Alright, let me just be real frank: I don’t believe in the Rapture. There, I’ve said it. Now, I don’t doubt that the return of Christ and the establishing of the New Heavens and the New Earth will fill some with rapturous delight. But as far as the whole scheme of the righteous being taken from the earth while the unrighteous are left behind to suffer - well, I just don’t buy it. Call me a heretic if you will, but I don’t think the Bible points to that kind of Rapture. I’ll show you what I mean.

There are two main texts that are used to support the idea of a Rapture. One from Matthew 24, where Jesus says, “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” Jesus has a parallel statement in Luke 17. The other text is from 1 Thessalonians 4 where Paul talks about believers being “caught up together…to meet the Lord in the air” when He returns. If you are familiar with Rapture theology, then these texts seem to be obvious proof that it is true. But I want to suggest that a closer reading of these texts gives us a much different vision of Christ’s return.

Matthew 24
Above I quoted verses 40-41. When we start our reading a little earlier it isn’t hard to see how this saying doesn’t actually indicate the kind of future that has been popularized in the Left Behind books and movies. Here is the full paragraph (per the NIV):

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. - Matthew 24:36-41

Jesus is drawing a parallel here between Noah’s flood and the return of Christ. When the flood came, some were taken and others left behind. So it will be when Jesus comes back; some will be taken and some left behind. Within Rapture theology, the blessed are taken and the damned are left behind. But that isn’t the way Jesus’ analogy works. Noah entered the ark and the flood came and swept away all the evil doers. It was Noah and his family who were left behind. So it will be when Jesus returns. The evil doers will be taken and the righteous will be left behind. In other words, it is good to be left behind! Those left behind are the ones who are welcomed into Jesus’ presence.

Still not convinced? Let’s look at 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 4
This text clearly refers to believers - both dead and alive - getting sucked up into the air to be with Jesus forever. Isn’t that proof of a Rapture? Well, not really. First, here is the text (per the NIV):

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 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. - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The main question here is what happens after the believers meet Jesus in the air. Rapture theology suggests that they are taken away from the world and brought to some place of peace and bliss. But is that what Paul is trying to convey? I don’t think so. Because that is not how his imagery works. And if you are familiar with the life of the church, you already know what is going on here.

Every year, on the Sunday before Easter, kids - and sometimes adults - across the world walk into their worship service waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” They do this as a reenactment of the scene captured in the Gospels where Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a king. He receives a king’s welcome, the standard way to celebrate the return of a king in that day. As you may know, the people came out of Jerusalem and met Jesus on the road. Then they accompanied him into the city, Jerusalem, the center of power of the Jewish nation. There they expected Jesus to assume the role of the warrior king and rule of the Jewish nation. Jesus didn’t do that. So they killed him. But the New Testament insists that the Resurrected Jesus is Lord and King over the whole universe and that one day He will return to establish His kingdom forever.

This return is what Paul is describing in 1 Thessalonians 4. Jesus, the cosmic king, is returning to his kingdom. It’s just that the action takes place vertically instead of horizontally. When Jesus returns from the “sky” (where he went in the Ascension) to establish his reign as king, those who are “in Christ” will meet him on the “road” (in the air). That’s what Paul says, but the next step would be to accompany the king for the remainder of His journey into His kingdom. So the people who are caught up in the air aren’t escaping the earth. They are celebrating Christ’s return to the earth. They return to the ground with Him. And they will be with Him forever, in the New Earth.

Summary
The main point of this is just to indicate that the Bible (and Jesus) consistently speak of God and the cosmic King renewing our cosmos, not abandoning it. God will finish the project He started in creation. All things will be made right. Evil will be banished. And the Blessed Left Behind will enjoy eternity with God, with Jesus, with each other, in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Sounds pretty good to me. Next week, we’ll reimagine Heaven, with the help of C.S. Lewis.