Why should I believe in the Rapture?

The Rapture is a very particular - and deeply elitist - interpretation of the most complex book of the New Testament. Christian scholars and mystics have pored over the Book of Revelations for millenia and most have seen it as, in many ways, a deeply. some would say cosmically metaphorical work. The greatest analyser of Revelations in the Middle Ages was a monk called Joachim de Fiori whose interpretation was enormously influential. He posited that the Apocalypse heralded the Age of the Holy Spirit, when God would be realised in Man, after the previous two ages of the Father (the Old Testament) and the Son (Christ's ministry and era).

The idea of the Rapture is comparatively recent. Its attraction for certain Christians is that it makes them feel special, part of an elect who will be able to watch when everyone else is condemned to eternal suffering. This doesn't square much with the idea of a loving God and, I'm afraid, smacks of immense spiritual pride in my view.

Revelations is about the spiritual purging of the world and the individual which will create "A New Heaven and New Earth" where "there shall be no more curse". Some have interpreted Revelations as an work of alchemical Christianity, a sort of primer of the interior journey of the Soul to perfection through Katharsis. Whatever the case, the Church Fathers tended to view it allegorically and had no concept of the Rapture.

You shouldn't.

First, it must be pointed out that the Bible says nothing about the rapture! The word “rapture” is not found in all of God’s Word. Neither is the idea of the rapture in the Bible. False teachers, commonly called “Premillennialists” or “Dispensationalists,” have invented the doctrine of the rapture. It is a doctrine of man, not of God. “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” “But He answered and said, ‘Every plant, which My heavenly Father has not planted, will be uprooted’” (Matthew 15:9,13).

Second, concerning the second coming of our Lord, the Bible teaching is very plain and simple. The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again. Jesus Himself promised He would return (John 14:1-3). When Jesus ascended back to Heaven, the angels promised He would come again (Acts 1:9-11). The apostle Peter promised that our Lord would return (2 Peter 3:10,11). Many other passages could also be added which teach that Jesus is coming again.

Third, the Bible teaches that the coming of the Lord will be sudden and unexpected. The Bible says: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. . . . Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:42,44). Please read also I Thessalonians 5:1-11.

Fourth, the Bible plainly teaches that no man knows the time when the Lord will return. Jesus said: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). If no man knows the hour, it is not possible that anyone can predict the time or give any signs of the time (Mark 13:32).

Fifth, the Bible teaches that Christ is coming back to receive His kingdom (church). Please note the words of the apostle Paul: “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:24).

Sixth, the Bible clearly teaches that when Christ comes again, this earth and everything in it will be destroyed: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

Seventh, the Bible teaches that when Christ comes again, the dead will be raised and judgment will take place. Jesus said: “Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28,29). Please read also Matthew 25:31-46.

Eighth, following the second coming of Christ, the judgment of the world, and the destruction of the earth, the saved ones will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The Bible teaching on the second coming is simple, plain, and easily understood. There is nothing in the Bible, however, about the rapture! Our purpose on earth is not to try to guess the time when the Lord will come, but to be ready so that when He does come, we will be prepared.

First I'd like to say that I "am not a fear stricken born again christian", that is a line from a friends song. I do not KNOW if Jesus was the literal son of God or if just the very first creation or the wisest speaker ever but I believe he was (or is) at least the first one if not all three somehow. I also believe in the rapture, it says no man shall KNOW the day of the lord but I BELIEVE its going to be soon, my friend thinks something similiar is going to happen in 2012. What do I literally do because I believe in the rapture? I go drink some beers with my peers and once or twice even got stoned and get the nickname prophet for the trench coat and crazy beachwood cane i found and the fact I'm always going off about GOD. More than once each of my friends have got the rapture speech, which is really all I can do (know one knows for sure what it will be like only best guestimates) which is "if you remember one thing if i die before you or something that if me and some large percantage of people sundlly die of no cause or disappear that I believed in GOD and Christ and that even gandi said he liked Christ just not christians and buddah had some great things to say but if this happens remember i told you this was why". then I go back to drinking my beer which I probaly shouldn't do as a christian, but since I just let another human being in on the greatest secret on the DL I think it balances I hope it balances anyway, again thats all I can really do. I don't force it down anybodys throat which I believe is important but I let them know just in case which is what my true friends would want wouldn't yours? I also believe saturday is supposed to be the day of rest but i mention the rapture as soon as they understand that I'm a christian but not a fanatic. One more thing before I go I promise, as for the scorpions and such maybe we should stop throwing so much garbage into the ocean that there is floating islands of refuse mutating sea life for all Our sakes (either way) christians, buddahists, hindu, or wiccan, or whatever. If the Lord doesn't show himself in my lifetime I'd still like to leave my daughter at least a fixable earth so my grandchildren might not have to deal with giant mutant crabs sent by God or not.

There is plenty of Biblical support for the rapture, but not much for the popular "Left Behind" notion of the rapture occurring before the Tribulation. The rapture will occur at the same time as the return of Christ. Check out the first link below for a verse-by-verse look at the events of the end times.

Look at it in this way. When the end times are near Christains every where will be persecuted for not accepting the Mark of the beast also known as satan. I believe there will be 7 years of trial for the first 31/2 years we will be persecuted. After This i believe thats when the Rapture will take place. first the dead in Christ will rise and then the living will go we will acend and meet Jesus face to face. The Last 31/2 years will be Gods complete wrath to the unbeliver and the devil for 31/2 years. Last i believe that when the 7 years is over Jesus Christ and his Bride ( CHURCH ) will return also known as the second comming of Christ and fight in what we call armegedon. This is when he will create a new heaven and Jerusalem.

Why should you believe in the rapture?

HI, I'M CHRISTIAN:

YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE; IT IS FALSE DOCTRINE.

Mark 13 gives a good chronological order of events that lead up to the gathering back of the true Christ; there is nothing whatsoever listed there that indicates that any portion of the population will be missing.

I realize that many people justify the rapture by the first letter of Thessalonians, but in

the massorah (the footnotes for the New Testament writings) you would find that Paul had delivered that first letter, and then sat down immediately and wrote the second letter, for fear that the first one would be misunderstood. Thats why the second letter to the Thess. includes the statement that one should not be deceived, even by a letter written by him, Paul, but that THE LORD WOULD NOT GATHER BACK TO US UNTIL ANTICHRIST SITS IN THE TEMPLE PROFESSING THAT HE IS GOD. How much more clear does the man have to be? Nobody is going anywhere - this earth age, this flesh age - is for choice. The Antichrist is coming disguised as Jesus, acting like Jesus, professing that he is Jesus - those who are deceived by the Antichrist have the mark of Antichrist, but those who know he is the fake, will not be deceived, and do not need to "escape". I don't care if they tattoo a person from head to foot with "666", it doesn't change what you believe.

The Antichrist is coming FIRST before Christ gathers back to us for any reason.

Those who believe in the rapture doctrine, will think the first "jesus" who comes on the scene is Jesus Christ, come to rapture them out. In Scripture, where two are grinding at the mill, and two are working in the field - one is taken, the other left?

The ones taken are taken by Antichrist.

If they would back up to capture the subject and object of what is being discussed, they would find that the subject is the Antichrist coming first, before the true Christ.

Those taken, are harvested out of season.

YOU WANT TO BE THE ONE LEFT BEHIND. Can't people read plain english anymore? Can't they even follow fourth grade teachings that tell them to follow the subject and object??

Those who argue that the church is not mentioned after Chapter 3 in Revelation, because they have been raptured - are wrong. The church isn't mentioned after Chapter 3 because THEY ARE DECEIVED AND NOT WORTHY TO BE CALLED THE "CHURCH". They are worshipping the wrong Jesus. They have married the wrong husband, you see?

The Church is written again somewhere around I believe the 21st chapter of Revelation, though - when they figure out something is terribly wrong, and come out of deception, that is.

People do not realize that when this fake comes first, and looks just like that picture of Jesus on granny's wall, and when he comes in just the opposite of what people would expect of the awful devil - when he comes in peacefully and prosperously, doing miracles, and bringing in world peace, a chicken in every pot, no more homeless, love and tolerance mandatory, etc. - he's coming as preacher/teacher/savior, and the mass majority of Church-going Christian people will be deceived. Can you imagine the tv preachers who will lead tens of thousands of people to worship the devil?

They'll be falling all over each other to worship the fake. This is the great deception of the end times, and all those rapture believers will be first in line, oh so afraid they might be one left behind.

Anyway, this doctrine is not only false, its dangerous.

Mt 24:40 they are taken by a flood alright; its a flood of lies coming from Antichrist.

If you want to know what God thinks about this "fly-away" doctrine, just read Ezekiel 13:18 and on; you'll find out exactly what He thinks, and I believe the word God chooses is "hate". He hates it.

The term Rapture is man made. If you look in 1st Thessalonians, Chapt 4 and verse 13, Paul is telling the people that they should not be ignorant, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will GOD BRING WITH HIM.

16 and 17 go on to say that the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air.

If that isn't a Rapture or calling away of those saved, I don't know what is. The Lord I serve would not want his children to go thru the 7 years of Tribulation, so I too believe God will call us away before that time.

It isn't in the word of God. It come from 1st Thessalonians. It comes from what I call people who "surface read" the bible. When there is something you don't quite get your mind around it behooves a person to investigate. Upon close scrutiny 1st Thes. uses some "pet" words used by the writer

( transliterated instead of translated) . In this scripture the word "cloud " is a pet word he uses to mean an innumerable amount of people. If you use a Strong's to find other places the word "cloud " you will see that is used by the writer in another location and again means uncountable number. And the word "air" means "breath of life" meaning our spirit being switched into our spiritual body. So if you keep these things in mind when you read first Thessalonians the rapture theory goes bye bye.

Jesus was born and died and resurrected and ascended to heaven.

That was his first appearance.

When he comes back as in Mat 24 verse30

It talks of the 4 winds of the elect.

Thats the second coming.

And i agree rapture is not mentioned all the way through verse 51

but it says one will be taken and one left in the field etc....So theres a loose end there.

Rapture is a word used in summary of all

the scriptures that talks about taking whats

his and preserving them from judgement.

instead of quoting a whole bunch of

scriptures.

Besides that I wouldnt worry about it,

If there wasnt a rapture god will make a

way and all i can say is bring it on.

Judgement just makes us stronger and

being stronger will only make us happier.

Only people that fear and ...live lives not pleasing to God are concerned about a rapture. Gods word is true and he tells us about end times because he wants us to know. God is are friend and a true friend does not keep anything from another even if it is uncomfortable. The holy spirit is the comforter God sends into are life, Gods word is not a guessing game it is facts, take it as face value. God does not destroy man .. man needs know help, man does it himself.,God gives a warning then man makes choices. Believes or not have faith or not! Study the Bible and show yourself approved.