Monday, December 29, 2025

It is the 29th of December 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Hey everybody- hope your holidays have been tops- we are back here at the Almanac for this Monday in the “in between times”- the week before the new year.

As usual, we head to the mailbag to answer a question from Gail in Glenwood Springs, Colorado- the burial place of Doc Holliday (and Kid Curry)- where Ted Bundy escaped from prison…

Gail wondered about the history of the Rapture- she mentioned “A Thief in the Night,”- a movie she watched with her youth group back in the day, and as she moved into the Episcopal tradition, she said she never heard much again about this idea, and “was it just an ’80s and ’90s thing”?

Thanks, Gail. End times stuff is always interesting to me, sure, it’s speculative and all, but there’s also a leeway in the interpretations. Give me “he shall come again to judge the living and the dead,” and we can agree to disagree on the details- and church history bears this out. There are a few “consensus” views outside the very general outline given from the creed a minute ago (he shall come again to judge the living and the dead).

The “Rapture” refers, most generally, to a verse in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17:

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ 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. 

It's the “caught up” word.

It might have seemed like an “80s or 90s” thing in that a predominant form of Christianity in America was the so-called “Jesus People” movement, which adopted much of the premillennial dispensational eschatology of conservative evangelicalism. Those were some big words- “premillennial dispensationalism” is a scheme for reading the Bible- and for our sake, end times- as having a literal 7-year tribulation and 1000-year (millennial) reign of Christ on earth before the ultimate restoration of all things.

You may do with premillennial dispensationalism what you will- it’s got historic elements and some novelty- BUT- in this schema, there is a distinct period of tribulation and the “rapture” is taught as the collection of faithful Christians from it- (well, there are pre, mid, and post folk!).

While that particular schema is relatively new, the idea from 1 Thessalonians- of being “caught up” deserves attention. The majority of church Fathers read this as part of the very public second advent of Christ. Those who have not physically died will meet up with Christ- John Chrysostom suggests, like a welcome party- and then descend with him to usher in the last things. Augustine and Aquinas both saw this as a privilege for those living in these days, and this counts as a kind of death and resurrection in the last days.

I should note that Matthew 24 is often connected with this idea of a “catching up” or “rapture”:

³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 

You can read this like the filmmakers of “A Thief in the Night” with the idea that this is the rapture and it precedes a tribulation, millennium, etc, but the general consensus reads this with things like the parable of the virgins or the rich fool- the message is “be ready!” And the corollary interpretation is that when the second coming happens, no one will be unaware. As for the chronology and mechanics… there’s a wide berth for interpretation.

Thanks for the question, Gail! You can send me yours at danv@1517.org.

 

 The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 20:

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
    may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary

    and grant you support from Zion.

May he remember all your sacrifices

    and accept your burnt offerings.

May he give you the desire of your heart

    and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy over your victory

    and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

Now this I know:

    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.


He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

    with the victorious power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall,

    but we rise up and stand firm.

Lord, give victory to the king!

    Answer us when we call!

 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 29th of December 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man with a bumper sticker warning you that in case of the rapture, his car will be unmanned- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who can’t work on this topic without hearing the Blondie song in my head… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.