Farewell to the Rapture

[* irenic *]

Farewell to the Rapture
(N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001)

Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus second coming
would be misunderstood two millennia later.

The American obsession with the second coming of Jesus especially with
distorted interpretations of it continues unabated. Seen from my side of
the Atlantic, the phenomenal success of the Left Behind books appears
puzzling, even bizarre[1]. Few in the U.K. hold the belief on which the
popular series of novels is based: that there will be a literal rapture in
which believers will be snatched up to heaven, leaving empty cars crashing
on freeways and kids coming home from school only to find that their parents
have been taken to be with Jesus while they have been left behind. This
pseudo-theological version of Home Alone has reportedly frightened many
children into some kind of (distorted) faith.

This dramatic end-time scenario is based (wrongly, as we shall see) on Paul s
First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he writes: For the Lord himself
will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an
archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first; then
we, who are left alive, will be snatched up with them on clouds to meet the
Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians
4:16-17).

What on earth (or in heaven) did Paul mean?

It is Paul who should be credited with creating this scenario. Jesus
himself, as I have argued in various books, never predicted such an
event[2]. The gospel passages about the Son of Man coming on the clouds
(Mark 13:26, 14:62, for example) are about Jesus vindication, his coming
to heaven from earth. The parables about a returning king or master (for
example, Luke 19:11-27) were originally about God returning to Jerusalem,
not about Jesus returning to earth. This, Jesus seemed to believe, was an
event within space-time history, not one that would end it forever.

The Ascension of Jesus and the Second Coming are nevertheless vital
Christian doctrines[3], and I don t deny that I believe some future event
will result in the personal presence of Jesus within God s new creation.
This is taught throughout the New Testament outside the Gospels. But this
event won t in any way resemble the Left Behind account. Understanding what
will happen requires a far more sophisticated cosmology than the one in
which heaven is somewhere up there in our universe, rather than in a
different dimension, a different space-time, altogether.

The New Testament, building on ancient biblical prophecy, envisages that the
creator God will remake heaven and earth entirely, affirming the goodness of
the old Creation but overcoming its mortality and corruptibility (e.g.,
Romans 8:18-27; Revelation 21:1; Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). When that happens,
Jesus will appear within the resulting new world (e.g., Colossians 3:4; 1
John 3:2).

Paul s description of Jesus reappearance in 1 Thessalonians 4 is a brightly
colored version of what he says in two other passages, 1 Corinthians
15:51-54 and Philippians 3:20-21: At Jesus coming or appearing, those
who are still alive will be changed or transformed so that their mortal
bodies will become incorruptible, deathless. This is all that Paul intends
to say in Thessalonians, but here he borrows imagery from biblical and
political sources to enhance his message. Little did he know how his rich
metaphors would be misunderstood two millennia later.

First, Paul echoes the story of Moses coming down the mountain with the
Torah. The trumpet sounds, a loud voice is heard, and after a long wait
Moses comes to see what s been going on in his absence.

Second, he echoes Daniel 7, in which the people of the saints of the Most
High (that is, the one like a son of man ) are vindicated over their pagan
enemy by being raised up to sit with God in glory. This metaphor, applied
to Jesus in the Gospels, is now applied to Christians who are suffering
persecution.

Third, Paul conjures up images of an emperor visiting a colony or province.
The citizens go out to meet him in open country and then escort him into the
city. Paul s image of the people meeting the Lord in the air should be
read with the assumption that the people will immediately turn around and
lead the Lord back to the newly remade world.

Paul s mixed metaphors of trumpets blowing and the living being snatched
into heaven to meet the Lord are not to be understood as literal truth, as
the Left Behind series suggests, but as a vivid and biblically allusive
description of the great transformation of the present world of which he
speaks elsewhere.

Paul s misunderstood metaphors present a challenge for us: How can we reuse
biblical imagery, including Paul s, so as to clarify the truth, not distort
it? And how can we do so, as he did, in such a way as to subvert the
political imagery of the dominant and dehumanizing empires of our world? We
might begin by asking, What view of the world is sustained, even
legitimized, by the Left Behind ideology? How might it be confronted and
subverted by genuinely biblical thinking? For a start, is not the Left
Behind mentality in thrall to a dualistic view of reality that allows people
to pollute God s world on the grounds that it s all going to be destroyed
soon? Wouldn t this be overturned if we recaptured Paul s wholistic vision
of God s whole creation?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[1] Tim F. Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Left Behind (Cambridge, UK: Tyndale
House Publishing, 1996). Eight other titles have followed, all runaway
bestsellers.

[2] See my Jesus and the Victory of God (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1996); the
discussions in Jesus and the Restoration of Israel: A Critical Assessment of
N.T. Wright s Jesus and the Victory of God, ed. Carey C. Newman (Downer s
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999); and Marcus J. Borg and N.T. Wright,
The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999),
chapters 13 and 14.

[3] Douglas Farrow, Ascension and Ecclesia: On the Significance of the
Doctrine of the Ascension for Ecclesiology and Christian Cosmology (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).

http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Farewell_Rapture.htm

[l***@hotmail.com]

Post by * irenic *
Farewell to the Rapture
(N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001)
The New Testament, building on ancient biblical prophecy, envisages that the
creator God will remake heaven and earth entirely, affirming the goodness of
the old Creation but overcoming its mortality and corruptibility (e.g.,
Romans 8:18-27; Revelation 21:1; Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). When that happens,
Jesus will appear within the resulting new world (e.g., Colossians 3:4; 1
John 3:2).

Well, you've got some of it right. However, the analysis presented
here is based upon one presupposition which has no biblical support
-that the Church has replaced Israel.

The prophecies in the Jewish Testament are about Israel because the
Church was yet a mystery. Like many, this writer also fails to
distinquish betweet the Law of Moses, the Law of Christ, and the
Kingdom Law. Because of the nature of Israel, the mystery of the
Church and the nature of the Millennial Kingdom, the Pauline doctrine
of the "departure" of the Church prior to the advent of the Antichrist
stands fast. As the advent of the Church was a mystery hidden from all
previous revelations, even so its "departure." The Church is a
parenthetical mystery between Israel's rejection of their Messiah and
their acceptance of their Messiah.

The author was right, NT prophecy is built upon the foundation laid in
the Jewish Testament. Problem is, the author never takes those
prophecies and their context and their subects into consideration.

Post by * irenic *
Paul s description of Jesus reappearance in 1 Thessalonians 4 is a brightly
colored version of what he says in two other passages, 1 Corinthians
15:51-54 and Philippians 3:20-21: At Jesus coming or appearing, those
who are still alive will be changed or transformed so that their mortal
bodies will become incorruptible, deathless. This is all that Paul intends
to say in Thessalonians, but here he borrows imagery from biblical and
political sources to enhance his message. Little did he know how his rich
metaphors would be misunderstood two millennia later.

Two major presuppositional errors

One -the Pauline epistles are not man inspired, they are God inspired.
And in that God designed language and inspired the authors of the
Scriptures, what is revealed is both perspicuous and plenary.

Two -the natural man cannot understand these writings. The Spirt and
the Spirit alone grants understanding of the revelations of God. The
literal (grammatical/historic) hermeneutic is the only proper
methodology of interpretation based upon several factors, not the
least of which is that it is the methodology of Christ's own
interpretation of the OT.

There is no misunderstanding if one considers the distinctive
differences between Israel and the Church in prophecy.

Post by * irenic *
First, Paul echoes the story of Moses coming down the mountain with
the Torah. The trumpet sounds, a loud voice is heard, and after a
long wait Moses comes to see what s been going on in his absence. >
The writer apparently is completely unlearned in the Jewish Feasts
and the various times that a trumpet is sounded.
Second, he echoes Daniel 7, in which the people of the saints of the Most
High (that is, the one like a son of man ) are vindicated over their pagan
enemy by being raised up to sit with God in glory. This metaphor, applied
to Jesus in the Gospels, is now applied to Christians who are suffering
persecution.

Application and interpretation are two different animals. To interpret
Daniel correctly, you must recognize that it deals with "My People"
and "My city Jerusalem." There is no revelation in this book which
directly applies to the Church. It is about Israel's future as are all
the OT prophecies.
For your presupposions, not for "us" who allow the scriptures to speak
for themselves. NOTHING presented in the post presents any sort of
challenge to the conservative doctrine of the Rapure.

[zach]

Post by * irenic *
Farewell to the Rapture
(N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001)
Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus second coming
would be misunderstood two millennia later.

<snip>...

Post by * irenic *
is not the Left
Behind mentality in thrall to a dualistic view of reality that allows people
to pollute God s world on the grounds that it s all going to be destroyed
soon?

Gaia-worship is idolatry. First, the Earth pollutes itself far worse in
its natural cycle than does Man (ever been to Mt. St. Helens, e.g.? The
environmental destruction there is mind-blowing). Second, it is
fallacious to associate people who believe in The Rapture with those
who advocate pollution of the environment (a concept which has little
consensus, and whose definitions are continually changing).

Post by * irenic *
Wouldn t this be overturned if we recaptured Paul s wholistic vision
of God s whole creation?

In the larger picture, does it matter? What is "respect" of the Earth?
Whose definition?

[s***@gmail.com]

This discussion of the Rapture is very interesting. For a very
comprehensive understanding of what the Rapture and Judgement are all
about, have a look at the book "the Gathering Apocalypse and World
Judgement" by Charles Brown -- obtainable from www.crystalbooks.org.
There's a preview somewhere there that gives some insight; quite an eye
opener as a whole though. The author has a completely different and far
more comprehensive explanation of this process; clearly he hasn't been
through any theological schooling, but his writings make a lot more
sense than anything I've heard in the churches.

Post by zach

Post by * irenic *
Farewell to the Rapture
(N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001)
Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus second coming
would be misunderstood two millennia later.

<snip>...

Post by * irenic *
is not the Left
Behind mentality in thrall to a dualistic view of reality that allows people
to pollute God s world on the grounds that it s all going to be destroyed
soon?

Gaia-worship is idolatry. First, the Earth pollutes itself far worse in
its natural cycle than does Man (ever been to Mt. St. Helens, e.g.? The
environmental destruction there is mind-blowing). Second, it is
fallacious to associate people who believe in The Rapture with those
who advocate pollution of the environment (a concept which has little
consensus, and whose definitions are continually changing).

Post by * irenic *
Wouldn t this be overturned if we recaptured Paul s wholistic vision
of God s whole creation?

In the larger picture, does it matter? What is "respect" of the Earth?
Whose definition?

[l***@hotmail.com]

Post by * irenic *
Paul s mixed metaphors of trumpets

Paul was Pharisee. He wasn't confused about "mixed metaphors"
concerning the trumpets. It is those who don't know their bible or
who have little or no knowledge of festival trumpets. Read this:

http://www.arielministries.net/ariel0618.htm

Here is the opening paragraphs.....

WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL TO STUDY THE
HEBRAIC ROOTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

REDISCOVERING THE HEBRAIC ROOTS TAUGHT
IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, CIRCA A.D. 60

THE LAST TRUMP

Post by * irenic *
From where, specifically, does the phrase "last trump" come? In ancient

Judaism, there are three recognized shofarim or ram's horn trumpets.
They are the first trump: The last trump: and the great shofar.

The first trump and the last trump relate to the two horns of a
particular ram: the ram caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah when
Abraham was ready to slay Isaac as a burnt-offering. This ram became
the substitute for Isaac, as Jesus would become the substitute for us
through His death.

In ancient Hebrew teaching, the left horn (the first trump) was blown
on Mount Sinai: And the right horn, "the last trump," will be blown at
the end of the age to herald the coming of Messiah to usher in the
Messianic Kingdom Age.

[l***@hotmail.com]

Post by s***@gmail.com
This discussion of the Rapture is very interesting. For a very
comprehensive understanding of what the Rapture and Judgement are all
about, have a look at the book "the Gathering Apocalypse and World
Judgement" by Charles Brown -- obtainable from www.crystalbooks.org.
There's a preview somewhere there that gives some insight; quite an eye
opener as a whole though. The author has a completely different and far
more comprehensive explanation of this process; clearly he hasn't been
through any theological schooling, but his writings make a lot more
sense than anything I've heard in the churches.

That is a pretty general book, much more akin to Hal Lindsey's "Late
Great Planet Earth" of 1970's novelistic approach to the subject.
A more scholarly book and pretty much now the defacto on the subject is
"Maranatha Our Lord, Come!: A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the
Church"
by Renald Showers for $9 on amazon.com. This is a very comprehensive
book.

John A. Witmer's review of the book in Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan 96
stated:

Subtitled, "A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church," this
book is well deserving of that claim. Divided into two main parts, the
first discusses "Preliminary Considerations" related to the Day of
the Lord. These show that the Day of the Lord begins with the time of
divine judgment preceded by numerous predicted signs. The second part
deals with the "Biblical Inferences for the Pretribulation Rapture of
the Church."

Showers states, "We are building a case as an attorney would fashion
a brief. One point builds upon the next and the two on a third, etc."
(p. 41). Thus the book includes meticulous development of evidence
supported by numerous linguistic and biblical authorities. While this
may get tedious at times, the material clearly presents the author's
arguments. The evidence is cogent and formidable.
The second part opens with the chapter, "The Imminent Coming of
Christ," in defense of the pretribulational rapture of the church.
This is the belief that the predicted coming of Jesus Christ to rapture
His church could occur at any moment. The author shows that imminency
is taught widely throughout the New Testament. He also asserts
correctly that "the necessity of something else taking place first
destroys the concept of imminency" (p. 127).

In discussing the importance of the pretribulational rapture of the
church to Christians, Showers writes, "The fact that the glorified,
holy Son of God could step through the door of heaven at any moment is
intended by God to be the most pressing, incessant motivation for holy
living and aggressive ministry.... It should make a major difference in
every Christian's values, actions, priorities, and goals" (p. 256).
This strong defense of the doctrine of the pretribulational rapture of
the church is highly recommended.

end quote.