Pretribulation Rapture

The Rapture of the Church Explained

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St. Victorinus

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Victorinus (died A.D. 304), Bishop of Petau, who wrote an early commentary on the book of Revelation, gives an explanation of Revelation 6:14 which includes his belief that "the Church shall be taken away" sometime in the future when the passage is fulfilled. Again, regarding Revelation 15:1, he says, "these shall be in the last time, when the Church shall have gone out of the midst." Here he speaks of something that will have happened previously, apparently looking back to his statement in Revelation 6:14. This could reflect elements of pretribulationism. It seems even more likely in light of the fact that Victorinus was said by the anti-Chiliast Jerome to have been a known premillennialist; yet his commentary was clearly amended in the passage regarding Revelation 20 to read as if he were Augustinian (i.e., amillennial). An American editor of Victorinus has concluded: 

This confirms the corruption of the manuscripts. Indeed, if the Victorinus mentioned by Jerome be the same as our author, the mention of Genseric proves the subsequent interpolation of his works … It is evident that the fragment which is here preserved … is full of the corrections of some pious disciple of St. Augustine who lived much later.' 


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Millennialist or so-called Premillennialist writers were Apollinaris, Commodianus, Hippolytus, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Methodius (who saw the millennium as a day of judgment), Montanus, Nepos, pseudo-Barnabas, Tertullian and Victorinus. The theory of the delayed 70th week relating Daniel 9:25 to Christ was first introduced by Hippolytus.

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Victorinus
Commentary On The Apocalypse Of The Blessed John
From the Twentieth Chapter.


1-3 Those years wherein Satan is bound are in the first advent of Christ, even to the end of the age; and they are called a thousand, according to that mode of speaking, wherein a part is signified by the whole, just as is that passage, "the word which He commanded for a thousand generations," although they are not a thousand. Moreover that he says, "and he cast him into the abyss," he says this, because the devil, excluded from the hearts of believers, began to take possession of the wicked, in whose hearts, blinded day by day, he is shut up as if in a profound abyss. And he shut him up, says he, and put a seal upon him, that he should not deceive the nations until the thousand years should be finished. "He shut the door upon him," it is said, that is, he forbade and restrained his seducing those who belong to Christ. Moreover, he put a seal upon him, because it is hidden who belong to the side of the devil, and who to that of Christ. For we know not of those who seem to stand whether they shall not fall, and of those who are down it is uncertain whether they may rise. Moreover, that he says that he is bound and shut up, that he may not seduce the nations, the nations signify the Church, seeing that of them it itself is formed, and which being seduced, he previously held until, he says, the thousand years should be completed, that is, what is left of the sixth day, to wit, of the sixth age, which subsists for a thousand years; after this he must be loosed for a little season. The little season signifies three years and six months, in which with all his power the devil will avenge himself trader Anti-christ against the Church. Finally, he says, after that the devil shall be loosed, and will seduce the nations in the whole world, and will entice war against the Church, the number of whose foes shall be as the sand of the sea.


4, 5 There are two resurrections. But the first resurrection is now of the souls that are by the faith, which does not permit men to pass over to the second death. Of this resurrection the apostle says: "If ye have risen with Christ, seek those things which are above."


6 I do not think the reign of a thousand years is eternal; or if it is thus to be thought of, they cease to reign when the thousand years are finished. But I will put forward what my capacity enables me to judge. The tenfold number signifies the decalogue, and the hundredfold sets forth the crown of virginity: for he who shall have kept the undertaking of virginity completely, and shall have faithfully fulfilled the precepts of the decalogue, and shall have destroyed the untrained nature or impure thoughts within the retirement of the heart, that they may not rule over him, this is the true priest of Christ, and accomplishing the millenary number thoroughly, is thought to reign with Christ; and truly in his case the devil is bound. But he who is entangled in the vices and the dogmas of heretics, in his case the devil is loosed. But that it says that when the thousand years are finished he is loosed, so the number of the perfect saints being completed, in whom there is the glory of virginity in body and mind, by the approaching advent of the kingdom of the hateful one, many, seduced by that love of earthly things, shall be overthrown, and together with him shall enter the lake of fire.


8-10 This belongs to the last judgment. And after a little time the earth was made holy, as being at least that wherein lately had reposed the bodies of the virgins, when they shall enter upon an eternal kingdom with an immortal King, as they who are not only virgins in body, but, moreover, with equal inviolability have protected themselves, both in tongue and thought, from wickedness; and these, it shows, shall dwell in rejoicing for ever with the Lamb.

St. Victorinus, the bishop of Petah, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation in 270 AD. He said he saw another great and wonderful sign – "Seven angels having the last seven plagues, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the last time when the church shall have gone out of the midst." In other words, St. Victorinus was talking about the Rapture! This teaching is not a present day innovation but a doctrinal statement dating back 17 centuries to St. Victorinus and 20 centuries to Jesus and Paul.
– Jack Van Impe

Prophetic Witness Pioneers : Victorinus (240-304 A.D)

The earliest consecutive commentary on the Book of Revelation.

The seven plagues of Revelation 15:1, Victorinus explains, ‘shall be in the last time.’ then he adds, most significantly, ‘when the Church shall have gone out of the midst,’ indicating that he knows about the rapture and that it is to precede the Great Tribulation.

The original text of Victorinus’s commentary on the Apocalypse was not published until 1916. Before that date scholars and translators had to rely on an earlier edition in which the crucial section covering Revelation 20:1-10, with its description of the Millennium, as well as the remainder of Chapter Twenty and Chapters Twenty One and Two, has been replaced by a spurious interpolation. In it a post-millennial interpretation is advanced which runs counter to all that we know of Victorinus’s views. The authentic version, however, is now available and reveals Victorinus as a convinced pre-millennialist.

 

What is the Rapture Anyhow?

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Pre-Tribulation RaptureThe 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…

 

Post Rapture Demographics

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Oskar Schindler is coming to mind…how much is a soul worth? 

Based on the title and subject of this website, it's almost a moot point to say that I am a firm believer in a PreTrib Rapture.

After the church is raptured, how will global demographics shift?

We hope that most Christians will participate in the Blessed Hope, but the truth of the matter is many who claim to be Christians will be left behind, as alluded to by Christ when He said, "I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness".

Currently in the world there are about:

2.2 billion Christians
1.5 billion Muslims
1.0 billion Buddhists
1.0 billion Hindus
and only 18 million Jews plus
an assortment of other smaller relgions which in comparision are less significant.

Even if only half of all professing Christians were raptured, the global majority would instantly be those who practice Islam, the Muslims.

The Book of Daniel accurately predicts to the day when Messiah would enter Jerusalem, riding on the colt of a donkey. For those who are interested, the Book of Daniel also predicts to the day when Israel would be regathered as a Nation, May 14, 1948, and the day that Jerusalem would be recaptured as the capital of Israel once again, June 7, 1967. These are indisputable facts which prove that the Bible is true, but they can only be understood by the scholar who is not lazy, but seeking the truth with effort to prove all things. The casual reader will either accept or dismiss these facts. The purpose of this post is not to prove these two facts, but just to provide an update on the state of the world we live in.

The Book of Daniel goes on to predict that after the Messiah enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the destruction of Jerusalem by the people of the Prince who shall come is foretold. This Prince is more commonly referred to as the AntiChrist. We know that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., so the future Prince will somehow be a ruler of a revived Roman Empire. For many decades this a common belief was that this Prince might be an ecumenical Pope. But now there is a new possibility to consider. A Revived Roman Empire is not required to be Western, but can potentially be Eastern in thought and religion. In other words, the Prince who shall come might not be an ecumenical Pope afterall, but a Muslim. How can this be?

I can think of two ways this can happen:

1) Currently there is a push to get the country of Turkey admitted to the European Union. Even President Barak Obama for some unknown or at least undisclosed reason is pushing for Turkey's inclusion in the E.U. If Turkey is admitted to the European Union then Muslims would instantly become the largest demographic in the entire European Union. The old adage, "majority rules" would most definitely apply.

2) Then again, when the Rapture happens, the Muslims will instantly become the majority not only in the European Union, but in the whole world.

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour…

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth… 

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father.

 

Click here: In case you think I'm off base or exaggerating about the Islamic intention to 'rule the world'. This is just 1 of thousands of examples.

 

Never before in the history of the world have the world's three largest religions simultaneously been anticipating that their messiah can appear at any moment.

1) All Christians are looking forward to the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, though both the Rapture and the Second Coming. Most Christians are looking forward to the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation.

2) The Jews are expecting their Messiah to appear as a mortal man, not God in the flesh.

3) The Muslims' are expecting their messiah who is known as the Mahdi or the Twelth Imam, a caliph who will be a leader over all Islam.


A few other reasons to consider why the AntiChrist may be connected to Islam are:

Islam explicity states that God has no son. 

Muslims execute infidels by beheading, which is the form of execution described in the Book of Revelation describing the time on Earth prior to the Second Coming of Jesus. 

Muslims are commanded to kill Jews in their holy book, the Koran. 

The Muslim god, Allah, is described as the greatest of deceivers in the Koran, while in the Holy Bible a similar character is refered to as The Father of Lies, the Devil himself. God as described in the Holy Bible is loving and forgiving, Faithful and True.

The Greek characters for the number 666 known as 'The Mark of the Beast' which John wrote of in Revelation while on the Island of Patmos could possibly be Arabic script for "The Name of Allah".

Adolph Hitler (a type of AntiChrist) and the Muslims were more than good friends and shared a common goal of hating and killing Jews.

Not all muslims are terrorists, but almost without exception, all terrorists are muslim. The idea of earning god's approval for blowing innocent people to bits is, well, Satanic. One name for Satan is Apollyon, or 'the Destroyer'.


One prophecy teacher, Dr. Joe VanKoevering, lays out a compelling argument that the identity of Man of Sin aka the Assyrian, can be known and that there is only one person on Earth today who meets the requirements of both the Mahdi and the AntiChrist; his name is the Crown Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan and as a Hashemite is a direct descendant of Mohammed the Prophet of Islam, but he is also related to both the Sunnis and the Shiites. His split ancestry could be quite convenient in uniting the two major factions of Islam. He is the uncle to the current King of Jordan, and was in line to be the King himself until the last moment. Could be. 

So what's next? God only knows. If Iran gets their way, the United States under President Obama will either be unwilling or incapable of defending their ally, Israel, when the time comes for Iran to attempt to make good on their threats of "wiping Israel off the map". Iran is as close as a few weeks away from having enough highly enriched uranium to manufacture their own nuclear bomb. For Israel this is unacceptable.

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

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.

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3

"Thus says the Lord God:
'Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone,and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own Land."
Ezekiel 37:21

Wake up from your slumber! The alarm is sounding! Be alert!

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Early this morning Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the assassination of the blind muslim terrorist, Sheik Yassin. Shortly after sunrise, an Israeli helicopter fired 3 missles directly at the Sheik as he left the Mosque…there wasn’t much of him left to put in the coffin that the Palestinians carried around town as they shouted obscenities and threats against Israel. Sheik Yassin was the founder of the terrorist organization known as Hamas. Most recently, the Sheik is blamed for the deaths of almost 300 Israelis who were at the wrong place at the wrong time when the brain washed muslim homicide bombers pushed the button to detonate the bomb strapped to their chest. In light of the Sheik’s status, this particular assassination could very well be a new spark that ignites another powder keg of violence.

I feel that the Lord is trying to tell us “Wake up from your slumber! The alarm is sounding! Be alert!”

You might not smell the smoke, but the fire is approaching.

Romans 13:11-12
The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

“When sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city. The church ought to put out the fires of hell which are laying hold of the wicked. Sleep! Should the firemen sleep, and let the whole city burn down, what would be thought of such firemen? And yet their guilt would not compare with the guilt of Christians who sleep while sinners around them are sinking stupid into the fires of hell.”

– Charles Finney

The church of Jesus Christ is largely sleeping, like a great bedroom and you have all the Christians in bed and they’re all sleeping … and they’re saying “Please, don’t wake me up! I want to sleep on!” And of course when God starts to operate a revival people cannot sleep, you can’t sleep in church when the Spirit of God awakes the people. Look at the 1st verse of this 52nd chapter (Isaiah 52) …”Awake! Awake! Put on strength!” Wake it up! You sleepy Christians! Awake thou that sleepeth, Arise from the dead! Christ will give you life!

-Ian Paisley

March 8, 2004

Much has been happening in the last few months. The decline of morality in our country seems to be accelerating, taking us all ever nearer to the edge of the cliff which leads to the depths of destruction.

First of all, the liberal media is doing a fine job of promoting the growing trend of city mayors endorsing “Gay Marriage”. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland Oregon and other large cities are deluged with homosexual couples who are going to city hall to get “married”…never mind that marriage has always been and always will be a covenant created by God between a man and a woman as a symbolic union of Jesus coming for His church, and for the purpose of procreation. The defiance of State Law by these mayors and other elected officials is not an act of civil disobedience, but a breech of contract for which they should be removed from office. They each took an oath to abide by the law and now they are defiantly breaking both their sworn oath and the law with no regard for the chaos that these unholy unions will lead to under the guise of “marriage”.

Secondly, the Episcopal Church has officially installed the first openly gay Bishop in New Hampshire. Sunday night on 60 Minutes, V. Gene Robinson said during an interview that “God is doing something new” by allowing practicing homosexuals to hold positions of leadership in the church. All I can say is that his god is his appetite for sin, not the Holy God of the Bible.

Thirdly, Mel Gibson’s movie ‘The Passion of the Christ’ is a blockbuster so far. In only two weeks time the movie has generated box office receipts of over $200 million showing Hollywood how much people really want to see movies which depict the Truth. Having seen the movie during it’s opening weekend I can say that yes it is incredibly intense and the depiction of the violence that Jesus was subject to is very real. I think all Christians should see it to sharpen their understanding of how high a price Jesus paid for our sins so that we might be with him in paradise one day. Many people see the movie as a “Last Call” before the Lord returns for His church, and it might be. Certainly the day of the Rapture is one day closer than it was yesterday, and can happen at any moment, so we should all live our lives accordingly.

Other noteworthy events of the last few months include the capture of Saddam Hussein on December 14, 2003. It was only a matter of time. This evil man’s world has come crashing down all around him and God ordained it be so. His sons were shot full of holes by US Troops and their ugly corpses were displayed on TV and the Internet for the world to see. Everything this tyrant had “control” of has been ripped away leaving a painful, ugly wound that will never heal.

The capture or death of Osama bin Laden is just a matter of time as well. I pray that it happens sooner rather than later so that the fanatical Muslims who view Osama as a hero can see that the true Living God’s justice will always prevail over evil.

War, Evil, Peace and Communism in the United States

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So the war has begun. As of this moment it is still unclear whether or not Saddam Hussein was injured or killed during the initial attack. Despite almost a dozen American casualties it seems that this war has been too easy so far, which is rather disconcerting. In the end if we were to lose only 5% of our combat troops that would amount to 2,000 lives. Hardly insignifcant. God loves each of them. Here at home and all across the world in major cities people are protesting against the war, againt the Bush administration and against everything that America stands for.

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’
– Edmund Burke

Many of these people whose stale motto is “Give Peace a Chance” have no idea that the promoters of the largest organized protests are actually funded by enemies of the United States…they either don’t know or they don’t care. The World Worker’s Party, a communist organization, has been on of the largest sponsors of the catchy “Not in My Name” protests. Clearly there is something going on here thats on more of a spiritual level. I’m sure the battle is raging in the heavenlies. Many people are wondering if Armageddon is about to happen. Nobody can really say just yet, but it is going to happen, thats as sure as the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture of His church before the Second Coming. It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see the equivalent of a World War starting soon when you consider the complexities of having to deal with Turkey, Iran, Russia, North Korea and China all at the same time. There will be wars and rumors of wars…

1 Peter 3:12-15
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

Are you ready? If Christ were to return tonight while you are in your bed, would you be ready?

Communist Goals

These are only a few exceprts from the Congressional Record by:

HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 10, 1963

  • Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
  • Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
  • Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
  • Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
  • Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
  • Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
  • Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
  • Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
  • Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
  • Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”
  • Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
  • Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
  • Internationalize the Panama Canal.