The Rapture

[Cepha]

There is a small minority of Christians who've incorporated an 19th Century belief into their manner of worship called The Rapture.

Now, being that no on in The Holy Bible speaks of such an event, how is it that they believe in it as a biblical belief?

Supposedly, as it's been made known to me, the doctrine first introduced by John Nelson Darby in the 1800's is based on this fragment of scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:
"51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

[Cepha]

Why don't we review those fragments in the context of the passage from which they were taken to best asses what they mean?


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1 Corinthians 15
1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

24Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

29Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

33Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

35But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

37And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

38But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

[Cepha]

Here is a general descriptioin of "The Rapture" according to Wikipedia:
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In fundamentalist Christian eschatology, the Rapture is the name given to the future event in which it is believed that Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven, accompanied by the spirits of all the saints of God, both from the pre-incarnation period and after, who have passed on prior to the rapture, and then the bodies of the saints are joined with their spirits in a resurrection - the First Resurrection - to meet the Lord. Immediately after this, all true Christians alive on the earth are simultaneously transported to meet the Lord and those who have preceded them in the air as well, all, having been transformed into immortal bodies like Jesus' body, often referred to as the "resurrection body".

This doctrine gained popularity in the 1830s, and more recently in the 1970s, with proponents of the premillennialist, and in particular the dispensationalist, interpretations of scripture. However, proponents of the doctrine have argued that it can be found in the early Church fathers and the New Testament.

There is much disagreement amongst rapture proponents over when the rapture will occur in relation to the Tribulation, a seven-year period preceding the second coming of Christ to the earth, or indeed, if the duration of the Tribulation will be seven years or only a 3 1/2 year period. Some understand the tribulation of Matthew 24 as having already taken place in 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem. (see Preterism). Three different views predominate. The first is that it will take place sometime prior to the Tribulation. The second is that it will take place mid-way through the Tribulation. The third is that it will take place after the Tribulation, when Christ comes to earth to establish His kingdom, the Kingdom of God, taking over rulership of the world for 1,000 years. (see Millennialism). A fourth view has recently developed, called the Pre-Wrath view.

[Cepha]

Here is what was represented to me as the basis of The Darbian Doctrine of The Rapture:

1 Corinthians 15:
51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
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I leave it now up to anyone who wants to defend this belief based on these two verses to explain how they got The Rapture from this.

[Cepha]

Jun 25, 2008 12:19:23 GMT -5 godzjustice said:

Jun 25, 2008 12:01:11 GMT -5 Cepha said:

Jun 25, 2008 11:20:50 GMT -5 godzjustice said:

By the way, I don't know if you noticed it, but you didn't provide the Book from which you retrieved those verses from.

That would certainly go a long way in you proving your case.

I Cor 15:51

I left this one out before it is 1 Thess. 4:15-18

The other I'll have to look up again but even without it these 2 suffice to shew wfrom where the theology comes...


And You are quite awaqre that I have looked and reac catholic catechism, let's not get sidetracked ok...

Justice...

Now, let's take that verse into consideration of it's context:

1 Thessalonians 4
1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

[Cepha]

The scriptures supporting the 19th Century Doctrine of The Rapture so far...:
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1 Corinthians 15
51
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

52
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
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1 Thessalonians 4
15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

[Cepha]

Before we continue, allow me to also add this counter-argument to the idea of the "rapture's" biblicalness from a Protestant website: www.godsplanforall.com/site/1351515/page/893302
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The Bible speaks of Resurrection not Rapture

Many Christians have confused the powerful truth of the Resurrection of ALL believers at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, by introducing an unbiblical concept called ‘the rapture’. Most Christians who hold to the rapture theory believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. They believe that Jesus Christ’s Second Coming will take place in two stages; the first stage being at the beginning of a seven-year period of tribulation. At this first stage, they believe that Jesus comes only in the clouds, to whisk away all believers to heaven. By doing this, they believe that Jesus protects the believers from God’s wrath during the last three and a half years of the tribulation. They do not believe that Jesus lands on the earth at the first stage of His Second Coming, but will land at the end of the tribulation period.

A typical rapture belief is as follows:

“Millions of people will disappear from the Earth without warning. As a result, tragic and unexplained accidents will occur on a wide scale basis, ushering in the tribulation period. Many speculate that the non-believers left behind who may have known of the Rapture theory, yet previously rejected it, will finally come to belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as a result of the Rapture. Others left behind will remain in unbelief, finding theories to explain away the bizarre event.”

The rapture belief is unbiblical. The Bible speaks of only one Second Coming of Jesus Christ and only one gathering together of ALL believers, which is the Post-Tribulation Resurrection. This resurrection of all believers (those who have died and those who are still alive) will occur immediately after the Great Tribulation when Christ returns. This resurrection is, of course, the First Resurrection referred to in Revelation 20:6.

Christians who believe in a pre or mid-tribulation rapture should pay close attention to what Jesus had to say in the following scripture:

Luke 21:25-28
25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

The verses above give the same sequence of events as in Matthew 24:29-31. The most important glorious future event of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs after the distress of nations, meaning after the Great Tribulation. Also, note that all will see Jesus Christ coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

This is also the time when true believers will look up with joy and lift up their heads because they will know that their redemption is near. They will know that they are about to leave this earth and, in the twinkling of an eye, their earthly corruptible bodies will change into glorious incorruptible, immortal bodies, and they will rise to meet their returning Saviour in the air.

The pre-tribulation rapture theory, which teaches that believers will suddenly and without any warning disappear from this earth, is unbiblical. It completely contradicts verse 28 above. The Bible says that all believers who are still alive at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will know exactly when they will be resurrected to meet the returning Christ because they will see Him coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

There is only one Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and only one resurrection of ALL believers who have lived and died along with those who are still alive at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This occurs immediately after the Great Tribulation. There is not a hint in the Bible of Jesus Christ returning in two stages separated by a seven-year period of tribulation.

Christians who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture give 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 as their proof texts. Let us examine these texts.

1 Corinthians 15:50-53
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter which speaks about resurrection. This chapter says nothing about a rapture. In verses 50-53 quoted above, Apostle Paul confirms that true believers, both those who are dead and those who are alive, will be changed and raised incorruptible at the last trumpet. When will the last trumpet sound? As we have already shown by quoting Matthew 24:29-31, there will be a sound of trumpet when the Elect will be gathered together at Christ’s return, immediately after the tribulation.

As we have seen, the Bible clearly speaks about a Post-Tribulation Resurrection, which is the First Resurrection, and it will coincide with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Why use an unbiblical term such as ‘rapture’ when the Bible only speaks about resurrection?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The Bible is consistent. The verses above speak of the First Resurrection of ALL believers at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Notice that when Jesus descends from heaven there will be a trumpet sound, which agrees with previous scriptures we have quoted. This trumpet sound will occur immediately after the Great Tribulation when Christ returns, after He has gathered together His Elect as He descends to earth onto the Mount of Olives.

True Believers will be ready when Jesus Christ Returns

The Bible says that only the Father in heaven knows the exact day and hour when Jesus Christ will return to this earth. The world will be taken by surprise when Jesus returns. For unbelievers, Jesus Christ will come totally unexpectedly like a “thief in the night” (Matthew 24: 36-51).

Though nobody knows the exact day and hour when Jesus Christ will return, true believers who are God’s Elect are not in darkness. They are ready and always will be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as they are waiting, watching and praying for God’s Kingdom to come and God's will to be done on this earth.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-6
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

All true believers have the full assurance of their salvation. They know that Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of their faith. (Hebrews 12:2) They also know that they are not appointed to wrath, meaning the future judgement of God in the Lake of Fire.

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Verse 9 above speaks about the Lake of Fire wrath of God, during the Great White Throne Judgement Age. It has nothing to do with the wrath of God or Satan, which occurs during the three and a half year period of the Great Tribulation, as falsely believed by Christians who believe in the rapture theory. God will protect the majority of true believers from Satan’s wrath during the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 12:13-17) However, God will allow some true Christians to suffer persecution and even martyrdom. (Revelation 13:5-6) God’s wrath during the Great Tribulation will be directed at unbelievers and not believers.

All true believers know that they will rise to meet their returning Saviour in the air and be with Him forever, whether Jesus returns before or after they die. Believers who die before Christ returns will be the first to be resurrected, and believers who are still alive at His Second Coming will be transformed into their new resurrected bodies in the twinkling of an eye. Both groups will then be gathered together and rise in their new immortal bodies to meet the coming Jesus Christ in the air. So let us comfort and edify one another with this wonderful truth as Apostle Paul encourages us to do so.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

[Cepha]

Ok, now you go. ;D

[knuckle]

who is the guy in the video?

[Cepha]

Just some random YouTuber.

[Cepha]

godzjustice

It is true and I still don't see a reason to change pages... this is cyberspace... don't try to bend the spoon Neo, just realize the truth.. the spoon isn't there...

You're spending more text than you need to.
Really, it's not that big a deal.
If it really doesn't matter to you,
stop complaining about it and meet me there.
I don't know if you know this or not,
but this is the typical structure of a forum:
topic related threads for topics to be discussed formally.

I don't need the definition of "rapture" from wikipedia...lol... what a source... nor do I need the opinions of what someone else says the rapture is... I gave the young lady the scriptures behind the theology of the "rapture" any ideas on that of my own are simply that, my own and un-needed as long as there is scripture to support my post...

You gave her scritpures, but you never posted the doctrine nor it's inception nor how it relates to the 19th Century belief.

We're still waiting for you to define "The Rapture".
We're still waiting for you to tie the two together.
Nobody sees the connection.
Connect the two please.
Prove your belief.

[cradlecathlic27]

every time rapture comes up, i get so dang confused. I dont get it...

i thought that Jesus will come one time on Judgement day, and that was when you either go to heavan or hell those who are still alive. Those who have all ready died, or already judged, they are either in heavan or hell. Am i correct, or do i have it wrong?

[Cepha]

Jun 26, 2008 11:50:25 GMT -5 cradlecathlic27 said:

every time rapture comes up, i get so dang confused. I dont get it...

i thought that Jesus will come one time on Judgement day, and that was when you either go to heavan or hell those who are still alive. Those who have all ready died, or already judged, they are either in heavan or hell. Am i correct, or do i have it wrong?

They won't answer that one for you CC.
So here it is:
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The Rapture
Are you Pre, Mid, or Post? If you don’t know how to answer that question, you’re probably a Catholic. Most Fundamentalists and Evangelicals know that these words are shorthand for pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. The terms all refer to when the rapture is supposed to occur.


The Millennium
In Revelation 20:1–3, 7–8, we read, "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while. . . . And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth."

The period of a thousand years, the writer tells us, is the reign of Christ, and the thousand-year period is popularly called the millennium. The millennium is a harbinger of the end of the world, and Revelation 20 is interpreted in three ways by conservative Protestants. The three schools of thought are called postmillennialism, amillennialism, and premillennialism. Let’s take a look at them.


Postmillennialism
According to Loraine Boettner in his book The Millennium (he also wrote the seriously defective anti-Catholic book Roman Catholicism), postmillennialism is "that view of last things which holds that the kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit, that the world eventually is to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace, commonly called the millennium."

This view was popular with nineteenth-century Protestants, when progress was expected even in religion and before twentieth-century horrors were tasted. Today few hold to it, except such groups as Christian Reconstructionists, an outgrowth of the conservative Presbyterian movement.

Commentators point out that postmillennialism is to be distinguished from the view of theological and secular liberals who envision social betterment and even the kingdom of God coming through purely natural, rather than supernatural, means. Postmillennialists, however, argue that man is incapable of building a paradise for himself; paradise will only come about by God’s grace.

Postmillennialists also typically say that the millennium spoken of in Revelation 20 should be understood figuratively and that the phrase "a thousand years" refers not to a fixed period of ten centuries, but to an indefinitely long time. For example, Psalm 50:10 speaks of God’s sovereignty over all that is and tells us that God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills." This is not meant to be taken literally.

At the millennium’s end will come the Second Coming, the general resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment.

The problem with postmillennialism is that Scripture does not depict the world as experiencing a
period of complete (or relatively complete) Christianization before the Second Coming. There are numerous passages that speak of the age between the First and Second Comings as a time of great sorrow and strife for Christians. One revealing passage is the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43). In this parable, Christ declares that the righteous and the wicked will both be planted and grow alongside each other in God’s field ("the field is the world," Matt. 13:38) until the end of the world, when they will be separated, judged, and either be thrown into the fire of hell or inherit God’s kingdom (Matt. 13:41–43). There is no biblical evidence that the world will eventually become totally (or even almost totally) Christian, but rather that there will always be a parallel development of the righteous and the wicked until the final judgment.


Amillennialism
The amillennial view interprets Revelation 20 symbolically and sees the millennium not as an earthly golden age in which the world will be totally Christianized, but as the present period of Christ’s rule in heaven and on the earth through his Church. This was the view of the Protestant Reformers and is still the most common view among traditional Protestants, though not among most of the newer Evangelical and Fundamentalist groups.

Amillennialists also believe in the coexistence of good and evil on earth until the end. The tension that exists on earth between the righteous and the wicked will be resolved only by Christ’s return at the end of time. The golden age of the millennium is instead the heavenly reign of Christ with the saints, in which the Church on earth participates to some degree, though not in the glorious way it will at the Second Coming.

Amillennialists point out that the thrones of the saints who reign with Christ during the millennium appear to be set in heaven (Rev. 20:4; cf. 4:4, 11:16) and that the text nowhere states that Christ is on earth during this reign with the saints.

They explain that, although the world will never be fully Christianized until the Second Coming, the millennium does have effects on earth in that Satan is bound in such a way that he cannot deceive the nations by hindering the preaching of the gospel (Rev. 20:3). They point out that Jesus spoke of the necessity of "binding the strong man" (Satan) in order to plunder his house by rescuing people from his grip (Matt. 12:29). When the disciples returned from a tour of preaching the gospel, rejoicing at how demons were subject to them, Jesus declared, "I saw Satan fall like lightning" (Luke 10:18). Thus for the gospel to move forward at all in the world, it is necessary for Satan to be bound in one sense, even if he may still be active in attacking individuals (1 Pet. 5:8).

The millennium is a golden age not when compared to the glories of the age to come, but in comparison to all prior ages of human history, in which the world was swallowed in pagan darkness. Today, a third of the human race is Christian and even more than that have repudiated pagan idols and embraced the worship of the God of Abraham.


Premillennialism
Third on the list is premillennialism, currently the most popular among Fundamentalists and Evangelicals (though a century ago amillennialism was). Most of the books written about the End Times, such as Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth, are written from a premillennial perspective.

Like postmillennialists, premillennialists believe that the thousand years is an earthly golden age during which the world will be thoroughly Christianized. Unlike postmillennialists, they believe that it will occur after the Second Coming rather than before, so that Christ reigns physically on earth during the millennium. They believe that the Final Judgment will occur only after the millennium is over (which many interpret to be an exactly one thousand year period).

But Scripture does not support the idea of a thousand year span between the Second Coming and the Final Judgment. Christ declares, "For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done" (Matt. 16:27), and "[w]hen the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. . . . And they [the goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt. 25:31–32, 46).


The Rapture
Premillennialists often give much attention to the doctrine of the rapture. According to this doctrine, when Christ returns, all of the elect who have died will be raised and transformed into a glorious state, along with the living elect, and then be caught up to be with Christ. The key text referring to the rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, which states, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord."

Premillennialists hold, as do virtually all Christians (except certain postmillennialists), that the Second Coming will be preceded by a time of great trouble and persecution of God’s people (2 Thess. 2:1–4). This period is often called the tribulation. Until the nineteenth century, all Christians agreed that the rapture—though it was not called that at the time—would occur immediately before the Second Coming, at the close of the period of persecution. This position is today called the "post-tribulational" view because it says the rapture will come after the tribulation.

But in the 1800s, some began to claim that the rapture would occur before the period of persecution. This position, now known as the "pre-tribulational" view, also was embraced by John Nelson Darby, an early leader of a Fundamentalist movement that became known as Dispensationalism. Darby’s pre-tribulational view of the rapture was then picked up by a man named C.I. Scofield, who taught the view in the footnotes of his Scofield Reference Bible, which was widely distributed in England and America. Many Protestants who read the Scofield Reference Bible uncritically accepted what its footnotes said and adopted the pre-tribulational view, even though no Christian had heard of it in the previous 1800 years of Church history.

Eventually, a third position developed, known as the "mid-tribulational" view, which claims that the rapture will occur during the middle of the tribulation. Finally, a fourth view developed that claims that there will not be a single rapture where all believers are gathered to Christ, but that there will be a series of mini-raptures that occur at different times with respect to the tribulation.

This confusion has caused the movement to split into bitterly opposed camps.

The problem with all of the positions (except the historic, post-tribulational view, which was accepted by all Christians, including non-premillennialists) is that they split the Second Coming into different events. In the case of the pre-trib view, Christ is thought to have three comings—one when he was born in Bethlehem, one when he returns for the rapture at the tribulation’s beginning, and one at tribulation’s end, when he establishes the millennium. This three-comings view is foreign to Scripture.

Problems with the pre-tribulational view are highlighted by Baptist (and premillennial) theologian Dale Moody, who wrote: "Belief in a pre-tribulational rapture . . . contradicts all three chapters in the New Testament that mention the tribulation and the rapture together (Mark 13:24–27; Matt. 24:26–31; 2 Thess. 2:1–12). . . . The theory is so biblically bankrupt that the usual defense is made using three passages that do not even mention a tribulation (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:52). These are important passages, but they have not had one word to say about a pre-tribulational rapture. The score is 3 to 0, three passages for a post-tribulational rapture and three that say nothing on the subject.
. . . Pre-tribulationism is biblically bankrupt and does not know it" (The Word of Truth, 556–7).


What’s the Catholic Position?
As far as the millennium goes, we tend to agree with Augustine and, derivatively, with the amillennialists. The Catholic position has thus historically been "amillennial" (as has been the majority Christian position in general, including that of the Protestant Reformers), though Catholics do not typically use this term. The Church has rejected the premillennial position, sometimes called "millenarianism" (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church 676). In the 1940s the Holy Office judged that premillennialism "cannot safely be taught," though the Church has not dogmatically defined this issue.

With respect to the rapture, Catholics certainly believe that the event of our gathering together to be with Christ will take place, though they do not generally use the word "rapture" to refer to this event (somewhat ironically, since the term "rapture" is derived from the text of the Latin Vulgate of 1 Thess. 4:17—"we will be caught up," [Latin: rapiemur]).


Spinning Wheels?
Many spend much time looking for signs in the heavens and in the headlines. This is especially true of premillennialists, who anxiously await the tribulation because it will inaugurate the rapture and millennium.

A more balanced perspective is given by Peter, who writes, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. . . . Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you

www.catholic.com/library/Rapture.asp

[Cepha]

GodzJustice,

Here's a question that get's missed by you on the topic of this thread...I'll ask it again;

What is "The Rapture"?