Posted on 07/14/2021 5:25:10 AM PDT by Cronos
Does the Eastern Orthodox Church believe in the Rapture?
Eastern Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and some mainline Protestants view the Rapture as heretical teaching of the Christian faith. It was not preached or believed prior to 1830 A.D. when John Nelson Darby individually proclaimed that his teaching is what the Bible says Christ will do when he comes again. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John or any of the writers of the Bible or Christian church fathers did not preach about the Rapture.
The Rapture teaches the four comings of Jesus — first, his birth in Bethlehem; second, his secret coming to snatch away (Rapture) the select few; third, his thousand-year reign; and fourth, the final judgment at the end of time. In the Bible, there are only two, not four, comings of Christ.
Passages of Scripture that allude to the event of the Rapture are in actuality referring to the second coming or final judgment of Christ. He will return a second time to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
The Rapture teaches that select born-again Christians will float into the clouds — no matter where they are or what they are doing — to meet the Lord in the clouds.
If they are driving, their passengers may die. If they are a pilot flying a plane, their passengers may most likely die in a plane crash. If they are a surgeon in the middle of surgery, the patient probably might die. If they are parents with young children and babies, who will take care of the abandoned children?
A better explanation of this heretical teaching can be viewed below
Do you believe that Christmas is real? Yet the word “Christmas” is found nowhere in the Bible. The word “Rapture” is meant to represent the event that is described as God snatching away believers and gathering them to Him.
Where does the trinity appear? It doesn’t, but it is real.
The answer is clear. If I prepare for a pre-Trib Rapture and discover myself in Day Two of the Tribulation, I am unprepared for the suffering I will need to ensure for His sake, and much more likely to fail Him. If, howevr, I prepare for a post-Trib Rapture and discover myself with Christ in Day Zero of the Tribulation, I have lost nothing, since the preparation for the suffering of the Tribulation has also strengthened me to ensure whatever pre-Trib suffering I must ensure for Him.
I came to the conclusion a couple of years ago that we don’t know how BAD it might be before a rapture. It might be 99 percent of what we refer to as the Tribulation. So, I think you are quite correct with your advice. We have seen enough movies and read enough books to tell us all is well and then boom the Tribulation. It might not be that way.
A catholic priest literally touched my family. He is dead now but at the time, the church did NOTHING. He wasn’t punished. He was sent to another diocese. He not only abused my sons, they went on to abuse their sister.
The catholic organization believes in abortion, gay marriage, and yet divorce can get you excuminicated.
The men that run the catholic Church are evil. Maybe not all but silence is complicity. The congregation isn’t blameless. They should speak up. But they don’t.
“Passages of Scripture that allude to the event of the Rapture are in actuality referring to the second coming or final judgment of Christ. He will return a second time to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”
Not likely. Only believed by rapture deniers! Seriously though, the tribulation period to come begs the question of how living believers could possibly be on this earth during that time span.
“The Rapture teaches that select born-again Christians will float into the clouds — no matter where they are or what they are doing — to meet the Lord in the clouds.”
No, not “select”, ALL redeemed by the Blood of Jesus believers, and the young who were not old enough to come to Christ yet.
“If they are driving, their passengers may die. If they are a pilot flying a plane, their passengers may most likely die in a plane crash. If they are a surgeon in the middle of surgery, the patient probably might die.”
Wow, you really don’t trust God to deal justly with those who are left behind after believers are removed from the scene do you. Actually, since they are left behind they obviously have already chosen their Godless path, so why would you be concerned with whether they physically died or not?
“If they are parents with young children and babies, who will take care of the abandoned children?”
See above, the innocent will be taken with the believers. There won’t be any “abandoned YOUNG children”. There certainly might be “abandoned” children of believers that have rejected God’s call on their life up to that point though. The rapture of their parents may be what it takes to turn their hearts towards God actually.
“A better explanation of this heretical teaching can be viewed below”
Heretical teaching? LOL All one need do is compare much of mainstream demonations to what the Bible says to reveal heretical teachings. The Catholic Church is full of it.
The word “rapture” is from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible where the word “rapturo” or “rapio” is used to replace the original Greek word “harpazo”.
The definition of Harpazo is to “seize by force, snatch away, yank violently” - as in, yanking a child out of the way of a speeding train.
The Rapture is 100% scriptural and a pre-Trib rapture is evidenced in multiple ways via the Bible. From Jesus saying He is coming to receive us unto Himself, that where He is, there we may be also. (Notice He isn’t saying He’s coming to stay down here with us at this time) to the obvious explanation given by Paul to the Thessalonians (we are who alive and remain will be caught up “Harpazo” to meet Him in the clouds).
Also, in Revelation ch 4 and 5 - a perusal of those verses plainly shows that the 24 elders represent the raptured church, who are present when the 1st Seal of the Tribulation is opened. Why 24 elders? Well, according to those verses, we will be priests - redeemed from every nation, tongue and tribe by the Blood of the Lamb. In the O.T. the priests were divided into 24 groups. Thus, we will be as well - each of the 24 elders representing a group of priests.
We are to be looking for that blessed hope, as Paul told Titus. Occupying and redeeming our time until the Bridegroom comes for His Bride. :-) Maranatha!
Thank you for your service and may the Most High God bless you and yours with His abundant Grace.
I am fairly certain those larger Church bodies start with the Sacred Scriptures and from those derive certain formulaic statements. There is nothing wrong with that, provided those statements comport with the Sacred Scriptures.
Teachings concerning “The Rapture” are relatively new, given the history of the Church. You will not find references to it in Sacred Sripture without force-fitting it into a few passages. The ancient creeds, accepted by the Church for thousands of years as faithful to the Scriptures, say it best and clearly. The return of Christ in glory and the final judgment will follow His ascension.
Yes but no. Tribulation can come to us at anytime. We have to be prepared.
Countless believers have already been martyred in countless tribulations. They proved with their life that they were as you say, prepared accordingly even though, for them, there was no rapture.
Steeling oneself to endure hardships during the Great Tribulation raises a theological question. Which gospel will you follow during the Tribulation of Revelation?
Paul in Gal 1:8-9 warns us that:
Gal 1:8 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!" Gal 1:9 "As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!"
Paul's gospel is about faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as payment for our sins whereas during the Tribulation there is a different gospel as shown in Rev 14:6-7:
Rev 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people". Rev 7 "He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Clearly, the everlasting gospel in Rev 14:6-7 is different from Paul's gospel yet Paul placed a curse on any man, or angel from heaven that preaches a different gospel.
A rapture makes reconciling Gal 1:8-9 and Rev 14:6-7 straightforward in that the body of church age believers are not present on earth when the Everlasting Gospel of Rev 14:6-7 is being preached.
Have a nice day.
CC
For anyone interested:
THE ANTICHRIST, RAPTURE, AND REBIRTH OF ISRAEL IN THE FATHERS AND MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
by Dr. William C. Watson
MDiv, MA & PhD Professor of European History Colorado Christian University
DISPENSATIONALISM BEFORE DARBY
by Dr. William C. Watson
Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FDW16WC
RAPTURE MYTHS
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/dr-thomas-ice/message/rapture-myths/read
MYTHS OF THE ORIGIN OF PRETRIBULATIONALISM (Part 1)
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/dr-thomas-ice/message/myths-of-the-origin-of-pretribulationism-part-1/read
MYTHS OF THE ORIGIN OF PRETRIBULATIONALISM (Part 2)
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/dr-thomas-ice/message/myths-of-the-origin-of-pretribulationism-part-2/read
ex Air Force
Such nonsense.
That's just rationalization to justify your position.
You don't actually expect the poster to realize that, do you?LOL You can tout the Scriptures and they will tout the magicsteeringthem, and n'er the twain shall meet ... at FR.
We all know, even unbelievers, that we in western society are currently on a path that is headed towards a social-economic train wreck. Believers should be trusting that God is in control, the unbelievers are looking for a (mostly political) solution that excludes God, exalts man. The unbelievers outnumber the believers by a large percent.
The 70th week of Daniel ch 9 is to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ and to prepare the Jews to receive the promised savior, which they rejected at the first advent. We are currently living in what the Bible calls “the times of the gentiles”. The tribulation period, when it starts will be the last 7 years of this period, it will also feature the reign of the antichrist.
So the question is why would there be a time where Jehovah would bring the Jews to a knowledge of Christ of whom they could receive at any time, even today? The reason is they, like most of the gentiles are dead in sin, unwilling to know the God of the Bible. The reason Jehovah is going to restore the Jews is for His Holy Name’s sake and His witness amongst the nations, because He made the promise and intends to keep it.
Paul tells us in 1 Thess ch 4 vs 13 that he does not want us to be ignorant of these things, that is, the end of this age and how it relates to those who have already died in Christ. And yet how many of the body of believers are just that and proud of it?
While it is my personal conviction that the rapture is pre-trib, that time (the tribulation) will still be one of great trouble, it’s referred to as the “time of Jacobs trouble”, will not a fun experience.
Having said all this in my judgement the more important theological question to ask is not relating to the rapture of the church but what exactly is the New Covenant, who is it made with and what are the terms. Point out the actual terms of the New Covenant as recorded in the Scriptures and observe the emotional reaction that follows...
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING
by Dr. Thomas Ice
or
https://www.pre-trib.org/pretribfiles/pdfs/Ice-DifferencesBetweenTheRapt.pdf
Ask any Catholic/Orthodox/Miaphysite/Nestorian/non-Calvinist Protestant about penal substitution. That’s where the real fun begins!
And you also.
That’s just ignorant. Literacy does equate with biblical literacy. There are more Bibles around now than ever before and people in general— Including Catholics and Protestants— are more ignorant of the Bible than ever.
Giants of biblical scholarship like Jerome, Augustine, and Aquinas (to name just a few) dispel the notion that there was never any serious biblical interpretation and development of understanding until widespread literacy.
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