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).
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>> “Really?
The fella who HEALED on the SABBATH!!??
The guy who plucked and ate grain; too?” <<
Absolutely!
There is no prohibition in Torah against any of those things.
You are defending the very Takanot and Ma’assim of the Pharisees that Yeshua spent his entire ministry deliberately demolishing.
That was the burden that could not be borne, the false oral law of the Pharisees. That was what was hung on the cross, the unlawful changes to Yehova’s law.
I guess that me; a NON-law keeper; is gonna lose to you Law-keeping fellas.
Save me some cool water on the tip of your fingers; will ya?
“That was the burden that could not be borne, the false oral law of the Pharisees. That was what was hung on the cross, the unlawful changes to Yehova’s law.”
You are way out of bounds...it was for our sins he died not to do away with false changes to his law, but for the fact we couldn’t even keep his original laws...it was for the stains of sin upon our race going back to Adam and Eve! He was that perfect sacrifice that the blood of sheep and bulls could not wash away..only cover! I hope you were only misspeaking!
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Torah is a blessing that we can and must keep.
Paul and Peter both said the False Law of the Pharisees was hung on the cross.
Do you know something they don’t know?
.
Hear the dust fall?
No.
No but I may need to remind you of something you have forgotten.... Colossians 2:13-23! (context is important as the verses hang together)
You are referring to Colossians 2:14 but you can’t understand verse 14 without verse 13... and then v15-23
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross! Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
He took away the eternal death penalty by forgiving our sins incurred by our sinning against God as well as disarming the social co-ercive powers of those who couldn’t keep the pure law themselves but insisted that others follow complex formulas, or rituals or to hold certain days sacred. The whole chapter actually stands against your views of how you think Christians should approach Christianity and of the “various laws” we are supposed to keep. I’ll bet you don’t even keep them perfectly...I just think that if you live in such a mind set, then it must be misery for you to know that if you get one thing wrong, Yehoshua will squeeze you like a grape(/s)!(Now I don’t think he’s out to squeeze you like a grape but as Lion of the Tribe of Judah, he just wants to rub his mane against you purring and to lick you with the tongue of his grace!)
Paul and Peter both said the False Law of the Pharisees was hung on the cross.
“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”
It would seem to me; if you want to use the above verse to bolster your opinion of just what 'law' is being talked about; then you should ALSO use the verse that preceded it; namely...
9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (NOT keeping Torah!)
Paul and Peter both said the False Law of the Pharisees was hung on the cross.
Paul used the phrase “works of the law” six times and only within Romans and Galatians. Here’s the full list within context:
For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20).
For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law (Rom 3:28).
Yet we know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified (Gal 2:16).
Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? (Gal 3:2)
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? (Gal 3:5)
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, ‘Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them’ (Gal 3:10).
Now then; if you are going to claim that these verses refer to the EXTRA stuff that Phariseeism added to the LAW; it had better be REALLY convincing.
HMMMmmm...
THIS sure sounds familiar!
It does sound familiar, doesn’t it now? I thought only “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” could rise from the dead but it appears the old Judaizers from long ago can, too?!
Love God with the ALL of you and love your neighbor as your self...concentrate on those and about 100 per cent of all the laws and the prophets are covered. As for past sins and sins we might on occaision make in the future(as we are still imperfect people), the blood of Christ has washed away those!
As for the Torah...the Holy Spirit dwells with us and makes Torah(after the priesthood of Melchizidek...NOT AARON!) for us by writing it on our inward parts because in our flesh he knows we can’t keep it perfectly, thus we are saved by grace not by works of righteousness lest any man should boast! The fruits of such faith are the various positive fruits of the spirit so listed in many parts of the old and new testament.
That is...Ephesians2: “8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”…......
Oh my goodness Surveyor...now look at this....
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility....”
Huuuuunh...he set aside in his flesh the law and its commands and regulations....for the purpose of what?! creating in himself a new humanity out of two?...Oh my goodness graciousness..Surveyor...you need to get with it man...!
“17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Why Surveyor...you were just foolin’ us all the time, forcing us to go deeper into scripture just to help us discover the true depths and richness of the love of Yehoshua how he freed us of the tediums of the old law, indeed Paul addressing me(and the Ephesians) in our gentile status, shows us that we have become part of a wonderful creation of humans that Christ has created within himself! Why thank you Surveyor...you HAVE been a big help!
By grace are you saved by FAITH!
By Paul’s definition in Hebrews that faith is the very same faith Moses preached.
Read Hebrews 3 and 4.
Paul stated plainly that the gospel he preached is the gospel Moses preached.
What did Moses preach?
Torah!
What did Yeshua preach?
Torah!
There is no gospel but the gospel of love given to us in Torah.
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P.S.
The laws and regulations that were set aside were the Takanot and Ma’assim of the hopeless Pharisees.
Yeshua said plainly that Torah was to endure until the Earth and heavens depart.
IOW, it has about 1000 years left to go.
Ephesians 2:14“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility....”
“17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
“19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Pay attention to verse 15 especially and get with it and let the Lion of the tribe of Judah lick you with the tongue of his grace!
All of the above is more fully covered by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
There is no Gospel but that Torah that The holy Spirit has already written into the hearts of believers....Ephesian 2:”22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Torah is the Logos is the Word which is God which became flesh and dwelt amongst us! The two greatest commandments(”Love God with your ALL and love your neighbor”) are the linchpins holding of all the prophets and laws and the teachings of Christ and the apostles together...If our hearts are set to keep those two commandments by the help of God’s spirit, then we are keeping the whole of the Torah after the priesthood of Melchizidek!(And Mount Zion has become our home and our final rest)
Put your self in the position of the prostitute...the Torah as interpreted by the priesthood of Aaron (represented by upraised hands with stones and snarls and insulting epithets) stands before you ready to execute you and the Torah as interpreted by the priesthood of Melchizidek (in the form of “Messiah”) is also standing before you. You stand accused of violating Torah in both instances of interpretation by your harlotry...you know how the story will go right? Melchizidek the perfect sinless one will look at those representing Aaaron and say...those without sin may cast the first stone! When they all filter out and there is no one left to accuse you, Melchizidek will ask..”where are your accusers..?” You will say what the prostitute said “ they have gone”. And he will say(because there are not 2 or more witnesses against her in perfect accordance with TORAH) “neither will I condemn you..go and sin no more!” Messiah, our living Torah stated that she had sinned(according to Torah) but told her to sin no more, that he has forgiven her!
You see I have a pretty strong sense of what Torah is and how it was always supposed to be applied. Torah teaches us of the things of God and of the perfection that is required that we can’t attain of our selves, to arouse our consciences so that we may go to Christ and get his forgiveness when we fail; and to learn the way of love, the way of Torah according to Melchizidek. You see God is the Word, God is also Love, and Christ shows us the true Torah, the way of Love! Christ showed us Torah by the forgiveness, love and the RESTORATION TO THE FATHER he applied to the prostitute! And Christ; displaying such love and mercy to the prostitute, is that LIVING Torah example all Christians are to emulate! What did Paul say...”Be ye imitators of Christ?”
The Mosaic Law has plenty of legalisms in and of itself but only the love of Christ helps us put each of those legalisms in their proper order and when it came to the newly converted gentiles in that era, the old rules the Jews followed just couldn’t apply any more!
We are all supposed to love God with all that we are and we are supposed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves...That is the new but old Torah, the Torah destroyed and the Torah resurrected and the Torah written in the hearts of God’s children...that is the “crux” of Torah that Christ fulfilled on the cross and... THAT TORAH will never perish...no matter what happens to heaven and Earth!
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