By Doris Rivas
The term, 'Rapture', is the name given to the events that will take place at the Second Coming of Christ, described in the New Testament book, 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 4, verses 13 to 18. Here, the Lord will come down from heaven, the dead will be resurrected. Baptized Christian believers who are living will then be caught up together with them in the clouds. The big question is, when will the rapture happen.
The Bible records isolated instances of specific individuals who have been spared the ordeal of death and burial and been taken by the Lord. According to the Book of Genesis (5:24), Enoch walked faithfully with the Lord for a total of 365 years and was taken away without dying. Similarly, Acts 8:26-40, tells the tale of Philip and the eunuch. Returning from a session of prayer in Jerusalem, the Apostle Philip encountered the eunuch on his way home. The eunuch, a treasurer in the court of Queen Candace, asked Philip if he would perform his baptism.
Naturally, Philip obeys the Great Commission and obliges the man. As they step out of the water, Philip is taken by the Lord and reappears in Azotus. The new creation basks in his rebirth while the Apostle Philip preaches the Gospel to the Azotians.
It was the 19th century Anglo-Irish evangelist, John Darby (1800-1882), who first raised public consciousness about the scriptures dealing with the rapture. While Morgan Edwards, a Baptist pastor from Wales, had published an essay on the subject, it was Darby who made it popular. Darby went on to translate the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible and produce his own version of the Bible.
Since Darby introduced the subject, several people have attempted to forecast the precise date on which the Rapture will occur. Each one has failed spectacularly. Among the most famous failed prophets have been the Reverend Miller and Samuel Snow (19th Century) and Harold Egbert Camping (21st Century).
Miller predicted that Christ would return in the year 1844. Samuel Snow stuck his neck out further and predicted that the Rapture would take place on October 22, 1844. All over New England, thousands of followers who had given away all their possessions waited expectantly on the mountaintops on the appointed night. Some wore white Ascension Robes while others inexplicably sat in metal washtubs. Recorded in history as 'the Great Disappointment, ' midnight struck quietly.
The only sounds that were heard that night were the chortles and laughter of the skeptical towns people. The faithful had lost everything. Miller's church was decimated. The night went down in history as the Great Disappointment.
Undaunted by the Great Disappointment, Harold Camping went on to score a hat trick of doomed Doomsday predictions. His forecasts on three occasions, once in 1994 and twice within six months of each other in 2011, all fell flat. Like the Apostle Matthew (24:36), Camping was forced to admit that he didn't know when will the rapture happen (http://www.churchofgodcolumbiana.com/is-the-rapture-false.html) .
About the Author:
Read more about (http://www.churchofgodcolumbiana.com/is-the-rapture-false.html) When Will The Rapture Happen visiting our website.
The term, 'Rapture', is the name given to the events that will take place at the Second Coming of Christ, described in the New Testament book, 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 4, verses 13 to 18. Here, the Lord will come down from heaven, the dead will be resurrected. Baptized Christian believers who are living will then be caught up together with them in the clouds. The big question is, when will the rapture happen.
The Bible records isolated instances of specific individuals who have been spared the ordeal of death and burial and been taken by the Lord. According to the Book of Genesis (5:24), Enoch walked faithfully with the Lord for a total of 365 years and was taken away without dying. Similarly, Acts 8:26-40, tells the tale of Philip and the eunuch. Returning from a session of prayer in Jerusalem, the Apostle Philip encountered the eunuch on his way home. The eunuch, a treasurer in the court of Queen Candace, asked Philip if he would perform his baptism.
Naturally, Philip obeys the Great Commission and obliges the man. As they step out of the water, Philip is taken by the Lord and reappears in Azotus. The new creation basks in his rebirth while the Apostle Philip preaches the Gospel to the Azotians.
It was the 19th century Anglo-Irish evangelist, John Darby (1800-1882), who first raised public consciousness about the scriptures dealing with the rapture. While Morgan Edwards, a Baptist pastor from Wales, had published an essay on the subject, it was Darby who made it popular. Darby went on to translate the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible and produce his own version of the Bible.
Since Darby introduced the subject, several people have attempted to forecast the precise date on which the Rapture will occur. Each one has failed spectacularly. Among the most famous failed prophets have been the Reverend Miller and Samuel Snow (19th Century) and Harold Egbert Camping (21st Century).
Miller predicted that Christ would return in the year 1844. Samuel Snow stuck his neck out further and predicted that the Rapture would take place on October 22, 1844. All over New England, thousands of followers who had given away all their possessions waited expectantly on the mountaintops on the appointed night. Some wore white Ascension Robes while others inexplicably sat in metal washtubs. Recorded in history as 'the Great Disappointment, ' midnight struck quietly.
The only sounds that were heard that night were the chortles and laughter of the skeptical towns people. The faithful had lost everything. Miller's church was decimated. The night went down in history as the Great Disappointment.
Undaunted by the Great Disappointment, Harold Camping went on to score a hat trick of doomed Doomsday predictions. His forecasts on three occasions, once in 1994 and twice within six months of each other in 2011, all fell flat. Like the Apostle Matthew (24:36), Camping was forced to admit that he didn't know when will the rapture happen (http://www.churchofgodcolumbiana.com/is-the-rapture-false.html) .
About the Author:
Read more about (http://www.churchofgodcolumbiana.com/is-the-rapture-false.html) When Will The Rapture Happen visiting our website.