Christians who are alive on earth just prior to the second coming of Christ will experience a “final trail,” a “final unleashing of evil,” and a “final cosmic upheaval” before the Lord returns in glory at the last judgment.
By Deacon Frederick Bartels
21 December 2024
There’s lots of good stuff found in the video below. I especially appreciate the lady’s warning that those who reject Christ will not be saved and will find themselves in hell, which is a definitive state of self-exclusion from the kingdom of God.
For as Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
However, toward the latter half of the video she puts for the concept of a pre-tribulation rapture. It’s the idea that Christ will return and rapture his followers prior to the great tribulation and thus save them from the suffering unbelievers will necessarily experience.
But that idea was never a part of the belief and teaching of the Catholic Church throughout her 2000 year history. And it doesn’t line up with the teaching of scripture when taken in its entire context.
In fact, the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine was invented by John Darby in the 1830s and popularized by the Left Behind novels. So, it’s a very new thing.
What does the Church say about the final times prior to Christ’s second coming in glory, that day when he will return and judge the nations?
Here’s what the Catechism teaches in paragraphs 675 and 677:
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.”
The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.”
There is no such thing as a pre-tribulation rapture. Christians who are alive on earth just prior to the second coming of Christ will experience a “final trail,” a “final unleashing of evil,” and a “final cosmic upheaval” before the Lord returns in glory at the last judgment.
Deacon Frederick Bartels is a member of the Catholic clergy who serves the Church in the diocese of Pueblo. He holds an MA in Theology and Educational Ministry, and is a Catholic educator, public speaker, and evangelist who strives to infuse culture with the saving principles of the gospel. For more, visit YouTube, iTunes and Twitter.
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