Posted on 05/21/2016 8:38:01 AM PDT by Salvation
Q. Many of our Protestant brethren say that, before Jesus comes, there will be a rapture wherein all the faithful will be taken up, I guess, to meet Him in the sky. When I tell them that the Bible says we will “see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven” (Mt 24:30) and “he will send his angels ... and they will gather his elect from the four winds” (Mt 24:31), and then ask them who will be left to “gather” if everyone has previously been “raptured,” they say it will be the Jews. What is the Church’s teaching on this? Will there even be such a thing as the rapture? I’m confused! Any light you can shed on the subject will be greatly appreciated!
Rich Willette, Springfield, Vt.
A. The notion of rapture (a Latin word that means to be snatched away) is a very novel concept among certain (not all) evangelicals. It is a notion less than 150 years old and finds no real support in the biblical text as you point out. Fundamentally, the theory asserts that before the final tribulations of the last times, faithful Christians will be snatched away. Rapture theorists disagree about the exact moment of the snatching. Some say it will be pre-tribulation, others midway through the tribulations, and some even say post-tribulation.
The root text for evangelicals who hold rapture theory is a text from the First Letter to the Thessalonians: “Indeed. we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, 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. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words” (4:15-18).
The context is the second coming of Christ. There are not two second comings taught in Scripture, but rapture theory posits two — the one described in First Thessalonians and another one, some 1,000 years later. Note, too, that in First Thessalonians there is no mention of some people being left behind. There is no mention of a 1,000-year reign. Nor does St. Paul indicate that what he is describing here is a different coming of Christ, distinct from other texts in the Gospel wherein Christ describes His own second coming.
Thus we are left with a text that simply does not support what rapture theorists say. They further strive to unnaturally stitch this account with other texts in the Book of Revelation. The result is a highly debatable account of the last days that even rapture theorists hotly debate in terms of the details. The whole enterprise amounts to an attempt to shoehorn biblical passages into rapture theory that more clearly call it into question. To say the “elect” are merely the Jews is speculative at best and fanciful and contrived at worst.
As for Catholic teaching on these matters, the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes it as follows: “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers [see Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12]. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. [see 2 Thes 2:4-12; 1 Thes 5:2-3; 2 Jn 7; 1 Jn 2:18-22]” (No. 675).
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Yes...you continue to prove that.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Bible is the Word OF God it is not actually God himself.
No Christian has ever equated the Bible with being God. Nobody but you has made that claim in an effort to divert attention away from the catholic worship of Mary.
No Christian worships the Bible. Only you have made that claim to which you offer only hearsay evidence.
God has revealed Himself to us through His written Word so that we can learn about Him, how to have salvation, how to have assurance of that salvation.
Yet no where in His word do we find the admonition to pray to or worship anyone other than Him. Yet the catholic continues to pray to and worship Mary.
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Gosh, it's refreshing to see evidence of careful thinking and fair judgments on disputed questions.
Thank you for taking the time to answer some of my queries.
That is absurd! And RCs criticize Prots for misunderstanding or misrepresenting beliefs. The Jews were commanded to give great honor to the word of God (This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night... (Joshua 1:8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. - Deuteronomy 6:8) ), but gripping a bible and praying "God Help me I am a sinner, Lord I am a weak man" is not praying to it(!), nor is Oral Roberts (even) telling a crowd they would find God in the Bible talking about it like the Caths do about the Eucharist, but that one "finds" Moses, and the prophets, and Christ in Scripture as in reading the pure word of God, by which faith comes and thus "finding" God salvifically.
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
Ahaaaa you admit it. Catholics know they find God's truth in the Bible. Thank you for admitting once and for all that you worship the Bible.
What kind of ignorance or illogical is this? Asserting that one finds out about God in His Word is an admission that you worship the Bible? Absurd.
You checkmated him again.
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>> “I’m a follower of Christ. I’m a member of the ekklesia.” <<
Well stated.
There is but one assembly, and it is indiscernible to the eye, and has never owned a building.
You have now further exposed your lunacy, imagining, or for lack of an actual argument, resorting to asserting, that we see Scripture the way Caths see their Eucharist. Go find any one here who asserts that the Bible is literally God, versus revealing Him, which the church, as the body of Christ is also to do in conformity with His word.
If you are still confused I will try to help you clear this up in the morning, but hey if it takes longer than a day, so be it.
If after a nights sleep you still hold to this delusion or recourse to absurdity, then so be it. It will further example what cultic devotion to Rome can do. If you are not an aberration, go find another Cath who agrees with you if you really think we think the Bible is literally God and pray to it.
John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Actually, now that you mention that, you are correct. The “millenial kingdom” is only talked about for a couple verses in chapter 20 before the final battle with Satan and the last judgement, and the New Jerusalem is described in Chapter 21, after the last judgement.
What is interesting though, is that Chapter 21 begins with:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Now, MHGinTN claimed Isaiah 65:20 is a description of the “millenial kingdom”, but Isaiah 65:17 says:
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
This matches the introductory verse to Revelation 21, so if the events of Revelation 21 take place after the “millenial kingdom”, then the events of Isaiah 65:20 must also take place after that time.
Maybe the selective insistence that "this is my "body" means a piece o bread is really God leads a RC to believe that gripping a bible and praying "God Help me I am a sinner, Lord I am a weak man" is praying to it, and telling people they would find God in the Bible means thinking the Bible is actually God. But i think it is a desperate recourse.
You still haven’t addressed a single point from any of the Scripture I posted that refutes your claims. I don’t care if you argue with me or not. I showed you the Scripture, you can accept what it tells you or not, it’s up to you.
But then we have the insistence that we think the Bible is really God and thus pray to it. Never seems to end.
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Isaiah 65 has to be millennial, because it speaks of mortality. There will be no mortality in the New Jerusalem.
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Seen it with my own eyes back when I was a protestant and even now that I am a Catholic. Heck up thread one of you admitted it.
You admitted it up thread.
Thales, this is the guy I told you about off list. When you get a chance tell him about textual context versus historical definition shift. It might help him with some of his issues.
Not only is it absurd, it is downright hypocritical for the non-Catholics to criticize Catholics when they are guilty of the exact same thing. And RCs criticize Prots for misunderstanding or misrepresenting beliefs.
Well if you would believe us when we tell you what we believe or do it wouldn't be a problem would it. The ball as always is in your court.
Not by a long shot.
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