Author Todd Hampson is on a mission to help people understand the rapture, a biblical construct that often sparks a variety of reactions among Christians.
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As many know, the rapture is the belief Jesus will take believers up into the skies before the terrors of the end times kick into high gear. It’s seen as a biblical rescue plan for Christians, sparing them from many of the prophetic events and happenings detailed in the book of Revelation.
Hampson’s book, “The Non-Prophet’s Guide to the Rapture: Bible Prophecy for Everyone,” explores this subjectmatter in-depth.
“The Rapture is at the end of the Church Age,” he told CBN News. “All believers will be raptured … the Greek word is ‘harpazo,’ and it means ‘a physical snatching away.’”
Hampson continued, “And it’s kind of like when you look at the Old Testament, Elijah was taken. That was kind of an Old Testament version, but it’s literally removed from the earth.”
The author and end-times expert said the concept of the rapture is “under attack right now,” and so he decided to write his latest book to help people comprehensively explore the theology behind it.
“There are different views,” Hampson said. “I believe pre-trib is the one, and pre-trib means pre or before the seven-year tribulation period. So I believe the church is removed before God’s active wrath falls on earth.”
A mid-tribulation rapture, in contrast, is one during which “believers will go through the first half of the tribulation and be raptured at the midpoint,” and the post-trib rapture is one that generally sees the rapture and Second Coming as one solitary event.
“And then there’s another view, pre-wrath,” he said. “They place it kind of towards the end, not quite post-trib, but almost post-trib, and then last but not least, there’s pan-trib. People that are like, ‘I don’t know, but I know it’s gonna pan out somehow in the end.’”
Hampson said this latter view about the rapture might be appealing but that people really should take the time to wrestle with the biblical text and to walk away with a determination on where they stand.
“The Non-Prophet’s Guide to the Rapture” author devotes time in his book to offering some of the best evidence he believes backs a pre-trib rapture, noting a holistic look at Scripture, from his view, backs that contention.
The rapture conversation is obviously part of a broader narrative about what’s happening in the world today — and whether the end times are approaching more quickly.
“Even the unbelieving world senses this is going downhill,” Hampson said. “Things are broken on every level. … to answer it biblically, we’re told no man knows the day or the hour, and we’re not to set dates, and that’s something that has done damage to those of us who study prophecy and try to teach it, having to overcome the sensationalism.”
Still, people are told in Scripture to understand the times in which they live by exploring trendlines and always being spiritually ready. Hampson believes that Israel becoming a nation again in 1948 is a super sign of the end of days
“Every Old Testament prophet, except for Jonah, predicted Israel would be in the land, and the people streaming back to the land and the land springing back to life in the last days,” he said. “And if you look carefully, there’s several passages that cite they’ll be there in unbelief. So it’s not like … it’s a nation full of Christians.”
With antisemitism raging and with chaos across the culture — and lawlessness — Hampson believes we see some of the signs described in the Bible actively unfolding.
“All these things are signs that let us know the stage is being set,” he said.
As for Israel, Hampson said the Bible is clear about the nation and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, he said some primary voices in pop culture are helping create confusion on the matter. The word “everlasting” in relation to God’s covenant meant it never ceases, as Hampson said.
“They’re confused,” he said. “Go into scripture. We have to decide as a people of the book and a people … who follow God, are we gonna follow the opinion of somebody and conspiracy theories … or are we gonna follow the clear, inerrant, inspired, authoritative word of God?”
Watch Hampson explain above.
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