The Rapture

Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.

I\'m not very well versed in this, but I am glad that you brought it up so that I could be well informed too! I did notice though that no where does it actually say \\"Rapture\\" in the quote. I read it more as that God would \\"take them\\" through their own deaths, so that they would not have to suffer and see the horridness of the end. I remember hearing once in a discussion on death that sometimes God takes people to Himself at certain times so that something worse later on won\'t happen to them. (Also as my dying friend Anca said right before she died of cancer \\"God just wants me to come to Him quicker.\\") I can see how the wording might get confused, but thats how I read it. Keep asking those great questions!

Thanks brother Orthonut for the links. Saint Ephraem the Syrian is following the book of Revelation and the Holy Scriptures at large. With that in mind, these two portions must be understood to describe the same events. Chapter 1 \\"Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!\\" For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.\\" End of Chapter 8 \\"But those who wander through the deserts, fleeing from the face of the serpent, bend their knees to God, just as lambs to the adders of their mothers, being sustained by the salvation of the Lord, and while wandering in states of desertion, they eat herbs.\\" One also cannot ignore the didactic reason why the Saint is sharing these thoughts with his readers, to encourage them to persevere in godliness and to confirm them in the faith of Jesus Christ. Orthodoxy confirms the rapture, but denies a secret coming of the Lord/rapture of the Saints prior to a great tribulation. Orthodoxy confesses one public impossible-to-miss Second coming of the Lord, rapture of the living Saints, one resurrection of the dead both righteous and unrighteous and final judgment of all. In Christ, Promise

Has anyone heard Father Thomas Hopko\'s series on Revelation? Very good.

Basially the \'Rapture\' is an error in understanding widespread among contemporary Protestants. Unheard of prior to the 19th century, this belief has it that during \'great tribulation\' near the end of the world, true Christians will be \'raptured\' into the air to escape the sufferings of those who remain on earth. It based on the inpretation of I Thess. 4:17, which teaches that at the very end of the world believers will be \'caught up in the clouds,\' together with the resurrected dead, \'to meet the Lord\' Who is coming for judgement and the opening of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. The Scripture is quite clear that even the elect will suffer on earth during the \'tribulation\' period, and that for their sake this period will be shortened (Matt. 24:21-22) ref. Blessed Theophylact. Fr. Dcn. John

This is unbelievable. That\'s what happens when one is taken captive by errors. Wasted lives living in a fantasy world. This site brought tears to my eyes.

You see, what grieves me the most is that the pre-trib rapture dogma doesn\'t stand alone, neither is it an isolated belief. It\'s the conclusion of an intricate system of biblical interpretation called \\"Dispensationalism\\". This is the real venom, because it conditions how the christian reads, understands and lives the Scriptures. The head of this snake, as a brother previously mentionned it here, is a 19th century figure known to his followers as the \\"restorer of the faith once delivered to the saints\\". This system is responsible for the beliefs commonly held by mainstream christians in North America. This system\'s influence is so widespread that even politics didn\'t escape its power. Sad.

You can almost say, \\"whats the big deal\\", our personal \\"rapture\\" can occur at any second, and we should always be ready for the second coming of Christ, rather we are taken before or after a period of tribulation at the end of the world, BUT, what this false theology does is create a pre-disposition to accept the antichrist. It ties along with the fasle theology of \\"once saved always saved\\" and this belief that protestants have that just because they are Christian, they are going to be saved no matter what. How these two false theolgys create a pre-dispoistion to accept the antichrist is this: if you were supposed to have been raptured, then when the antichrist comes, you should not be on earth. Therefore when they are not raptured, they wil not believe that the antichrist is who he is, and follow him, saying. \\"this can\'t be the antichrist, we are going to be raptured before he comes\\". You see what problems come from false theology?

Right on, Petros. It also makes them fail to fulfill their responsibilities here and now, because they expect to be raptured at any moment and taken totally out of history. So you\'ll find them always supporting options which make things worse here and now. They become indifferent to any evils here and now, because to them they won\'t stick around to see their full results ( Like taking on a lot of debts..). There is something very unchrist-like about this utter indifference for the well-being of others, even the sinful and the ones in error. It creates an alien psychology, in fact an antichristian way of life and feeling, and consequently unchristian sociology and politics. I think it\'s much more serious than all what\'s been mentionned so far, because again it\'s a complete system, preserving the names Jesus, salvation, eternity... but having a different alien content and meaning. In Christ. Promise.

Ephraim the Syrian has been, sadly, used by various more \\"educated\\" pre-millenial dispensationalists. I remember reading an article for a research paper on this topic, which drew upon Ephraim and some cracked out guy in the Middle Ages for their \\"historical evidence.\\" Of course, these quotations on seem to look like they might possibly be alluding to something else because our understanding of the terminology has changed after the popularity of Darby\'s barbaric theory (which wasn\'t even his!!!). Frankly, this \\"Rapture\\" theology isn\'t even theology at all. I would go on a rant here, but that might be somewhat unnecessary...