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Rapture Movies

Deviations from Scripture

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

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.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Next - Rapture Context

The rapture of the church (Greek: Harpazo; Latin: Rapturo), as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, is a unique event in world history. Such an event has never happened before, and never will again. It's impossible to film. Yet, since the 1970s, several films have been made on the theme of the Rapture. How do these films incorporate the biblical data?

It is a unique event that has never happened before. Therefore, it's not surprising that films about the Rapture miss the mark considerably when it comes to the event itself. However, these films can reasonably represent the possible reactions of those left behind.

A total of 12 longer films on the subject of the "rapture of the church" have been found for this website. In addition, at least 18 shorter videos can be found online. These films and videos can be clicked on and viewed individually using the links below.

The table below shows the extent to which the found films accurately reflect the revealed truth in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Three different criteria were considered: 'heavenly sounds,' 'resurrection of the dead,' 'change,' 'ascent,' and 'disappearance.'

'Heavenly sounds' refers to the commanding cry, the voice of the archangel, and the sound of the trumpet.

'Resurrection of the dead' refers to the resurrection of all who have 'fallen asleep in Christ.'

'Change' refers to the change of the bodies of living Christians in the blink of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).

'Ascent' refers to being 'caught up in the clouds together with the resurrected Christians to meet the Lord in the air.'

The item "Disappearance" refers to the film portrayal of all of the above happening in the blink of an eye, essentially implying that Christians have suddenly vanished. As we have seen above, this representation is not in conformity with the Biblical data. The Bible only mentions the "transfiguration of the body" as something that occurs in the blink of an eye. Because the resurrection of the dead refers to the same working of God's power, it too will probably occur in the blink of an eye. That the resurrection of the dead occurs in the blink of an eye can also be inferred from the cloths in which Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea, which are now known as "The Shroud of Turin." Furthermore, the sound of the trumpet is absent from almost all films. The command of Jesus and the voice of the archangel are not heard in any film.

Heavenly Sounds, Resurrection, Change, Ascent, Disappearance

(1) 1972 V

(2) 1991 V

(3) 1994 V

(4) 1998 V

(5) 1998 V

(6) 1999 V

(7) 2000 V

(8) 2013 V

(9) 2013 V V

(10) 2014 V

(11) 2016 V

(12) 2017 V

This table shows that the Rapture was not filmed in accordance with biblical data. Almost all films show a sudden disappearance, without heavenly sounds, without bodily transfiguration, without the resurrection of the dead, and without an ascent. Reviews of these films are also not particularly positive. They are generally B-movies, made by unknown producers with very limited budgets. The only film with a well-known star was No. 10 of 2014, starring Nicholas Cage, and the reviews for that film were bad. It seems Hollywood is not very interested in filming the Rapture, even though it is an event that defies all science fiction. Hollywood has, however, produced a wide range of very expensive productions involving contact with extraterrestrial life, UFOs, and alien invasions. Almost 600 of these were made, often with very large budgets. Below are the links to the above films, the top one is for a trailer, the full film or both, the bottom one contains background information.

(1)

AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT (1972) – OPNAME VANAF MINUUT 0:29 – Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.CHRISTELIJKEVIDEOTHEEK.NL/PRODUCT/A0601-ALS-EEN-DIEF-IN-DE-NACHT/

(2)

THE RAPTURE (1991) – OPNAME VANAF MINUUT 1:00 – Trumpet

HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/THE_RAPTURE_(1991_FILM)

(3)

LEFT BEHIND, EERDERE VERSIE (1994) – 0:00 Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.IMDB.COM/TITLE/TT2292822/

(4)

VANISHED (1998) – OPNAME VANAF MINUUT 1:00 – Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.MOVIEMETER.NL/FILM/45719

(5)

APOCALYPSE: CAUGHT IN THE EYE OF THE STORM (1998) – 21:30 – Disappearance

HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/APOCALYPSE_(FILM_SERIES)

(6)

APOCALYPSE II: REVELATION (1999) – 3:50 - Disappearance

HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/APOCALYPSE_(FILM_SERIES)

(7)

LEFT BEHIND (2000) – Disappearances

HTTPS://WWW.MOVIEMETER.NL/FILM/13508/INFO/0

(8)

THE FINAL RAPTURE (2013) –Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.CHRISTIANCINEMA.COM/DIGITAL/MOVIE/FINAL-THE-RAPTURE

(9)

REVELATION.ROAD PART 1.THE.BEGINNING.OF.THE.END .(2013) – 1:10:00 – Disappearance, Ascending,

HTTPS://WWW.MOVIEMETER.NL/FILM/90335

(10)

LEFT BEHIND (2014) – 0:30 – Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.MOVIEMETER.NL/FILM/95216

(11)

LEFT BEHIND (2016) – 0:20 – Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.THE-NUMBERS.COM/MOVIE/VANISHED-LEFT-BEHIND-NEXT-GENERATION#TAB=SUMMARY

(12)

SUNDAY MORNING RAPTURE (2017) – 1:00 – Disappearance

HTTPS://WWW.IMDB.COM/TITLE/TT2852070/

In addition to these 12 official films, 18 short films were also found, made by churches, groups, or amateur filmmakers. The table above was also applied to these 18 films:

Heavenly Sounds, Resurrection, Change, Ascent, Disappearance

(1) 1941 V V

(2) 2009 V

(3) 2011 V V

(4) 2011 V

(5) divers V

(6) 2011 V V

(7) 2012 V

(8) 2013 V

(9) 2013 V

(10) 2014 V

(11) 2015 V

(12) 2015 V V

(13) 2015 V V V

(14) 2016 V

(15) 2016 V V

(16) 2016 V V

(17) 2017 V

(18) 2019 V

The short films by amateur filmmakers also predominantly show sudden disappearances, without the sound of a trumpet, the voice of the archangel, the transfiguration of the body, and the ascent to meet the Lord in the air. The very short film under no. 13 of 2015 still meets most of the criteria. Below are the links to the 18 short amateur films of the Rapture.

(1)

THE RAPTRE (1941) – 2:50 Disappearance; 3:30 Resurrection

(2)

GRACE BIBLE COLLEGE RAPTURE (2009) – Disappearances

(3)

THE RAPTURE (2011) – 19:50 Resurrection; 13:00, 14:30, 15:00, 16:30 Disappearance

(4)

JESUS RETURNS MOVIE BY RAPTURE: ARE YOU READY? (2011) – Disappearance

(5)

RAPTURE MOVIE CLIPS - DIVERS – 0:00, 1:10, 1:20, 1:30, Etc Disappearances

(6)

THE RAPTURE OF THE SAINTS 2011 – 0:15, 0:30 – Disappearances and ascending