The Rapture: A Misconception?
The term “rapture” is often associated with the Second Coming of Jesus, but it’s not found in the Bible. Common church ideology defines the rapture as a two-stage event: a secret rapture of the saved to heaven at the beginning of a seven-year tribulation, followed by Jesus’ return to Earth in triumph and glory. However, this understanding may be based on a misconception.
To fully comprehend the term “rapture or caught up” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), we must understand the context of a Hebrew wedding. Jesus’ words in John 14:1-4, “Let not your heart be troubled…I go to prepare a place for you…I will come again, and receive you unto myself,” echo the traditional Jewish wedding process.
In this ancient custom (www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm), the Jewish groom would pay the bride-price (Mohar) in full and declare in a loud voice, “The price has been paid in full!” (1 Corinthians 6:20). He would then sign the marriage contract (Ketubah) and promise to prepare the bridal chamber (Chuppah) at his father’s house. The bride would wait, watching and ready, for the groom’s return.
The groom would say, “I have to go, I’m going to prepare the bridal chamber…it is better for you that I’ll go but I will come back.” The bride would ask, “When?” and the groom would respond, “I do not know, nor the servant, only my father knows the day.” Meanwhile, the bridegroom prepared the bridal chamber, and the bride had to be ready, with her oil lamp burning all the time.
This ancient wedding custom sheds light on Jesus’ words and the concept of the rapture. The process of marriage in Judaism occurs in two stages: kiddushin (betrothal) and nisu’in (full-fledged marriage). Once kiddushin is complete, the woman is legally the wife, but they do not live together until nisu’in (meaning: “to lift up“).
Lifting up the bride was an ancient wedding custom wherein the bride was lifted by poles to the ceremony in a carriage. The Chuppah, or canopy, was not only related to the bridal-chamber, but was also “lifted” by poles like the ancient carriage. The present custom of lifting the bride and groom in chairs is rooted in this processional. So when Jesus returns, He and His bride will be ‘lifted up/caught up’ together as part of the wedding procession of the Lamb (Rev 19:7-18). The rest of the verse in Thess 4:17 says: “and so we will always be with the Lord!” much like a modern day: “and they lived happily ever after“. This understanding challenges the traditional view of a secret rapture.
Matthew 24:37-42/Luk 17:26-37 describes Jesus’ coming as similar to the days of Noah, where some are saved and others are destroyed. Those “taken” are lost, taken away, and destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Jesus’ response to the apostles’ question, “Where Lord?” (Luke 17:37), clarifies that those taken will be destroyed, symbolized by vultures gathering around a dead body.
In conclusion, the Bible does not support the idea of a secret rapture for the saved. Instead, it points to a wedding-like reunion between Jesus and His bride, the church, at His return.
http://www.tasc-creationscience.org/content/ancient-jewish-wedding-missing-link-christianity
http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-does-bible-teach-about-secret-rapture
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jewish-wedding-traditions.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/06/opinion/parini-rapture-real/index.html
