Some may not know
what the rapture is. The word rapture is not in the english Bible. But
the term rapture refers to the "catching away" of the believers in Christ,
up to heaven. Here are some scriptures on the rapture:
1 Cor 15:52 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.
1 Thess 4: 16: For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17: Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
There are 3 main views of when the rapture
is going to take place. One is at the beginning of the tribulation, another
is at the middle of the tribulation, and the third is at the end of the
tribulation.
I would dare say, because of the popular
Left Behind series, more christians believe in the pre-trib rapture (before
the tribulation). Many who don't believe in the pre-trib rapture, think
that the pre-trib rapture is a new idea, started in the 1800's. However
this is wrong.
The Reverend Morgan
Edwards was a Baptist pastor in Philadelphia who described a Pre-Trib return
of Christ for His church in his 1788 book "Millennium, Last days Novelties".
Although he saw only a 3 1/2 year Tribulation, he DEFINITELY saw the rapture
occur before the Tribulation. What is even more interesting is that he
claimed he had preached and written the same thing as early as 1742.
There is an apocalyptic
sermon designated as written Pseudo-Ephraim, believed to be written by
Ephraim of Nisibis (AD 306-373), a prolific Syrian church father. Some
suggest it may not have been written until AD 565-627. It goes as:
"Why therefore
do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for
the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion,
which overwhelms the world?...All the saints and the elect of God are gathering
together before the tribulation, which is to come and are taken to the
Lord, in order that they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms
the world because of our sins."
Historical evidence that the pre-trib rapture
is NOT new:
The pre-trib not only is not a new teaching,
but is Biblical. Lets now take a look at what the Bible says about the
timing of the rapture.
Rev 3: 10: Because thou hast kept the
word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
This verse shows it will happen before
the hour of temptation (the tribulation). Then goes on to describe this
temptation.
The word "from" in Rev 3:10 (Greek,ek)
literally means "out of". Here are some other examples of OUT OF
in the Bible.
Math 2: 15: And was there until the death of
Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, OUT OF Egypt have I called my son.
Math 7: 5: Thou hypocrite, first cast out the
beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote OUT OF thy brother's eye.
Math 27: 53: And came OUT OF the graves after
his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Rev 3: 16: So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee OUT OF my mouth.
The confusion is that many people put the
rapture and the 2nd coming of Christ as 1 event. These are 2 separate events.
When the rapture takes place, we will meet Christ in the air. At the 2nd
coming we will come with Christ on horses to the earth. In the next 2 scriptures
you can see the blessed hope of the rapture and the 2nd coming as two distinct
events.
Titus 2:13: Looking for that blessed
hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ;
2 Thess 2: 1: Now we beseech you, brethren, by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him,
God has promised us that the church is
not appointed to the wrath of God, or the Tribulation:
1 Thess 1: 10: And to wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath
to come.
The context of this
passage is the rapture, for christians are not waiting for the glorious
appearing. Paul tells them in 2 Thess 2:1-12 that the glorious appearing
will not occur until the anti-christ is revealed.
1 Thess 5: 9: For God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
This passage follows
the strongest passage on the rapture, and must be considered in light of
its context.. Paul takes the reader to "times and ...seasons" of the "Day
of the Lord". This scripture makes it clear that God did not "appoint us
to wrath" (the Tribulation) but to "obtain salvation" or deliverance from
it, since so many saints will be martyred during the Tribulation. This
promise cannot mean, then, that He will deliver believers DURING or THROUGH
the time of the wrath.
Do we know that the tribulation is the
Wrath?
Rev 6: 16: And said to the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17: For the great day of his wrath
is come; and who shall be able to stand?
God is faithful to His promises. How could
he mean He will deliver believers through the tribulation
when we read this:
Rev 6: 9: And when he had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word
of God, and for the testimony which they held: 11 And white robes were given unto
every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet
for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren,
that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
and
Rev 13: 4: ... Who is like unto the beast?
who is able to make war with him? 7: And it was given unto him to make
war with the saints, and to overcome them...
I wish to point out that some would say
we are fleeing spiritual warfare. The Tribulation is spiritual warfare
between God and the wicked. We do not have a fight with God, if we are
His people.
Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people,
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself
as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
I agree that christians are to endure trials
and that Jesus prayed we are to not be taken from the earth. This speaks
about the trials from man, not God. God does not test us. And Jesus' prayer
was concerning salvation and our being light and salt. When the Tribulation
comes, God will remove the salt (the church), seen below. He will also
send 2 prophets, angels, and great signs to the earth, so the light of
the church will not be necessary. Besides, salt preserves, and God wants
to bring about the truth:
Gal:6:7: Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
God wants mankind to reap a 100 fold return
on their sowing wickedness. By removing the preserving salt, He can acomplish
this task.
I also would like to say, that although
I am making this teaching available, and hence making this a doctrine,
I believe it is possible that there may be 2 or 3 raptures. Perhaps one
in the middle of the Tribulation as well. These things are very hard to
see. The Bible say's we see darkly, that's why there is so much controversy
over the rapture.
1 Cor 13:12 For now we see through a
glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall
I know even as also I am known.
I also would like to point out that we
do not know when Jesus will return. Anyone who puts a date on this, whether
its a day, month or year, is wrong. Jesus, Himself, does not know the day.
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the
Son, but the Father.
Ok, I have shown that Pre-Trib rapture
is NOT new. I have shown that it is Biblical. A major question some may
ask is: Who gets raptured and who gets left behind? It may very well be
that only half of the church will get raptured. Are you going to be one
of them? Click on the following link for details.
I have found even more scriptural evidence
that there will be 2 major comings for the church.
Math 22: MKJV 2 The kingdom of Heaven is like a certain
king who made a marriage for his son. 3 And he sent out his servants to call
those who were invited to the wedding; and they would not come. 5 But not caring, they went their ways,
one to his field, another to his trading. 6 And the rest took his servants and
treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard, he was angry.
And he sent out his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the exits of the
highways, and as many as you shall find, invite them to the marriage. 10 So the servants went out into the
highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good.
And the wedding was filled with reclining guests. 11 And the king coming in to look over
the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, Friend, how
did you come in here without having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We know that the wedding feast is in heaven
because the King is there. And the King is NOT the groom:
verse 2: ...a certain king who
made a marriage for his son.
We also see that the first ones invited
did not come. This is Israel, therefore God called the gentiles. Then we
see a guest not dressed properly. This is a representative of those christians
who have not prepared themselves for Christ, and trying to obtain the wedding
feast without being ready:
Eph 5: 25: ... Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it; 26: That he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, 27: That he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without blemish.
The key here is being washed by the Word
of God. Salvation of the spirit is a free gift and is instantaneous, but
the salvation of the soul is not:
James 1: RWV 21 Therefore put away all filthiness
and all that remains of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your souls.
Some christians do not change their behavior
by accepting God's Word as the Truth for our life. I discuss the difference
between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom here:
So these christians are not holy and prepared
for His coming. But He will come for them later:
Luke 12: NKJV 35 "Let your waist be girded and your
lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master,
when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they
may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master,
when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will
gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch,
and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if
the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would
have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Here we see the Lord returning from a wedding
(verse 36), then the Lord, Himself, will be knocking on the door and they
will open for Him.
Rev 3: MKJV 20 Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him
and will dine with him and he with Me.
Jesus describes this kind of church in
Rev 3:14-21:
Rev 3: MKJV 14 And to the angel of the church
of the Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness...
Jesus is describing Himself to this church
as the faithful and true witness, because they were not faithful and true.
15 I know your works, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
This is a similar example of a scripture
I use about the salt, when I teach the Gospel of the Kingdom here:
These christians are not pursuing after
God and holiness, and God is spitting them out. They will be left in the
Tribulation. And if they don't find salt during the tribulation they will
be put outside the Kingdom:
17 Because you say, I am rich and increased
with goods and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched
and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold
purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that
you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your nakedness does not appear.
And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see.
Here Jesus speaks about gold purified in
fire. Jesus will allow this church an opportunity to be salted with fire
through the Tribulation. If the are not salted, and found holy, they will
be salted by Jesus, Himself. See the Eternal Judgment link above.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten;
therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him
and will dine with him and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant
to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down
with My Father in His throne.
Let's go back to Luke 12. In verse 36 Jesus
say's they will open the door for Him. He has returned from the wedding
feast. In verse 37 we see He will serve them and they will eat, very similar
to Rev 3:20 also. These christians will have succeeded to be holy by the
persecution from the anti-christ. Jesus will now reward them and serve
them. They may have missed the wedding feast, but Jesus will feed them
Himself. A great honor. These believers will have become even greater than
the church that was raptured.
Math 20: MKJV 8 So when evening had come, the lord
of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the laborers and pay them their
wage, beginning from the last to the first. 10 But when the first came, they supposed
that they would received more; and they also each one received a denarius. 11 And receiving it they murmured against
the master of the house, 12 saying, These last have worked only
one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden
and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them and
said, Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take yours, and go; I will give
to this last one the same as to you. 16 So the last shall be first, and
the first last, for many are called, but few are chosen.
I suggest reading the whole parable. It
is excellent. In the parable we see the idlers (those left behind), but
in the end, these only worked the last "shift" and received the same wage
as those "who have borne the burden and heat of the day". The hardship
these last day christians will go thru will be extreme. They will repent
and become an even greater witness.
Hag 2:9: The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts...
I discuss more in detail, the 2 1/2 church
movements who are unprepared for the 2nd Coming here:
The Bible says that the ministers given
in Eph 4, will be until the church becomes united. The church is not united,
we are divided. But the church left behind will become united even as the
church was in Acts.
To learn more about this latter house,
click here: Latter
Rain/Reign
Back to Luke 12. In verse 38, Jesus speaks
about possibly coming in the 2nd or 3rd watch. This indicates not only
a 2nd rapture but perhaps a 3rd. In verses 39 & 40, Jesus again tells
us, if we are ready, then the thief won't break into the house. The anti-christ
is of satan, of whom is the thief. For those who are not prepared and miss
the rapture, the anti-christ will pillage the church. In fact some in the
church will become involved in the one world Babylonian religion. What
is even more remarkable about these verses in Luke 12, is that they are
the same parable in Math 24:45-51. I discuss Math 24's significance here:
I show that perhaps only 50% of the church
will be raptured, from other verses in Math 24. But, what we see here comes
after those verses. And verse 51 corresponds with Rev 2:22:
Math 24:51 And He shall cut him apart
and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into
a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless
they repent of their deeds.
Jesus tells us in Rev 2:22 that some of
the church will be thrown into the Tribulation with the world.
Let's review some of this:
We see that Math 22:1-13 shows us the wedding
feast is in heaven. Luke 12:35-40 shows us that Jesus will return for the
church left behind, after the wedding. Math 20:1-16 tells us those christians
who persevere thru the tribulation will receive equal reward, but will
in some manner be given a 1st status. I am uncertain what that is, but
it may be the status of ruling the earth with Christ during the millennium.
The rest of the overcoming church may not rule until after New Jerusalem
comes to the new earth. Or it may simply mean they are given the other
rewards 1st, or are given higher places in the Kingdom government.
Here are more proofs of a Pre-trib rapture,
based from the following site:
Two different pictures
are painted.
In the Old Testament,
there were two different pictures painted of the Messiah-one suffering
(Isaiah 53:2-10, Ps. 22:6-8, 11-18) and one reigning as King (Psalms 2:6-12,
Zechariah 14:9,16). As we look back on these scriptures, we see they predicted
two separate comings of the Messiah-the 1st coming as a suffering Messiah
and the 2nd coming (still future) as a reigning King. In the New Testament,
we have another picture added. Again, we have two pictures painted which
don’t look the same. These two different descriptions of Jesus’ coming
point to two separate events we call "the rapture" and "the second coming."
---
We also see 2 raptures
from the beginning of history. Noah rising above the tribulation waters,
as one, and Enoch being translated is another. Since history is moving
backward. The 1st rapture is represented by Noah, in which God, Himself,
closes the door (to heaven). The 2nd rapture being closer to the creation,
thus resembling closer to the end of the ages, was Enoch. This may also
symbolize the fact may christians will have been martyred, just as there
was much violence in those days.
I discuss in more detail, the idea of Biblical
history reversing here:
A Known Day and the
Unknown Day
Concerning the return
of Jesus, the Bible presents a day we can't know and a day we can know.
Matthew 25:13 says Jesus will return at an unknown time, while Revelation
12:6 says the Jews will have to wait 1,260 days for the Lord to return.
The 1,260 days begins when the Antichrist stands in the Temple and declares
himself to be God (Matt. 24:15-21, 2 Thess. 2:4) This event will take place
at the mid-point of the seven year Tribulation (Dan 9:27). The Antichrist
has authority to rule for 42 months, which is 1,260 days (Rev. 13:4) and
will be destroyed by Jesus at His second coming (Rev. 19:20, 2 Thess. 2:8).
The known and unknown days must happen at different times, meaning they
are two separate events.
Holy ones are already
with Jesus in heaven (Zechariah 14:5, Rev. 19:14)
The armies in heaven,
clothed in fine linen, follow Jesus out of heaven at His second coming
(Rev. 19:14, Zech. 14:5, Col. 3:4). These are not angels because Rev. 19:8
tells us the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. In order to
come out of heaven we first have to go in, indicating a previous rapture.
---
Jesus left in a cloud of saints, and will
return with one:
Abraham's bosom or paradise was emptied
when Jesus resurrected. All the Old Testament saints went to heaven with
Him.
Eph 4: 8 ..."When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9 (What does "he ascended"
mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He
who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens,
in order to fill the whole universe.)
1 Pet 3:18 For Christ died for sins
once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He
was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom
also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 22 who has gone into
heaven...
Here we see the saints going with Him:
Acts 1:9: And when he had spoken these
things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out
of their sight.
Acts 1:11: Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven.
Jude 1:14: And Enoch also, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of his saints,
---
Both wicked and righteous
both can't be taken first.
First Thessalonians
4:13-17 says the righteous are taken and the wicked are left behind. Matthew
13:30, 49 says the wicked are taken first and righteous are left behind.
This points to two separate events, the rapture and the second coming.
Jesus will receive
us to Himself, not us to receive Him (John 14:2-3).
Jesus said He would
prepare a place for the Church in heaven, then He would come again to receive
us to Himself. Why would Jesus prepare a place for us in heaven and then
not take us there? At the rapture, He will come to receive us to Himself,
"that where I am (heaven), there you may be also." If the rapture occurred
at the same time as the second coming, we would go up to the clouds and
then immediately come back to earth. That would contradict John 14:2-3.
The separation of
the sheep and goats ( Matthew 25:31-46 )
If the rapture occurred
at the second coming, why would the sheep and the goats need to be separated
immediately after the second coming? A rapture at the second coming would
have already separated the sheep and the goats. With a Pre-Tribulation
rapture, the people saved after the rapture will need to be separated after
the second coming.
---------
Now, to answer some basic criticism's of
the Pre-trib rapture:
Because Paul, in
1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thes 4:16, said believers would be raptured at the sounding
of a trump, many folks have tried to make it appear that the rapture trumps
are the same trumpets found in Revelation 11:15-18, Joel 2:1, and Mat 24:31--which
all occur during the tribulation.
When you have trumpets
commonly used throughout the Bible, I think it's foolish to just assume
any two of the 62 trumps or trumpets are prophetically related. To be able
to make the claim that the tribulation trumpet soundings are the same as
the rapture trumps, you would need a direct statement saying this is the
case.
Pre-wrath proponents
say that the Seventh Trumpet blown in Rev 11:15-18 is the same last trump
Paul spoke of in 1 Cor 15:52. However, they fail to take into account the
fact that John wrote Revelation 40 years after Paul wrote his first epistle
to the Corinthians. How could Paul refer to something that was not yet
revealed?
Post-tribbers use
a trumpet sounding in Joel 2:1 as evidence for a post-trib rapture on the
Day of the Lord. I have three problems with Joel 2:1:
1. Joel clearly says
that the purpose for blowing the trumpet is to "sound an alarm."
2. According to 1
Cor 15:15, the rapture is something that occurs in the twinkling of an
eye. Joel 2:1 says the Day of the Lord is nigh at hand. In order for Joel's
trumpet to be the same one in 1 Cor. there would have to be a time delay
between the sounding of the trumpet and the rapture of the Church.
3. The fact that
there is another trumpet being sounded in Joel 2:15 further clouds the
possibility that these trumpets could have anything to do with the rapture.
When Paul was writing
to the Corinthians, he specifically said "the" last trump. During the Feast
of Trumpets, the Jews blow short trumpet blasts. They end the feast with
a long blast from what is called the last trump, which is blown the longest.
Judaism has traditionally connected this last trump with the resurrection
of the dead. Paul also made the connection. For many Christians, the association
between the rapture and the Feast of Trumpets is so strong, they look for
the rapture to someday occur on this feast.
The Day of the Lord Argument
A number people have
attempted to refute the pre-trib rapture by trying to associate the "Day
of the Lord" with a catching-up of believers at the end of the tribulation.
They base their rapture views solely on the idea that the "Day of the Lord"
and the rapture are either synonymous or somehow linked together.
The Achilles heel
of their argument has to be the notion that the "Day of the Lord" and various
other "days" of an end-time context refers to a 24 hour period that occurs
at or near the end of the tribulation. Probably the most commonly cited
verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:2 where Paul tells us the "Day of the Lord"
will come "as a thief in the night."
I've read countless
articles that describe the "Day of the Lord" as Christ's advent at Armageddon.
These articles go on to say that, because Paul also tells us the Lord will
come "as a thief," we have a direct link to the same description that is
applied to noted rapture verses.
It's rather obvious
that those trying to rely on the "Day of the Lord" never bothered to validate
the meaning of this particular day. I've checked a number of commentaries
on the "Day of the Lord" and many of them define this as being an all-encompassing
period that begins with the Great Tribulation. Let's examine some verses
that clearly indicate that the term "day" is used to represent a broader
time period.
II Peter 3:10-13
The "Day of the
Lord" Peter spoke of in second Peter, cannot be a one day event because
it mentions the destruction of the earth by fire and its renovation. Rev
21:11 tells us the earth will not be renewed until after Christ's 1000
year reign.
Joel 2:11-20
The "Day of the
Lord" Joel describes, includes the defeat of the northern army. Ezek. 38
and 39 is parallel passage. Most scholars would time the destruction of
the Gog army as occurring before in the first half of the tribulation.
John 12:48
In the book of John,
Jesus uses the term "last day" to indicate when the lost would be judged.
Rev 20 makes it clear that the unsaved will not be judged until after the
millennium--yet another 1000 year gap.
Hebrews 10:25
One of the best
indications that most of the various “day” references are citing a general
time period can be found in Hebrews 10:25: "Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another:
and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
Surely, Paul would
not be warning us to watch for a day that would be coming at the end of
the tribulation. That type of logic would be like warning children, as
they cross the road, to watch out for tail lights.
---
Some folks will take a passage that describes
end time events like this one in Peter...
2 Pet 3: 10: But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
..they will say such a verse cannot be
broken up into separate events or long periods of time.
Here are 2 such examples of scriptures
being broken up into extended periods of time.
Joel 2: 1: ...for the day of the LORD cometh,
for it is nigh at hand; 2: A day of darkness and of gloominess,
a day of clouds and of thick darkness... 11: ... for the day of the LORD is
great and very terrible; and who can abide it? 28: ... that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29: And also upon the servants and
upon the handmaids ... will I pour out my spirit. 30: And I will shew wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31: The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD
come.
Acts chapter 2 fulfilled part of THAT day,
it was not ALL fulfilled.
Here is another example where a passage
of scripture is thousands of years long in being fulfilled:
Isa 61: 1: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2: To proclaim the acceptable year
of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
In particular verse 2. Jesus read these
passages and stopped halfway thru verse 2 and said it was fulfilled. But
not ALL of verse 2. The vengeance of our God is not yet fulfilled. Here
is Jesus with all this:
Luke 4: 17: And there was delivered unto him
the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found
the place where it was written, 18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19: To preach the acceptable year of
the Lord. 20: And he closed the book, and he
gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21: And he began to say unto them,
This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
So here we have 1 verse, which was partially
fulfilled 2000 years ago, but the rest has yet to be fulfilled. Jesus,
Himself, stopped half way thru the verse and declared it was so.
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The First Resurrection
I've heard some folks
say, "There cannot be a pre-trib rapture because to have one would require
a second resurrection at Christ's return to earth." This conclusion is
drawn from Revelation 20:
"But the rest of the dead lived not
again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such
the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:5-6).
One pre-trib writer,
explaining this passage, said, "The first did not mean first in time, but
rather first in kind." The first resurrection was for God's people the
second will be for the unsaved.
A quick way to shoot
down the notion that the first resurrection is tied to a specific date,
as opposed to a more general time frame, is to take note of the tribulation
rapture of the two witnesses and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. At the
mid-point of the tribulation, the two witnesses are killed by the Antichrist,
resurrected by God, and then caught up into heaven (Rev 11:3-12).
(Please note that
Jesus was resurrected also.)
Revelation chapter
7 describes the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists just before the
Beast issues his mark. Sometime during the latter half of the tribulation,
Revelation chapter 14 indicates they will be "redeemed from the earth,"
standing before the throne of God.
No Secret Rapture
"There is no secret
rapture" is the beginning declaration of a large percentage of messages
that attack the rapture. Rarely is this statement backed by supporting
scriptural evidence. A few people will cite Rev 1:17, "every eye shall
see him," as proof that the rapture will not be a secret event. Of course,
I would immediately note that "every eye shall see him" is the second coming.
I have a hard time
understanding how these folks could think pretribulationists preach a secret
rapture. We seem to be doing our very best to popularize the rapture before
it takes place. I doubt that, afterwards, with all the car wrecks, plane
crashes, and missing persons reports, the rapture will remain a secret
occurrence.
The only people I
know who are attempting to keep the pre-trib rapture a secret are its critics.
Pre-wrath and post-trib folks have the national media and the liberal churches
as their allies in their ongoing effort to silence all knowledge of the
"blessed hope."
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Another argument made against Pre-trib
rapture is about the restrainer in:
2 Thess 2: NKJV 1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2 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. 3 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,
4 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. 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may
be revealed in his own time. 7 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. 8 And then 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.
The one who restrains is the church. My
rapture speaks about saltiness. See this link for saltiness:
Salt preserves. The church is the salt
of the earth. Once the salt is removed, evil will have free coarse. And
yes, the Glorious Appearing takes place after the anti-christ is revealed.
But the 1st rapture is not the Glorious Appearing.
