Rapture

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

download word file, 2 pages 0.0

Downloaded 13 times

The Rapture is a mass migration of living and dead, born-again Christians. Some Christians believe that they will ascend through the air and meet Jesus Christ in the sky. This would be a remarkable event. Pilots would disappear from the planes, truck drivers from their trucks and people from automobiles. A family could be eating dinner, when members would rise from there seats, pass through the roof and keep rising through the air. Many Christians for almost two millenniums have expected Christ's pending return.

Ever since Christ's death, many Christians have been expecting the second coming in their immediate future. Other conservative Christians believe that The Rapture will occur at the time that Christ first returns to earth. Most believe that Christ will not actually land or stay on earth at this time; the real second coming will occur later, when he returns with an army.

Most other faith groups essentially ignore the rapture or second coming concept.

Various gospel passages record how Jesus believed that the second coming would occur very soon, during the lifetime if his followers. St. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 obviously anticipated the event in the near future and maybe during his lifetime. He encouraged Christians to be alert in anticipation of the coming of the Lord. Of course, both Jesus and Paul were wrong, as it did not happen during the first century. Christians of every age since Jesus' execution have been anxiously awaiting the even t and looking for signs of its coming. Anticipation heightened as the last year of some centuries approached. It was particularly intense as the year 2000 approached. After January 1, 2000 the level of anticipation of the millennium, the end of the world as we know it and the rapture subsided somewhat. But it is still...