Reply #21: Rapture 101 [View All]

[doni_georgia]

Okay here's the condensed version. In Christianity, there are different interpretations of the book of Revelation. Christians have been wondering when Christ would return since he assended into heaven. Each generation has held some who believed their generation would be the last. Eschatology is the doctrinal study of last things. In Christianity, there have been historically three traditional positions:
Amillennialists - these do not believe there will be a millenium (1000 year reign of Christ on earth) of any type. They also do not believe Christ will return to destroy the evil doers. They hold that good and evil will grow together in the world until the end and that the kingdom of God is already spiritually present in those who believe in Christ. St. Augustine held to an amillennialist view, and this was the dominant belief until the Puritan Revolution in England.

The second position is postmillennialism - postmillennialists believe that the kingdom of God already exists on earth and is being spread through the preaching of the gospel. They believe that when the gospel has been preached to enough people things will begin to change. After this golden age, Christ will return. The Puritans who came to America were postmillenialists, and postmillennialism was the dominant eschatological thought in America from the colonial period until around the Civil War.

The third traditional position is premillennialism - premillennialists believe that there will be a literal millenia (1000 year reign of Christ on earth). They believe that there will be a period of tribulation (7 years) - a time of horrifying events that will separate the good and evil people. They believe that there will be an antichrist who will come to power during this period, and at the end there will be a great war (Armageddon) after which Christ will reign on the earth. Premillennialism began to gain in popularity around the time of the Civil War. About this same time another view came into play - Dispensationalism, this rose to prominance through the popularity of the Scoffield Reference Bible, and it was with this new belief (that there are different dispensations) that the belief in the rapture gained popularity.

The rapture (literally meaing to "catch up") is a belief held by premillennists that Christians will be caught up in the clouds to return to Christ at his second coming. Premillennialist's belief in this event comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. All premillennialists believe in the rapture but disagree as to when it will occur in reference to the time of tribulation. Those believing in the rapture differ as to when it will occur. Pre-tribulationists believe that the Christians will be removed before the tribulation. They believe that they will suddenly be caught up in the air to meet Jesus and will miss all of the awful tortures of the tribulation. Post-tribulationists believe that the rapture will not occur until after the 7 year tribulation period. Another view (much newer) is the mid-tribulationists who believe Christians will be raptured out after 3 1/2 years of tribulation. The newest belief about the rapture is called "Pre-wrath" they believe Christians will endure the tribulation, but not God's wrath poured out at the end.

Most evangelicals today believe in a rapture. But there are still many denominations where amillennialism and postmillennialism is still the dominant view. I personally have no views of the end of days. Que Sera sera!