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To: TheGeezer
Actually, I think much of "Rapture Theology" is based in 1 Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 4

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain 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 shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I'm not saying this "proves" the Rapture. But I do think these verses state more explicitly something that really does not occur in Revelation.

134 posted on 08/06/2003 10:02:45 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte
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To: Sans-Culotte
I totally agree that the idea of "The Rapture" is based on 1 Thessalonians 4. But the interpretation of those verses into a convoluted teaching that Christ will return two, three, or even four times is the novelty that surfaced just recently (in terms of church history). The traditional interpretation of 1 Thessalonians 4 is that when Christ returns, both living and dead will be taken up to greet Him with praise and worship.

I may have erred in not mentioing 1 Thessalonians 4 as the beginning point for the idea of a rapture, but Revelation plays the larger role in development of that novel teaching. One needs the Tribulation mixed together with 1 Thessalonians 4 to derive an eschatology having Christ coming for believers, then returning later to defeat Satan, then returning still a third time for judgment. (And I once read something about a fourth coming, but I can't recall how that was combed out of Left Behind novelty.)

Thanks for the clarification and God BLess!

323 posted on 08/07/2003 5:22:09 AM PDT by TheGeezer
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