The Rapture Baloney
So, all of the righteous people in the world will be "raptured" to heaven at 6 pm on May 21st; & the earth will be destroyed 5 months later on October 21st (1 day before my 62nd birthday, no less). All this according to the wacko founder of Family Radio Worldwide, Harold Camping. Well guess what, folks? According to Scripture, it ain't gonna happen!
In Matthew 24, when asked about his ultimate return, Jesus says very directly, "But about that day & hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father." I guess Harold Camping knows better than Jesus; although Camping has already been incorrect once before about Jesus' return (back in 1994).
In addition to the problem of timing, it needs to be noted that the whole idea of The Rapture--the belief that Christ will take the faithful to heaven prior to a period of tribulation on earth--is non-Scriptural. The Rapture is a relatively new notion (literally "dreamed up" by an English lawyer less than 200 years ago); & most Christians don't beleive it.
Nor should they--or we! The idea of a Rapture is based almost exclusively on misinterpretations of 2 verses in the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul tries to comfort believers concerning their loved ones who have died prior to Christ's return. In verse 17 he writes, "Then we who are alive will be caught up in the clouds together with them (the dead) to meet the Lord in the air; & so we will be with the Lord forever."
Jesus is returning to earth & believers will be lifted "up in the clouds...to the Lord." So, where does the Bible say that Jesus suddenly makes a U-turn & pulls all of us up to paradise with him? It doesn't. In fact, it says just the opposite; for the Greek word apantesin means much more than "meet." It is a technical term in Greek that was used for times when people would go out to meet a dignitary to ESCORT HIM INTO THEIR CITY.
Apantesin is used in only 3 other places in the Bible--in each case to connote meeting someone & accompanying them to the place to which they are already bound. Most notably, it is used in Matthew 25 to describe the bridesmaids going out to meet the bridegroom to accompany him to the wedding (a parable of preparedness for Jesus' return).
Which brings us to the 2nd verse used by the Rapture-promoters, Matthew 24:40, "Then 2 will be in the field; 1 will be taken & 1 will be left." The Rapture folks, of course, use this as proof that the righteous will be "taken" & the sinful will be "left" behind. The problem is that this is NOT what Jesus is saying, when you look at the entire passage.
You see, in the verses immediately preceding 40, Jesus has been comparing the day of his return with "the days of Noah" (v. 37). Let's think about what happened during The Flood. Those who were evil were swept away (taken) & the righteous, Noah & his family, were left. Oops! What the Rapture-promoters say is the exact OPPOSITE of what Jesus says.
There will be no Rapture at 6 pm on May 21st because God has never said that there will be a rapture of any kind. Some day--a day which no one, not Harold Camping nor Hal Lindsey nor Pat Robertson nor Tim LeHaye, can determine--Jesus has promised that He will return to establish his perfect kingdom here on earth. May we live each day in the sure hope of that day & not in fear of some manmade, fictitious rapture.
In Matthew 24, when asked about his ultimate return, Jesus says very directly, "But about that day & hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father." I guess Harold Camping knows better than Jesus; although Camping has already been incorrect once before about Jesus' return (back in 1994).
In addition to the problem of timing, it needs to be noted that the whole idea of The Rapture--the belief that Christ will take the faithful to heaven prior to a period of tribulation on earth--is non-Scriptural. The Rapture is a relatively new notion (literally "dreamed up" by an English lawyer less than 200 years ago); & most Christians don't beleive it.
Nor should they--or we! The idea of a Rapture is based almost exclusively on misinterpretations of 2 verses in the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul tries to comfort believers concerning their loved ones who have died prior to Christ's return. In verse 17 he writes, "Then we who are alive will be caught up in the clouds together with them (the dead) to meet the Lord in the air; & so we will be with the Lord forever."
Jesus is returning to earth & believers will be lifted "up in the clouds...to the Lord." So, where does the Bible say that Jesus suddenly makes a U-turn & pulls all of us up to paradise with him? It doesn't. In fact, it says just the opposite; for the Greek word apantesin means much more than "meet." It is a technical term in Greek that was used for times when people would go out to meet a dignitary to ESCORT HIM INTO THEIR CITY.
Apantesin is used in only 3 other places in the Bible--in each case to connote meeting someone & accompanying them to the place to which they are already bound. Most notably, it is used in Matthew 25 to describe the bridesmaids going out to meet the bridegroom to accompany him to the wedding (a parable of preparedness for Jesus' return).
Which brings us to the 2nd verse used by the Rapture-promoters, Matthew 24:40, "Then 2 will be in the field; 1 will be taken & 1 will be left." The Rapture folks, of course, use this as proof that the righteous will be "taken" & the sinful will be "left" behind. The problem is that this is NOT what Jesus is saying, when you look at the entire passage.
You see, in the verses immediately preceding 40, Jesus has been comparing the day of his return with "the days of Noah" (v. 37). Let's think about what happened during The Flood. Those who were evil were swept away (taken) & the righteous, Noah & his family, were left. Oops! What the Rapture-promoters say is the exact OPPOSITE of what Jesus says.
There will be no Rapture at 6 pm on May 21st because God has never said that there will be a rapture of any kind. Some day--a day which no one, not Harold Camping nor Hal Lindsey nor Pat Robertson nor Tim LeHaye, can determine--Jesus has promised that He will return to establish his perfect kingdom here on earth. May we live each day in the sure hope of that day & not in fear of some manmade, fictitious rapture.
posted by Rev. Rick Mason @ 10:03 AM
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