In this brief article, Fr. Anthony expresses with clarity the truth of the false teaching known as the “Rapture” and how much it distorts the teachings of the Lord in the Holy Scriptures.Posted on 07/27/2016 8:46:41 PM PDT by NRx
By Fr. Anthony M. Coniaris
In this brief article, Fr. Anthony expresses with clarity the truth of the false teaching known as the “Rapture” and how much it distorts the teachings of the Lord in the Holy Scriptures.
As I was driving one day I encountered a bumper sticker admonishing me:
“WARNING! In the event of Rapture, this car will be driverless.”
The strange belief in the Rapture teaches that some day (sooner rather than later), without warning, born-again Christians will begin to float up from the freeway, abandoned vehicles careening wildly. There will be airliners in the sky suddenly with no one at the controls! Presumably, God is removing these favored ones from earth to spare them the tribulation of the Anti-Christ which the rest of us will have to endure.
Unfortunately the Rapture has been promoted widely by the Left Behind series of books that have sold over 70 million copies.
The Rapture represents a radical misinterpretation of Scripture. I remember watching “Sixty Minutes”a year ago and was appalled to hear the announcer say that “the Rapture is an unmistakenly Christian doctrine”. It is not!
It is a serious distortion of Scripture.
It is astonishing that a belief so contrary to Scripture and the tradition of the Church could be propagated by so-called “Christians”.
According to the Bible and according to the belief not only of Orthodox Christians but also of the Roman Catholic and most Protestant mainline churches, the true Rapture will not be secret; it will be the great and very visible Second Coming of Jesus at the end of the world. That is the one and only “Rapture”. It will not be a separate, secret event but one that every eye shall see (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The word rapture is not found in Scripture but hearkens to 1 Thess. 4:17 where St. Paul says that when the Lord comes again
“we who are alive…shall be caught up…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
This “being caught up…in the clouds”—arpagisometha in Greek, is translated by some as “raptured”. The word itself is not found in Orthodox theology.
The notion of a rapture in which Christ comes unseen to take believers away secretly, and only later comes back again for everyone else publicly—this whole teaching is quite novel. It was almost unheard of until John Nelson Darby formulated it in the 1800s as part of a new approach to the Bible, sometimes called “dispensationalism”.
The purpose of the “Rapture” is to protect the elect from the tribulations of the end times. Yet Jesus said nothing about sparing anyone from tribulation. In fact, He said,
“In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
Nowhere did Jesus ever say that He would return secretly to rapture the elect. Rather, He promised to be with His elect in all tribulations.
“Lo, I am with you always. I will never leave you or forsake you.”
He even had something good to say about being persecuted:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:10).
Those who espouse the Rapture claim that Matthew 24:40-41 refers clearly to the rapture of the just,
“Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
The entire passage, however, refers to Christ’s second coming where He will judge the living and the dead and separate the just from the unjust.
Darby taught as dogma that when the Scriptures reveal that the Lord will reign on earth for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4), this figure is to be taken literally, rather than as a symbol for eternity as we believe. The Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431 condemned as heresy this teaching which is called chialiasmos (millenianism or 1000 years).
In fact, the Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787 A.D.) in which the essential truths of the Christian faith were defined never mention a rapture. Yet evangelical Christians and Pentecostals keep using obscure passages of the book of Revelation which purport to give a detailed timetable of what will happen at the end of the world, despite the fact that Jesus Himself warned that no man knows either the day or the hour when the Son of Man shall return.
A major problem with the Rapture is that it ends up teaching not two but three comings of Jesus—first His birth in Bethlehem; second, His secret coming to snatch away (rapture) the “born-again”; and third, His coming at the end of the world to judge the living and the dead and to reign in glory. Yet only two not three comings of Christ are mentioned in the Bible. We have the clearest definition of this in the Nicene Creed when we confess that
“the Lord Jesus Christ…will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will have no end…. I expect the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the ages to come.”
There is no mention of a “Rapture”.
As already stated, most Christians, Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants do not believe in the Rapture. In fact, one Protestant pastor, John L. Bray, summarized magnificently what we Orthodox and most other Christians believe about the Rapture when he wrote these remarkable words,
Though many believe and teach this “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” theory, they erroneously do so, because neither Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, nor any of the other writers of the Bible taught this. Nor did the early church fathers, nor any others for many hundreds of years…. Did you know that NONE of this was ever taught prior to 1812, and that all forms of Pre-Tribulation Rapture teaching were developed since that date? …. If I were to preach something, or believe something, supposedly from the Bible, but cannot find that ANYONE ELSE before 1812 ever believed it or taught it, I would seriously question that it is based on the Bible.
Thus the Rapture is foreign to the Bible and to the living tradition of the Church. It is what we call a heresy, a false teaching. False teachings, such as this, happen when people—like John Darby—believe that they have the right to interpret the Scriptures individually apart from the Living Body of Christ—the Church—where the Spirit of Truth abides and leads us to all truth.
I can think of no better words to conclude than those of Jesus when He speaks of the one and only “Rapture”, the Second Coming:
“Be on guard. Be alert! You do not know when that time will come…keep watch…if he comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!” (Mark 13:32-37).
(a) faith + works = salvation
(b) faith + salvation = works
Which one do you think is going to work for you, SP?
At this point, IF you would stop trying to accredit works as your means to obtain God' Grace in Christ, you would realize that the God Who IS NEVER tells any human to sin. That is, incidentally, one way we can KNOW that 'eating the real flesh and blood' transubstantiated in the Mass is a great lie from the father of lies.
But then, you appear to have ignored post #767 so you can excuse yourself for promoting the blasphemies you are relying on to earn Eternal Life. ... Yet oddly, you also appear to claim you can eat that life into your soul via your alimentary tract!
You have not a clue, sadly. Your pride in self effort has you firmly captured on the wrong road.
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There is no church to assemble.
The Kehilah is Yehova’s assembly from the beginning of time
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Following Torah is righteousness by Yehova’s definition.
If you confess not every word of Torah, you are unrighteous by Yehova’s words.
Transgression of Torah is Yehova’s definition of sin.
No wonder Yeshua said few would find his narrow path. It is the most hated element of life for most that call themselves “christian.”
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Are you so lost that you now reject what JESUS said about BUILDING HIS EKKLESIA? Amazing how well Rood has seized your mind!
“... we are supposed to do in life in order to gain salvation.” That is exhibit A of the demonic gospel of works for salvation. You Mormons are at leas5t honest enough to openly exhibit you are works based, trying to ‘gain’ (as in earn) salvation. Catholics can’t even get to THAT point! And the Roodians are even more assertive of works to gain ...
Once more, e-s, you do not know what you're talking about, because you're ignorant of the Hebrew, the Greek, and the languages into which the Bible has been translated. For your information, here is the meaning of "ekklesia" in two different Greek-Enlish lexica: Strong's Number G1577
ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
ek-klay-see'-ah
(A) Strong's Definition (gives the meaning, but only English words as translated for the Authorized Version):
From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that is, (concretely)
a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish
synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): -
assembly, church.
(B)Thayer's Definition:
1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
. . 1a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
. . 1b) the assembly of the Israelites
. . 1c) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
. . 1d) in a Christian sense
. . . . 1d1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
. . . . 1d2) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ,
. . . . . . observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs,
. . . . . . according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake
. . . . 1d3) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
. . . . 1d4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
. . . . 1d5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven
Part of Speech: noun feminine
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One such "ekklesia" was the silversmith's guild, which was summoned together to combat the inroads that the Gospel of Jesus was inflicting on their manufacture of idol statuettes. The story is found in Acts 19:23-41. Actually, the guild was having an unplanned wild-cat meeting, unlawfully assembled to deliberate on their problem with Christians. The word ekklesia is described in verse 25, and used in verses 32, 39, and 41.
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e-s, you've been talking through your hat, trying to buy credibility by using terms about which you know very little. Please don't waste the bandwidth until you've learned enough yo be coherent, eh?
Wrong answer. Withou question, you believe in (a).
You believe in a works-based "salvation," which is not being saved at all.
The only works that God accepts as being anything else than stubble and straw are those performed by a person saved by faith alone in Christ alone, under guidance of the Holy Spirit, not out of will-worship. My FRiend, you do not have a leg to stand on. Ephesians 2:8-9. Denial is not helping your position.
Regarding your position on works.....how many are needed? Do you do just those in Matthew 25? How do you know you’ve done them correct?
According to you your religion thinks the lost sheep are Gentiles...Or rather, Gentiles are the lost sheep who were mixed with the Samaritans whom Jesus called dogs...
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
According to you Jesus was sent by the Father to go only to the Gentiles (the lost sheep) but not only did Jesus NOT go to the Gentiles, he told his disciples/apostles not to either...
They all went to one city, Jerusalem, which was where the Jewish Temple was and stayed there for years...
Except for one Gentile family, those apostles/disciples never did go to the Gentiles...It was the apostle Paul whom Jesus, after he had been risen for some years told to go to the (lost sheep?) Gentiles...
The clarification I'd make though is that our faith in the Lord is what saves us apart from the works. Paul noted this in Ephesians 2:8-10.
The faith saves us. The works are the evidence of the faith as James would note.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Eph 2:8-10 NASB
Some seem to equate the works as what saves, or what keeps you saved, which is not the case. The works come about as a result of the faith.
The believer is secure because he/she is sealed by the Holy Spirit as noted in Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22.
Faith leads to salvation and the works follow as an outflow of the faith. The writers of the NT clearly indicate it is about faith in Christ that leads to salvation. Then the works result.
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The lost sheep of the House of Israel were gentile in every way. They knew not the Tanakh, nor the Messianic writings
They are the divorced wife. They are to be re-married soon. To do that they have to abandon the paganism of “christianity” and embrace the Netzer.
You divide the word into little sound bites that have no meaning out of context.
All of the Apostles went to the gentiles at various times but Paul went only to them. Paul never evangelized Judah; he couldn’t, they wanted to kill him.
Peter spent some time working with the gentile congregations in Asia Minor, and that is who he wrote to, the “strangers” he called them, because they were outsiders in the lands where they had been scattered by Shalmanesser.
You would do well to forget the sound bite attack and read the word in context.
If you read carefully in the Acts, you will notice that they differentiate between Greeks and Gentiles in that book, Why do you suppose that is?
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>> “The clarification I’d make though is that our faith in the Lord is what saves us apart from the works.” <<
No!
Our faith in Yeshua, the real Messiah, is what guides to Torah. Yeshua taught Torah every day. Nothing he ever said would lead anyone to believe there can be salvation without a love for Torah.
That is what Paul taught too. By Grace are you saved by FAITH, not by faith are you saved by grace!
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>> “It’s about becoming like Christ so that we can actually live with God.” <<
Well said.
Yes...that’s why I referenced Ephesians 2:8-9.
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Torah is not “works,” it is obedience and love.
The pharisees Takanot and Ma’assim are the works spoken of in Eph 2:9
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