Rapture (heresy)

The Rapture is a heretical doctrine which first emerged within certain Evangelical churches in the 18th century. It is a form of premillennialist dispensationalism, and involves the belief that all redeemed Christians will be suddenly translated to heaven prior to the end of the world.

The Rapture doctrine is widely believed to have been popularised by John Nelson Darby, a British preacher and one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren. Darby’s teachings introduced the idea that Christ’s second coming would occur in two stages: an initial "Rapture" of believers before a tribulation period, and then a final return. Before Darby, the concept of the Rapture, as a separate event from the Second Coming, is not evident in mainstream Christian theology, suggesting it is a relatively recent addition rather than an original apostolic teaching, which would make it heretical.

Interestingly, the idea of Christianity as an escape from the natural world is also present in the heresy of Gnosticism.