There’s a good article in The Guardian today about the nasty psychological effects of being exposed to constant propaganda about the rapture and being “left behind”. Trigger warning if you’ve been exposed to that kind of bad theology. Thankfully I left the evangelical nonsense before the trend for making these movies happened.

If you’re suffering from the same kind of traumatic experiences as the author of the article, please get help. Therapy is available and sometimes it’s even covered by health insurance. There are also support groups.

I was alone a good deal of my childhood, and at least once a week I was convinced that everyone I’d known had been raptured up to Heaven, and I was about to face the violence, disease, starvation and isolation of the seven-year Tribulation. Worse, I might succumb to torture, agree to get the Mark of the Beast, and accept relief from momentary discomfort in exchange for an eternity of supernatural agony.

— Josiah Hesse

Let’s be clear, the “theology” associated with “the rapture” is very bad theology indeed. It’s not even Biblical. The Bible itself says that no-one, not even the angels, knows when Christ will return. The early Christian church was convinced that Christ’s return was imminent in their time, and it didn’t happen, so it is highly illogical to suppose it’s going to happen now.

Please check out the Getting Help page for a list of ways to get help, and especially this article:

Gillie Jenkinson (2019), Out in the World: Post-Cult Recovery, Therapy Today.