rapture

                         Rapture? Don�t you mean Second Coming?

2000 years ago Jesus gave us a very stern warning that there would be deception about the manner of His coming:
Matthew 24:23-24
     "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe them. For false Christ�s and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect"

The use of the word "elect" here is used to describe those who have chosen to accept Jesus and follow His teachings. Be aware that if these false "second coming" ideas are so deceptive that even God's people might be mislead, then it would behoove us to study the Scriptures and know what they say in advance of His return so we won't be given false teachings as doctrine.

If you�re reading this then you are searching for the Bible truth about the return of Jesus for His people. God gave to us the Holy Scriptures so that we could study and know the truth, especially prophecy. Far to many �teachers� of the Scriptures warn God�s people not to read, study or attempt to understand prophecy because they fear it. Why would they fear it unless they are teaching false doctrine and do not want you to find what the Scriptures say for themselves? If anyone tells you that �this part, or that part� of God�s Holy Scriptures are not for you, His people, then they are not speaking the truth.

This may surprise you if you were taught to stay out of certain books of the Bible because they may �confuse� you but Christ has a special interest in the Book of Revelation. This is not the writings or revelation of John but the �Revelation of Jesus Christ�, (Revelation 1:1) which He wants His people to have so that they will know what the end holds.
Revelation 1:3
     "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."

Revelation has an enormous amount of information about the return of Jesus, and He wants us not only to read this prophecy but also to �heed the things which are written in it�. The book of Daniel is also one that speaks in great detail about the second coming of our Savior. Again we find that Jesus recommended we study specific writings in the Scriptures when he referred to the prophet Daniel (read Matthew 24:15).

I don�t think that many of us have a doubt that the return of Christ is drawing close very fast. There are some that say �Every generation has been expecting Him�, and to that I say, AMEN!!! If we are awake and looking for Christ through the clear signs that He explains to us in the Scriptures we are doing exactly what we should do. Taking the view and stance that all the others were wrong and we will most likely be also puts us exactly where Revelation 3:14 - 17 says we will be, in the Laodicean Church age:
    "(14)And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:"

The prophetic Scriptures are being fulfilled at an amazing rate and the world is turning a blind eye even faster. We are told not to take to �firm� a stance on things because they may change. Do you really want to tell me that the Bible is going to change? The writings that are thousands of years old are suddenly going to take a different view or stance on an issue because it is suddenly offensive? Wake up! It will not change, and it will offend, on both of these points you can hang your hat. The Scriptures are offensive to the secular world, but they should not offend a Christian. If it offends you then the Spirt is speaking to you, sit up and take notice.

We live in wonderful comfort these days, getting fat and lazy on false teachings that we don�t have to do anything anymore, except say out loud to the pastor �I accept Jesus as my Savior�. I have sat in church with people who tell me about their sexual exploits outside their marriage, their desire to �try� homosexuality and their enjoyment of drunkenness. They are not hot for God, they are not cold to God but they teeter on the dangerous thread in the middle where they openly praise God around others and sneak into privacy to do what they wish going against His law. They are in the middle of the road and �lukewarm�. It is time to wake up and seek the truth, the Bible Truth.

We are told by some of our �religious teachers� that we are not to worry about, or even read the book of Revelation and much of Daniel because we will all be �Raptured� out before the Second Coming. Recently I was told that I could ignore large pieces of the Scriptures because they don�t apply to the �church� which won�t be here in the end anyway. We are going to look into this matter in Scripture to see what it (meaning God�s Scriptures) have to say on the matter and it may surprise some of you, I know it did me.

Did you know that Jesus never taught that anyone would have a second chance for salvation after His return? Nowhere in the Scriptures is this taught or even hinted at. Do you realize that this �secret rapture� theory claims that when Jesus returns, invisibly, believers will be taken away to live in heaven, and sinners will be left behind, alive, where they will have a second chance to accept Christ. Sure they will have to live through a pretty severe �tribulation�, but if they truely repent, they will survive and be taken up in what has now become the third coming of Christ. The newly converted Christians will now be taken on His 3rd visit to heaven. We should rename this �secret rapture� to the "get-ready" return of Christ.

This theory is one of the most dangerous teachings being actively spewed out of false teachers today. Is my language to harsh? If it is false we are told to call it false, no matter how much the �world� respects the teacher�s degree that is hanging on his or her wall. Why is it do dangerous? Because if it is false we are teaching people that they will have a second chance when there is none, and people will put off coming to Christ because they are waiting for the Rapture. I have heard people say, �If I see that rapture I will know that I missed it and then I have 7 years to get right with God�. There are people waiting to come to Christ because of this false doctrine and they are just sure that once that happens, they will repent and be saved. What if there is no �secret rapture� and we are all suddenly faced with the Second Coming of Christ on the clouds in all His Glory as He gathers His people in full view and then slays the wicked in what is called �the first death�? Are you ready? Will you cry �foul�, claiming that your preacher or teacher was wrong and its not your fault? Can this be a valid defense? Let me ask you this, do you own a Bible? If your answer is �yes, then you have absolutely no defense. And rest assured, those teaching false doctrines that are not contained in the Scriptures will answer for their crimes against God in luring millions and millions of people away from Christ as false teachers.

The secret rapture idea is based on a questionable method of Bible interpretation, and it is also used to interpret other scriptures as well. If this interpretation is correct then there is no problem, but if it is incorrect, in part or in whole, millions of people are being led astray and are on a direct course for eternal death and damnation.   Let�s study what the Scripture says.

What is this Rapture, or �Secret Rapture� as some call it? Before you start flipping through your Bible looking for those places where you have been told it is written let me stop you because you won't find this word rapture in the English Bible. Let me show you where it does however show up, and it is in the Latin translation of:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (Latin)
      "Deinde nos, qui vivimus, qui relinquimur, simulrapiemur cum illis in nubibus . . ."

The word �Rapiemur� is a form of �rapio�, which translates into "to carry away," and this is where we get our basis for the word "rapture�.   Now that we have the root to this word lets look at a literal translation from the Latin into English of this same verse:
1Thessalonians 4:17 (Literal English)
    "Then we, who are alive, who remain, together will be carried away with them in the clouds . . ."

When Paul was writing this letter he was not speaking of some secret event for those alive to be taken up into heaven but in fact was speaking of the day when Christ makes his return, a very public return, for His people.
What is found when we look at the translation is a very vital point, rapture simply means, "carried away." We can find absolutely nothing in the Latin word rapio, or in the Greek word �harpazo�, (the Latin was translated from the original Greek) to indicate secrecy. So with no secrecy in sight lets back up a step and look at what the was being said as a whole about the privacy and silence of this event:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 -17
     �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.

I have read this verse over and over, even looked at the Literal Greek translations but can not find anything that speaks of it being secret, silent, private or a spiritual (not literal) event. Paul�s writing here is clear. Everyone will see, and hear this return of our Savior, not confused, but it will be sudden when it happens. If you were brought up being taught of a �secret rapture� of the church you need to check into these three secrets that most rapture-believing Christians are never taught. Please research this for yourselves and don�t let my words be all that you rely on. Open your Bibles and study.

First Secret: The Bible never mentions a secret rapture.
Yes you did read correctly, the Bible never mentions a secret rapture. The Scriptures are full of text that talk about the Second Coming of Jesus, but it never speaks of a secret coming, a secret coming where saints disappear and the wicked are �left behind� alive.

I know that this will surprise a lot of �secret rapture� believers so lets look at two major texts in Scripture which teachers like Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (of the famous books series Left Behind) use to support their claim of this �secret rapture�.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
     "Behold, 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 trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed�.

Reread these two texts and look to see if you find anything secret about it. We are shown 3 specific things and none of them appear to be �secret�. �The trumpet will sound�, is this to be taken as silent? �The dead will be raised�, from their graves, which I would imagine, will get amazing attention. �We shall be changed�, which in the light of this writing will definitely be visible on the outside and is not meant to be taken as an inner change.
Lets look at another time in history when God sounded a trumpet, it was at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16, 19). Read those verses and ask yourself if the trumpet of God is secret and silent. This trumpet was so loud it frightened the Israelites into urging Moses to be their spokesman to God (Exodus 20:18,19). The teachers of this �secret rapture� theory want us to believe that God�s divine trumpet is silent and will only be heard by the ears of the faithful. Surely if this was the truth the Scriptures would support it, but the text not only does not support this, it does not even imply in the slightest way that it will be silent.

The Scriptures are clear about the trumpet but what about resurrections? Does our God conduct secret resurrections? Looking at Scripture we see that Elisha raised a boy to life, Jesus resurrected several people including Lazarus, Peter raised Dorcus and Paul raised Eutychus. Were any of these resurrections secret? Do human bodies coming out of their graves seem like an event that would be noticed? Does God gain any glory at a secret resurrection of the dead? How could he.   Our Lord, Christ Himself, experienced resurrection and the Bible records the event as follows.
Matthew 27:52-53
     "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose; (53) and came out of the graves after His resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many"

At these Biblical resurrections actual dead bodies were revived to life and came out of their graves. With all that is written in Scripture the �secret rapture� teachers quote 1 Corinthians 15, and completely ignore the sound of the Sinai trumpet and the physical resurrections of history. They want you to believe, contrary to every Scripture, that this will be a secret resurrection, in which your spiritual, not physical eyes, will see the Lord. They also teach that your spiritual and not physical body will be raised.

This will be history in the making for sure. What they are saying is you will see the first ever invisible return of God, where He invisibly resurrects the dead, after blowing His silent trumpet. He will invisibly change His people and sneak away with them so that no one will know what happened until 7 years later when He comes back for his third coming to take another group of new Christians and finally slay the wicked in the �first death�.

There is no Scriptural precedent or support for this idea of resurrection secrecy and I can not, and will not, support or teach these false man made doctrines as Biblical Truth when they are not. We are warned of this by Jesus in Scripture.
Matthew 15:9
     �But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men�.

Remember that there has already been one body that was resurrected and changed from a human one to a glorious, heavenly one and that was the body of Jesus. This was not a secret or invisible change because again ask yourself what glory would be given to God in all this secret activity? Especially at His Second Coming!

The same problems arise to the �secret rapture� theory when you look at another of the Scriptures that are used by these famous teachers.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
     �But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (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.�

Start off with Paul�s simple explanation of why he is covering this, �I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are alseep�. This is knowledge and some would have you believe that this is meant to be a riddle that must be twisted this way and that until it makes sense. Paul was very plain and direct here and left no room for a misunderstanding, unless you add in your own ideas and words where they do not belong.

The Scriptures say the Lord descends �with a shout�, and again the �secret rapture� teachers tell us it's inaudible except to the ears of the faithful.

The Scriptures say that this shout is with the �voice of the archangel�, but the �secret rapture� teachers say it is an inaudible cry.

The Scriptures say this will happen with �the trump of God�. What do the �secret rapture� teachers say? Only selected ears will hear it.

The Scriptures say that, �the dead in Christ shall rise first�. The righteous are alive again as the dead rise, but our �secret rapture� teachers again say that this will be completely secret and invisible.

The Scriptures say �Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air�. Turning to our �secret rapture� brothers we are assured that this is secret as well. I hope that the last part of that passage that says, �and so shall we ever be with the Lord�, is not also in their eyes a secret. If you follow their logic, it would have to be.

By all the rules of grammar (in the original Greek and English translations) this passage, as was the previous, is clearly speaking of a visible event. Teachers of the �secret rapture� make a strong stand about taking the Bible very literally, except here where it would destroy their theory. This must be taken as figurative not literal in their teachings. Why? Because this is the groundwork that was laid in the 1820's (no that is not a typo it was in the 1820's) when this new theory was introduced, and if you remove this �secret rapture� the entire theology of Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and many others crumble into dust. This is not an attack on any of these individuals but a simple study into what the Scriptures say, and they clearly contradict what these good natured teachers are spreading as gospel. This is a simple case of Bible Truth verses Man�s Truth. The hard question you must answer is which do you support?

In studying this �secret rapture� and its following theology an obvious question arises which is, Does God give sinners a "second chance" to repent after His return?

Those who teach the �secret rapture� assure us that when the church is raptured, people who are left behind will have a second chance at salvation. What they are saying is that after the return of Christ, there will still be hope for the lost. Lets look again at what Scripture says about this view. Look carefully at these verses where Jesus is speaking about His return and see if you find any mention of a second chance at salvation for those who are �left behind�.
Matthew 24:37-43
     "But as the days of Noe [Noah], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, (39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (40) Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (41) Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (42) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (43) But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.�

What did Jesus mean when he said that His return would be like �the days of Noah�? Just before the flood there were two groups of people, the first was a small righteous group consisting of 8 people, and the large wicked group which made up the rest of the world�s population. Scripture tell us the large wicked group was destroyed when "the flood came and took them all away" (verse 39). Please take note here that they were not left behind to have a second chance at salvation but destroyed after years of opportunity as the Ark was being prepared. "So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" (verse 39).

In the following verse (40) we see the two men standing in the field. The Scripture says �one shall be taken, and the other left�.   Those teaching the �secret rapture� want to pull this little piece of Scripture out and stand proudly on it saying, �See there is clear evidence! He's been raptured!�. This is where you must look at what the Scripture says and what it does not say. What just happened was that the man that was suddenly �taken� has been taken to destruction just like the wicked of Noah's day who were "taken away." Did you find any sign of a second chance the passage? No, there is none mentioned.

Luke also writes the same account of this same incident, here the disciples asked Jesus to expand on what he was saying.
Luke 17:37
     �And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together."

Again we go back to Matthew 24 and find a little more information on why the birds are gathered there to where they were �taken�.
Matthew 24:28
     �For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.�

The wicked have been �taken� away to destruction according the Scriptures and now the birds of prey are feeding on their �Carcase� as they lay dead.

If you still think that this will be a �secret� event then lets look at what is written in Revelation about this day.
Revelation 6:14-17
     �And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; (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?�

There will be absolutely nothing "secret" about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only will it be public but will start into motion the most most incredible, destructive, noticeable event of the earth's entire history! Scripture says that Mountains will be crumbling, islands will disappear and so on. No one living at the return of Christ will be able to miss it.

Remember what Paul wrote:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words"

The Second Secret that teachers of the �secret rapture� don�t talk often about is that this theory was not developed until the 1820's A. D.

The secret rapture theory arose out of a theological system called Dispensationalism, and was unknown to Christians prior to the nineteenth century. A respected scholar by the name of Dr. John F. Walvoord, a believer in the secret rapture and a well-known author of several books about the end times, admits openly in his book, "The preponderance of evidence seems to support the concept that the early church did not clearly hold to a rapture as preceding the endtime tribulation" (The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, p. 25). He goes on to state (p.17) that the early church's view of the rapture seems to have been to combine it with the second coming. Even some of their own believers don�t argue that it is not in the Bible and that the Early Church taught a different end times theology that the one they hold themselves. With the truth in front of them, some of the �elect� still hold tightly to false doctrine.

How did this young idea that contradicts the Scriptures and was not accepted by the Apostles or the Early Christians take off so fast and hold on so tightly? Several important events in the 1800s should be looked at. During this time mainline Bible scholars were becoming very liberal (this is not a political statement) with their understanding and translations of the Scriptures, and they began to deny the inspiration of the Bible and call its stories myths. Conservative Christians immediately sensed the arising problem and the need to act against this rising view and they began holding conferences for studies of the Scriptures and prayer.

As these groups grew they began to be influenced by individuals that were prevalent teachers in the 1870's through the early 1900s. Among these eye and ear catching teachers were J. N. Darby who influenced many with his new Dispensationalism teachings. Mr. Darby taught this new method of understanding the Scriptures and gradually his followers were forced to adopt the �secret rapture� because it was the only way to explain Biblical problems raised by their intensely literal interpretations of end-time prophecies. It is documented that in 1830 Margaret Macdonald, a 15-year old Scottish prophetic visionary, who belonged to a sect known as the Irvingites, claimed that while she was in a trance, she was shown that the rapture would occur before the period of persecution. This position, now referred to by Christians as the "pre-tribulation" view, also was also being taught by J. N. Darby, (some of his supporters claim today that he had started in 1927). Macdonald was taken to meet Darby and recount her vision to him at which time he took this as a confirmation of his own beliefs and theories. With this new knowledge Darby laid the foundations of the modern day Dispensationalism.

Another significant event happened in 1909 when Dr. C. I. Scofield published one of the most famous and influential study Bibles of all time, the Scofield Reference Bible. In its footnotes the Dispensational theories were presented. It is sad to say, but it is the truth, that it was not this Bible but it�s footnotes that have shaped major theology in American religious thinking, and with credit where it is due, it still holds the forefront in the Dispensational movement. Mr. Scofield has no record of attending any school to earn the title of Dr. but presents himself as one. When his life is looked at there is much to be concerned with in that he abandoned his wife and small children to run away with another woman while writing his famous footnotes on God�s Word. He continued writing on how to understand God while in jail and finished after his release. With all his papers gathered his new Scofield Study Bible was ready and printed by Oxford University. Please do not pass judgement on Mr. Scofield but consider the source of the notes in that particular study Bible.

This was sufficient to carry it into 1970 where Hal Lindsey published his �great� Dispensationalist best seller The Late Great Planet Earth, which almost immediately became an incredibly popular movie. The combination of the book and the movie did much to convince the public that the standard Christian belief about the second coming was the secret rapture theory. This of course is not the �standard� but is definitely a largely held theory.

Now to go through all these great moments in Dispensational history and not mention the current book series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins would be to leave out something very signifigant. In a time when people are searching for hope and something deeper in life the release of the series �Left Behind� has been a show-stopper. This 12 book set begins with the �secret rapture� and follows a group of nonbelievers as they come to know Christ after being �left behind�. Each one of these books has reached the New York Times Best Seller List and I personally know people who do not believe in God that can�t wait for the next one to be released. The secular world is feeding heavily on the flawed teachings of the first step required to make the whole Dispensational system hold together, the �secret rapture�. I would never begin to say that either of these men is intentionally teaching false doctrine, but wether intentional or not false is false as the Scriptures have shown for themselves.

The Third Secret that these teachers don�t mention is that not all of today's born-again Christians believe in the secret rapture.

Why this is such a well kept secret I am not sure but I am always amazed that so many people have no idea that there is any other interpretation out there among other Christians. Countless times while discussing theology with someone I have been told to make sure I am �ready for the rapture�. I don�t know why I am surprised at this since a majority of Christian TV Ministries are teachers of this theory and the charismatic movement is screaming and yelling it from every platform they can grab. There is something about seeing someone on TV or hearing them on the Radio that makes people think, �well that must be true�. Does the name Orson Wells mean anything to you? Look up his famous radio show �War of the Worlds�, that scared millions into believing we were being invaded by people from Mars. Just because you see it on TV or hear it on the Radio does not mean it has the slightest hint of fact in it. Besides as a Pastor in a Dispensationalist church recently told me, �it makes a really good movie�.

What's confusing to the average person, of course, is that in all the different groups of believers out there, all have many well-educated scholars who know their Greek and Hebrew. Please do not be intimidated by this because if you own a Bible you can research for yourself. There are affordable study tools on the market now that will let you read it in it�s original language. If your reading this on the Internet you have volumes of study books at the tips of your fingers. First I urge you to study what the version in your hand says, without all the footnotes, then move into a reliable commentary.

Do keep in mind that nobody can approach the Bible with a totally open mind because we have all heard many different teachings over the years, good and bad. Be careful of preconceived ideas when you go to study and pray before you start, while your studying and after your done. Remember this absolute Bible Truth: Scripture does not contradict itself. If you read the Scriptures and find that there are great contradictions, then you are not open to what Scripture is saying and your preconceived ideas are getting in the way. Again, nowhere does Scripture contradict itself.

Always be aware that we come to the Scriptures with presuppositions, because in doing this we will be able to unclutter our minds and do honest and serious study into the Bible. Dispensationalists, like many other groups, approach Bible study with a mix of presuppositions and emotions. Unfortunately, this method of Dispensationalism and the �secret rapture� theory are based on a questionable method of Bible interpretation.

What is this Rapture and what will Really Happen?
To answer this question, like all other Biblical questions, we must go back into the Scriptures. Looking at the book of Acts we find Jesus ascending into the sky after spending time with His Apostles.
Acts 1:9-11
     �And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (10) And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; (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.�

The Scriptures always hold the answers to our questions if we allow them to speak instead of trying to shape and mold them to fit into our preconceived notions. So what did the Scriptures just say about how will Jesus return

The Apostles were told �this same Jesus�, which leaves little room for doubt as to who they were referring to. Moving on we read, �which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.�

What we are told, directly and clearly is, Jesus was visible to His Apostles as He ascended into a cloud in the sky. We are left with the message that when Christ returns, He will do it in the same manor in which He left. He will return in the clouds, descending in a visible tangible body to gather His people. If you still have your doubts lets look at another passage in Scripture.
Luke 21:27
     �And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

This was Jesus Himself talking about His return and telling those with Him how it would happen at the end of time. Again we can find absolutely nothing about this being a secret. Jesus is coming, visibly, in the sky.
The Scriptures have been very clear and we have seen no sign of a contradiction but lets look at another verse. Here we again find Christ telling His followers how it will all happen.
Matthew 24:27
     �For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.�

Again we find where His coming will be as far as the eye can see. There is no hint here of a limited or secret return. When He comes back it will be in total triumph, not as someone who is afraid to be seen and must sneak in and out before He is caught. Never does the Bible say Jesus will �sneak� back.

If you still feel this is not enough lets go to the most famous Prophetic writing in history and see what the Apostle John says about Christ�s return.
Revelation 1:7
     " Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

Since the Scriptures are clear that both the righteous, and the wicked, will see His return we are left with no possible �secret� return or �secret rapture� of our Lord. �Every eye shall see Him�, and to make sure that there is no doubt we see that �all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him�. If are a true Christian, awaiting the return of your Lord, why would you wail? You would have no reason to. If He sneaks in and only the righteouses see Him, then who are these people that �shall wail�? That�s correct, they can only be the wicked who see the Lord return for His chosen people.

Well the Scriptures support no account of an invisible return but what does it say about it being audibility? Will anyone hear our Lord?
1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17
     " 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.�

We are now given details that say not only shall He return so everyone will see but they will definitely hear Him as well. With our Lord�s shout, the voice of the Archangel and the Trumpet of God all being clearly spoken of here, why wold anyone try and make you believe that it is going to be silent? Is there a scripture we are missing that says to ignore all these writings that they are mistaken? No, is the simple answer. John also records why the dead shall rise up out of their graves.
John 5:25
     �Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.�

The Scriptures are clear on the theory of the �secret rapture�. They state from front to back, there is no �secret rapture� of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that the Scriptures have been read, and man�s writings have been put aside, we have found that there is a great second coming that is in the near future and �every eye shall see�.

To conclude this study take a few moments while your Bible is open and handy to look at why we are in need of a Resurrection of the dead. Soon I will supply a detailed look into what the Scriptures say about the state of the dead but for now just read the word of God in these few places. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless and keep you as you study into His word and look forward to His return

Genesis 2:7 Here is the simple equation God used to create man. Read it out loud and see that God formed us from the dust of the ground, and then breathed into our nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Make sure you understand that God did not put a soul into man, but man is a living soul.
Dust + breath = soul.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 The body will return to the dust but the spirit (Hebrew: ruach, meaning "breath") returns to God. The Bible does not say the soul (nephesh) returns to God, but just the spirit.

Job 27:3 The spirit is God's breath of life, or His power.

Psalm 146:3, 4 When the breath, or spirit, returns to God, all thoughts perish.

Psalm 115:17 The dead do not praise God.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 The dead know nothing.

1 Timothy 6:16 Human beings do not have a natural immortality; only God does.

Romans 2:7 Scripture uses the word "soul" 1600 times, but never once uses "immortal soul."

Job 19:25, 26 The righteous will be resurrected to see God at the last day.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 We receive immortality when Jesus comes again.

Romans 6:23 Immortality is the gift of God.

2 Timothy 4:7, 8 When Jesus comes, His reward of eternal life will be with Him.

John 11:11-14 Jesus here compares death to sleep. The Scriptures find this same comparison to sleep over 50 times.

Acts 2:34 King David did not ascend to heaven at his death, but he is in the grave awaiting the return of Jesus, and the first resurrection.

1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16 Paul states that those asleep in Jesus rise at His Second Coming.

John 5:28, 29 There are two resurrections, one to life and the other to death.

Revelation 20:5, 6 Here is a detail of the two resurrections, and an explanation of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. These two resurrections are separated by this 1,000-year period. Make sure you are included in the first resurrection.

Revelation 20:11-15 The second resurrection, the one for the wicked is immediately followed by the "second death". Satan and the wicked are thrown into the lake of fire and both are consumed.

I welcome any discussion you have on this topic, please feel free to email me with your comments or questions. (4-19-03)

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