Rapture Ready
Encyclopedia
Rapture Ready is an Evangelical
Christian
site founded by Todd Strandberg in 1995, dedicated to the idea that the Rapture
will soon occur, and that non-Christians should be warned. The site tracks the real-world occurrence of events prophesied in the Bible, and uses these to calculate what it sees as the approach of the Rapture.
The site began as an index of weekly updates posted in newsgroups such as alt.bible.prophecy and alt.christnet.second-coming.real-soon-now. In 1995, the newsletter moved to its first web format, and it was known as the "Rapture Index" until 1997. At the time of its launch, the site only had seven articles - later it would have over 18,000.
In 2003, prophecy author Terry James joined the Rapture Ready staff. Rapture Ready has been featured by the news media, both in the United States
and in Europe
, in print, such as in Rolling Stone
, Newsweek, New York Times, Playboy, on television news channels including CNN
, and in Robert Lanham
's book The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right.
system of Evangelical
Christian eschatology
, will be left behind after the rapture to repent
of their sin
s and turn to God
. It also attempts to explain what will happen during the period of time after the rapture including the seven-year period commonly known as "Daniel's 70th Week", "Jacob's Time of Trouble" or The Tribulation Period
which terminates with the Second Coming
of Jesus.
Rapture Ready is mainly written in English
; however, it also contains articles in Spanish
, German
, French
, and Japanese
.
Christian
views on Bible prophecy
regarding the end times
. This index lists a number of events and subjects, comments thereon, their influence (in points) and statistics of highs and lows by years and records.
"Nearing Midnight" is a weekly commentary on world events.
To help the site survive the crush of traffic that the staff assumes will follow the Rapture, it has a number of mirror sites.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
site founded by Todd Strandberg in 1995, dedicated to the idea that the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
will soon occur, and that non-Christians should be warned. The site tracks the real-world occurrence of events prophesied in the Bible, and uses these to calculate what it sees as the approach of the Rapture.
The site began as an index of weekly updates posted in newsgroups such as alt.bible.prophecy and alt.christnet.second-coming.real-soon-now. In 1995, the newsletter moved to its first web format, and it was known as the "Rapture Index" until 1997. At the time of its launch, the site only had seven articles - later it would have over 18,000.
In 2003, prophecy author Terry James joined the Rapture Ready staff. Rapture Ready has been featured by the news media, both in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, in print, such as in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Newsweek, New York Times, Playboy, on television news channels including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and in Robert Lanham
Robert Lanham
Robert Lanham is the author of the satiric books The Hipster Handbook, Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees, and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic, and The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right. He coined the term idiosyncrology, the study of idiosyncratic people, and his books often parody the...
's book The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right.
Purpose
Rapture Ready's stated purposes include warning those non-Christians who, according to the Pre-tribulationDispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
system of Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
, will be left behind after the rapture to repent
Repentance
Repentance is a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law...
of their sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
s and turn to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. It also attempts to explain what will happen during the period of time after the rapture including the seven-year period commonly known as "Daniel's 70th Week", "Jacob's Time of Trouble" or The Tribulation Period
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
which terminates with the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
of Jesus.
Rapture Ready is mainly written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; however, it also contains articles in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Features
The "Rapture Index" keeps track of activities which could be indicators of a time when the Rapture might occur. The index includes a numerical measurement of world events and trends in light of conservativeConservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
views on Bible prophecy
Bible prophecy
Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy is the prediction of future events based on the action, function, or faculty of a prophet. Such passages are widely distributed throughout the Bible, but those most often cited are from Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24, Matthew 25, and Revelation.Believers in biblical...
regarding the end times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
. This index lists a number of events and subjects, comments thereon, their influence (in points) and statistics of highs and lows by years and records.
"Nearing Midnight" is a weekly commentary on world events.
To help the site survive the crush of traffic that the staff assumes will follow the Rapture, it has a number of mirror sites.