There is a belief among many American Protestant Christians that all born again Christians will be caught up into heaven before the seven year period of tribulation that proceeds Christ’s second coming. The Lord will do this to save them from having to suffer the degradations and trials that will come upon the inhabitants of the earth at that time. The sequence of events goes something like this:
- Christ will secretly gather the righteous Christians and take them up into heaven to save them from the destruction that comes after.
- Next comes seven years of tribulation and destruction in which the wicked will suffer terrible trials.
- At the end of the seven years Christ will come in glory and a second rapture will happen for the few righteous individuals who have repented.
- All of the wicked will be destroyed,the judgement takes place, and the millennium commences.
None of this is scriptural, but that doesn’t stop millions of Protestant Christians from believing that they will be raptured and not have to endure the tribulation that will come in the last days. Some of the scriptures that are used to teach this principle are: 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1st Corinthians 15:50-54; and Matthew 24:37-42. If you read these verses it will be evident to you that it is quite a stretch to link these verses to proof of a rapture. It is really nothing more then a modern fairy tale, pleasing to the mind to sooth the anxiety of Christians concerned about biblical prophecy expected to unfold in our lifetime. The extremely popular “Left Behind” series of books published in the 1990’s popularized this fable. There were also several movies made based on the books.
The rapture is largely an American fable which plays on the notion that the Lord blesses his elect with prosperity. Protestant teachers and pastors are busy motivating their congregations with news that Christ wants them to succeed, to be rich. “God is glorified when you are successful“, declares Joel Osteen. Good Christians will not have to suffer tribulation because God loves you above the others. You are special. He will save you from suffering when the time comes. All is well. Evidence to the believer are the great blessings and riches that this country enjoys above all others on the earth. Even the poorest families in America live a standard of living that is better than 90% of the people on the earth.
Never mind that thousands of Christians are being persecuted and being killed in the middle east, Africa, China, India and Indonesia. Just this month here are a few headlines that you don’t see on the front pages on newspapers or headlining on-line news feeds.
- “100 Christians snatched in Overnight Raids on Underground Chinese Church.”
- “Remains of 34 Christians Slaughtered by Islamic State found in mass grave in Libya”
- “The persecution and genocide of Christians across the world is worse today than at any time in History, according to “Aid to Church in Need” (Catholic Organization)
- “Christians all but eradicated in Syria”
- “Christian Genocide in Nigeria”
- “Christian Churches burned in Egypt”
Why aren’t the Christians in these countries being raptured? Are they not as righteous as the Christians in America? The logic of this escapes my understanding. How can good Christians, that understand and read the Bible, believe they will somehow be immune to the persecution and tribulations that will come; that God will save them, but ignores the plight of humble Christians in Syria or Egypt who are being slaughtered daily (Romans 8:36)? Never mind the dozens of scriptures that attest to the idea that the tribulation will be experienced by the God’s chosen and elect. (1 Peter 4:12-13, 17; 2 Timothy 3:12; Mathew 5:10-12; Job 23:10; 1 Peter 1:7,18; Malachi 3:3)
Believing in a rapture is a snare, a trap that will come upon the believer and leave them fully exposed and naked without protection against the terrific trials that are coming to America. When Christians are persecuted and hunted down by mobs in this country, they will realize there is no rapture. God will not save them. They will then know that the pastors lied to them and they will reject God. They will reject everything they formerly believed and been taught about Christ, God and the Bible.
Mormons are susceptible to a similar trap that makes them just as vulnerable. Many of their testimonies hinge largely on the doctrine of “Follow the Prophets”. Modern 21st century LDS doctrine follows along these lines: “our security is to listen to and follow the direction of his prophet, the President of the Church.”[1]
“I think there is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord.” [2]
Mormon culture teaches from primary children age to adulthood that they must follow the prophet implicitly. They believe the president of the church and general authorities are led by Christ personally, and so members of the church must do what they are counseled to do if they are to be saved in the kingdom of God. Individuals can access the word of God on their own, but in Mormon culture, the word of the prophet always trumps any spiritual communication they may receive.
This doctrine is a trap to Mormons. The time will come when the church comes under great persecution. The expectations and promises made by their presidents and prophets will fail and there will be a mass exodus from the church. That exodus, in fact, has already begun. In the era of free information and a forced openness, many members are finding that the church authorities have not been entirely truthful in many areas. There has been a conspiracy in the leadership of the church from the time of Brigham Young to hide the truth of its history from the general church membership. It doesn’t matter that their motivation was to hide the truth in order to protect people’s testimonies, it matters that they can not be trusted to always tell the truth. An event or sequence of events will come about that will cause the body of the active church membership to realize that their church leadership is not trustworthy to protect them or to lead them.
There have been a lot of dreams and prophecies concerning the future of the Salt Lake Valley. Some seem more credible than others. I am reminded of one dream that someone reported several years ago where they saw a terrible destruction that took place in the valley sometime in the future. The whole valley is lifted up into the air, turned upside down, and crashed back on to the floor of the valley. In the aftermath a smooth plain of dirt and rock replaced where the great city of Salt Lake City used to be. But the person who reported this dream said the dream was not to be taken literally. The interpretation goes something like this: “The dream is symbolic. Something will happen, an event so shocking to the members of the LDS Church that the church will experience active members leaving in droves” (the turning of things “upside down”). The archetype of that dream is reflected by Isaiah (24:1):
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
Boyd K Packer speaking to the Church’s educators said in 1981, “Your objective should be that they will see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning till now.” [3] What happens when the students discover that this isn’t true? What will the backlash be when members come to the realization that if the leaders are not completely truthful, the church is false. And if the church is false, there is no God. This is because the common belief among Mormons is this: “if the Church isn’t true nothing else is”. It can be shown that most active LDS members who leave the church, because they discovered the truth about Church History, or some other doctrinal issue, do not join another church but become agnostic or atheist.
The doctrine of the infallibility of the leaders of the LDS Church, or any church, is a great stumbling block to many, and will yet prove to create great harm to the faith of many in Christ. That is why we must, like the wise virgins, fill our lamps with oil. The oil represents the Holy Spirit and our ability to be lead by the spirit, and not put trust solely in men who are “they that sell“( mentioned in the parable Mathew 11:15).
“And at that day when I shall come in my Glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spoke concerning the ten virgins, for they that are wise and have received the Truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide [not a man or even a prophet] and have not been deceived, verily I say unto you, They shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day, and the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance.” (D&C 31:12)
Fellowships and churches share in this flaw. People look to a prophet, a pastor, a bishop, or someone they believe has a direct connection to Heaven. They tend to put their trust in that person exclusively to obtain instruction from Heaven. I have heard people say, ” I don’t feel comfortable with that concept because “so and so” hasn’t said anything about it.” or “I don’t believe that because “so and so” said something otherwise.” They have abrogated their privilege to ask the Lord to reveal truth to them personally. The 5 foolish virgins likewise have abrogated their privilege and put their trust in the merchants. It is good to trust people we look up to, but as the diplomats say, “Trust but verify!”
When the call comes from the Lord to establish Zion, it will not come from the pulpit nor from any man. If you do not have a personal relationship with Christ and know His voice, you will not hear the call. If your source of truth is the Holy Spirit, you will not fall victim to the rapture or “follow the prophet” deceptions.
[1] James E. Faust, “These I will Make My Leaders, Gen Conference April 1980.
[2] (“Eternal Keys and the Right to Preside,” Ensign, July 1972, p. 88.)
[3] Boyd K. Packer, “The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect,” Address to the Fifth Annual CES Religious Educators’ Symposium, 1981
Well written. The problem I’ve found with myself is that I lack the ability to verify truth. Based upon what I’ve read from others in forums and social media, I’m confident that I am not alone in that predicament. The few times that I have received what I believed was an answer from heaven only came after a great amount of time putting forth great effort in prayer, faith, and even fasting. It didn’t come easily or quickly. I can rarely muster the amount of perseverance and sheer grit required to get answers like that.
When fellowships first began a few years ago, there seemed to be an abundance of people coming out with dreams, visions, reports of seeing angels, etc. Some would come and tell the rest of us that God had spoken to them about what the rest of us needed to do. There were all kinds of fanciful notions going around. I could barely keep up with it all. The thought of trying to “verify” each and every revelation that comes forth is overwhelming to consider.
I have learned some level of discernment simply through experience and by comparing messages with scripture. I’ve also had to struggle through many periods of doubt, confusion, despair, etc. because of the many contradictions (in scripture, in competing prophetic messages, in discerning revelations, etc.) that I’ve had to grapple with. I confess that the principle of taking “the Holy Spirit for [my] guide” still eludes me.
The greatest thing I have learned over the past few years is just how little there is that I do know. Uncertainty and insecurity seem to be facts of life.
Well said, Dreavis. It is right that we struggle to discern truth, otherwise we miss out one of the Lord’s greatest teaching methods. Paul writes in Phillipians that we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, but the promise is that the Lord will answer and does answer. I don’t think we need to test out every concept and doctrine we hear, but don’t you think that there are some principles that are important enough to get confirmation from the source? There is a lot of nonsense out there that gets passed off as revelation, and some is worth while to nail down if its true.
I have found in many cases that I innately knew the true answer of a question, but just was not confident enough to accept that I knew it. I once prayed to know if a certain person was inspired. The answer I heard in my mind was “Read his works.” I thought, what kind of answer is that? The Lord required me to go and get the answer. He had confidence enough in me to know that I would get the correct answer.