Alex McFarland of "Exploring the Word" on AFR says wondering about the rapture and the tribulation period is a long way from what the article, "For some Christians, 'rapture anxiety' can take a lifetime to heal," calls a mental health problem or so-called "religious trauma."
He says introspection was the exact point of the "Left Behind" series and the movie, "A Thief in the Night" – fiction titles the CNN article credits with influencing "rapture-related fears."
"I am sure that any of the promises and/or warnings of scripture could cause anxiety to people, maybe anxiety for those who aren't sure that they're right with the Lord," McFarland submits.
As for a scripturally accurate portrayal of the end times, he says the "Left Behind" series "got it right."
"Broadly speaking, there's rapture, tribulation, Armageddon, return, millennium, new heaven, and new earth," the apologist relays.
And McFarland has no doubt that the rapture is closer than ever.
"There's this long grocery list that characterizes just the ungodliness of the last days (2 Timothy 3), and it sounds like the modern day," he observes.
Even so, he assures Christians that they have nothing to fear.
"The Bible calls the rapture and the return not something to be obsessively, morbidly fearful of," McFarland notes. "The Bible calls it the blessed hope (Titus 2:13)."
