I shouldn’t a left you,
without a strong
rhyme ta step to…
So went the old Eric B. and Rakim lyric I used to listen to from my teen years. My wife found this clip on youtube recently. Some powerful truth for ya, check it out.
I shouldn’t a left you,
without a strong
rhyme ta step to…
So went the old Eric B. and Rakim lyric I used to listen to from my teen years. My wife found this clip on youtube recently. Some powerful truth for ya, check it out.
Even before I was saved, I was taught that believers would be raptured out before the tribulation. But after, I had a feeling this wasn’t the case. I don’t trust my feelings at all on the matter of scripture… I read what it says. It is what we’re supposed to do, yes?
The topic of the timing of the rapture is one that we go round and round on as Christians. We will argue nonstop about this until we are blue in the face. Some even believed that it was going to happen a few months ago; but, when I showed up at both jobs the next day my friends were asking questions… and this was a great time to witness of Jesus Christ’s saving Grace.
Personally, I believe that it will happen pre-wrath of God… that is, at the last moment before Christ’s return. Some contest that it is pre-tribulation. And there are several others. Chris White put together a great video on the topic of the pre-wrath view, He put it together way better than I could.
Whichever stand you take on the rapture’s timing… if any of us are wrong, don’t let it shake your faith. Keep preaching about Christ Jesus, crucified on our behalf for our sins.
God Bless
So, if there is a rapture, then what was Christ Jesus speaking of when He spoke of one being left and the other one taken?
To answer this we have to crack our Bibles open again.
First, we should remember what Jesus Christ said is going to happen at that time He returns.
Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV) When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I gather from these verses that when Jesus Christ returns there will be a separation of Christians from non-Christians. As 1 Thessalonians 4:17 speaks of where remaining living Christians will go at the time of Jesus Christ’s return, Matthew 24 and Luke 17 speaks of what will happen with the un-saved at this time. The same rapture event is being discussed. Christ Jesus gave several parables concerning this matter.
Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:36-43 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:47-51 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Between the last couple of posts I hope you see that there is a rapture event. The talk I had with the woman at the convenience store and later her Bible study teacher showed me why people speak of the Bereans so much: Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. When we are confronted with any teaching we should read the Bible and check out what they are saying. Whether true or false. In this instance, we have just been using a couple verses out of context. Common verses believed to be describing what happens to Christians during said event are actually describing what happens to people who have not turned to follow Christ Jesus.
The next question was who gathers the believers? I had heard that Jesus Himself does, but a little more Bible reading made me think otherwise. I didn’t even have to go much further than the verses I had already looked at.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Matthew 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Originally I was wrong. But a little studying clears things up. Now it’s clear the angels will be handling this portion of the harvest as an army the orders of a king. But one more topic remains. And that is the timing of this event called the rapture. Check out the next post on that.
People have often asked me what I think of the rapture. I had some serious digging to to after I spoke with a woman who confronted me on end times prophecy. She boldly stated, “There is no rapture.” When I asked her what she meant by this she went on to tell me of the Bible verses commonly used to describe this event of Christians being “caught up in the clouds” by Jesus Christ in the end times is a fable… These verses didn’t speak of such an event. The Bible verses in question are:
Matthew 24:40-41 KJV Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
and Luke 17:34-36 KJV I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
She asked me if I had ever read these in context and I responded yes. Then she asked what I thought of Luke 17:37, Jesus’ answer to the disciples as to where they would be taken. She pulled out her Bible and read, “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Luke 17:37 NIV. And “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” Matthew 24:28 NIV
That peaked my interest, since the same verse in my Bible read: “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” KJV. And I pointed this out to her. But when I opened up to Matthew 24:28 it read “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” KJV. I couldn’t make a case for the KJV over the NIV with the word carcase there.
Then i asked her what about 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. This verse clearly spoke of the rapture event. To which she responded that I couldn’t build doctrine based off of one verse. True statement. Then she said the word “rapture” isn’t even found in the Bible and is an occult word. True as well. I could only respond, at that point, stating that you can’t dismiss one verse in the Bible either. We believe the whole of the Bible to be true, even if it is hard to swallow. After this she invited me to her Bible study and asked me if I’d like to speak with her teacher on the matter; He could explain far better than her. I gave her my cell number and asked if she could have her teacher give me a call before I made a decision to join their group. I told her I to give me a day before he called so I could brush up on the topic. This bought me a little time to brush up on scripture.
The first thing I had to tackle was the difference in translations. For the most part I read the Authorized 1611 King James version. She read from the NIV. The difference in translation struck me as odd. How could one translator choose the word eagle and the other vulture? That’s when I pulled out a Strong’s Concordance. The word used in the original Greek is ἀετός or aetos which does plainly mean eagles. I could see how vulture could be used in other translations since an eagle is a buzzard and isn’t seen as a bird that chases after a carcass. But why are we taught these are verses that teach of a pleasant event when it clearly shows that Jesus Christ speaks of the people who are taken being picked apart by buzzards? (I’ll get to that one later.)
The second part of our conversation had to deal with 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. First I took a look at the term caught comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω or harpazō meaning catch up, take by force, catch away, pluck, catch, or pull. The word harpazō is used in a similar context of being taken to Heaven, paradise, or being saved in the following verses: Jude 1:23, Revelation 12:5, 2 Corinthians 12:2; 3-4 (Paul) Acts 8:39 (Philip) Luke 24:51 (Jesus) Acts 1:9 (Jesus). For more study on where harpazō is used in the Bible, view here: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G726&t=KJV. More than one verse to build a doctrine on. The use of the word harpazō in a similar context as 1 Thess 4:17 was more than enough to build upon. It is also used in the Old Testament Greek describing what happened with Enoch and Elija being taken in the same manner. (Genesis 5:24 – Enoch 2 Kings 2:11 – Elijah).
The Greek ἁρπάζω or harpazō is the same as the Latin rapere/raptum which brings me to the third point she made: the word rapture not being in the Bible. Actually, it is if you are reading the Latin Vulgate. And it so happens to be prominently placed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17… the very place where the event of being caught up or raptured is mentioned. The english word rapture may have been popularized in occult circles to describe levitation, but this is no grounds for dismissing the event altogether.
So, if there is a rapture, then what was Christ Jesus speaking of when He spoke of one being left and the other one taken?
I’ll post that one tomorrow.
Mark of a Christian, by Francis Schaeffer examines how the world can determine whether God the Father has sent the Son on the basis of how Christians treat and forgive one another. A book well worth reading and a concept worth pondering on.
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:21
After becoming a Christian, I heard this talk on a podcast which provided some extra motivation to witness to friends and family. I hope it does the same for you. What is the one thing you can’t do in Heaven? Witness to the lost… There won’t be any there.
Two books of interest that I’ve recently read: Death of a Guru by Rabi Maharaj and The New Superspirituality by Francis Schaeffer. I reccomend reading the first mentioned here, then the second. Both almost go hand in hand in a way. Guru is the personal story of Maharaj’s transformation becoming a Christian and how his life had changed after. I don’t wish to spoil the book, but what I found most interesting was the relationship the author draws between transcendental mysticism and drug use. Schaeffer points this out in his book as well.
Over a decade ago, while in college, I was a rave and nightclub DJ. It was the underground culture of the time, infused with techno, house and trance music blaring at 70,000 watts; trance inducing light shows; people clad in brightly colored outfits; and of course psychedelics. The acronym of the time was PLUR: Peace Love Unity and Respect. My late brother and I, along with some friends started going to these parties in the mid nineties and danced all night… so much so that we would have to ring out our shirts, we would be so drenched with sweat. The concept of PLUR was one that we embraced. We loved the idea that you felt accepted at these shows, by everyone, no matter what color, creed, or religion you were. In fact, my group of friends was comprised of muslims, jews, witches, atheists, warlocks, etc. As time went on and I performed at many of the shows, psychedelic use was more prevalent… as if the culture functioned with it. Many I had hung out with would claim to have the most spiritual experiences on these substances. What followed as many people I knew who had quit using, was their desire replicate their manufactured spiritual experiences with transcendental mysticism. Suddenly, as if over night, many became New Agers or “Spiritual;” some went to India and to study yoga and transcendental meditation. I even followed suit becoming a Vegan, meditating for hours, yoga three times a week and tantra. I thought these would get me closer to God… or what I thought was God at that point. (This form of thought was shattered after I finally read a Bible… Praise the Lord)
This mirrors the culture brought about in the sixties and seventies. Drug use and progressive psychedelic (or progressive) rock went hand in hand. Racial barriers were being broken down. And, what followed suit was New Age thought. One need not look much further that the Beatles for an example of this. Once just a rock band… then came the drugs… The they were studying underneath a guru and their sound became quite eastern… and so did their message. With my generation, history merely repeated itself.
And now we are in our thirties or older… grown adults. Eastern thought has become so prominent we don’t even think of it as such. It’s just normal. We throw around phrases like “That’s karma,” without knowing what karma really is. What was once a cliche in the 1980′s, introducing yourself by your zodiac, is normal as well. Yoga studios flourish and we think nothing of it; but, it is a pathway to the Hindu concept of a pantheistic, god the universe… Some Christian Churches offer yoga classes not fully knowing or caring what yoga is. And so on it goes.
I find it very interesting these two authors pointed it out in their time and it still has significant relevance now. Which means we really have had no change since these books were written. As mystic new age thought made way in their time, it has rapidly gained momentum in ours (although it has been rebranded as new “Spirituality.” I highly recommend the two books for a read as they point not only these issues, but also, transformation of the whole man through the power of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Remember to keep spreading the Good News!
Good read.
http://www.holybibleprophecy.org/
The Rapture will occur at the Second Coming of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:23), at the Last Trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52), at the Resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17) on the Last Day (John 6:54, 11:24). The Christians alive and remaining on the Day of the Lord are those that will be caught up in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
The Rapture will occur at the Second Coming of Christ, not before or after. This same day that Christ returns is also known as the Last Trumpet and the Last Day when the Resurrection will occur. First, speaking of the glorious resurrection, the Apostle Paul states:
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:20,23-28,51-54).
The Apostle speaks of the Resurrection and Rapture as being, “at his coming.” Jesus was the firstfruits being the first that God raised from the dead. Afterword, Christians will be raised from the dead “at his coming.” “We shall not all sleep“, that is, not all Christians will die because some Christians will be alive when Christ returns. At the Second Coming, “we shall all be changed.” In other words, all Christians will put on immortality and incorruption at the Second Coming of Christ. Notice, the “dead shall be raised” (the Resurrection) and “we shall be changed.” Those that will be changed at the Resurrection will be Christians still alive at that time (Raptured) and Christians raised from the dead (the Resurrection), on the same day of Christ’s return, the Last Day of the Last Trumpet.
We’ve already established that the Rapture will occur on the Day of the Lord. Furthermore, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 informs us that there will be Christians alive and remaining on that day. These are those Christians that will be raptured:
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto 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. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
Notice Paul says, “that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord . . . shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.” This passage is clearly speaking of the event known as the Rapture. When will this occur? At the Resurrection, of course, when “the dead in Christ shall rise first.” When is the Resurrection?
“Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). Notice Jesus doesn’t correct Martha when she speaks of rising again on the last day. Furthermore, Jesus Himself speaks of the Resurrection being on the Last Day or the Day of the Lord: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:39,40,44,54).
This answers our question. The Resurrection is on the Last Day. This means that the Rapture also will occur on the Last Day, according to (1 Corinthians 15:20,23-28,51-54 & 1 Thessalonians 4:17) at the Second Coming of Christ. Thus, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout on the Last Day, with the voice of the archangel, and with the last trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first at the Resurrection on the Last Day: 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.
Great post from Born for Battle… Enjoy.
http://born4battle.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/the-judge-not-bomb/
Every time you hear the name Jesus Christ taken in vain, let it be a reminder of His grace. Then share that grace with someone near to you.
