Times are tough and a lot of Christians are expecting the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ, any day now. Some Christians believe in the "Rapture", the calling up of Christians, living and dead, into the sky to meet Jesus. This concept is best described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
There are arguments within the Christian community as to when this might happen: some believe it will be Pre-Tribulation, some believe mid-Tribulation, and others believe it will be Post-Tribulation--immediately preceding Christ's Second Coming.
Then, there are some Christians (and non-Christians) who argue that "the Rapture is not in the Bible".
These are often the same people who will tell you that Jesus loves you; that God died on the Cross; and that if you give money to their church, God will give it back to you ten-fold. None of those things are in the Bible.
Jesus may indeed love you, but the Bible doesn't say that. It mentions people he said he loved. But none of the apostles claimed he said he loved every single human being. Saying Jesus loves you is a guess.
God (the Father) did not die on the cross--His son did. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
And if God has 9x the money you are about to give, why make you give it to begin with? We aren't saved by donating to any church; "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Worse than some Christians misrepresenting what the Bible does and doesn't say is the fact that they use Bibles that have omitted verses from previous translations. Take the ESV, NIV, and NLT translations, which don't include Matthew 18:11; "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." That's a reference to Jesus--who literally (as told in multiple other verses) came to save us from the penalty for sinning. That verse, and many others, are in the KJV--the King James Version.
The Bible wasn't assembled until a few centuries after Jesus' death and resurrection. It tells the story of Jesus, gives us a glimpse of what is to come, and is a guide to Christians of the period, and of the Apostle's followers of how to live and how to preach.
The word "Rapture" isn't in English-language bibles. Neither is the "Trinity". The word "God" doesn't appear in the original Greek writings of the Apostles. Neither does the word "Church". What is in the Apostles' writing is the word "Harpazo" which means to seize, snatch, or take away by force ("harpegesometha"--will be caught away). Today, we English-speakers use the term "Rapture" to describe this event.
The next time someone tells you something is, or isn't, in the Bible, look for yourself--and be mindful of what translation you are using.
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