Most Christians believe in Rapture?

Question

correct?

why then don't non-Catholics believe in Mary's Assumption into heaven? In a sense, it was a "mini-Rapture." As a matter of biblical fact, Mary was not the first to be assumed into heaven. Elijah the prophet was assumed. (2 Kings 2:11)

As Mary was the first Christian and first Disciple of the Lord, it would make sense that she would be the first to experience Rapture in the new age.

Peace be with you.

Answer 1

For those who believe in a 'rapture' before the end of the world. Here is something to ponder.

The dramatic end-time scenario proposed by pre-tribulation rapture theorists is heavily based on a few verses such as Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he writes: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first; then we, who are left alive, will be snatched up with them on clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

“With a shout of command…and the trumpet of God”, kind of goes against a ‘secret’ rapture doesn’t it? And we can see here that Paul conjures up images of an emperor, a king or a distinguished person visiting a colony or province. As was the custom at the time, the citizens go out to meet him in open country and then escort him into the city. Paul’s image of the people “meeting the Lord in the air” should be read with the assumption that the people will immediately turn around and lead the Lord back to the newly remade world. This verse taken into context is found to show that the ‘saved’ will be taken up for a time and brought back down to Earth. But when did Paul believe this event takes place, before or after the Tribulation? We find the answer to that in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

“…it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed…”

For the apostle Paul, the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous are to occur on the same day, immediately following the second coming of Christ. Are the elect taken before the Tribulation as the Rapture theory says? Take a look at John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” This verse alone should be enough to convince anybody of the fallacy of the pre-tribulation Rapture theory because the expression ‘at the last day’ in Scripture is always mentioned as being the last day of the world.

So, those who are saved will be raised up at the last day. Is this day really the last day at His coming after the Tribulation or before the start of it? Well, let’s look at John 12:48 “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.”

As we can see the ‘saved’ will be raised up on the last day and those who reject Him will be condemned on the last day. Therefore, if the saved are raised on the day before the start of the Tribulation, then those condemned will be sent to Hell on that same day. It begs the question, who will be left to suffer through the seven-year Tribulation? The only other option is that the saved will be raised on the last day before the coming of our Lord, on the last day of the Tribulation which is also the same day the condemned will be judged and sent to Hell.

This means that the ‘saved’, the believers in Christ will go through the Tribulation with the unbelievers. We find support for this in Matt 13:24-30

“Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' "No, he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'”

Jesus’ explained what this parable meant at the apostles urgings. Here is His answer a few verses later in Matt 13:36-43

“Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

The good seed, which stands for the sons of the kingdom, the ‘saved’, will be living together with the weeds until the harvest where the weeds will be harvested first and thrown into the fiery furnace. You will find an even clearer picture of this event in
Matt 24:37-41

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

Noah and his family were left behind, those who listened to the word of God were saved, they were left behind. Those who didn’t believe Noah or knew nothing of the incoming flood were taken, the unbelievers were taken. As you can see, we find here also that the unbelievers are taken on the same day as the elect and are saved by being left behind.

In conclusion, I personally believe that there is a rapture, but it will only come at the end of the world, at Christ’s second coming where the weeds and the wheat will be living together until Christ shall separate the ‘saved’ from the un-‘saved’ on the last day, that is the last day of the known world.

God Bless
Robin

Answer 2

The word "rapture" does not occur in the Bible. The concept of the Rapture, though, is clearly taught in Scripture. The Rapture of the church is the event in which God removes all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation period. The Rapture is described primarily in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the Rapture as God resurrecting all believers who have died, giving them glorified bodies, and then departing the earth with those believers who were still alive, who have also been given glorified bodies. "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 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" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 focuses on the instantaneous nature of the Rapture and on the glorified bodies we will receive. "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The Rapture is the glorious event we should all be longing for. We will finally be free from sin. We will be in God's presence forever. There is far too much debate over the meaning and scope of the Rapture. This is not God’s intent. Rather, in regards to the Rapture, God wants us to “encourage each other with these words.”

Answer 3

Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection and assumption to heaven to be with the Father (Elijah did not go to the Father, he went to the Word, i.e. Jesus). To imply that there is a "second fruit" (Mary) and then a "third fruit" is unscriptural; there is no scriptural proof that the Rapture happens this way. The fact is, when the Rapture occurs, the entire Body of true believers will be taken up. Mary's soul has been in Heaven with Jesus since her death. At the Rapture, her body will be resurrected along with all the others.

And I thought Catholics didn't believe in the Rapture. I'm curious why you're relying on this argument to support your position ...

Answer 4

Paul spoke of it in 1 Thess. 4, and 1 Cor. 15. The Greek term is "harpazo" which means: to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force). We have an example of this in Acts 8: Act 8:39 But when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And the eunuch did not see him any more; for he went his way rejoicing. I have a sermon written by a person name "Psuedo-Ephraem". It is called "Sermon on the End of the World." There is considerable variation over the time of its authorship, although estimates range anywhere from 373 to 627 AD. Now, this sermon is relatively short, just under 1500 words. It is preserved in four Latin manuscripts, but there are also Greek and Syriac versions remaining. Evidence leads scholars to conclude that the first version of the sermon was most likely written in Syriac, translated into Greek, and from there into Latin. What's interesting about the multiple early manuscripts, all dating from around the same period, is that the original sermon appears to have been so popular that it was quickly translated into the major languages of the day in order to circulate it widely among the early Church. This was not a hidden, or "shadowy" bit of teaching. This was a popular and well-read document. Here is the portion dealing with the pre-trib rapture: "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"

Answer 5

Elijah did not go to heaven. How do we know that? At John 3:13, Jesus pointedly says that no one has ascended to heaven. What about Elijah? Short answer: he got a job transfer.

There is therefore no basis in scripture to suggest that Mary was assumed bodily into heaven. Even Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, makes it plain that flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom. There are no physical bodies in heaven.

P.S. I do not believe in the rapture. It too has no basis in scripture.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 6

I doubt that...no christian I know of believes in the rapture. I thought that was just a southern, backwoods idea until I came to this place.

Answer 7

Well, if you are a christian, hopefully you believe in the rapture!! Yeah, I guess, most christians believe in it....... I do! do you???

Answer 8

I am a Christian but feel that for God to expect Christians to experience the Tribulation (especially during my lifetime) and condemn anyone to hell for "not being brave enough to refuse the mark of the beast, well......someone will have to explain to me why Timothy McKay was a bad guy and God a good guy when God would be far more of a right wing extremist than mickVay? (Left or right wing is not bad but "extremist" is and God would be the ultimate extremist if he were this strict). MickVay didn't punish people in hell for eternity, especially just for "trying to escape a tribulation that's like out of a horror movie"?
-a moderately (but not extremely) conservative Christian

Answer 9

I dont doubt that Mary went. As a non-catholic Christian I honestly cant understand why catholics exalt her. She was just a woman who God chose to bear Christ. Blessed because God chose her but beyond that...it doesnt matter if she went 1st, middle or last....and I certainly dont exalt the earthly mother above the divine Son.

Answer 10

Even more comical, after Elijah's assumption, Elisha had some bears kill little kids in 2nd Kings.