Author Burton has organized a wide range of scriptural references to establish what he wishes to share with others regarding misunderstandings centered on the “Rapture.” Accepted as Christian doctrine by many churches, the Rapture would supposedly occur when Jesus returns to earth to save the faithful before the onset of a seven-year-long cataclysm called the Tribulation. Those who believe in the Rapture, whom Burton calls “pre-tribists,” envision that Jesus and certain saints will appear in the end times to whisk the faithful away. Jesus would return yet again for the Second Coming. Burton has diligently set forth hundreds of minute examples in both the Old and New Testaments supporting his overarching assertion that the period when Jesus was here on earth constitutes the first appearance and that the Second Coming will follow the first. Nothing that Jesus himself said or any of his followers said, wrote, or predicted implies a third appearance. Thus, Burton concludes that the Rapture is not based on scriptural fact.

Burton’s bold presentation of this logic-based thesis has clearly been arduously researched from relevant sources, accompanied by his penetrating observations and questions for readers to contemplate. His purpose is to educate those who are being misled about the Rapture. He stresses the validity of his central theme by examining and refuting the increasingly common misinterpretations surrounding the return of Christ. Burton convincingly demonstrates that the Bible offers many indications from the times of Noah and Moses to the writings of Christ’s apostles and the Book of Revelation concerning that return without any suggestion that it would happen more than once. The author’s work is a fascinating exploration of biblical fact, providing the focus for any group or individual wanting to delve more deeply into this weighty subject.

Return to USR Home