An Academic Perspective on "The Rapture"

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We're Still Here
By Timothy W. Humphries

The Rapture Unbound

With media attention recently focused on the May 21 movement and End of the World claims, it seems appropriate to address the issue of 'the rapture'.

There are three distinct intellectual categories that are key to this issue. These include:

   Preterism
   Historicism
   Futurism

Futurism is the category that articulates 'the rapture' view of two comings of Jesus a silent, secret one at the beginning of a 7 year period and a highly visible coming at the end of the 7 years.

The most widely quoted 'Futurist' text is 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which states:

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.

The question then arises does 'caught up' mean 'disappear' in a rapture style and hence at what coming will they be caught up? Is this therefore a silent invisible coming or a highly visible, glorious appearing?

1 Thessalonians 4:16 states that Jesus comes with a shout the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 The word noted for “coming” is “parousia” and hence hinges on the description and interpretation of this word.

Evidently the New Testament specifically articulates the assertion that people will be deceived about how Jesus will return. See Matthew 24:25,26.

The Rapture Movement's most recent claims heralding the coming of the 'rapture' isn't just incorrect because it didn't happen on the 21st of May 2011 but also because it has no clear intellectual or interpretative foundation within mainstream biblical studies.

On the question of Last Day prophecy as asserted by rapture believers the issue of Daniel and Revelation is key. Christ made it abundantly clear that his return would be far from secretive, an assertion which directly contradicts the secret rapture view put forward by those that believe it. See Matthew 24:27.

Again it is worth repeating that the word for “coming” in Matthew 24:27 is “parousia” the same word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 to describe the return of Christ and the connected events around the transfiguration of those who are left being caught up with the dead in Christ who have arisen. Note the caught up process occurs at Christ's 2nd Coming, not before.


This 'parousia' or 'coming' and its elements are further described by Matthew 24:30,31.

It states clearly that:

-all nations of earth will see his coming – no one will miss it
-the unsaved will mourn (why?)
-the unsaved will mourn not because their loved ones have mysteriously been 'raptured' but because Jesus has come physically in the clouds with great power and glory and they 'the unsaved' are not ready.

The second most quoted biblical text to support the idea of the 'rapture' is Matthew 24:40-41.

What is this text about? What is its context?

Matthew 24:39 is again reiterating that the word for coming is “parousia” and within this Jesus hence is drawing a parallel between his coming and Noah's age as a sign post to what it will be like just prior to his return.

The Origins of Futurism and the Rapture

So then, where did this view around a rapture originate from if it can be proven to be false?

The key players in the development of the concept of the rapture were the following intellectuals:

- Dr Samuel Maitland (1792-1866) AD

- John Henry Newman (1801-1890) AD Oxford Movement

- Edward Irving (1792 – 1834) AD (Riberia Supporter)

- John Nelson Darby (1800 – 1882) AD

- Cyrus Scofield (1843 – 1921) AD – (Introduced the Scofield Bible and oriented to the Futurist view)

- Hal Lindsey (1929 - ) AD – Author of 'The Late Great Planet Earth'.

-Tim LaHaye – The Left Behind Series

These individuals across a long period of time expounded a view of the 'Futurist' interpretative framework that gradually coalesced around a belief in the “Rapture”.

Today we find that millions of Protestant Christian's are expecting the Anti Christ to appear during the seven years of tribulation after they have been raptured to heaven.

If the Bible does not teach that Jesus will return secretly to rapture only his church (and it has been shown that it does not).


And if the Bible does not teach that after the rapture those left behind have seven more years to get ready for Christ's 3rd Coming (and it does not). Then it can be asserted that there is no future 7 year period in which the Antichrist can rule!

It is imperative regardless of whether you believe or not, within the context of arguing the merits of the biblical case, that the Bible itself does not in any way articulate this 7 year period as outlined by the Futurist-Rapture movement.

The Anti-Christ

Who then is the Anti-Christ? It is vitally important when looking at this issue that we ask, Is the Anti Christ a man? like the Romanian Nicolae Caparthia (In the Left Behind Fictional Series), who will soon rule the world?

What does the Bible say about this?

The word Antichrist itself is used only 5 times in the Bible all these references are in the New Testament.

The word Antichrist is not only found in the singular – also plural, hence indicating it is not confined to a single individual (1 John 2:18).

The word antichristos means “in the place of”. We often think of anti as “against”, rather the Antichrist is anyone who seeks to come “instead of Christ” and ultimately ends up becoming “against Christ” 1 John 2:22.

Thus the Antichrist seeks to usurp the place of Christ. Clearly it can be asserted truthfully that the Antichrist begins in the church and works thus through intellectual deception (2 John 7).

From this we can assert that the Antichrist cannot be a future appearance of an individual man.

Interestingly, Futurist and Historicist Bible Scholars agree that the description of the major Antichrist is found in only three chapters of the Bible. In Daniel 7 he is represented by the little horn In 2 Thessalonian's 2 by the man of sin and in Revelation 13 by the beast of the sea.

According to 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Jesus cannot return until the Antichrist appears. In doing so Paul tells us three important things about the Antichrist – called the man of sin or lawlessness, the son of perdition.

1.   The appearance of the Antichrist must occur prior to the second coming of Christ. (2 Thess 2:3) ie. Before the Parousia.
2.   The Brightness of the parousia when Jesus will gather His people will end the rule of the Antichrist, hence the Antichrist  must appear before the church is gathered.
3.   The Identity of the Anti-Christ – He will come from within the Church 2 Thess 2:3,4 – will develop out of a falling away the Greek refers to it as apostasis - apostasy

According to the teachings of futurism and dispensationalism – the Antichrist appears after the parousia or secret rapture. This is not a biblical teaching.


Paul had to choose his words carefully when addressing this issue. He is writing to an early Christian community inside the Roman Empire who were already being persecuted for their faith (see 2 Thess 1:4).

Who then is the apostate power antichristos and apostasis referred to earlier?

The Orthodox Protestant view is that Protestant reformers and others like John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Thomas Cranmer, John Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible, John Wesley, Sir Issac Newton, and a vast host of other intellectuals were right in identifying the papacy as the great apostate power who arose within Christendom and who ruled over European affairs for so long and is yet to play a major part in last day events.

The Super-Best Friends

Regardless of whether you see Christianity in the context of South Parks 'super best friend's' or not its important to see the merits of the argument.

The issue here is that the Rapture as an intellectual and religious instrument can be proven to be false and definitely not backed by any objective reading of Scripture and the connected literature associated to it.

The truth is that people are at Liberty to believe what ever they like regardless. This is the defining characteristic of separation of church and state and reinforces the idea of individual conscience and conviction as being the burning lamp of freedom in an increasingly unfree society.

I've deliberately touched on the south park super best friends conception of religion as there is truth to the idea that people are mindless drones who follow what ever they are told or whatever holds true within the wider culture that they are engaged in.

In conclusion,  it can be asserted that addressing the issue of 'the rapture' regardless of your faith position requires an unqualified rejection of it, as it has no foundation from which it can be justified.

Timothy W Humphries is a graduate journalism student and writes from Queensland, Australia.

Reference List

New International Version (NIV Bible) - Version Information - BibleGateway.com. 2011. New International Version (NIV Bible) - Version Information - BibleGateway.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/. [Accessed 25 May 2011].