Can I get an explanation of "The Rapture".

[chicagojoe]

Is this actually in the Christian bible, or is it something only certain sects believe in? Thank You.

[TaleWgnDg]

1. It's invented. Nope, taint in the bible.

Do a google: "The Rapture" . . .

this site comes back: http://www.catholic.com/library/Rapture.asp
(Roman Catholic Church)

try some other websites, for example, the Village Voice (online) at http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0420,perlstein,53582,1.html

have fun!! heh.

but if you're REALLY serious, try this website, I promise it's credible and informative w/o b.s. . . . http://www.religioustolerance.org/rapture.htm

.

[Merlot]

2. Your kidding?

I didn't know that it was invented. They talk about it like it was in the bible. I thought it had something to do with armageddon?

[arcane1]

9. non-biblical, invented

just like Hell

[rsmith6621]

13. "It's invented. Nope, taint in the bible. n/t"..........WRONGoooo

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=60&chapter=2&version=31


5Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work;
**************
but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.<<<<<<<<<<<-----Right here it is......This is translated to mearn the Rapture
***********
8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9

As I have said before here on the forum you can believe what you want and what you dont want, you are free to believe what you want. It seems to me that many left wingers want to make religion/spiritual beliefs a dividing point and it is almost like those who are Blue State in political thinking are somehow stained if they have a solid religious belief.......I am a Christian with a liberal attitude.

What make me ill most everytime I visit here is post that state Christians are just always wrong....are a bunch of loonies.....the Bible is just a book of Fables. If we LEFTIES are going to take back the WH in 2008 we are going to have to embrace everyone who shares same political thinking and cast aside religious belief that is why the REPs won this time.....they did not canabilize their own.

The Left want seperation of State from Religion well this is a good place to start.

[Az]

19. It is better to say it is interpretted

Go to a bible search engine and do a search on the word Rapture. You will not find it. Instead what you will find is text that some believe indicates the events they now describe as the rapture. Others believe it was merely the writing of John bemoaning his current state of political affairs.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. The result of dreams by a...

Young girl in Scotland, back in the 1800's. Some clerics there knew a good thing when they heard it, picked up the ball and ran with it.

And no, it is not scripturally sound stuff.

[Petrushka]

10. Read Dave MacPherson's book, The Incredible Coverup . . .

. . . reports on the origins of the rapture theory--in 19th century Scotland.

[ret5hd]

4. probably not one that makes sense to a rational mnd...

but i'm sure some will try.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

5. There's an urban legend out there

that explains it and is very funny at the same time. You might try googling under "Arkansas Woman Killed in Mistaken Rapture" or some such.

[TaleWgnDg]

6. LOL . . . n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

25. Here's the story

which is, btw, untrue.

Supposedly, a man with a load of inflatable women sex toys had broken down on one of the three interstates here in Arkansas. For some reason, he'd inflated them with helium. When he opened the back door of his van to get some tools, or the spare tire, the sex toys escaped and started floating up.

A couple in a car were passing by when this happened. The woman, on seeing the ascending 'people', thought the Rapture had come and that she was being left behind. In a panic, she tried jumping out of the moon roof of the car, and was killed.

Why they always make these stupid things happen in Arkansas is beyond me. Sure, there are some rw crazies here, but there are also a sizable number of people practicing normal Christianity and all the other faiths, including Native American, Sufi, other Islam, Judasim, Hinduism, and Pagan.

[LearnedHand]

7. It's a belief among some Christian sects,

...based on some obscure biblical verses (I don't remember which ones), that Jesus will return at a certain imminent date and gather up a select number of Christians and take them up in the air to heaven to wait out the Tribulation (a period of darkness for the rest of those left on earth). People who believe in the raputure think that when Jesus appears in the sky, they will be yanked up into the sky with him -- no matter where they might be at the time. This is the origin of those bumper stickers, "In case of Rapture...."

Even among Christians who believe in the rapture, there is disagreememt about when it will happen and who will be taken. The interesting thing psychologically about belief in the rapture? People who believe THEY will be among the ones to go absolutely RELISH the idea that all those who "persecuted" Christians will suffer many, many years of torment and torture and death, thus getting their just comeuppance.

On edit: That Left Behind series chronicles the currently in-vogue belief about all this. However, I DO NOT recommend that you read the books. Their purpose, as stated by the authors, is to SCARE YOU into being saved (whatever that's supposed to mean). The stories are graphic and scary, and evangelicals have been using stories such as these to scare people for decades. They'll take you any way they can get you.

[tanyev]

8. Best book I've read so far on this...

The Rapture Exposed:
The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation

By Barbara R. Rossing
Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 2004, Hardback, 212pp., $24.00

Review by G. Richard Wheatcroft

During the 19 th century a new theology was conceived called “premillinarian dispensationalism.” John Nelson Darby, a British evangelical preacher, made a number of visits to the United States to promote what he called “dispensations,” that is, “intervals of time ordering God’s grand timetable for world events.”According to Darby, the Bible contains a schedule of events which will precede the end of history. The first event, coming before a millennium, will be the return of Jesus to ‘Rapture’ all true believers “out of the world into heaven.” Then, after seven years of global tribulation, Jesus will return a second time as a warrior to defeat the forces of evil at Armageddon and establish a reconstructed kingdom of Israel over which he will reign for a thousand years until the end of the world. Darby claimed that the foundation of the “dispensations” is Daniel 9:25-27, the Book of Revelation and other texts from the Hebrew and Christian Testaments.

Barbara Rossing, who teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, calls the ‘Rapture’ phenomenon a “destructive racket.” She writes that her book is for those who are concerned about the “simplistic” misinterpretation of the Biblical script by the “whole prophecy industry of Tim Le Haye, Hal Lindsey and others.” It is her conviction that dispensationalism must be challenged today “both because of its false theology and also because of its growing influence on public policy.” To counter this distortion and manipulation of Christian faith, she provides an interpretation of the Book of Revelation which provides “a vision of hope for God’s healing of the world.”
http://www.tcpc.org/resources/reviews/rapture_exposed.htm

I've mentioned this book so many times on DU, I feel obliged to state that I have never met Ms. Rossing and I have no personal stake in the book. It's fairly easy reading, it's not terribly long, and it concisely explains the difference between mainstream Christianity and the Rapture Racketeers.

[Old Mouse]

12. Thank you for this information

We armchair theologians are forever in debt to those who do the hard research!

[yinkaafrica]

16. That looks like a great book

I thought there were writings in the ancient Hebrew texts,
not in the Bible, that referred to the rapture.

[Done]

11. The rapture is based on two passages.

One passage says that we will meet Jesus in the clouds. The problem here is that this meeting with Jesus in the clouds is obviously not something that happens before the "tribulation", as the “rapture” claims.

The second passage is the one where Jesus talks about two men, or two women doing something “One is taken and the other left”. This passage could mean a lot of things, but it does not point to any “rapture”. The Bible never uses the word rapture. If there was such a large event as the “rapture”, one would think that the prophecies of the Bible would have made mention of it.

According to Revelation, those “know the truth” are only 144,000 while most of the world is deceived. If I’m an evangelical, how can I explain this since there are millions of evangelicals? Simple, there are only 144,000 who “know the truth” because most of evangelicals have been “raptured” away.

[yinkaafrica]

14. Now I know. So does this mean only 144,000 will be saved?

I never got the point of that 144,000.

[Done]

18. Do any of us really know what it means?

...or if it means anything. The 144,000 are gathered on "Mt Zion" and protected from all the horrible events. It doesn't say that they will be the only ones who go to Heaven.

[Hey Nineteen]

26. The Jehova's Witnesses are big on the 144G

I always figured it was a symbolic number (the Bible's full of them, especially Revelation). But the JW's love that number. Makes you wonder why there's a couple million of them... I guess most of them are going to hell with the rest of us. }( }( }(

[leanin_green]

35. If you would like a more scientific rational behind all of this. . .

try this site:

http://www.ascension2000.com

Or a more scriptural discussion:

http://www.antipasministries.com

In the Ascension2000 site there is some mind blowing mathmatical reasoning behind the number 144. It happens to be the speed of light ect. Start with the "Shift of Ages" writings and go from there. There's a wealth of truly significant knowledge here.

[Danocrat]

15. If I'm raptured

can I take my dog with me? I mean, are pets allowed?

[yinkaafrica]

17. I think Jack Impe says pets go to heaven as well.

Of course, he is the world's biggest liar.
Was it Will Rogers who said he wants to go where his dogs go.
I am with Will.

[Solafide]

21. If your Hindu you can be become your dog.

[Solafide]

20. Biblical reference to the rapture

I think this is the most direct Biblical reference to the rapture. It is translated “caught up together” in the NIV.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 – 5:2 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till 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 for ever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

[chicagojoe]

22. Thank You All For The Info !!!!

[lazarus]

23. decent film

starring the totally hot Mimi Rogers.

Oh, wait. :evilgrin:

[John Dark]

24. An amazing, challenging film...

...and a forgettable rap by Blondie. OK, the premillenarian dispensationalists, who actually take the Rapture seriously, will not appreciate this film. Imagine the reviews of it in their periodicals. It both shows the Christian conversion process from the point of view of the convertee... sincerely, without being snide or ironic about it... and then flips the whole thing on its head, questioning everything.

It had the dreams of a child setting off the whole apocalyptic phenomenon. Until I found this DU forum thread I hadn't known that the original thing got started that way too. Looks like the director Mike Tolkin did his homework on this topic.

For me, the most sinking feeling in the movie, in the jail cell scene, brought a feeling I dread. When you had been an enthusiastic new convert and went around telling skeptical people about it. Then much later, after you're in deep disillusion about it and looking for a way out... you meet one of those people who's now an enthusiastic new convert. Uh-oh...

Agreed, Mimi Rogers is truly hot, in an unconventional way.

[Hey Nineteen]

27. 'The Rapture' is a clue to how they think

The fundamentalists do this kind of thing a lot. They go through the Bible with a fine-toothed comb and cobble together a few convenient verses from vastly different parts of it, and voila, you've got Doctrine!!

They do this because 1)they think they take the Bible literally and 2)they read it with zero regard for historical or literary context. So a passage in the Old Testament book of Daniel can be matched up with another one from Revelation (written about 600 years later) as if they're part of the exact same narrative. And if any of us point this out, we're accused of not believing the Bible. Aaaarrrrgh!

[PsychoDad]

28. A good site

http://askelm.com/doctrine/d760201.htm A christian site explains where it started.

[shawn703]

29. Even though my church believes in the Rapture

I think it is a misinterpretation of the Bible. It is based on a passage in 1 Thessalonians where Paul writes that Christ will gather up his children and meet them in the clouds. Also in the book of Revelation the Church is not mentioned past the second chapter. I have read before that Paul was addressing concerns of Christians who thought that Christ would return in their lifetimes - but thought those who died before his return would be at a disadvantage. But Paul said those who die before His return would see the Savior along with those who are still on this earth.

[RUDUing2]

30. Catholic understanding of *the rapture*

this site explains it well

http://davidmacd.com/catholic/raptured_catholics.htm

Are Catholics into the Rapture?
I've been asked about the Catholic view on the Rapture. I guess we would have to ask “which rapture?” To my understanding, there are 3 major theories on the Rapture found in Evangelical circles. 1) Pre-Tribulation rapture 2) Mid-Tribulation Rapture 3) Post-Tribulation Rapture. There are also many variations on each of these theories and much debate among Protestant theologians. What many Evangelicals don't know is that the Pre-Tribulation, and Mid-Tribulation theories are less than 175 years old. (more on that below)

Catholics certainly believe that “we will be caught up in the air” (1 Thess 4:17) when the trumpet sounds. So Catholics do believe in the “Rapture” if one is talking about the third option - Post Tribulation Rapture (although they understand the 1000 years to mean “a long time” Rev. 20:2-3; 7). The term "rapture" is derived from the text of the Catholic Latin Vulgate that was written in 390 A.D. It comes from 1 Thess. 4:17—"we will be caught up," ).

Catholics find no solid scriptural evidence that there will be a two or three-stage return of Christ or that Jesus will come more than one more time. Nor do Catholics see any Biblical evidence as to why Christians should be “spared” the tribulation of the evil one. The Catholic Church feels that all Biblical evidence points to the contrary - that Christians will undergo great persecutions and tribulation. Catholics believe that history bears witness that the Church thrives under persecution.....(more at site)

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Rapture&id=8466
Too often, we forget that the concept of transition, or spiritual revolution, is one that has been a mainstay of the Christian faith for it's two thousand years of existence. The second Coming of Christ, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the New Heaven, the New Earth, the Millennium, and a return to an eternal state are basic doctrine in almost every Christian denomination. As is true with many other issues, there is a great divergence of thought regarding the biblical prophecies and the sequence in which the prophesied events will take place, but we can summarize by looking at the three predominant belief systems:

PREMILLENNIALISTS believe that the Second coming will precede the millennium.

AMILLENNIALISTS believe that when Christ returns, the Second Coming will immediately usher in the New Heaven and New Earth and the eternal state.

POSTMILLENNIALISTS believe that the world will get better and better as it becomes more Christianized through preaching the Gospel until it reaches a thousand years of a golden age, with Christ coming at the end of the period.

The question of whether to interpret prophetic Scripture literally or non-literally is the root of the controversy within the Church itself. Historically, the literal translation of biblical prophecy led to premillennialism. Non-literal interpretation led to amillennialism and has also tended to support the postmillennialism viewpoint. It is generally agreed by theologians and historians that the major division into these three belief systems are derived from differences in the theory and the application of "literal interpretation of prophecy."...(more at site)

[MellowOne]

31. It's Not in the Bible

When Jesus, Paul and John addressed the "return of Jesus", "Day of Judgement" and "Day of the Lord", they were warning the people of their time period of events to take place during their lifetimes. It was not meant for future generations.

The rapture has been used as a scare tactic to get submission into a religion.

[Tux]

33. Context

I consider most things in the Bible to be about and for the people of that time and not ours. Ceasar references is an example. It doesn't mean gov but Roman emperors of the day. Seems to me the Bible is mostly out of date and reflects what people thought at the time.

[mojaverose]

32. It Is In The Bible - But

Fundamentalist Christians interpret it as a physical occurance. Two people are in the fields, and one is taken. They think that one will physically disappear into heaven, while the other is left to wonder what happened.
I can say categorically that this is not true, because it happened to me. It's the same thing that happened to Paul on the road to Damascus, and impossible to describe using ordinary language.
The closest I can come is this: You are going about your regular business, doing what you usually do, not thinking about God at all - In my case it was Good Friday, and I was watching Charlton Heston part the Red Sea for the umteenth time. I was bored, and went looking for a book. - when, all of a sudden, the Truth Dawns. While physically you are in the same place, you are not seeing it because you are seeing what Really exists, the universe as God made it, and as it still is. Not only can't you see physical "reality", if anyone spoke to you you could not hear them.
This event causes a "Rapture", consisting of intense joy, tears of happiness, and falling to the ground in gratitude to God. It does Not take your body out of the physical realm. It can last any amount of time, the average, as I have learned, being about three days.
In my case, after I came back I thought I had gone crazy. I had no experience with a religious tradition that said that what we call physical reality is not Real. It wasn't until I opened the Bible and understood passages that had confused me all my life, that I realized that I was Not nuts, but on a different wavelength from the world.
I also learned that the Bible cannot be understood rationally, because it deals with the mind and spirit, not the body, and has a Spiritual Language of its own. For instance, read the beginning of John, about "The Word" and take it literally.
It (particularly the New Testament) is a "How To" manual for getting out of the belief system that causes our problems. The wars it talks about are not physical wars, but spiritual ones, with each warring body the metaphor for a spiritual condition. Jesus Did manipulate matter, because matter is a human construct, and must obey our beliefs about it. It is just so much plastic. Jesus healed because he knew the Truth about us; that disease is not a part of reality, but just part of that material construct.
I knew a lot more - not from my own efforts, because I (and nobody else) could never have seen the Truth on my own - but too much to go into here.
Suffice it to say that Spirit led me to Others who have had the same experience. Although some of us have tried to explain it to the mainstream - Mary Baker Eddy, for one, Emmet Fox, and some others - most of us know that it's not something that can be rationally explained. Most of us tried, because we wanted to share our happiness, and learned the hard way that the words don't mean the same things. So, we pray and trust that God knows the right time for each of us.
So, to answer your question, Yes, the Rapture is Real. You will experience it one day, as we all will, or have.
Incidentally, one other thing. The Rapture does not make you perfect. You are still a person, with the same predjudices and errors in your thinking. That's why Paul could be wrong in some of the things he wrote. What it does give you is the knowledge of Truth so you can clear out those old ways of thinking. Some of them go easily. Some, more deeply buried, require more work. But once you know the Truth about anything, it's all over but the shouting.
Hope this helps. Bless you on your journey. You are nothing less than the part of God that bears Fruit.

[sam sarrha]

what you are discribing is called 'Satori' by the Hindu's, ather cultures

have their own words for it, it isnt inherently a special Christian thing.

to me it was sort of like all points in time and space happening all at the same point in time. that could be what is called emptiness. r a part of it

[sam sarrha]

36. what you are discribing is called 'Satori' by the Hindu's, ather cultures

have their own words for it, it isnt inherently a special Christian thing.

to me it was sort of like all points in time and space happening all at the same point in time. that could be what is called emptiness. r a part of it

[Selwynn]

34. It is dispensationalist eschatology: (link inside)

I'm a little tired this morning, so rather than give my own explaination, I'm going to take the lazy way out.

If you google dispensationalism, you'll get a few hits, including this site with an overview:
http://www.theologicalstudies.org/dispen.html

Dispensationalism is the foundation for beliefs about "rapture" and a more literalistic interpreation of revelations.