Eschatology, the rapture, and the end times are often met with eye-rolling by individuals like myself. Many progressives have experienced what can be termed as “rapture trauma” due to the constant preaching and emphasis on Christ’s imminent return. It is not just the words themselves that caused distress, but the way in which eschatology became a way of life within premillennial traditions. The pressure was not solely on belief, but on living with the constant anxiety that Christ could return any minute.
As a concept, I don’t actually think there is anything wrong with that. I can only imagine that if most Christians lived their faith with that type of immediacy, the world would be a much better place. But there is a difference between living the hope of Christ before the world and having consistent anxiety over some apocalypse that may or may not occur in our lifetime.
Understanding Eschatological Passages
There is a problem when it comes to the so-called rapture passages. Although you can find people citing numerous passages when you actually look them up, most of them have to do with the return of Christ and not the rapture. Those are two different events. Let me give you an example. There is an article on the Focus on the Family website about the rapture. The author states that the doctrine of the rapture “…is based upon two passages. The first and plainest is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18”
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend 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. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
He goes on to state that the second is like it, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
I don’t know about you, but when I read those passages, it looks more like they are talking about the return of Christ and not some event called the Rapture. But, I also want to make sure I am presenting the premillennial position fairly and accurately so I did my own research and reviewed all of the passages that are used to justify the rapture.
Even though the author assured his readers that those were the two most convincing passages about the rapture, I found two better ones. First, Luke 17:34:
“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.”
Second, Revelation 3:10:
“Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
In the first passage, it could be argued that if it only had to do with the return of Christ then why are there people left on earth? In the second passage, it could be argued that “keeping you from the hour of testing” means that the individual escapes the wrath of the tribulation period and is therefore raptured.
As a side note, it is pretty sad if the person debunking a position can create a stronger position than the individual who is the advocate. Just saying.
It is important to recognize that despite the evidence presented, there is a psychological trick at play in this conversation known as “selective bias”. While this term is commonly associated with scientific methodologies, it also applies to psychology. The issue at hand is that individuals are interpreting the concept of the rapture into the text, rather than allowing the text to naturally lead to the idea. This can be confirmed by understanding the origin of the rapture concept, which was created by John Nelson Darby. Unlike most theological ideas that are derived from the Bible, Darby developed an entire system called dispensationalism and selectively found scripture to support the notion of the rapture. In fact, he even had his own bible translation and commentary that became quite the rage for the fundamentalists of the early 20th century. Consequently, when dispensationalists read these passages, they do so with the preconceived belief in the rapture, rather than allowing the text to provide evidence for it.
Toward a Progressive Eschatology
The belief in the rapture presents a major challenge in terms of context. During the time of the New Testament’s writing, it was widely believed that Christ’s return would occur within the lifetime of the writers, or at least in close proximity. This is evident in the writings of those who discuss the concept of Christ’s return.
For example, in the second text I provided Revelation 3:10, you will notice the phrase “…that hour, which is about to come”. Clearly, the author believed that Christ was going to return soon. He certainly did not believe it would be 2000 + years into the future.
It is important to make a distinction between the return of Christ and the rapture. It seems to me that the New Testament clearly states that one day Jesus will return. What that looks like we do not know. However, nowhere does it state that there is some event before his return where all Christians are taken to heaven.
Second, and perhaps most important is that we are not to know when the return of Christ is to happen. In fact, Jesus was clear when he said that not even he knows the time of his return. If not even Jesus knows, then how can humans purport to know? It’s pure arrogance.
I think the important question is, why do you think God doesn’t want us to know? Perhaps he said that because then we would always live with the hopeful expectation of his return. Imagine if we knew that Jesus was going to return at a specific date. What would that mean for the faith? It would mean only those within that generation would need to be ready. Only those people would need to live a certain way. However, if we all think it could be our generation, then we are all forced to live that way. We are all forced to live with the hope that it might be tomorrow.
That is what I think the purpose of eschatology is – just as Israel had to wait for the Messiah to come, so too do we have to wait now. We have to wait with the same hope and expectation they did. Unfortunately, Israel lost hope and when the Messiah arrived they missed him. Let us not miss his return again and live our lives like tomorrow might be the day we meet Jesus.
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