# What will happen to infidels on the rapture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762 "2011-02-18T01:20:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/1 "2011-02-18T01:20:32Z")
Lets assume that the Rapture will happen. What will happen to atheists and believers of the wrong faith? What does the bible and the different interpretations say? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/2 "2011-02-18T01:30:03Z")
They go to Heaven, leaving their worldly goods behind, so we get to keep their stuff. Cool! ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/3 "2011-02-18T01:30:39Z")
The Bible doesn’t say anything about the rapture Quote"…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." Thessalonians 4:15-17 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/5 "2011-02-18T02:00:23Z")
Either **amy01** accidentally responded to the wrong thread or there is something _seriously_ wrong with my prescription. Gonna go lie down now just in case. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/6 "2011-02-18T03:15:11Z")
You know, tell you what, as an infidel agnostic of powerful if confused spiritual leanings…I’d be tickled pink. Fucking thrilled, even if it means my dipshit Baptist cousin Dwayne was right and I’m wrong. It would be worth it, have all this shit settled once and for all. I mean, _really_ “once and for all”, in a serious, eternal sort of way. And hey, I don’t think I’d fare _too_ badly, judgement wise. 'Course, if I look to Heaven and I don’t see my grandmother, I’ll at least know I have no chance. All in all, hell, yeah, let the End Times roll. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/7 "2011-02-18T03:38:18Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Either **amy01** accidentally responded to the wrong thread or there is something _seriously_ wrong with my prescription. > > Gonna go lie down now just in case. She was a spammer. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/8 "2011-02-18T03:45:48Z")
There is no Biblical answer since the Bible says nothing about any such event. Rapture theology is recent (19th Century) and not subscribed to by most Christians or by the the major denominations. ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/9 "2011-02-18T03:46:23Z")
well, the rapture might come pretty soon, How can I prepare, what will happen to me?? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/10 "2011-02-18T03:59:50Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > The Bible doesn’t say anything about the rapture > > Quote"…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." Thessalonians 4:15-17 Just to expand on this - Paul is talking about the 2nd Coming in this passage (from which the word “rapture” is derived from the Vulgate Latin translation of “taken up”), not a preliminary. premillenial, “Left Behind” scenario. He has been asked whether those Christians who have died before Jesus came back would still go to Heaven. Paul was answering that not only would they go to Heaven, they would go first. Paul was talking about people who were _already dead_ in this passage. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/11 "2011-02-18T04:34:07Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > well, the rapture might come pretty soon, > > How can I prepare, what will happen to me?? This has already been answered in several posts in this thread. The Bible says nothing about it and the idea is a fraud. What makes you think asking the same question multiple times will get you different answers? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/12 "2011-02-18T04:48:53Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > well, the rapture might come pretty soon, > > How can I prepare, what will happen to me?? Are you not reading the responses? This question has no answer. Even if you find somebody who believes in the rapture, any answer they give you will be made up. There is neither scriptural nor traditional authority for a “rapture” event. What exactly is the debate supposed to be here? ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/13 "2011-02-18T04:53:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Paul was talking about people who were _already dead_ in this passage. I’ll assume you have answered this question so many times that you want to be brief, but to those of us reading about this topic for the first time, your answer makes no sense. The quoted passage clearly says “We which are alive” are going to rise up into the clouds and be with the Lord forever (there was no period at the end of the passage you quoted; it continues " and so shall _we_ ever be with the Lord"). Either “we” includes atheists, in which case there doesn’t seem to be much advantage in being a Christian (unless you’re dead), or the atheists are indeed “left behind.” Please clarify. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/14 "2011-02-18T04:55:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > … Paul was talking about people who were _already dead_ in this passage. So, we don’t get to keep their stuff? Well, shit. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/15 "2011-02-18T05:18:43Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > I’ll assume you have answered this question so many times that you want to be brief, but to those of us reading about this topic for the first time, your answer makes no sense. > > The quoted passage clearly says “We which are alive” are going to rise up into the clouds and be with the Lord forever (there was no period at the end of the passage you quoted; it continues " and so shall _we_ ever be with the Lord"). Either “we” includes atheists, in which case there doesn’t seem to be much advantage in being a Christian (unless you’re dead), or the atheists are indeed “left behind.” > > Please clarify. Christian denominations use the term “rapture” to mean two different things. The traditional meaning is “the second coming of Christ”, which is a single event with the last judgement, end of the world, etc. Evangelicals believe the end of the world occurs in a two-step process: The “unseen rapture”–in which the just are swept up to God and avoid the subsequent seven-year Tribulation–the rise of the anti-Christ on earth. Christ then defeats the anti-Christ in his 2nd coming (a lot of details/exceptions are glossed over here). The second, Evangelical interpretation of the end-of-days was developed by 19th century US Protestant Evangelicals, and is the one that drives the plot of the “Left Behind” book series. Thus, the use of the term “rapture” in isolation can be confusing. IMO most traditional Christians shun the term and just refer to the Last Judgement (at least in the US). So usually “rapture” refers to the sweeping up of the 144,000 prior to the tribulation. The passage from Paul has been interpreted differently by different denominations; **DtC** is simply giving the traditional view. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/16 "2011-02-18T05:57:46Z")
While I don’t believe in the pre-Trib Rapture, I don’t totally rule it out. It’s not obviously in the Bible but it can be read into it. SOOOOO let’s treat this like a “in the fictional world of” question. IF the Rapture does happen and the Tribulation time where the Beast Powers hold sway lasts seven years, nonChristians will have the choice to accept Christ or the Beast. At least 144000 Jews & countless Gentiles do so (Revelation 7). To do the former means to risk martyrdom or starvation as without the Mark, you are considered a non-person & banned from the marketplace (Rev 13). To do the latter makes you a target of Divine Judgment when the shit really starts to fall near the End & sends you to Hell (Rev 14). Some may decide to go it alone & not sell out to either side. A brilliant novel, Brian Campbell’s WE ALL FALL DOWN, was written about such a character. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/17 "2011-02-18T07:46:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There is no Biblical answer since the Bible says nothing about any such event. Rapture theology is recent (19th Century) and not subscribed to by most Christians or **by the the major denominations.** The bolding and underling in this quote is mine. The only issue I have is your claim that Rapture theology is not subscribed to by the major denominations. [Southern Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Baptist_Convention) I think [16 million members](http://www.answers.com/topic/southern-baptist-convention-2) qualifies as a major denomination. They tenaciously subscribe to the idea of Rapture. [Here is a link](http://baptistperspective.brucegourley.com/2009/12/southern-baptist-heresy-rapture-and.html) discussing the roots of premillennial dispensationalism. As you alluded to this is rooted in the 19th Century teachings of John Nelson Darby. Is it without basis in the Bible? Yeah. Is it heretical, as the article linked claims? Probably. Is it accurate to say this is not subscribed to by the major denominations? I would say no, since the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. considers it central to their “end times” theology. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/18 "2011-02-18T08:06:09Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > Lets assume that the Rapture will happen. What will happen to atheists and believers of the wrong faith? > > What does the bible and the different interpretations say? What the Bible says I can’t tell you. What I can tell you is what I was taught growing up in a Baptist church: All unbelievers will be judged guilty before God and cast into the fires of Hell to burn for all eternity. Keep in mind unbelievers were considered: Jews who didn’t convert, Atheists, Catholics (because they worshiped Mary and the Pope), Polytheists (Hindus, Buddhists), Muslims (my grandpa actually called them “Mohammedans”) and anyone else my mother thought was funny looking or of a questionable religious background. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/19 "2011-02-18T13:20:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There is no Biblical answer since the Bible says nothing about any such event. Rapture theology is recent (19th Century) and not subscribed to by most Christians or by the the major denominations. To expand on this, “rapture theology” is part of [Dispensationalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism), which was more or less invented in the 19th century by John Nelson Darby and popularized in the 20th century by the annotations in the [Scofield Reference Bible](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scofield_Reference_Bible). Its recent popularity, due in part to the _Left Behind_ novels, gives many people (Christian and non) the mistaken impression that it’s mainstream Christian doctrine. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/20 "2011-02-18T13:54:32Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > I’ll assume you have answered this question so many times that you want to be brief, but to those of us reading about this topic for the first time, your answer makes no sense. > > The quoted passage clearly says “We which are alive” are going to rise up into the clouds and be with the Lord forever (there was no period at the end of the passage you quoted; it continues " and so shall _we_ ever be with the Lord"). Either “we” includes atheists, in which case there doesn’t seem to be much advantage in being a Christian (unless you’re dead), or the atheists are indeed “left behind.” > > Please clarify. It’s in the verses before the quoted one (that’s the thing about such eisegesic tactics as what Rapture theology does. It selectively removes clear context): But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 4:15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. 4:16For 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** ; 4:17then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 4:18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ( **1 Thess. 4:13-18** ) Note the words I bolded and the other references to those who have “fallen asleep” above that. “Fallen asleep” is a euphemism for dead. “fallen asleep in Jesus” means they died as Christians. Paul is saying that the living don’t have to worry about their loved ones who died as Christians - that they will rise first. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762/21 "2011-02-18T13:55:18Z")
Mainstream Christian doctrine or not, in the Bible or not, there’s no doubt that the doctrine/theology of the Rapture exists. Since as **Thudlow** notes, the _Left Buttcheek_ novels are largely responsible for the current understanding of and level of popularity of this doctrine, perhaps we ought to answer the OP’s question in terms of what those books say. And what they say seems to be: first the Rapture, then the Tribulation. The ‘right’ kind of believers will be Raptured, going straight to heaven without having to pass through death on the way, and the rest of us stay put here on Earth, while things go to hell in a handbasket. So we do get their stuff, but the benefits aren’t of a lasting nature. Now, what I’d _like_ to have happen (and Lord, if you’re listening, I’d sell everything I have and give it all to the poor if you’d promise to do this in exchange!) is for those who believe in the Rapture to be Raptured on one fine day in the next year or two. Preferably before the 2012 elections. 😃 Then while this still wouldn’t be Paradise on earth, those of us who remain would have a much easier time of it in our efforts to make this world a better place, having been relieved of this plague of assholes in the name of the Lord. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-to-infidels-on-the-rapture/571762.md?page=2)