Are you Rapture ready?
Are you sure?
But wait is it Biblical?
Is it man-made?
Born-again Christian believed in Rapture, but the ONLY question is when? Does the idea of rupture is really as what they understood? Or it is just a product of their wild imagination.
Before anything else, let us set some principles, before we dissect this absurd idea.
"But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone. [37] And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24:36 [Douay-Rheims]
There are so many sects predicts the end of times. Some of them let you convinced about it through the "Global Crisis" or "Wars". But have you notice, all of them failed. If you believe them then you had deliberately ignored the verse above.
"Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come."
Matthew 24:44
Be ready. As a Catholic, we should NOT be afraid when the time comes. The Church always remind us to reaffirm our love and faith to God, through the Holy Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Confession. The key is that we should not be swayed by ill-minded people who ONLY spread terror in our hearts.
Then again St. James writes " Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain." James 5:7 [DRB].
He seems not scaring you right? St. James only said "Be Patient". Let us be patient in all our struggles in life, holding a burning faith.
So where does this idea came from?
We read 1 Thess. 4:16-17 and it reads:
"Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words."
Many Protestant called this Rapture. Hmmm, funny it does not says it is in the verse right? So where does this really came from? Actually they got it from the Latin Vulgate, hijacking the word "rapiemur". Other verses to support their claim are the following: John 14:3, 1 Cor. 15:2
The question what Protestant raised is when will it happen? They create three possible scenarios:
1. Post-Tribulation
2. Pre-Tribulation
3. Mid-Tribulation
Now which of the three? All Protestant denomination differs, some chose, choice No.1 or some choice No.3. Wew.... and yet they could not agree.... Though some create a wonderful reasons to choose all the three choices...Smart right?
But where did this mind set sets in? Let us read Rev. 20:2-3 ; 7-8.
" And he laid hold on the dragon the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished. And after that, he must be loosed a little time." Rev. 20:2-3 [DRB]
" And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they came upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city." Rev. 20: 7-8 [DRB]
The word "Thousand years" or so known as "Millennium" so we call them 'the Millennism' We should be reminded that the word 'Thousand year" is a literature language used by the writter in the Apocalypse. But it does not necessary that whenever we read 'thousand years' it means the correct number of years before the end of time.
It is actually so absurd that when we read Daniel 7:10 we read:
" A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened."
or 2 Peter 3:8 it says "But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
So the word "Thousand" should not be taken as a literally. To be able to understand what it really says in a particular verse, we must look or be familiarize with the culture, the language, the literary forms, and most especially how they use a certain word.
For example when we say it is "Raining cats and dogs" does it literally mean we see poodles, great Dane, and Egyptian Cats drop in the sky?
To strengthen their claim, they devise these explanations, they try to go circle about the idea and here it is:
(1) Post-millennialism – this view interprets the “thousand years” as a very long time. This view also holds that God’s kingdom is being advanced in the world by His grace and the world will eventually be Christianized. Then Christ will return at the close of this period during a time of righteousness and peace. The problem with this view is that the Scriptures do not teach that the world will be even relatively Christianized before the Second Coming. For example, in Matt. 13:24-30;36-43, Jesus says the wicked and the righteous will co-exist until the end of the world, when they will be judged, and either inherit eternal life, or be thrown into eternal fire.
(2) Pre-millenialism (also called “millenarianism”) – like post-millennialists, this view also interprets the “thousand years” as a golden age on earth when the world will be Christianized. But they believe that this period will occur after Christ’s second coming, during which time Christ will reign physically on earth. They believe the Final Judgment occurs when the millennium is over. But Scripture does not teach that there is a thousand year span between the Second Coming and Final Judgment. Instead, Jesus said that when He comes a second time in glory, He will immediately repay every man for what he has done. Matt. 16:27. When Jesus comes, He will separate the sheep from the goats and render judgment. Matt. 25:31-46. There is nothing about any period of time between His coming and final judgment.
(3) Amillennialism – this view also interprets the “thousand years” symbolically, but, ulike the pre and post views, not as a golden age on earth. This view believes the millennium is the period of Christ’s rule in heaven and on earth through His Church. This is because the saints who reign with Christ and to whom judgment has been committed are said to be on their thrones in heaven. Rev. 20:4; cf. 4:4; 11:16. During this time, satan is bound and cannot hinder the spread of the gospel. Rev. 20:3. This is why, they explain, Jesus teaches the necessity of binding the “strong man” (satan) in order to plunder his house and rescue people from his grip. Matt. 12:29. This is also why, after the disciples preached the gospel and rejoiced that the demons were even subject to them, Jesus declared, “I saw satan fall like lightening from heaven.” Luke 10:18. Nevertheless, during this period, the world will not be entirely Christianized because satan, though bound, is still in some sense able to prowl around and attack souls. cf. 1 Peter 5:8. Of the three, this position is most consistent with Catholic teaching (the pre and post-millennium views have been rejected by the Church).
Another thing to remember, that the Protestant claims ALWAYS tangled with other verses in the Bible... Let us analyze this one, take for example this verse:
" That you be not easily moved from your sense, nor be terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle, as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God." 2 Thess. 2:2-4 [DRB]
Read the above verse carefully.....read it twice.... then imagine what it says.... Most Protestant believe that the Second coming of Christ will be held with great Tribulation (Try to flip your Bible, and you CAN NOT read Tribulation in the Bible).
So the question is when will the 1 Thess. 4:16-17 a.k.a "Rapture" will occur? Here are the Three theories mentioned earlier...
(1) Post-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur right after the tribulation and immediately before the Second Coming of Christ. This view can be consistent with Scripture and Catholic teaching to the extent it holds that the rapture and Christ’s Second Coming occur together, after the tribulation and the Church Militant on earth. See, for example, Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; 2 Thess. 1:1-12.
(2) Pre-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur before the tribulation. The problem with this view is that it requires three comings of Christ – first, when He was born in Bethlehem; second, when He returns for the rapture before the tribulation; third, when He returns at the end of the tribulation and establishes the millennium. Scripture rejects three comings of Christ. In Heb. 9:28, it is clear that Christ will appear a second and final time, when he comes in glory to save us. This view also is inconsistent with Matt. 24:24-31; Mark 13:24-27; and 2 Thess. 2:1-12 where the rapture and the Second Coming occur together.
(3) Mid-tribulational view – this view holds that the rapture will occur during the middle of the tribulation. The problem with this view is that it also requires three comings of Christ – first, when He was born in Bethlehem; second, when He returns for the rapture during the middle of the tribulation; third, when He returns at the end of the tribulation and establishes the millennium. As seen in Heb. 9:28, Scripture rejects three comings of Christ. The view is also inconsistent with Matt. 24:24-31; Mark. 13:24-27; and 2 Thess. 2:1-12.
Though option one is quite convincing. How about this verse Rev. 21:2-5 and Ff.
" And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.
But imagine this if we are snatch during this stage then we missed the best part... Imagine Jesus is coming down, with the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, then those who are Raptures are leaving earth, does it make sense at all?
Note not all Protestant hold one stand on this. They always differ...
Finally, let us focused on how we can prepare ourselves. Not be busily ourselves in predicting absurd ideas, that could led into fear.
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