Updating The Rapture Concept

January 3, 2009 at 5:46 pm · Filed under Apostasy, Church, Debates, Deluge, Dispensationalism, Doctrine, Futurist- B. Simmons, Global Flood, Great Tribulation, Israel, Jesus Christ, Olivet Discourse, Parousia, Rapture, biblical interpretation, eschatology, exegetical, judgment, salvation and tagged: , , , , , , , ,

  Opponents of the Pre-Tribulational rapture of the church often claim that Dispensationalists are unable to find a verse which distinctly teaches this doctrine.  The usual reply made is that inferences must be drawn from the texts which speak of the rapture event.  But while it is true that there is not a single specific verse in the Bible which explicitly declares the church will be “caught out” at the commencement of the tribulation, a proper understanding of some of the terminology employed in prophetic language will allow us to see that Dispensationalists are not so bankrupt as their opponents think.

  From my personal studies, I’ve found that 1 Thess. 5: 1-3 contains a built-in rapture concept that is often overlooked due the fact that students miss what Paul is actually teaching.  In their eagerness to harmonize verses which seem to them parallel they slide over Paul’s definition of the “day of the Lord,” which he makes equivalent to the “travail,” or time of tribulation.  If this truth is once perceived, the facts concerning the Pre-Trib rapture will start falling into place.

  After speaking of the very rapture in question, which is to be preceded and accompanied by the raising of the dead in Christ (1 Thess. 4: 13-18), Paul writes: “But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thess. 5: 1-4). 

  It should be noted, firstly, that the term “travail” is a familiar Old Testament term used when speaking of Israel’s tribulation.  It is synonymous with the time known as Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30: 7; cf. Dan. 12: 1).  It is also likened to a time of purging (Ezek. 20: 38), and of purification (Ezek. 22: 18-22; Mal. 3: 2-4).  The language makes it clear that the Divine purpose of the Great Tribulation is for the ultimate sanctification of Israel.  It has nothing to do with the true church of God, which has its tribulation now (Acts 14: 22; 2 Tim. 2: 12).

   In the above verses, Paul is saying that the day of the Lord (that is, the tribulation) will come suddenly and unexpectedly upon an unbelieving world.  This is the same thing that Christ taught His disciples, when He said: “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your heart be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.  For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21: 34-36). 

  Christ does not say that the church will enter tribulation, but He declares, like Paul, that the Day of the Lord will surprise them (the unbelieving world).  Moreover, that disciples may be accounted worthy to escape those things (compare with Rev. 3: 10).  The reason the day will not come like a thief upon the church is seen in the closing verses of 1 Thess. 4.  The church will already have been caught out before the Tribulation actually begins. 

  To apprehend this concept better, it is important we understand another metaphor here used to denote the tribulation.  Christ likens it to the coming of a thief.   As the thief comes only to break up the house (Luke 12: 39), so the tribulation must be viewed as a period of chastisement.  It is not at all essential that the church go through it, otherwise the Lord would not have extended a promise to keep us out of it.  

   Paul, too, corroborates this truth when he declares that the tribulation doesn’t pertain to those walking in the light, but to them living in darkness (1 Thess. 5: 4-9).  Pay particular attention to verse 9, where he writes: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

   Therefore, it is obvious that the Day of the Lord has a distinctly different significance for the church than it does for the world at large and for apostate Christendom.  To the church of God, the Day of the Lord means salvation from wrath.  To the world it means just the opposite.  Hence the church will be caught out at the beginning of the Day of the Lord, whereas the world will go through it.

     Furthermore, those who are left behind after the rapture will endure the judgment of God, because of something lacking in their spiritual or moral state.  In respect to the visible church, this fact is set forth by the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25: 1-13), five of which failed to keep oil in their lamps.  When the midnight cry is issued, “Behold! The Bridegroom cometh!” the five wise virgins will enter into the wedding feast, while the five foolish ones are left behind.  After realizing what has happened, the latter will begin pounding at the door (i.e., crying for entrance), but the Lord will disown them. 

   What the parable teaches is that the apostate church is an entirely different company from the church of true believers.  Both belong to the visible church, but the two divisions are as the wheat and the chaff.  The distinction will be manifested at the rapture, when the pure church is caught out and the chaff left behind.  During the tribulation that follows, the chaff will be passed through the fire.  Apostate Christendom will be judged along with Israel, whereas the true church will be safely housed amid scenes of heavenly glory. 

  Far from being a man- invented doctrine,  Christ teaches this very concept in His Olivet Discourse.  Speaking of His second coming, He tells His disciples: “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days of Noe they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24: 37-39).  Then He goes on to give a description of the selective process whereby the true and false disciples will be separated (v. 40, 41).

  By using the example of Noah’s flood to describe His second coming, Christ left us a prophetic template for the Day of The Lord.  Notice the details in the text; namely, that the world was eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not (i.e., were not caught unawares), UNTIL Noah entered into the Ark and the flood began.  Their being taken by surprise happened after Noah and his family were already safely housed in the Ark.  By the time the waters began to cover the earth it was too late for them to enter.  The day of grace had already expired.  

   Now according to Christ’s own teachings, the events of His second coming will be like those of Noah’s flood.     Although many students understand the Ark as a prophetic type pointing to the Divine protection vouchsafed to Israel during the duration of the tribulation as it transpires on earth, this seems to us an incorrect view.  At any rate, if the interpretation is true, then where do the animals within the Ark find any antitype during the tribulation?

  On the other hand, if the Ark really points to the truth that the church will be kept out of the tribulation, then the animals already have a Divine antitype in the “four beasts” of Revelation 4: 6-8, which many expositors take as representing the animate creation.  

  Our interpretation, then, understands the heavenly temple as the Ark’s true antitype.  As God called to Noah to “come thou and all thy house into the Ark” (Genesis 7: 1); so when the Day of the Lord begins, the church shall have a similar call, and will ”come up hither” by means of the door which will then be opened in heaven.  See  Revelation 4: 1. 

  This rapture teaching is preserved in the story of Noah’s flood, and set forth by Christ as indicative of how the Day of the Lord will have its fulfillment.  Notice its close correspondence to Paul’s statement in 1 Thess. 5, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in a sudden and unexpected manner: not at the end of the tribulation, during which the world will have plenty of time to realize what is going on, and will feel the effects thereof; but during a time when false peace and prosperity is being felt among the nations.  Then and then only will the Day of the Lord come, and the world be caught by surprise.    This very suddenness presupposes that the Day of the Lord must begin at the rapture, (when Christ comes for His saints), and not at the revelation (when Christ comes with them).

  Our conclusion, then, is that the Pre-Tribulational rapture is distinctly taught in Scripture, as a “built-in” doctrine, even though there are no specific verses which detail the event.  Anyhow, the main dispute among scholars is not whether the rapture will take place or not, but in respect to its precise timing.  The difference of opinion among the Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, and Pre-Wrath views only exemplifies the importance of prophetic study.  However, an examination of the terms and language used by the inspired writers when describing the rapture will tend to confirm the view that it is pre-tribulational in nature.

6 Comments »

  Todd wrote @ January 4, 2009 at 6:53 am

PRETRIB RAPTURE – HIDDEN FACTS !‏

How can the “rapture” be “imminent”? Acts 3:21 says that Jesus “must” stay in heaven (He is now there with the Father) “until the times of restitution of all things” which includes, says Scofield, “the restoration of the theocracy under David’s Son” which obviously can’t begin before or during Antichrist’s reign. Since Jesus must personally participate in the rapture, and since He can’t even leave heaven before the tribulation ends, the rapture therefore cannot take place before the end of the trib! Paul explains the “times and the seasons” (I Thess. 5:1) of the catching up (I Thess. 4:17) as the “day of the Lord” (5:2) (which FOLLOWS the posttrib sun/moon darkening – Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20) WHEN “sudden destruction” (5:3) of the wicked occurs! (If the wicked are destroyed before or during the trib, who would be left alive to serve the Antichrist?) Paul also ties the change-into-immortality “rapture” (I Cor. 15:52) to the posttrib end of “death” (15:54)! (Will death be ended before or during the trib?) If anyone wonders how long pretrib rapturism has been taught, he or she can Google “Pretrib Rapture Diehards.” Many are unaware that before 1830 all Christians had always viewed I Thess. 4’s “catching up” as an integral part of the final second coming to earth. In 1830 it was stretched forward and turned into a separate coming of Christ. To further strengthen their novel view, which the mass of evangelical scholars rejected throughout the 1800s, pretrib teachers in the early 1900s began to stretch forward the “day of the Lord” (what Darby and Scofield never dared to do) and hook it up with their already-stretched-forward “rapture.” Many leading evangelical scholars still weren’t convinced of pretrib, so pretrib teachers then began teaching that the “falling away” of II Thess. 2:3 is really a pretrib rapture (the same as saying that the “rapture” in 2:3 must happen before the “rapture” ["gathering"] in 2:1 can happen – the height of desperation!). Other Google articles throwing light on long-covered-up facts about the 178-year-old pretrib rapture view include “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “X-Raying Margaret,” “Revisers of Pretrib Rapture History,” “Thomas Ice (Bloopers),” “Wily Jeffrey,” “The Rapture Index (Mad Theology),” “America’s Pretrib Rapture Traffickers,” “Roots of (Warlike) Christian Zionism,” “Scholars Weigh My Research,” “Pretrib Hypocrisy,” “Pretrib Rapture Desperados” and “Deceiving and Being Deceived” – all by the author of the bestselling book “The Rapture Plot” which is available at Armageddon Books online. Just my two cents’ worth. Todd

  Brian Simmons wrote @ January 4, 2009 at 2:25 pm

Todd,

Thanks for the comments. However, my business is not to argue these things, but to teach and defend the Gospel entrusted to my keeping. The BIble certainly teaches there will be a time-space between the rapture and revelation. Even the “Pre-wrath” propnonents (who are strongly anti pre-trib) confess this. The question, then, is, how long is the duration between the gathering of the saints and their return in glory to earth? Most Pre-Millennial scholars would say that it’s 7 years. However, another possible figure is 3 1/2 years. Whether you accept the one or the other will impact your interpretation of the Apocalypse. I don’t think the actual time-space matters much (at least not as much as most people think!). What matters is that we prepare ourselves for Christ’s second advent, and not “slumber and sleep” as do the foolish virgins. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the rapture, you have to admit that Christ and the apsotles teach that the “day of the Lord” will take the world by surprise. Therefore, let us be watchful and vigilant, and good stewards of His kingdom!

Brian

  jesustheking wrote @ January 5, 2009 at 7:01 am

First sickle is the Rapture of Christian believers, the 2nd sickle is God’s wrath
October 14, 2008 · No Comments

First sickle is the Rapture of Christian believers, the 2nd sickle is God’s wrath
Is Jesus’ Coming for his church and bride at Pre tribulation, Mid, or post tribulation Rapture?

The timing of the rapture, the truth concerning Rapture, the main debates about Rapture’s timing

http://www.geocities.com/holyspiritliberty/rapture.html – Click

To nonbelievers reading this subject has to do with one of the promises that believers in Jesus Christ have been given providing those believers are ready when this event occurs.

This event has to do with being caught up supernaturally in the skies with the Lord, before God pours out his wrath upon those who have rejected Jesus Christ and accepted the false messiah also known as the Antichrist. The main focus of the debate that surrounds the event called Rapture is not if it will happen, but when. The information that follows below has to do with this debate. Please understand that this particular document is not entry-level instruction for this subject. It’s written to those who already have a good basic understanding of this event and the debate that surrounds it. I hope you will read it anyway. Do not divide the Lord’s Church over this rapture issue and remember the grace and the shed Blood of Jesus Christ alone saves us. This so no flesh could boast before God, not that anyone could ever merited any right to do so. Brothers and sisters love one another as you debate or discuss this subject and blessed hope.

Does the Rapture of the Church occur Pre, Mid, or post Tribulation.

The following questions are asked to determine whether or not you accept the authority of the Word of God. Since God is not a God of confusion, there must be a correct interpretation to the (approximate) time of this event. Following will be numerous questions related to this event. After you have answered these questions review these scriptures, footnotes, and statements so you may determine if you answer is correct within the Word of God.

QUESTION 1. (READ: 1st Corinthians 15:51-56 before answering.)

Since this scripture is speaking on one of the mysteries of God (Rapture) and Paul says it will occur at the last trumpet. Where and when does this trumpet occur in the book of Revelation?

NOTICE: Paul doesn’t say first, second, or third trumpet, but last, which is the seventh.

Before you answer Question 1. read the below scriptures from Revelation. Pay special attention to the following key words while reading these scriptures. The key words are LAST TRUMPET and MYSTERY. Remember, in the book of Revelation the last trumpet is the seventh.

(Revelation 10:5-7) * (Revelation 11:15-16) * (Revelation 14:12-16)

QUESTION 2.

Where in relation to Revelation’s trumpet call is the last trumpet blown? (seventh trumpet) And how far into the tribulation does the blowing of the seventh trumpet occur?

QUESTION 3.

Is this last trumpet, which Paul was speaking of, in 1st Corinthians the last trumpet described in Revelation? (Rememeber: The last trumpet in the book of Revelation is the seventh.) If you do not agree what then did Paul mean by last trumpet, especially since we agree that this event called “Rapture” occurs at the end of the church age. If you do not agree that the last trumpet Apostle Paul spoke of is the same last trumpet as is spoken of in the book of Revelation, then why did Paul associate the term last trumpet as a description for defining a period of time when rapture is to occur? If you’re not in agreement then what last trumpet is Paul talking about if it’s not the last trumpet of the trumpet call of Revelation?

Lets take a deeper look at this mystery from scripture with much more detail then we will go from there. Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ I ask for your Wisdom and for wisdom and understanding to be given to your children who are called of you to understand this difficult subject.

1 Cor 15:51-57

51 Lo ! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Commentary note on: 1 Cor 15: 51-52

In verse 51 and 52 above we see the words Mystery, Last Trump and the word raised. Paul obviously is talking about a resurrection of believers here, otherwise he would not have used the word RAISED in respect to the dead. He is also talking about the end of the church age. With those things in mind lets look at God’s Word some more.

Revelation 10:5-7

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be no more delay 7 But in the days of the trump of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets.

Commentary on Rev 10:7

Now here in Revelation 10 verse 7 we see the Word “Mystery” and the promise that when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet the Mystery of God would be fulfilled. We know the 7th angel in Revelation is the same one who blows the 7th trump. Here in Revelation 10:7 is only the promise, the angel is not sounding it here. Now lets look further into the Word of God.

Revelation 11:15-18

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17 Saying, We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which is, and was, and are to come; because you have taken to thee your great power, and has begun to reign. 18 And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and that you should destroy them which destroy the earth.

Now in the scripture above we have the 7th Angel sounding his trumpet. Notice that it says in verse 18; “your wrath has come” speaking of God’s wrath and also “the time of the dead that they should be judged.” We know these are believers because it says the servants, the prophets and the saints. Also rewards are spoken about. You only give rewards to children in the kingdom. This is the resurrection Paul is talking about in 1st Corinthians. It occurs at the blowing of the Last trump, which is blown by the 7th angel. We also know these are believers in Jesus because the white thrown judgment resurrection for the rest of the dead, does not occur until Revelation 20.

One additional note on God’s wrath, notice from Revelation 11:15-18 above that until this scripture God’s wrath has not yet come. The time that it has come is announced in this scripture. All events that have occurred before this scripture are judgments and tribulations from God, but it is not his wrath. Let us continue with this scripture below.

Revelation 14:13-20

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. 14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, (Insert: Rapture starts here ) Thrust in your sickle, and reap: for the time is come for you to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

(Insert: God’s Wrath starts here after church is removed ) 17 and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

First sickle is the Rapture of Christian believers, the 2nd sickle is God’s wrath

Now this is where Rapture actually takes place, Rev 14:14-16 is the Rapture. This is the 1st sickle where Jesus comes and takes his Church out of the world and out of his impending wrath. Notice the word Harvest is used, Jesus also uses the word Harvest when explaining the tares and the wheat in Matthew. Now the next sickle (2nd Sickle) starts in 14:17-20, this is a wrath sickle. The 1st sickle is a Harvest sickle (Rapture). Be sure not to confuse these two sickles. Once again the 1st sickle in Revelation 14:14-16 is the Rapture. The second sickle in Revelation 14:17-20 is a wrath sickle. The Bowl judgments begin right after this second sickle in chapter 14:17-20. As Jesus promised and Apostle Paul spoke, Jesus delivers us out of his wrath. Exactly as Paul was instructed and wrote to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would like to point out one more thing to all reading, Jesus said in Mark Chapter 13 that the church age generation shall not pass away until all these things take place. What things? All the things he spoke of in Chapter 13. In Mark 13:37 Jesus also said this. “And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” Jesus said for ALL to WATCH. He was speaking to his disciples and to us, Watch for what? Everything he spoke that would happen in Mark Chapter 13. Note Jesus did not say what I say to you I say to all, except for those who will be raptured before any of these things happen.

Jesus also talks about the tares (nonbelievers) and the wheat (believers). Jesus makes it clear they grow together until his coming. Jesus’ coming and rapture are in fact the same event. Here are a couple of those scriptures.

Matthew 13:29

But he said, No; lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them. Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, You gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Commentary on Matthew 13:29

Notice Jesus says to the reapers to gather first the tares (nonbelievers) and bind them into bundles to be burned. Jesus does not command them to be burned at that very moment but rather be bound and gathered first for a future time that he will destroy them. This binding and separation will occur during the time of the Antichrist. Those who take the buying and selling mark of the antichrist will be bound and separated, to be burned after the church has been raptured.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. Matthew 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

1 Thessalonians 4:16,17

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

First, Please note that in both passages, a trumpet sounds before the dead are raised to life.

Now although this may seem quite simple, it is very important to observe this very simple commonality, because we’re about to compare these two passages to another passage that contains Christ’s own description of His second coming. Here it is:

Matthew 24:30

“Then the Sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming of the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

So in Christ’s own words, at His second coming a “great trumpet” will be sounded, after which His elect will be gathered together, “from one end of heaven to the other”.

This is exactly the same event that is described in the first two passages. In all three, a trumpet is sounded, and in all three, the ‘elect’, or believers, both dead and alive, are gathered to Christ.

To my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, Fear Not. Jesus promised to never forsake you, or leave you. He will provide protection during these times. Trust Him. Trust His Word. I have shown you the truth from Jesus’ Word. This is why I do not accept pre tribulation rapture, but rather pre-wrath.

  Theend wrote @ July 24, 2009 at 9:37 pm

The mystery, by the way, is: “WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP.” That’s it. It has nothing to do with the timing of the rapture/resurrection. Even Paul didn’t understand that one (else he wouldn’t call it a mystery); since, it is appointed unto men once to die (Heb. 9:27).

In Matt. 24:29 and 2 Pet. 3: 7-11, we see that the heavens and earth shall be destroyed. Now, you tell me, was Job pre-, mid-, or post-trib?
(Chapter 14: 12-15) So man lieth down, and riseth not: TILL THE HEAVENS BE NO MORE, THEY SHALL NOT AWAKE NOR BE RAISED out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, UNTIL THY WRATH BE PAST…. If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, TILL MY CHANGE COME. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.”

Rev. 20:4 speaks of people who had died, and who HAD NOT (past tense) worshipped the beast. It says they lived and reigned with Christ. Verse 5 calls this the FIRST resurrection. If there had been a pre-trib resurrection/rapture, it would say “second” resurrection. Think about it; even if there was a pre-trib resurrection/rapture, you’d still have to have one at the end of the tribulation for all those Christians who had died during the tribulation. Either way, there has to be a post-trib resurrection. So the post-tribbers wouldn’t have been entirely wrong, would they? So why don’t pre-tribbers teach the second, post-trib rapture? Could it be they’d have to re-use the same scriptures they used to show a pre-trib rapture?

  Theend wrote @ July 25, 2009 at 4:36 am

By the way, JESUSTHEKING, I loved your points. I’ve never heard the “sickles” explained so well. (That might end up getting marked in my Bible now.) I don’t agree, though, that the “mystery” from 1 Cor. 10 & Rev. 10, are necessarily connected. Any more than the “mystery of the gospel,” is to “mystery Babylon” just because the same word is used. That just jumped out at me as being the weakness in an otherwise very good argument.
If anyone just lets it pass without a fight (so to speak) when you are pointing this out; it’s probably because they don’t fully understand the different “mysteries” spoken of in the Bible. (I admit, I don’t. But that doesn’t make me ready to buy any interpretation given to them.) You said yourself, concerning the timing of the rapture, that there can only be one correct interpretation. I believe the same way about the “mysteries” referred to in the Bible.

How did you like my point using the “Job” reference? Have you ever heard that before? I used to be fully convinced of the pre-tribulation rapture. I studied the subject on my own without commentary or internet (just bible text). I also read the entire Bible 4 times through. I just couldn’t find the Pre-trib rapture anywhere. Everything I learned pointed to a Post-trib rapture. That was about 10 years ago. My findings surprised me since I had always been taught, and believed, the pre-trib view. It helped me to learn that just because a preacher is wearing a nice suit and has a title before his name; it doesn’t mean he knows what he’s talking about. It helped me to question everything I had been taught. I want the truth.
What are these preachers, who teach this stuff, going to do when the antichrist shows up? Will they give back all the money they collected and made from teaching a false doctrine? Or, will they hop in their jets and fly to the Amazon jungle? Won’t people be beating down their doors wanting to know why the rapture didn’t happen? Will their followers be prepared for what lies ahead? I mean, you don’t plant a garden in the spring, if you’re going to be moving in the summer. They think they’re getting out of here.
Paul said in 2 Thes. 2, not to let anyone deceive you (so the timing must be important). He said the apostacy and “man of sin” would come before our gatering together to Christ. This is an important issue.

  Casey wrote @ August 6, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Before God destroyed the wicked of the earth with the flood, He first delivered Noah and his family by way of the ark.
Matthew 24:37-39—But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Before God destroyed the wicked of Sodom, He first delivered Lot and his family.
Luke 17:28-30—Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

The Day of the Lord, the day of judgment, is coming, but escape is possible for those who are worthy.
Luke 21:34-36—But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Wrath is coming, but those who have turned to God will be delivered from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10—You turned to god from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

The saved are not meant to suffer wrath, but to receive rescue from the wrath.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 9—For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief…For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who trouble the righteous will be given tribulation, but the righteous will be given rest.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-8—It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His might angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before judgment can begin, two things must happen:
There must first be a departure.
There must then be a revelation of the Antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4—Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

The mystery of lawlessness and spirit of Antichrist are presently restrained, and will be restrained until the restrainer is removed. That restrainer is the Holy Spirit living and working and moving through the Church.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8—For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

Those who keep Christ’s commands to persevere to the end of days will be kept from the trial that is coming upon the whole world.
Revelation 3:10-11—But because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly!


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