Luke 7:Luke 7:11-17 ¹¹ Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶  Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” ¹⁷  This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

The concept of the Rapture, which is the belief that believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up into heaven before a period of tribulation on Earth, is not found in the Bible. The belief in the Rapture is based on a specific interpretation of certain passages in the New Testament, particularly the letters of Paul and the Book of Revelation.

The idea of the Rapture can be traced back to a 17th-century French theologian named Jean Darby, who developed the concept based on his reading of the Bible. Darby’s ideas were later popularized in the United States in the 19th century by a man named John Nelson Darby, who was a member of a group called the Plymouth Brethren. Darby’s ideas about the Rapture were widely disseminated through the writings of a woman named Margaret McDonald, who claimed to have received a revelation about the end times.

The belief in the Rapture became more widespread in the 20th century, particularly through the influence of Hal Lindsey’s 1970 book “The Late, Great Planet Earth,” which popularized a number of end-times prophecies and became a bestseller. Today, the Rapture is a central belief of many Christian denominations and is often associated with the belief in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Jean Darby (also known as John Darby) was a 17th-century French theologian who is credited with developing the concept of the Rapture, the belief that believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up into heaven before a period of tribulation on Earth. Darby was a member of the Plymouth Brethren, a group of Christians who emphasized the importance of the Bible and the second coming of Jesus Christ. He developed his ideas about the Rapture based on his interpretation of certain passages in the New Testament, particularly the letters of Paul and the Book of Revelation. Darby’s ideas about the Rapture were later popularized in the United States in the 19th century through the writings of a man named John Nelson Darby, who was also a member of the Plymouth Brethren.

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was an influential figure in the development of the modern concept of the Rapture, the belief that believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up into heaven before a period of tribulation on Earth. Darby was born in London, England, and was educated at Oxford University. He was a member of the Plymouth Brethren, a group of Christians who emphasized the importance of the Bible and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Darby was an ordained minister and traveled widely, preaching and teaching about his beliefs. He was known for his strong views and was often in conflict with other members of the Plymouth Brethren. Despite this, he had a significant influence on the development of modern evangelical Christianity and his ideas about the Rapture continue to be held by many people today.

Margaret McDonald (1815-1840) was a young Scottish woman who claimed to have received a revelation about the end times and the Rapture, the belief that believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up into heaven before a period of tribulation on Earth. McDonald’s revelation was influential in the development of the modern concept of the Rapture and was widely disseminated through the writings of John Nelson Darby, a member of the Plymouth Brethren. According to McDonald, she received her revelation in 1830, when she was just 15 years old. In her revelation, she described a “rapture” of believers that would take place before a time of great tribulation on Earth. McDonald’s revelation was controversial and was rejected by some members of the Plymouth Brethren, but it had a lasting impact on the development of modern evangelical Christianity.

The belief in the Rapture, which is the belief that believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up into heaven before a period of tribulation on Earth, is not held by all Christian denominations. Some churches and Christian groups that do not hold to this belief include:

• The Roman Catholic Church: The official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church do not include the belief in the Rapture.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church: The Eastern Orthodox Church does not teach the belief in the Rapture.
• The Church of the Nazarene: The Church of the Nazarene, a mainline Protestant denomination, does not hold to the belief in the Rapture.
• The Quakers: The Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, do not believe in the Rapture.

An Angel Comes to Joseph
¹⁸ This was how Jesus, God’s Anointed One, was born.
His mother, Mary, had promised Joseph to be his wife, but while she was still a virgin she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Her fiancé, Joseph, was a righteous man full of integrity and he didn’t want to disgrace her, but when he learned of her pregnancy he secretly planned to break the engagement. ²⁰ While he was still debating with himself about what to do, he fell asleep and had a supernatural dream. An angel from the Lord appeared to him in clear light and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t hesitate to take Mary into your home as your wife, because the power of the Holy Spirit has conceived a child in her womb. ²¹ She will give birth to a son and you are to name him ‘Savior,’ for he is destined to give his life to save his people from their sins.”
²² This happened so that what the Lord spoke through his prophet would come true:
²³ Listen! A virgin will be pregnant,

she will give birth to a Son,
and he will be known as “Emmanuel,”
which means in Hebrew,
“God became one of us.”
²⁴ When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did all that the angel of the Lord instructed him to do. He took Mary to be his wife, ²⁵ but they refrained from having sex until she gave birth to her son, whom they named “Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-25