Why I Don't Expect a "Rapture"

Because it isn’t in the Bible. Favorite prophecies about End Times are Matthew 24, Mark 13, and 2 Thessalonians 2. Read them as they are written. Unless you super impose certain Bible study guides over them to twist the meanings you won’t find any secret snatching people away from the persecution and hard times.

Here are some prooftexts used to “prove” that the fat, pampered Western Christians are too special to suffer persecution like their betters have throughout the centuries.

• Revelation 19:11-21 and Zechariah 14:1-15. No mention of the Resurrection in these descriptions. The Pre Tribbers claim this is because the Christians were already raptured. But why is there no mention of the others left on earth being resurrected? Because these descriptions of the Second Coming are not exhaustive.

• John is called into Heaven in Revelation 4:1 to see a vision. The Pre Tribbers believe this is proof of the “Rapture” though it’s really just part of a heavenly vision like Paul had in Lystra. And Revelation 19:11 has people let out of Heaven, which are assumed to be the “raptured” Western Christians. Lots of Christians are already dead and in Heaven with a bunch of angels ready to return.

• The holy ones are already in Heaven with Jesus wearing fine linen as proof of their righteous deeds. 19:8 Pre Tribbers say this is proof they were raptured. But why not martyrs? The entire book of Revelation praises martyrs and was written for a persecuted church. (None of whom got “raptured.”)

• Revelation 3:10 mentions being kept out of the hour of testing that will befall the earth. This was written to the church of Philadelphia back in the first century. Any meaning drawn from this would have to apply to those Christians too.

• Luke 12:36. This is from a parable of a master returning from a wedding. Supposedly the wedding is his own. It is not according to the parable. Also he meets his servants waiting for him at home. This is meant as a warning for us—his servants—to be prepared.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. The Restrainer being removed is obviously the Church since they are restraining evil from taking over. They are not. No need to have us gone for the devil to take over everything.

• Matthew 24:40-41 Talks about people disappearing. This is the day of the Second Coming. They’ll be caught up to meet their King in the air as He descends. Like loyal subjects meeting their sovereign outside the city and joining his retinue as he enters.

Such entitlement! As if God were impressed by our holiness so He decided to treat us better than those forced to hide in the catacombs during Neo.

Western Christians are NOT that great. Very carnal and obsessed with this world. Look at how they fell away and capitulated and groveled to the ungodly like a pack of cowards during Lockdown. A bunch of idolatrous state worshippers.

And yet many feel God owes them special, preferential treatment—better than the Twelve Apostles or any other of the long train of blessed martyrs through Church history. Why? Because they’re Americans I guess.

My heart is broken at how foolish and cowardly we have behaved over the past two years. How we buckled under just a little pressure and returned to emperor worship. Refusing to worship the Lord as He commanded because many (apparently) don’t believe in Jesus’ promise of the resurrection and love the praise of humans more than God Himself.

Food for thought. How is a Rapture any better than having all Christians wiped out by a nuclear detonation directly over them so they die quick, painless deaths? Both scenarios involve vaporization.

Yet death seems to scare so many professing Christians that they would rather close the doors of church forever than risk a glorified flu. They’d rather stay home and pray to images of their preferred royal divinities in that lighted shrine about every American home contains.