Why the Rapture isn’t Biblical… And Why it Matters

Patheos ^ | June 4, 2014 | Kurt Williams

[Cronos]

I grew up in church culture. Most of what I recall from those early childhood and teenage years bring memories of good things. People genuinely taught me that loving Jesus matters more than anything else in the world. The world, after all, is corrupt and the place we truly long for is far, far away – heaven. So we are to love Jesus and hate the world.

Now, this is not hatred toward the people on earth. I did not grow up in a church culture that taught that we ought to tell outsiders how much they suck, but that this “world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.”

World and physicality = bad.
Jesus and spiritual bliss in a distant heaven = goal of the game.

This distinction came with a subset of beliefs about the destiny of God’s world. Eventually this planet would be destroyed and we Christians would “fly away” to heaven at the rapture of the church. Certain Christians understood the timing of the rapture as it corresponds to the book of Revelation differently than others, but no one ever denied the imminent return of Jesus to evacuate the church out of earth.

What I’ve come to realize is that the church of my youth probably had the rapture all wrong. You see, the Bible flows from Creation (Gen 1-2) to Renewed Creation (Rev 21-22). This is the narrative of Scripture. Nothing in the text (if read in its proper context) alludes to the actual complete destruction of the planet. This world’s worth to the Creator runs deep and because of this, the world as a whole ought to be intrinsically valuable to us.

Physical/earthly realities such as social injustice, violence, hunger, preventable sickness, and the destruction of nature are invitations to the church of Jesus to get our hands dirty and proclaim that this world matters (even in its broken state)! Christ will complete creation upon his return, uniting heaven and earth for the life of the age to come!

The famous “rapture” passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 4.15-17 and reads:

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

This passage, when placed in the larger context of the chapter, is answering questions that Christians in Thessalonica had concerning death. What has happened to our loved ones who have died before the return of Christ to earth? What is theirs and our ultimate destiny? Paul’s answer: bodily resurrection at the return of Christ to earth! Not an escape into the sky [see appendix below!].

In this passage, Paul borrows two specific images from the Old Testament that would have been familiar to Jewish converts and Gentiles who were familiarizing themselves with the Hebrew tradition. The first of these that Paul employs in the text has to do with Moses who comes down from Mount Sinai with the Law with the great blast of the trumpet.

The second image is taken from Daniel chapter 7 where the “one like the son of man” (or “human being” or “The Human One”) and the community he represents is vindicated over the enemies of the people of God. Clouds here symbolize the power and authoritative judgement of God about the rescue of his people. This idea now seems to be applied to Christians who are facing various forms of persecution.

Finally, there is a third image in the text that comes from outside of the canonical context. This is the image of an emperor who visits a city. The people of that region would have gone out to meet him to usher him into their home in a royal procession out in the open air. This, Paul seems to apply to the church who will usher in their King into the new creation.***

Rapture, as it is popularly understood, is nowhere to be found in this “rapture” passage. Christ will return to resurrect, to purge, to heal, and to establish the eternal kingdom of God on this earth. Heaven and earth will unite like a bride and husband – for all eternity. That’s it.

The Bible teaches that when Christ comes back, it will be Good News! “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Revelation 21.4). Surely we cannot erase judgment from the picture, but the hope is that those in Christ will be raised to eternal life and everything that is wrong with this world will be made right.

This world renewed is going to be our home for eternity, and we have the opportunity to reflect that future in our present. Rapture invites us to escape this world: the last thing that Jesus would have ever taught! “On earth as in heaven” is what he said, not “in heaven away from the earth!” Our world’s future is hopeful. Let’s tell that story and not the escapist narratives that many of us grew up with.

[Kurt Note: This article is an adaptation from various pieces that are part of my “rapture” category.]

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APPENDIX

Word Study, 1 Thessalonians 4.17 (Warning: a bit more technical!)

Below is a Word Study that I did based on 1 Thessalonians 4.17. What is interesting to me is how it reinforced my belief that the “rapture” as it is popularly understood (Jesus secretly returns to extract believers from earth to heaven for eternity) is completely unwarranted. If you choose to follow the logic below, you will know why 🙂

1. Word Identification

The word underlying “air” in 1 Thessalonians 4.17 is the Greek word “ἀήρ” (Strong’s: #109).

2. Frequency and Distribution

• Roman Historical Narrative (1x, Acts – 1)
• Pauline Letter (4x, 1Cor – 2, Eph – 1, 1Thes – 1)
• Apocalyptic (2x, Rev – 2)

The usage of ἀήρ in the New Testament by verse:

Acts 22:23

…εἰς τὸν ἀέρ
…dust into the air,

1Co 9:26

…ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων·
…one that beateth the air:

1Co 14:9

…γὰρ εἰς ἀέρα λαλοῦντες.
…shall speak into the air.

Eph 2:2

…ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος…
…power of the air, the spirit that…

1Th 4:17

…κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα καὶ οὕτως…
…the Lord in the air: and so shall…

Rev 9:2

…καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ ἐκ τοῦ…
…sun and the air were darkened by…

Rev 16:17

…ἐπὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ ἐξῆλθεν…
…vial into the air; and there came…

3. Meaning

1) the air, particularly the lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air 2)the atmospheric region[1]

After surveying the above seven occurrences, it is clear that the definition is simply the area of unseen space in our atmosphere. Below, the meaning in its various usages are explained:

ἀήρ (aēr, 109), ἀέρος, ὁ, (ἄημι, ἄω, [cf. ἄνεμος, init.]), the air (particularly the lower and denser, as distinguished from the higher and rarer ὁ αἰθήρ, cf. Hom. Il. 14, 288), the atmospheric region: Acts xxii. 23; 1 Th. iv. 17; Rev. ix. 2, xvi. 17; ὁ ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος in Eph. ii. 2 signifies “the ruler of the powers (spirits, see ἐξουσία 4 c. ββ.) in the air”, i. e. the devil, the prince of the demons that according to Jewish opinion fill the realm of air (cf. Mey. ad loc.; [B. D. Am. ed. s. v. Air; Stuart in Bib. Sacr. for 1843, p. 139 sq.]). Sometimes indeed, ἀήρ denotes a hazy, obscure atmosphere (Hom. Il. 17, 644; 3, 381; 5, 356, etc.; Polyb. 18, 3, 7), but is nowhere quite equiv. to σκότος,— the sense which many injudiciously assign it in Eph. 1. c. ἀέρα δέρειν (cf. verberat ictibus auras, Verg. Aen. 5, 377, of pugilists who miss their aim) i. e. to contend in vain, 1 Co. ix. 26; εἰς ἀέρα λαλεῖν (verba ventis profundere, Lucr. 4, 929 (932)) “to speak into the air” i. e. without effect, used of those who speak what is not understood by the hearers, 1 Co. xiv. 9.*[2]

Although ἀήρ is not a word that is frequent in the New Testament, it is interesting to note that there is only one other word that is translated into English as “air.” The Greek οὐρανός has a different meaning when used as “air” than ἀήρ. Rather than referring to the “lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air,” it means:

1. the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it

1. a. the universe, the world
2. b. the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced
3. c. the sidereal or starry heavens

2. the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings[3]

It seems that the difference between these two words will prove to be significant. The word in the 1 Thessalonians text indicates the “air” of the “lower” region as opposed to the “heavens” as οὐρανός can also be translated (heavens – 24x, heavenly – 1, heaven – 218). In other words, Paul had an option to use either of the words to talk about the “air” but he chose to use the word that refers mostly to the lower atmospheric region.

4. Meaning in Context

In the context of 1 Thessalonians 4.17, Paul is answering questions regarding the blessed Christian hope. What happens to Christ-followers who die before the return of the Messiah? Are they gone forever? And what about those of us who are waiting for this day? What are we to look forward to? In answer to these kinds of questions Paul describes the coming of Jesus as a moment of resurrection. Because Jesus died and rose again, his followers will someday be like him. They will have bodies that are restored to the image of Christ who is the image of God.

Paul in this passage uses mixed metaphors to communicating the reality of the final resurrection. He employs imagery from the Old Testament as well as from Roman royalty. Christ will appear in such a way that it will be like Moses when he descended down from the Mountain of Sinai. He will come with the “clouds” meaning that he will come with the power / authority of heaven like the “son of Man” in Daniel 7. When this happens all followers of Jesus will be gathered around their King and will usher him into the new heavens and new earth.

Unfortunately, the present passage of Scripture has been interpreted in several different ways; mostly indicating that the return of Christ will be a rapturous moment when God will snatch believers away from this evil world to meet him in the “air” (up in heaven) for eternity. There are several problems with this approach (too numerous to look at for this word study). The current word study exposes one of the fallacies in this interpretive scheme.

Had the Apostle wanted to communicate that Christ coming downward to take us upward was the goal of the 2^nd coming, he could have chosen to use a word like οὐρανός. This word, which is interpreted as “air” on some occasions (as indicated above), would have given the impression that going to meet Christ in the “air” was a upward heavenly route. However, what this word study has discovered is that the word Paul chose to use was one that indicates the lower part of the atmosphere. Paul had a grammatical choice to make, and clearly he did not want to misguide his first century audience by making them think that being “with the Lord forever” actually meant going to heaven, away from the creation project. So, in order to keep his metaphorical devices in place without giving the wrong impression, he chose to use ἀήρ to indicate that he was not talking about escaping this world; but rather being part of its redemptive process. If the alternative word had been selected, Paul would have given us the opportunity to affirm cosmological dualism.

5. Verification

There is no dispute of how ἀήρ is to be translated from Greek into English among the translations. In every version that was checked (ESV, KJV, NIV, and TNIV) this word is translated as “air.”

After consulting the “Easton Bible Dictionary” we find that this word study’s findings about the meaning of the word ἀήρ is consistent and verified. It states: “The atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1Th_4:17; Rev_9:2; Rev_16:17).”[4] This is also confirmed by the UBS Greek Dictionary: “air; ethereal region above the earth, space.”[5]

---

FOOTNOTES

***N. T. Wright, “Farewell to Rapture,” Biblical Review (August 2001). http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Farewell_Rapture.htm (accessed October, 2009).

[1]http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=109&version=nas

[2] http://www.greekbiblestudy.org/gnt/greekWordStudy.do?id=100095&greek=false

[3] http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=3772&version=nas

[4] See: Easton Bible Dictionary. Available Online at: http://refbible.com/a/air.htm

[5] The Greek New Testament With Greek-English Dictionary by B. Aland (Editor), K. Aland (Editor), J. Karavidopoulos (Editor), B. M. Metzger (Editor), C. M. Martini (Editor)

[Elsie]

Btw, most europeans don't have semitic genes either

Neither do the Mayans, Aztecs or Omlec; but that hasn't stopped the Mormons from claiming otherwise.

[metmom]

They asked Him when the end of all things would be.

They specified the time with “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world?” and that was the question Jesus answered.

[Just mythoughts]

What you posted is a map of land allotments. Your map is missing Revelation 3:7 'key of David'.

11And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12And he sent, and brought him in. ****Now he was ruddy, and with of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. *****And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

It might be helpful if the word 'ruddy' was not ignored, "ruddy" occurs 4 times in 4 verses in the KJV. As a Bible scholar I will let you find where that word is recorded.

Result of search for "ruddy": Strong's Hebrew

119 'adam aw-dam' to show blood (in the face), i.e. flush or turn rosy:--be (dyed, made) red (ruddy).

Imagine that, the adam of Genesis name means 'to show blood (in the face).

120 'adam aw-dawm' from 119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):--X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.

122 'adom aw-dome' from 119; rosy:--red, ruddy.

132 'admoniy ad-mo-nee' or (fully) admowniy {ad-mo-nee'}; from 119; reddish (of the hair or the complexion):--red, ruddy.

The promises given to Abraham have been kept, despite the rebellious acts of Abraham's descendants...

Genesis 22:15-18 15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

God has indeed blessed America... despite the acts against the Creator its inhabitants are hell bent to follow.

[metmom]

UNREAL!!!!

[SaveFerris]

AND it’s from their group of articles:

“ROLL TO DISBELIEVE”

I mean, seriously......could they be any more obvious with their mocking? You can even see “Roll to Disbelieve” on their website page (one of the pages I saw).

Shaking my head.

[metmom]

So why would ANYONE take anything they say seriously at all?????

[SaveFerris]

Agreed

[Maranatha7757]

You are ignoring a great deal of evidence to the contrary. No time in history has there ever been a people and identifiable people group that has been dispersed around the globe that has been reunited back into their own nation. State of Israel. Also this is confirmed by Ezekiel chapter 36 and 37 where as I travel this country there are evidences of renewal everywhere , exactly as described in the scripture. Also there are things happening in this country, perhaps you should visit to see it for yourself where God is preparing a remnant. This one thing to formulate your own isolated opinions back home, but it is something else to be in that country and see it for yourself. God is moving here in a powerful way and and your position which I have encountered many times in the USA and is Rife with ignorance of the scripture and frankly unbelief. It is in agreement with what Paul says in Romans chapter 11 as being wise in your own conceits. They will be grafted in again because they are the natural branch , and always will be

[impactplayer]

There is nothing stopping Israel from re-building the tent of the meeting and tabernacle right now - in the desert - as it was until the time of Solomon. All of the instructions are clearly given in Exodus/Leviticus. This shows me two things: this conflict over the temple site is political and they do not feel the need for relief from sin as specified in the Torah.
I, too, have traveled the Mid-East, including Israel, many times. It is truly amazing what they have done with the land - but until they find a way to deal with sin, it is all just secular.

[Cronos]

No, they didn't ask Him when the end of all things would be -- the text is very, very clear - here's the KJV version for you

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

#1 - They leave the Temple and then the disciples ask Jesus about The Temple -- He tells them of the coming destruction of The Temple

Now you are right that later on #3 they ask about the "end of the world" - and it is important to understand what they meant by the end of the world for them - and verse 1 gives a hint. note that the world to Israel was the Temple - it was the center of existence for them. And the world of the 2nd Temple Jews (ancestors of Christians as well as modern Jews) DID indeed come to an end, and indeed it ws forty years (exactly one genea or generation) after Jesus made His prophecy.

To the Israelites the temple was a miniature model of the world - when Solomon built the temple itself, he did so in "sevens" - as did Moses - seven days, seven months, seven years. Why? They imitated the way God created the world in 7 days. The Temple meant the world to Israel - literally.

For the people in AD 70, the destruction of the temple symbolized the end of the world. That is why Jesus' sermons on the end of the world are always given in the context of the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

[Cronos]

There is nothing stopping Israel from re-building the tent of the meeting and tabernacle right now - in the desert - as it was until the time of Solomon.

hmmm... true

Impact player is correct also that we are grafted in.

This does not negate the fact that modern day Israel has a right to the land -- it is theirs, full stop

But we need to also clearly, clearly understand that modern-day Judaism is a descendent of 2nd Temple Judaism through the Pharisees (that doesn't negate it, I'm just pointing it out) AND is a sister religion to Christianity which is a descendent of 2nd Temple Judaism through the Christ-movement

Christians and Modern Day Jews are both descendents of Abraham thanks to Christ's work of grafting us in - we support our modern-day Jewish brethren for the right of their land, but Impact is also very very biblically and historically correct

[Cronos]

” No time in history has there ever been a people and identifiable people group that has been dispersed around the globe that has been reunited back into their own nation” — well there have been:
1. Poland - not quite dispersed, but still separated and many dispersed (Polonia)
2. Armenia

[Cronos]

What I posted was not a map of "allotments" but of the neo-Assyrian Empire at its peak

To the north of Assyria was Urartu - which studiously kept its independence and it also controlled the entrance to the Caucasus.

This is very, very clear that the Assyrians didn't exile the northern tribes to the Caucasus but they sent them to northern Iraq or maybe southern Iraq

That's the point -- Europeans have no genes from the Israelites, but those people merged with the other Semites

[Cronos]

Next, you bring up Samuel 12 "ruddy" - Ruddy can mean red -- have you seen any native Iraqis or Syrians? There are many blondes and red heads there -- The ancient Israelites would probably have looked an in-between shade much like modern day Arabs given that the Israelites were of Middle Eastern origin, with the forefather Abraham being from Ur (in Iraq) and given genetic similarities between Jews and Arabs.

I would be careful with textual proofs of skin color, either way, given that much of these texts are poetic, and colors can sometimes be invoked in reference to purity or in reference to destruction / desolation; to use such texts for such a purpose, you should be very sure that it is using color in a literal way. In terms of textual evidence, the Mishnah is very explicit about describing the skin color of Jews at the time as being like “boxwood”, which is consistent with the in-between Middle Eastern complexion.

Ruddy does not mean white. It means red, as in redboned or light skinned, or even mahogany.

[Cronos]

And btw, that Adam thing is linguistically nonsense - you have red-faced people among Syrians, Iraqis etc

The word Adam does have more than one meaning. For instance, 120 in the same Concordance means “a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):–X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.”

Meaning 121 of Adam taken from the same Concordance means “name of the first man, also of a place in Palestine.”

The word Adam is also the root word for the color “red” and for the word “soil” or “earth”. This makes perfect sense since the Scriptures tell us that God created a human (remember not a “man” but a “human”) from the dust of the ground. - red is the colour of blood

Adam was not a white European

And similarly the northern Israelites would be light brown - like modern day Syrians/Iraqis

[Cronos]

Btw, most europeans don't have semitic genes either Neither do the Mayans, Aztecs or Omlec; but that hasn't stopped the Mormons from claiming otherwise.

True - genetically neither Europeans nor native Americans are descendents of Israelites. The "Lost Tribes" didn't end up in Europe, they assimilated with other semitic peoples in Iraq/Syria

[Maranatha7757]

Historically those two examples you gave do not qualify. First as you admitted Poland not so much some dispersed but not an entire race. As far as Armenia subjugated yes conquered,some serious geocide some dispersed and reunited in 1991. We need to be intellectually honest here. As I stated before your position is not one obtained from reading the scriptures, but adopted from the very same movement after the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Jews in 70 AD which was one of replacement theology which in some cases borders on theological racism towards Jews. I’ve noticed that you have not bothered to answer scriptural references such as Amos chapter 9, as I’m sure you would give some typical allegorical response to Ezekiel chapter 36 and 37, Daniel chapter 8 and 11.... the House of David will be restored, all of Israel will be saved according to the scriptures, and as I stated before a high-minded attitude towards your being grafted into the original Branch can also result in Gentile branch removal. That’s warning enough, and we all have areas in some measure of spiritual blindness, but this is a big one my friend. Keep reading as the scripture reminds us, let he that readeth understand. A little less time in books by the opinions of men, and more time in your Old Testament. Won’t be hard for you there’s over 1,800 examples in the Old Testament alone of Messiah Jesus and the millennial reign.

[Cronos]

As regards Poland - yes, they weren't completely dispersed, but then neither were the Jews. Some remained. However soon enough, by the 3rd century, the land was a barren wasteland and that was exacerbated by the Arab conquests

Armenia did get renewed

The position of mine is from the scriptures and validated by history.

The entire racism towards Jews is not the basis -- John is not anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish, neither is the core of his text that Christians are grafted on and that we Christians (whether of Jewish or gentile origin) are the new Church, the new bride of Christ is not anti-semitic.

[Cronos]

The book of Amos was written before the Assyrian invasion.

It talks of the tabernacle that was fallen -- the 1st temple. He then talks of the reuniting with the gentiles worshipping -- at the Church of the Christ, the new Israel of Christians - whether of Jewish or gentile origin.

Keep reading as the scripture reminds us, let he that readeth understand.

[Maranatha7757]

I have to confess that the manner in which you and others that espouse replacement theology wrest the scriptures is completely breathtaking. Did you read Amos chapter 9 verses 9 to 15? How you could equate that in any way shape or form as being for any other dispensational purpose then the nation of Israel is fantastic... how you could equate that miraculous occurence by Jehovah God himself restoring national Israel right there in the scripture.... Central and obvious difference being that God did not promise Poland nor Armenia that he would restore them to the land.In His sovereignty it happened but not through a promise and everlasting promise to never forsake National Israel.
; not to Armenia, not Poland or any other country. but God specifically returning the sifted, dispersed of Israel to their own land, fulfilling the scripture and glorifying his name, proves the futility of continuing this debate. May the scripture be fulfilled and the will of God be done. God bless.