Rapture Anxiety: The Real-Life Effects of End-Times Fear
Tales from the Left-Behind Generation
“I truly believe that this generation will see the second coming of Christ….” The preacher man said gravely as he spoke prophetically over a room full of impressionable teenagers.
I was among the crowd.
As a 13-year-old, I had mixed feelings about the idea that Christ might return at any moment. In a way, I was rather hoping that he’d be delayed long enough that I could… you know… enjoy some of life’s more guilty pleasures.
“What will he find you doing when he arrives?” Bellowed the preacher man. “Will you be found out, or will he find you faithful?”
So much for guilty pleasures.
“No man knows the hour nor the day, for the Son of Man will come like a thief in the night!” And he slammed his fist down on the pulpit. “Time is short, young people. You must warn your friends to make their peace with God through Jesus Christ!”
Then he invited us to bow our heads and close our eyes. This was followed by an invitation. I use the term “invitation” loosely because it was more like an ultimatum than an invitation.
“If you want to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior right now, then, while every head is…
