I don't remember ever reading about it. And I don't mean for you to tell stories about reaping and sowing. I mean the actual rapture. Like that girl in Scotland talked of
2006-09-05 14:50:29 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The rapture appeared in fundamental Protestant theology in the late 19th century. It is not Biblically based, but a virulent polemic against the works-righteousness of modernity's liberal Christianity.
2006-09-05 15:42:00 · answer #1 · answered by David W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rapture is never mentioned in the Bible. I do not believe it will happen quite like most Christians believe it will. Most Christians believe the rapture will take place before the Tribulation and will be spared. They get this from the verse that talks about one person in the field, etc. etc. I believe that the rapture will take place after the Last Trumpet. Here are the scriptures that support this:
1 Corinthians 15:1 Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
Many people also use the verse in Theselonians to say there is a pre-trib rapture. That is not the case though. That verse must be looked at in its whole context. It is very clear that the resurrection/rapture will not happen until after a trumpet.
1 Thes 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall 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 so we shall ever be with the Lord.
Then in Revelation 11:15, the last trumpet is sounded:
And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.
At which point, the temple of God is opened, and the first judgment begins, the judgment of the saints, prophets, etc. in which the rewards are handed out:
Rev. 11:8 ...and the time of the judging of the dead, and to give the reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to the ones fearing Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those destroying the earth.
There is no pre-trib rapture. Putting these verses together, you can see that the rapture will take place right before the very worst judgments are sent on the earth--the bowl judgments. The worst are for those that did not choose Christ, but at the same time, Christians will experience a large part (at least 2/3)of the Tribulation.
2006-09-05 22:30:59 · answer #2 · answered by shybusch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The word "rapture" is not found in the Bible.
Some claim that 1 Thes. 4:16-17 teaches the rapture. Problem, they say people will suddenly disappear when they are caught up with Christ and others won't know what happened. They say these other people will wonder what happened to those who just vanished, but this verse teaches that the Lord's coming will be with a "shout", the voice of an angel, and the sound of a trumpet! This is not a "secret" coming of Christ.
Others say the rapture is taught in Matthew 24. Problem: This chapter says the coming of Christ will be "just like the days of Noah". This chapter goes on to describe that in the days of Noah, normal life continued until the flood came and took them (the evil) away! The evil were taken away (swept away) by the flood and only Noah and his family were "left behind" to continue life on earth, but the rapture theory has the good being taken away and the evil left behind. The rapture theory has the wrong ones taken.
Jesus will have come to earth. If someone is taken away, they are taken away from the place where the Lord has come. I want to be left behind with the Lord!
When the Lord comes, he will tell the evil "depart from me".(Matt 25) The evil will be taken away as weeds gathered up to be thrown into a fire.
Some say the "rapture" is in the book of Revelation. Problem; the book of Revelation was written about things that were to soon take place but we are now 1900+ years after the book was written. Notice these statements from the first and last chapters of Revelation:
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass..." (Revelation 1:1)
"...the time is at hand." (Revelation 1:3)
"...to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done." (Revelation 22:6)
:...the time is at hand." (Revelation 22:10)
Revelation was written to encourage the first century Christians who were about to suffer terrible persecution! It was not written to tell about a "rapture" that would happen 2000 years later.
The rapture theory is a teaching of men, and a distortion of the scriptures. God's word, handled correctly, does not teach the rapture.
2006-09-05 22:25:10 · answer #3 · answered by JoeBama 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's not. Many Christians often misunderstand the section that begins with 1 Thessalonians 4:16. They use this for the rapture. The rapture is supposed to be secret but if read these verses it is very noisy. They talk about trumpets blaring and The shout of the Archangel Michael.
There is no rapture. This verse is talking about the Second Coming of Christ.
2006-09-05 22:15:34 · answer #4 · answered by bajakid2001 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The rapture is not mentioned in the Bible. It is a false teaching of men. The most commonly used reference is to Thessalonians, but what St Paul is describing is nothing like the misinterpretation being put forward today. I find it interesting that the greatest Biblical scholars of all time did not find this "rapture" (such as Augustine of Hippo), but an theologically uneducated man by the name of John Nelson Darby invented it, and now people believe it. Darby was not what you would call a paragon of virtue. The "rapture" is NOT scriptural. It has no place in a Bible based religion.
2006-09-05 22:05:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It ain't. It really is that simple. Oh, there are tales describing events similar to how fundamentalist Christians describe the rapture, but they're really, really stretching it to posit that at some future moment, a hundred forty-four thousand people will suddenly be snatched from this life and instantly enter heaven. That's the trouble with the Bible - you can twist and distort the thing to support just about any half-baked idea people can come up with regarding heaven, salvation, condemnation and all that. Bottom line is that the Christian's Bible does NOT support the common description of the rapture.
2006-09-05 21:58:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rapture isn't in the bible.
Matthew 24:21 says for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world's beginning until now no nor will occur again. 22 in fact, unless those days were cut short , no flesh would be saved. but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.
If the chosen ones were raptured out what difference would it make? Looks like he could take as long as he wanted.
Matthew 24:13 he who endures to the end is the one that will be saved. Psalms 37:9,10,11
2006-09-05 22:03:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No actual rapture, the word is never mentioned, it seems to me those believing in the rapture have changed the second coming of Christ into it. I have done some extensive study on this subject with some very educated men. I have finally come to the conclusion that if it happens then great, but if it doesn't then I must be prepared to face the tribulation.
2006-09-05 21:59:02 · answer #8 · answered by Prophecy+History=TRUTH 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Isnt The Rapture a Night Club?
2006-09-05 22:01:35 · answer #9 · answered by CJunk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The rapture was believed by the church fathers, long before Darby. Do a search. Christians, PLEASE, get it right. It's Revelation (singular) not Revelations (plural.) It is a singular Revelation of a mystery by God.
Remember these two things. (1) The church is never mentioned again after Revelation chapter 4 and (2) God is not a wife beater. Christians do not go through the 7 tribulation years.
2006-09-05 22:01:08 · answer #10 · answered by ___ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋