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).
I'd never heard this before; so I looked it up:
Although a proposal was made in 1957 to define an aeon to be a unit of time equal to one billion years (1 Ga),the idea was not approved as a unit of scientific measure and is seldom used for a specific period of time.Its more common usage is for any long, indefinite, period of time.The origin is from the Greek root "aion" for "age" or "life force."A similar Latin word "aevum" for age is still present in words such as Longevity and medieval. [1]
Or perhaps I may have been simply mistaken ...but your attacks on your brethren if your call them such seem to put you into a different category then what you claim for your self...but notice I haven’t ‘gotten behind thee’! If I be a pig, you certainly aren’t careful where you are throwing your pearls! So perhaps something else is going on, eh Talisker?
By the way...Jesus is God, the Word made flesh who dwelt amongst us..(Reference 1 John 4).....!
By the way...you still haven’t commented on Matthew 7:1-2 specifically how verses 3-5 modify and fully flesh out the meaning of verses 1 and 2? Except that I appear to be judged by you as a pig and a Satanic bald faced liar? At this point I’m not sure what is front or behind you that I might actually have to ‘get behind”! A two faced person has no front or behind so you understand my perplexity!
I may have mixed up something you’ve said in the past and I might need to ask your forgiveness...but until you get that beam of caustic hate out of your own eye, how can I ask you to help me get the mote of misunderstanding out of my eye?
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu - Chapter 41(from Talisker’s freeper page)
The wise student hears of the Tao and practises it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.
Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
Going forward seems like retreat;
The easy way seems hard;
The highest Virtue seems empty;
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.
I’m sure you’ll be deleting this from your FREEPER home page very soon, oh labeler of Swine such as myself! A real Christian would! By the way, The new Jerusalem has form and is square...and the greatest Form, the Word that is God...gives shape to form, birthed from his own genius, and out of his love for man, his Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us! Jesus is the Tao(THE WAY), the Truth, the Life, no one comes to the Father but by him!
So get thee behind thine own self....there’s none of us perfect!
Perhaps...
...keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:5
Would that be harder than actually practicing what one preaches?
The easy way seems hard;
He said we didn’t know—He never said we couldn’t figure it out. Tense is important.
.
At any well stocked Bible book store.
Its only for those that care more for the word than for their man made beliefs. Much of the true word requires “going to and fro.”
“I believe the Rapture is that near...”
I pray you are correct!
Don't count on it, fool. To me, that beautiful quote speaks of the Holy Spirit. You see in it what's in your own depraved mind. Unless, of course, you're saying you see Jesus in it - in which case, what is your point? Or are you just anxious to find some way to express your hatred?
And by the way, your personal attacks against my faith - your vicious, unjustified slander and hatred in the name of Christianity - is because I quoted Jesus saying we must love one another.
That's it - that's all I said.
I find you and your brethren fascinating - demons literally burning and howling in rage, directly because of the invocation of Christ's love. This is actually a Biblical situation here.
Howl on, creature - you and your legion.
Well I'm not the doer, but yeah, Christ has actually reached you through me.
Don't worry about it, though. Just keep telling yourself you're untouchable, LOL...
Proverbs 15:1 (NASB)
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Romans 12:14-21 (NASB)
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Context is everything. Are you against guns, too? How do you, as a Christian, EVER justify fighting back against evil?
How about this: He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” — Luke 22:36
Go find a child to confuse, your insidious efforts are wasted on me. "'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash..." Ezekiel 13:10
God bless you, Talisker, and may you enjoy the peace that passes all understanding through Jesus Christ our Lord, who forgives all who call upon His Name.
matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, ‘Thou fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
I didn’t say this or make this verse up...neither have I called you a fool...but you have called me one. I have suggested that I may have misunderstood some of your assertions as a lack of faith...but you show no grace. Perhaps you follow after the priest hood of Aaron but of Melchizidek I see no indication! Jesus had no need to borrow of other philosophies as he was the living Word; the prophets and apostles did not quote Krishna or Confucious, in their preaching...they had the Word as the Spirit gave them utterance. I understand there’s often been writings of the Tao as a general set of principles borrowed by the ancients being derived from God’s LOGOS that guided various ancient nations and cultures in the development of their ethics(God’s winking at them while he developed the Hebrew nation most specifically)...CS Lewis writes of it in one of his books. Christ came and showed us HIS WAY which was now to be demanded by God for all men to follow!
I say to you again in a different more direct way(again referencing 1 John 4)....if I were demonic or of Anti-Christ then I could not declare that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh. Again I say...Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh! and I will say it again for a third time Jesus is the Christ come in the Flesh! That does not make me perfect nor does such a declaration make me immune from mistakes or stumbles in my faith...but I know where and in whom my hope shall be found!
Now if you also can declare that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh...then perhaps we can take a deep breath step back and put the swords away!
I do not consider you a Christian. I consider you a shill, on this site solely to portray Christians in a negative light, as prosecutors and inquisitors, in order to silence the free discussion of people's faith. In this, you are acting demonically. You are used to silencing people with bible battery, demands of justifications and sheer abuse - while painting yourself with a halo.
No, you're no Christian. You claim medieval tests of being able to merely recite scripture as proof of your validity? Then why do you not accept that I recite it too, hypocrite? The very idea is beyond stupid. I give you no respect because you deserve none - you are a fraud.
To use such a statement as a weapon to support abuse and the attack of Jesus's greatest commandment is truly an ugly thing.
1John 4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
I will say again Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh!( he is the Word and God in flesh!) I’ll bet Elsie can say it! Can you say it...can you simply just say it? If you can then this conversation is simply over and the suspiciousness of motive on all sides can cease! Based on this scripture, though you have no cause to call Elsie, myself and others Demons...and if you can declare that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh then we have no cause to question you as well! Disagree we may on other issues but at least it will not be on the deity and the lordship of Jesus Christ! Every knee shall bow and tongue confess him as Lord anyway but it is still better to be found voluntarily doing it then to be forced to do it!
So you can’t say Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?
What have I said to provoke such wrath?
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