The Rapture Exposed - by Barbara R Rossing (Paperback)

About the Book

The author, a professor of theology and ordained minister, argues that Revelation does not predict a seven-year tribulation, nor a rapture of Christians. Rather, it offers a vision of God's healing love for the world.

Book Synopsis

A leading New Testament scholar exposes the myth of "The Rapture" and restores the Book of Revelation's true message of God's love

"Lucid and passionate." --Harper's

The idea of "The Rapture"--the return of Christ at the end of times to rescue and deliver born-again Christians off the earth--is an extremely popular interpretation of the biblical book of Revelation. This dramatic understanding of the end-times has inspired recent doomsday prophecies and infiltrated popular media, as exemplified by the wildly successful Left Behind franchise.

In The Rapture Exposed, New Testament scholar Barbara Rossing argues that this script for the world's future is nothing more than a disingenuous distortion of the Bible, based on a psychology of fear. The truth is that Revelation offers a vision of God's healing love for the world. The Rapture Exposed reclaims Christianity from fundamentalists' destructive reading of the biblical story and back into God's beloved community.

Review Quotes

"A clear and intelligible case for rethinking what the Bible itself has to say on the matter... A thoughtful riposte to the hard charging belief of the Rapture."--Baltimore City Paper

"A long overdue response to the simplistic 'prophecy' expressed in Left Behind... Rossing methodically, cleanly hammers away the shaky foundations of Rapture ideology, taking particular note of the kind of scriptural contortions it requires to remain standing and relying on original texts, in original languages, to bolster her argument... Rossing's writing is a potent antidote, calm, rational, and informed, and her New Testament expertise informs on every page... A clear, intelligent, engaging--and deeply Christian--map to follow."--Boulder Daily Camera

"A powerful indictment of 'rapture theology' with its false Biblical interpretation and war-mongering influence on U.S. foreign policy, especially in the Middle East... and an authentic vision of Biblical apocalyptic as a testimony of God's non-violent love and desire for justice for the poor of the earth."--Rosemary Radford Ruether, feminist theologian

"A timely critique of the dispensationalist worldview that has become so appealing for many Christians, especially in the U.S.... Rossing's scripturally sound message is helpful not only to Christian believers, but to anyone convinced that true faithfulness demands a commitment to consecrating life through the pursuit of justice and peace."--Yehezkel Landau, retired associate professor of Interfaith Relations at Hartford Seminary

"Barbara Rossing has done the Christian faith a great service by exposing one of its modern heresies. But she goes beyond dissecting the fantasies of its perpetrators and adherents. She unfolds and affirms an alternative interpretation of one of the Bible's most complex books and points to a reading of its powerful metaphors that will stir the heart and honor the mind."--Bill Moyers, former White House Press Secretary

"Debunks the rigging on which the Rapture theology is hung."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Lucid and passionate."--Harper's

"Reveals that the 'left-behind' theology is completely artificial, unbiblical, and not Christ-centered."--Billings Gazette

"Rossing boldly debunks the Left Behind series and makes the case for reclaiming Christianity from the destructive 'rapture' interpretation of the book of Revelation... Rossing offers a position, creation-affirming interpretation... We urge you to consider Rossing as a level, calm, and reasoned voice in this passionate and often one-sided debate."--Crusader Union

"Rossing is ready to do battle with evangelicals... Well organized and obviously carefully thought out."--Publishers Weekly

"Rossing issues a salvo with her opening line: 'The rapture is a racket.'... The rest of her short book is devoted to demolishing the dispensationalists' reading of the Bible, and to offering a counterstory of the incarnate love of God that refuses to leave his church or his world behind... A lively engagement with the subject."--Christian Century

"Rossing persuasively argues that there is neither a 'rapture' nor a 'countdown to Armageddon' in the Scriptures."--Dallas Morning News

"Rossing skillfully juxtaposes the politics of dispensationalist rhetoric with an interpretation of Revelation as a life-giving book of hope... It is a must-read for anyone interested in the rhetoric and politics of biblical interpretation."--Dr. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Harvard Divinity School

"The current fever for 'end time' theology, slickly packaged by the Left Behind series, is a toxin endangering the health--even the life--of the Christian churches and American society. Barbara Rossing has supplied the antidote. Gracefully written, well informed, persuasive, this book is just what the doctor prescribes for every minister and religion teacher, and for every person concerned about what we can expect and hope for from the future."--Harvey Cox, author of When Jesus Came to Harvard

"This deeply moving book critiques Left Behind not simply by detailing its exegetical follies, but also by offering a sparkling alternative depiction of the New Jerusalem. The Rapture Exposed gives us a model of how to make responsible biblical theology come alive."--Reflections

"With keen insight and an urgency to shed light on crass and dangerous misinterpretations of scripture, Barbara Rossing has finally blown the cover off the hucksterism and the cynical politics of the End Times movement and the Christian Zionists who espouse it. Anyone--Christian, Muslim, or Jew--who cares about the Holy Land and the people of all three faiths who live and suffer there should read this book. It is full of grace."--Charles M. Sennott, editor-in-chief of The GroundTruth Project

About the Author

Barbara R. Rossing teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. She holds a doctorate from Harvard University Divinity School and a Masters of Divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School. An ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, she lives in Chicago.