I grew up as a Catholic, they did not teach us about the rapture. When I met my husband, his church Lutheran..

Question

was the first church to talk about this "event" now I am curious, do all Christian doctorines talk about the Rapture?

and I have been watching Jack Van impe, and I am so confused.

he uses the different stories in the bible, takes passages, and prooves the Rapture, end times with these passages, yet when I read the bible I do not see what he is talking about, the stories I read, don't come out with it. So where does the Rapture Concept come from?

I am just very curious about this rapture concept, I simply have watched Jack van impe because he talks about it, trust me I am reading the bible for myself. :) as I mentioned Catholics do not talk about this concept. :) so far I am hearing a lot of wonderful answers keep them coming! :)

wow! I am so impressed with all the wonderful answers that you have all given me, and I feel I now understand. But it is so hard for me to choose just one. I feel all of your opinions you put so much thought and heart into it. But there is one answer I am allowed to choose. :(

Answer 1

The rapture as taught by many Christians is not found in the Bible.

The Bible says that the rapture happens at the end of the world.

“Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?’ He said unto them, ‘An enemy hath done this.’ The servants said unto him, ‘Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’’” (Matthew 13:24 – 29 KJV)

Now that is an interesting story, and it can be a little confusing; fortunately, because the disciples found this story a little confusing they also and asked Jesus to explain if further. Because our God is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), Jesus explained what this parable meant.

“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, ‘Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.’ He answered and said unto them, ‘He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’” (Matthew 13:36 – 42 KJV)

A closer study of this parable would seem to completely disprove the theory of a secret rapture of the church. Let’s take a look at what Jesus had to say about the time of the end through this parable. There are two groups on the earth represented by the wheat (the good or the church) and the tares (the evil). The workers of the field (probably representing angels) are troubled by the tares that the evil one (the devil) has planted. They ask the farmer (Jesus) if they should gather the weeds now and purify the field (the world). The farmer (Jesus) said that it should not happen that way because some of the wheat may come up with the tares. He then declares, “Let both grow together until the harvest (the end of the world): and in the time of harvest (the end of the world) I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” I find it hard to be a proponent of a secret rapture for the church when Jesus said that both the good and the evil will grow together until the harvest (the end of the world). How can the church be raptured, leaving the evil on the earth, when Jesus said they will be together until the very end?

There is another issue raised by this parable. Many well intentioned Christians use the story in Matthew 24:40 & 41 and Luke 17:34 – 36 as key proof of a secret rapture for the church, but if we examine this story about the end times with the earlier story Jesus told about the end times in Matthew 13, we get a completely different picture from what most Christians interpret this story to mean. Let’s look at what Jesus said in these verses.

“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.” (Matthew 24:40 – 42 KJV)

“I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Luke 17:34 – 36 KJV)

Now I do not think that I am wrong in thinking that most Christians interpret these stories to mean that the man taken from the field, the woman that is taken while grinding, and the man taken in his sleep are the ones that belong to the group that is the church and are ruptured. This does not seem to be a plausible explanation however. Jesus gives an order for things to happen back in Matthew 13. “Gather ye together first the tares (the evil), and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat (the good or the church) into my barn.” Jesus clearly says that the evil will be gathered first. If we take this understanding and apply it to Matthew 24 and Luke 17, we get a very different understanding. The ones that are taken are not in the group we want to be in. The ones who are taken are the tares (the evil) that are being gathered to be burned, but the ones that are left are the wheat (the good) that are saved.

There is another metaphor that many well intentioned Christians use to support a secret rapture for the church; I feel that this too is an invalid interpretation of a story.

“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:43 & 44 KJV)

“And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” (Luke 12:39 & 40 KJV)

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2 KJV)

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10 KJV)

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15 KJV)

Here again, most Christians would attempt to say that this metaphor of a thief in the night is depicting a secret rapture for the church. I believe that most Christians have misinterpreted this too. First, Jesus explains what this metaphor means. He says that the meaning is not that the second coming is a secret but we do not know when it will occur. If we knew what day the Lord was to come, we would get ready the day before it, but since we do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36), we must be ever ready! Just examine what Peter had to say of this metaphor in 2 Peter 3:10; he says that when the Lord comes as a thief,” the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therine shall be burned up.” Now I am not sure how all that could be kept a secret from anyone or how people would be able to live on the earth when it has passed away, burned up, and all the elements in it have melted.

Answer 2

Jack Van Impe is flat out wrong on the subject of the rapture, as is anyone who thinks that God will remove the church from the earth prior to the tribulation at the end of days.

While there is very little official Catholic teaching on this matter, because of all the obscurity and symbolism in the book, here is a fairly complete sequence of events that agree essentially with the teachings of most Catholic theologians, throughout the ages:

The church has a divine purpose, and the church will remain on the earth to accomplish that purpose, and to be a faithful witness to the truth, even if wide-spread martydom is required once again.

Expect the "beast" system to take over the world.

Expect the anti-christ to fool much or most of the world into believing he is God.

Expect the false prophet to work hand in glove with anti-christ to pull off the world-wide deception.

Then, expect the end time tribulation events, over which the powers of evil, who claim to be God, will (mysteriously) have no ability to control.

The parallels between the end times and the times of Moses are too similar to ignore. Read Exodus to get a sense of how the events in Revelation will likely unfold.

Expect the church ... what remains of it, anyway ... to be present on the earth, and to be witnessing for the truth, when Jesus returns.

At Jesus' appearance, expect your everyday human body to be instantly transformed into a glorified resurrection body, just like the one Jesus now has.

Then expect Judgment Day, the end of evil, and the beginning of the authentic new earth age, where the earth itself will be renovated by holy fire, and all will live on the renovated earth in the presence of God, world without end, forever and ever.

Answer 3

Dogma regarding the rapture, as a number of people already answered, is a fabrication of little bits of Scripture taken entirely out of context.

The rapture appeals to people because human nature (original sin) makes us all want to find the easy way our.

I'm sorry to bring rapturists the news, but Scripture tells us that all (believers and non believers) will be judged on the last day!

As usafbrat stated, it is NOT part of Lutheran doctrine. Period.

No Confessional Lutheran Synods accept the rapture, and as far as I know neither do any of the liberal Synods either. This doctrine is completely contrary to Scripture, and should be viewed as heretical teaching. The Roman Catholic Church's position on the rapture is the same as us Lutherans.

To properly interpret Scripture one must take everything in context. We must put ourselves below Scripture as students, not above it as Masters.

Mark

Answer 4

The Parousia is one event that includes the translation or Rapture of Believers prior to the outpouring of God's Wrath.Jack and most televangelists twist Scripture because of their zionist beliefs.We will be here when the Antichrist institutes the Mark of the Beast.We will be taken up to meet the Lord in the clouds before the 42 months is over.

Answer 5

That concept has been forced on me since I was a kid and it was created in a process called "Dispensationalism". A pastor in England in the 1800's sometime decided to cut and paste different parts of Biblical prophecies from the Old and New Testaments and created an elaborate story of what is to come.

I do not accept the concept of the Rapture. I used to believe it out of fear but as someone already mentioned before, it relieves many people of their responsibilities. One in particular is the Global Peace Effort. They believe that the Anti-Christ will come under a banner of peace and decieve the entire world into worshipping him. Of course, if they are not around to endure the tribulations that are expected, there's no reason to concern themselves with peace efforts.

The scary part about this is, if some compasionate and devoted humanitarian official did find a solution that would solve the international problems without an personal agenda, he or she would be tagged as the Anti-Christ by many devout Christians and they would probably outright oppose the person.

Answer 6

Not sure which Lutheran church you were going to, but the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) do NOT accept the doctrine of rapture. It is a false teaching.
There are several different groups under the heading of Lutheran, some more conservative, some more liberal, and some just plain strange! Some of the fringe groups do preach Rapture, but not many.

Answer 7

I'm sorry I can't really remember the source here, but the rapture has only become important to the christian community in the last 150 years or so. There was a well known, essentially, doomsday cult in the 1870s that all believed they were going to be raptured up to heaven. Needless to say it didn't happen.

With the growing evangelism movement, they latched onto the concept of the rapture again as a Fear tactic to convert more worshippers and bolster the flagging rolecalls of churches. Absolutely indispensible to this movement since about 1970.

Answer 8

Read the Book, "Apocalypse: A Catholic persepctive on the Book of Revelation", by Stephan C. Doyle. That will answer your questions concerning the Rapture.

Answer 9

The rapture is false theology. The entire portrayal of end time events as per "left behind series" is a fabrication.
When Jesus comes, the dead in Christ will rise and the living in Christ will meet them in the air. ever to be with the Lord. The living wicked will be destroyed by the brightness of his coming.
All the wicked dead will await in the grave, the return of Jesus, the saints and the New Jerusalem after the 1000 years in Heaven, in which time the Saints will take part in the judgment of the wicked. Satan an his angles are bound (chained) to the earth during this 1000 years with no one to tempt.
After the 1000 years the wicked dead will be raised and Satan will rally them to attack the Holy city.
When they realize the futility of this "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus as Lord"
Satan and death will be thrown into the lake of fire and the wicked will be destroyed by fire never to exist anymore. This is the second death.
Jesus will then remake the Heavens and the earth.

Answer 10

The Rapture is not accepted doctrine by the Catholic Church. I don't think too many mainstream Christian sects give it any creedence. It seems to be a relatively recent invention based on creative reading of the Bible.

Read more at Wikipedia and dook at some other sources.