{"id":564,"date":"2023-12-14T22:53:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T22:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/?p=564"},"modified":"2026-02-20T22:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:30:23","slug":"the-rapture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/2023\/12\/14\/the-rapture\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rapture?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bulletin Q&A Article; Published 12-3-23:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the \u201crapture\u201d that other faiths believe will come?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term rapture<\/em> actually comes from the Catholic Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. It has been borrowed and misused by a small group of Protestants. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 we find the Latin word rapiemur<\/em>. If you insert the word rapiemur<\/em> into Google Translate, it spits out \u201cwe will be raptured\u201d as the English translation. However, if you insert the entire verse 17, the meaning of rapiemur,<\/em> in context, is translated as \u201cwe will be caught up together\u201d. I searched many English translations of the Bible, and could not find one that actually contains the word rapture<\/em>. (There are those who have no problem accepting the word rapture<\/em> which is not found in their Bible, but won\u2019t accept the concept of Purgatory because that word is not in the Bible.) The Catholic Bible used in liturgies in the United States has this translation of the verse: \u201cThen we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verse refers to the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time when Jesus comes for the Final Judgement, and yes we will be \u201craptured\u201d at that time\u2014we will be caught up together to meet the Lord. Those who have died will receive their resurrected bodies and then the Final Judgement will occur. So far, so good. To understand the misinterpretation of the rapture, we have to look at another issue\u2014the tribulation and when it occurs. The tribulation will be a time of testing as described in the Catechism: \u201cBefore Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the \u2018mystery of iniquity\u2019 in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh (CCC #675).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those that hold the concept of the rapture that was popularized in the Left Behind <\/em>books and movies, maintain a belief in a tribulation that occurs after the rapture instead of before. In their construction, the believers are caught up into the heavens so they can escape and be protected from the tribulation, while the non-believers are left behind to suffer. It is sometimes referred to as dispensationalism<\/em> and is a fairly new concept, first proposed in the 1800s. Proponents say that that the tribulation will last for seven years and then Jesus will come again for the Final Judgement. Part of the belief is based on the passage from Luke where Jesus says: \u201cI tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.<\/a> And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left (Lk. 17:34-35).\u201d<\/em> But this passage does not refer to some being caught up to Heaven and others being left on earth to face tribulation. It indicates the swiftness of the Final Judgement. Some will enter eternal life and some eternal death. This is indicated when Jesus adds: \u201cWhere the body is, there also the vultures will gather (Lk. 17:37)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main problem with the tribulation occurring after the rapture is that it requires both a second and a third coming of Christ\u2014the second for the rapture, and the third for the Final Judgement\u2014and this is never spoken of in Scripture. Proponents argue that the rapture is a secret coming and does not count as the Second Coming because they will meet in the air and not on the earth. Presumably, the believers, along with the resurrected dead, will just hang out in the clouds for seven years until Jesus returns. It is not clear whether they believe all the dead will be raised with them, or just the dead believers. I find that those who think that they will escape tribulation by being raptured are being more than a little bit presumptuous. We are all sinners. Who are they to think that they do not also deserve a time of suffering and testing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of the Rapture does not seem to have wide acceptance. A survey of \u201csenior Protestant preachers\u201d indicates that only about a third believe in the Rapture. It seems that it has greater appeal among non-denominational Protestants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bulletin Q&A Article; Published 12-3-23: What is the \u201crapture\u201d that other faiths believe will come? The term rapture actually comes from the Catholic Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. It has been borrowed and misused by a small group of Protestants. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 we find the Latin word rapiemur. If you insert the… Continue reading The Rapture?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-articles","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":565,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564\/revisions\/565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}