{"id":7297,"date":"2014-06-04T06:00:32","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T13:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?p=7297"},"modified":"2014-07-02T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2014-07-02T18:57:15","slug":"why-the-rapture-isnt-biblical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/06\/04\/why-the-rapture-isnt-biblical\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Rapture isn’t Biblical… And Why it Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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I grew up in church culture. Most of what I recall from those early childhood and teenage years bring memories of good things.\u00a0 People genuinely taught me that loving Jesus matters more than anything else in the world.\u00a0 The world, after all, is corrupt and the place we truly long for is far, far away \u2013 heaven.\u00a0 So we are to love Jesus and hate the world.<\/p>\n

Now, this is not hatred toward the people on earth.\u00a0 I did not grow up in a church culture that taught that we ought to tell outsiders how much they suck, but that this \u201cworld is not my home, I\u2019m just a passin\u2019 through.\u201d<\/p>\n

World and physicality = bad.
\nJesus and spiritual bliss in a distant heaven = goal of the game.<\/p>\n

This distinction came with a subset of beliefs about the destiny of God\u2019s world.\u00a0 Eventually this planet would be destroyed and we Christians would \u201cfly away\u201d to heaven at the rapture of the church.\u00a0 Certain Christians understood the timing of the rapture as it corresponds to the book of Revelation differently than others, but no one ever denied the imminent return of Jesus to evacuate the church out of earth.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019ve come to realize is that the church of my youth probably had the rapture all wrong.\u00a0 You see, the Bible flows from Creation (Gen 1-2) to Renewed Creation (Rev 21-22).\u00a0 This is the narrative of Scripture.\u00a0 Nothing in the text (if read in its proper context) alludes to the actual complete destruction of the planet.\u00a0 This world\u2019s worth to the Creator runs deep and because of this, the world as a whole ought to be\u00a0intrinsically valuable<\/a>\u00a0to us.<\/p>\n

Physical\/earthly realities such as social injustice, violence, hunger, preventable sickness, and the destruction of nature are invitations to the church of Jesus to get our hands dirty and proclaim that\u00a0this world matters<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(even in its broken state)!\u00a0Christ will complete creation upon his return, uniting heaven and earth for the life of the age to come!<\/em><\/p>\n

The famous \u201crapture\u201d passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 4.15-17 and reads:<\/p>\n

According to the Lord\u2019s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.\u00a0 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will\u00a0rise<\/em>\u00a0first.\u00a0 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This passage, when placed in the larger context of the chapter, is answering questions that Christians in Thessalonica had concerning death.\u00a0\u00a0What has happened to our loved ones who have died before the return of Christ to earth? What is theirs and our ultimate destiny?<\/em>\u00a0Paul\u2019s answer:\u00a0bodily resurrection at the return of Christ to earth!\u00a0 Not an escape into the sky [see\u00a0appendix\u00a0below!].<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In this passage, Paul borrows two specific images from the Old Testament that would have been familiar to Jewish converts and Gentiles who were familiarizing themselves with the Hebrew tradition.\u00a0 The first of these that Paul employs in the text has to do with\u00a0Moses who comes down from Mount Sinai with the Law with the great blast of the trumpet<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The second image is taken from\u00a0Daniel chapter 7 where the \u201cone like the son of man\u201d \u00a0(or \u201chuman being\u201d or \u201cThe Human One\u201d) and the community he represents is vindicated over the enemies of the people of God<\/em>.\u00a0 Clouds here symbolize the power and authoritative judgement of God about the rescue of his people. This idea now seems to be applied to Christians who are facing various forms of persecution.<\/p>\n

Finally, there is a third image in the text that comes from outside of the canonical context.\u00a0 This is\u00a0the image of an emperor who visits a city.\u00a0 The people of that region would have gone out to meet him to usher him into their home in a royal procession<\/em>\u00a0out in the\u00a0open air<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 This, Paul seems to apply to the church who will usher in their King into the new creation.***<\/p>\n

Rapture, as it is popularly understood, is nowhere to be found in this \u201crapture\u201d passage.\u00a0 Christ will return to resurrect, to purge, to heal, and to establish the eternal kingdom of God on this earth. Heaven and earth will unite like a bride and husband \u2013 for all eternity. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

The Bible teaches that when Christ comes back, it will be Good News!\u00a0 \u201c\u2018He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away\u2019\u201d (Revelation 21.4).\u00a0 Surely we cannot erase judgment from the picture, but the hope is that those in Christ will be raised to eternal life and everything that is wrong with this world will be made right.<\/p>\n

This world renewed is going to be our home for eternity, and we have the opportunity to reflect that future in our present. \u00a0Rapture invites us to escape this world: the last thing that Jesus would have ever taught! \u201cOn earth as in heaven\u201d is what he said, not \u201cin heaven away from the earth!\u201d Our world\u2019s future is hopeful. Let\u2019s tell that story and not the escapist narratives that many of us grew up with.<\/p>\n

[Kurt Note: This article is an adaptation from various pieces that are part of my \u201crapture<\/a>\u201d category.]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

APPENDIX<\/h1>\n

Word Study, 1 Thessalonians 4.17 (Warning: a bit more technical!)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Below is a Word Study that I did based on 1 Thessalonians 4.17.\u00a0 What is interesting to me is how it reinforced my belief that the \u201crapture\u201d as it is popularly understood (Jesus secretly returns to extract believers from earth to heaven for eternity) is completely unwarranted.\u00a0 If you choose to follow the logic below, you will know why \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

1. Word Identification<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The word underlying \u201cair\u201d in 1 Thessalonians 4.17 is the Greek word \u201c\u1f00\u03ae\u03c1\u201d (Strong\u2019s: #109).<\/p>\n

2. Frequency and Distribution<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n