A serious question about the Rapture for Christians...?

Question

I understand that there are different views out there. So what does your particular church or denomination teach about the Rapture? Feel free to share any Bible verses which may (or may not) apply. Thanks!

Some great responses and good Scripture to consider. Thanks all! God bless you!

Answer 1

I believe in the Pretribulation Raptue (although I know about the other views as well).
In short, this belief indicates that Christ will rapture His Church to His Father's prior to the seven-year Tribulation. (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, John 14:1-3 and Revelations 4:1-3)
There are many other very fine Christians who long for the Savior's return but see it differently. Some of these people are called midtribulationalists, posttribulationalists and some that believe in a partial rapture (that Christ will return in several stages)
The timing of the Rapture is not something that Christians should argue about. The following are some of the reasons that I believe in the Pre-Trib Rapture:
1. Both Jesus and the apostle Paul (under inspiration of the Holy Ghost) promised believers that they would be saved from the "wrath to come" (Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:10) and that they would be kept from "the hour of trial that shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10)
2. Scriptures say that Jesus will come in the air secretly to rapture (no it does not use the word rapture) His Church, yet He will come to the earth ALSO publicly. According the the Pre-Trib Rapture view, the coming of Christ in blessing for His Church and His return to the earth in judgment are two distinct events separated by time. The book of Revelation and 2 Thessalonians 2 clarify what takes place between those two events.
3. The Pre-Trib view is the only view that makes a clear distinction between Israel and the Church.
4. Pre-Trib is the only view that makes "that blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) truly a blessed hope. Keep in mind that the teaching on the Rapture was given to comfort those who mourn! The threat of experiencing the Tribulation is hardly a doctrine of comfort to the saints.
5. The Pre-Trib view explains why the Church is not mentioned from Revelation 4:3 - 18:24. There must be a reason why the Church is so central in the first three chapters of Revelation, but disappears until the Glorious Appearing.
6. Pre-Trib view preserves the credibility of Christ's Word that Christians will be kept from the Tribulation.
7. Pre-Trib Rapture explains why there is no Bible instruction on preparation for the tribulation. Doesn't it seem strange that although the Bible advises Christians how to face ordinary, everyday troubles, it gives no instructions related to the WORST time the world will ever face? The answer is simple: The Church will not be there!

Answer 2

There will be no rapture.

Scripture does not depict the world as experiencing a
period of complete (or relatively complete) Christianization before the Second Coming. There are numerous passages that speak of the age between the First and Second Comings as a time of great sorrow and strife for Christians. One revealing passage is the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43). In this parable, Christ declares that the righteous and the wicked will both be planted and grow alongside each other in God’s field ("the field is the world," Matt. 13:38) until the end of the world, when they will be separated, judged, and either be thrown into the fire of hell or inherit God’s kingdom (Matt. 13:41–43). There is no biblical evidence that the world will eventually become totally (or even almost totally) Christian, but rather that there will always be a parallel development of the righteous and the wicked until the final judgment.

"Those who endure to the end will be saved"

Answer 3

Ther will be no rapture. Yes Jesus is coming for His church but it will not be anything secret and everyone will know about it. Read 1 Thess.4:13-18. There will be one resurrection. John 5:29. Also read Rev. 1-7. You will not find the word rapture in the scriptures at all.

Answer 4

Lots of controversy here not different views. The Bible states we must endure to the end. Revelations talks about false prophets that almost deceive the elect. There are letters to 7 churches in Revelations and those letters take place during tribulation. I am preparing myself to endure to the end. End means end of all. How can we claim to be Christian if we are not prepared to do what is asked of us? It is not welfare, it's warfare! Why would we be warned of the tribulation if we were not going to be here? If nothing else, the Bible is fairly logical if you stop misintrepreting things. Read what is there in it's entirety. Don't just take a verse here and there. People misquote all the time, like, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. There are verses before and after that tell you what you need to do to know the truth and have it make you free.

Answer 5

My religion is Catholicism, my church once I need to identified my self to Satan and fight his iniquities, find relief in the Church the House of God, other than that I understand well enough what is good for my self, if I which to continue been bless by the Lord God. The rapture, is as the word said, something being rip, or rep, taking apart?, Rapture its also use, of course in sex?, there isn't denial?, God have make for my self his own tribulations, which I have to accept, and keep my self in line. To my knowledge, although I'm Christian, my second choice and all my sympathy goes to Buddhism, and all the monks and Buddhas from Tibet, as well to my best friend (Spiritual friend), because i don't personally, better yet physically I haven't meet him) "Lamasito", and all my support to his Excellency the Dali Lama from-Tibet. In a way in which I'm not safe yet to divulge, he is the mayor exponent of the incoming rapture which I believed it begun to happen yesterday, and will go on for a bit longer, how long I really can't say,because the fastest for my self the best, and better for the new incoming generations of Kings( Childrens), which through desires of jesus HIM-Self, they will own the World, and there is nothing any one can do, So help me God.<< By the way, in this case Sex as a rapture it hasn't happen and it will not Happen which was in the desires of Satan and the Beast (Demon-Man), to Happen, but, thanks God it didn't happen that way.

Answer 6

Pastor Billy says: 99% of the world's Christian population teaches and believes the Rapture theology is false and has no place in Christianity. The problem is a small number who do are spreading this false doctrine via current modes of communication TV,radio, movies and many non-Christians as well as less learned Christians are assuming this to be actual Christian belief of endtime events.

see my other answers on the topic.


Good God Eryn chick comics for a source lol. That guy makes Christianity look like a paperback novel tell me you haven't fallen for that crap.

Answer 7

I'm from a pentecostal church that teaches pre-tribulation rapture...(after Revelation there is no mention of the Church (Body of Christ) Therefore it is assumed that is when we will go to meet the Lord in the air.....during the tribulation....while we are in heaven will be the marriage supper of the Lamb (Jesus). Then we will be with Jesus when He returns to the earth at the battle of Armageddon.

Answer 8

I believe in the pre-trib. position. I believe it is backed up by Scripture in many places. One place I would refer to is Rev. 19, the marriage supper of the lamb. The Church is the bride of Christ, and therefore, must be in Heaven for the marriage supper. This occurs before the second coming of Christ to earth.
For a further in-depth study, I offer the following link:
www.salvationbygrace.org/default.aspx?ct=sub/hof

Answer 9

1 Thessalonians 4-- our pastor teaches pre trib- and that we will "meet the Lord in the clouds" before the Great Tribulation.
Honestly I do not lean either way anymore....I just hope and pray the Lord comes soon!
But I do know we will meet Him in the clouds as it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:17
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.

Answer 10

Matt. 24:36 - many sects try to predict the coming of Christ. But Jesus says, "no one but the Father knows the day and the hour." The sects that try to predict Christ's coming ignore these words.

Matt. 24:36 - we should also note that Jesus’ statement does not mean than Jesus does not know the day of His Second Coming. Jesus does know, because He is God. With this statement, Jesus explains that He chose to know by His human knowledge only that which He wanted to know for His mission of salvation. In other words, Jesus could have chosen not to know everything by His own human knowledge, but Jesus knew everything in His human knowledge through its hypostatic union to His eternal and infinite divine knowledge.

Matt. 24:44 – Jesus warns us that the Son of Man is coming at an hour we do not expect.

1 Thess. 4:16-17 - Paul writes that "we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." Many Protestants call this experience the "rapture" (even though the word "rapture" is not found in the Bible, although is derived from the Latin vulgate of this verse – “rapiemur”). John 14:3; 1 Cor. 15:52 - these are other passages that Protestants use to support the rapture experience. The question Protestantism has raised is “when will the rapture occur?” They have developed three theories – (1) post-tribulation; (2) pre-tribulation; and, (3) mid-tribulation. We address these theories later on. But first, here is some more background.

Rev. 20:2-3; 7-8 – John sees the vision of an angel who seizes satan and binds him for a period of a thousand years. Protestants generally call this period of a thousand years the “millennium.” The “millennium” is a harbinger of the end of the world, and the theories of when the “rapture” will occur center around this period of time. We should also note that the “thousand years” language is part of apocalyptic literature and should not be interpreted literally. For example, in Psalm 50:10, we see the cattle on a "thousand hills." The word "thousand" here obviously means a lot of hills. In Dan. 7:10, a "thousand thousands" served him. Again, "thousand" means a lot. In 2 Peter 3:8, with God one day is a "thousand" years and a "thousand" years is one day. "Thousand" is symbolic for a long time. It is not to be taken literally.

There are three ways that Protestants interpret the meaning of the thousand year “millennium” (and the interpretation leads to answering when they think the rapture will occur).

(1) Post-millennialism – this view interprets the “thousand years” as a very long time. This view also holds that God’s kingdom is being advanced in the world by His grace and the world will eventually be Christianized. Then Christ will return at the close of this period during a time of righteousness and peace. The problem with this view is that the Scriptures do not teach that the world will be even relatively Christianized before the Second Coming. For example, in Matt. 13:24-30;36-43, Jesus says the wicked and the righteous will co-exist until the end of the world, when they will be judged, and either inherit eternal life, or be thrown into eternal fire.

(2) Pre-millenialism (also called “millenarianism”) – like post-millennialists, this view also interprets the “thousand years” as a golden age on earth when the world will be Christianized. But they believe that this period will occur after Christ’s second coming, during which time Christ will reign physically on earth. They believe the Final Judgment occurs when the millennium is over. But Scripture does not teach that there is a thousand year span between the Second Coming and Final Judgment. Instead, Jesus said that when He comes a second time in glory, He will immediately repay every man for what he has done. Matt. 16:27. When Jesus comes, He will separate the sheep from the goats and render judgment. Matt. 25:31-46. There is nothing about any period of time between His coming and final judgment.

(3) Amillennialism – this view also interprets the “thousand years” symbolically, but, ulike the pre and post views, not as a golden age on earth. This view believes the millennium is the period of Christ’s rule in heaven and on earth through His Church. This is because the saints who reign with Christ and to whom judgment has been committed are said to be on their thrones in heaven. Rev. 20:4; cf. 4:4; 11:16. During this time, satan is bound and cannot hinder the spread of the gospel. Rev. 20:3. This is why, they explain, Jesus teaches the necessity of binding the “strong man” (satan) in order to plunder his house and rescue people from his grip. Matt. 12:29. This is also why, after the disciples preached the gospel and rejoiced that the demons were even subject to them, Jesus declared, “I saw satan fall like lightening from heaven.” Luke 10:18. Nevertheless, during this period, the world will not be entirely Christianized because satan, though bound, is still in some sense able to prowl around and attack souls. cf. 1 Peter 5:8. Of the three, this position is most consistent with Catholic teaching (the pre and post-millennium views have been rejected by the Church).

2 Thess. 2:1-4 – concerning the Second Coming of Christ, Scripture teaches (and most Protestants believe) that Christ’s coming will be preceded by a time of rebellion, lawlessness and persecution. Protestants often refer to this period as the “tribulation” (although the word “tribulation” cannot be found in the Scripture passages Protestants use to support the “rapture”). So the question is, when will the 1 Thess. 4:16-17 “rapture” occur, in light of the tribulation and Christ’s Second Coming? Here are the three theories previously mentioned:

(1) Post-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur right after the tribulation and immediately before the Second Coming of Christ. This view can be consistent with Scripture and Catholic teaching to the extent it holds that the rapture and Christ’s Second Coming occur together, after the tribulation and the Church Militant on earth. See, for example, Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; 2 Thess. 1:1-12.

(2) Pre-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur before the tribulation. The problem with this view is that it requires three comings of Christ – first, when He was born in Bethlehem; second, when He returns for the rapture before the tribulation; third, when He returns at the end of the tribulation and establishes the millennium. Scripture rejects three comings of Christ. In Heb. 9:28, it is clear that Christ will appear a second and final time, when he comes in glory to save us. This view also is inconsistent with Matt. 24:24-31; Mark 13:24-27; and 2 Thess. 2:1-12 where the rapture and the Second Coming occur together.

(3) Mid-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur during the middle of the tribulation. The problem with this view is that it also requires three comings of Christ – first, when He was born in Bethlehem; second, when He returns for the rapture during the middle of the tribulation; third, when He returns at the end of the tribulation and establishes the millennium. As seen in Heb. 9:28, Scripture rejects three comings of Christ. The view is also inconsistent with Matt. 24:24-31; Mark. 13:24-27; and 2 Thess. 2:1-12.

2 Peter 3:8-15 – instead of worrying about when the rapture will occur, Christians should follow Peter’s instruction to repent of their sins, live lives of holiness and godliness, be zealous and at peace, and wait for the Lord’s coming with forbearance and joy!