Why the Rapture Is Dangerous Theology
By: Bishop Stephen Introduction: A Modern Doctrine with Ancient Consequences Few ideas have captured the modern Christian imagination like the “Rapture.” It appears in popular novels, prophecy conferences, cinematic portrayals of vanishing believers, and breathless speculation about geopolitical events. For many, it is assumed to be a basic teaching of Christianity: that before a period of tribulation, true believers will be secretly “raptured” away from the earth, leaving the world behind to endure divine judgment. Yet this doctrine, particularly in its pre-tribulational, secret form, is absent from the first eighteen centuries of Christian teaching. It arose in the 19th century within Dispensationalist circles and spread rapidly through evangelical Protestantism.¹ The Orthodox Church, however, has never taught such a view. On the contrary, she regards it as a serious theological distortion, one that alters our understanding of the Church, suffering, eschatology, and even Chris...