Music from 'More Than Dreams'. |
A devotional/exhortational study on the end-time drama.
By Gavin Finley MD - endtimepilgrim.org
(Then you may save it to your tablet).
 |
WHAT IS THE RAPTURE?
IS IT IN THE BIBLE?
Does the Bible speak of this Rapture? Well, not using that specific word. The word "Rapture" is not in any of our English Bibles. It is, in fact, a word from the Latin, the language of Rome. The word "rapture" appears in an early Latin translation, the Latin Vulgate. The Greek word from the original Greek text is'harpazo' and this word is found in 1Thes. 4:17.
16b ".... the dead in Christ will rise first,17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up/harpazotogether with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord." - 1Thes. 4:16-17
The word Harpazo means “to raise up from the ground or snatch away eagerly for oneself.”
This is precisely what our Messiah will be doing at the end of the age.
So our passage in 1Thes. 4:16b-17 could be rendered,
16b ".... the dead in Christ will rise first,17 "Then we who are alive and remain shall be snatched up from the groundtogether with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord." - 1Thes. 4:17
BEHOLD, . . . PAY ATTENTION!
I SHOW YOU A MYSTERY!
Our Apostle Paul addresses the glorification of the saints in a second key passage.
He brings us some valuable further details it in that inspiring Resurrection chapter, 1Corinthians 15.
He speaks of our being "changed, ... in the twinkling of an eye, ... at the last trumpet"
51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52In 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.
All this is a great and wonderful mystery not yet seen.
But it will surely come to pass at the Second Coming of Christ in the latter days.
So at His return the Lord will be eagerly claiming His Elect for Himself. This "harpazo" - snatching away with great eagerness by Messiah involves both the living and the dead. So while the Latin word "Rapture" doesn’t appear in our Bibles, the event it describes certainly does. Our Pre-Millennialist Bible prophecy teachers have elected to use the Latin word "Rapture" for this which is fine as far as it goes. It is a very good word to describe a mystery not yet seen but an epic event that will most surely unfold at a future certain time.
ZAC POONEN is a faithful Bible teacher diligent in the Holy Scriptures.
He is well known throughout the British Commonwealth countries.
ROB CARTLEDGE brings a clear and Biblically correct case for the post-tribulation
Resurrection-Rapture along with an interesting historical perspective on the pre-trib
rapture doctrine, its origins, and how it is not in keeping with the character of our God.
WHEN IS THE RAPTURE?
IS IT A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE?
OR IS IT A POST-TRIBULATION RAPTURE?
Among evangelicals in the West the question comes up.
"When is the Rapture?"
"Will it be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?
Or will it be a Post-Tribulation Rapture?"
For an excellent overview on the historic
Post-Tribulation Resurrection-Rapture view
For the vast majority of Bible believing evangelicals the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the doctrine that is their belief at this time. Only about 5% of Bible believing Christians believe that there will be a Post-Tribulation Rapture. There is no surprise as to why this is so. Throughout North America the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is what the Christians in the pews and watching Christian television are exposed to. This is what they being entrained in and taught. It is the one they have heard repeatedly. It is also the one that most nominal, or middle of the road, evangelical Christians like. And so for most it is the one they choose to believe.
This fact is sad, but true. Few who call themselves Bible believing Christians actually read and study the Bible for themselves and for their family. Indeed, most Christians believe what others around them believe and what they are told to believe by their churchmen. This ecclesiastical collective is not necessarily bad in itself. The Gr. "koinonia", the "fellowship of believers", is a wonderful God-given treasure shining brightly inside the Congregation of Messiah. But the fellowship can be infiltrated. It can be hijacked by the powers of darkness. The fellowship of believers can be mislead by cultic doctrine in place of God's Holy Word. It can be corrupted by strange fire in place of God's Holy Spirit. And it can be lorded over by Nicolaitan church leaders who stand like trolls in the Way and enthrone themselves in the place of the indwelling Christ. Jesus warned us about this great Nicolaitan Church evil in His letters to the seven churches. See Revelation 2:15&16.
We need to be given a "heads up" here. Every Christian believer will stand before Christ on That Day. See 2Corinthians 5:10. We shall all be asked to stand before the Ancient of Days and give an account of what we did with the Biblical information that was available to us during our lifetime. We shall stand before Him alone. No churchman will be by our side to cover us on That Day. We have only One Advocate and one Mediator with the Father. His name is Jesus Christ. May God help all of us to take personal responsibility here. By God's grace we shall bring the true and faithful witness. We shall testify for God's glory, for ourselves, for our family, and for all the ones to whom we are destined to bring our witness and testimony.
So let us get right down to it. Does the Bible tell us specifically when this "Rapture", this "catching away" of the living saints will occur? No it does not. But the Rapturedoes happen to be time linked to a major accompanying end-time event. That critically important accompanying event happens to be the Resurrection of the righteous dead. And the timing of that event is very well known. It is well pegged in Holy Scripture in the time-line of the latter days.
NOT JUST A RAPTURE. . . .
BUT A COMBINED RESURRECTION-RAPTURE.
So when we look into the prophetic Word of God and those scriptures we laid out above in 1Thes. 4:15-17 and 1Cor. 15:51-52 we see that the Rapture is tightly bundled up with the Resurrection. This combined "end of age" event is the Resurrection-Rapture, and this is what it should be called. The two are part of a single whole, namely, the end-of-age harvest. This involves the glorification of the entire company of faith, the single Elect from both sides of Calvary. In one single awesome day, in the twinkling of an eye, this great (harpazo/snatch) will occur. At that moment the dead are Resurrected and the living are Raptured All of the chosen enter into the glory together at the same time. Our Apostle Paul gives us the sequence in very clear and unmistakeable terms. He tells us that the Resurrection of the righteous dead immediately precedes the Rapture of the living.
So here is something that is almost never spoken about in evangelical circles. The Second Coming will see the single Elect gathered as a combined Resurrection-Rapture. Our Apostle Paul states very clearly and unmistakably that these two companies of saints, the living and the dead in Christ, are glorified together! The Resurrection and the Rapture are cemented and padlocked together. Those scriptures are here in 1Thessalonians 4:15,16&17 and in 1Corinthians 15:51,52,&53.
As we have seen the Bible clearly shows us that the "harpazo/snatch" is a combined Resurrection-Rapture. And so once the timing of the Resurrection has been determined that time slot will also be the timing of the Rapture. The Rapture, which immediately follows the Resurrection, can be placed very accurately on our time-line of the final seven years of this age, (the future 70th Week of Daniel).
WHEN IS THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD?
So when will the graves open? And when will the sea give up the righteous dead? Our Savior tells us quite clearly. He does not mince words on the matter. Nor does He play a shell game and shuffle off the Resurrection event into a theological no man's land. Man does that. Not God. The future Resurrection of the Body of Christ will be a discrete miraculous event. It will be a miracle of epic proportions and unfold on a single day and hour in the same way the past resurrection of Christ our sacred Head occurred. It will be an epic divine act of God that will occur in a moment and on a special future day in world history.
And when shall we see the Resurrection of the righteous dead? Four times in John 6 Jesus tells us when this First Resurrection will occur. Four times Jesus declares that this glorification of the righteous dead, this Resurrection of the Body of Christ, this raising up of "those who are in Christ", would come at the "last day".
JESUS HIMSELF TELLS US WHEN HE WILL RESURRECT HIS SAINTS.
THE RESURRECTION WILL OCCUR AFTER THE 70TH WEEK ENDS.
HE TELLS US FOUR TIMES IN JOHN CHAPTER 6 THAT HE WILL
"RAISE UP" OR RESURRECT HIS COVENANT PEOPLE AT THE 'LAST DAY'.
Jesus Himself tells us plainly when He will be raising up His precious saints from the grave.
Four times in John 6 Jesus states categorically that He will "raise" His people "up" at the "last day".
So this glorious Resurrection of those that are Christ's will occur at the "last day".
John 6:39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me,that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,but should raise it up at the last day."
John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me,that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life;and I will raise him up at the last day.""
and I will raise him up at the last day."
and I will raise him up at the last day."
Is our Lord Jesus trying to get a message to us here? If He saw fit to tell us four times in the one message that He will raise His people up at the "last day" then His Word on the matter should be final. And who would dare tamper with the message the Holy Spirit has so clearly laid out for us in the Holy Scriptures? Jesus tells us that the Resurrection of the righteous dead will occur at the 'last day". Therefore it must come at the end of the 7 year period at the tail end of Daniel's 70th week. And therefore the Resurrection must be a Post-Tribulation event. It must come after the Great Tribulation.
MARTHA, SISTER OF LAZARUS, WAS A SAINT FROM A FORMER ERA.
SHE KNEW THE TIMING OF THE RESURRECTION.
Here is some further evidence of the Resurrection of the righteous dead coming at the very end of the age. Martha left her kitchen to come out and get in Jesus' face over the death of her brother Lazarus. At that time she made a strong confession of her faith. She spoke of the sure hope of the Resurrection. And in her statement Martha also spoke in very specific terms of the timing of the Resurrection.
Here is Martha's word on the matter and her magnificent confession of the blessed hope of the glorification of the saints at the resurrection. This account is recorded by the Apostle John. As we see here in this scripture below, Martha knew very well when this end-time Resurrection of the righteous dead would occur.
Martha said to Him,"I know that he will rise againin the Resurrectionat the last day."
This seems pretty plain and straightforward doesn't it?
All these scriptures and Revelation 20:4-6 are in total agreement.
The Resurrection will come at the last day of this age.
The Old Testament saints, unlike many of us evangelicals today, had a very good handle on the Resurrection of the righteous dead. The testimony of the patriarchs and Daniel bear witness to this. They knew when this Resurrection of the righteous would occur. Job, in the midst of his sufferings brought this magnificent testimony.
Job 19 (KJV-NKJV)25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body,yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Job declared that his Redeemer was alive. And in the latter day He would come to stand upon this earth as Messiah and raise him up from death. He also declared that even after worms had burrowed down beneath his skin to destroy his mortal body one day he would rise from the grave to be Resurrected to life in his own new immortal body. Then he would see his God face to face.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD IS THE KEY
BECAUSE THE RAPTURE WILL BE COMING IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS.
And now we know the "rest of the story".
The Resurrection of the righteous dead will be an epic singular future event.
The Resurrection of the dead in Christ will explode into Holy History.
Christ will raise His people up at His coming, on the "last day" of this present evil age.
. . . . . . . And so will the Rapture.
When the Bible speaks in 1Cor. 15 of the Resurrection of those who are Christ's at His coming we are talking here about a specific point in time, a certain future day, hour, minute, and split second. This will be a blockbuster event in the history of this world! The graves will open up! The sea will give up its righteous dead. Dear saints, this will be a real event! And it will happen on a real and specific future day in history. Oh yes, this will all come down "in a twinkling of an eye."
And where in the latter days might "that day" be placed on our timeline of the final seven years? As we have seen, Four times Jesus tells us precisely when He will "raise" His people "up". He says that He will raise His people up at the "last day".
There is nothing vague and imprecise here.
We are not talking of the "last days."
Jesus told us it would be the LAST DAY.
Beware of those Bible teachers who would obfuscate the truth and try to say that the "last day" is a general reference to "the last days". thereby denying this is a discrete blockbuster future 24 hour day in time. Do not let anyone stretch out the "last day" like a piece of soft gooey taffy and thereby twist and destroy the Message This is God's Holy Word! And God's covenant people need the true and correct information concerning this very important matter of the last day.
So we know from 1Thes. 4:15-17 and 1Cor. 15:51 that the Rapture of the living is Biblically welded to the Resurrection of the righteous dead under the saving blood of Christ.
So if the Resurrection comes at the last day of this age then we can say this with 100% assurance.
The Rapture is bundled in with the Resurrection as a single "harpazo" event that will flash into history "in a twinkling of an eye".. And the Rapture, tied in with the Resurrection of the righteous dead will come at the "last day" of this age.
THE OLIVET DISCOURSE AND JESUS SPEAKS VERY SPECIFICALLY
CONCERNING THE END-TIME REGATHERING OF ALL THE SAINTS AND
THE GLORIFICATION OF A SINGLE UNDIVIDED ELECT.
Are there other places in Holy Scripture that tell us plainly when Messiah will return to gather and to glorify His saints? Yes, there are many of them. For example, inMatthew 24:29,30,31 Jesus tells us when He will gather His Elect. He lays it out clearly for us in the Olivet Discourse. He said,
"Immediately after the tribulation of those daysthe sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood."
And then He goes on to describe a time when the stars will fall from heaven. This awesome event involving major cosmic and atmospheric disturbances will herald the SIGN, (singular), of His coming. Remember, the disciples specifically asked Him about this SIGN (singular). And in the following verse, Mat. 24:30 He answered their question!
"And then shall appear THE SIGN of the Son of Man in heaven.and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heavenwith power and great glory. "
And Christ will gather His Elect from the four winds of space-time.
Oh yes, the tribulation comes first. Then "immediately after the tribulation of those days" or we might say, "immediately post-tribulation the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood." So After the Great Tribulation is terminated by Messiah come the cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal with the sun turning black as sackcloth and the moon to blood. Then the "SIGN" of the Son of man will be seen in the heavens.
We have no idea what this SIGN will be. But it will be unmistakable to all those who are alive on earth at that time and witness this spellbinding event. This SIGN in the heavens, (singular), will herald the coming of Messiah. The cosmic signs of the 6th seal, when they occur and what will be happening is described in this YouTube video.
A KEY TIME MARKER IS THE EPIC COSMIC SIGN INVOLVING THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. JESUS SAYS THESE COSMIC DISTURBANCES OF THE 6TH SEAL COME AFTER THE TRIBULATION. THEN JESUS SAYS THAT HIS SIGN WILL BE SEEN IN THE HEAVENS AND THERE WILL BE GREAT MOURNING. PEOPLE WILL MOURN AND LAMENT OVER HIS COMING AND THE GREAT SALVATION THAT THEY NEGLECTED. AFTER THIS HE WILL SEND FORTH THE HARVEST ANGELS TO GATHER HIS ELECT.
A key end-time marker for us is the the sun turning to darkness, the moon to blood, and the stars falling, the latter of which may be a meteor shower of spectacular proportions. Spiritually we know that this this time period, after having seen the Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire will see the casting down of the angelic rulers who currently have dominion over the principalities and powers of this fallen cosmos. These stars will fall!
This epic climactic cosmic event involving the sun, moon, and stars is associated in Revelation 6:12,13 with the 6th seal. This epic latter day atmospheric or cosmic disturbance is spoken of in many places in Holy Scripture. Let us take a look at what Jesus tells us in the Olivet Discourse. Here below is Matthew's account from Matthew 24:29,30,31.
MATTHEW 24 - JESUS SAYS THAT AFTER THE TRIBULATION ENDS THE COSMIC SIGNS OF THE 6TH SEAL WILL BE SEEN.
29 Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
THE GREAT
TRIBULATIONTHEN IMMEDIATELY 6th SEAL COSMIC
DISTURBANCES
30 And then shall appear THE SIGN of the Son of man in heaven:and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,and they shall gather together his (single undivided) Elect from the four winds,from one end of heaven to the other.
THE PROPHET JOEL BRINGS FURTHER INFORMATION SAYING THAT THESE SAME
COSMIC DISTURBANCES OF THE SUN TURNING TO DARKNESS AND THE MOON TO BLOOD
COME BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD.
Putting the jigsaw puzzle pieces together in careful Berean fashion we see the connection of the cosmic signs Jesus spoke about in Mat. 24:29 with the very same 6th seal cosmic signs spoken of by the prophet Joel in Joel 2:30,31,32. God speaks through Joel to tell us that the very same cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal precedeand herald the rolling back of the heavens, the unzipping of space-time, and the opening of the Day of the Lord to execute the Judgment.
So with these cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal with the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood we are looking at some awesome events that will occur as aprelude to the end-time harvest. Remember from what Jesus told us in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13:30 that the end-time harvest of the wicked and the harvest of the righteous are both involved here and the plucking up of the wicked comes first. Then, on a day and hour unknown, inside the Day of the Lord we can expect to see the glorification of the saints, the "blessed hope", that great yet to be seen mystery, the Resurrection-Rapture in which Jesus gathers His single undivided Elect.
JOEL 2 - AND AGAIN WE SEE THE LATE COSMIC SIGNS OF THE 6TH SEAL.31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,BEFORE the great and terrible day of the LORD come.
6th SEAL COSMIC
DISTURBANCESTHEN COMES THE OPENING OF THE
DAY OF THE LORD
AND LOOK!! PEOPLE ARE BEING SAVED RIGHT UP TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE!32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved/delivered:for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
DO OUR POPULAR BIBLE PROPHECY TEACHERS EVER SPEAK OF THIS?
HERE WE SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING SAVED EVEN AFTER THE TRIBULATION!
Yes, there is no doubt about it. People are being saved right up to the very end of the age. And is this not when Our Commission as born again believers expires? Check the wording on the document. Consult a lawyer if necessary. Do our popular Bible prophecy teachers ever speak of this wondrous period of God's grace extending beyond the Great Tribulation? The Word of God is here in black and white, telling us the "rest of the story". The SIGN of the Son of Man is seen in the heavens. And then throughout the 6th seal Messiah is pleading with the nations and pleading with men to repent and be saved. As we shall see, this goes on for 30 days after He has terminated the Antichrist with the brightness of His coming and Messiah has ended the Great Tribulation.
FROM DANIEL 12:11 WE ARE TOLD THAT AFTER 1290 DAYS COMES "THE END".
SO WE CAN SURMISE THAT GOD IS PLEADING WITH THE NATIONS FROM DAY 1260
THROUGH TO DAY 1290, A THIRTY DAY GRACE PERIOD IF YOU WILL.
From Dan. 12:11 we hear mention of 1290 days. "Then comes the end". So we can say with good assurance that the days of the cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal roll on for thirty days with the sun black as sackcloth and the moon as blood. Spectacular meteor showers will probably occur in this time period as well with the stars and heavenly principalities being cast down in Judgment. What can we say about this? Surely this must be a thirty day Grace period for mankind to consider their options. The thirty days extend from day 1260 when the Great Tribulation ends to finish up on day 1290 and Judgment Day, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. See the graphic below. Click on the image to go to the article on the Fall Feasts of Israel.
Yes, it seems that right up to "the end" of the age people are being saved. What a merciful God we serve! How patient He is with wayward mankind. Truly, He is "not willing that any should perish" and go to a lost eternity.
THE GREAT 'HARPAZO' SNATCH IS THE RESURRECTION-RAPTURE OF GOD'S ELECT, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, FROM BOTH SIDES OF CALVARY. IT IS AN EXECUTION OF A PRECEDING LEGAL JUDGMENT THAT MUST HAVE OCCURRED BEFORE THIS. THAT FINAL JUDGMENT COMES ON THE ULTIMATE CLIMACTIC DAY OF ATONEMENT AT THE LAST DAY OF THIS AGE. THE EXECUTION OF GOD'S WRATH UPON THE WICKED AND THE GLORIFICATION OF THE SAINTS IN THE RESURRECTION-RAPTURE IS THE ENSUING EXECUTION THAT ENSUES FROM THAT JUDGMENT. SO THE RESURRECTION-RAPTURE CANNOT COME BEFORE JUDGMENT DAY, THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, DAY OF ACCOUNTING, DAY OF RECKONING, DAY OF COVERING, WHICH WE KNOW FROM OUR STUDY OF THE FALL FEASTS OF THE LORD COMES ON THE LAST DAY OF THIS AGE.
Here is another issue. The "harpazo" glorification of the living and the dead in Christ relates to the Seven Feasts of Israel. The Resurrection-Rapture will come on the heels of a special holy day in our future. It is a special high holy day Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The future glorification of the saints involves the completed Body of Christ, the entire Commonwealth of Israel. And even though the world and the present day Church does not want to hear about the final Day of Reckoning the return of Messiah in judgment and in deliverance and the glorification of the saints is an execution of the Final Judgment of Christ. So the Resurrection-Rapture, the harpazo snatch of the Elect simply cannot come before the gavel falls on this final Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, at the "last day".
At sunset on that final wrap-up Day of Atonement at the "last day" the Day of the Lord will open up. The heavens, space-time, will be rolled back to take us into the Day of the Lord. The current principalities and powers fear and dread this day above all others. That is why they want to stop the end-time witness of the saints. They are pulling the strings of their human underlings and trying by every means they can to tell Christians that their final witness, the 5th seal witness of the saints, will not be necessary. They know that if this final witness of the saints goes on as planned it will be curtains for them. The 6th seal will follow and at the Second Coming of Christ the hierarchical angelic rulers will be cast down. When Messiah comes back the whole earthly creation and its ecosystems, will be revamped. The entire cosmos, in heaven and on earth, will come under new and better Ownership.
So the Resurrection-Rapture of 'those who are Christ's' will occur after the Day of Reckoning in the Day of the Lord which immediately follows it.
THE FIRST RESURRECTION OF REVELATION 20 MUST BE LATE.
BECAUSE IT CONTAINS MARTYRS OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION.
AND THIS HARPAZO HARVEST RESURRECTION-RAPTURE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST COMING AT THE END OF THE AGE IS THE ONLY RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS THAT THIS AGE WILL SEE. AND BEING THE FIRST RESURRECTION IT WILL FOLLOW ON AS A LEGAL CONSEQUENCE FROM THE FORMER FIRSTFRUITS RESURRECTION OF CHRIST OUR HEAD WHICH OCCURRED 2,000 ODD YEARS AGO. WE MUST CONCLUDE THAT THERE WILL BE A SECOND RESURRECTION AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIAL AGE TO COME AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE RESURRECTION OF ALL THE WICKED DEAD.
The raising of the dead by Christ at His coming is a very real future holy event. In Revelation 20, (which is clearly post-tribulational), the Apostle John sees and labels the "first Resurrection". This first Resurrection we see spoken about in Rev. 20:4-6 is certainly embarrassingly late in coming, since it contains tribulation martyrs. But that is no reason for the future glorious First Resurrection of "those who are Christ's" to be treated like a dob of relativistic theological taffy and stretched back to include the resurrection of Christ. The First Resurrection of the righteous dead is a discrete one day event! It should not be some theological thing we tease out and pull all the way back 2,000 years to include the resurrection of Christ as our popular Bible teachers have done. The Resurrection of Christ, our sacred Head, and the Resurrection of the Body of Christ are two separate events in holy history. This is laid out very clearly in 1Cor. 15:22-24. The Resurrection of Jesus, our sacred Head, came 2,000 years ago. Jesus in His resurrection fulfilled the third Hebrew feast, the Feast of Firstfruits. The other Resurrection, the general Harvest Resurrection of the Body of Christ, follows on as a legal consequence from the resurrection of Christ this is true. But this resurrection of the Body of Christ comes in an entirely different time, 2,000 odd years later than the former Firstfruits Resurrection of Christ our Head which came back in the summer of 32 A.D.. The Resurrection of those who are Christ's, the Body of Christ if you will, will come on the heels of the 6th feast, the second of the Fall Feasts of Israel. The "Last Day" of this age will be the ultimate climactic epic fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. This blockbuster future Yom Kippur will be the Day of Covering that will cover all the Yom Kippurs that have gone before it.
Dear saints. The first resurrection we see in Revelation 20 obviously comes at the end of the age. It should never have been spirited away from view and shuffled off into some theological category and filed away with the Resurrection of Jesus 2,000 years ago. But this is precisely how the end-time Resurrection has been mis-treated. The First Resurrection has been obfuscated by our dispensationalist theologians.
This is so sad to have to report. This blessed First Resurrection event which our Apostle Paul tells us will come '...in the twinkling of an eye', has been vaporized into a broad theological "resurrection category".
The Resurrection, that Day when the righteous dead come up out of their graves and the sea gives up its dead should not be a mystery to us. It is a critical part of theblessed hope.
The Resurrection of the righteous dead is yet to come. The End-time Harvest Resurrection of the Body of Christ follows that earlier Resurrection of Christ. Each resurrection is discrete. The resurrection of the Head and the Resurrection of the Body are separate. Each Resurrection comes in its own order. See 1Cor. 15:22-24. Our Apostle Paul explains all this very clearly.
Resurrection Day, the Resurrection of the Body of Christ will be a stupendous future event. If it opens up "in a twinkling of an eye", as we see in 1Cor. 15:51-53then we must assume that this will unfold in a moment, in a very special "nick of time". This future blockbuster Resurrection of "those who are Christ's" will erupt into holy history at an instant, at a moment in time and during a single day.
We now know that this Resurrection-Rapture will be a late event. It will open up on the Day of the Lord. Heaven and earth will be shaken to its very foundations. On that Day the heavens will roll back as a scroll, space-time will be unzipped and the cosmos will roll back to reveal the coming King of kings. It will be a day like no other. The Resurrection-Rapture will happen on a day and hour that cannot be known. The Resurrection of those who are Christ's will be just as spectacular as the New Covenant fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfuits. This awesome past feast day saw the Resurrection of Christ. He is the Head of the Body of Christ. So His resurrection comes first. This Firstfuits Resurrection of Jesus, celebrated in the spring Feasts is the resurrection and the conquest over death effected buy Jesus our sacred Head. This awesome event occurred 2,000 years ago on the day after the regular seventh day Sabbath of Passover in 32 A.D..
THE RAPTURE IS PART OF THE HARPAZO/GLORIFICATION OF THE SAINTS.
THE END-TIME GATHERING OF THE ELECT INVOLVES THE DEAD AS WELL AS THE LIVING.
THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD ARE RESURRECTED INCLUDING THE TRIBULATION SAINTS.
IT INCORPORATES THE FULL RESTORATION OF ISRAEL AS A NATION AND AS A CONGREGATION/CHURCH.
ALL THIS WILL COME WITH THE RETURN OF MESSIAH.
The Rapture of the living saints at the close of this age is a well established Biblical truth. But this "harpazo" "snatching up from the ground" involves not only the living saints but the dead saints as well. So the Rapture of the living saints being the second part of this magnificent "harpazo" event includes and, (as we shall see), follows the raising of the righteous dead. Our scripture passage above tells us that the living saints will be caught up -"harpazo" along with the saints who have been dead but are now being raised to eternal life. So the Rapture and the Resurrection are both featured in this combined "harpazo" event. So they should be considered and spoken of together just as we see them spoken of together scripturally in 1Thes. 4:16,17. The "harpazo" or "catching away", or "snatching up" of the quick and the dead is the "blessed hope" for all the saints, those who are living at that time and those who have passed on before.
Is the Rapture important? Should Christians think about these things and study the apocalyptic Holy Scriptures? If we open our Bibles it is pretty hard not to. A quarter of the Bible is Bible prophecy. And it is certainly not "irrelevant" or "negative" or "none of our business" as one prominent purpose driven preacher has said. Titus encourages us to speak openly of these things, both exhorting believers in this blessed hope and rebuking the error being wrongly taught in these holy matters, doing so with all authority. See Titus 2:11,12,13,14,&15. So this blockbuster event, a consequence of the Apocalypse/unveiling of Messiah, is important. And as we are beginning to see, the Rapture should really be referred to in a Biblically correct way as the Resurrection-Rapture.
The Olivet Discourse bears witness to this combined Resurrection-Rapture as well. Jesus declared in no uncertain terms that He would return at the grand climax of this age to gather His (single) Elect from the four winds of heaven, from across the wide expanses of space-time. He will be gathering His saints from both sides of Calvary The returning Christ/Messiah will gather all those who are "in Him". A huge Congregation, Nation, and Company of nations will be saved under the blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb.
So the Rapture involves a much bigger story of regathering than we have been told. Our returning Messiah will be reaching across our theological dispensational barricades as well. He will be gathering the saints of the former times in the Old Testament story. And yes, contrary to what we have been told, He will also be gathering those faithful Tribulation Saints, many of them martyrs as we see in Revelation chapter 7. They cannot and will not be "left behind". See Rev. 7:9. Those blood bought Tribulation Saints have come out of the Great Tribulation and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. See Rev. 7:13. They are also seen by John standing before the throne of God serving Him in His temple and being ministered to by God forever. See Rev. 7:14,15.16.&17.
This is a very strange affair. But many dispensationalist Christians are insistent that these saints do not belong to the church. Really? These dear people of future times have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Why wouldn't they qualify for Church membership? Is it just because they are not in the dispensationalist time slot assigned to them as belonging to the Church Age? Have these saints been illegally shut out of God's Grace or the Age of Grace by these same dispensationalists? What if these people could get on a time machine and turn up at our present day dispensationalist churches. What if they were presented for church membership at such a church? What would be the verdict? Surely any sane and reasonable Christian would agree that the Tribulation saints certainly qualify for Church membership.
THE AGE OF GRACE AND THE JUDGMENT AT THE LAST DAY.
Dispensationalist lore has placed the "Church Age" and the "Age of Grace" to run up to a point 7 years before the end of the age and come to a sceeching halt. But is this true to the Holy Scriptures? As we read Revelation 7 and Revelation 20:4-6 and Joel 2:28-32 we see that the witness of the saints in the latter days is certainly not wrapped up until we come to the 6th Appointed Time/moed/feast. This is the Judgment at the Last Day, the final wrap-up Day of Atonement, Day of Reconciliation, Day of Accounting, Day of Pardoning, Day of Sentencing, Day of Covering, Yom Kippur,. On this Day, at the end of the final seven years of this age, the gavel of the Ancient of Days will fall and the heavenly court will adjourn. Since the rapture is an execution of the final Judgment there can be no Rapture before this final Judgment Day has been brought to a conclusion. Only after this huge all encompassing legal matter for every person is concluded for this age can the EXECUTION of that Judgment proceed. This execution of Judgment involves the directing the wrath of God on the wicked and the glory of God upon the Elect to bring them up into the Resurrection-Rapture.
So here is a question for Pre-Trib Rapture folk. Can a judgment be executed seven years before the Judge has finished summing up and making a final judgment on the person in question? We are told that we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. There we shall give an account of ourselves and the things done in our body both good and evil. On that day, the last day of this age, we will either be covered by the blood of the Lamb or we will not be covered. Yom Kippur is the Day of Covering, covering by the atoning blood of Israel's Sacrifice Lamb. Everyone must go up before the Judge of the earth on this, the final Day of Reckoning. Here Christian believers will receive their ultimate pardoning and restoration and be set up with new spiritual bodies for all eternity. Can this Rapture, this glorification in Resurrection or Rapture, this release from earthly bondage and promotion to eternal glory, be carried out seven years before the last day of this age, the day when we are ALL due to appear before the Judge?
The Bible tells us that people will be saved right up until the last day of this present evil age. How do we know that? We know this because of what Jesus and the prophet Joel have told us. Jesus said that after the tribulation will come the late cosmic signs of the 6th seal involving the sun, moon, and stars. Then, after after these post-tribulational cosmic signs He will gather His Elect. The prophet Joel goes on to say that during these same end of age post-tribulation cosmic signs of the 6th seal "whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved".
Oh yes, we serve a merciful God. The Good News of the Gospel will be preached right up until the very last day of this present evil age. And right up until that time people will be calling upon the Name of the Lord and being saved. Joel reports to us that this will be the very peak of the Holy Spirit outpouring, the same outpouring that began in earnest at Pentecost 2,000 years ago and our Apostle Peter commented on at the time will max out in a blaze of glory right at the end of the age. SeeJoel 2:28 and Joel 2:31.
THE ANGELIC PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS SHUDDER AND ARE IN DREAD OF THE END-TIME WITNESS OF THE SAINTS. AT LEASTTHEY KNOW THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE STORY! WOULD THAT OUR CHURCHMEN WOULD SEE THE LIGHT AND REALIZE THIS AS WELL. SO UNDERSTANDABLY THE POWERS OF DARKNESS, BOTH ANGELIC AND HUMAN, ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO DENY THE REALITY OF THIS END-TIME WITNESS OF THE SAINTS AND THE RESULTANT JUDGMENT THAT WILL ENSUE WITH MESSIAH RETURNING IN GREAT PASSION TO CAST THEM DOWN FROM THE LOWER HEAVEN AND INTO THE THE LAKE OF FIRE.
The reason this information is so contested and obfuscated by evil angels and deceived men is very easy to understand. The angels of darkness dread the final Judgment at the last day. They know that the "final witness" of the saints must come. And when that final witness is wrapped up in the 5th seal the cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal follow and after the SIGN of the Son of Man appears in the heavens Messiah will be loosing them for their final run, to gather up the wicked human beings that belong to them and then they will be dismissed. The evil angelic rulers over the regions of this world also know that when Messiah does come their rule over this fallen cosmos will be terminated. They will go off to the fires of Hell along with the wicked human underlings that they will be plucking up off the earth as tares for the fires. (See Mat. 13:30)
Oh yes, the angels of wrath know the score! They know the importance of the end-time witness of God's Chosen ones. But not our Western churchmen, it seems. The angelic principalities and powers know full well that when the tribulation ends and the final witness of the saints is concluded there will be the return of Messiah and the Judgment. Every single human soul who is alive and all the righteous dead who have ever lived will go up before the Ancient of Days at this final Judgment at thelast day. For the wicked, the Day of Atonement will not be a Day of Covering, (Yom Kippur), a Day of Blood Covering for sin. For them, (and all those godless wicked human beings who continue to join them in their rebellion against God), it will be be a Day of Sentencing. And the sentence will be death. That Day will be "curtains" for the angelic principalities and powers. And they know it! That is why they are stirring up the heathen nations and there is all this raging of wicked men and nations as we approach the end of this age.
The 5th seal witness of the covenant people of God is the testimony of the saints to their Jesus. It is the testimony of a Bride to her Bridegroom. It is an essential part of the end-time proceedings under the gavel of the Ancient of Days. The Book of Revelation is in fact a divine court case. The Ancient of Days oversees the end-time events. We need not fear. He is sovereign over all of holy history! And, as Job declared in Job 38:11, He sets the limits on the tumultuous seas, the raging of godless men and nations. He says,
"This far, . . . .and no further!!!"
THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF BLOOD COVENANT DEVOTION.
IS THE WESTERN CHURCH A TRUE BRIDE, "SOLD OUT", AND FULLY COMMITTED TO HER BRIDEGROOM?
OR IS SHE AN UNINVOLVED PURCHASED CONCUBINE JUST PLAYING GAMES?
There is no running away from this truth. The Holy Scriptures declare that the testimony of Jesus is the very essence and spirit of prophecy. (See Rev. 19:10.) This is the true and faithful Bridal witness. This is the normal blood covenant commitment that any true and worthy bride knows, and understands implicitly.
No comments:
Post a Comment