Aggie4Life02 said:
XUSCR said:
From a history of theology perspective, when did the idea of the Rapture first appear?
Thanks.
The Rapture is in the Bible. The question is when does it occur. The left behind narrative is very new to Christianity.
Actually no. The incorrect critique is that John Darby originated it ca. 1830. He only popularized it.
The Book of Revelation, 1 Thessalonians and other references point to it. It was known in the Reformation.
Enoch and Elijah were both "raptured" (caught up) without tasting death. Daniel 12:1-2 speaks of it. Matthew 24:30-31 does too.Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Luke 13:24-27, Mark 13:24-27, Isaiah 26:20 can all be used to construct a case for rapture. There are more references as well.
Quote:
The concept of the rapture, in connection with premillennialism, was expressed by the 17th-century American Puritans Increase and Cotton Mather. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on earth, and then the millennium.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#cite_note-r-Kyle-1998-24][24][/url][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#cite_note-r-Boyer-1992-25][25][/url] Other 17th-century expressions of the rapture are found in the works of: Robert Maton, Nathaniel Homes, John Browne, Thomas Vincent, Henry Danvers, and William Sherwin.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#cite_note-26][26][/url] The term rapture was used by Philip Doddridge[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#cite_note-27][27][/url] and John Gill[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#cite_note-28][28][/url] in their New Testament commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on earth and Jesus' second coming.
Hate to use Wiki, but it contains footnotes on citation by scholars you can check out
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture
It is better to light a flamethrower than to curse the darkness- Sir Terence Pratchett
“ III stooges si viveret et nos omnes ad quos etiam probabile est mittent custard pies”