Rapture

The Rapture is a term most commonly used to describe an event in certain systems of Christian eschatology (study of the end times) whereby all true Christians are taken from Earth by God into Heaven.

The popularization of the term is associated with teaching of John Nelson Darby and the rise of premillennialism and dispensationalism in the U.S. at the end of the 19th century.

The word "rapture" comes from the Latin verb "rapiemur" which means "carried off" or "caught up". It was used in the Latin Vulgate (about 405 A.D.) translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which is the primary biblical reference to the event in question.

There are two main viewpoints which concern the timing of the Rapture. The popular view and the view taught and approved by most fundamentalist churches is referred to as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. This is the belief that the Rapture will occur at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. Christian believers will be translated into immortal bodies in the Rapture before the persecutions by the Harlot Church and before the Antichrist comes into in his Beast role midway through the final seven years. According to this view the Church has no vital role of witness during the Harlot years and no role of witness during the three and a half years or 1260 days of the Great Tribulation which follow.

The other main view is termed the Post Tribulation Rapture. It is not nearly as popular but has a growing following based on personal Bible study by individual Christians. This viewpoint affirms that Christian believers will be on earth as witnesses to Christ during the entire seven years and right up until the last day of this age. This includes the final three and a half years of the age which is believed to be the time period of the Antichrist in his malevolent role as the Beast. Both views hold that Christian believers will be either removed from or protected from the Doomsday judgement when the wrath of God falls and the wicked are carried off at the end of the age.

The term "rapture" is also used by some groups to describe the concept of religious ecstacy, or a religious out of body experience. This article discusses the use of rapture as an eschatological concept.

The theory

According to this theory, believers will, in the near future, suddenly disappear from Earth in the "twinkling of an eye."

In Christian circles this is known as a pre-trib doctrine, because the rapture rescues the faithful from Earth before the tribulation, rather than after (post-trib), as some other Christians believe. According to the doctrine, the resurrection of the dead will occur at the same time.

Almost all Christians believe that believers will be taken up to heaven, but the essence of the term "rapture" is that in some way non-believers will be left behind for at least some period of time before the world finally ends. This teaching revolves around the scripture passage in Matthew 24:40-41 which explains that "two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (compare Luke 17:34-36), and also 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which teaches that believers will "be caught up together...in the clouds to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air").

Little attention was paid to these verses before the Protestant Reformation, and consequently most Christian denominations who have beliefs concerning a rapture are those that appeared after the Reformation.

Scriptural basis

Supporters for this belief generally cite four primary sources in the New Testament:

John 14:1-3

In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, the Apostle Paul writes: "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul writes: "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 who 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."

In Philippians 3:20-21, Paul writes: "For our conversation is in heaven; from where also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

Generally, an elaborate set of predictions about the end times are constructed from these sets of verses, together with various interpretations of the Book of Revelation and the predictions of Christ's return in Matthew 24:30-36. In general, believers in the rapture consider the present to be the end times, and offer interpretations of the various symbolisms in the book of Revelation in terms of contemporary world events.

Different views

Criticism

Criticism of the rapture is usually based on the principle that the necessity of believing in Christ would be proven, by the events of the rapture, to anyone left behind. Thus anyone left behind who had knowledge of the rapture theory but previously did not believe in Christ would essentially be forced, by the proof of their own experiences, to believe. This would prevent any type of Antichrist from having any credibility.

Barbara R. Rossing, a Lutheran minister, challenges the idea of the rapture in her 2004 book "The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation." In it, she discusses the history of dispensationalism, arguing that the Biblical verses cited in support of the rapture are grossly taken out of context and misinterpreted.

The concept of the rapture is also frequently criticized as alarmism. As Christian believers learn that they may be left behind during the rapture, if unprepared, it becomes easier to sell them lucrative books and videos on how to avoid this terrible fate.

There are also a number of scriptural problems with the rapture theory. Those scriptures offered in support of the rapture do not require a rapture for their fulfillment. There is no New Testament scripture that states there will ever be a planet earth that is absent the New Testament church (though it's clear the church will briefly rise into the air to meet Christ). Plus, inasmuch as the rapture theory requires belief that Christ will visit the earth not once more--but twice--it's important to note that the New Testament speaks of Christ's return in the singular only.

The question to ask is, does the church meet Christ then exit the area, or meet Christ as he returns in fulfillment of the angel's description in Acts 1:9-11 "After [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Thus, we find Jesus standing on the ground, taken up into the sky, then hidden in a cloud. The angel said Christ would return the same way: He will appear from a cloud, descend to the ground, and place his feet on the earth. Thus we have the possiblity that Christ will return just as the angel foretold, and the church will simply meet him upon his return.

The word "meet" in the New Testament (Strong's, 529) is always used in the context of intercepting someone who is on their way toward the person meeting them.

As for Christ's words, "as it was in the days of Noah," we again find reason to question the rapture theory. For in the days of Noah, it was the wicked who were taken, and the righteous were first lifted from the earth, then returned to it; the righteous thus remained. This is entirely consistent with the primary rapture text in I Thes. 4:17. The text there could just as easily be interpreted to mean that the church will rise to meet Christ as he returns to earth, the wicked below will be swept to destruction "as it was in the days of Noah," and then the church will descend to the earth with the Eternal King.

Rebuttal

However, this may not be so, as God sends them a deluding influence, backed up by many signs and false wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

Furthermore, the Old Testament book of Exodus records that God appeared to the Israelites in a Theophany, as a visible pillar of fire or smoke, and bestowed daily miracles, yet many of the people rebelled against God.

Additionally, in Luke 16:31 Jesus states of unbelievers, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (NIV)

When comparing the end times to the Flood, the Rapture of the Church can correspond to the translation of Enoch in Genesis 5:24. "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." (NIV) Meanwhile, Noah and his family who endure the judgement and survive correspond to redeemed Israel.

Belief

Belief in the rapture became popular in some Christian circles during the 1970s, in part thanks to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth. Many of Lindsey's predictions in that book, which assumed that the rapture was imminent, were based on world conditions at the time.

The Cold War figured prominently in their predictions of Armageddon, and other aspects of 1970s global politics were seen as having been predicted in the Bible. Lindsay believed, for example, that the 10-headed beast cited in Revelation was the European Economic Community, which at the time consisted of ten nations.

Many Christians continue to believe in the rapture, with their interpretations of biblical eschatology having been updated to reflect changes in world conditions.

The Rapture in media

In the 1970s, Billy Graham's evangelistic association made a four-part movie series starting with 'A Thief in the Night', which chronicled events before and after the rapture, in an intentionally frightening way.

There was a 1991 film starring Mimi Rogers called The Rapture which was about one woman's experience of the rapture.

Rapture is a major component of the premise of the Left Behind books and their various spin-offs. Again these books greatly revived public interest in this concept.

Episode 19 in season 16, titled "Thank God, it's Doomsday" of The Simpsons features Homer predicting the Rapture. After seeing a movie titled "Left Below" (a parody of "Left Behind"), he becomes paranoid and predicts that the Rapture will occur at 3:15 PM on May 18.

External links

Rapture Ready
Rapture prophecy
O, Rapture! is a film being produced that will serve as a survival guide for those who are left behind after the Rapture.
Rapture Letters is a service that aims to send out letters to non-Christians whose loved ones have been taken up in the rapture.
ReligiousTolerance.org A comprehensive encylopedic article