Catholic Rapture
In certain Protestant circles, the idea of the rapture is a key doctrine in understanding
the end times.
It’s inspired books like the Left Behind series and fiery sermons about tribulations,
all warning of the coming judgment.
For most Catholics, though, it’s a concept that we’ve mostly ignored and know little
about, because it’s not something that we believe.
Right?
The reality is that, while the most popular understanding of the rapture—including the
word “rapture” itself— comes from evangelical Protestant theology and is incompatible with
Catholic theology, there are actually three different perspectives on the topic, all of
which speak of something that Catholics do believe.
What are these three perspectives and what do we make of each?
This is Catholicism in Focus.
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For most Catholics, the word “rapture” almost never crosses our minds.
It appears neither in the Catechism nor the Bible, and it would be an extremely rare day
to hear it preached about from the pulpit.
The word is so foreign to some that I’m sure a few of you are a minute into this video
still wondering what it is we may or not believe.
At it’s most basic and generic level, the rapture is nothing more than the doctrine
that, at some point, the faithful will be taken up to heaven in bodily form.
A statement, in itself, that is not against the teaching of the Catholic Church.
The Apostles Creed proclaims that we believe in the resurrection of the body into heaven,
and St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians states that Jesus will come to take the faithful
to himself:
“For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the
trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
For Catholics, the question is not whether the faithful will be assumed into heaven but
rather when and how this will occur, a question that hinges on our understanding of the events
of the ends times.
Revelation 20 tells us that in the end, the Devil will be be bound for 1000 years, referred
to as the millennium of Christ’s reign, and be released to deceive the nations and
bring tribulation.
Ultimately, Jesus will judge the nations and win victory to all the just, bringing everything
in existence to an end.
While all Christians agree that these events must necessarily take place—the second coming,
tribulation, a period of Christ’s reign, and judgment—determining how, and when,
they take place is what divides us into three main schools of thought.
For post-millennialists, the second coming and judgment of Christ will occur, as their
name indicates, after the millennium.
It’s nice when theological terms just make sense, isn’t it?
For them, the millennium is a period of time in which Jesus’ great commission will be
realized and most, if not all, of the world will be evangelized.
It is an extremely optimistic view that expects the reign of God to be experienced visibly
and tangibly in this world, that believes we are in the midst of this process taking
place, and contends that Jesus will return only when evil is eradicated.
At which point, Jesus would return, judge the nations, and the just will be caught up
to heaven.
“Raptured.”
Looking to scripture, they will point out that Christ promised to be with his disciples
always, to send them his Holy Spirit, and to answer their prayers, meaning that it is
entirely reasonable to expect the mission of the Church to be successful.
This view reached the height of its popularity in the middle of the 19th century, coinciding
with a world growing leaps and bounds, but lost significant support during the 20th century
when World Wars, economic depressions, and the rise of atheism showed otherwise.
Kind of difficult to argue we’re in the perfect reign of Christ now, isn’t it?!
Besides these practical observations, Scripture itself offers little support to the idea that
the world will experience a near perfect Christianization of the world prior to the second coming.
Jesus’ parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat, in fact, shows quite the opposite: at the
final judgment there will still remain many who are evil and thus deemed unfit for the
kingdom.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the pre-millennialist position, namely, and again
obviously, that the second coming of Christ will occur prior to the millennium.
It is here that we find the most common, and problematic, understanding of the rapture.
Like postmillennialists, premillennialists believe that there will one day exist a golden
age on earth in which the world will be Christianized, only the Second Coming of Christ will happen
prior to and causing this to happen.
It is precisely his Second Coming that will institute this reign, and he will physically
preside over it on earth prior to the Judgment.
Here’s where it gets interesting, complicated, and to the heart of the matter.
While all premillennialists believe that there will be a period of tribulation preceding
the great millennium, some believe that Christians must endure this period prior to the Second
Coming and Judgment, while others argue that Christ will appear prior to the tribulation
to save the Church before it happens, taking to himself the faithful and leaving behind
the unjust.
Hence the name of the popular book series.
For basically anyone who talks about the rapture or uses that word, this is what they’re
talking about.
They’re pre-tribulation, pre-millennialists, people that believe that, even though the
Last Judgment will not occur until after the Millennium, some will be raptured before it,
sparing them the trial.
It’s an idea that is clearly contradicted by Scripture—Jesus speaks of true Christians
enduring trials and being found faithful; It has no historical or theological basis,
only first appearing in a footnote of a Bible published in 1800; and really, just doesn’t
make much sense.
In this view, Christ will come again in secret—contrary to what is said of his Second Coming in the
Gospels—again to reign with the Church prior to the Millennium, and then, after all of
this, again for the final judgment.
This final point is true for the post-tribulation premillennialist as well, and it’s the simplest
way to unravel the position: the premillennialist separates the second coming and final judgment
into two distinct events, an idea that is contrary to Scripture.
Matthew 16:27 states, “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s
glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.”
2 Peter teaches that Judgment will come like a thief in the night, quickly and all at once;
and Matthew 25 depicts the Son of Man judging the nations once he comes in glory.
Jesus isn’t going to return and then repay everyone in 1000 years; He is not going to
delay.
He will return in glory… and he will judge.
A continuous, single action.
Which is why, even though the Catholic Church has never officially promulgated a stance
on this largely Protestant question, the final position, referred to as Amillennialism, would
be a far closer fit than either of the previous two.
Rather than viewing the millennium as a literal, measurable time in which Christ reigns on
earth, this position sees it as a symbolic age represented by Christ’s reign in heaven
and earth through his Church.
In this model, there are no delusions of a perfect, Christianized world—evil still
exists.
While the devil has been bound by Christ’s victory over death through the cross to the
extent that the gospel is free to grow, he is not bound completely.
Christians will need to endure tribulation until the Second Coming of Christ when his
victory over evil will be complete and the nations will be judged.
At which point, the just will be brought to himself, body and soul, into heaven.
Raptured, if you will.
So, do Catholics believe in the rapture?
Well, it depends what you mean.
Do we believe that Christ will secretly come to earth to preserve his faithful from tribulation
before literally reigning on earth for 1000 years?
No.
And neither does scripture.
But we do believe that there will be tribulation.
We do believe that Christ will come again to conquer the devil once and for all.
And we do believe that he will judge each and every one of us, and the elect will be
brought to him.
If you want to call this being raptured, then scripture and the Catholic Church are on board.