The Rapture is an eschatological position held by some

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive, together will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." This view of

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

is typically part of dispensational premillennialism, a form of

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

that considers various prophecies in the Bible as remaining unfulfilled and occurring in the future. The idea of a rapture as it is defined in dispensational premillennialism is not found in historic Christianity and is a relatively recent doctrine originating from the 1830s. The term is used frequently among fundamentalist theologians in the

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. The origin of the term extends from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the

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, which uses the Greek word (), meaning "to snatch away" or "to seize". Differing viewpoints exist about the exact time of the rapture and whether Christ's return would occur in one event or two. Pretribulationism distinguishes the rapture from the

second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

of Jesus Christ mentioned in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, 2 Thessalonians, and

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

. This view holds that the rapture would precede the seven-year

Tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. u ...

, which would culminate in Christ's second coming and be followed by a thousand-year Messianic Kingdom. This theory grew out of the translations of the Bible that John Nelson Darby analyzed in 1833. Pretribulationism is the most widely held view among Christians believing in the rapture today, although this view is disputed within evangelicalism. Other views include midtribulation, prewrath, and posttribulation rapture. Most

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s do not subscribe to rapture theology and have a different interpretation of the aerial gathering described in 1 Thessalonians 4. They do not use ''rapture'' as a specific theological term, nor do they generally subscribe to the dispensational theology associated with its use. Instead they typically interpret ''rapture'' in the sense of the elect gathering with Christ in

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

right after his second coming and reject the idea that a large segment of humanity will be left behind on earth for an extended tribulation period after the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Etymology

''Rapture'' is derived from

Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

, via the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

("seizure, kidnapping"), which derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

("a carrying off").

Greek

The

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the verb form (), which means "we shall be caught up" or "we shall be taken away". The dictionary form of this Greek verb is (). This use is also seen in such texts as Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2–4, and Revelation 12:5. Linguist, Dr. Douglas Hamp, notes that Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates lists as the first-person plural future passive indicative of the Greek stem, ''harpagē'' (har-pag-ay), “the act of plundering, plunder, spoil.” The future passive indicative of ''harpázō'' (although not used by Paul in 1 Thess. 4:17) can be viewed at verbix.com: αρπασθησόμεθα (''harpasthesometha''). GS724 ''harpagē'' means'':'' 1. the act of plundering, robbery; 2. plunder, spoil. When the rapture and the "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:20-21) are viewed as simultaneous events (according to Romans 8:19-21) then it makes sense why Paul would use "shall be plundered" to match the verbiage of the distortion of the Earth described in Isaiah 24:3, "The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered...".

Latin

The

Latin Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, of his own initia ...

translates the Greek as meaning "we will be caught up" or "we will be taken away" from the Latin verb meaning "to catch up" or "take away".

English

English translations of the Bible have translated 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in various ways: * The Wycliffe Bible (1395), translated from the Latin Vulgate, uses "rushed". * The Tyndale New Testament (1525), the Bishop's Bible (1568), the Geneva Bible (1587) and the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

(1611) use "caught up". This is carried over to the

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

(1901), the Revised Standard Version (1946, 1952) and the English Standard Version (2001, 2007, 2011, 2016), as well as the New International Version (1973, 1978, 1984, 2011).

Doctrinal position

A pretribulational rapture view is most commonly found among American Fundamentalist Baptists, Bible churches, Brethren churches, certain

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

denominations, Pentecostals, non-denominational evangelicals, and various other evangelical groups. The

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Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the Lutheran Churches, the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, and Reformed denominations have no tradition of a preliminary return of Christ. The Eastern Orthodox Church, for example, favors the amillennial interpretation of prophetic Scriptures and thus rejects a preliminary, premillennial return. Most Methodists do not adhere to the dispensationalist view of the rapture.

Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo

In his ''Compendium Theologiae'',

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

quotes another Doctor of the Church, St Augustine, to explain that no one is spared death and the separation of the soul from the body. The rapture of the Church, on the other hand, concerns the death of the faithful and their immediate resurrection of the flesh immediately after death:

Views

One or two events

Most premillennialists distinguish the Rapture and the Second Coming as separate events. Some dispensational premillennialists (including many evangelicals) hold the return of Christ to be two distinct events (i.e., Christ's second coming in two stages). According to this view, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 is a description of a preliminary event to the return described in Matthew 24:29–31. Although both describe a coming of Jesus, these are seen to be different events. The first event is a coming where the saved are to be 'caught up,' whence the term "rapture" is taken. The second event is described as the second coming. The majority of dispensationalists hold that the first event precedes the period of

tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. u ...

, even if not immediately (see chart for additional dispensationalist timing views). Dispensationalists distinguish these events as a result of their own literal understanding of Paul's words. Amillennialists deny the interpretation of a literal thousand-year earthly rule of Christ. There is considerable overlap in the beliefs of amillennialists (including most Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans), postmillennialists (including Presbyterians), and historic premillennialists (including some

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

s) with those who hold that the return of Christ will be a single, public event. Some proponents believe the doctrine of amillennialism originated with

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

n scholars such as Clement and

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

and later became Catholic dogma through Augustine.

Destination

Dispensationalists see the immediate destination of the raptured Christians as being

. Catholic commentators, such a
Walter Drum
(1912), identify the destination of the 1 Thessalonians 4:17 gathering as Heaven. While Anglicans have many views, some Anglican commentators, such as N. T. Wright, identify the destination as a specific place on Earth. This interpretation may sometimes be connected to Christian environmentalist concerns.

Views of eschatological timing

There are numerous views regarding the timing of the Rapture. Some maintain that Matthew 24:37–40 refers to the Rapture, pointing out similarities between the two texts, indicating that the Rapture would occur at the ''parousia'' of the Lord. Others point out that neither ''church'' nor ''rapture'' occur in Matthew 24 and there are significant differences between Matthew 24:37–40 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. As a result, these two texts receive the overwhelming focus within discussions about the Rapture's timing. The two texts are as follows: In the amillennial and postmillennial views there are no distinctions in the timing of the Rapture. These views regard that the Rapture, as it is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17, would be identical to the Second Coming of Jesus as described in Matthew 24:29–31 after the spiritual/symbolic millennium. In the premillennial view, the Rapture would be before a literal, earthly millennium. Within premillennialism, the pretribulation position distinguishes between the Rapture and the Second Coming as two different events. There are also other positions within premillennialism that differ with regard to the timing of the Rapture.

Premillennialist views

In the earliest days of the church,

chiliastic Millennialism () or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief which is held by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a Messianic Age will be established on Earth prior to the Last Judgment and the future permanent s ...

teaching (i.e., early premillennialism) was the dominant view. Eusebius wrote, "To these ritten accountsbelong his nowiki/>Papias of Hierapolis">Papias_of_Hierapolis.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Papias of Hierapolis">nowiki/>Papias of Hierapolisstatement that there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in the material form on this very earth. [...] But it was due to him that so many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion, urging in their own support the antiquity of the man; as for instance Irenaeus and anyone else that may have proclaimed similar views." The 19th-century scholar Schaff notes that, "The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millennarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment." Over time, however, a clash surfaced between two schools of interpretation, the Antiochene and Alexandrian schools. The Alexandrian school's roots can be traced back to the influence of Philo, a Hellenized Jew who sought to reconcile God's veracity with what he thought were errors in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Antiochene school insisted on a literal hermeneutic. but did little to counter the Alexandrian's symbolic Millennium. In the twelfth century futurism became prominent again when Joachim of Fiore (1130–1202) wrote a commentary on Revelation and insisted that the end was near and taught that God would restore the earth, the Jews would be converted, and the Millennium would take place on earth. His teaching influenced much of Europe. Though the Catholic Church does not generally regard Biblical prophecy in texts such as Daniel and Revelation as strictly future-based (when viewed from the standpoint of our present time), in 1590 Francisco Ribera, a Catholic Jesuit, taught

. He also taught that a gathering-of-the-elect event (similar to what is now called the rapture) would happen 45 days before the end of a 3.5-year tribulation. The concept of the rapture, in connection with premillennialism, was expressed by the 17th-century American Puritans Increase Mather and Cotton Mather. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on earth, and then the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

. Other 17th-century expressions of the rapture are found in the works of Robert Maton, Nathaniel Holmes, John Browne, Thomas Vincent, Henry Danvers, and William Sherwin. The term ''rapture'' was used by Philip Doddridge and John Gill in their

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on earth and Jesus'

. An 1828 edition of Matthew Henry's ''An Exposition of the Old and New Testament'' uses the word "rapture" in explicating 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Although not using the term "rapture", the idea was more fully developed by Edward Irving (1792–1834). In 1825, Irving directed his attention to the study of

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

and eventually accepted the one-man

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

idea of James Henthorn Todd, Samuel Roffey Maitland,

Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine (; ; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. He was one of the most important figure ...

, and Francisco Ribera, yet he went a step further. Irving began to teach the idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. Edward Miller described Irving's teaching like this: "There are three gatherings: – First, of the first-fruits of the harvest, the wise virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth; next, the abundant harvest gathered afterwards by God; and lastly, the assembling of the wicked for punishment."

Pretribulational premillennialism

The pretribulation position advocates that the rapture will occur before the beginning of a seven-year tribulation period, while the second coming will occur at the end of it. Pretribulationists often describe the rapture as Jesus coming ''for'' the church and the second coming as Jesus coming ''with'' the church. Pretribulation educators and preachers include Jimmy Swaggart,

Robert Jeffress Robert James Jeffress Jr. (; born November 29, 1955) is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church (Dallas), First Baptist Church, a megachurch i ...

, J. Dwight Pentecost,

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...

, J. Vernon McGee, Perry Stone, Chuck Smith, Hal Lindsey,

Jack Van Impe Jack Leo Van Impe ( ; February 9, 1931 – January 18, 2020) was an American televangelist who had a half-hour weekly television series ''Jack Van Impe Presents'', featuring eschatological commentary on the news of the week through an int ...

, Skip Heitzig, Chuck Missler, Grant Jeffrey, Thomas Ice, David Jeremiah, John F. MacArthur, and John Hagee. John Nelson Darby first solidified and popularized the pretribulation rapture in 1827. Despite vague notions of this view existing in a few

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

theologians prior to Darby, he was the first person to place it into a larger theological framework . This view was accepted among many other

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

movements in England. Darby and other prominent Brethren were part of the Brethren movement which impacted American Christianity, especially with movements and teachings associated with Christian eschatology and

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

, primarily through their writings. Influences included the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the Niagara Bible Conference. These conferences, which were initially inclusive of historicist and futurist premillennialism, led to an increasing acceptance of futurist premillennial views and the pretribulation rapture especially among Presbyterian, Baptist, and Congregational members. Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the pretribulation rapture, including William E. Blackstone's book ''Jesus is Coming'', published in 1878, which sold more than 1.3 million copies, and the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909 and 1919 and revised in 1967. Some pretribulation proponents, such as Grant Jeffrey, maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the pretribulation rapture is from a 7th-century tract known as the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem the Syrian. Different authors have proposed several different versions of the text as authentic and there are differing opinions as to whether it supports belief in a pretribulation rapture. One version of the text reads, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." In addition, '' The Apocalypse of Elijah'' and '' The History of Brother Dolcino'' both state that believers will be removed prior to the Tribulation. There exists at least one 18th-century and two 19th-century pretribulation references: in an essay published in 1788 in Philadelphia by the Baptist Morgan Edwards which articulated the concept of a pretribulation rapture, in the writings of Catholic priest Manuel Lacunza in 1812, and by John Nelson Darby in 1827. Manuel Lacunza (1731–1801), a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra), wrote an apocalyptic work entitled ''La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad'' (''The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty''). The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. In 1827, it was translated into English by the Scottish minister Edward Irving. During the 1970s, belief in the rapture became popular in wider circles, in part because of the books of Hal Lindsey, including '' The Late Great Planet Earth'', which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies, and the movie '' A Thief in the Night'', which based its title on the scriptural reference . Lindsey proclaimed that the rapture was imminent, based on world conditions at the time. In 1995, the doctrine of the pretribulation rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's '' Left Behind'' series of books, which sold close to 80 million copies and was made into several movies and four real-time strategy video games. According to Thomas Ice a belief in the imminence of Christ's return, key to modern pretribulation theology, can be found in various Church Fathers and early Christian writings.

Midtribulational premillennialism

The mid-tribulation position espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the tribulation period, or during Daniel's 70th Week. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Midtribulationists hold that the saints will go through the first period (Beginning of Travail) but will be raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's wrath in the second half of what is popularly called the Great Tribulation. Midtribulationists appeal to which says the saints will be given over to tribulation for "time, times, and half a time," – interpreted to mean 3.5 years. At the halfway point of the tribulation, the Antichrist will commit the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple. Midtribulationist teachers include Harold Ockenga, James O. Buswell (a reformed, Calvinistic Presbyterian), and Norman Harrison. This position is a minority view among premillennialists.

Prewrath premillennialism

The prewrath rapture view also places the rapture at some point during the tribulation period before the second coming. This view holds that the tribulation of the church begins toward the latter part of a seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This latter half of a seven-year period .e. yearsis defined as the great tribulation, although the exact duration is not known. References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence that this tribulation will be cut short by the coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of the rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after the sixth seal is opened and the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood. However, by this point many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the

. After the rapture will come God's seventh-seal wrath of trumpets and bowls (a.k.a. "the Day of the Lord"). The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of seven years.

Partial rapture premillennialism

The partial, conditional or selective rapture theory holds that all obedient Christians will be raptured before the great tribulation depending on one's personal fellowship (or closeness) between she or he and God, which is not to be confused with the relationship between the same and God (which is believer, regardless of fellowship). Therefore, it is believed by some that the rapture of a believer is determined by the timing of his conversion before the great tribulation. Other proponents of this theory hold that only those who are faithful in their relationship with God (having true fellowship with him) will be raptured, and the rest resurrected during the great tribulation, between the 5th and 6th seals of Revelation, having lost their lives during. Still others hold the rest will either be raptured during the tribulation or at its end. As stated by Ira David (a proponent of this view): "The saints will be raptured in groups during the tribulation as they are prepared to go." Some notable proponents of this theory are G. H. Lang, Robert Chapman, G. H. Pember, Robert Govett, D. M. Panton, Watchman Nee, Ira E. David, J. A. Seiss,

Hudson Taylor James Hudson Taylor (; 21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the OMF International, China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 54 years in China. The society tha ...

, Anthony Norris Groves, John Wilkinson, G. Campbell Morgan, Otto Stockmayer and Rev. J. W. (Chip) White Jr.

Posttribulational premillennialism

In the posttribulation premillennial position, the rapture would be identical to the second coming of Jesus or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth before a literal millennium. The posttribulation position places the rapture at the end of the tribulation period. Posttribulation writers define the tribulation period in a generic sense as the entire present age, or in a specific sense of a period of time preceding the second coming of Christ. The emphasis in this view is that the church will undergo the tribulation. – "''Immediately after the Tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect...''" – is cited as a foundational scripture for this view. Posttribulationists perceive the rapture as occurring simultaneously with the second coming of Christ. Upon Jesus's return, believers will meet him in the air and will then accompany him in his return to the Earth. In the Epistles of Paul, most notably in ("the dead in Christ shall rise first") and , a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

is described as blowing at the end of the tribulation to herald the return of Christ; further supports this view. Moreover, after chapters 6–19, and after 20:1–3 when Satan is bound, says, "and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This ''is'' the first resurrection. Blessed and holy ''is'' he that hath part in the first resurrection." Authors and teachers who support the posttribulational view include Pat Robertson, Walter R. Martin, John Piper, George E. Ladd, Robert H. Gundry, and Douglas Moo.

Postmillennialism

In the postmillennialist view the millennium is seen as an indefinitely long time thus precluding literal interpretation of a thousand-year period. According to Loraine Boettner "the world will be Christianized, and the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace, commonly called the millennium." Postmillennialists commonly view the rapture of the Church as one and the same event as the second coming of Christ. According to them the great tribulation was already fulfilled in the Jewish-Roman War of 66–73 AD that involved the destruction of Jerusalem. Authors who have expressed support for this view include the Puritan author of ''Pilgrim's Progress'', John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney.

Amillennialism

Amillennialists view the millennial rule of Christ as the current, but indefinite period that began with the foundation of the church and that will end with the Second Coming—a period where Christ already reigns with his saints through the

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and his church. They view the life of the church as Christ's kingdom already established (inaugurated on the day of the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

described in the first chapter of Acts), but not to be made complete until his second coming. This framework precludes a literal interpretation of the thousand-year period mentioned in chapter twenty of Revelation, viewing the number "thousand" as numerologically symbolic and pertaining to the current age of the church. Amillennialists generally do not use "rapture" as a theological term, but they do view a similar event coinciding with the second coming—primarily as a mystical gathering with Christ. To amillennialists the final days already began on the day of the Pentecost, but that the great tribulation will occur during the final phase or conclusion of the millennium, with Christ then returning as the alpha and omega at the end of time. Unlike premillennialists who predict the millennium as a literal thousand-year reign by Christ after his return, amillennialists emphasize the continuity and permanency of his reign throughout all periods of the New Covenant, past, present and future. They do not regard mentions of Jerusalem in the chapter twenty-one of Revelation as pertaining to the present geographical city, but to a future new Jerusalem or "new heaven and new earth", for which the church through the twelve apostles (representing of the twelve tribes of Israel) currently lays the foundation in the messianic kingdom already present. Unlike certain premillennial dispensationalists, they do not view the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem as either necessary or legitimate, because the practice of animal sacrifices has now been fulfilled in the life of the church through Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Authors who have expressed support for the amillenialist view include St. Augustine. The amillennialist viewpoint is the position held by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, as well as mainline Protestant bodies, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and many Reformed congregations.

Date

Since the origin of the concept, some believers have made predictions regarding the date of the event. All have failed in their attempt to set a date.

Failed predictions

Some notable predictions of the date of the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

of Jesus, which may or may not refer to the rapture, include the following: * 1843–44: William Miller predicted that Christ would return between 21 March 1843 and 21 March 1844, then revised his prediction, claiming to have miscalculated the Bible, to 22 October 1844. The realization that the predictions were incorrect resulted in the Great Disappointment. Miller's theology gave rise to the Advent movement, which later on gave birth to the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

. Followers of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

believe that Christ did return as Miller predicted in 1844, with the advent of the Báb, and numerous Miller-like prophetic predictions from many religions are given in William Sears' book, ''Thief in The Night''. * 1914, 1918, and 1925: Various dates were predicted for the Second Coming of Jesus by Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Watch Tower Society, and many of his successors heading his Bible Students Association, which was later renamed the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

. Some predictions of the date of the rapture include the following: * 1981: Chuck Smith predicted that Jesus would probably return by 1981. * 1988: Edgar C. Whisenant published a book called ''88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988''. * 1994-09-06: Radio evangelist Harold Camping predicted 6 September 1994. * 2011-05-21: Harold Camping's revised prediction put 21 May 2011 as the date of the rapture. After this date passed without apparent incident, Camping made a radio broadcast stating that a non-visible "spiritual judgement" had indeed taken place, and that the physical rapture would occur on 21 October 2011. On that date, according to Camping, the "whole world will be destroyed." * 2017-09-23: Christian numerologist David Meade based this prediction on astrological theories.

Notes

References

{{Reflist , refs = {{Cite book , last=Kyle , first = Richard G. , author-link= Richard G. Kyle , date= 1998 , pages=78–79 , title=The Last Days Are Here Again: A History of the End Times , location= Grand Rapids, Michigan , publisher=

Baker Books Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chosen, an ...

, isbn = 978-0-8010-5809-7 {{cite book , last=Boyer , first=Paul , author-link= Paul Boyer (historian) , date= 1992 , pag
75
, title=When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture , url= https://archive.org/details/whentimeshallben0000boye , url-access=registration , location=Cambridge, MA , publisher=Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, isbn = 978-0-674-95128-0 {{cite book , last=Marotta , first=Frank , year=1995 , title=Morgan Edwards: An Eighteenth Century Pretribulationist , location= Jackson Township, New Jersey , publisher=Present Truth Publishers , isbn = 978-0-9640037-8-1 , oclc = 36897344 {{cite web , last= Hommel , first= Jason , title= The Jesuits and the Rapture: Francisco Ribera & Emmanuel Lacunza , url = http://bibleprophesy.org/jesuitrapture.htm , access-date = 22 January 2011 , website= Jason Hommel's Bible Prophecy Study on the Pre Tribulation Rapture , location = Grass Valley, California , url-status= dead , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101209094535/http://bibleprophesy.org/jesuitrapture.htm , archive-date= 9 December 2010 {{Cite book , last= Tregelles , first=Samuel Prideaux , author-link= Samuel Prideaux Tregelles , year=1864 , title= The Hope of Christ's Second Coming: How is it Taught in Scripture? and Why? , location = London , publisher= Houlston and Wright , url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fj5VAAAAcAAJ Reprint: {{Cite book , last= Tregelles , first=Samuel Prideaux , author-link= Samuel Prideaux Tregelles , year= 2006 , title= The Hope of Christ's Second Coming , location=Milesburg, PA , publisher= Strong Tower Publishing , isbn=978-0-9772883-0-4 {{Cite book , last=Oliphant , first=Margaret , author-link= Margaret Oliphant , year=1862 , pages=220–223 , title=The life of Edward Irving, minister of the National Scotch Church, London , volume=First volume , url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofirving01olipuoft , location=London , publisher= Hurst and Blackett , access-date= 17 March 2015 {{Cite book , last=Miller , first=Edward , year=1878 , page=8 , title=The history and doctrines of Irvingism , volume=II , url= https://archive.org/details/historyanddoctri02milluoft , location=London , publisher= C. Kegan Paul & Co. , access-date= 16 March 2015 {{Cite book , publisher=John L. Bray Ministry , last=Bray , first=John L , year= 1982 , pages=24–25 , title=The origin of the pre-tribulation rapture teaching , location=

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

{{Cite book , last1= Blaising , first1= Craig A. , author-link1= Craig A. Blaising , last2= Bock , first2= Darrell L. , author-link2= Darrell Bock , date= November 1993 , title=Progressive Dispensationalism , location=Wheaton, IL , publisher= Bridgepoint Books , isbn=978-1-56476-138-5 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsumJRsOWVMC {{cite web , title= About the Supposed Rapture , url= http://www.synaxis.org/catechist/rapture.html , publisher= Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Omaha , location=

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, access-date= 23 January 2011 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140402041125/http://www.synaxis.org/catechist/rapture.html , archive-date= 2 April 2014 , quote= Rapture is a popular term among some Protestant sects for the raising of the faithful from the dead....The belief in rapture tends to be what is called 'pre-tribulation'. {{cite book , last=Lindsey , first=Hal , author-link= Hal Lindsey , date= 1 June 1989 , pag
77
, title= The Road to Holocaust , publisher= Bantam Books , isbn=978-0-553-05724-9 , url= https://archive.org/details/roadtoholocaust00hall , url-access=registration {{cite book , editor-last= Keeley , editor-first= Robin , date= 1982 , page=415 , title=Eerdmans' Handbook to Christian Belief , location= Grand Rapids , publisher= Eerdmans , isbn=978-0-8028-3577-2 {{cite web , last= Missler , first= Chuck , author-link= Chuck Missler , date= June 1995 , title= Byzantine Text Discovery: Ephraem the Syrian , url= http://www.khouse.org/articles/1995/39/ , publisher= Koinonia House , location=

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

, access-date= 22 March 2015 , quote= For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. , archive-date= 29 April 2016 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160429185009/http://khouse.org/articles/1995/39/ , url-status= dead {{cite web , last=Hommel , first=Jason , title=A Sermon by Pseudo-Ephraem , url=http://www.bibleprophesy.org/ancient.htm , access-date= 22 March 2015 , website= Jason Hommel's Bible Prophecy Study on the Pre Tribulation Rapture , location= Grass Valley, California , quote= For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. {{cite web , last= Warner , first= Tim , year= 2001 , title= Pseudo-Pseudo-Ephraem , url= http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/timeline/ephraem.html , url-status= dead , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050218123936/http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/timeline/ephraem.html , archive-date=18 February 2005 , website= The Last Trumpet , publisher= Post-Trib Research Center , location=

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

See Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem for a detailed explanation of the text and the controversy.

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Prophecy of the Rapture {{Doomsday {{Authority control 1833 introductions Christian eschatology Dispensationalism New Testament words and phrases Christian terminology Entering heaven alive