One of the most popular “facts” embraced by members of the Institutional Church is that just prior to (“pre-trib”) or in the middle of (“mid-trib”) the Great Tribulation Jesus Christ will return to our atmosphere to quietly take His church to heaven in what has come to be known as the “rapture,” leaving behind those who have not been “saved/born again” and have not “joined the church.” Several problems arise when viewing this foundational church doctrine from a Scriptural point of view. I will at this point briefly address two such problems, each coming in the form of a question. Question one: which “church” is God’s church? Each church preaches that it, and it alone is God’s church, which means that each church is His church. But if all churches are His, why is there more than one church? Question two: who ultimately decides which church is His church? If man decides, then all churches are His church. If God decides, then none of the hundreds of religious bodies comprising Catholicism/Protestantism are His church, a fact He repeatedly proclaims in His Word.
The “rapture” is a pew-packing, coffer-filling example of heathenism that not only has no Scriptural basis, but is one of the most dangerous bits of fantasy known to the church. Let us examine the Scriptures to discern the spiritual condition of those who approach the Great Tribulation believing that God will suddenly snatch them up to paradise just before that terrible time encompasses the earth. But before we look into the extreme danger that this popular doctrine poses for the believer, let us take a mental walk back through church history to determine the origin of the rapture hoax. At this point a previously-stated warning will be repeated. Just because a church “fact” has been believed by multiplied millions of church people for thousands of years does not make it true. Only God’s Word makes a doctrine true. As the reader will see, there is nothing Scriptural about the rapture theory.
In 1830 an Irish woman named Margaret McDonald experienced a vision in which God supposedly revealed to her that Christians (anyone belonging to “the” church) would not go through the Great Tribulation, but would instead be “snatched up” to heaven where they would spend eternity with Him. See Life After Death. She soon began to share her “vision from God” with friends and fellow believers. In that, relative to all things religious, good news travels fast and is never doubted, word of Margaret’s vision soon spread throughout the land. As her popularity grew she began to minister to ever-growing crowds in her home where she taught that the saints would be “raptured” out of this world just before the Beast/Antichrist came on the scene. Margaret’s vision was soon picked up by the church. Because it was presented as truth and scratched the hearers’ itching ears, the vision soon became “God’s Truth” and was adopted as a tenant of the faith–it was now a “fact” not to be questioned.
Initially, the rapture doctrine was known only in Europe. But news that good soon proved to be too popular to be confined to only one part of the world. Satan made certain that this bit of religious hocus-pocus made its way to the New World–the spirit of Antichrist was on the move. Though a considerable amount of Scripture-twisting had to be applied to render it Biblical, the churches in America soon embraced the new doctrine from on high. As does her modern counterpart, the early American church operated on the theory that anything that brought people into the church had to be from God. The fact that God nowhere so much as hints that there will be a secret rapture that will take saints to heaven had no effect on believers. Neither does that truth today. Though some pastors realized the fallacy of the theory and voiced their opinion, the die was cast; there was no turning back.
As stated, not everyone was taken in by the rapture ruse. However, those who came out against it were either brow-beaten into acknowledging the truth of the vision or were dismissed as heretics. Nothing has changed; no amount of Scriptural proof can change a mind determined to believe the devil’s lie. The theory is so ensconced in the Counterfeit Church that there are documented cases in which seminary graduates have been denied their degrees for doubting the veracity of the vision. Others have had their ordination papers pulled for questioning the doctrine. But what harm can come from believing in the rapture? Much. As the reader will see, those who believe that they will be taken to heaven in order to miss the Great Tribulation will be unprepared to face what is coming. Rapturists will be taken in by a fake messiah who will convince them to fight against the True Messiah when He returns to earth to establish the Kingdom of God. Incredibly, they will believe that Jesus Christ is the Antichrist. To be continued. L.J.
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