Since the days of the Apostles followers of Jesus have eagerly looked forward to the Lord's return.
When
the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going
to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?" "The
Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. But when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people
about me everywhere -- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth." It was not long after he said this that he was taken
up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. As they
were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there
among them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you
standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into
heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!" Acts 1:6-11 (NLT)
A movie is coming out soon based upon a lie told so often since it first became popular during the 19th century that many today believe it to be true. In this revamped version of the popular Left Behind book starring Nicolas Cage many will flock to see it. Some because of the message behind the story and some because they like Nicolas Cage, but none will hear the truth concering the second coming of Jesus.
There is no known writing existing, or referred to by other writers, of the pre-trib rapture teaching prior to 1830. None of the early Church fathers or anyone else throughout Church history wrote about the saints being raptured before the end-time Great Tribulation. This does not conclusively mean that the theory is false, only that it is a historical fact that this teaching did not exist among the early Christians or the Church fathers or any Christians throughout history until 1830.
Reportedly the origin of the pre-trib rapture teaching was with a fifteen-year-old girl named Margaret MacDonald in the town of Port Glasgow, Scotland. Supposedly in 1830 she had a dream or vision that Christians were raptured just prior to the Great Tribulation. In 1831 or 1832 a Presbyterian pastor in London, England named Edward Irving heard about this dream or vision that Miss MacDonald had and started teaching it to his congregation. These are well-known reports among scholars of eschatology.
These reports concerning the origin of the pre-trib rapture theory may or may not be true. What is well-documented is the fact that John Nelson Darby, the founder of a group known as the Plymouth Brethren, after visiting Miss MacDonald began teaching this new theory. http://lastdaysministry.com/pretrib.htm
All
Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make
us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to
do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped
for every good thing God wants us to do. And so I solemnly urge you before God
and before Christ Jesus -- who will someday judge the living and the dead when
he appears to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be persistent,
whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage
your people with good teaching for a time is coming when people will no longer
listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for
teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the
truth and follow strange myths. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NLT)
And now,
brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who
have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also
believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the
Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who
are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those
who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven
with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet
call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their
graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the
earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain
with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words. I
really don't need to write to you about how and when all this will happen, dear
brothers and sisters. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will
come unexpectedly, like a thief in the
night. When people are saying, "All is well; everything is peaceful
and secure," then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman's
birth pains begin when her child is about to be born. And there will be no
escape. But you aren't in the dark
about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when
the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the
light and of the day; we don't belong to
darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay
alert and be sober.
"I
have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They
were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have
known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given
to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You
sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You
have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are
Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these
are in the world, and I come to You. Holy
Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may
be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost
except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now
I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy
fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has
hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them
out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They
are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your
truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent
them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also
may be sanctified by the truth. "I do not pray for these alone, but
also for those who will believe in Me through their word; John 17:6-20 (NKJ)
Jesus told
them another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed
good seed in his field. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and
sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants grew and the heads
of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. The man's servants came to
him and said, "Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the
weeds come from?' "It was some enemy who did this,' he answered. "Do
you want us to go and pull up the weeds?' they asked him. "No,' he answered, "because as you
gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. Let the
wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the
harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them,
and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.' " Matthew 13:24-30 (GNT)
