Transcription
If you grew up like me, you were warned about the coming Rapture. At any moment, Jesus will return to Rapture all Christians from the world, saving them from the coming Antichrist in a seven-year tribulation. Evidently, all non-believers should expect to find clothes left on the ground, cars flying down the road unoccupied, and planes falling from the sky. This belief inspired the popular book series *Left Behind*, a fictional representation of what would happen during the seven-year tribulation after all Christians mysteriously vanish. Since the release of this series, the belief in the Rapture has gained popularity. But is this really a biblical idea? Does the Bible teach that a future Rapture is going to occur? Let's explore what the Bible says and see if there is any indication that a Rapture event is supposed to happen. What we find might surprise you.
The Rapture is defined as the transporting of believers to Heaven at the second coming of Christ. Those who hold to the eschatological view of premillennialism tend to believe in a Rapture. Premillennialists see Jesus's millennial reign as something in the future; before it begins, the Rapture and a tribulation must occur. Some say it will occur at the end of the tribulation at Jesus's second coming, while others believe it will happen before the tribulation, and some even argue for a mid-tribulation Rapture. Despite the popularity of the belief in a Rapture to Heaven, it is a relatively new idea, only about 200 years old. Most Christians throughout history never expected one to happen. Instead, Christians have historically been waiting for Jesus to return, resurrect the dead, and bring about final judgment. There was never a notion of all Christians being taken up to Heaven when Christ returns, or before it.
It was John Nelson Darby who came up with and popularized this belief. Some have suggested that he derived the idea from a vision of a young woman named Margaret McDonald, who allegedly reported seeing the church being raptured from the Earth at the end times. However, there is no evidence that she influenced Darby. Prior to his assertions, a few preachers entertained the possibility of something like a Rapture, but Darby is credited with starting the modern belief that this would be a future event. Given that the belief in the Rapture can only be traced back 200 years, we should be skeptical of it unless it can be demonstrated to be clearly taught in Scripture.
Even more troubling for proponents of the Rapture is the fact that when we look in the Bible, we see little to no evidence that it was ever taught by the apostles or Jesus. There are three main passages that proponents use to argue for a coming Rapture, which we will evaluate along with some additional verses.
The first is Revelation 3:10, which states, "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth." Regarding this verse, Manfred E. Kober notes that the church is not promised protection in or during the hour of trial, but rather protection out of it. Kober, being a pre-tribulation Rapture advocate, argues that this verse seems to suggest that Christians who come before us, opposed to a future tribulation, will be called out to avoid suffering. However, the context does not support this interpretation: it addresses a specific church from the past, the Church of Philadelphia. Christ is saying that this church will be spared from the coming tribulation that the churches of the first century were going to experience. G.K. Beale asserts that Christ will show His faithfulness to the Christians in Philadelphia in the immediate future because they have been faithful witnesses to Him.
On the other hand, the church in Smyrna was not promised to be raptured but was told to endure through the tribulation that was about to fall upon them. Similarly, the church in Pergamon is told they must repent, or Christ will make war on them, which implies that they may have to go through a period of tribulation rather than being raptured away before any trials occur. Most scholars see the opening chapters of Revelation as referring to a period of tribulation in the past that the churches John wrote to were enduring. Only the church in Philadelphia was spared during that period. This is not a promise that Jesus will Rapture all Christians away before a distant future tribulation begins.
Kober also claims that a certain word in the verse suggests the church will be taken out to escape tribulation, but the term does not necessarily mean that; it carries a general sense referring to a preposition of "from" or "out of." This does not imply they must be literally raptured out of the world but could merely mean they are kept away from the tribulation. Kober cites verses from Paul where the saints are promised not to experience wrath but salvation. However, these verses do not refer to a future tribulation but to how Christians have been saved from the wrath that our sin causes. We have been saved from the wrath we deserve because Christ bore our penalty. None of these verses teach that a future Rapture will occur, and Jesus explicitly states that in this life, we will experience persecution and trials. If there is a coming tribulation just before the second coming, there is no reason to expect we will be raptured away before it begins.
Another passage used to support the Rapture is Matthew 24:40-42, which says, "Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken, and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one left. Therefore stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." Some argue this refers to a future event when the Lord will come back and rapture his saints away, with some vanishing instantly while others are left behind. Once again, context matters. When we read the parallel passage in Luke, we see that those being taken away are not the saints but those who are judged and cast out of the presence of the Lord. Jesus says that where the corpses are, there the vultures will gather, indicating those taken away face judgment, not salvation.
Additionally, many assume that because Jesus compares the coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah, we should expect his return to occur at a time of great sin. However, Jesus compares his second coming to the days of Noah in terms of unexpectedness, not the evil present. So, this does not necessarily suggest that the world will be filled with evil or ruled by an Antichrist when He returns.
The passage most commonly cited in support of the Rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." The word translated in Latin from this verse is where we get the term "Rapture." Proponents of the Rapture use this passage to argue that at the end times, Christ will return to rapture all the saints away.
However, even if this verse is about a Rapture, it refers to Jesus's second coming, when he physically returns to Earth. It does not refer to an event that takes place seven years prior to his return. The passage specifies that the dead in Christ will rise first, referring to the resurrection that precedes our meeting Christ in the air. N.T. Wright notes that Paul is using typical language of the day regarding an emperor coming into a city, where people would run out to meet him and then accompany him back. Likewise, when Jesus descends from the clouds, Paul conveys that we will be caught up in the air to meet Him, suggesting that we will welcome Him back to Earth rather than being raptured away from it.
Paul's imagery of people meeting the Lord in the air should be understood with the assumption that they will immediately turn around and guide the Lord back to the newly remade world. Craig Keener explains that the word for “meeting” in the air typically refers to emissaries from a city going out to meet a dignitary and escort him back. This contrast highlights the honor due to the Lord, which could provoke hostility from local officials. In other words, this passage does not imply being raptured to Heaven but instead refers to the second coming when Christ is present on Earth.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul uses similar language to that seen in 1 Thessalonians 4, but it clearly refers to the second coming and the resurrection of the dead. Thus, this is likely what he is also referring to in 1 Thessalonians. In truth, this is not about a future Rapture but rather the second coming of Christ when the resurrection of the dead occurs.
In fact, the end times may not be as bleak as many envision. In other discussions, we have argued that the future is much brighter than most realize, and what may bring about the end is not a tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist but rather the spread of the gospel and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. There is no reason to think that a future Rapture is predicted in scripture; this is a recent invention that does not trace back to historical Christianity. Therefore, there is no need for Christians to expect a Rapture at any moment. Instead, we should focus on what Christ commanded us: fulfilling the Great Commission. Let's put this distraction behind us and return to what is truly important.