A guy by the name of Darby conjured it up using vague references in the NT. Then the Scofield reference Bible enlarged on it. Some churches are so radical on it that to not believe in it you're banned. The main problem is people are so caught up in the concept they loose focus of Yeshua and His teachings and of Paul's writings. They feel that why should they bother with anything because they believe the Rapture is imminent.
One of their arguments is that they'll be caught up in the air and forever be with Christ. If I was coming to someones house and they come out to meet me, we all don't go back to where I live but to enter their house to where I'm coming.
“A guy by the name of Darby conjured it up using vague references in the NT.” That is simply and demonstrably false.
You really could benefit from reading what JESUS taught in the Upper Room Discourse the night before He was crucified. HE says He will come and take us to Himself returning to The Father’s House.
Actually it seems the origins have at least its seeds in writings by Catholics. From a priest:
Its origins are in the counter reformation move of Papal Rome in the 16th century after Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. It is less well known that Pope Leo X authorized three Jesuit Priests to reinterpret Daniel’s 70 weeks of prophecy; the Book of Revelation; and Ezekiel. The goal of these jesuits was to take the heat of the reformation away from the papacy and the protestant association of the Anti-Christ with the pope. The three Jesuits were:
The doctrine – called futurism – which would later become ‘the rapture’ originated and was submitted by Francisco Ribera in 1585. His Apocalyptic Commentary was on the grand points of Babylon and the Anti-Christ which are now known as the rapture doctrine. Ribera’s published work was called “In Sacram Beati Ionnis Apostoli & Evangelistate Apocoalypsin Commentari” (Lugduni 1593). You can still find these writings in the Bodleian Library in Oxford England. The work was considered flawed and faulty, and was ordered buried in the Church archives, out of sight, by the pope himself.
Unfortunately, over 200 years later a librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury by the name of S. R. Maitland (1792-1866) was appointed to be the Keeper of the Manuscripts at Lambeth Palace, in London, England. In his duties, Dr. Maitland came across Francisco Ribera’s rapture theology and he had it republished for the sake of interest in early 1826 with follow ups in 1829 and 1830.
This was spurred along with the Oxford Tracts that were published in 1833 to try and deprotestantize the Church of England. John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) (A Leader of the Plymouth Brethren) became a follower of S.R. Maitland’s prophetic endeavors and was persuaded. Darby’s influence in the seminaries of Europe combined with 7 tours of the United States changed the eschatological view of the ministers which had the trickle down effect into the churches.
Another contributor to the rapture ideology came through Emmanuel Lacunza (1731-1801), a Jesuit priest from Chile. Lacunza wrote the “Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty” around 1791. It was later published in London in 1827. The book was attributed to a fictitious author name Rabbi Juan Josafat BenEzra. - http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46653.htm
Very informative post providing factual origination and problem with born-again Christian escapism mentality.
American evangelical Christians are not seen as rational or constructively engaged in problem solving by much of the world because “the care not about things of this world - give all problems to jesus” didn’t work out so well for hundreds of millions of victims of war, genocide, disease, and starvation.
Living and standing up to violent bullies is hard bloody work.
Europeans ask, where was god when he allowed Nazis and Communists to murder 60+ Million European souls in the 20th century?
They don’t see that their society’s rebellion against god’s moral instruction (not to be confused with corrupt Catholic church dogma and attrocities) resulted in tragic human travesties.
Christians would be better off being constructively engaged seeing to it we have moral governance on earth, rather than erroneously proclaiming they have their own end-game escape ticket.
RE: “A guy by the name of Darby conjured it up using vague references in the NT. Then the Scofield reference Bible enlarged on it. Some churches are so radical on it that to not believe in it you’re banned. The main problem is people are so caught up in the concept they loose focus of Yeshua and His teachings and of Paul’s writings. They feel that why should they bother with anything because they believe the Rapture is imminent.
One of their arguments is that they’ll be caught up in the air and forever be with Christ. If I was coming to someones house and they come out to meet me, we all don’t go back to where I live but to enter their house to where I’m coming.”