The topic of the “Rapture” is sure to generate rather vibrant discussion among Christians with diverse backgrounds. I worship in a community of faith where we have “pretrib” Rapture people, “midtrib” Rapture people, and “posttrib” Rapture people. I have even learned recently that there is now a “prewrath” view of the Rapture, though I am not completely sure what that is. In some corners of the global church, the late Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind novels are regarded as inerrant theology, while others dismiss “Rapture theology” as a modernistic innovation clashing with 18 centuries of Christian teaching! It can get so touchy with people that sometimes folks wonder if there is any way possible to have good conversation about this topic with fellow believers, without someone walking away mad.
My church this summer is promoting a Summer Reading Challenge, encouraging our community of faith to read through all of the letters of Paul, including the famous “Rapture” passage from 1 Thessalonians. A new friend of mine, Hunter Ruch, is also a new member of the pastoral staff at my church. In the following video clip, Hunter models for me what a good conversation looks and sounds like when discussing difficult issues like this. Whether you agree or not with Hunter about what he believes about the Rapture, I hope you will agree that he takes the right posture on how to talk about the Rapture.
Previous Veracity posts about the Rapture include:
- An introduction to Rapture Theology: Left Behind: A Good Thing or A Bad Thing?
- Digging deep on the Rapture and the Book of Revelation, in a rather lengthy blog post: Revelation … (and the Rapture Reboot)
- A fairly short summary of the main views regarding the Rapture: Ben Witherington and Darrell Bock on the Rapture
Veracity 
What do you think?