I recently read an article about the new Left Behind movie that has sparked quite a debate amongst Christians. I am a Bible believing Christian who knows we are living in the last days and I’ve always thought the pre-trib rapture made the most sense according to scripture. However, after reading so many comments on this link I feel a bit confused. There were so many people claiming to be Christians but said there was no such thing as the rapture and that it has no Biblical standing. I know the Bible doesn’t actually use the word rapture but I was stunned to see how many don’t believe in this event. It makes me feel like maybe I missed something or I am just hanging onto the hope of escaping the wrath of God here on earth when it happens. How is it that Christians can have such a wide scope of beliefs that don’t match up with each others but we all claim to get them from the same place, the Bible?
In my experience, any effort to promote the pre-trib rapture always brings out the nay-sayers in droves. So I’m not surprised when I see lots of negative comments about it. Your admission that you’ve become confused because of these comments makes me wonder if your belief in the pre-trib rapture has come to you second hand rather than from your own independent study. The remedy for this is to apply Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures for yourself to see if what you’ve been told is true. By doing this you will not only get a better understanding of what you believe, but you also know why you believe it, and you will no longer be confused by reading what others think.
People can have the same Bible and come to different conclusions about it for several reasons. Some people form opinions in advance and then look for verses to support their opinions. Some don’t follow the literal, historical, grammatical approach and take verses out of context, or allegorize things that are meant to be taken literally. And others don’t study it at all but just give it a cursory reading and rely on the opinions of others.
The Bible does not offer a variety of positions for us to choose from. It only gives us one position on major theological issues. It’s our responsibility to study it thoroughly enough to determine what that position is. That way we cannot be shaken by the unsupported opinions of others.