The idea of the Rapture was invented in 1830 by an English preacher?

Question

So why do people believe something that was invented 1800 years AFTER Christ died, something that Jesus, Paul, James, John and the rest never taught?

"Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, 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" -1 Corinthians 15:51–52

This isn't talking about Rapture, Paul is here referencing the Resurrection and how our bodies will be changed from perishable to imperisable, it says nothing about the living vanishing.

"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 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 for ever." 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 Mentions resurrection first. Also refers to the ancient custom of going out to meet the king coming to the city, and *then entering the city with him.* As in, Christ is already on his way down when this happens. This has nothing to do with vanishing for a few years.

Everyone keeps saying it's found throughout the Bible, but so far the only parts that have been referenced at all are these two. Come on, if it's so explicit, you should be able to give an example.

Answer 1

Wonderful question and great observation. Keep using God's word to verify or nullify the things you are being taught. Throw out those things which go against God's word.

Answer 2

1 Thessalonians 4:14 - 18 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God also bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. This is where the idea of the Rapture came from.

Answer 3

No, it wasn't.

Anyone who says that the "rapture" is not mentioned in the Bible is in error. I Thessalonians 4:17 says that we will be "caught up." The Greek word is "harpazo." The Latin word that was translated from the Greek is "rapere" (or variants such as rapiemur), which means to seize violently. Further, the rapture is clearly described in several other passages, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, II Corinthians 12:2-4, and John 14:1-3 for starters.

Jesus comes back for His church, His "bride" in I Thessalonians 4:17. He meets them "in the air." He later returns to the earth, setting foot on the Mount of Olives, where an earthquake will occur. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." (Zechariah 14:4)

He will then begin to rule and reign over the earth, along with the saints that followed Him from heaven. "Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, "Look! The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy ones. He will execute judgment on all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him." (Jude 1:14-15)

Now, back to the etymology of the word "rapture." Allow me to quote I Thessalonians 4:17 from the Latin Vulgate so that you can see it:

"deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul "rapiemur" c u m illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper c u m Domino erimus"

And in the Greek:

"ἔπειτα ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι ἅμα σὺν αὐτοῖς "ἁρπαγησόμεθα" ἐν νεφέλαις εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα· καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα."

So, regardless of who anyone assumes the discoverer was, or how the concept was rediscovered in recent history, the fact remains that the word (and the concept of a) rapture is Scriptural. Rapture first, then the Great Tribulation, and the Second Coming later.

Answer 4

The descriptions of the rapture are embedded in various scriptures[books, Thessalonians] of the bible and according to the turds at wikipedia its tied to the Greek word "harpazo." Addressing what you asked...the concept of the "rapture" was already present in the Bible, it was given a name in the 1830's by the preacher you mentioned and made millions for the authors of the "Left Behind" Series. Is it a good translation??? Don't know.

People need to lighten up. Your question is a good one.

Answer 5

Yeah and this statement is backed up by what? The idea of the rapture is written throughout Revelation of the New Testament and throughout Daniel in the Old Testament, these books were written way way way before the 1800's.

Answer 6

Because they have been lied to. There is no rapture. Yes there will be tribulation and all of us must endure til the end. Jesus is only returning one time,(and that will be judgement day) not 3 or 4 as the rapturists believe.

Answer 7

I am atheist. The idea of the rapture is found in Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. It also found in the letters of Paul and Revelations in the New Testament. It is also in various books of the Old Testament. Sorry, you don't have any idea of what you are talking about on this one.

Answer 8

You are absolutely wrong.

Paul believed that there would be a catching up of the body of Christ, and expected that it was going to happen in his day. That is where the word Rapture comes from, it means a catching up.

In 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Paul says;

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shll all be changed -
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O Death where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always aboutding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

When Paul says we shall not all sleep, he means we shall not all die, but in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, the dead shall rise and we shall all be changed. Then he talks about victory over death.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 Paul says;

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 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 be no means precede those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 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.

Here is another description of the dead being raised, and those who are alive being caught up with the dead into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 Paul says;

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exhalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

These verses say that the man of lawlessness is being restrained until He who restrains him is taken out of the way.
In this verse He is said twice, but the same word was not used for He in both cases. The first He is masculine, and the second He is neuter. So we are left to understand that the first He is the Holy Spirit (masculine), and the second He is the church (neuter).
Once they are taken away, then the man of lawlessness will be revealed.

I don't know how anyone can say that Paul did not believe in the rapture of the church.

In Matthew 24:29-31 Jesus said;

29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven, and then all tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect form the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

The word that is translated as tribulation (thlipsis) also means distress, or trouble, or anguish. We cannot know if the word tribulation is the best for this passage. It is clear to me we are not talking about the time of Jacobs trouble or the great tribulation.
It says that His angels will be sent to the four corners of the heavens to gather His elect to escort them to the Son of Man (Jesus).
Where does the first heaven start, at ground level, we call it sky.
So when His angels gather His elect from the four corners of the heavens we can take that to mean from the North, South, East, and West.

I have preached this sermon many times.

grace2u

Answer 9

Listen, were agonna be Changed in a Twikling of an Eye (about 7/10ths of a second?)
Then, were agonna meet the Lord in the Air
Then, well, you wouldn't Believe me if I told ya, cause your having trouble with the other Stuff.
Oh well, tried to help.
Ditto................

Veeeerrrrryyyyyy Looooowwwlllyyy Saaaiiiddd--

(we agonna take off to Heaven in a Bunch of Chariots of GOD!)

VVVVVAAAAAARRRRROOOOOOMMMMMM !
Double Ditto................

Answer 10

No,the rapture wasn't 'invented' in 1830.
"For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."-Epharaem the Syrian,373 AD.
It's very important to examine the scriptural basis of it,but there is no need to spread mistruths about the origins.