The Secret History of The Rapture

The website io9.com -- ostensibly a blog about science fiction -- has two really good pieces about The Rapture.

The Very Short History of the Rapture by Keith Veronese
All of the awesomest post-Rapture movies! by Charlie Jane Anders

Are Rapture Films Dull?

Here's an article talking about the "dullness" of Rapture films that takes a special look at an older Rapture film:

Which Films?

Which films will I be looking at for this assignment?

I'm a list maker and this is what I've come up with so far. Am I missing anything? Looking for narrative features about the End Times especially when The Rapture is involved but will also look at certain films about The Antichrist, especially when he is not in the shadows but striving for power (a la Omen III).

Name	Year
666: The Beast
A Day Without a Mexican	2004
Apocalypse 3: Tribulation	2000
Apocalypse: Caught in the Eye of the Storm	1998
Beyond the Door	1974
Child of Darkness, Child of Light	1991
Damien: Omen II	1978
Deceived
Early Warning
End Of The Harvest
Escape From Hell
Fear No Evil	1981
Final Exit
Final: The Rapture	2013
Future Tense	1990
Gone
Holocaust 2000	1977
I Am Here Now
Image of the Beast	1980
In The Blink Of An Eye
Jerusalem Countdown
Judgment	2001
Knowing	2009
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
Left Behind III: World At War
Left Behind	2001
Megiddo The Omega Code 2
New World Order	2013
Omen III: The Final Conflict	1981
Omen IV: The Awakening	1991
Rapture-Palooza	2013
Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire	2013
Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End	2013
Revelation	2000
SIX - The Mark Unleashed	2004
The Black Rider: Revelation Road	2014
The Gathering
The Mark
The Moment After 2: The Awakening
The Moment After	2009
The Omega Code	1999
The Omen	1976
The Prophecy: Forsaken	2005
The Rapture	1981
The Remaining	2014
The Seventh Sign	1988
The Stand
Thief In The Night
Thief In The Night II: A Distant Thunder
Thief In The Night III: Image of the Beast
Thief In The Night IV: The Prodigal Planet
This Is the End	2013
Undead	2003
Vanished	1998
Years of the Beast	1981

Early Rapture Film

While I thought that the idea of The Rapture was something popularized in the early '70s, it looks like it goes back much father. Check out the above 1941 Rapture film from Archive.org.

Goodbye World

I've been thinking about undertaking this project for a long time. I have the idea that this will eventually lead to a book. I've seen several "end of the world" books but none that focus specifically on The Rapture.

What is The Rapture? Let's look at its origins. Some say that there's nothing in The Bible about this but there is reference in First Thessalonians to those who are "dead in Christ" will be "caught up into the clouds" to meet "the Lord in the air." This idea has blossomed into the idea that before the events in Revelation take place that the innocent souls -- or, specifically, those who have dedicated themselves to Christ -- will be swept up into heaven. Some literally think that people will float off, possibly leaving their clothes behind, flying up into the clouds.

In popular culture, this has lead to a raft of films. Some call them "End Times" films, others "Rapturesploitation." I'll just refer to them as Rapture Films. I'll examine how they play into the various idea of The Rapture as written about on Wikipedia. I will look more at the films than books or television programs. I hope to cover the popular and the obscure. If you have recommendations or thoughts, please feel free to leave comments. Now, let's get on with the show...