What, No Rapture at All? Let’s Look at Reasoning for that Belief

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

I am “friends” with a person on a social network who is very opinionated (nothing wrong with that), but of late, I’ve realized that some of her viewpoints are a bit skewed, to say the least. For some time now, I’ve been on the receiving end of numerous attacks from people who do not believe that the Bible teaches a PreTrib Rapture event. I’ve gotten used to their vitriol and false accusations.

This though is a bit different. If you read her words below, you’ll see that she does not believe in any rapture at all. This is not really that unusual because many people do not believe that there is any sort of rapture in the future for Christians. It’s how she arrives at her opinion that is very odd and, dare I say, fully incorrect as we’ll see.

My issue is how she interprets Scripture and that’s what I want to focus on here in this article. Again, I’m not going to spend time trying to prove (or not) the fact of the rapture. I want to take her argument apart and see if there is any real truth to it. Take the time to read through her comments a few times, will you? She is speaking to someone named “Raymond” and I have not edited her comments at all.

So you believe in the rapture theory? And you don’t believe all God’s prophecies are unfolding before our eyes, Raymond. Please research scripture a bit more and dont listen to man. There will be no rapture. You rely on 1 Thess which is taught incorrectly. “Clouds” are large groups of people — these “clouds” are those that have already passed on and are with God (the people around His throne); meeting God in the “air” is not literal — “Air” in Greek is “pneuma” which means “spirit”. In other words, we will meet Him in our spiritual bodies. It’s the only way we can meet Him, because He is spirit. Paul wrote the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians to clarify that, please read it starting at verse one. It clearly explains that Jesus will NOT be coming back until the “man of perdition” (Satan) appears first claiming to be the Jew’s Messiah, the Christian’s Jesus, and the Moozies 9th Imam, etc. He will be all things to all people and the whole world will whore after him except those of us who know who he is. Here, Raymond, to get you started: 2 Thessalonians 2 King James Version

2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Some of the comments above are very reminiscent of those who have been or are part of the The Family International,” the “Children of God,” or the “Family of Love. Whether that is the case here or not, I can’t be sure. But please note that the individual quoted above without equivocation states that “clouds” are large groups of people and then further states that the word “air” is not to be taken literally because it means “spirit” (pneuma). Here’s the problem. She is clearly referencing the passage in Hebrews in which we learn that there is a great “cloud” of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1):

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”

In this case, the writer of Hebrews is certainly using the term “cloud” in a symbolic sense. That much can be clearly seen from the context itself, which is often the best way to determine meaning. However, let’s look at Acts 1:9, where Jesus is seen to be taken up into the clouds. The text tells us…

“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

The “He” in the text of course is Jesus. He actually ascended into the sky and was hidden out of sight by a cloud. In this case, should we assume that Jesus ascended into (and through) an actual cloud, or should we use the metaphorical meaning found in Hebrews 12:1? I think it is evident that when Jesus ascended into the sky above Him, He would likely have eventually gone into and through a cloud, a real grouping of ice crystals or water drops that form a body of what we call the “white stuff.” This would have blocked the disciples’ view of Him and helped snap them out of it, so to speak. There is actually no reason to take the cloud mentioned in Acts 1 as symbolic of something else, or that it means “a large group of people” as our friend wants to do with the passage in
1 Thessalonians.

She says that the word for “clouds” should be taken to mean “large groups of people.” The actual word used in the Greek text in the Thessalonians passage is nephelais and it literally means actual “clouds” in the sky. The usage of it in Hebrews is a different word completely. It is nephos, which can mean a mass of clouds as in a “great multitude.” When used figuratively (as the writer in Hebrews clearly does), it then can mean a great multitude of people, but only when used figuratively. There is no reason to take the word figuratively every time it is used in Scripture as it depends mainly on context.

For instance, the word “left” has several meanings, doesn’t it? It can refer to a direction traveled, it can mean how much one has remaining after using the rest, or it can relate to how a person thinks (e.g. politically). In fact, the word “left” can be an adjective, an adverb, or a noun. What determines that? Context, something our friend appears to be ignoring.

She does the same with the word “pneuma.” Unfortunately for our friend, the exact Greek word used in that portion of Scripture (Thessalonians) is aera, not pneuma. Because she believes (wrongly) that the word being used is pneuma, which is generally understood to be “spirit” in English, she then interprets the passage incorrectly, which makes sense she is using the incorrect word at the start. The Greek word actually used is aera, which correlates to our English word “air” and means the air above the earth.

You can see where her error takes her. She has interpreted the passage completely erroneously but to make matters worse, as can be understood from her “tone,” she is adamant that hers is the correct understanding and anyone who does not see it her way is simply and completely wrong. In fact, I tried to gently offer some correction to her, but she would have none of it. I was simply wrong and she doubled down.

When discussing things of this nature, it is important to leave the dogma on the side. That is not to say that people cannot have solid opinions about something. However, the way in which we discuss is important and those who believe they are on the same “team” so to speak, should approach things with grace. Unfortunately for her, no matter how I tried to offer my opinion – which differs from hers markedly – it didn’t matter. It was as though she couldn’t hear me. I’m sure she couldn’t because she was so involved in ensuring that her opinion was the only one that carried weight.

She does the same thing regarding her belief that the Antichrist IS Satan. I believe the Bible teaches that the Antichrist will be fully empowered by Satan, but will be a separate individual. In fact, Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet together form the unholy trinity, as they attempt to mirror the true Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When I pointed that out to her, it fell on deaf ears and she simply repeated her claim that Satan IS the Antichrist. Oh well. A person like this is not interested in the actual give and take of discussion. She is interested only in her opinion. That’s all that matters to her.

Unfortunately, it was easy to show where she went wrong. Equally as unfortunate is the fact that she cannot see it, as obvious as it is to see. My advice – if you’re asking – is to avoid entering into arguments that serve no purpose. We need to heed the apostle Paul’s words here when he says, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless,” (Titus 3:9). State your opinion and note the response. If you hit a brick wall, continued debate is pointless.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective