No, Christians Should Not Believe in 'Left Behind's' Rapture Theology, Says Prominent Baptist

Christian post ^ | 26 June 2019 | Morgan Lee

[Cronos]

"This doctrine is not really found in the book of Revelation. If you read the book of Revelation, you won't find any mention of the rapture there," said William Craig, ResearchProfessor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Houston Baptist University. .. Instead, Craig says, the idea of the rapture comes from a "misinterpretation of 1 and 2 Thessalonians where Paul is describing the coming of the Lord and resurrection of the dead, which will occur at His coming."

"If you compare what Paul says there to what Jesus says about the End Times, Paul uses the same vocabulary, the same phraseology. I think it's very plausible that Paul is talking about the same event that Jesus predicted, namely the visible coming of the Son of Man at the end of human history to usher in his kingdom,but proponents of the rapture view, say that Paul is not at all talking about the second coming of the Christ there. What he's really talking about is this invisible preliminary secret return of Christ to snatch believers out of the world before the great tribulation occurs. I think there's no textual warrant for that at all."

According to Craig, the rapture became a popular theory about the End Times due to the influence of the Scofield Reference Bible, which was published in the early 20th century and promulgated John Darby's mid-18th century's views on the rapture.

"A good many Bible-believing Christians absorbed this view as their mother's milk as it were and have never thought to question its Biblical credentials,"

"It is astonishing, American evangelism is very widely misled, that it has departed from the historic Christian position about the second coming of Christ. That's really rather sobering, because if we're wrong about this, what other things might we have misinterpreted?"

[Bookshelf]

What Effect Did the Council of Nicea Have on Determining What Books Belonged in the Bible?

There have been accusations that the council of Nicea had a tremendous effect on both choosing what books should be in the Bible and changing some of the doctrines that the church held before that time.

The council of Nicea met in A.D. 323 to discuss how Jesus Christ was related to God. There were some in the church, led by Arius of Alexandria, who denied that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity. In order to answer these issues, the church had to make a pronouncement about which books authoritative doctrine could be based on.

The council of Nicea did not meet to discuss which books belonged in the New Testament canon. It only recognized the books that the church had from the beginning considered to be the Word of God.

THE ABOVE BEING SAID: I believe certain books were rejected at Nicea because they were not considered canonical (enough). The Gospel of Thomas is one that I seem to recall. And as I recall Revelation was a close call.

[boatbums]

The Council of Nicea never should have accepted Revelation as a book of the Bible. The dreams of St. John are no more relevant to the theology of Jesus than the dreams of Muhammad are relevant to theology.

So I guess the Apostle John writing about the revelations he received directly from Jesus Christ and was COMMANDED by Jesus to write down wouldn't qualify as Divinely revealed Holy Scripture according to you? JFTR...the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was recognized and accepted as Divinely-inspired sacred Scripture long before the council of Nicea even mentioned the canon. Scripture is received and believed by Christians as God-given because of its intrinsic authority AS Divinely revealed rather than based upon any man's personal thoughts or interpretations. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved/carried along by the Holy Spirit. That is why it has authority.

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Rev. 1:1-3)

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. (Revelation 1:9-19)

[boatbums]

Moses Stuart wrote in the early 19th century that you need a key to understand Revelation and the key is found in Revelation 1:1 — “... to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass...” or, in verse three — “... for the time is at hand.” Now, it is taught that “must shortly come to pass” means times meandering through the millennia, or the “time is at hand” means you must wait thousands of years.

Did he forget about verse 19, “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter."? The reason I ask is that there are a bunch of things prophesied in Revelation that have NOT happened yet. So, yeah, it has been thousands of years since Jesus spoke through the Apostle John telling him of those things that would come to pass. Things are yet to happen.

[af_vet_1981]

IF the Rapture doesn't happen are you ready?

And by being reading (SIC) that means are you trusting in Christ and Christ alone for your salvation?

Except that is not what He said about being ready ...

This is what He said:

• Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
• But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
• Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
• Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
• Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
• Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
• But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
• And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
• The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
• And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  
  ...
  
  
• Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
• For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
• And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
• Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
• And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
• But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
• After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
• And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
• His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
• He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
• His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
• Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
• And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
• His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
• Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
• Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
• For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
• And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew, Catholic chapter twenty four, Protestant verses forty two to fifty one,
Matthew, Catholic chapter twenty five, Protestant verses thirteen to thirty,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James

[pghbjugop]

well said

[MHGinTN]

Jesus telling His disciples what to expect, alive or dead:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas chimes in: Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answers Thomas with: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

So it is Jesus Who began the notion of the Rapture, the removal of His Believers to The Father's House with JESUS. He continued to reveal the DOCTRINE with His servant, Paul.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 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, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I don't know about the false teacher of this thread, but I don't find it comforting to be told Jesus will come raise me from the dead, or transform my alive self into a glorifed being only to drop me into the middle of the bloodiest time in human History at the end of the Tribulation period. And as Jesus Promised, He will return from gathering us up to the Father's House in the Third Heaven. That gathering happens into the clouds, the first heaven, not upon the planet surface.

[boatbums]

What is this “secret” Return. I'm a pre-millienist, and I've never heard it was “secret”

The only thing "secret" about the Rapture is:

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matt. 24:36)

Be watching at all times, therefore, and praying that you will be worthy to escape from these things which are going to occur, and to stand before The Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

[MHGinTN]

Even a false teacher should understand that the dead must be resurrected into new bodies before they are fit to rise into the first heaven to meet the Lord in the air.

satan is getting antsy, apparently. Because the not so secret Rapture is looming just ahead? There are dead souls even in the hierarchy of the Baptists, not just in Catholicism or Lutheranism or Presbyterianism or ... well, you get the gist.

[MHGinTN]

That is a lie ... and you better realize it quickly.

[MHGinTN]

And THAT is an even greater LIE! Who is it that stands at The Door, IS The Door, and Who is the Good Shepard, and the Gate to the sheepfold? Satan is busy tonight!

[Just mythoughts]

Paul says to prep for the ‘tribulation’ Ephesians 6:

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul gave us a glimpse into that ‘mystery of the gospel’ in I Corinthians 15: 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

*******51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,******

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Paul made not one hint of what some make of a rapture doctrine.

[MHGinTN]

LOL, you can’t even pluck out of context passages to undergird your false assertion! The Rapture removal of ALL BELIEVERS who are In Christ is a purposed rescue mission, silly. Read 1 Thess 1:10.

[boatbums]

Amen! Well stated.

[Just mythoughts]

I am reminded of the parable of the 10 virgins.. one is a virgin in Christ until they worship another ‘jesus’. One must need ignore 99.9% of the volume of the book to take on a doctrine of flying away to save souls.

[boatbums]

Is anyone else noticing that RCs are mocking a doctrinal point that “developed” over time? Christians who believe in the Rapture didn’t just come up with the idea out of whole cloth (unlike several Roman Catholic ones I can think of) but through a careful study of ALL of God’s word, observing how God has dealt with man through the ages and recognizing the times and seasons in the world. We believe this because we see that it was taught by Jesus and the Apostles to the early Christians. It is based upon ACTUAL Scripture passages and fits with the eschatological teachings of the Old Testament prophets. We can certainly look around us and see that many of the events foretold have yet to happen. Now, either people can write them all off as allegories - and wrestle with the explanation of WHAT they were allegorical about - or they can accept events as literal - some that HAVE already happened and some that are still to come. It’s been stated repeatedly that this is NOT a salvific issue but could be seen as what Paul termed a “disputable matter”. We have liberty to agree to disagree about minor things but we shouldn’t forget that in ALL things we are told to show one another respect and love. I’m trying.

[boatbums]

Forgot to ping you to above post.

[metmom]

Is anyone else noticing that RCs are mocking a doctrinal point that “developed” over time?

From the "church" that brought the world the concept of *development of doctrine*.

Beyond ironic.

[MHGinTN]

You asserted,”One must need ignore 99.9% of the volume of the book to take on a doctrine of flying away to save souls.” IF you ever actually study the Word of God, you will PERHAPS come to realize what a foolish sentence you have asserted.

[MHGinTN]

And without an alive spirit you will continue to miss apply the teaching of Jesus. You could start to fix that blindness though, by simply applying sound study, starting with to whom Jesus spoke the words in passages, and the relevance to them and if so also to us. Many things Jesus taught were given in parables, because Jesus was not revealing openly to a people who wanted signs and wonders rather than the spiritual truth. When His disciples asked why He began speaking in parables, do you know what Jesus said in reply? Can to think of scenes where He spoke frankly, not in parables and to whom and why? Give it a try, study to show thyself approved a workman not just a random verse generator.

[circlecity]

Any difference is only in degree not kind. The point still holds. Besides, John, in Revelation, says the tribulation had already started at the time he was writing.