“…then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air;…”
1st, this IS the Second Coming of Christ, which clearly follows the Tribulation, and not an event preceding or interrupting the Tribulation.
2nd, it is very public and audible, rather than secret or hidden from those not “raptured”.
Matthew 24:37-42, “As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man.”
“…Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
Christ seems to be referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, as he warned “…this generation will not pass away till all these things take place”.
Also, notice the people taken away in Noah’s time were the unrighteous, not the righteous, which is the opposite of rapture theory.
In Matthew 24:13 Christ promises “…the one who endures to the end will be saved”. This includes Christians who will endure the Tribulation.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Lo! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
This also refers to the Second Coming of Christ, in that “the twinkling of an eye” refers to the instantaneous change from a mortal body to a glorified body, NOT to the speed of the rapture. Its connection to the blast of the “last trumpet”, heralds Christ’s Second Coming. The Catholic Church has consistently interpreted this passage as such for the last 2000 years.
The Catholic Church rejects the rapture theory for good reason.
It is unbiblical and completely alien to the historic Christian tradition surrounding the Second Coming of Christ. Remember that Christ said he would return on “the last day”, to judge the living and the dead. There will be no secret or hidden coming in the meantime.
If you are alive when the Lord returns, you’ll definitely know about it.
The Catholic Church rejects the rapture theory for good reason. It is unbiblical...
***Uhh, the catholic church and unbiblical beliefs go hand in hand. This aint a protected religious caucus thread. You don’t get to push religious nonsense unchallenged.
If that is what you want to discuss then open a thread on the rapture. There was already one removed from caucus protection so keep the intent straightforward.