The Rapture

Rapture Notes

January 10, 2017 By sonserver Leave a Comment

Although the word ‘rapture’ does not appear in English translations of the Bible, it is a term commonly used in associations with events which relate to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The meaning of the idea behind ‘the Rapture’ is to be ‘caught up’ or ‘snatched out’ by Jesus who will first come to take away the ‘saved’ to heaven just before the beginning of a 7-year period of time known as ‘The Time of Jacob’s Trouble’, ‘The 70th Week of Daniel’ or ‘The Tribulation’. The true, faithful believers will disappear in the “twinkling of an eye” as they are transformed into their new, perfect, complete spiritual bodies in an instant before being caught up to Heaven by Jesus. The sudden absence of millions of people, will, of course, not go unnoticed on Earth. There will be mass confusion and disruption of ordinary life. At the beginning of the Tribulation, the identity of the antichrist will be revealed as the one who confirms a peace treaty with Israel. Non-believers will be left behind to face severe tribulation as the antichrist rises in power and takes on the role as the Beast who is Satan incarnate and proclaims himself to be god while requiring all people on Earth to worship him. The second half of the seven year Tribulation is known as ‘The Great Tribulation’. Although the Church will be absent during this time, new Christians, who will be known as Tribulation Saints, will endure extreme persecution to the point of death by beheading. With the recent rise of ISIS in the Middle East one has to wonder if there isn’t an Islamic connection. Later, at the close of The Tribulation is when Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in triumph and glory to defeat the antichrist and his armies. It is at this point that His return is known as the Second Coming. This is the event when Jesus will victoriously return to conquer His enemies before establishing his millennial reign of Peace on Earth for a thousand years (the millennium) with His saints, the church.

After the thousand years, the rest of the dead will be raised to kneel before their judge, Jesus Christ, at the Great White Throne judgment. They will then be separated from God forever after they are cast into the lake of fire, while the saved will live forever with Christ in a new heaven and earth (Revelation 19-22).

The important differences between the rapture and second coming are as follows:

1) At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). At the second coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth (Revelation 19:14).

2) The Second Coming occurs after the great and terrible Tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The rapture occurs before the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).

3) The Rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 5:9). The second coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment (Matthew 24:40-41).

4) The Rapture will be secret and instant (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). The Second Coming will be visible to all (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:29-30).

5) The second coming of Christ will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15-30; Revelation chapters 6–18). The rapture is not precluded by any unfulfilled prophecy and is thought to be imminent; that it could take place at any moment (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54).

Distinct Differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming are Important!

1) If the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event, then the believers would have to go through the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).

2) If the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event, then the return of Christ would not be imminent – there are many prophesied events which must occur before He can return (Matthew 24:4-30).

3) In describing the Tribulation period, the Church is not mentioned at all in Revelation chapters 6–19. During the Tribulation, also known as “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7) – God will turn His primary attention towards the redemption of the remnant of Israel (Romans 11:17-31).

Definitions and Origin of the Rapture

The English word “Rapture” is derived from the Latin verb “Rapere” meaning “to carry off,” or “to catch up” or “catch away” or “pluck out”.
The English word “Rapture” is derived from Middle French rapture, via the Medieval Latin raptura (“seizure, kidnapping”), which derives from the Latin raptus (“a carrying off”).
The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα as rapiemur meaning “we are caught up” or “we are taken away” from the Latin verb rapio meaning “to catch up” or “take away”.
Harpazo : the English transliteration of the Greek word for Rapture.

There are three main theories regarding the time frame of the Rapture:

Pre-Tribulation or Pre-Trib: the Rapture event happens before the 7-year Tribulation, and is also known as ‘The Blessed Hope’.
Mid-Tribulation or Mid-Trib: the Rapture event happens in the middle of the 7-year Tribulation
Post-Tribulation or Post-Trib: the Rapture event happens at the end of the 7-year Tribulation

Two other lesser known and less popular theories are Pre-Wrath and the Partial Rapture theories. In Pre-Wrath the Rapture event happens after the beginning of the 7-year Tribulation, but before God’s wrath is experienced on Earth as detailed in the Book of Revelation. The Partial Rapture is a subset of Pre-Trib, in which ONLY spirit-filled Christians who are ready, watching, and waiting for Jesus will be rewarded by being raptured.

The Rapture theory gained in popularity in the 1970’s due to books written by Hal Lindsey. In The Late Great Planet Earth Lindsey promoted the idea of an imminent Rapture based on the global situation at the time qualifying as the beginning of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Some speculate that many non-believers who are left behind after the Rapture will finally come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior as a result of the Rapture. The others who are left behind will persist in their stubbornness and disbelief, concocting theories to “explain away” the catalclysmic, supernatural event. Some of these theories may be tied to the great deception spoken of in Revelation, possibly even having to do with claims of ‘alien abduction’ or a ‘natural, universal, evolutionary cosmic purging’ of the inferior, intolerant Christians.

Jesus told his disciples to look for Signs which would indicate that the End was near. The Signs he mentioned included

Deception: false Christs leading people astray
Wars and Rumors or threats of Wars amongst the nations
Famine
Disease
Earthquakes and Tsunamis

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)

“…For I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when I have gone and have prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself so that where I am, you also will be.”

John 14:2-3 (NIV)

What is the Rapture Anyhow?

January 7, 2017 By sonserver Leave a Comment

The Rapture is an event where the groom comes to take his bride away, to be married to her forever. Seriously, that’s what it is.

Only the groom is the Messiah, the Son of God, better known as Jesus or Yeshua, and the bride is not a single person, but all people who corporately believe in Jesus and trust him, male and female alike, living and dead. The bride is better known as ‘the church’.

This supernatural event is not to be confused with the Second Coming, which happens after the Rapture, when Christ returns to defeat his enemies in Israel; namely the anti-Christ, the False Prophet, and everyone else who foolishly believes that they can fight and defeat God himself.

The Rapture is a rescue story, known as the Blessed Hope…which is the hope that all believers have, or should have, that their Savior is coming to rescue them from hell that people who remain on Earth will experience for a 7 year period of time known as The Tribulation, if they even survive it, for 2/3 of all mankind will perish, either at the hand of the anti-Christ who will tirelessly persecute and work to exterminate both Jews and new converts to Christianity, or as a result of God’s wrath that is unleashed upon earth in biblical proportions; earthquakes, tsunamis, hail storms, fire, a meteor impact,war, even nuclear war, violence, disease, famine, wild animals and more. The Bible says if these days were not cut short all mankind would perish.

The idea of the Rapture is often ridiculed and said to be something that it is not. Some people insist that the concept of the Rapture is not biblical as the word can not be found in the Bible. Others even get angry and defensive about which view on the timing of the Rapture is correct.

Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:4

While the word ‘Rapture’ itself is not in the Bible, it’s Greek equivalent is. You see, the New Testament was written entirely in Greek and later translated into Latin and English. The Greek word is ‘harpazo’ and means to be plucked out, taken up or snatched away quickly. Harpazo translated into Latin is ‘rapio’ from where we get our English word ‘Rapture’, however, in the Bible it is usually translated as ‘caught up‘.

The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NKJV)

Most all Bible translations use the phase ‘caught up’, but a few say ‘carried away’, ‘caught away together’, ‘taken in the clouds’, or ‘taken up together’.

1 Corinthians 15:50-55

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?

So there you have it, when the trumpet sounds, those who belong to Christ will be given their new immortal bodies and caught up, or taken away to the Father’s house in Heaven for a royal wedding.

Do you think such a thing is difficult for God? The Creator of the Universe…

Ephraem the Syrian and the Rapture

January 6, 2017 By sonserver Leave a Comment

Rapture: Three Fascinating Discoveries!

by Grant Jeffrey
(October 5, 1948 – May 11, 2012)

– Ephraem the Syrian, A.D. 373

Over the last 30 years I have been fascinated with Bible prophecy because it authenticates the Scriptures as God’s inspired Word and it points to the imminent return of Jesus Christ to usher in the Messianic kingdom. I am always delighted when God leads me to new information that confirms His Word. In my ongoing research into recent archaeolological discoveries and into writings of Early Church leaders I have made several exciting new discoveries that I want to share with my readers.

In this chapter we will explore a number of interesting discoveries about the following subjects: the finding of a teaching about the pre-Tribulation Rapture from the first centuries of the Early Church; the archaeological discoveries of the tombs of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus that prove the historical accuracy of the Gospels; and the proof that miraculous healings, raising of the dead, and the charismatic gifts were common among believers during the first three centuries following the resurrection of Christ.

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Was Taught by the Early Church

Obviously, the truth about the timing of the Rapture will ultimately be found only in Scripture. The Protestant Reformation was based essentially on this return to the authority of the Bible. The Latin phrase Sola Scriptura, meaning “Scripture Alone,” became the rallying cry of the reformers who ignored centuries of tradition and church councils in their insistence that truth could only be discovered in the Word of God. While the ultimate resolution of this discussion must be based on our interpretation of Scripture, it is important to answer the errors of our opponents who disparage “the blessed hope” of the Rapture with misinformation about the modem rediscovery of the truth about the pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Many post-tribulationist writers have attacked the pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine by claiming that it cannot be true because no Church writer or reformer ever taught this doctrine until approximately 170 years ago. While the real question for sincere students of Scripture must be whether or not the Bible truly teaches this doctrine, the argument that no one ever saw this “truth” throughout the 1,800 years of Church history has been very effective, causing many Christians to abandon their belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. The only problem with their argument is that they are totally wrong.

Many contemporary writers claim that the pre-Tribulation Rapture theory first originated around A.D. 1820. They ascribe the theory’s initial creation to either Emmanuel Acurnza (Ben Ezra, 1812), Edward Irving (1816), or Margaret Macdonald (1830), and finally to John Darby (1830). For example, Dave MacPherson in The Incredible Cover-Up, written in 1975, stated, “Margaret Macdonald was the first person to teach a coming of Christ that would precede the days of Antichrist.”‘ Before 1830 Christians had always believed in a single future coming, that the catching up of I Thessalonians 4 will take place after the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24 at the glorious coming of the Son of Man when He shall send His angels to gather together all of His elect.” Reverend John Bray, in The Origin of the Pre- Tribulation Rapture Teaching (1980), declared, “People who are teaching the pre-Tribulation Rapture today are teaching something that never was taught until 1812…. Not one of those Early Church fathers taught a pre-Tribulation Rapture…. I make the offer of five hundred dollars to anybody who will find a statement, a sermon, article in a commentary, or anything, prior to 1812 that taught a twophase coming of Christ separated by a stated period of time, such as the pre-Tribulation rapturists teach.

Those writers, among others who despise the teaching of the pre-Tribulation Rapture, dogmatically assert that it was taught for the first time in 1830 by John Darby and the Plymouth Brethren or one of the other individuals mentioned above.

A number of these authors will have to drastically revise the next edition of their books based on two remarkable textual discoveries that conclusively prove that a number of Christian teachers, centuries before John Darby rediscovered this biblical teaching, clearly taught that the Rapture would occur before the tribulation period. During the summer of 1994, after more than a decade of searching, I discovered several fascinating manuscripts that contain clear evidence of the teaching of the pre-Tribulation Rapture in the Early Church.

Ephraem’s Teaching on the Pre-Tribulation Rapture

“For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the Tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins” (On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, by Ephraem the Syrian, A.D. 373).

The early Christian writer and poet, Ephraem the Syrian (who lived from A.D. 306 to 373), was a major theologian of the early Byzantine Eastern Church. He was born near Nisbis in the Roman province of Syria, near present-day Edessa, Turkey. Ephraem displayed a profound love of the Scriptures in his writings as illustrated by several of his written comments quoted in Works of Nathaniel Lardner (vol. 4, 1788). “1 esteem no man more happy than him who diligently reads the Scriptures delivered to us by the Spirit of God, and thinks how he may order his conversation by the precepts of them.” To this day his hymns and homilies are used in the liturgy of the Greek Orthodox and Middle Eastern Nestorian Church. While the 16-volume Post-Nicene Library includes a number of homilies and psalms by Ephraem the Syrian, the editors noted that he also wrote a large number of commentaries that have never been translated into English.

Ephraem’s fascinating teaching on the Antichrist has never been published in English until now. This critically important prophecy manuscript from the fourth century of the Church era reveals a literal method of interpretation and a teaching of the pre-millennial return of Christ. More importantly, Ephraem’s text revealed a very clear statement about the pre-tribulational return of Christ to take His elect saints home to heaven to escape the coming Tribulation. In addition, Ephraem declares his belief in a personal, Jewish Antichrist, who will rule the Roman Empire during the last days, a rebuilt temple, the two witnesses, and a literal Great Tribulation lasting 1,260 days. It is also fascinating to note that he taught that the war of God and Magog would precede the tribulation period. I discovered another text by Ephraem called The Book of the Cave of Treasure that revealed he taught that Daniel’s seventieth week will be fulfilled in the final seven years at the end of this age that will conclude with Christ’s return at the Battle of Armageddon to establish His kingdom.

The following section includes key passages from Ephraem’s important text, written about A.D. 373, and translated by Professor Cameron Rhoades of Tyndale Theological Seminary at my request.

On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World

1. Most dearly beloved brothers, believe the Holy Spirit who speaks- in us. Now we have spoken before, because the end of the world is very near, and the consummation remains. Has not the first faith withered away in men? …

2. We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or overhanging. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already been fulfilled, and there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom. Why therefore are we occupied with worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that He may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms the world? Believe you me, dearest brothers, because the coming of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time…. Because all saints and the Elect of the Lord 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 which overwhelms the world because of our sins [italics added]. And so, brothers, most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of this world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord….

3. When therefore the end of the world comes, there arise diverse wars, commotions on all sides, horrible earthquakes, perturbations of nations, tempests throughout the lands, plagues, famine, drought throughout the thoroughfares, great danger throughout the sea and dry land, constant persecutions, slaughters and massacres everywhere….

4. When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying and murderous one is born from the tribe of Dan. He is conceived from the seed of a man and from a most vile virgin, mixed with an evil or worthless spirit….

5. But when the time of the abomination of his desolation begins to approach, having been made legal, he takes the empire…. Therefore, when he receives the kingdom, he orders the temple of God to be rebuilt for himself, which is in Jerusalem; who, after coming into it, he shall sit as God and order that he be adored by all nations … then all people from everywhere shall flock together to him at the city of Jerusalem, and the holy city shall be trampled on by the nations for forty-two months just as the holy apostle says in the Apocalypse, which become three and a half years, 1,260 days.

6. In these three years and a half the heaven shall suspend its dew; because there will be no rain upon the earth … and there will be a great tribulation, as there has not been, since people began to be upon the earth … and no one is able to sell or to buy of the grain of the fall harvest, unless he is one who has the serpentine sign on the forehead or the hand….

7. And when the three and a half years have been completed, the time of the Antichrist, through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets, in the hour which the world does not know, and on the day which the enemy or son of perdition does not know, will come the sign of the Son of Man, and coming forward the Lord shall appear with great power and much majesty, with the sign of the word of salvation going before him, and also even with all the powers of the heavens with the whole chorus of the saints …. Then Christ shall come and the enemy shall be thrown into confusion, and the Lord shall destroy him by the Spirit of his mouth. And he shall be bound and shall be plunged into the abyss of everlasting fire alive with his father Satan; and all people, who do his wishes, shall perish with him forever; but the righteous ones shall inherit everlasting life with the Lord for ever and ever.

To summarize the key points in Ephraem’s text on the last days:

1. Ephraem’s manuscript lays out the events of the last days in chronological sequence. Significantly, he began with the Rapture, using the word “imminent,” then he described the Great Tribulation of three and a half years duration under the Antichrist’s tyranny, followed by the second coming of Christ to earth with His saints to defeat the Antichrist.

2. Significantly, at the beginning of his treatise in section 2, Ephraem used the word “imminent” to describe the Rapture occurring before the Tribulation and the coming of the Antichrist. “We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers which is imminent or overhanging.”

3. He clearly described the pre-Tribulation Rapture: “Because all saints and the Elect of the Lord 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 which overwhelms the world because of our sins.”

4. He then gives the purpose of God rapturing the Church “before the tribulation” so that “they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins.” Ephraem used the word “confusion” as a synonym for the tribulation period.

5. Ephraem described the duration of the “great tribulation” (the last half of the seven-year tribulation period) in sections 7, 8, and 10, as follows: “forty- two months” and “three and a half years,” and “1,260 days.”

6. He summarized: “There will be a great tribulation, as there has no been since people began to be upon the earth,” and described the Mark of the Beast system.

7. He declared that Christ will come to the earth after the “three and a half years” tribulation period in section 10: “And when the three and a half years have been completed, the time of the Antichrist, through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets … will come the sign of the Son of Man, and coming forward the Lord shall appear with great power and much majesty.”

Dr. Paul Alexander, perhaps the most authoritative scholar on the writings of the early Byzantine Church, concluded that Ephraem’s text on the Antichrist taught that the Lord would supernaturally remove the saints of the Church from the earth “prior to the tribulation that is to come.” Ephraem wrote that the saints will be “taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” Dr. Alexander believed this text was written by some unknown writer in the sixth century, but he concluded that it was derived from an original Ephraem manuscript (A.D. 373). Other scholars, including the German editor Professor Caspari, who wrote a German commentary on this Latin manuscript in 1890, believed that Ephraem’s manuscript was written by the genuine Ephraem in A.D. 373. Professor Cameron Rhoades translated Ephraem’s Latin text into English at the request of my friend Dr. Tommy Ice and myself.

Ephraem and Daniel’s Seventieth Week – the Tribulation Period

A question naturally arises in the mind of Bible students about how long Ephraem believed the Tribulation would last. While Ephraem correctly describes the “great tribulation” as three and a half years, his other writings revealed that he believed the whole tribulation period, “that sore affliction,” would last “one week” of seven years. Ephraem’s book, The Book of the Cave of Treasures, taught about the genealogy of Christ. He wrote that the sixty-ninth week of Daniel 9:24-27 ended with the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah. He stated, “The Jews have no longer among them a king, or a priest, or a prophet, or a Passover, even as Daniel prophesied concerning them, saying, ‘After two and sixty weeks Christ shall be slain, and the city of holiness shall be laid waste until the completion of things decreed’ (Dan. 9:26). That is to say, for ever and ever” (italics added, The Cave of Treasures, page 235). In Daniel’s prophecy he foretold that Jerusalem would be rebuilt “even in troublesome times” during the initial period of “seven weeks” of years (49 years). Daniel’s prophecy declared that this initial period of seven “weeks” of years would be immediately followed by a further period of 62 “weeks” of years ending with the cutting off of the Messiah (483 years). The combined total of 69 weeks of years (7 weeks plus 62 weeks) was to conclude with the rejection of Christ. As quoted above, Ephraem taught that Jesus Christ was slain at the end of the combined 69 weeks of years.

However, in the section of his book dealing with the future war of God and Magog, Ephraem wrote about the final (seventieth) week of Daniel as follows: “At the end of the world and at the final consummation … suddenly the gates of the north shall be opened. … They will destroy the earth, and there will be none able to stand before them. After one week of that sore affliction [Tribulation], they will all be destroyed in the plain of Joppa. . . .

Then will the son of perdition appear, of the seed and of the tribe of Dan…. He will go into Jerusalem and will sit upon a throne in the Temple saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and he will be borne aloft by legions of devils like a king and a lawgiver, naming himself God…. The time of the error of the Antichrist will last two years and a half, but others say three years and six months” (italics added). Although there are some curious elements in his description of prophetic events, it is clear that Ephraem believed that the seventieth final week of Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks will finally be fulfilled during the final seven years of this age when the Antichrist will appear. This evidence of a belief in a “gap” or “parenthesis” between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week of Daniel 9:24-27 from the fourth century of the Christian era is significant. It is worthwhile to note that the teaching that there would be a “gap” or parenthesis between Daniel’s sixty-ninth week and the seventieth week of years was also taught by others in the Early Church, including the epistle of Barnabas (A.D. 110) and the writings of Hippolytus (A.D. 220).

Dr. John Gill Taught the Pre-Tribulation Rapture in 1748

Dr. John Gill, a famous eighteenth-century Baptist theologian, published his commentary on the New Testament in 1748. He is considered a serious Calvinist scholar who wrote many volumes on theology. In his commentary on I Thessalonians 4:15-17, Dr. Gill points out that Paul is teaching a doctrine that is “something new and extraordinary.” Gill calls the imminent translation of the saints “the rapture” and calls for watchfulness because “it will be sudden, and unknown before-hand, and when least thought of and expected.” This is a clear, detailed 1748 teaching on the imminent pre- Tribulation Rapture (80 years prior to John Darby in 1830).

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep” (I Thess. 4:15). Gill’s commentary on this passage is: “The Apostle, having something new and extraordinary to deliver concerning the coming of Christ, the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the saints, the change of the living saints and the Rapture both of the raised, and living in the clouds to meet Christ in the air expresses itself in this manner” (italics added).

“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 Thess. 4:17). In commenting on this verse Gill revealed that he understood there would be an interval of time between the Rapture and the return of saints with Christ at Armageddon.

Suddenly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with force and power; by the power of Christ, and by the ministry and means of the holy angels; and to which rapture will contribute the agility, which the bodies both of the raised and changed saints will have; and this rapture of the living saints will be together with them; with the dead in Christ, that will then be raised; so that the one will not prevent the other, or the one be sooner with Christ than the other; but one being raised and the other changed, they’ll be joined in one company and general assembly, and be rapt up together: in the clouds; the same clouds perhaps in which Christ will come will be let down to take them up; these will be the chariots, in which they’ll be carried up to Him; and thus, as at our Lord’s ascension a cloud received Him, and in it He was carried up out of the sight of men, so at this time will all the saints ride up in the clouds of Heaven: to meet the Lord in the air; whither He’ll descend… here Christ will stop and will be visible to all, and as easily discerned by all, good and bad, as the body of the sun at noonday; as yet He will not descend on earth, because not fit to receive Him; but when that and its works are burnt up, and it is purged and purified by fire, and become a new earth, He’ll descend upon it, and dwell with His saints in it: and this suggests another reason why He’ll stay in the air, and His saints shall meet Him there, and whom He’ll take up with Him into the third heaven, till the general conflagration and burning of the world is over, and to preserve them from it: and then shall all the elect of God descend from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, and He with them … then they shall be with Him, wherever He is; fist in the air, where they shall meet Him; them in the third heaven, where they shall go up with Him; then on earth, where they shall descend and reign with Him a thousand years; and then in the ultimate glory to all eternity.

To summarize Dr. Gill’s 1748 pre-Tribulation Rapture teaching about the sequence of prophetic events it is vital to note that he declared: to all.

1. The Lord will descend in the air.
2. The saints will be raptured in the air to meet Him.
3. Here Christ will stop in the air and will be visible.
4. As yet, He will not descend on earth, because it is not fit to receive Him.
5. He’ll take up the saints with Him into the third heaven, till the general conflagration and burning of the world is over.
6. He will preserve them from it.
7. And then shall all the elect of God descend from heaven to earth with Christ.

Gill then summarizes the sequence:

1) They shall be with Him, wherever He is; first in the air, where they shall meet Him, then Him; then
2) In the third heaven, where they shall go up with
3) On earth, where they shall descend and reign with Him a thousand years.

Therefore, in addition to Ephraem’s pre-Tribulation teaching from the fourth century, we have another clear statement of this doctrine from Dr. John Gill, more than 80 years before John Darby in 1830. Those who have stated that the pre-Tribulation Rapture was never taught throughout the entire history of the Church until 1820 are simply ignorant of these important Christian texts. The French writer Joubert once wrote, “Nothing makes men so imprudent and conceited as ignorance of the past and a scorn for old books.”

Why is it important to teach the doctrine of the pre-Tribulation Rapture? The apostle Peter warned that many people would challenge our Lord’s promise of His second coming in the last days. “Knowing this first; that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ (2 Pet. 3:3-4).

What does the Bible teach us about the proper attitude of a Christian on the subject of Christ’s return? Paul tells us, “So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 1:7).

One of the distinguishing characteristics of a true follower of Jesus is that of a faithful, waiting, and watching servant. Dr. Klink, one of the great students of the faith of the Early Church, wrote, “This constant expectation of our Lord’s second coming is one of the characteristic features of primitive Christianity.” Paul also commends a constant expectation of the Rapture in Philippians 3:20 where he said, “For our citizenship is in heaven; from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The great reformer John Calvin wrote of the vital importance of the hope of the Second Coming: “It ought to be the chief concern of believers to fix their minds fully on His Second Advent.” Martin Luther, in his Sermon of Consolation, declared that the hope of Christ’s return is an absolute necessity for a Christian: “If thou be not

filled with a desire after the Coming of this day, thou canst never pray the Lord’s prayer, nor canst thou repeat from thy heart the creed of faith. For with what conscience canst thou say, ‘I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting,’ if thou dost not in my heart desire the same? If thou didst believe it, thou must, of necessity, desire it from thy heart, and long for that day to come; which, if thou doest not desire, thou art not yet a Christian, nor canst thou boast of thy faith.”

Throughout the New Testament we read continual exhortations to hold the hope of our Lord’s soon return as the focus of our spiritual

life. Far from being an unimportant issue, interesting only to students of prophecy, the “blessed hope” of the Rapture should be a cornerstone of every Christian’s spiritual life.

The message and hope of the imminent second coming of Christ to rapture the saints has the following purposes:

1. – It calls us to constant watchfulness for His return (I Thess. 5:4-6).
2. It motivates Christians to witness to unbelievers in light of His imminent coming (John 9:4).
3. It reminds us to walk in holiness in an immoral world while we await His return (I John 3:3).
4. It comforts the saints by reminding them of their eternal destiny with Christ (John 14:1-3).
5. It warns of the coming judgment on those who reject His salvation (2 Thess. 1:8-9)
6. It inspires us to persevere against opposition in light of His reward (2 Tim. 4:1-8).
7. It encourages sinners to repent and accept the Lord while there is still time (Acts 3:19-21).

The promise in the Scriptures of the imminent second coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is the last best hope of mankind. It is the promise of the ultimate vindication of God’s plan to redeem mankind and the earth from the curse of sin and death. The final realization of Jesus Christ’s claim that He is the promised Messiah, and the fulfillment of prophecies about the coming kingdom of God will culminate when the heavens open to reveal Christ coming in all His glory at the Battle of Armageddon. However, the Scriptures teach that another event will occur before Christ comes to defeat the Antichrist and the armies of the world at Armageddon at the end of the sevenyear tribulation period. This separate and earlier event is often called the Rapture. Throughout the Bible the passages that detail the revelation of Christ at the end of the tribulation period describe a totally different event than those passages describing the coming of Christ in the air to take the saints home to heaven.

The longing for the Rapture and the return of Christ has motivated generations of Bible students to examine the Scriptures in a search for clues as to the exact timing of His glorious appearing. Unfortunately, despite clear scriptural warnings against date-setting regarding the time of His return, many have indulged in unhelpful speculation about the time of the Rapture. Harold Camping’s book 1994, for example, claimed that Christ would return on September 17, 1994. Millions of followers of these writings have been deeply disappointed when their foolish predictions proved false. However, despite these disappointments, we must not abandon our hope for an imminent Rapture. We must simply be obedient to Christ’s command that “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).

John Wesley de Fletcher wrote a fascinating letter to Charles Wesley in 1755 that expressed the proper attitude we should have toward the return of Christ. “I know that many have been grossly mistaken as to the year of His return, but, because they were rash, shall we be stupid? Because they say ‘Today!’ shall we say, ‘Never!’ and cry ‘Peace, peace,’ when we should look about us with eyes full of expectation?”

The Bible warns us to live in holiness because Christ could return at any moment, without warning. Jesus, in Luke 12:37 and 40, admonished, “Blessed are those servants, whom the master, when he comes, will find watching …. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter, in his second epistle, said, “You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked” (2 Pet. 3:17). We must live in a dynamic spiritual balance. While we are commanded to live in holiness and urgently ‘witness as though He will return before the dawn, we are called to plan and work to fulfill the Great Commission as if He will tarry for another hundred years. We are to “do business [‘occupy’ in the Authorized Version] till I come” (Luke 19:13), fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20).

This discovery of texts written before 1820 brings us to the conclusion that a remnant of the faithful, from the beginning of the Early Church until today, have upheld the great precious biblical truth of pre-Tribulation Rapture. Ephraem the Syrian’s A.D. 373 manuscript On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, along with Dr. John Gill’s 1748 Commentary on the New Testament refute the dogmatic declarations of a post-Tribulation Rapture. In my earlier book, Apocalypse, I quoted from the early Christian writing called Shepherd of Hermas (A.D. 110), proving it taught the preTribulation Rapture as the hope of the Church.

Sir Isaac Newton and the Rapture

January 6, 2017 By sonserver 5 Comments

“About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition.”

Sir Issac Newton 1642-1727

Sir Isaac Newton was likely one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. He made fundamental contributions to every major area of scientific and mathematical concern in his generation. He made revolutionary advances in mathematics, optics, physics, and astronomy. He actually invented the mathematic discipline known as calculus.

In addition to his unequaled mental capability, Newton was also an ardent Bible scholar who was very fluent in the ancient languages. He studied and translated the book of Daniel from the original Hebrew and his interpretations are the foundation of a book entitled, NEWTON’S PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, by the Oregon Institute Of Science and Medicine.

Regarding his perception of how God was working in the lives of men in revealing truths from the Word of God, Newton wrote:

“Amongst the Interpreters of the last age
there is scarce one of note who hath not made some
discovery worth knowing; and thence seem to gather
that God is about opening these mysteries.
The success of others put me upon considering it; and
if I have done anything which may be useful to following
writers, I have my design.”

Newton’s keen insight into Daniel’s prophecies may be the greatest contribution he ever made.

Almost 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton was given prophetic insight into our present time. God has raised up a group of men and women who are insisting upon a literal interpretation of Daniel’s Prophecies.

There is a great deal of resistance to it, as well as much “clamor and opposition.” But God’s Word is just that: God’s Word! Men can either listen to it and believe what it says, or they can disregard it and miss out on what God is really saying.

If Newton were alive today, most Prophecy students would probably label him as a date setter. And yet, all he is really doing is insisting upon a literal interpretation of the prophecies. By so doing, he arrives at the conclusion that the Messiah the Prince will return 49 years after Israel issues her call to return and rebuild their new nation.

NEWTON’S INTERPRETATION OF DANIEL
The “70 Weeks” Of Daniel are critical to our understanding of Endtime Prophecy. Modern Bible scholars have created a “traditional” interpretation that may have, “rendered the Word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:13).

Almost 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton wrote on the Proehecies of Daniel. Newton was one of the greatest scientist who ever lived. He was an ardent Bible scholar who studied and translated the prophecies of Daniel from the original Hebrew. The following highlights some of his important insight.

70 WEEKS COMPLETED
Newton contended that the 70 weeks represent 490 years that ended with the death of Jesus Christ (from NEWTON’S PROPHICIES OF DANIEL):

“Seventy weeks are cut out upon thy people

and upon thy holy city, to finish trans

gression, etc. Here, by putting a week

for seven years, are reckoned 490 years

from the time the dispersed Jews should be

re-incorporated into a people and a holy

city, until the death and resurrection of

Christ; whereby transgression should be

finished, and sins ended, iniquity be

expiated, and everlasting righteousness

brought in and this Vision be accomplished

and the Prophet consummated, that Prophet

whom the Jews expected; and whereby the

the most Holy should be anointed, he who

is therefore in the next words called the

Anointed, that is, the Messiah, or the

Christ. For by joining the acconplishment

of the vision with the expiation of sins,

the 490 years are ended with the death of

Christ.”

Newton outlined this 490 years as follows:

“Now the dispersed Jews became a people

and city when they first returned…in the

seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus when

Ezra returned with a body of Jews from

captivity, and revived the Jewish worship;

….to judge & govern the people according

to the laws of God & the King, Ezra vii.25

There were but two returns from captivity,

Zerubbabel’s and Ezra’s; in Zerubbabel’s

they had only the commission to build the

Temple, in Ezra’s they first became a city

by a government of their own. Now the

years of this Artaxerxes…was in the year

(458 B.C.) Count the time from thence to

the death of Christ, and you will find it

just 490 years.”

Newton felt that the 70 weeks of Daniel were completed with the death of Christ around the year 33 or 34 A.D. In addition to the completion of these 490 years, Newton also believed there was a significance to the 7 weeks, 62 weeks, 1 week and 1/2 Or a week.

For a summary of Newton’s interpretations of the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks, please review DANIEL UNSEALED. In this exciting booklet, Newton shows how the 62 weeks related to the First Coming of Christ. From 436 B.C. Newton counts 434 years (62 x 7 = 434) to arrive at the birth of Christ around the year 2 B.C.

Newton then shows how the 7 weeks relate to the Second Coming of Christ. 7 weeks of years, or 49 years, is the time between the call to return to the land of Israel and the coming of the Messiah the Prince. After 62 weeks the Messiah was cut off. After the 7 weeks He will come as Messiah the Prince. Some have belived that the 49 years began on May 14, 1948 with the call to return and rebuild Israel. Others believe that those 49 years began in June 1967 when Israel captured Jerusalem as Arab armies on 3 borders were on the move to invade Israel. Regardless of when the 7 weeks of years begins, it will end quickly as Jesus returns as the Prince of Peace to Rapture His bride.

1 WEEK
Newton’s interpretation of Daniel’s 1 week is rather brief:

“Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week. He kept it, notwith standing his death, till the rejection of the Jews, and calling of Cornelius and the Gentiles in the seventh year after his passion.”

Like a growing number of Bible scholars, Sir Isaac Newton felt that the 1 week portion of Daniel’s prophecy related to Jesus Christ and not the Anti-christ, as modern day Bible scholars teach.

The covenant Daniel was referring to was the one mentioned previously:

“O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who

keeps his covenant of love with all who

love him and obey his commands… “

(Daniel 9:4)

Daniel begins his prayer to God by referring to God’s covenant of love and mercy. God sends his answer to Daniel through the angel Gabriel:

“He will confirm the covenant with many

for one week. . . “

(Daniel 9:27)

Could it be as simple as Newton states? Did Jesus confirm the “covenant with many” of Daniel’s people, in other words, Israel?

Remember what Jesus said in Mark 14:24:

“And He said unto them, this is my blood

of the new testamenf (covenant), which is

shed for many.”

Did Jesus confirm His covenant of love and mercy with Daniel’s people for 7 years? According to Newton, there was a 7 year period between the death of Christ and the time the Gospel was sent out to the Gentiles at the calling of Cornelius. If this is correct, then this could be the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.

The new covenant was a “strengthened” one which was offered to the Jews from the time of Christ’s death until it was also sent to the Gentiles. The word for “confirm” is “strengthened”,in the Hebrew. If this period was 7 years long as Newton says, then it could represent the correct solution.

1/2 OF WEEK
Newton’s interpretation of Daniel’s half a week is also quite brief:

“And in half a week he shall cause the

sacrifice and oblation to cease; that is,

by the war of the Romans upon the Jews:

which war, after some commotions, began in

the 13th year of Nero , A.D. 67, in the

Spring when Vespasian with an army invaded

them; and ended in the second year of

Vespasian, A.D. 70, in autumn, September 7

when Titus took the city, having burnt the

Temple 27 days before: so that it lasted

three years and an half.”

Newton felt that this portion of Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled at the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. The fact that this siege lasted for 3 1/2 years is recorded in history. It seems more than coincidence that Daniel’s prophecy does mention a 3 1/2 year period after which the Temple sacrifices would cease. If Newton’s interpretations are correct, it helps answer many questions which surround this prophecy of Daniel.

Newton summarised his findings regarding the prophecy by saying:

“Thus have we in this short Prophecy, a

prediction of all the main periods re

lating to the coming of the Messiah; the

time of his birth, that of his death, that

of the rejection of the Jews, the duration

of the Jewish war whereby he caused the

city and sanctuary to be destroyed, and

the time of his second coming: and so the

interpretation here given is more full and

complete and adequate to the design, than

if we should restrain it to his first

coming only, as Interpreters usually do.

We avoid also the doing violence to the

language of Daniel, by taking the 7 weeks

and 62 weeks for one number. Had that

been Daniel’s meaning, he would have said

sixty and nine weeks, and not seven weeks

and sixty two weeks, a way of numbering

used by no nation.”

Rapture Bible Verses

January 6, 2017 By sonserver Leave a Comment

John 14:1-3 (NKJV), “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Acts 1:9-11 (NKJV), “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ ”

Revelation 1:7 (NKJV), “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

Matthew 24:27 (NKJV), “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Matthew 24:37-42 (NKJV), “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”

Luke 17:35-37 (NKJV), ” ‘Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.’ And they answered and said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ So He said to them, ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’ ”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NKJV), “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Revelation 6:14-17 (NKJV), “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV), “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV), “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2 (NKJV), “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.”

Revelation 22:12 (NKJV), “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

Matthew 25:31-34, 41 (NKJV), “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:’…Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ”

63 Reasons The Rapture Of The Church Is Not The Second Coming Of Christ To Reign On Earth

November 6, 2016 By sonserver Leave a Comment

Those who do not believe in the biblical doctrine of the Rapture of the Church, usually argue that there is only one Coming or return of Christ to the earth to judge the nations. Some hold that this One Coming is simply for taking the believers home to heaven, with a judgment to follow.

Those who hold to the Rapture of the Church are far more careful to observe what the Bible says in context. They can observe the simple fact that there is a difference between up and down. Believers go up to meet Christ in the air. The Second Coming is indeed truly a “coming of the Lord down to the earth physically to establish the millennial kingdom promised to the Old Testament prophets.

Below is a list of verses and points, as shown in the Bible, highlighting the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming of the Lord to reign on earth. Some wonder why there is a heated discussion about this issue. It is important for the following reasons:

1. First, if the Rapture truly is in Scripture, that is enough to make it important. In other words, every doctrine the Lord has given us has a purpose and is important, simply because He has given it to us!

2. The Rapture is called the Blessed Hope. It promises redemption from the terrible seven year Tribulation so detailed in the book of Revelation.

3. Generally speaking, those who deny the Rapture of the Church interpret the Bible in a “spiritualized or “allegorical way. They also fail to consider “contexts. They deny certain passages of Scripture in the normal sense. By letting the Bible speak plainly in its teachings to us, we honor the Lord. We take His Word at face value!

Some general rules to note:
(1) Rapture passages are addressed to believers in the body of Christ. They are verses that speak of going directly back or up to the Lord in heaven.
(2) Second Coming passages have to do with the Lord coming down to earth to bless Israel, judge the nations, and rule the earth with a scepter of iron!

Comparison Of Rapture And Second Coming Verses:

	Rapture	Second Coming
1.	Christ prepares a place for us and takes us back to heaven. I will come again and receive you to Myself (John 14:1-3).	Coming to reign and rule in Jerusalem, Christ’s feet touch upon the Mt. of Olives. “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount will split in its middle (Zech. 14:4).
2.	Christ prepares a place in heaven. “I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:2).	Christ becomes a ruling king on earth. “The Lord will be king over all the earth (Zech. 14:9).
3.	The Church is with the Lord in heaven. “Where I am, there you may be also (John 14:3).	The Jewish people are with their king on earth. “And people will live in [Jerusalem], and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security (Zech. 14:11).
4.	Announced by the trumpet of God (1 Thess. 4:16).	Announced simply by a great trumpet (but not called the trumpet of God) (Matt. 24:31).
5.	Those “in Christ are gathered “to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17).	The “elect gathered (of Jews and the nations) (Matt. 24:31) to come before the king on His earthly throne (Matt. 25:31).
6.	The Lord descends from heaven with a shout (1 Thess. 4:16).	The Lord does not shout (Scripture gives no indication of such).
7.	The voice of the archangel is heard (1 Thess. 4:16).	Many angels sound a great trumpet but their voices are not heard (Matt. 24:31).
8.	No sign given for His coming.	A sign is given (Matt. 24:30).
9.	Called the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:9).	Called the Son of Man. A distinct messianic term used to describe the earthly Davidic king who shall reign in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:30).
10.	Comforting words for the Church. The Church will not mourn. “Comfort one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:18).	The nation of Israel will mourn. “Those who pierced Him will mourn (Rev. 1;7).
11.	The Scriptures do not indicate that the lost of the world will see His Rapture coming.	The entire world will see the Son of Man coming. “All the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky (Matt. 24:30).
12.	The Church saints (those in Christ) will be caught up alive “to be together (with the resurrected Church saints) in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:17).	The Messiah, the Son of Man, comes with the clouds (Matt. 24:30) to gather the elect to the place of His earthly throne (25:31).
13.	Christ’s power is not necessarily displayed openly to the world.	. He comes “with power and great glory as the Son of Man to rule on earth (Matt. 24:31).
14.	Called the Day of Christ (Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16). Day of blessing for the believer.	Called the Day of the Lord (1 Thess. 5:2). Day of judgment for the world, “When they (the world) says ‘Peace and Safety!’ then destruction comes upon them (v. 3).
15.	The Day of the Lord. “That day should not overtake you like a thief (1 Thess. 5:5).	The Day of the Lord. “Shall come [on them, the world] like a thief (1 Thess. 5:2).
16.	Believers in this Church age will be Raptured out of the Tribulation because they are sons of light, sons of the day (1 Thess. 5:5).	Unbelievers left behind to face the Tribulation (the Day of the Lord) because they are of the night, of the darkness (1 Thess. 5:5).
17.	Believers will be Raptured because they are not destined for wrath (1 Thess. 5:9).	Unbelievers will face the Day of the Lord because (implied) they are destined for wrath (1 Thess. 5:9).
18.	The Dead “in Christ are raised (1 Thess. 4:16).	No mention of the Dead “in Christ being raised.
19.	The Rapture takes place with no mention of the issue of sin.	The Second Coming of Christ to judge because of the wickedness of the world.
20.	No mention of Christ coming to rule on earth.	Mentions that He comes to establish His earthly kingdom (Matt. 25:31-34).
21.	No mention of believers “inheriting the kingdom prepared for you (Matt. 25:34).	The righteous “inherit the kingdom (Matt. 25:34).
22.	Christ does not do battle with His enemies at the Rapture.	Christ does battle with His enemies at His Second Coming (Rev. 19:17-21).
23.	Christ does not come to earth as a conquering warrior.	He comes to earth as a conquering warrior (Rev. 19:11-16).
24.	He comes as the Head of the Church.	He comes as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16).
25.	No earthly reign takes place.	He reigns for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-5).
26.	Those Raptured resurrected are taken up to meet the Lord in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:17).	Those in the resurrection at the beginning of the thousand year kingdom, “will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years (Rev. 20:6).
27.	When the resurrected Church saints, and we the living Church saints, all together are taken up in the clouds, it is said “we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). Therefore, when Jesus comes to reign on earth for one thousand years, the Church Age saints will return with Him.	Those resurrected at the beginning of the one thousand year reign are apparently those who died during the great Tribulation (Rev. 20:6).
28.	Resurrection and Rapture only for “those in Christ.	A resurrection for Old Testament saints, that takes place after the “time of distress (the Tribulation) (Dan. 12:1-2).
29.	The unsaved people of the nations are unaffected and unchanged at the Rapture.	The nations are judged and/or blessed when the Messiah comes to reign.
30	The nation of Israel is left unchanged when the Rapture takes place.	The nation of Israel is gathered, judged, and the righteous Jews inter kingdom blessing.
31.	No herald goes before to announce the Rapture.	Elijah comes to announce the coming of the Messiah (Mal. 4:5).
32.	Can happen at any moment.	Comes at the end of the seven year Tribulation.
33.	Not before revealed that Paul had to reveal (1 Thess. 4:13). That’s why Paul says he must tell believers about the Rapture so that they would not be ignorant of the fact.	Throughly revealed in Old Testament promises and by Christ in the Gospels.
34.	Called a “mystery, something not before revealed (1 Cor. 15:51).	The Second Coming is a well known fact taught throughout the Old Testament prophets.
35.	Believers are changed (1 Cor. 15:51).	Believers are not said to be changed, that is, those who believed during the Tribulation and are alive to enter the kingdom when the Messiah comes.
36.	Before the Rapture, the believers are called those “in Christ (1 Thess. 4:16).	Those believing who are in the Tribulation (Rev. 6-19) are not called “Church saints nor “those in Christ.
37.	Before the Rapture, the believers are called those “in Christ (1 Thess. 4:16).	Both Jew and Gentile who enter the kingdom in their natural body are never called “the Church nor “those in Christ.
38.	When the Rapture takes place those in Christ are “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:51-52).	Though the Second Coming happens quickly, the event is still pictured as something that unfolds over (even) a short period of time. A sign in heaven is given, an earthly gathering takes place, both Jews and Gentile mourn at His coming, He steps onto the Mt. of Olives, He enters the city of Jerusalem.
39.	When the Rapture and/or the resurrection of “those in Christ takes place, the believer is given “the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ over the issue of death (1 Cor. 15:57).	When the Second Coming takes place, Christ comes as the victorious king and general. Following the kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgment, certainly all saints of all the ages past are given eternal life. But this is not mentioned as such at the Second Coming.
40.	The exhortation to look for “the glorious appearing of Christ for His own, the Church (Titus 2:13) loses its significance if the Tribulation must first intervene. Church believers, then, should look for signs. But they are not told to.
41.	Creation is unchanged.	Creation is changed by the blessings of the kingdom (Isa. 65:25). “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, … They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain, says the Lord.
42.	At the time of the Rapture, or before, there is no indication that the Church saints will see the antichrist or the “power, signs, and false wonders of Satan (2 Thess. 2:8-9).	After the Rapture and sometime before the Second Coming of Christ, the antichrist will “display himself as being God in the temple (2 Thess. 2:4; 8-9).
43.	The Rapture is not the Day of the Lord which holds terror for the world.	The Day of the Lord is a terrible event that the believers in the Church do not fear. “Do not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed … to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thess. 2:1-2).
44.	The “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him is not the Second Coming (2 Thess. 2:1).	The Day of the Lord is “a coming to earth, not our being gathered to heaven (2 Thess. 2:2).
45.	Christ is not said to destroy the antichrist “with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).	Christ destroys the antichrist at His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).
46.	The Rapture is not called the Second Coming.	This is virtually called the Second Coming in Hebrews 9:28. Christ “shall appear a “Second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
47.	In the Rapture “we are “caught up into the clouds (1 Thess. 4:17). “Caught up in Greek means to suddenly “snatch, jerk away, remove quickly.	This is not said of the Second Coming.
48.	For those who are now looking for the Rapture, a hope is given and causes a moral purification (1 John 3:2-3).	This is not said of those looking for the Second Coming, though that is a glorious event in itself!

		Proofs of the Imminency of the Rapture* Imminency means that Paul taught that the Rapture could happen at any time to those to whom he was writing. The key to Rapture passages is Paul’s use of we, you, us. In other words believers NOW are to look for this catching away! (Sometimes these pronouns are not in the English Bible versions but they are implied in the grammar of the verbs Paul uses.) The you, we, us passages addressed to the body of Christ, the Church saints. * read my latest thoughts on the Doctrine of Imminence as of 2015 by clicking here
49.	John 14:1-3	I go to prepare a place for YOU. I will receive YOU to Myself. Where I am, there YOU may be also.
50.	James 5:7-9	[YOU] strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. [YOU] behold, the judge is standing right at the door.
51.	1 Thess. 1:9-10	YOU wait for His Son from heaven. Jesus, who delivers US from the wrath to come.
52.	1 Thess. 2:17-19	YOU [our hope], in the presence of OUR Lord Jesus at His coming.
53.	1 Thess. 3:13	That [He may] establish YOUR hearts … before OUR God and Father at the coming of OUR Lord Jesus with all His saints.
54.	1 Thess. 4:13-18	WE who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede THOSE who have fallen asleep. WE who are alive and remain shall be caught up TOGETHER with THEM in the clouds. WE shall always be with the Lord. YOU comfort one another with these words.
55.	1 Thess. 5:1-11	YOU are not in darkness, that the day [of the Lord] should overtake YOU like a thief. YOU are all sons of light and sons of day. WE are not of night nor of darkness. But since WE are of the day, let US be sober. God has not destined US for wrath, but for obtaining salvation (deliverance) through OUR Lord Jesus Christ.
56.	1 Thess. 5:23	May the Lord sanctify YOU … without blame at the coming of OUR Lord Jesus Christ.
57.	2 Thess. 2:1-2	With regard to the coming of OUR Lord Jesus Christ and OUR GATHERING TOGETHER to Him. [YOU] be not quickly shaken … to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
58.	1 Tim. 6:14	YOU keep the commandment … until the appearing of OUR Lord Jesus Christ.
59.	1 Cor. 15:51-52	WE shall not all sleep, but WE shall all be changed. The dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and WE shall be changed.
60.	Phil. 3:20-21	OUR citizenship is in heaven. WE eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. [Christ] will transform the body of OUR humble state (or humiliated body).
61.	Titus 2:13	[WE are] looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of OUR great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.
62.	1 John 2:28	WE may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
63.	1 John 3:2-3	WE know that, when He appears, WE shall be like Him, because WE shall see Him just as He is. EVERYONE who has this hope fixed on Him purifies HIMSELF, just as He is pure.

50 Evidences for the Pre-Trib Rapture

August 6, 2016 By sonserver Leave a Comment

Note: The article below was originally published by Bob on an AOL Discussion Board which has been deactivated for a long time now.

As of 2015 or so I've made some slight adjustments to my personal views on the Doctrine of Imminency. My opinion is that the Doctrine of Imminence would have to always apply, from the the time Jesus was explaining the signs of the End Times to His disciples until now. This creates a problem though… If the budding of the fig tree or re-birth of Israel had to happen first then the Imminent return of Christ shouldn't have been expected before this happened. So when exactly did the fig tree bud? Was it in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland? Was it in 1917 after the Balfour Declaration was made? Or was it in 1947 when the United Nations passed a resolution defining the establishment of a national homeland for the Jews? I can't way with certainty. The 'moedim' or Jewish Feast Days are God's 'appointed times'. He set the dates and He provided the instructions on how to observe these special days. Since Jesus established a pattern by fulfilling the Spring Feasts to the very day, it would stand to reason that He will fulfill the Fall Feasts to the very day as well. If you can accept this as possibly being true, then the Imminent return of Jesus would be on any Feast of Trumpets of the God's choosing, on either the first or second day since it's the only Feast that carries over into the next day. However, the Bible doesn't describe a God who is prone to randomness. He is a God of order and He has given us prophecy to know that His word is true, to know what to look for, to know that His return is soon. Even now, maranatha!

Historical Doctrine of Imminency

1. The early church believed in the imminency of the Lord's return. While it can be debated which church father said what, there is a consistency in the early church on imminency which is essential to the pre-trib position and in opposition to some other positions.

2. The Pre-trib position is the ONLY one which truly teaches imminency.

3. The fact that there is a greater development of the doctrine in recent centuries does not preclude it from the early centuries. In the very early years of the church you see the development of great fundamentals doctrines of Trinity, Deity, God-man, canon of Scripture, etc. Following those early church councils is a time of decline in the corporate church into great apostasy. The teaching of that time are built on many of the heresies of Augustine. When the Reformation comes, there is a period of reestablishing the foundational doctrines of salvation. Now, in these last days there is both and ability and a need in the church to better understand the doctrines of eschatology and the Spirit is continuing His ministry of guiding the church in all truth.

4. The exhortation to be comforted by the "coming of the Lord" (1Thes 4:18) is valid only in the context of the pre-trib view. It could even be a fearsome thing in a post-trib view.

5. We are exhorted to look for the "Glorious Appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13) If there are any prophetic events (ie: tribulation) to come first, then this passage is nonsensical.

6. Again, we are to "purify ourselves" in view of his coming.(1 John 3:2-3) If his coming is not imminent then the passage is meaningless.

7. The church told *only* to look for the Coming of Christ. It is Israel and the tribulation saints that are told to look for signs.

Nature of the Church

(Those who do not understand the nature of the church as unique in the program of God will continually be confused about the nature of His coming for the church.)

8. The translation of the church is never mentioned in any context dealing with the second coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.

9. The church is "not appointed to wrath" (Rom 5:9; 1 Thes 1:9-10) The church cannot enter into the "great day of their wrath."

10. The Church will not be "overtaken by the Day of the Lord." (1 Thes 5:1-9) (Day of the Lord is another term for the great tribulation.)

11. The church will be "kept from the hour of testing that shall come upon all the world." (Rev. 3:10)

12. The believer will escape the tribulation (Luke 21:36).

13. It is in the character of God to deliver His own from the greatest times of trial. (Lot, Rahab. Israel, Noah,etc)

14. It is clear that there is a time interval between the translation of the church and the Return of Christ. (John 14:3)

15. Only the pre-trib position does not divide the Body of Christ on a works principle as does partial rapture does so clearly and others to a lesser extent. It becomes a climatic finale to the grand plan of salvation by grace alone.

16. The Scriptures are adamant that the church is undivided. In this age the church is divided by the continuing old nature in the believers. When we are glorified at the coming of Christ, the church is no more divided.

17. The godly remnant of the tribulation has the attributes seen in OT Israel and not the church. The church is not present in the prophecies of Revelation.

18. The pre-trib view, unlike the post-trib view does not confuse terms like elect and saints which apply to believers of all ages, as opposed to terms like church and in Christ, which apply only to those who are the body of Christ in this age.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

19. The Holy Spirit is the Restrainer of evil in the world. He cannot be taken out as prophesied unless the church which is indwelt by the Holy Spirit is taken out.

20. The Holy Spirit will be taken out before the "lawless one" is revealed. That lawless one will certainly be revealed in the tribulation. In fact, the tribulation begins with the signing of the covenant between that lawless one and Israel. That act will reveal him.

21. The "falling away" in 2 Thes 2:3 would better be understood in its context as "the departure." This is a reference to the departure of the Holy Spirit as He indwells the church.

22. The work of the Holy Spirit making the church like Christ where they submit to death and persecution, whereas the OT saints (see many of the Psalms) and the tribulations saints cry out for vengeance (Rev 6:10)

The Hermeneutical Argument

23. Only the pre-trib view allows for a truely literal interpretation in all of the OT & NT passages regarding the great tribulation.

24. Only the pre-trib position clearly distinguishes the church and Israel and God's dealing with each. The Necessity of an Interval of Time between the Rapture and the Second Coming

25. All believers must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10). This event is never mentioned in the account of events surrounding the second coming.

26. The "four and twenty elders" in rev 4:1-5:14 are representative of the church. Therefore it is necessary that the church, undivided, be brought to glory before those events of the tribulation.

27. There is clearly a coming of Christ for his bride before the second coming to earth. Rev 19:7-10.

28. Tribulation saints are not translated at the second coming of Christ but carry on ordinary activities. These specifically include farming, construction, and giving birth. (Is 65:20-25).

29. The Judgment of the Gentile nations following the second coming (Mat 25:31-46) indicates that both the saved and the lost are in a natural body which would be impossible if the translation had taken place at the second coming.

30. If the translation took place at the same time as the second coming, there would be no need to separating the sheep from the goats at the subsequent judgment. The act of the translation would be the separation.

31. The Judgment of Israel (Ez 20:34-38) occurs after the second coming and requires a regathered Israel. Again, the separation of the saved and the lost would be unnecessary if all the saved had previously been separated by a translation at the second coming.

Differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming.

32. At the Rapture, the church meets Christ in the air. At the second coming, Christ returns to the Mt of Olives.

33. At the time of the Rapture, the Mt of Olives is unchanged. At the second coming it is divided forming a valley east of Jerusalem.

34. At the time of the rapture, saints are translated. No saints are translated at the time of the second coming.

35. At the time of the rapture, the world is not judge for sin, but descends deeper into sin. At the second coming, the world is Judged by the King of kings.

36. The translation of the church is pictured as a deliverance from the day of wrath, whereas the coming of Christ is a deliverance for those who have suffered under severe tribulation.

37. The rapture is immanent whereas there are specific signs which precede the second coming.

38. The translation of living believers is a truth revealed only in the NT. The second coming with the events surrounding it is prominent in both OT and NT.

39. The rapture is only for the saved, while the tribulation and second coming deals with the entire world.

40. No unfulfilled prophecy stands between the church and the rapture. Many signs must be fulfilled before the second coming of Christ.

41. No passage in either OT or NT deals with the resurrection of the saints at the second coming nor mentions the translation of living saints at that same time.

The Nature of the Tribulation

42. Only the pre-trib view maintains the distinction between the "great tribulation" and the tribulations in general which we all experience.

43. The great tribulation is properly understood in the pre-trib view as a preparation for the restoration of Israel. (Deut 4:29-30. Jer 30:4-11, Dan 9:24-27, Dan 12:1-2)

44. Not one single passage in the OT which discusses the tribulation, mentions the church.

45. Not one single passage in the NT which discusses the tribulation, mentions the church.

46. In contrast to mid trib or pre-wrath views, the pre-trib view offers an adequate explanation for the beginning of the great tribulation in Rev 6. These others are clearly refuted by the plain teaching of Scripture that the great tribulation begins long before the 7th trumpet of Rev 11.

47. There is no proper groundwork provided that the 7th trumpet of Rev is the last trumpet of 1 Cor 15. It is accepted only on the basis of assumption. The pre-trib view maintains the proper distinction between the prophetic trumpets of the church and the trumpets of the tribulation.

48. The Unity of Daniel's 70th week is maintained by the pre-trib view. By contrast, the mid-trib view destroys the unity and confuses the program for Israel and the church. The post trib view usually denies the clear teaching of the 70th weeks by subverting it into some form or another of allegory.

49. The gathering of saints after the tribulation is done by angels whereas the gathering of the church is done by "The Lord Himself."

50. Rev 22:17-20 And the Spirit and the Bride say come. And he that heareth, let him say come … He who testifieth of these things saith

"Yea, I come quickly, AMEN. COME LORD JESUS.

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Psalm 83 War to Precede Ezekiel 38 Invasion?

June 12, 2016 By sonserver Leave a Comment

Many Christian prophecy teachers (and students) believe that the Psalm 83 War can happen before the war described in Ezekiel 38, and all who are Pre-tribulation Premillennialists agree that the Rapture can happen at any moment.

In the Holy Bible, the last 7 years before Jesus returns are referred to as the Tribulation. This period of time begins when the AntiChrist confirms a peace treaty between Israel and the nations or the many people other than Israel. This man will appear to be a peace maker, but according to God's word he will be a liar and will destroy many with peace. 3 1/2 years after the peace treaty is confirmed he will enter the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and declare himself to be God, and will perform apparent 'miracles' that many will marvel at, but in reality, he will be filled with the spirit of the Devil himself. It will be Hell on Earth during the last 3 1/2 years before Jesus returns.

When Jesus returns He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

If you haven't yet put your trust in Jesus, do so while there is still time. God is a loving God, but also a God of justice and righteousness. In a quiet place, confess to God that you are a sinner because you have broken His laws and that you want His forgiveness by receiving His free gift of salvation. Seek the truth and you will find it. Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin with His very blood, believe it. He died for you but He also conquered death and rose from the dead. Ask God to show you that He is Faithful and True and you too will step into eternal paradise at the appointed time.

The Rapture

Rapture Notes

What is the Rapture Anyhow?

Ephraem the Syrian and the Rapture

Rapture: Three Fascinating Discoveries!

Sir Isaac Newton and the Rapture

Rapture Bible Verses

63 Reasons The Rapture Of The Church Is Not The Second Coming Of Christ To Reign On Earth

Rapture

Second Coming

Proofs of the Imminency of the Rapture*

50 Evidences for the Pre-Trib Rapture

Historical Doctrine of Imminency

Psalm 83 War to Precede Ezekiel 38 Invasion?

Antichrist, America, And The End Times by Greg Laurie

The Apocalypse