The Rapture? I still dont understand?

Question

I used to believe the Rapture would Happen before the anti Christ came back, but I have study this more and Im not so sure. why do you think it will happen then? and nor in the middle or the end, I lean more torwards the middle. yes I read all the left behind series. great books by the way!!!. But I do not believe that we will not be here to see the Anti Christ, God warned us we would and that even the most elect will be decieved, and that he would protect us during this time. but I dont think we will go through the worst of it. we will be spared that.

Answer 1

What is there to not understand???? The "Rapture" was made up by Catholics in the early 1800's to scare people. The word is NOT in the Bible. See link below or run the search for yourself:

Answer 2

There's so much debate on this issue. I personally believe in the following sequence of events:
- the rapture (this is NOT the second coming of Christ - a lot of people confuse the rapture with the second coming, but he doesn't actually come back to the earth for the rapture- we meet him in the air)
- the rise of the antichrist
- the antichrist makes a 7 year peace treaty marking the beginning of the tribulation
- 3.5 years into the tribulation, the antichrist breaks the peace treaty
- the last 3.5 years of the tribulation are even worse than the first 3.5 years
- Christ comes back after the 7 year tribulation (THIS is the second coming)
- battle of Armageddon
- millennial reign of Christ on earth
- eternity

On your question on the antichrist, we may be here to see him - he's probably alive today and he may be in politics already. We may not be 100% sure who it is, but we may have an idea. We know he won't rise to power until after we're gone because the Bible says that he can't rise to power until the Holy Spirit is taken away (which happens when we leave).

The last prophecy that HAD to be fulfilled before the rapture can take place was the establishment of the state of Israel which happened in 1948 I believe.

With all that said, the thing that we should all focus on is looking upward and making sure we're cleared for takeoff!!! It's all very exciting and a rewarding course of study for the Christian.

Answer 3

You and I are in full agreement on that. I'm leaning more toward the rapture coming at about the opening of the 6th Seal. I guess the main thing is to be ready for when ever it is. The Left Behind series leaves us with the idea that if we miss the rapture, we have a second chance. I believe if you miss the rapture, that's it. In order for ALL the scriptures in the Old& New testaments to have no confusions, the rapture has to occur sometime around the opening of the 6th seal.

Answer 4

The timing of the Rapture in relation to the Tribulation is one of the most controversial issues in the church today. The three primary views are Pretribulational (the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation), Midtribulational (the Rapture occurs at the mid-point of the Tribulation), and Posttribulational (the Rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation). A 4th view, commonly known as Pre-wrath, is a slight modification of the Midtribulational position.

First, it is important to recognize the purpose of the Tribulation. According to Daniel 9:27, there is a seventieth “week” (7 years) that is still yet to come. Daniel’s entire prophecy of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:20-27) is speaking of the nation of Israel. It is a time period in which God focuses His attention especially on Israel. The seventieth week, the Tribulation, must also be a time when God deals specifically with Israel. While this does not necessarily indicate that the church could not also be present, it does bring into question why the church would need to be on the earth during that time.

The primary Scripture passage on the Rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. It states that all living believers, along with all believers who have died, will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and will be with Him forever. The Rapture is God removing His people from the earth. A few verses later in 5:9 Paul says, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Book of Revelation, which deals primarily with the time period of the Tribulation, is a prophetic message of how God will pour out His wrath upon the earth during the Tribulation. It would seem inconsistent for God to promise believers that they will not suffer wrath and then leave them on the earth during the Tribulation. The fact that God promises to deliver Christians from wrath shortly after promising to remove His people from the earth seems to link those two events together.

Another crucial passage on the timing of the Rapture is Revelation 3:10. There, Christ promises to deliver believers from the “hour of trial” that is going to come upon the earth. This could mean two things: (1) Christ will protect believers in the midst of the trials, or (2) Christ will deliver believers out of the trials. Both are valid meanings of the Greek word translated “from.” However, it is important to recognize what believers are promised to be kept “from.” It is not just the trial, but the “hour” of trial. Christ is promising to keep believers from the very time period that contains the trials, namely the Tribulation. The purpose of the Tribulation, the purpose of the Rapture, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5:9, and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all give clear support to the Pretribulational position. If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, the Pretribulational position is the most Biblically consistent interpretation.

Recommended Resource: The Rapture: Who Will Face the Tribulation by Tim LaHaye.

Answer 5

I saw this as someone's answer and lol'd.

Artist: Blondie
Song: Rapture



Toe to toe
Dancing very slow
Barely breathing
Almost comatose
Wall to wall
People hypnotised
And they're stepping lightly
Hang each night in Rapture

Back to back
Sacrailiac
Spineless movement
And a wild attack

Face to face
Sadly solitude
And it's finger popping
Twenty-four hour shopping in Rapture

Fab Five Freddie told me everybody's high
DJ's spinnin' are savin' my mind
Flash is fast, Flash is cool
Francois sez fas, Flashe' no do
And you don't stop, sure shot
Go out to the parking lot
And you get in your car and you drive real far
And you drive all night and then you see a light
And it comes right down and lands on the ground
And out comes a man from Mars
And you try to run but he's got a gun
And he shoots you dead and he eats your head
And then you're in the man from Mars
You go out at night, eatin' cars
You eat Cadillacs, Lincolns too
Mercurys and Subarus
And you don't stop, you keep on eatin' cars
Then, when there's no more cars
You go out at night and eat up bars where the people meet
Face to face, dance cheek to cheek
One to one, man to man
Dance toe to toe
Don't move to slow, 'cause the man from Mars
Is through with cars, he's eatin' bars
Yeah, wall to wall, door to door, hall to hall
He's gonna eat 'em all
Rapture, be pure
Take a tour, through the sewer
Don't strain your brain, paint a train
You'll be singin' in the rain
I said don't stop, do punk rock

Well now you see what you wanna be
Just have your party on TV
'Cause the man from Mars won't eat up bars when the TV's on
And now he's gone back up to space
Where he won't have a hassle with the human race
And you hip-hop, and you don't stop
Just blast off, sure shot
'Cause the man from Mars stopped eatin' cars and eatin' bars
And now he only eats guitars, get up!

Answer 6

first of all it doesn't say the elect would be deceived... it says "if possible" the elect would be deceived... as far as pre, mid or post trib. goes you can make a pretty strong case for any... i tend to lean toward pre trib myself since in the old testament God would always take the righteous out before He would judge a group/city/the world.
but i really don't think it is for us to be certain of we are to be prepared and live as though it could happen at any minute but the way i see it there will be great opportunities for harvest during the trib so pre mid or post our responsibility is the same... live for Christ and Share the good news of Salvation in Christ Jesus

Answer 7

Our church is also studying the book of Revelation. After Chapter 3 there is no more about the church. There are people here that are already being deceived by people. We just had a church split because the Pastor was hiding lies, and accusing others of the same lies he was hiding. He preached the Word, but we were blinded to the truth. Yes we will be leaving before the Tribulation. I will be so thankful for that. God bless you.

Answer 8

The rapture will not happen before Christ returns. If you think you are getting out of here without pain your kidding yourself.
Protestant rapture before the tribulation doesn't exist.

Answer 9

There is so much about the rapture referred to as the Blessed Hope of the church and that tells me that authors of the "Left Behind Series" have it right.

Pastor Art

Answer 10

As long as I'm saved, it can happen any way God wants it to. ;)

I think Pre-Tribbers believe that after the rapture occurs some people will rush to Christ and be saved, and they are the "elect" the Bible is referring to.