How the Rapture Was Invented and Slipped into American Christianity

The story of a 19th-century preacher’s fantasy that became gospel truth for millions of believers.

A 19th-century fantasy that believers mistook for divine prophecy.

The “Rapture” is one of the strangest and most self-centered fantasies ever sold to believers. It’s the claim that one day, Jesus will descend from the clouds, sound a heavenly trumpet, and lift all the “true Christians” straight into the sky. They’ll vanish mid-coffee, mid-Zoom call, or …