It says in the Bible that only God the Father knows when the end times will come. Jesus said this to His disciples when they asked Him when the events He talked about would occur. Ever since biblical times, people have wondered: When will the rapture happen?
People even in Jesus' day were expecting Him to come back and 'catch them up' into the clouds to be with Him. There have been many times when people believed the end of the world was near; at the end of the eighteenth century many people dressed in white and spent New Year's Eve on rooftops in hopes of being taken up to heaven.
Since this is a purely Christian belief concerning the end of the world, the second coming of Jesus, and the beginning of His thousand-year reign, the Bible is our best guide to these events. Prophecies in the holy book are found in both the Old and the New Testament; prophecy is said to be known to be true when foretold events 'come to pass'. This means that Christians must rely on faith that Jesus will return to end all pain, suffering, and wickedness.
Believers vary on what they believe. Some don't even believe in the removal of all believers, while others debate whether this happens before the period of chaos known as the tribulation or after these seven years of trials. The Bible does tell us in Thessalonians, chapter 4, that Jesus returns, the dead rise, and then believers are taken 'in the twinkling of an eye' to be with Him in the clouds. This area of study is 'eschatology'.
The idea of the removal of believers before the tribulation starts dates from about 1830, when a popular preacher of the day began to expound this theory. Supposedly it was based on a prophetic vision of a teen-age girl. However, there are differing accounts of the vision and when the preacher began to take this view. The earliest Christian teachers did not deal with this event, as far as scholars know.
The Left Behind series is a fictional account of a pretribulation rapture of all believers and young children. The story begins with this event and follows those remaining as they come to believe in Jesus, experience the chaos and destruction on earth, and struggle against the power of the antichrist. This set of books is the biggest selling series of all time.
Much commentary has been written and many sermons given on this topic. Most believers do not expect to be spared the seven years of judgement that God sends on the earth. Many see world events as signs that the end times are near. However, since the Bible commands all to 'occupy' the world until Jesus returns, life goes on.
Knowing that Jesus is returning to set up His kingdom on earth and that believers both alive and dead will be with Him before the battle of Armageddon is a comfort to many. People hope to see it happen in their lifetime; however, no one knows when the Lord will return to call His people to Himself.
People even in Jesus' day were expecting Him to come back and 'catch them up' into the clouds to be with Him. There have been many times when people believed the end of the world was near; at the end of the eighteenth century many people dressed in white and spent New Year's Eve on rooftops in hopes of being taken up to heaven.
Since this is a purely Christian belief concerning the end of the world, the second coming of Jesus, and the beginning of His thousand-year reign, the Bible is our best guide to these events. Prophecies in the holy book are found in both the Old and the New Testament; prophecy is said to be known to be true when foretold events 'come to pass'. This means that Christians must rely on faith that Jesus will return to end all pain, suffering, and wickedness.
Believers vary on what they believe. Some don't even believe in the removal of all believers, while others debate whether this happens before the period of chaos known as the tribulation or after these seven years of trials. The Bible does tell us in Thessalonians, chapter 4, that Jesus returns, the dead rise, and then believers are taken 'in the twinkling of an eye' to be with Him in the clouds. This area of study is 'eschatology'.
The idea of the removal of believers before the tribulation starts dates from about 1830, when a popular preacher of the day began to expound this theory. Supposedly it was based on a prophetic vision of a teen-age girl. However, there are differing accounts of the vision and when the preacher began to take this view. The earliest Christian teachers did not deal with this event, as far as scholars know.
The Left Behind series is a fictional account of a pretribulation rapture of all believers and young children. The story begins with this event and follows those remaining as they come to believe in Jesus, experience the chaos and destruction on earth, and struggle against the power of the antichrist. This set of books is the biggest selling series of all time.
Much commentary has been written and many sermons given on this topic. Most believers do not expect to be spared the seven years of judgement that God sends on the earth. Many see world events as signs that the end times are near. However, since the Bible commands all to 'occupy' the world until Jesus returns, life goes on.
Knowing that Jesus is returning to set up His kingdom on earth and that believers both alive and dead will be with Him before the battle of Armageddon is a comfort to many. People hope to see it happen in their lifetime; however, no one knows when the Lord will return to call His people to Himself.
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