The rapture

In your March 11 issue, a writer to the editor rebutted a Sunday School lesson that referenced Mark 13 as a reason to refute the pre-­tribulation Rapture. The writer stated one should not take Scripture out of context nor fail to interpret by comparison and alignment with all other related Scripture.

I would add my own slant and say one should never take away from or add to God’s Word regardless of interpretation. At the risk of perpetrating dogmatism, let me state there is no mention of a church Rapture in the Hebrew or Greek translations of the canon.

Mark 13 seems to refute the idea of a church Rapture along with 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, Matthew 24 and Revelation 6.

Christ said the Church would suffer for His sake and if we denied Him, He would deny us (Matt. 10:33). The Scripture and its prophecies were given for the Church’s benefit. If it was not to be involved in the tribulation to come, if the Church would not be on earth, there would be no sense in giving us the warning. The yoke is light because the price has been paid, but we must be willing to pick up our own cross. In spite of how uncomfortable this may sound, the Scripture cannot mean that any of the Church present or future will get a free pass.

Lon Pearson
Decatur, Ala.