Why I No Longer Believe in the Rapture (1/2)
Dispensationalism and Church History
There are themes in our Christian faith that not only affect our convictions, but also shape our entire image of God. The “Rapture” has been a central element of my hope and understanding of the end times for many years. In countless sermons, books and films, I have been told: The true church will one day suddenly dissapear from the earth, raptured into heaven, before a time of unspeakable suffering will begin. The “Tribulation”.
Christ, it is said, comes secretly in the clouds to save His church before He later appears publicly for judgement. This idea was not only exciting for me, but it also promised security in an uncertain world. I watched dozens of YouTube videos about it and was very enthusiastic for a long time. But in my course of my theological studies and my more intensive study of the Holy Scripture and church history, it became more and more clear to me that this doctrine is neither biblically tenable nor spiritually sound. It contradicts the proclamation of Jesus as well as the historic (reformation) doctrine. Nevertheless, I can understand very well why one believes in this doctrine, or why one considers it to be biblically founded and also actively defends oneself. My goal is to encourage examination, not to condemn. So if you believe in the doctrine of the Rapture, I have not really a problem with that. Even if I no longer agree with it. True hope is not based on popular speculation, but on the testimony of Scripture: Christ is coming, Hallelujah! Visible, glorious, final.
What does Rapture theology teach?
Anyone who talks about the Rapture must first clarify what is meant by this term. For not every talk of the "Rapture" is automatically false or speculative. In fact, the Bible speaks of living believers being transformed and "raptured" at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). But what is proclaimed as The Rapture in much of evangelical fundamentalism, especially in the USA, goes far beyond this biblical hope and is based on a very specific theological system: dispensationalism. The classical Rapture doctrine, as developed in the 19th century by John Nelson Darby (Plymouth Brethren) and popularized worldwide by the Scofield Reference Bible, is fundamentally different from the view of the early church and the Reformation. Your central model looks like this:
The return of Christ takes place in two phases: First, Christ comes invisibly and secretly to rapture His church from the "Great Tribulation".
This is followed by seven years of tribulation on earth, in which Israel plays a central role while the church is in heaven.
At the end of these years, Christ will come visibly and gloriously to establish His Millennial Kingdom of Peace on earth.
This view is also known as Pre-Tribulation Rapture . It differs from other variants (mid-trib, post-trib), but they all share the basic concept: the church is taken out of the world before the actual final judgment begins.
The most important biblical passages of the Rapture doctrine
There are some key verses that, when viewed in isolation, may well seem like such a rapture:
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air..."
1 Corinthians 15:51–52: "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
Matthew 24:40–41: "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."
Revelation 3:10: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
These texts form the exegetical basis for many books, films and sermons that depict the scenario of a sudden evacuation of the faithful. The popular film series "Left Behind" in particular ensured distribution. What distinguishes this doctrine is not only its eschatological scenario, but also its effect on the practice of faith. It produces a dualistic worldview, an Israel-centered end-time theology: the church is removed from the picture, while God's plans for Israel continue on earth, and a strong culture of speculation: current events are constantly linked to prophetic statements (e.g., Middle East conflicts, the UN, microchip theories etc.). But the closer one deals with these foundations, the clearer it becomes that the Rapture doctrine is a relatively recent development that is anchored neither in biblical testimony nor in the historical teaching of the church. That was a big criterion for me. Neither in the Old or in the New Testament is there any mention of a double parousia. That is, a secret "partial return" and a later visible one. The talk of the parousia (coming of Christ) is uniform in the New Testament: "As the lightning goes out from the east and shines to the west, so also will the coming (παρουσία) of the Son of Man be." (Mt 24:27) This Second Coming is unmistakable. There is no Scripture that describes a previous, secret rapture that is to take place seven years before the actual coming of Christ. Rather, the resurrection of the dead, the rapture of the living and the judgment are described as a single, coherent process (cf. Jn 5:28-29; Mt 25; 2 Thess 1:7–10).
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I grew up in and believed and taught the rapture for years as a pastor. Until having read the Bible multiple times in multiple translations I realized the teaching takes its reference from verses taken out of context. After that realization I have taught and practiced never teaching based upon a single verse or chapter without teaching the full context in which it sits. I even narrated the Darby Bible for Audible, and could not make the pre-tribulational rapture idea reveal itself in the translation written by the man who formed so much of that idea.
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The early believers understood the pattern of death, burial, and resurrection wasn’t just Christ’s personal story. It was the story of the Word itself.
“Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24)
If Christ is the Word, then the crucifixion of Christ also foreshadows the crucifixion of truth—its distortion, rejection, and burial through time.
But what did Paul also teach?
“That He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
(1 Corinthians 15:4)