Rapture ???
By Stan Butler

A lot of money has been made and is being made with the scare tactics involved with something called the “rapture”. Let’s look at how this “rapture thing” got started, and then spread, and then what the word of God has to say about Christ’s return.

The doctrine of a secret rapture was first conceived by John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren in 1827. Darby, given credit for being known as the “father of dispensationalism, is the inventor of the doctrine known as “the rapture”, claiming that there are two second comings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1830 in Scotland, a 15 yr old girl named Margaret McDonald had a vision that Jesus would return to earth twice. She saw Jesus taking true believers to heaven and then returning again for the last judgment. During a Darby visit to her hometown of Port Glasgow, she shared her vision with John Darby. He then incorporated Margaret’s vision and his own thoughts into a precise end time plot based on passages found throughout the Bible. The centerpiece of his prophetic system—Jesus would rescue believers before the horrors of the book of Revelation. This doctrine was then spread by Darby throughout Great Britain and America and called “the rapture”.

In the early 20th century, Darby’s ideas were taken up by a man named C.I.Scoffield. C.I.Scoffield annotated a Bible based partly on Darby’s end time prophecies. (Annotate—add explanatory notes to a book, document, etc.) He put his notes on the same page as the biblical text and often times readers couldn’t remember if they had read about the rapture in the book of the Bible itself or on the bottom of the page. This Scoffield Bible has sold over 11,000,000 copies worldwide and is still in print in seven different languages.

We’re told in Acts 2:9-11…"And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” No secret coming or snatching away here. He’ll return just as He left, with witnesses

Jesus said in Matthew 26:64… that we would see Him coming in clouds of glory. No secret coming or snatching away here. All eyes shall behold Him.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17..."For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." No secret coming or snatching away here either. It’ll be a loud announcement from the start, and then we’ll see the graves opened up and those that are “in Christ” will be caught up with the dead in Christ. Does this describe a secret snatching away (rapture)?

And in Revelation 1:7…"Behold He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him."

There will be no secret snatching away of just the faithful. (All eyes shall be a witness)
There will be no second chance for the lost to be saved. (Better talk to your loved ones now)
There will be no rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem with animal sacrifices. Our Jewish friends need to accept and believe that Jesus is their promised Messiah.

Absolutely nothing on earth is preventing or will prevent the second and final coming of our King. All that has to happen is for the Father to look to the right hand side of His throne and speak the words, “Go get ‘em Son.” No future events must take place first. Now is the day of salvation. Don’t be deceived into thinking you have time on your side and many things must happen before Christ can return. Don’t think you can wait till there is a temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem. Don’t think you can wait till some guy with a scar on his face comes into power. Act, and do it now.

Hear the gospel, believe that Jesus is the only Christ and the very Son of God, confess this before men now and till you die, repent of your sins, be baptized for the remission of those sins, and be faithful till death to the Lord and His Table. Put your energy into soul winning instead of arguments about an imaginary “rapture.”

My thanks to Michael, a brother in Christ, who is my corrective grammarian.