Catholics do not believe in the rapture. The rapture theory was started by a Protestant in England during the 18th or 19th century.
If you want a better perspective on how the Church views the end times, pay close attention to the readings during the month of November. This is the month dedicated to All Souls. Both the calendar year and the liturgical year are waning at this time. The readings will come, depending on the cycle (I don’t have my missal with me), will focus on the end times and will either come from Maccabbees or Revelation. You will also be hearing a lot from the end of Matthew, where Jesus makes predictions.
The Church teaches that there are four final things: Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. This is pretty much what we will hear in the readings.
As far as your friend is concerned, why not see if you can turn him on to EWTN? Dr. Scott Hahn and others can address the issue of the end times quite effectively. Furthermore, encourage him to read the scriptures, but, don’t start with Revelation. Protestants look at Revelation from a radically different standpoint than how the Church presents it. We see the liturgy expressed in these pages; Protestants see doom, gloom and Armaggeddon.
By all means, discourage your friend from watching Hal Lindsey, the broadcasts from Cornerstone Chuch in San Antonio (John Hagee’s ecclesial community) and other Protestant programming. Maybe go the library and check books out for him on what the Church teaches.
