The Rapture is a doctrine that has come to inspire terror in children. In her book about the origins and problematic theology of the Rapture, New Testament scholar Barbara Rossing shares an example from one of her students that some readers may find similar to their own experiences.

“Ten-year-old Josh came home from school to an empty house. His mother, normally at home to greet him, was nowhere to be found. She might have been at the store or at a neighbor’s, but Josh was terrified. His immediate response was a terrible fear that all his family had been “Raptured” without him. Josh was sure he had been left behind. Now a grown-up in my seminary class on the book of Revelation, Josh told this story of his boyhood experience. Others consistently echo his story of childhood fear of the Rapture. These born-again Christian children were exhorted to be good so that they would be sure to be snatched up to heaven with Jesus when he returned. Raised on a daily diet of fear, their view of God resembled the song about Santa Claus coming to town: “You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry.” Only it was Jesus, not Santa, who was “coming to town” at an unexpected hour.” (Rossing 2004, p. 19)

A doctrine that terrorizes children this much merits Rossing’s thorough critical examination. Where did this doctrine come from? What motivates people to promote it? Should we be afraid of the Rapture? Does the Rapture have anything to do with Jesus and his teachings?

Is the Rapture in the Bible?

No. The Bible never directly mentions “the Rapture.” Even some of the most ardent promoters of the Rapture agree (Rossing 2004, p. 21).

Where Did Belief in the Rapture Come From?

In the nineteenth century, John Nelson Darby, a British evangelical preacher, proposed an elaborate schema that claimed to decode biblical prophecies to predict the future as a series of “dispensations.” The timetable Darby formulated is known as “Dispensationalism.” See post, “Does the Bible Predict Current Events?

The Rapture is part of Darby’s Dispensationalist formulation. Darby incorporated a vision in his schema that a fifteen-year-old named Margaret MacDonald reported seeing during a healing service in 1830 in Glasgow, Scotland. Her vision was of a two-stage return of Jesus Christ (Rossing, p. 21). Darby and his supporters then searched for Bible verses to support the vision and added it to their Dispensationalist timetable.

What about 1 Thessalonians 4:17?

One verse used to support the notion of the Rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.” NRSV

The Greek word translated as “caught up” ἁρπάζω is rendered as “rapio” in Latin and that is seen as the origin of the term “Rapture.” Paul writes to the community at Thessalonica to reassure them about the community members who have died before the expected return of Christ, his parousia. Early Christ groups described Christ’s return using the image of the Parousia or triumphal entry of a Roman emperor.

Paul blends traditional Jewish apocalyptic motifs and the image of the procession to greet a returning emperor or triumphant general, in this case Christ taking the position of the emperor.

Approaching an ancient Roman city meant first passing the city’s graveyards and thus the tombs of the dead at the edge of the city. As the emperor approaches the city, the tombs of the dead are the first part of the city he meets. The image of the dead rising first is based on this image of the layout of a Roman city. Inscriptions on the tombs of the dead also often described the deceased as having been “snatched” from life. Paul applies this language to both the living and the dead in his description. The description was intended to reassure community members that those who had already died would be included when Christ returned, an event they expected to happen in their own time, not thousands of years in the future, and that the dead would be the first to greet him. Paul also wrote to reassure community members, not to terrorize them.

How Did Belief in the Rapture Become So Widespread?

Using margin notes and headings to refer to Dispensationalist interpretations, the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909, began the popularization of Dispensationalism and the doctrine of the Rapture it included. Scofield’s annotated version of the King James translation was a bestseller. Cyrus I. Scofield himself had a dubious reputation that included accusations of forgery and embezzlement. His widely circulated reference Bible became a major element of the Fundamentalist movement and his annotations offered the appearance of scholarly research to lend biblical authority to Dispensationalism.

More recently, the Left Behind novels and films have popularized the Rapture in fictional accounts that appeal to audiences who love disaster movies.

Is the Rapture a Widely Held Christian Belief?

The Rapture has widespread currency in popular culture, but it is not actually a widespread Christian belief. Barbara Rossing (p. 21) points out that

“Most Christian churches and biblical scholars condemn Rapture theology as a distortion of Christian faith with little biblical basis. Critics represent the whole spectrum of churches, from conservative Missouri Synod Lutherans to evangelicals, to Roman Catholics, and liberal Presbyterians. Many evangelical churches and leaders oppose the notion of the Rapture, pointing out that it is a recent and idiosyncratic development in Christian teaching.” (Rossing 2004, 21)