or Fiction
Since there has been so much talk recently on TV, magazines, tabloids and new books published about the “end times”, I would like to address the “rapture”. Does it have any biblical text to back it up?
Most Christians really don’t question this “rapture” it is a part of most Protestant teachings. The “rapture”, for those of you unfamiliar with this term, means that Christians will be taken out of the earth prior to or during the great tribulation period in order to spare God’s people or the “Church” suffering. Although there is nothing specific that states the “church” will be “raptured” from the earth before or during the tribulation it is just assumed. The great tribulation is the Super Bowl of the “end times”. This period will be when the entire event’s depicted in Revelation will take place, ending with the New Jerusalem. I don’t think the “rapture” is going to be anything like the ‘Left Behind’ series but there does seem to be some biblical basis for it for this assumption.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
God destroyed the entire earth, save Noah, his family and the animals specifically selected by God.
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The Rapture Scripture That Isnt
The most often quoted scripture to defend the rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. In fact, the originators of the theory derived the word rapture from the phrase caught up, based on the Latin word rapere used in the Vulgate version in verse 17. So, for the rapture to be true, this verse has to describe a secret coming that precedes the visible coming described in the above verses.
In 1 Thessalonians 4 the apostle Paul is comforting a congregation grieving recent deaths . Paul assures them that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep . The Bible teaches that the dead are asleep in their graves, awaiting a future resurrectionnot in heaven.
But when does the resurrection happen? At a secret rapture?
Verse 16 makes it crystal clear: 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.
Jesus Christs coming will be seen and heard by everyone. It will be public, obvious and unmistakable.
What point is Paul making by using three auditory signsa shout, voice and trumpet blastto describe Christs coming? The same point that other verses make when they use optanomai! Jesus Christs coming will be seen and heard by everyone. It will be public, obvious and unmistakable.
The Day Of The Lord Comes As A Thief In The Night
Note: both 2 Peter 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 do not speak about the Lord coming as a thief in the night, but rather the day of the Lord coming as a thief. This completely changes the meaning of the verse. In fact, the subject of the sentence is day, while the phrase modifying the subject is of the Lord. Christians are to watch and be ready for the day” of the Lord to come suddenly, but once the event is at hand it cannot be hidden. It will be very obvious when Jesus comes again!
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Rahab And The Jewish Spies
In Joshua chapter 2, Rahab trusts the Lord and befriends the Jewish spies. By faith Rahab puts a scarlet thread in her window and she and her family are brought out of Jericho before the city is burned with fire . Rahab is a prostitute and a Gentile woman , yet she is found in the Messianic line . Rahab is therefore a beautiful picture of the Church as the bride of Christ. Though formerly a prostitute, Rahab, by faith, was made clean and delivered from Gods wrath. Amazingly, in this account, we again see seven days of warning preceding judgment . The armies of God marched around the city six days, and on the seventh day they marched around the city seven times, and then the city was finally destroyed .
The Rapture In Church History
The point that Im trying to make is about Church history. Rapture theology has only been popular for 180 years. It is largely a new theology, a new concept. While some will argue there are instances in the early church that support a pre-tribulational rapture in the Bible, but I have yet to see any clear proof. Theres certainly not enough proof to say it was a commonly held belief.
All this doesnt make it false, but it should make us pause.
If belief in the pre-tribulational rapture has only been popular, commonplace, since 1830 that means it wasnt talked extensively about by the very people who laid the theological foundation for the Church. Again, that doesnt mean its not true. Be it should be a red flag whenever a new theology is brought into the picture. It should cause us to dig a little deeper.
So, what does the Bible say about the Rapture? Is the rapture in the Bible?
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