Questions about the rapture

[Chucara]

First of all, hi. I am a former protestant, now atheist, and I have a few questions about Christianity in America. I am from Denmark, myself.

We hear a lot about America from the media here, but I don't really believe the local media paints the whole picture. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the rapture, which was a concept I had never heard mentioned outside the movies until recently.

My question is: is it common in America to believe that the rapture will come within a few years? Or within the current generation or the next?

 

[drich0150]

First of all, hi. I am a former protestant, now atheist, and I have a few questions about Christianity in America. I am from Denmark, myself.

We hear a lot about America from the media here, but I don't really believe the local media paints the whole picture. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the rapture, which was a concept I had never heard mentioned outside the movies until recently.

My question is: is it common in America to believe that the rapture will come within a few years? Or within the current generation or the next?

only with those who think they know the mind of the Father better than Christ did.

 

[pinkputter]

only with those who think they know the mind of the Father better than Christ did.

 

[pinkputter]

Also, what made you so concerned with this that you started a thread?

Wouldn't this be a non-issue to you?

 

[razeontherock]

I'm expecting the Harold Camping fraud brought this to the fore for the OP?

Anyway, as far as raw numbers go, I would say "most" remain unconvinced there is any "rapture." Personally, I like my first pastor's view: "I want to go with the first truckload."

Some great minds have "conclusively concluded" a wide variety of positions. Could be there's one physical return, that all see, simultaneously. (No rapture) Very few of the derivations people have come up with can actually be excluded.

What difference does it make? The point is to live right!

 

[LinuxUser]

First of all, hi. I am a former protestant, now atheist, and I have a few questions about Christianity in America. I am from Denmark, myself.

We hear a lot about America from the media here, but I don't really believe the local media paints the whole picture. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the rapture, which was a concept I had never heard mentioned outside the movies until recently.

My question is: is it common in America to believe that the rapture will come within a few years? Or within the current generation or the next?

Howdy!

It depends on who it is, some do I am sure. I don't at all

 

[pinkputter]

Some great minds have "conclusively concluded" a wide variety of positions. Could be there's one physical return, that all see, simultaneously. (No rapture) Very few of the derivations people have come up with can actually be excluded.

Yeah...about this...we hear a lot about the rapture and some renowned Christians claim its verifiable.

However, doesn't the Bible ONLY mention of a physical return of Jesus, "on a cloud," so that all could see?

I only remember that in scripture

 

[CryptoLutheran]

First of all, hi. I am a former protestant, now atheist, and I have a few questions about Christianity in America. I am from Denmark, myself.

We hear a lot about America from the media here, but I don't really believe the local media paints the whole picture. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the rapture, which was a concept I had never heard mentioned outside the movies until recently.

My question is: is it common in America to believe that the rapture will come within a few years? Or within the current generation or the next?

It's more prominent here in America than other places, but that may largely have to do with how several religious movements within American history have uniquely shaped American Christianity.

The concept of "the Rapture" originally began with an ex-Church of Ireland priest named John Nelson Darby, who helped found the Plymouth Brethren, in the early 19th century. The doctrine became more systematized as Dispensationalism and was preached in America by the efforts of people such as Cyrus Scofield (who put together a study Bible that specifically gave a Dispensationalist interpretation of biblical texts, and at one point was one of the more popular study Bibles in some sectors of American Christianity), Dwight L. Moody was another important figure in the spreading of Dispensationalism in America, and founded the Moody Bible Institute. Dallas Theological Seminary was founded as a Dispensationalist seminary and has for many years produced Dispensationalist ministers who have went on to teach and preach this unique theological system to their congregations.

It became more popular in the last few decades with self-proclaimed prophecy experts like Hal Lindsay (author of "Late Great Planet Earth"), and a kind of rapture revival occurred in the 1990's with the publication of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkin's series of novels, the Left Behind series.

This has compounded to create a profound rapture mythos within many American Christians and churches; and there has long been a powerful apocalyptic strain of religion in American religious history: The USA was the birth place of the Adventism, Mormonism, and many other religious movements that contained strong eschatological/apocalyptic undertones in their basic theology and so there's a strong tradition of preaching that the end is just around the corner.

To that extent, it is in many ways an uniquely American phenomenon, though we've exported it around the world. And in some ways our apocalypticism is following a tradition that goes back to Europe with some of the Radical Reformers and pre-Protestant medieval doomsday preachers.

However, when all is said and done, the very idea of the rapture itself is rejected by most Christians in the world as a 19th century fabrication that has no theological or biblical merit.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[American Routes]

My question is: is it common in America to believe that the rapture will come within a few years? Or within the current generation or the next?

I should hope not, as Jesus said that no man would know.

It's OK to believe in the rapture. In fact, every Christian should believe in it and look forward to it, as the Bible is so clear about it. But to try to say when it will be is just asking for trouble.

Could the rapture be tonight? Tomorrow? The next day? Maybe. But since Jesus said that we could not know, I don't believe there's any wisdom in trying to nail a date to it.

Besides, it's been my experience that if you dig a little deeper into those hwo try to set a date for the rapture, you'll find that they almost always show the tell tale characteristics of a cult, either in their doctrines or their practices.

The Bible is very clear that there will be a rapture and that we should live in such a way that we are not caught off guard when it does. But when it does is for Christ and Christ alone to decide.

Best just to leave the date setting to Christ and be ready whenever it may happen.

 

[christtoevo]

It cannot be literal. Jesus Said something along the line of, "These things will happen soon", but the truth is they haven't stopped going on since the beginning of time. Either something else is being said OR Nothing is.

 

[razeontherock]

It cannot be literal. Jesus Said something along the line of, "These things will happen soon", but the truth is they haven't stopped going on since the beginning of time. Either something else is being said OR Nothing is.

Or He wasn't referring to the event at all ... while others were. You don't seem to account for that?

 

[christtoevo]

So Jesus wouldn't correct there confusion? He was talking to his Foundation on earth.

 

[razeontherock]

It does seem that way; but it doesn't add up that way. Which means He was alluding to something else. This train of thought agrees with the whole of Scripture. And it is not the only time He allowed His disciples to speculate along false lines. (He gives us the same latitude today)

 

[Chucara]

Thank you for your answers everyone. I was wondering because as I said, I had never heard of it during school (we are taught Christianity in schools here.. Well at least we were when I want in school.. I don't think it would be PC anymore to just call it Christianity).

Even though I don't believe in any deity, I find religions interesting from a historical viewpoint. While I don't subscribe to the beliefs myself, many others around me do, and christianity certainly has a impact on my life.

I think my fascination with American christianity is that it some times seems that the people we see in the media would be labelled religious nuts here (31% percent of Danes believe in a God). But I don't really believe that is the case.

What we hear about
- Harold Camping
- Belief in the Rapture
- The Quaran burning
- The Kansas City school board suggestion of teaching religion in science class
- General rejection of Evolution
- People imposing Biblical moral values on others (not working on sundays, etc.)

All of the above would seem "out there" in Denmark, and I'm most of them in America too, though I think to a lesser extent than here. In Denmark, outside the Jehovahs Witnesses, faith is a personal thing, and something that is rarely discussed outside Church. And many Christians here only go to church a few times a year.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

It cannot be literal. Jesus Said something along the line of, "These things will happen soon", but the truth is they haven't stopped going on since the beginning of time. Either something else is being said OR Nothing is.

Yeah that is a rather sticky point between Christianity and non-Christianity.
Not only was it to be soon, but in "switness".
I am what is called a "preterist" so I view much of Revelation as fulfilled on OC Israel and I am not that familiar with the "rapture" doctrine expoused my a lot of Christianity.

Scripture4All - Greek/Hebrew interlinear Bible software

1 Peter 4:7 Of All-things yet the end has drawn NIGH/hggiken <1448> (5758); be sane! then and be sober! into the prayers,

Revelation 1:1 An un-covering of Jesus Christ, which gives to him, the God, to show to His bond-servants, which-things is binding to be becoming in SWIFTNESS.
And He signifies commissioning thru the messenger of Him, to the bondservants of Him, John

Revelation 22:10 And he is saying to me "no thou should be sealing the words of the Prophecy of the scroll, this, that the time NIGH/egguV <1451> is" [Revelation 1:3/Luke 21:31/1 Peter 4:7]

Blue Letter Bible - Lexicon
Strong's Number G1451 matches the Greek &#7952;&#947;&#947;&#8059;&#962; (eggys), which occurs 30 times in 30 verses in the Greek concordance of the KJV

1451. eggus eng-goos' from a primary verb agcho (to squeeze or throttle; akin to the base of 43); near (literally or figuratively, of place or time):--from , at hand, near, nigh (at hand, unto), ready.

 

[christtoevo]

"He allowed His disciples to speculate along false lines."

Can you point some of these versus out to me
please?

 

[LinuxUser]

It cannot be literal. Jesus Said something along the line of, "These things will happen soon", but the truth is they haven't stopped going on since the beginning of time. Either something else is being said OR Nothing is.

Actually they did happen exactly as He said. The end of the Age not the end of the world as so many think, now a Christian age is here the Jewish temple and system are no more

 

[razeontherock]

"He allowed His disciples to speculate along false lines."

Can you point some of these versus out to me
please?

"This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.


Jhn 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.


Jhn 6:60 ¶ Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?


Jhn 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?


Jhn 6:62 [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?


Jhn 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.


Jhn 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.


Jhn 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.


Jhn 6:66 From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.


Jhn 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?"

The thing to notice here is Jesus did not go running after them, saying "wait you don't understand!" He let them go. And gave His inner circle the same option.