Plenty of people are expecting the rapture, an event in which Christians are all taken up from the earth into heaven. The problem is that the Bible knows no such event. Yep, that’s right. There’s no rapture in the Bible. And the passages sometimes thought to be about the rapture are about something else entirely. In this video, Dr. Matt O’Reilly walks us through one such passage – Matthew 24.36-42. He explains why these verses teach that it’s actually a good thing to be left behind.
Interested in more? Here are two books that critique the rapture. The Rapture Exposed by Barbara Rossing The Problem with Evangelical Theology by Ben Witherington
And here are two books for an alternative (and optimistic!) biblical eschatology. Heaven Misplaced by Douglas Wilson Deep Comedy by Peter Leithart
Dr. Matt O’Reilly is pastor of Hope Hull United Methodist Church near Montgomery, AL, a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians, and Adjunct Professor of New Testament and Pastoral Ministry at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
For more from Matt, be sure to subscribe to the Orthodoxy for Everyone YouTube Channel, listen to SermonCast, connect on Facebook, and follow @mporeilly.