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THE RAPTURE & SECOND COMING PASSAGES FROM THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE HOLY BIBLE There are two aspects of Jesus` Coming which have created much confusion in the mind`s of Christians for as long as the Word of God has been written.The early Church at Thessalonica were troubled by Jewish "Christians", who confused the Apostle Paul`s teaching on the Second Coming of Christ.Some members were worried about believers who had died before His return. Others considered it a waste of time to keep working, being that his return was near and could happen at anytime. Please keep in mind the the Book of Revelation shows us a 7 year timetable of the last days of this Age. Thanks to Thomas Ice and Ed Hindson for the following list to help us compare the differance between the Rapture (Jesus coming FOR His own) and the Second Coming (Jesus coming WITH His own). Please compare the scriptures for YOURSELF. The Blue Letter Bible Verse Search Engine can be very helpful in this study. It appears below: RAPTURE/ SECOND COMING John 14:1-3/ Daniel 2:44-45 Romans 8:19/ Daniel 7:9-14 1 Corinthians 1:7-8/ Daniel 12:1-3 1 Corinthians 15:51-53/ Zechariah 14:1-15 1 Corinthians 16:22/ Matthew 13:41 Philippians 3:20-21/ Matthew 24:15-31 Colossians 3:4/ Matthew 26:64 1 Thessalonians 1:10/ Mark 13:14-27 1 Thessalonians 2:19/ Mark 14:62 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18/ Luke 21:25-28 1 Thessalonians 5:9/ Acts 1:9-11 1 Thessalonians 5:23/ Acts 3:19-21 2 Thessalonians 2:1/ 1 Thessalonians 3:13 1 Timothy 6:14/ 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 2 Timothy 4:1/ 2 Thessolonians 2:8 Titus 2:13/ 2 Peter 3:1-14 Hebrews 9:28/ Jude 14-15 James 5:7-9/ Revelation 1:7 1 Peter 1:7,13/ Revelation 19:11-20:6 1 John 2:28-3:2/ Revelation 22:7,12,20 Revelation 3:10 | |
Compare Verses with this great search engine from The Blue Letter Bible!
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RAPTURE AND THE RETURN
The Rapture listed first, the Second Coming second:
1. Christ comes FOR His own
(John 14:3; 1 Thes. 14:17; 2 Thes. 2:1)
Christ comes WITH His own
(1 Thes. 3:13; Jude 14; Rev. 19:14)
2. He comes in the AIR
(1 Thes. 4:17)
He comes to the EARTH
(Zech. 14:4, Acts 1:11)
3. He CLAIMS His bride
(1 Thes. 4:16-17)
He comes WITH His bride
(Rev. 19:6-14)
4. Removal of BELIEVERS
(1 Thes. 4:17)
Manifestation of CHRIST
(Malachi 4:2)
5. ONLY His own see Him
(1 Thes.13-18)
EVERY EYE shall see Him
(Rev. 1:7)
6. TRIBULATION begins
(2 Thes. 1:6-9)
Millennial KINGDOM begins
(Rev. 20:1-7)
7. Saved are DELIVERED FROM WRATH
(1 Thes. 1:10; 5-9)
Unsaved EXPERIENCE THE WRATH OF GOD
(Rev. 6:12-17)
8. NO SIGNS precede rapture
(1 Thes. 4:13-18)
SIGNS precede second coming
(Luke 21:11,15)
9. Focus: LORD AND CHURCH
(1 Thes. 4:13-18)
Focus: ISRAEL AND KINGDOM
(Matthew 24:14)
10. WORLD is deceived
(2 Thes. 2:3-12)
SATAN is bound
(Rev. 20:1-2)
THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH:
What is it and when will it take place?
by Dr. David R. Reagan
The Rapture is a glorious event which God has promised to the Church. The promise is that someday very soon, at the blowing of a trumpet and the shout of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the sky and take up His Church, living and dead, to Heaven.
The Term
The term, Rapture, comes from a Latin word that means to catch up, to snatch away, or to take out. It is a Biblical word that comes right out of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The word is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In the New American Standard Version, the English phrase, "caught up," is used. The same phrase is used in the King James and New International Versions.
A Promise to the Church
The concept of the Rapture was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets because it is a promise to the New Testament Church and not to the saints of God who lived before the establishment of the Church.
The saints of Old Testament times will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and not at the time of the Rapture of the Church. Daniel reveals this fact in Daniel 12:1-2 where he says that the saints of that age will be resurrected at the end of the "time of distress."
Biblical References
The first clear mention of the Rapture in Scripture is found in the words of Jesus recorded in John 14:1-4. Jesus said, "I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the Rapture is given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. He says that when Jesus appears, the dead in Christ (Church age saints) will be resurrected and caught up first. Then, those of us who are alive in Christ will be translated "to meet the Lord in the air." Paul then exhorts us to "comfort one another with these words."
Paul mentions the Rapture again in 1 Corinthians 15 - his famous chapter on the resurrection of the dead:
"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." (verses 51 & 52)
Paul's reference here to being changed is an allusion to the fact that the saints will receive glorified bodies that will be perfected, imperishable and immortal (1 Cor. 15:42-44, & 50-55).
The Timing
The most controversial aspect of the Rapture is its timing. Some place it at the end of the Tribulation, making it one and the same event as the Second Coming. Others place it in the middle of the Tribulation. Still others believe that it will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation.
The reason for these differing viewpoints is that the exact time of the Rapture is not precisely revealed in scripture. It is only inferred. There is, therefore, room for honest differences of opinion, and lines of fellowship should certainly not be drawn over differences regarding this point, even though it is an important point.
Post-Tribulation Rapture
Those who place the timing at the end of the Tribulation usually base their argument on two parables in Matthew 13 and on the Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24.
In Matthew 24 the Lord portrays His gathering of the saints as an event that will take place "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matt. 24:29). This certainly sounds like a post-Tribulation Rapture. But it must be kept in mind that the book of Matthew was written to the Jews, and therefore the recording of Jesus' speech by Matthew has a distinctively Jewish flavor to it as compared to Luke's record of the same speech.
Note, for example, Matthew's references to Judea and to Jewish law regarding travel on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:15-20). These are omitted in Luke's account. Instead, Luke speaks of the saints looking up for deliverance "to escape all these things" when the end time signs "begin to take place" (Luke 21:28 & 36). The saints in Matthew are instructed to flee from Judea and hide. The saints in Luke are told to look up for deliverance.
It appears, therefore, that Matthew and Luke are speaking of two different sets of saints. The saints in Matthew's account are most likely Jews who receive Jesus as their Messiah during the Tribulation. The saints in Luke are those who receive Christ before the Tribulation begins. Most of those who accept the Lord during the Tribulation will be martyred (Rev. 7:9-14). Those who live to the end will be gathered by the angels of the Lord (Matt. 24:31).
The parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30) and the parable of the dragnet (Matt. 13:47-50) can be explained in the same way. They refer to a separation of saints and sinners that will take place at the end of the Tribulation. The saints are those who receive Jesus as their Savior during the Tribulation (Gentile and Jew) and who live to the end of that awful period.
Mid-Tribulation Rapture
There are variations of the mid-Tribulation Rapture concept. The most common is that the Church will be taken out in the exact middle of the Tribulation, at the point in time when the Anti-Christ is revealed.
This concept is based upon a statement in 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says that the Rapture will occur at the blowing of "the last trumpet." This trumpet is then identified with the seventh trumpet of the trumpet judgments in the book of Revelation. Since the blowing of the seventh trumpet is recorded in Revelation 11, the mid-point of the Tribulation, the conclusion is that the Rapture must occur in the middle of the Tribulation.
But there are two problems with this interpretation. The first is that the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is blown for believers whereas the seven trumpets of Revelation 8, 9 and 11 are sounded for unbelievers. The Revelation trumpets have no relevance for the Church. The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 is a trumpet for the righteous. The last trumpet for the unrighteous is the one described in Revelation 11.
Another problem with this interpretation is that the passage in Revelation 11 that portrays the sounding of the seventh trumpet is a "flash forward" to the end of the Tribulation. Flash forwards are very common in the book of Revelation. They occur after something terrible is described in order to assure the reader that everything is going to turn out all right when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation.
Thus, the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation, which describe the horrors of the trumpet judgments, are followed immediately by a flash forward in chapter 10 that pictures the return of Jesus in victory at the end of the Tribulation. The mid-Tribulation action resumes in chapter 11 with a description of the killing of the two great prophets of God by the Anti-Christ. Then, to offset that terrible event, we are presented with another flash forward, beginning with verse 15. The seventh trumpet is sounded and we find ourselves propelled forward to the end of the Tribulation when "the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord."
The point is that the seventh trumpet of Revelation relates to the end of the Tribulation and not the middle. It is therefore no basis for an argument in behalf of a mid-Tribulation Rapture.
Pre-Wrath Rapture
A variation of the mid-Tribulation Rapture is the pre-wrath Rapture concept that places the Rapture at the beginning of the last quarter of the Tribulation, about five and a half years into the Tribulation.
The argument for this view is that the Church is promised protection only from the wrath of God and not the wrath of Man or of Satan. It is then argued that only the bowl judgments in the last quarter of the Tribulation (Revelation 16) represent the wrath of God.
But the argument for this view disintegrates when you consider two facts. First, it is Jesus Himself who breaks the seals that launch each of the seal judgments recorded in Revelation 6. These judgments occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. Second, the seven angels who blow the trumpets that initiate each of the trumpet judgments are given their trumpets at the throne of God (Rev. 8:2).
All the judgments of Revelation are clearly superintended by God. That is the reason we are told in Revelation 15:1 that the bowl judgments at the end of the Tribulation will finish the wrath of God, not begin His wrath.
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture
I believe the best inference of Scripture is that the Rapture will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. The most important reason I believe this has to do with the issue of imminence. Over and over in Scripture we are told to watch for the appearing of the Lord. We are told "to be ready" (Matt. 24:44), "to be on the alert" (Matt. 24:42), "to be dressed in readiness" (Luke 12:35), and to "keep your lamps alight" (Luke 12:35). The clear force of these persistent warnings is that Jesus can appear at any moment.
Only the pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture allows for the imminence of the Lord's appearing for His Church. When the Rapture is placed at any other point in time, the imminence of the Lord's appearing is destroyed because other prophetic events must happen first.
For example, if the Rapture is going to occur in mid-Tribulation, then why should I live looking for the Lord's appearing at any moment? I would be looking instead for an Israeli peace treaty, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the revelation of the Anti-Christ. Then and only then could the Lord appear.
Focus
This raises the issue of what we are to be looking for. Nowhere are believers told to watch for the appearance of the Anti-Christ. On the contrary, we are told to watch for Jesus Christ. In Titus 2:13 Paul says we are to live "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Likewise, Peter urges us to "fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). John completes the apostolic chorus by similarly urging us to "fix our hope on Him" at His appearing (1 John 3:2-3).
Only Matthew speaks of watching for the Anti-Christ (Matt. 24:15), but he is speaking to the Jews living in Israel in the middle of the Tribulation when the Anti-Christ desecrates the rebuilt Temple.
Wrath
Another argument in behalf of a pre-Tribulation Rapture has to do with the promises of God to protect the Church from His wrath. As has already been demonstrated, the book of Revelation shows that the wrath of God will be poured out during the entire period of the Tribulation.
The Word promises over and over that the Church will be delivered from God's wrath. Romans 5:9 says that "we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him [Jesus]." 1 Thessalonians 1:10 states that we are waiting "for His Son from heaven . . . who will deliver us from the wrath to come." The promise is repeated in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - "God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Deliverance
Some argue that God could supernaturally protect the Church during the Tribulation. Yes, He could. In fact, He promises to do just that for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed as bond-servants at the beginning of the Tribulation (Rev. 7:1-8).
But God's promise to the Church during the Tribulation is not one of protection but one of deliverance. Jesus said we would "escape" the horrors of the Tribulation (Luke 21:36). Paul says Jesus is coming to "deliver" us from God's wrath (1 Thess. 1:10).
Symbolism
There are several prophetic types that seem to affirm the concept of deliverance from Tribulation. Take Enoch for example. He was a prophet to the Gentiles who was raptured out of the world before God poured out His wrath in the great flood of Noah's time. Enoch appears to be a type of the Gentile Church that will be taken out of the world before God pours out His wrath again. If so, then Noah and his family are a type of the Jewish remnant that will be protected through the Tribulation.
Another Old Testament symbolic type which points toward a pre-Tribulation Rapture is the experience of Lot and his family. They were delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah before those cities were destroyed.
The Apostle Peter alludes to both of these examples in his second epistle. He states that if God spared Noah and Lot, then He surely "knows how to rescue the godly from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment" (2 Peter 2:4-9).
Another beautiful prophetic type is to be found in the Jewish wedding traditions of Jesus's time. After the betrothal, the groom would return to his father's house to prepare a wedding chamber for his bride. He would return for his bride at an unexpected moment, so the bride had to be ready constantly. When he returned, he would take his bride back to his father's house to the chamber he had prepared. He and his bride would then be sealed in the chamber for seven days. When they emerged, a great wedding feast would be celebrated.
Likewise, Jesus has returned to Heaven to prepare a place for His bride, the Church. When He returns for His bride, He will take her to His Father's heavenly home. There He will remain with His bride for seven years (the duration of the Tribulation). The period will end with "the marriage supper of the Lamb" described in Revelation 19. Thus the seven days in the wedding chamber point prophetically to the seven years that Jesus and His bride will remain in Heaven during the Tribulation.
Revelation
Speaking of Revelation, the structure of that book also implies a pre-Tribulation Rapture in a symbolic sense. The first three chapters focus on the Church. Chapter 4 begins with the door of Heaven opening and John being raptured from the isle of Patmos to the throne of God in Heaven. The Church is not mentioned thereafter until Revelation 19:7-9 when it is portrayed as the "bride of Christ" in Heaven with Jesus celebrating the "marriage supper of the Lamb." At Revelation 19:11 the door of Heaven opens again, and Jesus emerges riding a white horse on His way to earth, followed by His Church (Rev. 19:14).
The rapture of the Apostle John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type of the Rapture of the Church. Note that it is initiated by the cry of a voice that sounds like the blowing of a trumpet (Rev. 4:1). Since the Tribulation does not begin until Revelation 6, the rapture of John in Revelation 4 appears to be a symbolic type that points to a pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.
Some counter this argument by pointing out that although the Church is not mentioned in Revelation during that book's description of the Tribulation, there is constant mention of "saints" (for example, Rev. 13:7). But that term is not used in the Bible exclusively to refer to members of the Church. Daniel uses it to refer to Old Testament believers who lived long before the Church was established (Dan. 7:18). The saints referred to in the book of Revelation are most likely those people who will be saved during the Tribulation, after the Church has been taken out of the world.
Paul's Assurance
An interesting argument in behalf of the pre-Tribulation timing of the Rapture can be found in 2 Thessalonians. The church at Thessalonica was in a turmoil because someone had written them a letter under Paul's name stating that they had missed the "gathering to the Lord" and were, in fact, living in "the day of the Lord" (2 Thess. 2:1-2).
Paul attempted to calm them down by reminding them of his teaching that the day of the Lord would not come until after the Anti-Christ is revealed. He then stated that the Anti-Christ would not be revealed until a restraining force "is taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:3-7).
There has been much speculation as to the identify of this restraining force that Paul refers to. Some have identified it as the Holy Spirit. But it cannot be the Holy Spirit because there will be people saved during the Tribulation, and no one can be saved apart from the testimony of the Spirit (John 16:8-11 & 1 John 5:7).
Others have identified the restrainer as human government. It is true that government was ordained by God to restrain evil (Romans 13:1-4). But the governments of the world are in rebellion against God and His Son (Psalm 2), and they are therefore a contributor to the evil that characterizes the world. Furthermore, the Tribulation will not be characterized by a lack of government. Rather, it will feature the first true worldwide government (Rev. 13:7).
In my opinion that leaves only one other candidate for Paul's restrainer - and that is the Church. It is the Church that serves as the primary restrainer of evil in the world today as it proclaims the Gospel and stands for righteousness. When the Church fails in this mission, evil multiplies, as Paul graphically points out in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Paul says that society in the end times will be characterized by chaos and despair because "men will hold to a form of religion but will deny its power." When the Church is removed from the world, all hell will literally break loose.
Escapism?
The pre-Tribulation concept of the Rapture has often been condemned as "escapism." I think this criticism is unjustified. The Bible itself says that Christians are to "comfort one another" with the thought of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:18). Is it a comfort to think of the Rapture occurring at the end of the world's worst period of war instead of at the beginning?
Regardless of when the Rapture actually occurs, we need to keep in mind that the Bible teaches that societal conditions are going to grow increasingly worse the closer we get to the Lord's return. That means Christians will suffer tribulation whether or not they go into the Great Tribulation. And that means all of us had better be preparing ourselves for unprecedented suffering and spiritual warfare.
If you are a Christian, you can do that on a daily basis by putting on "the full armor of God" (Eph. 6:13), praying at all times in the Spirit that you will be able to stand firm against the attacks of Satan (Eph. 6:14-18).
If you are not a Christian, your only hope is to reach out in faith and receive the free gift of God's salvation which He has provided through His Son, Jesus (John 3:16).
Copyright � 1996 Lamb and Lion. All rights reserved worldwide.
THE CHURCH WILL NOT GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION
Ten Scriptural Reasons Why:
THE CHURCH WILL NOT GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION
THE CHURCH'S BLESSINGS ARE HEAVENLY
The Church's blessings are heavenly (Col. 1:5) and she is promised
deliverance out of this "hour of temptation." (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." Rev. 3:10.
Here we have the promise to the Church of being kept from (or
"out of") the coming "hour of temptation" the tribulation. There are
those who refer..to Rev. 12:1217 as fulfilling this promise, seeking
to prove that it is not as, "caught up," we are kept, or delivered,
but that we are preserved by the providential care of God. This
interpretation of Rev. 12 is not supported by the context, or by the
rest of Scripture, for this passage like every other Scripture giving
to us the voice of the godly ones in that day, expresses the desire
for deliverance and blessing on the earth. This is not the proper
hope of the Church at all. God has revealed in His Word two distinct
purposes: first, His gathering of a people for heavenly glory:
second, His gathering of a people for earthly glory. The Church,
which is His body, with all the family of faith (those who are living
at the rapture with all those who die in faith) compose the former.
Israel and those converted from among the nations after the Church
is gone, compose the latter. Psalm 90 is the prayer of the godly of
Israel. Psalm 91 is their preservation in the day of tribulation. In
Psalm 92 they celebrate their deliverance. In Psalms 93 "the Lord
reigneth." In Psalm 94 unrighteous government on the earth is ended,
widen "judgment returns to righteousness." In Psalm 95 Israel
rejoices. In Psalm 96 the nations who received the message of coming
glory by faith rejoice with Israel. The majesty of Christ's Kingdom
is owned and praised, while the heavens rejoice in the exaltation and
glory of Christ. In Psalm 97 the ungodly are consumed, while the
moral character of the godly is marked and their blessing stated.
Psalm 98 declares all this to be manifested openly in the sight of
the nations. In Psalm 99 righteous government is openly established
on the earth. Then in Psalm 100 all lands are called upon to rejoice
with Israel in the deliverance, blessing, and goodness of
Jehovah--the God of Israel. There is not one word about heavenly
blessing in all these Psalms. They all tell of earthly blessing, but
when speaking of the Church we read, "God having provided some better
thing for us." Hebrews 11:40. The "better thing" is the heavenly
blessing of the Church as the bride of Christ.
SECOND: "THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE"
The Tribulation is spoken of as "the time of Jacob's trouble"
(Jeremiah 30:7)~ not the Church's trouble!
"The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus
speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words
that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For lo, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel,
and Judah, saith the Lord! and I will cause them to return to the
land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
"And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel
and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; we have heard a voice
of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether
a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned
into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it:
it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of
it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,
that I will break his yoke off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds,
and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: but they shall
serve the Lord their God, and David their King, whom I will raise up
unto them." Jeremiah 30:19.
This prophecy has never been fulfilled in the past history of
Israel. This future day of tribulation and unexampled sorrow is very
definitely said to be concerning Judah and Israel not the Church.
The Church the body of Christ began at Pentecost, when the
descent of the Holy Spirit formed the body of Christ
(I Corinthians 12: 13, Acts 2: 14.) At the rapture (I Thess. 4:1618)
the Church will be taken to her home in heaven. God will then begin
His dealings with Israel again.
THIRD: THOSE IN JUDEA MUST FLEE
The company who will flee during this "Great tribulation" are Jews
from Judea. (Matt. 24:1621.)
These warning words of our Lord to those in Judea could only
apply to the godly remnant of Israel, who are in the land of Judea,
surrounded by an apostate Israel given up to the judgments of God.
It is "the time of Jacob's trouble," when they the godly remnant
will be saved out of it and brought into millennial blessing on the
earth. Jeremiah 30:7)
The book of the Psalms gives the oppression of this godly
remnant by the apostate and ungodly part of the nation, who are
consequently cut off in judgment. It also tells of the repentance,
confession, and prayers of the godly with their final deliverance and
consequent praises.
Zechariah 13:8, 9, plainly states that two parts of Judah will
then be cut off and die, while the third part will be left in the
land. Although the godly ones go through the tribulation, they are
preserved and owned of the Lord. (Psalm 37:929, ch. 41:2.) Psalm 72
tells of the time when the Lord will reign over all the earth.
"Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains."
(Matt. 24:16.) The Church on the other hand is formed of Jew and
Gentile baptized by one Spirit into one body. (I Corinthians 12:13.)
Its members are found all over the earth and it has no earthly
center, for the Lord Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20.)
FOURTH: NOT ON THE SABBATH DAY
They are told to pray that their flight from Jerusalem will not be on
the Sabbath day (Matt. 24:20), whereas the first day of the week is
the day which belongs to the Church. (Acts 20:7)
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on
the Sabbath day." (Matt. 24:20.) The Sabbath, or seventh day, was
God's covenant of rest on the earth to Israel and they will
nationally enjoy that rest in the millennial day. (Ezekiel 46:14.)
Israel never kept the Sabbath according to the mind of God. (Ezekiel
20: 13, 16, 21, 24.)
The first day of the week belongs to the Churchthe body of
Christ. On that day, called the Lord's day in Revelation 1:10, we
remember the Lord in His death as did the early disciples.
(Acts 20:7.)
The promised blessing of Israel is on the earth when Jerusalem
will be the center of glory. (Isaiah 62:7, Ezekiel 48:35, Joel 3:17,
20, 21.) The promised blessing of the Church is in heaven. (Ephesians
I :3, Colossians 1:5.)
By this we can see that the prayer of Matthew 24:20 is
distinctly Jewish and not the voice of the Church.
FIFTH: THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM ON EARTH
They will pray for the peace of Jerusalem ON EARTH (Isaiah 62:7),
whereas the Church's home is the heavenly Jerusalem. (Rev. 21:2, 10.)
"Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence and give Him
no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in
the earth." (Isaiah 62:6, 7.)
The earthly Jerusalem must not be confounded with the heavenly
Jerusalem. Old men and old women will be found in the earthly
Jerusalem, "every man with his staff in his hand for very age." Boys
and girls will play in its streets. (Zechariah 8:4, 5.)
In contrast with this we find that the Church's hope is a
heavenly one. (Colossians 1:5.) Our home is "eternal in the
heavens." (II Corinthians 5:1.) Wethe Church will reign over the
earth with Christ not on it. The heavenly Jerusalem (the home of
the Church), comes down from God out of heaven. (Rev. 21:10.)
Thus it will be visible to those on the earth in the millennial
day, when we shall be associated with Christ in His reign of
righteousness. (Rev. 20:4.) We are now looking for our Saviour,
who by His coming delivers us from the wrath to come the
tribulation. (I Thess. 1:10.) Then we shall have bodies of glory
fashioned like His glorious body.
The Christian taught of God does not pray for the peace of
Jerusalem," though he rejoices in every promise of coming
blessing; and the exaltation of Christ is of deep interest to
those who love His blessed Name. God has Aabounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery
of His will." (Eph. 1: 8, 9.) This is immediately followed by
the word that tells us of the gathering together of "all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in Him." Verse 10. We must not, then, confound these two
purposes of God; heavenly blessing for the Church, and earthly
blessing for Israel.
SIXTH: "THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION"
In this present Church period "the middle wall of partition" between
Jew and Gentile has been broken down. (Eph. 2:1416) but during the
tribulation it is up again. (Revelation 7:19.)
It would be well to read the whole of Revelation 7 to see who
the whiterobed company are. Here we have the separate sealing of
the twelve tribes of Israel, and then of a great Gentile company. We
know that now, during the Church period, "the middle wall of
partition" has been broken down, and now Jew and Gentile are made
"one in Christ." (Eph. 2:1416, Gal. 3:28.)
But Revelation shows us that "the middle wall of partition"
will be up again during the tribulation, as well as on the millennial
earth. (Isaiah 60 and 62.) This whiterobed company who have come out
of great tribulation serve God "day and night in His temple." This is
on earth for there is no night and no temple in the heavenly
Jerusalem. (Rev. 21:22, Rev. 22:5.)
Revelation 7 is the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel,
when the whole twelve tribes will be gathered back and blessed in the
land. (Ezekiel 37.) At that time the Gentiles will rejoice and
worship with Israel. (Psalm 117.)
Could proof be stronger that this company is not the Church at
all, and that the Church is not on the earth in the day of
tribulation?
SEVENTH: THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB
The Church must be in heaven for the marriage of the Lamb, which
takes place in heaven BEFORE the armies come out of heaven with
Christ at the END of the tribulation. (Rev. 19:721.)
Now those who teach that the Church is on earth during the
tribulation pass over without comment this passage of Scripture
which clearly teaches that the marriage of the Church takes
place in heaven before the coming forth of our Lord in judgment
on the nations. This shows the Church must have been raptured to
heaven beforehand. When the Lord thus appears in judgment. He
first acts as the Davidic warrior King preparatory to the
setting up of His kingdom on earth in peace. The heavenly saints
are the armies who come with Him at this time. (Zechariah 14:45,
Jude 14.) The Lord does not remain on the earth nor do the
heavenly saints. The tabernacle of God comes down out of heaven
and is over the earth. (Isaiah 4:5.margin; Rev. 7:15 N.T.)
A prince of the house of David will reign in the earthly
Jerusalem and offer a sin offering for himself and for all the
people. (Ezekiel 34:24, oh. 45:22.) Then "the heaven shall hear the
earth" during this wonderful millennial reign and God will "sow"
Israel to Himself in the earth. (Hosea 2:22, 23.) The Churchthe body
of Christcannot be of this earthly company, seeing Scripture plainly
states that our home is "eternal in the heavens." (II Corinthians
5:1.)
EIGHTH: WHO ARE LEFT ON THE EARTH?
If the Church were to go through the tribulation, and then all
the saints were caught up to heaven at the end of it, there would be
no saints left on earth for the millennial reign.
The teaching of those who insist that the Church will go through
the tribulation is here proved to be opposed to the plain teaching of
Scripture. Let us consider their system of interpretation as
presented by their most able expositors it is just this: they say
that all the living saints remain on earth during the tribulation,
and then at the end of it they are all caught up and meet the Lord in
the air. They then tell us that all the saints return at once to the
earth with the Lord when He comes to judge the wicked who are all cut
off in judgment.
We ask, then, who will be left on earth for the millennial reign
of Christ? If all the saints are caught up and all the wicked are
judged, then who will be left on earth? We know definitely that there
are saints on earth during the Millennium from such Scriptures as
Revelation 7, Zeph. 3. 20, Zechariah 14: 16, 17, as well as many
others. Where do they come from if all were caught up at the end of
the tribulation?
Here we can see that this whole system of teaching, which
would tell us that the Church must go through the tribulation,
only ends in proving itself false. Once again we are reminded
that only the truth is logical. Then too the enemy is "a thief
and a robber," seeking to rob God of His glory, and also to rob
the people of God of the enjoyment of the fulness of their
blessings in Christ. Let us not allow him to rob us of the
present hope of the Lord's coming. The Lord may come today!
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20.)
NINTH: THE EARTHLY SAINTS MARRY
There must be a company of earthly saints whose home is on earth, for
they marry, and children play in the streets of the earthly
Jerusalem, (Zech. 8:4, 5), whereas the heavenly saints do not marry.
(Luke 20:35.) We have noticed that those who teach that the Church
will go through the tribulation, must of necessity, and do, teach,
that all the saints are caught up at the end of the tribulation. The
Word of God teaches that the heavenly saints "neither marry nor are
given in marriage," so that they cannot return to the earth to abide
on the earth, seeing that II Corinthians 5:1 declares our home to be
"eternal in the heavens." We shall have bodies of glory like Christ
blessed, precious truth. "The glory of the celestial is one"this is
our portion: "the glory of the terrestrial is another,"that is the
earthly saints. (I Cor. 15:40, Phil. 3:21.)
TENTH: THERE IS A TEMPLE ON EARTH
There will be a temple on earth for the earthly saints, (Rev.
7:15), but none in heaven where the heavenly saints dwell. (Rev.
21:22.)
We learn from Ezekiel, chapters 4048, that there will be a
millennial temple of marvelous beauty built in Jerusalem, and this
is what is referred to here. Even during the tribulation there is
no doubt that the Jews will have a temple in which the sacrifices
of Judaism will again be offered by the godly remnant of Israel.
(Daniel 11:31, Matthew 24:15.) This temple will later be destroyed
and will then be replaced by the millennial temple just referred to.
It is the earthly saints, we can readily see, who worship in the
earthly temple during part of the tribulation, and also during the
millennium.
All this clearly proves that the Church is not on the earth
during the Tribulation for the Church has no earthly center or
building made with hands. Those who compose the Church the body of
Christ are a heavenly people with no earthly center. The precious
truth given of the Lord instructs those who have received Him, that
"where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in
the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20.) Christ--not the temple-- is now
the Church's gathering center on earth, just as He Himself will be
the "light" and "temple" of the heavenly Jerusalem above. (Rev.
21:22.) A temple made with hands always speaks to us of distance in
worship, but the Church the bride- is in a place of nearness here and
now, and for all eternity above.
APPENDIX Some have raised the question as to how anyone
could be saved after the Church is taken to heaven, seeing the
Holy Spirit leaves with the Church.
We would call the attention of our readers to the fact that
every work of God is by the Spirit. The coming of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, as a divine Person to dwell in
the house of God, and to dwell in the bodies of the saints, does
not mean that He did not work on earth previous to Pentecost. We
know He did, for even in the Old Testament times "holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter
1:21.)
Then the departure of the Holy Spirit when the Church is caught
up to heaven in no wise denies His working in the salvation of a
remnant of Israel and of the nations who receive the glad tidings
concerning the coming of Christ in power and glory to set up the
kingdom.
Careful attention to Scripture will show that every work of God
has been, and always will be, in Trinity. It is always God the Father
in counsel; Christ the Son, the One who carries out those counsels,
and the Spirit the power by which they are carried out. Let the
reader ever remember that the truth of the Trinity is beyond the mind
of man.
In His Grace,
Harold
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