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HOME - THE FINAL GENERATION

Evidence for Rapture - Mystery Revealed

Based on the teaching "The Rapture Revelation" by Perry Stone, Jr., Voice of Evangelism Ministries

The information contained in PART I of this document could be the most important material you have ever read, and is VITAL to understanding any teaching on the rapture. DO NOT SKIP PART I!! When I discovered the material in this document for the first time, it changed my life. Please read with an open mind. If you don't have time to read it all in one sitting, please print it out and read it later.

PART I.

Foundation: Mysteries of Paul

Three major mysteries hidden from the OT prophets but revealed under the new covenant:

  1. The Birth of the CHURCH (Act 2; Ephesians 3)
  2. The Blessing on the GENTILES (Luke 2:32; Roman 11)
  3. The Believers CATCHING AWAY (I Thessalonians 4)

The apostle Paul received many revelations after his conversion. We're going to deal with his revelation of the rapture, of the "catching away" in I Thessalonians 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."

In Ephesians 1, Paul talks a bit about this mystery that was revealed to him:

"9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:"

"The dispensation of the fulness of times" is a key phrase to be explored later. Notice that bodies of those in heaven (the dead in Christ) and those on earth (we which are alive and remain) are to be "gathered together".

This mystery was revealed to the church through the apostle Paul, but was still in mystery form to the OT prophets. We can read in several OT passages which seem to reference the rapture, including the beautiful passage in 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."

But the mystery of what Isaiah prophesied in this passage was not revealed to him or the other OT prophets. What the OT prophets did, however, have revealed to them was the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth, which will be discussed shortly.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said "upon this rock will I build my church". The Greek word for "church" is "iglesia", which means "the calling out of", and the Greeks used this word to describe the gathering together of the people to discuss the issues of the state. The church did not come into existence until Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first given with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

The first members of this church were Jews, which is revealed in Acts 2-8. But in Acts 9, Paul was converted to Christ and called to preach to the Gentiles. Acts 9:15 records the words of the Lord that Paul was to bear His name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. This was Paul's calling, and the NT letters he wrote were written for those three groups.

Here is a summary of the mystery that was hidden from the foundation of the world:

  1. God would form a new spiritual nation, the church
  2. Gentiles would be a part of this new spiritual nation
  3. God would complete the age of the Gentiles and then turn his attention back to Israel

The Spirit spoke several times in the OT that God would raise up a new nation, and that new nation would provoke the nation of Israel to jealousy:

  1. Deuteronomy 32:21 -
  2. "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation."

    - God says he will provoke Israel with a people that don't even exist now, and bring forth a nation to provoke them to jealousy. Compare that verse to I Peter 2:9-10 below.

  3. Matthew 21:43 -
  4. "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."

    - Jesus, speaking to the Jewish Pharisees, says God's kingdom was taken from them and was to be given to another nation, who would bear the fruits that the Jews could not.

  5. I Peter 2:9-10 -
  6. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

    Here, Peter talks about the nation Jesus was referring to, and says that in time past they were "not a people", but now are the people of God. This is the exact same message of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:21 thousands of years before!

  7. Romans 9:24-26 -
  8. "Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee [Hosea], I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. "

    Here again, Paul quotes the prophet Hosea, and he reveals that the Gentiles are this "people which were not a people" which were referred to in Deuteronomy and repeated by Jesus in Matthew 21.

  9. Hosea 2:23 -

"And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God."

This is the verse Paul was using to explain that the Gentiles are part of the new nation, the church, the people that were not God's people before, but now had obtained His mercy.

Here's what we can say: God raised up the nation of Israel to be his chosen people, which were called Hebrews. Through Abraham, with whom God made a covenant, the race of Hebrews were born, and they are God's chosen people. They were created to bring about the oracles of God, to birth the Messiah and to be a peculiar nation that would obey him and him alone. The other nations were worshipping other gods and idols. But God told them he knew they would eventually turn from Him, so God said in his anger and jealousy he would create a new nation of believers who do not yet exist. Those people that God raised up is called "the church" or the "called-out ones".

The church is the fulfillment of those prophecies, but this nation is made up of BOTH Jews and Gentiles! So even though the Hebrews would become unbelievers and agnostic, they can still be part of the "new nation", or the church. In the world today, there are many Jews that are coming to the revelation of Jesus Christ, and becoming part of this new nation...they are called "completed Jews". But these are still a small percentage of the 15 million Jews worldwide today. So, "the church" is still a predominantly Gentile people, but does include Jews. Remember what Peter said in Acts 2:39 in concluding his sermon on the day of Pentecost:

"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

 

Natural vs. Spiritual Seed

In Genesis 13:16 and 15:5, God told Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven and as the dust of the earth. The reference to the dust of the earth means an earthly, natural seed, whereas the reference to the stars of heaven means a spiritual seed. The natural seed is the Jews and the spiritual seed is the church. This is NOT "Replacement Theology". The following is a table comparing these two seeds:

NATURAL SEED

SPIRITUAL SEED

  • Israel is a natural nation
  • The church is a spiritual nation
  • Israel is a Jewish nation
  • The church is BOTH Jew and Gentile
  • Israel is betrothed to God
  • The church is betrothed to Christ
  • Israel is promised earthly things
  • The church is promised heavenly things
  • Israel will be saved during the tribulation
  • The church is caught up PRIOR to the tribulation
  •  

    The following teaching, based on the previous foundation, is the ENTIRE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. This is the mystery that was revealed to Paul. If you hear or read this, and it "clicks" in your spirit, you will understand the mystery. Here is the key:

    The second coming of Jesus Christ as messiah to Israel was a revelation for the Jews and Israel, but the RAPTURE was a revelation for the church. It was revealed to the OT prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Enoch that the Lord Jesus Christ would return to the earth with his saints a second time. The second coming was revealed in the OT, the rapture was revealed in the NT, and the second coming is a promise for the natural seed, but the rapture is a promise for the spiritual seed. How do we know this? Following is a table that contrasts the differences:

    THE SECOND COMING

    THE RAPTURE REVELATION

  • Revealed to OT prophets
  • Revealed to the Apostle Paul
  • Reveals that Christ will return to earth
  • Reveals Christ will return only in the air
  • Says we will return from heaven with him
  • Says we will be caught up in the air with him
  • Reveals what happens at the end of the tribulation
  • Reveals what happens BEFORE the tribulation
  • Reveals God saves Israel from destruction
  • Reveals the church is removed from the wrath
  • Is a revelation to the Jews and Israel
  • Is a revelation for the church (both Jew and Gentile)
  • Resurrection at the end of the tribulation for the tribulation martyrs
  • Resurrection prior to the tribulation for the dead in Christ
  • To summarize: The second coming of Christ was revealed to the Hebrews, the Jews and the prophets of the OT as a revelation of how the Lord will save Israel and the Jewish remnant and Jerusalem from the antichrist and destruction. But the rapture was revealed to Paul as a revelation of how the new nation, the new holy people, His church would be saved from the wrath of God. Let that sink in and realize its truth! If the word is quickened in your spirit, so much understanding will come to you as you continue to read.

     

    The Dispensation of the Grace of God

    Why did the OT prophets not have the mystery revealed? The reason why the OT prophets never saw the rapture was because God said he was going to bring up a people that were not a people, and a nation that was not a nation, called "the church". The church, this non-existent people, were not revealed to the prophets. Paul explained this in Ephesians 3:3-6 -

    "3. How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

    4. Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

    5. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

    6. That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:"

    The mystery Paul is referring to in verse 4 above was that this new nation, the church, which was not revealed in time past, but was revealed to the apostles and prophets. This is the new nation that Moses, that Hosea, that Jesus all talked about BEFORE it existed, and said it would be raised up to provoke Israel to jealousy. This is easy to see to today when you explain to Jews all the things that point to Jesus the Messiah in the feasts and traditions of the Jews, but they don't want to believe it. They become EXTREMELY agitated when you try to talk to them about it! But the day will come, according to the prophetic word, that they will believe it, which I believe will be when the two witnesses begin their ministry. When you combine this passage with Ephesians 1:9-10:

    "9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

    10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:"

    and with II Thessalonians 4:16-17, you can state the following:

    1. the mystery Paul is revealing was hidden from the OT prophets
    2. the mystery was revealed to Paul and the apostles by the Holy Spirit
    3. the mystery deals with how Gentiles, non-Jews, will be grafted into a new covenant through Christ
    4. when the mystery of the dispensation of the grace of God is finished, there will be a rapture and a resurrection

    What is the dispensation of the grace of God? The word "dispensation" in Greek means the management of a house, or stewardship. We are said to be in the "church age" currently, but the apostle Paul called it "the dispensation of the grace of God". Another way to say the phrase: God dispensing his grace to Gentiles. This is the time period of the grace of God, which will continue to until Jesus comes to take the church away. When the age of grace concludes, that is when the tribulation will begin, and the wrath of God will begin to be poured out on the earth.

    We are currently in this age of grace toward the Gentiles and Jews alike, but things will begin to change when "the fulness of times" comes in. There are scriptures in the Bible that deal with this fulness, and with time and the cup of God's wrath becoming full.

    There are things happening right now in this church age, that, once they fill the cup of God's wrath, they will be poured back out onto the earth. You need only turn on MTV or Showtime, or surf the Internet to understand what these things are. When these things are full, it will usher in the tribulation period and will end the church age that we are currently in.

     

    The Fulness of Times

    What we need to concentrate on is "the fulness of times". What does it mean, and what are some examples from Biblical history? Jesus told his disciples in Acts chapter 1 that they were not to know the times or the seasons, because the Father God has the power over them. Again, in Daniel chapter 2, it is revealed that God changes times and seasons. Now, when God begins to change the times and seasons, we move from one time or dispensation into another time or dispensation. There are several examples from scripture that can help us understand the phrase "the fulness of times", and moving from one dispensation to another dispensation when God does some MAJOR things.

    1. Genesis 15:13-16

    "13. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

    14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

    15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

    16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."

    Here God, says that the people of Israel would be enslaved for four hundred years, which was the Egyptian bondage, because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. This was prophetically fulfilled in the exodus from Egypt.

    2. Daniel 8:23

    "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up."

    Here again, we see that the antichrist will arise when the iniquity of the kings and nations of the earth in the latter days has "come to the full".

    3. Galatians 4:4-5

    "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

    This reveals that Jesus came to the earth the first time when "the fulness of time was come". This refers to God's prophetic revelation to Daniel of the remaining history of the Hebrew people in Daniel 9:24-27. When the exact time was come for Jesus' birth according to this prophecy, Jesus came to redeem us.

    4. Romans 11:25-26

    "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:"

    There is a principle that states that we are going to remain on earth, doing the work of God, and the gospel is going to be preached worldwide until the fulness of time comes. When that time comes, we will move from the time of grace (Eph 3) to the time of God's wrath, the tribulation period.

    But something has to happen before the wrath of God comes. We aren't just going to "slide" into the wrath of God. Something is going to happen to trigger it, and a clue of this is in Daniel 8:23. It tells us that when the iniquity of kings and nations is full, meaning the Gentile nations according to Romans 11:25, that will usher in the fulness of times and the wrath of God.

    Matthew 24:14 says the gospel will preached throughout all the world, and then shall the end come. When the preaching has taken place and finished, then the "end" comes. If we look at another passage, it tells it a something about what is restraining the appearance of the antichrist.

    5. II Thessalonians 2:3-8

    "3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

    4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

    5. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

    6. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

    7. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

    8. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

    First, verse 3 reveals a "falling away" occurring. The last 15-20 years are, in my opinion, a progression of this falling away amongst the Gentile nations with the sin and wickedness in the world. At some point, all this sin and wickedness is going to become full in the eyes of God.

    Second, verse 7 reveals that there is someone that is restraining the antichrist, and when the restrainer is taken out of the way, the wicked man will be revealed, Satan in the flesh. There is an interesting study that can be done to suggest that the "he who now letteth" in verse 7 is Michael the Archangel when you look at Daniel chapter 12 and Revelation chapter 12. It has also been long suggested that something or someone that is the restrainer is the church, the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. When the restrainer is removed, the mystery of inquity will be able to work in earnest...God says he will send a "strong delusion". If the church remains on the earth during the short reign of antichrist, these verses cannot possibly be fulfilled prophetically.

    At the time the rapture takes place, the removal of the church, you can see prophectically a drastic change in the events on the earth, and God turns his attention back to the children of Israel. Daniel 9:24 tells us the prophecy is for the children of Israel and their holy city. Revelation 7:1-8 tells about the sealing of the 144,000 Jews...NOT Jehovah Witnesses, not Mormons and not Christians, but Jews from the 12 twelve tribes. Revelation 11:1-8 tells us the two witnesses prophesy and testify from Jerusalem for 42 months, which is the holy city of the Jews.

    What are three things from scripture that we can know will change the times from the dispensation of grace to the dispensation of wrath?

    1. The FULNESS of the preaching of the gospel across the world - Matt 24:14

    "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

    2. The FULNESS of the Gentile nations - Luke 21:24

    "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."

    3. The FULNESS of iniquity - Daniel 8:23

    "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up."

    All three of these things will become FULL at the same time in the future, and it will simultaneously usher in the rapture of the church and the tribulation period, God's wrath poured out on the earth. At this time God will remove the spiritual seed, the church, from the earth at the rapture, and he will turn his attention back to the natural seed, Israel.

    Israel still has one week, 7 years, of punishment to endure for their disobedience to God's laws with regard to keeping the sabbath year and the jubilee year, which is discussed in another teaching. This final week is the wrath of God, and the antichrist's persecution of the Jews, but it is also 7 years of God's wrath to be poured out on the earth and on the Gentile nations.

     

    Foundation Summary

    In summary, please remember and keep in your spirit the following points discussed in this section, because they will illuminate the rest of the teaching:

    1. There are two nations in God's plan, the natural seed Israel, and the spiritual seed the church.
    2. The second coming was revealed to the natural seed through the OT prophets, and the rapture was revealed to the spiritual seed through the NT apostles, namely Paul.
    3. The second coming is for the natural seed, the rapture is for the body of Christ, the church.
    4. When the church age, or the dispensation of the grace of God, is finished, the church is gathered together and caught up.
    5. When the church is caught up, or raptured, God turns his attention back to the natural seed Israel.
    6. This catching up of the saints is based on three things: the fulness of the preaching of the gospel, the fulness of the Gentiles, and the fulness of iniquity.

     

    God did not reveal the revelation of the rapture to the OT prophets because it was STRICTLY A MYSTERY, A REVELATION FOR THE CHURCH, which wasn't birthed until Jesus had ascended to heaven in Acts chapter 1-2. THE CHURCH was the people, the new nation, God told the Hebrews would replace them and reap the fruit of their labor. Those who say that since it isn't in the OT, it isn't real don't understand that it was a mystery revealed only AFTER the church was born. But the SECOND COMING of Christ WAS revealed to the OT prophets, because the second coming is for the natural seed, the children of Israel. The church WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, according to Revelation and Jude, when Christ returns with thousands and thousands of his saints to the battle of Armageddon.

     

    PART II.

    The Evidence for the Rapture

    There are five key passages used to provide evidence for the rapture of the church in the NT:

    1. I Thessalonians 4:16-17

    "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."

    2. John 14:1-3

    "1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

    2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

    3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

    3. I Corinthians 15:51-53

    "51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

    52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

    53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

    4. Ephesians 1:9-10

    "9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

    10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:"

    5. II Thessalonians 2:1

    "1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,"

    Note the sections in bold above....a consistent pattern of "gathering together" of Christians used by Paul in his epistles.

    ARGUMENT 1:

    The common argument against the rapture is that the word "rapture" is not found in the Bible. Neither is the word "demon", but when you look at the root word, you can see why it is used. The Greek word for "catching away" is "harpazo" which means to seize by force. The Latin word is "rapere", which means to transport from one location to another. Rapere is where we get the word rapture...its roots are in Latin. That argument is therefore completely meritless.

    There are several times where the word "harpazo" is used in the NT:

    1. II Corinthians 12:2 - Paul was "caught up" to the third heaven
    2. Acts 8:39 - the Spirit of the Lord "caught up" Philip
    3. Revelation 12:5 - The man-child was "caught up" to the throne of God
    4. Matthew 13:19 - the wicked one "catcheth away" the word sown in the heart
    5. I Thessalonians 4:17 - we which are alive and remain are "caught up" in the clouds

    The word literally means to seize upon something and to snatch it up. Therefore, the idea of the "catching away" is nothing new! The man-child, Paul, Philip...they were all caught up and physically transported from one place to another. It has happened before in the word of God, and it will happen again with the rapture.

    Don't get so caught up on terms. Call it the rapture, call it the gathering together, call it the catching away, call it the snatching away...the terminology is not as important as the event itself.

     

    Word Study on His Two Coming's

    1. Parousia - I Thess 5:23

    "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

    The Greek word for "coming" is parousia, which means an arrival with a presence. It's also found in I Corinthians 15:23 and I Thessalonians 4:15.

    2. Apokalupsis - I Corinthians 1:7

    "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:"

    The Greek word for "coming" in this verse is apokalupsis, which means to uncover or unveil...a revealing. It's also found in Revelation 1:1, II Thessalonians 1:7 and I Peter 1:7.

    3. Epiphaneia - I Timothy 6:14

    "That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:"

    The Greek word for "appearing" in this verse is epiphaneia, which means a shining forth with great glory. It's also found in II Timothy 4:1 and 4:8.

    Here is a table that will compare and contrast what happens at the rapture and at the second coming:

    At The Rapture (Parousia)

    At The Second Coming (Epiphaneia)

  • Returning in the air
  • Returning to the earth
  • Returning for the saints
  • Returning WITH the saints
  • A resurrection occurs
  • He comes with the dead in Christ
  • He takes believers to heaven
  • Believers come with Him from heaven
  • Not everyone sees Him
  • Every eye will see Him
  • He comes in the clouds
  • He rides a white horse
  • He comes before the tribulation
  • He comes at the end of the tribulation
  •  

     

    Origins of the Rapture Doctrine

    ARGUMENT 2

    There is another common argument which states that the doctrine of two comings, or a rapture AND a second coming, is a teaching that emerged in the 1800's and that it is a modern fabricated doctrine. This argument is completely baseless and meritless, and I will show you several evidences that prove the doctrine of the rapture is NOT a modern phenomenon, as many preachers...some with large television networks...are currently preaching.

    People who have tried to trace back where the rapture doctrine originated often come to a Jesuit priest name Emmanuel Lacunza from Chile, a.k.a. Rabbi Ben-Ezra who wrote a book "The Messiah in Glory and Majesty" in 1816. He died, but it is then taught that a Scottish Presbyterian minister named Edward Irving took up the teaching and began to teach the theory in his Catholic apostolic church in London, England. Others began to read the teaching he wrote and it quickly began to spread.

    Then they say that in 1830, Mary McDonald received a revelation of two separate comings of the Lord, and that prophecy began to spread. Then apparently John Darby began to teach the doctrine in 1833, and the it became accepted in his evangelistic meetings. It became well-known throughout the entire world when notes about the rapture were put into the Schofield reference Bible.

    Here are several items of proof that the doctrine was taught and accepted WELL BEFORE the 1800's:

    1. Dr. John Gill in 1748, a Baptist minister, called the "catching away" the rapture. Here is a quote from his commentary:

    "The Apostle, having something new and extraordinary to deliver concerning the coming of Christ, the first resurrection of the saints, or the change of the living saints, and the Rapture both of the raised, and the living in the clouds to meet Christ in the air expresses itself in this manner."

    2. Peter Jerieu in 1687:

    "The saints shall reign with Christ a thousand years...But to me it seems very evident that this reign shall begin with some miraculous appearance of our Lord in His glory. After which He shall go back to heaven...There is a first coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom upon Earth, shall not be in that manner, with the voice of an archangel, and in great magnificence in glory? Who can prove that, at the first coming of Christ, He shall not rise some of the dead? As St. John seems expressly to have foretold?"

    3. Ephream the Syrian in 373AD:

    "All the Saints and the elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation which is about to come, and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see at any time the confusion that overwhelms the world because of our sins..."

    4. The vision of the Shepherd of Hermes in 140AD:

    "You have escaped from the great tribulation on account of your faith, and because you did not doubt in the presence of such a beast. Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord of his mighty deed, and say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming. If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with you heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless..."

    This was written only 50 years after John wrote the book of Revelation. Don't let people argue that its a recent phenomenon without any history in the early church.

     

    Raptures, Resurrections and Judgments

    There will be three raptures, three resurrections and three judgments during the seven year tribulation period.

    Three Raptures:

    1. The catching away of the church at the beginning of the tribulation - I Thessalonians 4:17:
    2. "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."

    3. The two witnesses are called up to heaven in a cloud - Revelation 11:12:
    4. "And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."

    5. The 144,000 Jews were on earth in Revelation 7, but in Revelation 14:1, we see them in heaven:

    "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."

    Three Resurrections:

    1. The dead in Christ at the rapture - I Thessalonians 4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52
    2. The resurrection of the two witnesses - Revelation 11:12
    3. The tribulation martyrs - Daniel 12:2:

    "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

    Post-tribulation folks like to use this verse to say "that's when the rapture takes place, because that is when the dead in Christ are raised!" No. Daniel chapters 9-12 deals with Israel and the Jewish people during the tribulation, Daniel's seventieth week, NOT THE CHURCH! Those people who died in Daniel 12:2 are those who are killed during the seven year tribulation. Revelation 20:4 talks about those people, and they are resurrected at the END of the tribulation when they rule and reign with Christ 1000 years.

    Three Judgments:

    1. The bema seat judgment for believers, which occurs at the beginning of the tribulation period on earth - Revelation 11:18:

    "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

    2. The judgments of the ungodly people on earth during the tribulation - Revelation 6:17:

    "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

    3. The judgment of all people at the end of the tribulation - Matthew 25:31-32:

    "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

    This is the final judgment seat of Christ, at the end of the tribulation and beginning of the millennium, and will take place in the valley of Jehosophat just outside the eastern gate.

    Here are two verses which mention both the rapture and the second coming in the same verse or thought:

    1. II Thessalonians 2:1
    2. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him"

    3. I Timothy 4:1

    "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;"

    Both verses show that Jesus will come the first time for a gathering together of the church, and a second coming to the earth.

     

     

    PART III.

    The Rapture Verses

    Let's look a little closer at some of the words used in the key rapture verses:

    I Thessalonians 4:16-17

    "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."

    I Corinthians 15:51

    "51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

    52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

    1. "shall descend from heaven" - we see in Acts 1:11 that Jesus ascended into heaven while the disciples were standing and watching him, on the mount of Olives. The angels declared that he would come in the same manner as he went up into heaven.
    2. "a shout" - this shout will most likely be the same as the shout of the bridegroom. In a parable in Matthew 25:6, the bridegroom was announced with a shout or cry "Behold the bridegroom cometh". This shout will be a commanding shout, and will probably say "Come up here!", similar to what was said to John in Revelation 4.
    3. "voice of the archangel" - in Jude 9, Michael is called the archangel of God, so we assume that Michael's voice will be the heard on this great day.
    4. "the trump of God" - this will be covered in detail later, but this will probably be the shofar, or ram's horn, that is blown during certain feast days.
    5. "the dead in Christ shall rise first" - the soul and spirit of the believers who have died are in paradise, according to II Corinthians 12:4, and according to Jesus' words to the thief on the cross. At the rapture, their soul and spirit will come with Jesus in the clouds, and their bodies will be resurrected and join their soul and spirit in the air, and they will be given immortal bodies.
    6. "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" - the word used is "atomos", which means an atomic second. Scientists have measured that the twinkling of an eye is about 1/100th of a second. Those who think there will be time to repent and pray at the rapture because there will be a shout, an archangel and a trumpet are mistaken.
    7. "we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" - this is different from the second coming, in that we meet the Lord in the air. At the second coming, Jesus comes to earth with the saints and actually stands on the mount of Olives.

    What will happen when the rapture takes place and the the dead in Christ are raised from the dead? How will the world, CNN and the rest of the media explain away the disappearance? Maybe they won't have to, because there may be a catastrophic series of events that occur during and immediately after the rapture. Is it possible, comparing scriptures in the Bible, that there will be earthquakes? If we look at a couple references in the Bible about what happened at a resurrection from the dead, we see what could also happen at the rapture.

    1. The saints resurrection at the death of Jesus - Matthew 27:50-53
    2. "50. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

      51. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

      52. 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."

    3. The resurrection of Jesus - Matthew 28:2-6
    4. "2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

      3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

      4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

      5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

      6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

    5. The resurrection of the two witnesses - Revelation 11:13

    "13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."

    From these three passages, we see that there were earthquakes after people who were dead are resurrected. Listen, only two men in Revelation 11 are resurrected, and an earthquake that killed SEVEN THOUSAND men resulted. An earthquake killing that many people would do untold damage to buildings and houses as well. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE EARTHQUAKE POSSIBILITIES IF MILLIONS OF THE DEAD IN CHRIST ARE RESURRECTED AT THE SAME TIME, GIVEN THE DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY ONLY TWO RESURRECTIONS!?!?

    What scientific explanation could be behind the earthquakes in the resurrections of the Bible? Could it be that there is something about the molecular structure of human beings being transformed into immortal bodies that causes the earth to quake? Is it also possible that at the resurrection from the dead at the rapture, according to I Thessalonians 4:16, there will be earthquakes? At this occasion, there will be MILLIONS of bodies resurrected at once, not just a few, or one or two. Could it be that, when the rapture takes place, there will be worldwide earthquakes? Further, could these earthquakes help those left behind rationalize that the missing people were somehow lost in the earthquakes? Maybe the earthquakes will be so strong, so many, so diverse and so devastating that search and rescue attempts will not be possible...it won't be possible to assess who is alive or dead....or still around. This is a possibility based on these three passages.

     

    "Doctrine of Escapism"?

    ARGUMENT 3

    The most often quoted argument is that the church must go through persecution, and some interpret the words of Jesus and Paul to mean that the church must experience the seven year tribulation and either experience death or make it through the tribulation and then be taken to heaven. They say the rapture doctrine just a "doctrine of escapism" for those Christians who don't want to be persecuted. However, there are several references in the Bible to the church escaping the wrath of the tribulation.

    Perhaps the strongest evidence that shows that the church will escape the tribulation, led by the antichrist, is found in the following comparison.

    First, Daniel 7:21:

    "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;"

    Compared with Matthew 17:18:

    "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

    The verse in Daniel is an end-time prophecy about the antichrist. Notice it says he will make war against the "saints", and will prevail against them. Compare that with the prophecy given by Jesus about the church, of who Peter was the foundation. Jesus said the "gates of hell" WOULD NOT prevail against the "church". Now, how is it possible that the antichrist will prevail against the saints when Jesus said the gates of hell would NOT prevail against the church? It is because the church is REMOVED prior to the antichrist's appearance in the rapture. The "saints" over whom the antichrist prevails are the Jewish and Gentile souls who accept Jesus as messiah and savior after the rapture takes place. We read in Revelation 20:4 that these saints were beheaded for refusing to worship the beast and his image:

    "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

    This is certainly strong evidence for the pre-wrath rapture of the church, but there are many more examples in scripture in which God shows us that he spares the righteous from his wrath. Examples:

    1. Noah - Hebrews 11:7
    2. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

    3. Lot - Genesis 18:25
    4. "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

      Abraham is asking God if he is going to destroy the just and unjust of Sodom and Gomorrah. God did not do so, but instead allowed Lot and and a couple members of his family to be warned and escape.

      Genesis 19:22

      "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."

      Here, the angel tells Lot to escape, because he could not do anything to the cities until Lot had safely escaped.

    5. The exodus from Egypt - Exodus 11:6-7
    6. "6. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

      7. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."

      Exodus 12:23

      "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you."

      Here, the death angel that came through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn son was not allowed to kill the child that was in a house with the blood of the lamb on its door. Again, God's chosen are allowed to escape the wrath.

    7. God delivered Rahab from the destruction in Jericho - Hebrews 11:31
    8. "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."

      Because Rahab made a covenant with God, even though she was a Gentile, she was allowed to escape God's judgment

    9. The Jews in the 70AD destruction of the temple - Luke 21:21-22
    10. "21. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

      22. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."

      The Jews were saved from the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans when they fled into the mountains.

    11. The Jordanians during the reign of antichrist - Daniel 11:41
    12. "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon."

      If this Gentile, Islamic, heathen country are going to be allowed to escape the hand of the antichrist, then why should we think he will not deliver out his chosen church?!

    13. The 144,000 during the tribulation period - Revelation 7:3

    "Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

    These are seven examples of God not allowing the righteous to suffer with the unrighteous. Escapism? You better believe it! It's biblical...over and over and over we see God protecting the righteous from suffering and wrath. Here are several more examples that specifically deal with the last days, and Christians escaping the wrath of God in those last days:

    1. Luke 21:36
    2. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

    3. I Thessalonians 1:10
    4. "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."

    5. Romans 5:9

    "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

    Notice each verse speaks in the FUTURE TENSE...the wrath that will come in the future on the earth. What do we make of these verses if the don't mean that we will be raptured and escape the tribulation?

    Here are some excellent verses throughout the Bible that talk about the wrath of God, who is saved, and who is destroyed:

    1. Isaiah 13:9

    "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it."

    2. Nahum 1:2

    "God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies."

    3. Matthew 3:7

    "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

    4. John 3:36

    "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

    5. Romans 1:18

    "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"

    6. Ephesians 5:6

    "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."

    7. II Peter 2:6-9

    "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

    5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

    6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

    7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

    8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

    9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"

    8. Revelation 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.

     

    The preceding multitude of verses provided make it clear that God is RESERVING his wrath for his enemies, and the children of righteousness are delivered from it. This is the purpose of the rapture. Many, times, rapture haters will quote the verse about 'the rain falls upon both the just and unjust'. This simply means that good and bad things is life happen to both the righteous and sinners. Everyone is going to experience trials and tests in life. But the wrath of God that is reserved for the unrighteous in the "day of the Lord" is reserved for the unrighteous, it is clear from these scriptures.

    The Lord told us in Matthew 25 to keep our lights trimmed and burning, living pure and always looking for his coming. Those who believe in the rapture use the rapture as MOTIVATION to stay pure and always be ready...to lay aside the weight of sin. Many of those who don't believe in the rapture are careless with fleshly sins and habits, and believe they are living in the grace of God and have a license to sin. To them, the rapture is an UNWANTED NUISANCE....an axe hanging over their heads. This is one of the reasons they are resistant to believing in the doctrine.

     

    When Will the Rapture Take Place?

    Looking at the book of Revelation we see the following progression:

    Chapter 1

    The revelation of Jesus Christ

    Chapter 2-3

    The message to the churches

    Chapter 5-18

    Things happening on the earth during the tribulation

    Chapter 19

    The return of Christ to the earth

    Chapter 20-22

    The millenial reign and eternal kingdom

     

    Notice that chapter 4 is missing. In chapter 3, Jesus tells the church to hear what he is saying to them. Then, in chapter 4, John is told to "Come up hither", and sees an interesting vision around the throne of God. For the rest of the book of Revelation, after chapter 4, there is NO mention of the church made. Chapters 5-19 deal with the 7 year tribulation and what is happening on the earth. There is a great possibility that John had a front seat to what happened just prior to, and just after, the rapture of the church in Revelation 3:22 thru 4:11. Note 4:1-2:

    "1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

    2. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."

    What is "hereafter" referring to? The church age! Revelation chapters 2 and 3 is Jesus' message to the churches. The seven churches of Asia were not only literal churches in John's day, but they also represent the seven stages that the church would go through beginning in the first century AD to the present. Then, after concluding with the seventh church, Laodecia, which represents the current state of the church, we see verses 1 and 2 of chapter 4. "After this" (the messages to the churches), John was told to "Come up hither" and be shown what will happen "hereafter." The church age, the dispensation of the grace of God, comes to an end, the rapture occurs, and what comes next is the tribulation.

    Notice also that verse 1 says "a door" was opened in heaven. Reading Matthew 25:10, Jesus is giving the parable of the ten virgins:

    "10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut."

    In this parable, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to these ten virgins. When the bridegroom came and the virgins were looking for the bridegroom, they were ready for him and went into the marriage with him. The bridegroom announced that he was coming, and that the virgins should get ready. This is exactly what the rapture will be like.

    We also see reference to a trumpet right at the moment John is told to come up to heaven. This is an EXTREMELY important clue. I Thessalonians 4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52, the two key passages in explaining the mystery of the rapture, both mention a trumpet sound when the rapture occurs. Here in Revelation 4:1, we see that the Lord has the voice of a trumpet when he calls John up to heaven. Is this just a coincidence?

     

    The Feast of Trumpets - Rapture Clues

    The seven major feasts of Israel are as follows:

    1. Passover - Leviticus 23:5
    2. Unleavened Bread - Leviticus 23:6
    3. First Fruits - Leviticus 23:10
    4. Pentecost (Shavot) - Leviticus 23:16
    5. Trumpets (Rosh Hashannah) - Leviticus 23:24
    6. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - Leviticus 23:27
    7. Tabernacles - Leviticus 23:34

    The following chart shows what historically has already happened during the first 4 feast days, and what could happen during the last 3 feast days:

    Feast of Passover

    The crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ

    Feast of Unleavened Bread

    The burial of Jesus Christ

    Feast of First Fruits

    The resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ

    Feast of Pentecost

    The Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues is given to the church

    Feast of Trumpets

    The rapture of the church?

    Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement

    The second coming of Jesus Christ?

    Feast of Tabernacles

    The beginning of the millennial reign?

     

    The Feast of Trumpets is also known as Rosh Hashannah, and occurs on the first day of Tishri. It usually falls during the month of September. Rosh Hashannah has several Jewish meanings:

    1. Day of Judgment: a day when three books are opened, which are the book of the righteous, book of the unrighteous, and the book of the neither righteous nor unrighteous. Those unrighteous have 10 days (until Yom Kippur, the day of atonement) to get their names inscribed in the book of the righteous.
    2. Day of the Shofar: there are a number of trumpet soundings on this feast day. More on this later.
    3. Day of Remembrance: it serves as a reminder to offer their lives to God, and it reminds them of the coming messiah.
    4. Day of Redemption: the rabbi's taught that the people would be redeemed by the ram's horn, and the sounding of the shofar signifies this. This is historically similar to Abraham offering Isaac, and the ram being delivered by God.

    In Luke 21:28, Jesus made an interesting statement right after describing the events leading up to the end of the age:

    "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

    Jesus main audience was Jews (the lost sheep of Israel)...as such, is it possible that they made the connection between the Feast of Trumpets significance as the "day of redemption" and Jesus statement that their "redemption draweth nigh"? Should we fail to make this connection?

     

    The Significance of Trumpets

    The main argument for those who believe the rapture occurs in the middle of the tribulation relates to the reference in I Corinthians 15:51-52:

    "51. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

    52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

    Notice the phrase "last trump". They then look at Revelation 11:15, and we see the seventh angel sounding the seventh and last trumpet. They then surmise that the "last trump" that Paul was referring to was this seventh and final trumpet that sounds just after the death of the two witnesses in the middle of the tribulation. They believe the rapture occurs at this point when Revelation 11:15 states:

    "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

    In the remaining verses of chapter 11, we see the bema seat judgment of the righteous, and therefore they say since Paul said we will be changed at the sound of the last trump, and Revelation 11 is the last trumpet is when the rapture occurs.

    Here's a major problem with their theory: Paul wrote about the last trump in I Corinthians in around 60AD, but the book of Revelation was written around 35 years later in 95AD. So Paul writes about the last trump in 60AD, and John writes about the seventh angel sounding the seventh trumpet in 95AD, 35 years later, and they say "Oh, that is what Paul was talking about". But, why weren't the readers of the letter to Corinth asking Paul what he meant by this last trump? Since the vision of John in Revelation about the seventh angel was yet 35 years to be written, and it is nowhere else in Scripture, how could Paul expect his readers to know what he was talking about? Paul was not writing about what John would be writing about 35 years later, and John was not writing about the last trump Paul wrote about.

    The answer is that his readers ALREADY KNEW what he was talking about, and it wasn't this seventh angel sounding his trumpet in the middle of the tribulation. They understood that Paul was referring to the last trumpet in the Jewish feast day: Rosh Hashannah! There are four trumpet blasts that occur during this feast:

    1. the tekiah - this means "the awakening"
    2. the shevarim - this means "to be broken before God"
    3. the teruah - this means "to sound the alarm"
    4. the tekiah gedola - this literally means "THE LAST TRUMPET"!!!!

    Every Jew would understand Paul was referring to the last trumpet during the Feast of Trumpets. No doubt this is a clue to when the rapture could take place!

    Another interesting clue about the timing of Rosh Hashannah: Consider what would happen if the rapture occurs on Rosh Hashannah.

     

    The Clincher: The Rapture vs. Jewish Weddings

    Throughout scripture, we see that Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. Matthew 25:1 likens the kingdom of God to a bridegroom coming for his bride, and Ephesians 5:22-23 declares the church is the "wife" and Christ is the "husband". In Revelation 19, the church in heaven is called the "wife". To understand the Bible, we have to understand the Hebrew customs and traditions, because many truths can be found. First, consider the following:

    1. The betrothal to Christ: II Corinthians 11:2

    "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

    The betrothal of Christ and the church is CURRENTLY taking place, during the church age, as people turn to Jesus as their savior and attempt to lead a chaste life in service to him.

    2. Presentation of the bride to the Father: John 14:2-3

    "2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

    3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

    Christ will take his bride, the church, away from this present world to his Father's house. The church, a chaste virgin, will no doubt please the Father.

    3. The marriage supper feast: Revelation 19:7

    "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."

    After the presentation to the Father, there is a marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven.

    How do these things tie in with a Jewish wedding? When a Jewish man saw a woman he was interested in, the man set up an appointment with the woman to meet her father. The man would go to the father and negotiate for his bride.

    Here are the steps in the process:

    1. If they agree to the marriage, they drink from a cup signifying a covenant was made.
    2. They sign a contract which detailed what the man would like for the wife to do as far as homekeeping and childbearing.
    3. The man had to pay a price for the woman: sometimes goats, camels, property. This payment by the man signified he is serious about the woman and that he will pay up front to have her.
    4. There was an engagement in the house of the woman, which was sealed by the first three steps in the process above.
    5. Once the engagement was sealed, the man would get up from the table, then tell the woman he was going to his father's house to prepare a place for her, and that he would come back for her but she would not know when he would come.
    6. From this point on, the two would not see each other or date, and she would keep a veil across her face in public.
    7. The woman would surround herself with young virgins who would make sure she remained without spot or blemish, and they would help her to keep her lamp trimmed and burning with oil in case the man returned in the night time.
    8. The virgins also keep the woman "pumped up", reminding her that he is coming and it will be great when he comes.
    9. Meanwhile, the man was back at his father's house preparing a bridal chamber for his bride. When it is completed, the father declares everything is ready, and that it is time for his son to go get his bride.
    10. About 9 months to 1 year later, he would come. He sent a group of men in front of him, and he would usually come at night because he knew she would be at home instead of out in the field.
    11. The men sent ahead would come to the woman's house and declare "The bridegroom is coming, make yourself ready"
    12. They would set up a ladder, and after getting herself all ready, the woman would come down the ladder and take her away to his bridal chamber.

    I'm sure you can already see the parallels! The church was set up to perfectly emulate a Jewish bride for Christ:

    1. As the couple drink from a cup signifying a covenant, so Christ and the disciples (as well as the church) drink from the cup signifying his covenant with us. Matthew 26:27

    "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;"

    2. As the man lays down a contract, so Christ gave us his Word. John 15:7

    "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

    3. As the man had to pay a price for the bride, so Christ paid a price to obtain the church. I Corinthians 6:20

    "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

    4. As the man tells the bride he will go away and prepare a place for her, so Christ told us he would go away and prepare a place for the church: John 14:2-3

    "2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

    3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

    5. As the man tells the bride she will not know when he will come for her, so Christ told the church no man would know when he would be coming. Matthew 25:13

    "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

    6. As the father tells the son the time was come to get the bride, so only the Heavenly Father knows the time to send Christ for the church. Matthew 24:36

    "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

    7. As the woman was to keep her lamp trimmed and burning, so Christ said the kingdom of God is like the ten virgins who did so. Matthew 25:7

    "Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps."

    8. As the woman was to keep herself with spot or blemish, so Christ wants us to be without spot or blemish . Ephesians 5:27

    "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."

    9. As the man sent forth men ahead of him to tell the woman he is coming and to make herself ready, so Christ sent forth his disciples (you and I) as well as pastors and teachers to declare the bridegroom will be soon coming.

    10. As the man takes away the bride to his bridal chamber, so Christ will come and rapture his church to the heavenly mansions he has been preparing for us.

    Another interesting similarity: The normal Jewish wedding lasts seven days, a time of celebration and feasting. After the rapture, the church will be in heaven for seven years for a time of celebration. Nearly everything Jesus said about his church, the called-out ones, his bride can be related in some way to a Jewish wedding.

     

    CONCLUSION

    The Bible says in Hebrews 9:28 that Christ will "appear" to those the second time who are LOOKING FOR HIM. If you are in a church that publicly mocks the rapture teaching, you should find another church where they believe in it. Jesus warned in parables about those who mocked that the lord was delaying his coming, and they were left behind because they were not prepared and weren't looking for him. There are so-called Christians who don't believe in hell, the rapture...there are some Catholics now who don't believe in the diety of Christ...and we must be careful for those, because the Lord is coming for those who are looking for him.

    Jesus said that as it was in the days of Lot and Noah, it will be like those days in the day of the Son of Man. In the days of Lot, only four people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were saved, and in the days of Noah, only eight people on the earth were saved. So, if you are looking for billions of people to be raptured, it is not going to happen like that. It will be in the day of the Son of Man like it was in the days of Lot and Noah, and very few were saved in those catastrophes.

    Based on this outline, there is a strong argument for a catching away of the church, prior to the rapture, with the dead in Christ rising from the dead. We will meet Christ in the air and go to be with him for seven years in heaven. The spiritual seed, the church which includes both Jew and Gentile, is in heaven for seven years while God is dealing with Israel, the natural seed, on earth. The seven year period will complete Daniel's seventieth week, and those Israelites who come to Jesus Christ during the tribulation will be saved.

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