Every couple of years, a new rumor will go around that the rapture is coming, and Christians will ask a host of questions, from “How do we know the rapture is near?” to “Do we need to believe in the rapture in the first place?” Many Protestant Christians in America wonder about whether their belief in the rapture is something other groups share: Do Catholics believe in the rapture? If not, is there any particular reason that Catholics do not believe in the rapture, which seems like such a crucial event to many Protestants?
We will consider these questions and others in this article, and hopefully learn something about different denominations’ views on the end times.
Before we go further, we need to consider what we are asking when we discuss whether Catholics believe in the rapture.
Do All Catholics Believe the Same Thing about the Rapture?
The phrase “catholic” means “universal” and is used in church statements to talk about the entire body of Christians in the world today (for example, the Nicene Creed asks whether people believe in “one holy catholic church”).
A variety of church splits, including the Great Schism in 1054 and the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, led to the catholic (lowercase) church splitting into various groups. The Catholic (capitalized) Church refers to various churches that did not side with the Orthodox Church in the East when the Great Schism happened, or with Protestant churches when the Reformation happened.
Catholics describe themselves as following the historic teaching that the Catholic church has always held, rooted in what the apostle Peter taught at the church in Rome and maintained by his successors (the Popes), teachings explained by various church councils. Along with believing that the Pope in Rome is a bishop ordained by God to lead the global church, Catholics have various other distinct beliefs, outlined in documents like the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For example, they hold a higher value of the sacraments and a higher view of what humans can learn about God from nature (or natural theology) than Christians of other denominations.
Some groups follow historic Catholic teaching without supporting the current Pope. For example, many conservative Catholics felt that the Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings in 1962–1965 that loosened some important traditions (mass could be said in English instead of Latin, Protestants could be treated as fellow Christians instead of as heretics, etc.), went too far and showed that the papacy had lost its way. These Catholics (including famous ones such as Mel Gibson) are known as Sedevacantists and attempt to follow conservative Catholic teaching without listening to the papacy or other well-known Catholic authority structures.
While fringe groups may combine traditional Catholic teaching with their own ideas, Catholics who still recognize the Pope have to follow some core ideas set forth in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, explained by canonized thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas (the “doctor of the Church”), and interpreted by the current Pope. Protestant critics sometimes argue that this emphasis on tradition means that Catholics rely more on human leaders than Scripture. Catholics would argue that they believe in Scripture; they just have a series of helpful checks and balances helping them to interpret Scripture.
Since Roman Catholic teaching includes particular statements about how to read Revelation, Catholics have to agree on a few core ideas about the end times.
So, what does Catholic teaching say about the rapture?
What Do Catholics Believe about the Rapture?
Many Protestant Christians believe the end times will include the rapture, an event in which God will take Christians away to heaven. Advocates of rapture theology usually cite 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (NIV)
Many Protestants (especially Americans associated with the evangelical and fundamentalist movements) have interpreted this verse as describing an event happening early in the end times, before Jesus returns to earth with holy judgment.
Roman Catholic teachers have historically disagreed with this view. For example, Aquinas writes in his commentary on Thessalonians that he believes the verse describes the second coming: “For when the Lord does come, first those who are found alive will die and then, immediately together with those who had died before, they will rise up and be taken up into the clouds to meet Christ, as Paul clearly says.”
One Catholic priest, Monsignor Charles Pope (no relation), explains in an article for Today’s Catholic that the Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly says in sections 673–677 that the end times could occur at any time and will not have any of the features that usually appear in rapture theology.
The question becomes: is there a particular reason that Catholics do not believe in the rapture?
Why Don’t Catholics Believe in the Rapture?
The simple answer is that Roman Catholics do not believe in the rapture because the rapture, at least as Protestants conventionally understand it, is connected to particular interpretations of Revelation.
The New Testament includes references to:
- suffering (or tribulation) that will occur in the future (Matthew 24:21).
- Jesus coming to earth a second time to judge sin and defeat the devil (Revelation 1:7: ).
- a millennium-long period in which Jesus rules in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 20:2-7).
- a final resurrection in which deceased Christians will rise again (John 11:25-26).
- the church being gathered up to heaven by Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
- a “new heaven and new earth” being made (Revelation 21:1).
As Ben Reichert explains, there are three major views on the millennium:
- Amillennialists (such as R.C. Sproul) believe that the millennium is a symbol and the end times have been in motion since Jesus ascended to heaven at Pentecost. Jesus will carry the church to heaven at the second coming, but the second coming could come at any time, with no specific signs such as a rapture to tip us off. Our job is to assume Jesus is coming any time and to be faithful.
- Premillennialists (such as Tim LaHaye) believe the millennium is a period starting after the second coming, in which Jesus will rule the earth for a while before bringing judgment. A specific sub-group called dispensationalists believe that several premillennial events, including a rapture, must occur before the second coming. The rapture is therefore a warning sign that the end times are in motion. Our job is to watch for it and hope we are not left behind.
- Postmillennialists (such as Doug Wilson) believe that the millennium is a golden period for the church that will arrive before the second coming, after which Jesus will carry the church to heaven. The rapture does not exist at all. Our job is not to think about a rapture, but to focus on bringing about the millennium.
Roman Catholic teaching has followed amillennialism, so Catholics have avoided believing in the rapture. Most American Protestant denominations are at least familiar with the rapture as a concept, although some denominations (such as Episcopalianism and most Reformed denominations) downplay it.
While many Protestants in America are familiar with the rapture, the summary above shows it is not the only Protestant view of end times theology. So, what makes the rapture seem so important to some groups?
Why Do So Many Protestants Believe in the Rapture?
While rapture theology is sometimes framed as something that has always been around, most of what we call rapture theology is a fairly recent and very American phenomenon. As Mark A. Noll and others discuss, dispensationalist teaching became popular in American Protestant churches after the Civil War thanks to James Scofield’s Bible commentary. As a result, many conservative Protestants, especially in churches connected to the fundamentalist movement of the early twentieth century (such as the Southern Baptists), have followed dispensationalist theology. Rapture theology especially became popular in conservative Protestant denominations in the Bible Belt, although it shows up across America.
One reason American Protestants have liked dispensationalism is that it pairs well with a certain American business spirit. As Kyle Meyaard-Schaap discusses in Following Jesus in a Warming World, dispensationalist theology assumes the “new heaven and new earth” is a completely new planet, implying that creation is disposable. If God’s end times schedule ends with erasing this planet, then Christians are free to pursue business tactics (such as oil speculation) that use lots of natural resources. Oil money is literally written into the history of fundamentalist theology: its key text, The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth, was published in 1910–1915 and funded by Union Oil founder Lyman Stewart.
Another reason American Protestants have liked dispensationalism is that it offers a system with special clues for when the end times start, a reassuring idea in dark times. Two crucial twentieth-century books promoting rapture theology were both released during national crises. The Late Great Planet Earth by Carla C. Carlson and Hal Lindsey appeared in the 1970s, when the counterculture revolution left many Americans worried that the country was tearing itself apart. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins appeared near the end of the millennium, when people worried that 2000 would bring a disaster (the rapture, Y2K, something).
Today, rapture theology is still important in America, but without the past urgency. The evangelical movement came along in the 1950s as an attempt to keep the best of fundamentalist theology without its excesses. The more evangelicalism has become its own movement, the less evangelicals have seen rapture theology as a necessity. Today, many Christians interested in environmental causes are exploring end times theology arguing the “new heaven and new earth” may be a resurrected planet, not a completely new one. Others argue that rapture theology assumes a Gnostic attitude—creation doesn’t matter, God is going to beam us up into heaven—that does not fit the gospel’s emphasis that God loved bodies enough to send a savior in human flesh.
Whatever view we may hold about end times theology, we may wonder: what can we learn from considering a Catholic view of the rapture?
What Can We Learn from Catholic Beliefs about the Rapture?
Whether we agree with the Roman Catholic Church perspective on the end times, we can learn some important lessons as we have conversations with Catholics about the end times.
1. First, considering Catholic end times theology reminds us that what seems obvious to us about Revelation might be an interpretation that is not obvious to others. We need to remember that we are all interpreting the Bible. The question is whether we know our biases and study skills well enough to interpret it well.
2. Second, studying how Catholics feel about the rapture can challenge us to consider what the historic church teachings really are. We can agree to disagree with other believers about many things, but we should consider what beliefs we hold in common with all other Christians across history about the end times. We are always more informed by our particular time and place than we think.
3. Third, considering why Catholic teaching has avoided premillennialism can help us to consider what the Bible truly wants us to remember about the end times. We know Jesus said he was coming back soon (Revelation 22:20). We know that we need to do well with the time God has given us before Jesus returns (Matthew 25:14-30). Does believing in a rapture help us follow the Bible’s values, or give us excuses? Are we “keeping the main thing the main thing” or getting lost in obscure theories about the end of the world?
After all, whether we believe in the rapture is less important than serving God wholeheartedly with the time we have.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Magda Smolen
