The Rapture: Is This Doctrine Biblical? with Ben Witherington (Seven Minute Seminary)

Does Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 teach a theology of the Rapture? Ben Witherington uses Bible background to explain.

// Study the Gospel of Matthew with Ben Witherington:

// Study the Gospel of John with Ben Witherington:

// Study the Letter to the Romans with Ben Witherington:

[bobbycecere]

A text without a context is a pretext.
That's brilliant

[barbarasimmons]

When I was a kid my sisters and I would watch and listen for Daddy's truck when he came home from work. All of a sudden we would hear him or see him through the trees and take of running to greet him. Mother would stand outside, drying her hands on her apron, smiling as Daddy climbed down out of the truck, surrounded by his very own greeting committee! How delighted our Jesus will be when His loved ones rush out to meet Him. What excitement, what a happy day that will be!

[jellojiggle]

Noah and his family were not merely "left behind" they were saved from the wrath of God's judgment!

[jesuslovesmegalatians]

You are so right when there was great tribulation against true church, the lukewarm Christians thought that Jesus would come at the moment but since he didn't and their tribulation continued, many gave their faith, I think the pre-tribulation rapture will create a similar falling away, worldwide as the expected rapture does not take place, No where in the Bible we are promised deliverance from tribulation, we are to overcome them endure till the end. Christians in Muslim majority countries endure real intersection but they still abide in the true wine that is christ and them extremely precious to God

[jacobgwinn]

I grew go blindly embracing rapture theology til about age 20 when he began to go deep in scripture and theology and church history and came to the realization that the doctrine of the rapture was unheard of until the early 19th century and was first established at a small revival in Glasgow Scotland after a Scottish girl claimed to have a vision of a pre tribulation rapture. A reverend who was there thought her claim was theologically correct and later came to America and influenced Dwight L Moody of this doctrine who taught it at the Moody Bible Institute and eventually made its way into evangelical circles.

[KathyLovesJack]

I have been delivered from the nonBiblical " rapture" myth so I definitely appreciate this concise teaching- hopefully more will become Bereans and see exactly what Scripture says and stop following the Left Behind nonsense

[jaygirlization]

Matthew 24 is not about the rapture. It’s about the second coming

[verafiege]

Very biblical. We will accompany Jesus as He comes in full glory. What an honour! He will bring justice and reign on earth.

[sidrojoe]

When confronted with the irrefutable fact that they were teaching a 2nd and a 3rd coming of Christ, or 2 separate second comings of Christ, pre-trib teachers ammended their doctrine to say there would be a "two phase" return of Christ, phase 1 to remove the church, then 7 years later phase 2 to return with the church, which is still 2 second comings of Christ. This is not taught in the Bible.

[nocompromise]

Makes a lot more sense than a rapture doctrine. I used to believe that rapture stuff till we began studying the scriptures deeply. Thanks for posting.

[robertmoulton]

I am so happy to see presentations like this. For decades I've been left empty and confused by Rapture preaching and I long ago concluded that there was no reason at all for John revealing most of the events of the Revelation except to prepare believers to endure through the Tribulation.

[JudahCub]

When I became a messianic gentile I received this enlightened understanding. It’s better to learn the scripture in context indeed.

[donalddodson]

Thank you for this series clarifying the context of Christ's Return. So much division among believers, which, in and of itself, is un-Godly and foolish.

[mikebremer]

Mathew 13 (Wheat and the tares), the message is that the wicked will be taken first, not the righteous. There will be no separation between good and evil until the harvest on the last day.

[greenblood]

What I don't understand is why someone like John McArthur embraces this doctrine. I thought he specializes in accurate Biblical exegesis.

[ceepark]

I always thought that verse saying “as in the days of Noah” meant about how evil man was.

[EyeSkyU]

Thank you! The devil was starting to confuse me! I know 100% that God has me preparing my house and making the necessary preparations for hard times but was hearing everyone saying rapture could be next week. Thank you for waking me up to what I already knew from God's directions.

[danjones]

I tend to agree with this view, and here's why: After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he and His disciples returned to Jerusalem from Bethany through Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. (See Matthew 21 and Luke 19.) He was accompanied by a large crowd including the relatives of Lazarus and Lazarus himself. As He approached Jerusalem, a large crowd came out to meet Him. This is where Palm Sunday took place. It's possible that the whole event is a foreshadowing of Jesus' final return, with a great crowd accompanying Him from heaven, and a great crowd arising from the earth to meet Him in the air. Zechariah 19:4 says that when Jesus returns, He will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two. Likewise, the angel tells the disciples as they stand on the Mount of Olives watching Jesus ascend through the clouds into heaven that He will return in the same way He left. There are many other parallels -- on Palm Sunday, he rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey not as a king, but humble and lowly. When He returns, He will ride a white horse--the war horse expected of a king. The spot on the Mount of Olives where He is said the return is directly opposite the Golden Gate, (the King's Gate) which lines up with the prophesied split in the Mount of Olives.

[paulbortolazzo]

Most Christians are convinced our Blessed Hope must come back before the great tribulation of the saints by the Beast? The truth is, Jesus is warning us to watch for the abomination of desolation (Beast) before the gathering of the elect at the coming of the Son of Man. (Mat. 24:15, 30-31)

[mlawson]

Could the left behind phrase in Genesis also mean that Noah and his family were taken to safety from the wrath of God and the left behind were left to suffer Gods wrath ? It could be a argued either way. Jesus also compared it to the days of Lot. Soddom was filled with wickedness and God had the angels take Lot and his family out of the city before Gods wrath. So In both comparisons God righteous we’re taken or removed prior to Gods wrath. I’m no Bible scholar but I do read the Bible. But it seems to me however it is done God will remove those in Christ prior to his wrath on the inhabitants of the Earth. We are told we are not appointed to wrath but salvation through Jesus.