Leaving the Rapture Behind

Lots of churchgoers have gone to the theater recently to watch a new movie entitled Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist. The picture is directed by Kevin Sorbo, who also plays the role of protagonist Rayford Steele. Sorbo is perhaps best known for his portrayal of mythical hero Hercules. The cast also includes acclaimed actors Neal McDonough and Corbin Bernsen. McDonough played a key role in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers; he’s also had parts in Star Trek, Captain America, and Yellowstone. Corbin Bernsen achieved widespread fame for the TV series L.A. Law and later played Henry Spenser on Psych. The current film follows in the footsteps of previous Left Behind pictures. The movies in turn are based on the best-selling books by authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

The plot of the movie focuses on end time events, particularly what is known as the rapture. Rapture proponents believe that followers of Christ will be suddenly snatched away from the earth and transported to heaven. Meanwhile, those unfortunate persons who remain on the earth must endure a time of severe tribulation.

The study of end times can become a very complex topic. Countless books and articles have been written attempting to ascertain the precise sequence of events which will lead up to the final establishment of God’s kingdom. Many different views have been proposed. A small subset of Christians has exerted a great deal of energy scrutinizing this subject; they’re often armed with complicated charts and graphs. It’s enough to make your head spin. Meanwhile, the majority of Christians seem to have no idea what to make of all this.

Is there any hope that we can sort out the muddle? The rapture is obviously central to the Left Behind movie, which follows the lives of those persons who remain on earth. Should Christians indeed be expecting such an event, whereby the faithful suddenly disappear? Some evangelicals report high levels of anxiety; they worry that some recent peccadillo might lead to their exclusion. Or perhaps they haven’t spent enough time studying these matters. Could they miss out and be, well, left behind?

The plain truth is that the rapture is a thoroughly mistaken idea. There are only a few parts of the Bible which might even suggest such a notion, and I hope to demonstrate that these passages have been badly misunderstood.

One of the main Biblical passages used to support the rapture is found in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. “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 rise first. 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.” (4:16-17)

Now there are parts of this passage which might lend a certain plausibility to the rapture theory, namely the bit about being “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air.” Taken in isolation, this phrase might support such a conclusion. However, when the entire passage is taken into account (as well as the rest of the scriptures) it becomes clear that Paul had a very different meaning in mind.

As with all scripture, it’s essential to look at the broader context. Paul begins this section by addressing a specific issue. What will become to those Christians who have died? Will the dead in Christ miss out on the glories of God’s kingdom? Reading between the lines, it seems that these are the questions that the Thessalonian church has posed to Paul. This paragraph constitutes Paul’s response.

Paul overall purpose is to assure the Thessalonians that their loved ones who have descended to the grave have by no means been forgotten by God. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (v13) Paul wants to make sure that the young church understands that even the corruption of death itself cannot stand against the power of God. (Note: “fall asleep” is a euphemism for death.) Unlike their pagan neighbors, for whom the grave is the final word, Christians should not be overwhelmed by the grief of losing a loved one.

Paul explains why Christians ought to have boundless hope: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him...we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (v14-15)

Christian hope is grounded in the unshakeable reality of Jesus’ own resurrection. Just as God’s raised Jesus from the grave, so we too can be certain that God will raise us to new life again. The promise of the kingdom extends, not just to the living, but to the Christian dead as well.

It’s crucial to note that the event Paul describes here is the final return of Jesus Christ. As stated explicitly in Thessalonians 5:2, the apostle is discussing “the day of the Lord.” According to Jewish belief, this would be the day that the God who created the universe would act decisively to set all things right again. God would bring judgment upon the wicked; the creation would be thoroughly cleansed of evil and injustice. Since death is the ultimate despoiler of God’s lovely world, it makes perfect sense that on this marvelous day God’s people would be raised from the dead so that they might share in his rule over the redeemed world. All these elements belong together: the “day of the Lord” includes the visible, public return of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment upon the wicked and the final establishment of God’s kingdom.

We are now in a position to correctly address verses 16 and 17. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven.” This phrase confirms that Paul is talking about the final return of Jesus. The shouted command, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet blast (v16) all serve to heighten the drama accompanying the appearance of the world’s true king.

Paul also makes it abundantly clear that the return of Jesus will coincide with the resurrection of the dead. “The dead in Christ will rise first.” (v16) There is absolutely no suggestion that the events being depicted here will involve exclusively living Christians being swept away to heaven while the earth spins off into further madness. On the contrary, Paul’s scenario involves the arrival of Jesus from heaven. At his glorious appearance, the Lord will call all his people unto himself, both the living and the dead.

Let’s now tackle the potentially misleading verse 17. What are we to make of Paul’s language of being “caught up…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”? One piece of historical information which will be helpful. When a king (or other powerful figure) in the ancient world traveled, proper respect required that the citizens of the city receiving such a visit would send a delegation ahead in order to greet the king and escort him back into their town. Paul uses this imagery to portray the arrival of King Jesus. Thus, as Jesus descends from on high, the people of God (not just the living but also the newly resurrected Christian dead) meet him in the air so that they might escort him to earth, to reclaim his rightful sovereignty over creation. (As often in the scriptures, clouds accompany a manifestation of deity, also known as a theophany.)

Paul concludes the sequence by stating, “And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Once again, the finality of this phrase verifies that Paul has firmly in mind the final appearance of the Lord Jesus on the day when he establishes his everlasting kingdom over all the earth.

When taken all together, it is quite remarkable how this passage of scripture has been violently torn asunder by rapture enthusiasts. Small bits of the passage have been used to fabricate a false scenario. The Left Behind series bizarrely depicts the mysterious disappearance of living Christians. Unlike I Thessalonians 4, Jesus fails to visibly appear, nor does the resurrection take place. These are not small mistakes, to put it mildly!

The Apostle Paul has clearly presented a sequence whereby Jesus comes from heaven to earth. He shall establish his kingdom where he shall dwell with all his people forever. The rapture crowd posits a scenario completely foreign to the mind of Paul: the living snatched away to heaven while the dead molder in their tombs. Meanwhile, evil remains at large in the world, God’s kingdom remains unconsummated, and the king is nowhere to be found.

In the future we’ll continue to explore the phenomenon of the rapture. Perhaps you might want to check out the Left Behind movie. I hope you’ll be entertained. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that the rapture has anything to do with the Bible.