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For other meanings, see Rapture (disambiguation).
Jan Luyken's illustration of the Rapture described in Matthew 24:40, from the Bowyer Bible.
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In Christian eschatology, the Rapture is a reference to "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thess 4:17, when, in the End Times, the Christians of the world will be gathered together in the air to meet Jesus Christ.[1] Rapture is used in at least two senses, in the sense of pre-tribulation views in which a group of people will be "left behind" and as a synonym for the Resurrection generally.[2][3][4][5]

There are many views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return (including whether it will occur in one event or two), and various views regarding the destination of the aerial gathering described in 1 Thessalonians 4.

Etymology

"Rapture" is an English noun derived from the Latin verb rapiō, with a literal meaning of "I catch up" "or "I snatch" (from the infinitive form of the verb rapere, "to catch up"; "rapture" is also cognate to the English words "rapids", "raptor", "ravish", and "rape").

Greek

The Koine Greek text of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the verb form ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpagēsometha), which means "we shall be caught up" or "taken away", with the connotation that this is a sudden event. The dictionary form of this Greek verb is harpazō (ἁρπάζω).[6]

Latin

The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα as rapiemur,[7] meaning "to catch up" or "take away".[8]

English Bible versions

English versions of the Bible have translated rapiemur in various ways:

Supporting scriptures (KJV)

  • John 11:25-26, (Jesus, concerning the resurrection), "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
  • 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:9, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."
  • Nahum 1:2b,"...the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies."
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:7, (concerning appearance of the anti-Christ and church removal), "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
  • Daniel 12:1b, (concerning time of trouble or tribulation), "..at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
  • Revelation 3:10, (Jesus, concerning the Church at Philadelphia), "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
  • Matthew 24:39-41, (Jesus, concerning questions about the end and sign of His coming compared to Noah and flood), "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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."
  • Luke 21:36, (Jesus, concerning the end time events and being spiritual minded to see them), "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17 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.

Doctrinal history

The concept of the Rapture, in connection with premillennialism, was expressed by the 17th-century American Puritan father and son Increase and Cotton Mather. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on the Earth, and then the millennium.[12][13] The term Rapture was used by Philip Doddridge[14] and John Gill[15] in their New Testament commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on the Earth and Jesus' Second Coming.

There exists at least one 18th century and two 19th century pre-Tribulation references: in an essay published in 1788 in Philadelphia by the Baptist Morgan Edwards which articulated the concept of a pre-Tribulation Rapture,[16] in the writings of Catholic priest Emmanuel Lacunza in 1812,[17] and by John Nelson Darby in 1827.[18] However, both the book published in 1788 and the writings of Lacunza have opposing views regarding their interpretations. Emmanuel Lacunza (1731–1801), a Jesuit priest, (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra) wrote an apocalyptic work entitled La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad (The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty). The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. In 1827, it was translated into English by the Scottish minister Edward Irving.[citation needed]

Dr. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1813-1875), a prominent English theologian and biblical scholar, wrote a pamphlet in 1866 tracing the concept of the Rapture through the works of John Darby back to Edward Irving.[19]

Although not using the term "Rapture", the idea was more fully developed by Edward Irving (1792–1834). In 1825 Matthew Henry used the term in his commentary of 1 Thessalonians 4.[20][full citation needed] Irving directed his attention to the study of prophecy and eventually accepted the one-man Antichrist idea of James Henthorn Todd, Samuel Roffey Maitland, Robert Bellarmine, and Francisco Ribera, yet he went a step further. Irving began to teach the idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret Rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. According to Irving, “There are three gatherings: – First, of the first-fruits of the harvest, the wise virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth; next, the abundant harvest gathered afterwards by God; and lastly, the assembling of the wicked for punishment.”[21]

John Nelson Darby, considered by many classical dispensationalists[by whom?] to be the father of dispensationalism, first proposed and popularized the pre-Tribulation Rapture in 1827.[22] This view was accepted among many other Plymouth Brethren movements in England. Darby and other prominent Brethren were part of the Brethren Movement which impacted American Christianity, especially with movements and teachings associated with Christian eschatology and fundamentalism, primarily through their writings. Influences included the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the Niagara Bible Conference. These conferences, which were initially inclusive of historicist and futurist premillennialism, led to an increasing acceptance of futurist premillennial views and the pre-Tribulation Rapture especially among Presbyterian, Baptist and Congregational members.[23] Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the pre-Tribulation Rapture, including William Eugene Blackstone's book Jesus is Coming published in 1878[24] and which sold more than 1.3 million copies and the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909 and 1919 and revised in 1967.[full citation needed]

The early original Christian church,[25] as well as the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches,[26] the Anglican Communion and many Protestant Calvinist denominations, have no tradition of a preliminary return of Christ and reject the doctrine. Some[which?] also reject it because they interpret prophetic scriptures in either an amillennial or postmillennial fashion.

Some proponents of a preliminary Rapture believe the doctrine of amillennialism originated with Alexandrian scholars such as Clement and Origen[27] and later became Catholic dogma through Augustine.[28] Thus[citation needed] the church until then held to premillennial views, which see an impending apocalypse from which the church will be rescued after being Raptured by the Lord. This is even extrapolated by some[which?] to mean that the early church espoused pre-Tribulationism.[citation needed]

Some[who?] pre-Tribulation proponents maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the "pre-Tribulation" Rapture is from a 7th-century tract known as the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem the Syrian, which says, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the Tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."[29][30] However, the interpretation of this writing as supporting a pre-Tribulation Rapture is debated.[citation needed][31]

The rise in belief in the "pre-Tribulation" Rapture is often wrongly attributed to a 15-year old Scottish-Irish girl named Margaret McDonald (a follower of Edward Irving), who in 1830 had a vision of the end times which describes a post-Tribulation view of the Rapture that was first published in 1840. It was published again in 1861, but two important passages demonstrating a post-Tribulation view were removed to encourage confusion concerning the timing of the Rapture. The two removed segments were, "This is the fiery trial which is to try us. - It will be for the purging and purifying of the real members of the body of Jesus" and "The trial of the Church is from Antichrist. It is by being filled with the Spirit that we shall be kept".[32]

In 1957, John Walvoord, a theologian at Dallas Theological Seminary, authored a book, The Rapture Question,[full citation needed] that gave theological support to the pre-Tribulation Rapture; this book eventually sold over 65,000 copies. In 1958, J. Dwight Pentecost authored another book supporting the pre-Tribulation Rapture, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology[full citation needed], which sold 215,000 copies.

During the 1970s, belief in the Rapture became popular in wider circles, in part due to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth, which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies, and the movie A Thief in the Night, which based its title on the scriptural reference 1 Thessalonians 5:2.[33] Lindsey proclaimed that the Rapture was imminent, based on world conditions at the time. The Cold War figured prominently in his predictions of impending Armageddon. Other aspects of 1970s global politics were seen as having been predicted in the Bible. Lindsey suggested, for example, that the seven-headed beast with ten horns, cited in the Book of Revelation, was the European Economic Community, a forebear of the European Union, which between 1981 and 1986 had ten member states; it now has 27 member states.

In 1995, the doctrine of the pre-Tribulation Rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series of books, which sold tens of millions of copies and were made into several movies.

The doctrine of the Rapture continues to be an important component of American fundamentalist Christian eschatology.[citation needed]

Views

One event or two

  1. Some Dispensationalist Premillennialists (including many Evangelicals) hold the return of Christ to be two distinct events, or one Second Coming in two stages. 1 Thessalonians 4:15–7 is seen to be a description of a preliminary event to the return described in Matthew 24:29–31. Although both describe a return of Jesus, these are seen to be separated in time by more than a brief period. The first event may or may not be seen (which is not a primary issue), and is called the Rapture, when the saved are to be 'caught up,' from whence the term "Rapture" is taken. The "Second Coming" is a public event, wherein Christ's presence is prophesied to be clearly seen by all, as he returns to end a battle staged at Armageddon, though possibly fought at the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The majority of Dispensationalists hold that the first event precedes the period of Tribulation, even if not immediately (see chart for additional Dispensationalist timing views);
  2. Amillennialists deny the interpretation of a literal 1,000-year rule of Christ, and as such Amillennialism does not necessarily imply much difference between itself and other forms of millennialism besides that denial. However, there is considerable overlap in the beliefs of Amillenialists (including most Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans), Postmillennialists (including Presbyterians), and Historic Premillennialists (including some Calvinistic Baptists, among others) with those who hold that the return of Christ will be a single, public event. Those who identify the Rapture with the Second Coming are likely to emphasize mutual similarities between passages of scripture where clouds, angels or the archangel, resurrection, and gathering are mentioned. Although some (particularly some Amillennialists) may take the Rapture to be figurative, rather than literal, these three groups are likely to maintain that the passages regarding the return of Christ describe a single event. Some also claim that the "word of the Lord" cited by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–7 is the Olivet Discourse which Matthew separately describes in Matthew 24:29-31. Although the doctrinal relationship between the Rapture and the Second Coming is the same in these three groups, Historic Premillennialists are more likely to use the term "Rapture" to clarify their position in distinction from Dispensationalists.

Destination

  1. Dispensationalists see the immediate destination of the Raptured Christians as being Heaven, with an eventual return to Earth. Roman Catholic commentators, such as Walter Drum (1912), identify the destination of the 1 Thessalonians 4:17 gathering as Heaven.[34]
  2. While Anglicans have many views in all areas of theology, some Anglican commentators, such as N. T. Wright, identify the destination as a specific place on Earth.[35][36] Often the destination identified is Jerusalem.[37] This interpretation may sometimes be connected to Christian environmentalist concerns.[38]

Timing

Comparison of Christian Tribulation views

In the amillennial and postmillennial views, as well as in the post-Tribulation premillennial position, there are no distinctions in the timing of the Rapture. These views regard the Rapture, as it is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17, as being either identical to the Second Coming of Jesus as described in Matthew 24:29–31, or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth. Within premillennialism, the pre-Tribulation position is the predominant view that distinguishes between the Rapture and Second Coming as two events. There are also two minor positions within premillennialism that differ with regard to the timing of the Rapture, the mid-Tribulation view and the partial-Rapture view.[39]

Pretribulation

The pretribulation position advocates that the Rapture will occur before the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period, while the Second Coming will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period. Pre-Tribulationists often describe the Rapture as Jesus coming for the church and the Second Coming as Jesus coming with the church. Pre-Tribulation educators and preachers include J. Dwight Pentecost, Tim LaHaye, J. Vernon McGee, Perry Stone, Chuck Smith, Chuck Missler, Jack Van Impe, Grant Jeffrey, Thomas Ice, David Reagan, and David Jeremiah.[40] While many pre-Tribulationists are also dispensationalists, not all pre-Tribulationists are dispensationalists.[41]

Midtribulation

The mid-Tribulation position espouses that the Rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the Tribulation period or Daniel's 70th Week. But since the Bible only uses "Tribulation" to refer to the second half of Daniel's 70th week, from a midtribulationist's point of view he is a pretribulationist. The Tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Mid-Tribulationists hold that the saints will go through the first period (Beginning of Travail, which is not "the Tribulation"), but will be Raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's wrath in the second half of what is popularly called the Tribulation. Mid-Tribulationists appeal to Daniel 7:25 which says the saints will be given over to Tribulation for "time, times, and half a time," - interpreted to mean 3.5 years. At the halfway point of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will commit the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple (to be built on what is now called the Temple Mount, see Third Temple). Mid-Tribulationist teachers include Harold Ockenga, James O. Buswell (a reformed, Calvinistic Presbyterian), and Norman Harrison.[42] This position is a minority view among premillennialists.[43]

Prewrath

Main article: Prewrath

The prewrath Rapture view also places the Rapture at some point during the Tribulation period before the Second Coming. This view holds that the Tribulation of the church begins toward the latter part of the seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This latter half of the seven-year period is defined as the great Tribulation, although the exact duration is not known. References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence that this Tribulation will be cut short by the coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of the Rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after the sixth seal is opened and the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood.[44] However, by this point many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the Antichrist. After the Rapture will come God's seventh-seal wrath of trumpets and bowls (a.k.a. "the Day of the Lord"). The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of the seven years.[45] Marvin Rosenthal, author of The Prewrath Rapture of the Church, is a primary proponent for the prewrath Rapture view.[citation needed] His belief is founded on the work of Robert D. Van Kampen (1938–1999); his books "The Sign", "The Rapture Question Answered" and "The Fourth Reich" detail his pre-wrath Rapture doctrine.

Partial

The partial-Rapture view holds to multiple Raptures of believers at the beginning of, and during, the seven-year Tribulation period.[46] The term "partial" refers to the idea that only some Christians will be Raptured at a time. This is in contrast to other Rapture views, which hold that all Christians would be Raptured in a single event. The criteria for who would be Raptured are those who will be faithful and watchful. In this view, the Rapture is in essence a reward to the faithful.[47] The writers for this view interpret certain eschatology parables as revealing the partial Rapture, such as the parable of the ten virgins. All ten virgins are seen as genuine believers, in which the five who were prepared are taken while the others are left. Advocates for this view include Robert Govett (1813–1901) and George Lang.[48]

Posttribulation

Main article: Post Tribulation Rapture

The posttribulation position places the Rapture at the end of the Tribulation period. Post-Tribulation writers define the Tribulation period in a generic sense as the entire present age, or in a specific sense of a period of time preceding the Second Coming of Christ.[49] The emphasis in this view is that the church will undergo the Tribulation — even though the church will be spared the wrath of God.[50] Matthew 24:29–31; "Immediately after the Tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect...", is cited as a foundational scripture for this view. Post-Tribulationists perceive the Rapture as occurring simultaneously with the Second Coming of Christ. Upon Jesus' return, believers will meet him in the air and will then accompany him in his return to the Earth. Authors and teachers who support the post-Tribulational view include Pat Robertson, Walter R. Martin, John Piper, George E. Ladd,[51] Robert H. Gundry,[52] and Douglas Moo.

Date

File:1992 Rapture.jpg
1992 poster predicting the Rapture in Kendall Sq., Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Since the origin of the concept, many believers in the Rapture of the church have made predictions regarding the date of the event. The primary scripture reference cited against this position is Matthew 24:36, where Jesus is quoted as saying; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (RSV).

Any individual or religious group that has dogmatically predicted the day of the Rapture, a practise referred to as "date setting", has been thoroughly embarrassed and discredited, as the predicted date of fulfillment has invariably come and gone without event.[53][54] Some of these individuals and groups have offered excuses and "corrected" target dates, while others have simply released a reinterpretation of the meaning of the scripture to fit their current predicament, and then explained that although the prediction appeared to have not come true, in reality it had been completely accurate and fulfilled, albeit in a different way than many had expected.

Conversely, many of those who believe that the precise date of the Rapture cannot be known, do affirm that the specific time frame that immediately precedes the Rapture event can be known. This time frame is often referred to as "the season". The primary section of scripture cited for this position is Matthew 24:32-35; where Jesus is quoted teaching the parable of the fig tree, which is proposed as the key that unlocks the understanding of the general timing of the Rapture, as well as the surrounding prophecies listed in the sections of scripture that precede and follow this parable.

Some notable Rapture predictions include the following:

  • 1844 - William Miller predicted that Christ would return between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844, then revised his prediction, claiming to have miscalculated Scripture, to October 22, 1844. The realization that the predictions were incorrect resulted in a Great Disappointment. Miller's theology gave rise to the Advent movement. The Baha'is believe that Christ did return as Miller predicted in 1844, with the advent of The Báb, and numerous Miller-like prophetic predictions from many religions are given in William Sears' book, Thief in The Night.[55]
  • 1914[56], 1918[57], 1925[58], 1942[59] - Various dates predicted for the Rapture by the Jehovah's Witnesses.
  • 1981 - Chuck Smith predicted that Jesus would probably return by 1981.[60]
  • 1988 - Publication of 88 Reasons why the Rapture is in 1988, by Edgar C. Whisenant.
  • 1989 - Publication of The final shout: Rapture report 1989, by Edgar Whisenant. This author made further predictions of the Rapture for 1992, 1995, and other years.
  • 1992 - A Korean group, "Mission for the Coming Days", predicted October 28, 1992 as being the date of the Rapture.[61]
  • 1993 - Seven years before the year 2000; the Rapture would have to start to allow for seven years of the Tribulation before the Return in 2000. Multiple predictions.
  • 1994 - Pastor John Hinkle of Christ Church in Los Angeles predicted that the Rapture would occur on June 9, 1994. Radio evangelist Harold Camping predicted September 6, 1994.[62]
  • 2011 - Harold Camping's revised prediction had May 21, 2011 as the date of the Rapture.[63][64] After this prediction proved inaccurate, he claimed that a non-visible "spiritual judgment" had taken place, and that the physical Rapture would occur on October 21, 2011.[65]
  • 2060 - Sir Isaac Newton proposed, based upon his calculations using figures from the Book of Daniel, that the Apocalypse could happen no earlier than 2060.[66][67]

Cultural references

Television

  • In "Thank God, It's Doomsday", episode 354 of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson predicts the Rapture to occur within the week. Homer gets the date wrong and ends up being the only person taken up. Everything is then reversed after Homer vandalizes Heaven.
  • In the American Dad episode "Rapture's Delight", the Rapture occurs and Stan Smith helps Christ with his final battle with the Antichrist.
  • In the Supernatural episode "The Rapture", the angel Castiel is taken back to Heaven by his fellow angels to be "reeducated", leaving his vessel Jimmy and the Winchester brothers behind.

Movies

The first feature-length cineamtic treatment of the Rapture was the 1972 film A Thief in the Night. That film was followed by three sequels and a novel, and set up the genre of the Rapture film. With only a few exceptions, the genre died out by the end of the 1970s, only to resurface again in the 1990s with such films as Apocalypse, Revelation, The Rapture, Left Behind: The Movie, and The Omega Code. Cloud Ten Pictures specializes in making end-time films. The 2009 film Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, has thematic elements that parallel the Rapture, although the term "Rapture" is not used.

Books

  • In 1950, the novel Raptured by Ernest Angley was published, based on the accounts foretold in the books of Daniel and Revelation. The novel focuses on a man whose mother is Raptured along with other Christians, while he is left behind in the Tribulation period.[68]
  • Robert Heinlein's 1984 book Job: A Comedy of Justice describes the troubles of a Christian man called Alex, who is moved from parallel world to parallel world, accompanied by his lover Margrethe. Halfway through the book, the Rapture occurs and Alex is taken up, but Margrethe is left behind because she is a pagan. The rest of the book describes Alex's attempts to bypass the rules and save his true love.
  • Jane Rogers' 1991 novel Mr Wroe's Virgins features a millenarian cult centered on Mr Wroe, who predicts the imminent return of Christ. It was adapted for television in 1993, starring Kathy Burke.
  • In 1995, Left Behind was published. The Rapture is a major component of the premise of the book and its various spin-offs. The plot of the book was used as a basis for a movie series and a video game series.
  • In Mark E. Rogers' book The Dead, published in 2001, those chosen for salvation disappear in a blinding flash of light. It is possible for people who have been left behind to redeem themselves in the eyes of God; those who do are immediately Raptured. Sacrificing oneself to help others is one way of being redeemed. Some characters are actually under attack by reanimated corpses, or by Legion himself, at the time of their Rapture. The blinding flash of light totally disorients the corpses who witness it, rendering them incapable of any action at all for a short time. The humans are literally "caught up" "in an instant" by God.
  • Rapture by Phillip W. Simpson will be published in October 2011 by Pear Jam Books. This is a dystopian young adult novel which follows Sam, a half-demon teenage boy as he battles against demons in a post-Rapture world.

Music

  • At the height of the Jesus Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Rapture figured prominently in popular songs by secular artists, such as "Are You Ready?" by Pacific Gas & Electric (#14 in August 1970). Also at that time, the song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" was written and performed by Larry Norman, one of the founders of the nascent "Jesus Rock" movement in the early 70s. Other examples of apocalyptic themes like the Rapture, the Antichrist, Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ in Larry Norman's writing are "U.F.O." from the 1976 album In Another Land, "Six Sixty Six" from the same album and "Messiah" from Stop This Flight.
  • Examples of apocalyptic themes in Bob Dylan's writing are "When He Returns", from the 1979 album Slow Train Coming and — quoting 1 Corinthians 15:49–55 —Ye Shall Be Changed, released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
  • Other songs about the Christian end times include "Goin' by the Book," "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash, from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in 2002, and "Tribulation" by Charlie Daniels. Noel Gallagher refers to the Rapture twice on the Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, first in "The Turning" ("Then come on, when the Rapture takes me, Will you be by my side?") and also on the following track "Waiting For The Rapture."
  • American rock band Avenged Sevenfold released a song called "To End the Rapture" on their first album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, also a biblical reference in relation to the Rapture.
  • Christian band Phatfish wrote the song "There Is A Day", which does not mention the Rapture specifically but rather the biblical scripture about "meeting Him in the Air". The song is the band's most popular and has appeared on compilation and live albums including Worship At The Abbey, Stoneleigh and Spring Harvest.
  • In the Canadian band Silverstein's song "Dancing on My Grave", the chorus consists of "And now your praying for your Rapture, Your ego is craving the attention of cowards. You'll be there dancing on my grave."
  • The Athens, Georgia-based band Mama's Love has a song titled "After the Rapture." The chorus reads, "After the Rapture, comes a pretty disaster, nobody cares to see...."
  • FFH's popular song "Fly Away" asks what it will be like when the Rapture occurs.
  • Crystal Lewis' song "People Get Ready Jesus Is Coming."
  • Sonic Youth's song "Do You Believe in Rapture?", on their album Rather Ripped
  • Siouxsie And The Banshees' song "The Rapture", from their 1995 album of the same name, lyrically describes the supposed experience of being Raptured.
  • Antony and the Johnsons' song "Rapture", on their 1998 self-titled debut album.

Internet

On August 2, 2001, humorist Elroy Willis posted a Usenet article titled "Mistaken Rapture Kills Arkansas Woman". This fictional, satirical story about a woman who causes a traffic accident and is killed when she believes the Rapture has started, circulated widely on the Internet and was believed by many people to be a description of an actual incident. Elements of the story appeared in an episode of the HBO television drama Six Feet Under, and a slightly modified version of the story was reprinted in the US tabloid newspaper Weekly World News. The story continues to circulate by electronic mail as a chain letter.[69]

Video games

  • In the 2007 video game BioShock, the story takes place in a destroyed utopian underwater city called Rapture. The city was to house the best and brightest people on Earth in a completely free society; it is called Rapture because these people were chosen by the city's founder and disappeared to live in his utopia, which is supposed to mirror God calling his faithful to Heaven.
  • The Left Behind series of games takes place after the Rapture.
  • In the video game Super Meat Boy, a chapter is called The Rapture, but is caused by an explosion from Hell.
  • In the video game Final Fantasy VIII, one of the characters, Selphie, has a secret limit break called Rapture.
  • The video game Darksiders is based around the coming of the Rapture, and follows the first Horseman of the Apocalypse, War.

See also

References

  1. ^ 1 Thess 4:16–4:17
  2. ^ Michael D. Guinan, "Raptured or Not? A Catholic Understanding", Catholic Update, October 2005, http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1005.asp ("But what do we mean by 'the Rapture'? The word can be used in different ways. Spiritual writers have used it for mystical union with God, or our final sharing in God’s heavenly life. This is not the sense we are using it in here; we are using it in a much more specific way. For many American fundamentalist Christians, the Rapture forms part of the scenario of events that will happen at the end of the world....[T]he more common view is [the pre-tribulation view].") (Roman Catholic commentary).
  3. ^ "Feeling Left Behind?", Synaxis, http://www.synaxis.org/catechist/rapture.html ("Rapture is a popular term among some Protestant sects for the raising of the faithful from the dead....The belief in rapture tends to be what is called 'pre-tribulation'.") (Eastern Orthodox commentary).
  4. ^ Charles Hawkins, "The Rapture", Ask the Priest, August 2, 2005, http://www.askthepriest.org/askthepriest/2005/08/the_rapture.html (Anglican commentary)
  5. ^ Comment of Jon Edwards ("[T]he word 'rapture' can be found before 1830. But before 1830 it always referred to a POST-TRIB rapture which was PART of the final Second Coming of Matt. 24. What was new in 1830 was a PRE-TRIB rapture that was totally disconnected from the final Second Coming.").
  6. ^ ἁρπάζω is root of strongs G726 and has the following meanings: (1) to seize, carry off by force; (2) to seize on, claim for one's self eagerly; (3) to snatch out or take away.
  7. ^ 1 Thessalonians 4:17. deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus (Latin Vulgate).
  8. ^ Clouse, R.G. (1984). Elwell, Walter A. (ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. p. 908. ISBN 0801034132.
  9. ^ 1Thess 4:16 "Afterward we that lyuen, that ben left, schulen be rauyschid togidere with hem in cloudis, metinge Crist `in to the eir; and so euere more we schulen be with the Lord."
  10. ^ Bishop's Bible 17 "Than we which lyue, which remaine, shalbe caught vp together with them in the cloudes, to meete the Lorde in the ayre: And so shall we euer be with the Lorde."
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Kyle, Richard G (1998). The Last Days Are Here Again: A History of the End Times. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0801058097.
  13. ^ Boyer, Paul (1992). When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-674-95128-0.
  14. ^ Doddridge, Philip (1738). Practical reflections on the character and translation of Enoch. Northampton : Printed by W. Dicey and sold by ...R. Hett ... London, J. Smith in Daventry, Caleb Ratten in Harborough, J. Ratten in Coventry, J. Cook in Uppingham, Tho. Warren in Birmingham, and Matt. Dagnall in Aylesbury. OCLC 30557054. Retrieved 17 May 2011. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |editorn-first= and |editorn-last= (help)
  15. ^ Gill, John (1748). An exposition of the Revelation of St. John the divine. London: Printed for John Ward. OCLC 49243272. Retrieved 17 Ma7 2011. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |editorn-first= and |editorn-last= (help)
  16. ^ Marotta, Frank (1995). Morgan Edwards: An Eighteenth Century Pretribulationist. Morganville, NJ: Present Truth Publishers. ISBN 978-0964003781.
  17. ^ Hommel, Jason. "The Jesuits and the Rapture: Francisco Ribera & Emmanuel Lacunza". Retrieved 22 January 2011.[self-published source?]
  18. ^ Strandberg, Todd. "Margaret MacDonald Who?". Rapture Ready. Retrieved 22 January 2011. Darby reported that he discovered the rapture teaching in 1827[self-published source?]
  19. ^ Prideaux Tregelles, Samuel (1866). The hope of Christ's second coming: how is it taught in Scripture, and why?. London: Samuel Bagster. Reprint: Prideaux Tregelles, Samuel (2006). The hope of Christ's second coming: how is it taught in Scripture, and why?. Milesburg, PA: Strong Tower. ISBN 978-0977288304.
  20. ^ Oliphant, Margaret (1862). The life of Edward Irving, minister of the National Scotch Church, London. Vol. First volume. London: Hurst and Blackett. p. 220–223. Retrieved 23 January 2011. Henceforward the gorgeous and cloudy vistas of the Apocalypse became a legible part of the future to his fervent eyes
  21. ^ Miller, Edward (1878). The history and doctrines of Irvingism. Vol. Vol II. London: Kegan Paul. p. 8. Retrieved 23 January 2011. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  22. ^ Bray, John L (1992). The origin of the pre-tribulation rapture teaching. Lakeland, FL: John L. Bray Ministry. pp. 24–25.[self-published source?]
  23. ^ Blaising, Craig A; Bock, Darrell L (1993). Progressive Dispensationalism. Wheaton, IL: Bridgepoint. p. 11. ISBN 978-1564761385.
  24. ^ Blackstone, William E. (1908) [1878]. Jesus is coming (Third ed.). Chicago: F. H. Revell. OCLC 951778. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  25. ^ See Justin Hill, "No End to End-time Predictions", The Free Press May 21, 2001, http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view.bg?articleid=1339533&format=text ("While the belief in Judgment Day is as old as the Scriptures, Rapture is a 19th century idea.")
  26. ^ "About the Supposed Rapture". Greek Orthodox Christian Church of Greater Omaha Nebraska. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  27. ^ Lindsey, Hal (1989). The Road to Holocaust. London: Bantam. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-553-057249.
  28. ^ Keeley, Robin (1982). Eerdmans’ Handbook to Christian Belief. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's. p. 415. ISBN 978-0802835772.
  29. ^ Missler, Chuck (1995). "Byzantine Text Discovery: Ephraem the Syrian". Koinonia House. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  30. ^ Hommel, Jason. "A Sermon by Pseudo-Ephraem". Retrieved 23 January 2011.[self-published source?]
  31. ^ See Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem for a detailed explanation of the text and the controversy.
  32. ^ Hommel, Jason. "Margaret MacDonald's Vision". Retrieved 23 January 2011. Quotes the account in The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets In the Catholic Apostolic Church (1861).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)[self-published source?]
  33. ^ Balnius, Nicole. "Hal Lindsey". Rapture Ready. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  34. ^ Drum, W. (1912). Epistles to the Thessalonians. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 12, 2010 from New Advent
  35. ^ Wright, NT (2008), Surprised by hope: rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the..., When Paul speaks of 'meeting' the Lord 'in the air,' the point is precisely not—as in the popular rapture theology—that the saved believers would then stay up in the air somewhere, The point is that, having gone out to meet their returning Lord, they will escort him royally into his domain, that is, back to the place they have come from. Even when we realize that this is highly charged metaphor, not literal description, the meaning is the same as in the parallel in Philippians 3:20. Being citizens of heaven, as the Philippians would know, doesn't mean that one is expecting go back to the mother city but rather means that one is expecting the emperor to come from the mother city to give the colony its full dignity, to rescue it if need he, to subdue local enemies and put everything to rights.
  36. ^ Patrick Holding, Ed James, Defending the Resurrection, p. 25.
  37. ^ Rossing, Barbara R (2004), The rapture exposed: the message of hope in the book of Revelation, We are not Raptured off the earth, nor is God. No, God has come to live in the world through Jesus. God created the world, God loves the world, and God will never leave the world behind!
  38. ^ Bouma-Prediger, Steven (2001), For the beauty of the earth: a Christian vision for creation care, Baker Academic.
  39. ^ Clouse, R.G. (1984). Elwell, Walter A. (ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. p. 910. ISBN 0801034132.
  40. ^ Lindsey, Hal: The Rapture, Bantam Books (1983), p. 25
  41. ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1977). Contemporary Options in Eschatology. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801032628. page 125
  42. ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1977). Contemporary Options in Eschatology. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801032628. page 164
  43. ^ Hoekema, Anthony A. (1979). The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. p. 164. ISBN 0853646244.
  44. ^ Prewrath Consortium: Prewrath Explained: Timeline
  45. ^ Rosenthal, Marv: "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church: Is it Biblical?", Regular Baptist Press (1991)
  46. ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1998). A Basic Guide to Eschatology. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801058368. page 169
  47. ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1977). Contemporary Options in Eschatology. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801032628. page 172
  48. ^ Walvoord, John F. (1979). The Rapture Question. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House. ISBN 0310341515.
  49. ^ Walvoord, John F. (1979). The Rapture Question. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House. ISBN 0310341515. page 128
  50. ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1998). A Basic Guide to Eschatology. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801058368. page 152
  51. ^ Ladd, George Eldon (1956). The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0802811116.
  52. ^ Gundry, Robert Horton (1973). The Church and the Tribulation. Grand Rapids, Mich., Zondervan: Zondervan.
  53. ^ Strandberg, Todd. "The Date Setters Diary". Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  54. ^ Nelson, Chris (22 June 2003). "A Brief History of the Apocalypse". Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  55. ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/085398008X
  56. ^ Charles Taze Russell and Nelson H. Barbour, The Three Worlds (1907) as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pages 21-22.
  57. ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 485, 258, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 206-211.
  58. ^ The Way to Paradise booklet, Watch Tower Society, 1924, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 230-232.
  59. ^ The Watchtower, Sep. 15, 1941, p. 288
  60. ^ Smith, Chuck (1978). Future Survival. The Word for Today. p. 17. ISBN 0893370118.
  61. ^ "The World Did Not End Yesterday". Boston Globe (Associated Press). 29 October 1992.
  62. ^ Nelson, Chris (18 June 2002). "A Brief History of the Apocalypse; 1971 - 1997: Millennial Madness". Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  63. ^ "We are Almost There". Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  64. ^ Ravitz, Jessica (2011-03-06). "Road trip to the end of the world". CNN. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  65. ^ http://laist.com/2011/05/24/apocalypse_not_quite_now_camping_pi.php LAist, 24 May 2011
  66. ^ This is London Ltd. (22 August 2007). "The world will end in 2060, according to Newton". Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  67. ^ Stephen D. Snobelen. "Isaac Newton and Apocalypse Now". Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  68. ^ ISBN 0963677225
  69. ^ Woman Dies in Premature Rapture - Netlore Archive
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