‘Bible Prophecy … Is Meant to Be Comforting’: End Times Author Responds to CNN’s ‘Rapture Anxiety’ Article

An end times author and expert has responded to a recent CNN article that claimed some former Christians are struggling with “rapture anxiety.”

As Christian Headlines previously reported, some former Christians or exvangelicals shared their struggle with “rapture anxiety” from hearing end-times teaching while growing up in the church.

“This is a real thing. It’s a chronic problem,” Darren Slade, president and CEO of the Global Center for Religious Research, told CNN. “This is a new area of study, but, in general, our research has revealed that religious trauma leads to an increase of anxiety, depression, paranoia, and even some OCD-like behaviors: ‘I need to say this prayer of salvation so many times,’ ‘I need to confess my sins so often.'”

Jeff Kinley, who has written multiple books on the rapture and end times, shared that the CNN article left him wondering where its contents came from.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Really? You’re making up this whole idea of the fact that people all over the place are just so filled with anxiety about the rapture, which I’ve rarely encountered.’ That’s one thing,” Kinley told CBN’s Faithwire. “The flip side of it was the irony. The rapture is really designed to bring comfort, not anxiety. It’s a complete opposite.”

“I see how Bible prophecy and the rapture is meant to be the most comforting thing for a believer … it’s the bride of Christ,” Kinley said. “And she gets to be rescued, and so why should she be anxious about that?”

He added that rapture anxiety would be caused by teaching about the rapture “with poor motives or improper motives.” But when taught correctly, the doctrine should bring comfort and hope to believers.

“The rapture has been used as a scare tactic … against people in the past to try to get them saved or that type of thing. So, I get that,” he said. “I also get the fact that sometimes in portrayals of the rapture, it is very sensational.”

Related:

Exvangelicals Are Struggling with ‘Rapture Anxiety,’ Mental Health Experts Say

Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/Ig0rZh 

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.

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