Rapture

Rapture is a term in Christian eschatology which refers to the "being caught up" discussed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be "caught up in the clouds" to meet "the Lord in the air".

Etymology

The term "rapture" is especially useful in discussing or disputing the exact form or timing of the event, particularly when asserting the "pre-tribulation" view that the rapture will occur before, not during, the Second Coming of Christ, immediately followed by the seven year Tribulation period.

Views

There are many views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return, including pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, pre-wrath and post-tribulation rapture views.

Pre-tribulation rapture theology

The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine originated in the eighteenth century, with the Puritan preachers Increase and Cotton Mather, and was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further in the United States by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20th century.

Mid-tribulation rapture theology

The mid-tribulation position espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the Tribulation period, or during Daniel's 70th Week. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Mid-tribulationists hold that the saints will go through the first period (Beginning of Travail), but will be raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's wrath in the second half of what is popularly called the Great Tribulation.

Pre-wrath rapture theology

The pre-wrath rapture view also places the rapture at some point during the tribulation period before the second coming. This view holds that the tribulation of the church begins toward the latter part of a seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This latter half of a seven-year period [i.e. 3 1/2 years] is defined as the great tribulation, although the exact duration is not known.

Post-tribulation rapture theology

In the post-tribulation premillennial position, the rapture would be identical to the second coming of Jesus or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth before a literal millennium. The post-tribulation position places the rapture at the end of the tribulation period.

See also

• Second Coming
• Eschatology
• Tribulation
• Antichrist

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