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).
Why Should You Believe In The Rapture? (video)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3453792/posts
Is it the biggest theological fraud inflicted upon modern Christianity?
Nah. But it’s on the top ten list.
I actually teach on the Rapture. There all kinds of references for it in scripture. It has been years of study and setting aside any preconceived thoughts or feelings or teachings of man and allowing the Lord, through scripture to guide and reveal the truth. If you care to have an open yet private conversation I would be open. If not, no problem. Have a blessed evening.
[[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.]]
Try reading that passage in LATIN -rapiemur = is where we get rapture
( I Thess 4,17) Deinde nos, qui vivimus, qui relinquimur , simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus .
The purpose of the Tribulation is to punish the beast and his followers. It is God pouring out his wrath onto mankind. Why would the elect be part of this judgement?
Quite Remarkable,
I always thought the weird thing about the Rapture is that there seems to be really no cultural impact with a fairly sizable % of the Christian population in the US believing it.
What would Christians do if they thought that if they are saved, they might suddenly disappear, and the then the world is plunged into chaos? Do they have any obligation to make things easier for the ones sadly left behind? Like would they avoid certain jobs, set up emergency bunkers or foundations for those left behind, not keep pets or what? Or is the fact that they are saved mean that by default the unsaved are doomed anyhow and it doesn’t matter how easy they have it or not?
Freegards
Ho...K
Someone needs to read up on languages and historical context.
There will be a rapture.
However, I never heard it was going to be some big secret until this posting.
Pre-trib or post-trib....... a bone that too many have choked on. Ending our lives and spending eternity with Christ is the only race that matters no matter how close or far the finish line.
I would respectfully admit that I don’t know and it does not matter to me - it begs a question - how would pre-trib or post-trib make me change my walk? The answer is obvious - it wouldn’t and shouldn’t.
That’s nice. But Paul did not write in Latin. He was not a native of Italy and Greek was the almost universal language of educated men in those days.
Well Tim LaHaye did just pass away in the last few days at the age of 90!
What obligation did Noah have in his time? Lot? Moses? Their duty was to warn people of God’s coming judgement so they could escape the things to come.
“Oh my God, WHERE’S MY WIFE!!? The Rapture came, just like she said it would!”
;^)
Noah had to build an ark. At least to my understanding, the Rapture happens as you live your life normally, as you should if it happens tomorrow or 1000 years from then. I think a very high % of folks who believe in the rapture probably live good Christian lives, especially compared to the broader culture.
Are all babies and the mentally disabled raptured?
Freegards
In my experience, Christians who believe they are saved have a "you had your chance" attitude towards everyone else. For many, being able to take that attitude towards others seems to be the point of the religion. Attitudes towards gays are particularly telling. Seems the story of the good Samaritan has limited effect. And don't get them going on the Greatest Commandment unless you enjoy watching an angry oiled weasel squirm itself into knots.
I think even worse than the “Rapture” is the idea that the Church is a “parenthesis” or kind of a last minute, temporary fix that God didn’t plan. And even worse than that is the idea that animal sacrifices will resume in the supposed millennial Temple. So evidently Christ was not the final sacrifice after all. Instead of the traditional view that the Old Testament and the Law ultimately point to Christ, who fulfills the Law for us, the dispensationalists have things backwards where the Old Testament interprets the New Testament and Christ is there to point us back to the Law.
Years ago I found that the Southern Baptist Convention has never officially endorsed Scofield’s “doctrines” even though they have taken over the church.
If you read the Bible WITHOUT Scofield’s notes you will see the errors right off.
My first real distrust came when years I saw a map of the HOLY LAND which spread from the Nile straight east to the Euphrates. That made Moses buried in the Holy Land, and he only had to cross the Nile to be there. I new immediately that was in error from my own studies.
A close study of the OT has shown me many other glaring errors.
Other errors I was taught...
Israel’s land promise was never fulfilled... (Yes it was. They lost it when they became like the nations they displaced).
The Ten lost tribes are still lost(No they weren’t. The believers migrated to Judea out of the Northern Kingdom.)
Again, it makes no difference. Run the good race and keep your eyes on the eternal prize.
With all due respect and no offense intended to those who are very passionate about this topic - jousting with scripture verses rarely advances the cause of Christ. Just politely pointing that out because the internecine warfare among denominations over topics like this often hurts the church.
The final script for the world is already written, but he who believes in Him shall have everlasting life.
Jesus gave us a bunch of signs which indicate his return is near, along with many parables. As for your final question there is a book Safe in the Arms of Jesus, that answers questions like that.
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