The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to End Times Fever

by Paul Thigpen, Marcus Grodi (Foreword)

In The Rapture Trap, Dr. Paul Thigpen explains the biblical foundations of Catholic teaching on the final judgment. Drawing from Scripture and Tradition, The Rapture Trap reveals the shortcomings of the "rapture" doctrine and the larger tangle of unfounded religious teachings to which it's tied. In this Catholic response to “end times” fever, discover…

Genres: Religion, Catholic

261 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Paul Thigpen, Ph.D., is the editor of TAN Books. An award-winning journalist and best-selling author, he has published forty-two books. His work has been translated into twelve languages and circulated worldwide.

Reviews

[Adam Dalva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for research - a helpful aggregation, but the author leans hard into arguments that seem more about his own agenda and less about surveying the Rapture scene.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to extremely informative. Since I am by no means a Biblical scholar, I had always just assumed this whole rapture thing was strongly grounded in the Book of Revelations. Well, no. The whole idea of the rapture didn't start until the early 1800's. This book details the development of the idea, the hidden (and not so hidden) anti-Catholic bias in it, and the Catholic church's teaching on the end of history and Christ's glorious return to Earth. It was well researched, but written in a way that a layman like me could find easily understandable. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the End Times.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pathetic book because it does not even mention the Scriptures that teach the Rapture of the saints. One reason the author gives not to support the Rapture is because the church fathers did not teach it. Well, the exaltation of Mary appeared only in 1854, so the fathers did not teach that, either.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one that I borrowed from the Church library.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned how important tradition. How easy the public believes in things that are not in scripture.

[John Biglin]

Answers all the questions!!!!

[Michael Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It addressed a lot of questions I had about what Catholics believe about Jesus Christ's second coming.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, accurate, and cogent investigation and argument by a Catholic scholar showing beyond all question that the popular "Secret Rapture" theory was invented in the late 1700s and early 1800s, being found nowhere in the Bible and entirely unmentioned by any Christian writer from the first to the 18th centuries. Unsurprisingly, then, only a vocal minority of Christians promote the modern and novel "Secret Rapture" theory.

[Jonathan]

None

[Tim Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it a 3.5 because I was hoping for more of a scriptural argument against the teaching of the rapture. He spent more time appealing to Catholic tradition than expounded the text that many Rapture proponents appeal to.

[Michael Carrier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mom loaned me the book. I had hoped for an intellectual read. Ended up being mostly bunk. While I did not hate it, one star is very generous.