My "Take" on the Current Rapture-of-the-Church Craze

Is there really a pre-tribulation rapture of Christians, as Hollywood movies and many of our religious leaders are currently claiming, or does the rapture occur after the tribulation?

The secular bookstores carry bestsellers sporting it. The secular theaters are showing movies sporting. TV talk shows interview religious figures sporting it. It's out of the churches and into the marketplace.

It's the Rapture Craze. Armageddon's there. AntiChrist is, too. So the secret scoop-up of the church is right there--before all global hell breaks loose. The righteous will miss the awful stuff, for sure. Jesus will take them off the planet's surface into heaven before bad times hit the Earth big time.

A recent Sunday morning's religious broadcasting showed a group of believers jumping up and down, rejoicing as they were getting in practice for the rapture! The "rapture jump" is now "in"?

If so, this is horrifying foolishness! Mark it down as biblical truth: There is no pre-tribulation rapture.

However, untold thousands believe in the "secret rapture of the church" prior to the tribulation period. This is because untold thousands don't want to have to think of suffering through a tribulation time frame. The late Corrie ten Boom called this pre-trib rapture teaching the "American doctrine." Go figure.

The belief in a secret rapture of believers before the tribulation is also because of a best-seller, "The Late, Great Planet Earth," by Hal Lindsey which was set loose in the l960s. It has been a paperback aggressively pushed by practically every evangelical / fundamentalist engine going.

Theologians, videos, films and preachers bolster up this myth with their earnest preachings and teachings.

Yet this is nothing but a myth, accented as much by certain theologically conservative Protestant segments similar unto the Roman Catholic underlining of the immaculate conception of Mary. Nevertheless, if there is no biblical support for such a Mariology teaching, it is bogus. Likewise, the pre-tribulation rapture teaching is bogus.

The pre-trib rapture concept was manufactured in the 1800s in an 18 year old Plymouth Brethren girl's dream, told to her Pastor, John Darby, and then relayed to C. I. Scofield who bought into the dream as revealed truth. Scofield placed this pre-tribulation rapture notion as a footnote in his popular Bible, hence the spread of the myth.

However, just the opposite is biblical truth. In Matthew 24:29-3l, for instance, the rapture ("gathering together") is placed in the same time frame as the open second coming of Jesus Christ. And all of this is "after the tribulation" (verse 29). That is it in a nutshell!

Yet pre-tribulation rapturists sidestep this clear passage for more oblique passages. The latter are twisted and turned in order to fit into the "American doctrine." Yet such twisting is not sound exegesis. And for biblically-riveted evangelicals and fundamentalists to commit this drastic error is bordering on the horrific.

All other passages in Scripture relating to the "gathering together unto Him" must refer back to the literal time line provided by Jesus in Matthew 24.

One must not use a symbolic passage in the Book of Revelation or any other symbolically- based section of the Bible by which to draw a pre-tribulation rapture doctrine.

Further, one must not take words of the apostle Paul so as to insert them opportunistically into a conjured pre-tribulation string of Scripture references. Yet this has been done ad infinitum.

Instead, Jesus' literalism of Matthew 24 must be used as the benchmark for all other "gathering together" themes of Scripture.

One starts with literalism and moves into symbolism when seeking to understand Scripture; it is not the other way around.

During the 1970s and 1980s there was much written and preached about a pre-tribulation rapture. This has wound down some in the last decade or so. Why?

Today, with the world situation being what it is, there is not that much risk-taking in preaching dogmatically the pre-tribulation rapture. Why?

Is it because there are many who are beginning to question its validity? Is it because the world state is so uncertain that to go out on a limb with a false hope may ricochet?

One wonders, with world events progressively becoming more and more anti-Christian, why the pre-tribulation rapture persons are not celebrating each dawn as the day when Jesus may return to earth.

Such is not the phenomenon on a large scale. Furthermore, it may be because the next generation has not bought into this notion.

In any case, it is a myth, a legend of conservative Protestantism's own conjuring and has no base in the Holy Scriptures.

Yet these very Protestants are the ones who ardently point out the myths of Catholicism while holding to some of their own myths. Both segments of Christendom need to do some serious housecleaning of manufactured legends in order to return to the simple Bible truths; otherwise, the church suffers from severe lack of knowledge.

What is so frightening about holding to a pre-tribulation rapture? It is more than mere academic quibbling. Holding to such a notion is drastically weakening the church worldwide.

The church should be preparing for spiritual battle against the most evil forces arrayed by hell.

Instead, the church is languishing with a false hope. This is all orchestrated by the demonic powers in order to eventuate in a limp army of believers. And to see that through in this age of laxity in religion does not take much on the part of the dark powers. In addition, the apostate segment of religion is doing its fair share of blackening truth.

Does it take much intelligence to realize that there are awesomely wretched days yet ahead for the righteous remnant?

Those who are not strong will drop--fall away, as biblically predicted. They will be too numerous to contemplate.

But for those who are truly into carrying the daily cross there will be nothing able to thwart their zeal for Christ.

Already the remnant is being strengthened by the Spirit of light. He is gathering His own together in the power of the resurrection and the might of the revealed Word. There numbers are few; but their ardor before the Father is lovingly honored.

Set your vision upon the difficulties yet to be. They are but the trials permitted by the coming Christ.

At the close of the tribulation period, then there will be the gathering together of the believers from the four corners of the earth. They will greet Jesus in the clouds as He descends through space, having left the right hand of the Father in heaven.

The gathering together ("rapture") and the second advent then will be realized as one and the same event occurring at the end of the tribulation time frame. Jesus' declaration in Matthew 24:29-3l states it clearly.

CALAMITY AT CHRISTMAS

What a handsome Christmas tree we had bought at the local
agricultural school! It stood tall in the corner of our liv-
ing room. The stand was full of water, and all we
needed to do was string the lights and hang the ornaments.

My wife traditionally places the lighted angel atop
the tree. Next she carefully strings the lights from right
to left all the way down the tree. The rest of us hang
the decorations on the limbs.

This year we had everything in place when
suddenly the tree fell over. Our older daughter was caught
beneath it all. Lights went helter-skelter. Ornaments
flew across the room. Water poured out of the stand,
soaking into the carpet. A forlorn angel lay on its side
beneath the branches. What a mess for a December
Saturday afternoon!

It was not with the best of moods that we hoisted
the tree upright again. We moved it to another corner
so the carpet could dry out. Once more we filled the
stand with water. We straightened the angel atop the
tree, strung the lights, and laced the branches with
decorations.

To help lift our irritated spirits, we played tradi-
tional carols throughout the house, filling the rooms
with melody. Someone made a fresh pot of tea. Some-
one else discovered cookies in the kitchen cupboard.

Soon the front doorbell rang. Jay, our son, opened
the door to find a neighbor standing there.

"Is your father home?" he asked. Jay invited him
inside. I greeted my neighbor, wondering what
brought him to our house that day.

"Do you think I could chat with you, perhaps
even have prayer?" The man looked intently into my
face.

Because there was so much bustle in our house, I
quickly reasoned that it would be best for the two of
us to walk across to the nearby church sanctuary. I
grabbed my winter jacket and the church keys as my
friend followed behind me.

Once inside the church, he spilled out his woe.

"I need prayer. My family needs prayer. I knew
when I passed your church sign that God told me to
stop and ask for you to pray with me."

I was curious about what was bothering this
young man. Often we had waved to each other in
passing. From time to time I stopped by with baked
goods for his family. He had even spoken to me once
about his alcoholic brother, asking me for counsel.

"It's Christmas--yet my family is heavy in heart
this season," he began. His cheery Irish cheeks gave
no hint as to the weight upon his spirit. "My wife got
the news that she has cancer," he said softly, not quite
sure he had the courage to say those words. "She's
started chemotherapy. Her weight is affected. Her hair
is going. Yet she has such courage. She puts on a
strong front, particularly for the children." There were
six in the family.

We sat together on the front pew of the sanctuary.

To our right the newly decorated church shone with
bulbs and balls. To our left the baby doll representing
Jesus lay quietly, peacefully. Each of the sanctuary
windows had been decorated with a candle. Yet in the
midst of this festive atmosphere two men's hearts
sank.

"I'm so sorry to hear this," I said. "We must take
this to the Lord."

We left our places, made our way to the simple
altar, and knelt. Our hearts spilled before the throne of
heaven. In the calm of the church a serenity began to
blanket our troubled souls. It became quite easy to
pray as the Spirit of a loving God drew near to bring
special comfort.

I heard this man sobbing beside me, especially
when I mentioned his children in prayer. I knew this
would be the heaviest part of his burden.

"Lord, be near these little ones in their private
worlds of anguish. In their tears, talk peace to them. In
their confusion, come with heaven's understanding."

Presently the Spirit released us from our prayers.

Two men stood at the front of the sanctuary just a few
feet from the wooden prayer altar. We knew that, for
that moment, we had done all we could do.

Richard thanked me for being a praying friend as
well as a neighbor.

"When you were praying, Pastor, a special glow of
the Lord settled upon my heart," he whispered. "The
burden has been lifted considerably."

We walked out of the church together--one man
with a healthy wife and children ready to celebrate
Christmas, and the other with a sick wife and grieving
children ready to attempt to celebrate. I thought back
a few hours to a fallen tree with lights scattering like
disobedient children across our living room carpet.

We had become impatient; our day was not as perfect
as we had planned.

Now I reconsidered the meaning of calamity. The
tousled tree was nothing compared to a troubled
neighbor. Yet in the hurt of this man I knew God was
working to lift up the fallen, set aright the downcast,
and bring help to the scattered children's hearts. It
would take time. It would take prayer. But in the end
their lives would be straightened and lightened--in
one of heaven's ways or another.

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