what is the lutheran church missouri synod teaching on the rapture?

Answer 1

From wikipedia:
The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millenialism[4] and the teaching of any "secret rapture." They believe that all will be caught up (raptured for lack of a better term) on the Last Day, the end of time. The belief system is formally referred to as "Historical Amillennialism". The church's focus tends to be on immediate salvation rather than on the end times.

From The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod website:
Q. Does The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod believe in the rapture?

A. The answer to your question depends on what you mean by "the rapture." The English word "rapture" is derived from the Latin translation of the verb "caught up" in 1 Thess. 4:17 (rapiemur). Lutherans certainly believe what Paul teaches in this passage, namely, that those who are still living on earth when Christ returns visibly on the last day "will be caught up" ("raptured") together with "the dead in Christ" to "meet the Lord in the air."

Some Christians teach, however, that the "rapture" will take place not on the last day but in connection with an "invisible" coming of Christ occurring before a seven-year period of "tribulation" on earth, allowing Christians to "escape" this tribulation and then later return to earth for a literal "1000 year reign of Christ."

Lutherans do not believe that these teachings are based on a proper understanding of Scripture. Scripture teaches that all Christians will endure varying degrees of "tribulation" until the last day, that Christ will return only once (visibly) to "catch up" ("rapture") all believers, living and dead, into heaven, and that all believers will reign forever with him in heaven. Lutherans understand the "1000 years" of Rev. 20:11-15 to be a figurative reference to Christ's reign here and now in the hearts and lives of believers, which will culminate in our reigning with Christ forever in heaven following his return on the last day.

For more information, you may want to read the Synod's theological commission report titled "The End Times."

To read the report "The End Times", click here:
http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/CTCR/endtme-1.pdf

Answer 2

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