Biblical References to the Rapture

[steve2470]

http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/a/whatisrapture.htm

By Mary Fairchild, About.com Guide

Based on Scripture, many Christian faiths believe and teach about a future, end-times event when all true believers who are still alive before the end of the world will be taken from the earth by God into heaven. The term describing this event is "the Rapture."

Although the term "rapture" is not found in the Bible, the theory is firmly based on Scripture. Those who accept the Rapture theory believe that all non-believers on the earth at the time will be left behind for the tribulation period. Most Bible scholars agree the tribulation period will last for seven years, the final seven years of this age, until Christ returns to set up his earthly kingdom during the Millennium.

The English word "rapture" is derived from the Latin verb "Rapere" meaning "to carry off," or "to catch up."

When will the Rapture occur?

There are three main beliefs regarding the time frame of the Rapture:

*more at link above*

FWIW, hope this is informative to a few.

[Petrushka]

1. More "informative" ---> a book by Dave MacPherson concerning the ORIGIN of the "rapture theory" --->

"The Incredible Cover-Up"
http://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Cover-Up-Dave-MacPherson/dp/0931608066/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306043749&sr=1-2

[steve2470]

2. thanks for that nt

[Petrushka]

3. You'll find more info in this old DU thread --->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=214x4886

:hi:

[steve2470]

4. thanks again ! nt

[aaaaaa5a]

5. Excellent OP.

The people who thought the world would end today are considered crazy. But in reality they are only crazier than other deeply religious people by one date…. or two, or three or four, or how ever long it takes for them to give us the right date.

[regnaD kciN]

6. Who the bleep is Mary Fairchild...?

Based on her claims that "the theory is firmly based on Scripture" and "most Bible scholars agree...," I'd have to conclude the proper answer is "an idiot who knows nothing about Christianity outside (her own?) fundamentalist circles." Seriously, I'd like to challenge her: find any non-fundy Bible scholars that believe in a "rapture." (Prepare for the sound of crickets chirping.)

I don't want to blow my own horn, but what I wrote in a different thread tonight is a lot more informative than Fairchild's nonsense:

The "rapture," on the other hand, comes from a literalistic misreading of a passage in the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. At the time that letter was written (very early in the years after Jesus), it was assumed the "second coming" would be happening any day now, so that all the followers could be taken up into the kingdom of God straightaway. Thus, there was the concern about converts who, due to age or accident, died before that could occur. Would that mean they had missed out on salvation? In answer to this question, Paul writes:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.

It seems clear that the entire passage is a response to the issue mentioned in the first line. Thus the passage uses poetic imagery to get across the point of all Christians, dead and still alive, being taken up into the new dimension ("the air") that is the presence of God. Indeed, as far as I can tell, no Christian leaders or theologians considered this to be a literal description of an event for the first 1,600 years of Christian history. It only became a doctrine among Puritans here in the American colonies, and then picked up by John Darby, the British co-founder of the Plymouth Brethren in the nineteenth century, but remained obscure until popularized by Hal Lindsay in "The Late Great Planet Earth" in the 1970s.

The above is the only Biblical reference to "the rapture," and I think you'll agree that it is a case of fundamentalists seizing on a passage without understanding the context, taking it literally, and reducing it to gibberish.

As usual.

[steve2470]

7. Thanks for this. In hindsight about.com obviously chose a fundy nt

[roguevalley]

11. more interesting factoids about a word that isn't even in the bible

•The term "Rapture" first became popular in the United States toward the end of the 19th century through the teachings on premillennialism and dipensationalism by John Nelson Darby, an Irish evangelist. The rapture theory continued to grow in popularity among evangelicals largely due to a preacher named William Eugene Blackstone (1841-1935). His book, Jesus is Coming, sold more than one million copies.

Not All Christian Faiths Accept the Rapture Theory
•Roman Catholics do not accept a Rapture theory. They believe the concept to be a confused understanding of the Second Coming of Christ.

•Eastern Orthodox also reject the Rapture theory. From the beginning it has never been taught by any of their bishops.

•Other mainline Protestant faiths and ministers have challenged the idea of the Rapture because of the inconsistencies and various interpretations of the previously noted Bible verses. Visit this page for a denominational comparison on end times doctrines.

This doctrine is new; it was never taught or even discussed prior to the 1830’s. It seems to have first come from a “prophetic vision” by Margaret Macdonald, a woman in 1830, who was a part of the cult group the “Irvingites,” while having an emotional experience. Through a “mingled prophecy and vision” (breakdown), and saying “the power of the Holy Spirit,” she came up with this. She was very ill and delusional according to physicians and learned observers at the time. How, how, how did this get to doctrinal status? In spite of her condition, people believed her. Not ministers trained in the Word, not those who were pious Christians, not those with discernment, but those seeking a new fad and emotional experience, just as so many do today. By the way, she was a cultist! Then another cult group in England picked this up by the name of “The Catholic Apostolic Church,” headed by Edward Irving (1792-1834). After that, another cult group called the “Millerites,” predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844. It did not happen; that should have been a clue, but this would not die.

At the same time, this belief was then picked up by Irish born minister, lawyer, evangelist and author, John N. Darby in 1930, who took this new fad to America in 1862 to 1877. He was looking for a “hook” in his motivational Bible speeches to attract crowds in England and on his visit to the Americas, USA, and Canada. People who knew him said he was not well schooled in the Bible or original languages, read into the Bible all kinds of ridiculous ideas. Many people today still believe in him, especially Baptists who love this guy; he is a favored son.

[EFerrari]

8. For balance, we should also have non biblical references to the Rapture.

"Dave's not here." -- Oblique but unmistakable. Where do you think Dave went, hmmmm?

"Help, I'm stuck inside the refrigerator." - Sometimes the light you follow really is the wrong one.

"Whether you can hear it or not, the Universe is laughing behind your back." -- Always go off on a big laugh if possible.

[Petrushka]

9. Jesus laughing --->

:hi:

[EFerrari]

10. What a nice non-creepy portrait.

:hi:

[angel823]

12. you

rock.