Why are so many being confused about the rapture? One of the reasons is, because they do not read and study the word of God, but rather listen to men who claimed to be what they are not. I will try to give you a understanding why and when the Rapture will take place. While we do not know the day or the hour as we see in(Matthew 24:36). We do know the rapture will occur before the the seven year tribulation. How do we know this by the prophecies God has given in is word. Is it true that the word Rapture is not in the Bible: The word “Rapture” in Scripture is taken from the Latin “rapio” for the two words “caught up” used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. It has come into popular use today to refer to the Lord Jesus coming for the church, to lift her up into the heavens. One raptured is “lifted up” in love. When you are studying the rapture of the church, there are several things you need to keep in mind. First of all, the second coming of Christ is in two parts, separated by a period of seven years. The first part is sometimes referred to as the “Rapture” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:52-58). The second part occurs when Christ physically, bodily returns to this earth on the Mount of Olives from which He ascended. The interval between these two events, known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation, is divided into two, three-and-a-half year periods each. The seventy weeks described in Daniel 9:24-27 speaks of this. The Great Tribulation is the “wrath to come” from which the believer is delivered by the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). The children of God, “because they have kept the word of His patience, will be kept from that hour of trial.” (Revelation 3:10). We believe that the Scripture teaches that Christians will not be judged with the world when God pours out His wrath in the day of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” Scripture teaches us to look for the Lord’s return, not for the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:10 and Titus 2:13). First you have to understand that the Church has not replaced Israel as some teach. The view that Israel and the church are different is clearly taught in the New Testament. Biblically speaking, the church is completely different and distinct from Israel, and the two are never to be confused or used interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the church is an entirely new creation that came into being on the day of Pentecost and will continue until it is taken to heaven at the rapture (Ephesians 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The church has no relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants, promises, and warnings are valid only for Israel. Israel has been temporarily set aside in Gods program during these past 2000 years of dispersion. After the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6-19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth, at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel which survives the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1-5). So we see that God removes the church to focus on Israel. Another false teaching that is being taught is the the seventh trumpet and last trumpet are the same. This also false. The seven trumpet and that last trumpet are not the same. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is writing to believers concerning the transition from this life to eternal life. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into immortal, incorruptible bodies, prepared for the eternal kingdom of God. Verse 52 says, “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.” Paul addresses the same subject to the Thessalonians, and specifically connects it with the Second Coming of Christ. “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 4:16-17). There is no question that God has revealed these things to us, and that He intends for us to be encouraged and instructed by them. The question is whether they are the same. If they are the same, then the rapture of the church happens in the middle of the tribulation period, and saints need to be prepared to endure those trials. If they are not the same, then we need to know when the last trump will sound, so that we can be prepared for it. In order to find out whether they are the same, we can compare the events they are associated with. Events...1 Corinthians 15 ....1 Thessalonians 4...Revelation 11 Trumpet sound ...v. 52...............v. 16........................v. 15 Dead saints raised..v. 52...........v. 16........................................ Living saints changed..v. 52......v. 17......................................... Death overcome by victory..v. 54....v. 14......................... Jesus descends from Heaven.../....v. 16.................Not until Rev 19:11 Kingdoms of the world taken over by Christ Rev v. 15 only Wrath of God on dead...Rev v. 18 only not found in Cor or Thes Rewards given to saints... Rev v. 18 only not found in Cor or Thes Intended result Cor .. v. 57-58 – thanks, victory, faithfulness until then Thes.. v. 18 – comfort now, presence with Christ then Rev.. v. 14,17 – woe on earth, thanks in Heaven. It is clear that the first two fit together, but the third doesnt appear to have any correlation in either the events described or the intended results. The argument connecting them has to depend on the meaning of the word “last” in 1 Corinthians 15:52. The Greek word eschatos can mean either last in point of time or last in point of sequence. This trumpet sounds before the wrath of God descends, yet Revelation 6:17 speaks of the wrath of the Lamb as having come, and the seventh trumpet doesnt sound until Revelation 11:15. The trumpet of 1 Thessalonians is given in a moment, whereas Revelation 10:7 indicates that the seventh trumpet will be sounded for a number of days. Even though the seventh trumpet is the last one described in Revelation, Matthew 24:31 indicates there is yet another trumpet which will sound “after the tribulation of those days,” when Christ returns to the earth, which parallels with Revelation 19. If the “last trumpet” of 1 Thessalonians 4 is not the same as the seventh trumpet, then what was Paul referring to? Both 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians were written long before John wrote Revelation, so Pauls readers would have no knowledge of the seven trumpets of Revelation. Paul intended for them to understand what he was writing about, so we need to look elsewhere for clarification. Pauls writing was distinctly in reference to the church, and the closing of the church age at the rapture. Throughout Scripture, trumpets were used as signals to gather people, to set armies on the move, and as part of the worship of God. The trumpet that summons the church is called “the trump of God,” while those in Revelation are angelic trumpets. Since it is a summoning trumpet, we can look to the Old Testament for further understanding. Numbers 10 gives instruction to Israel about the use of trumpets to calling an assembly of the people and to set them in motion. The first trumpet blast (v. 4) called the leaders together, while a continual blowing was an alarm for the people. A series of trumpet blasts was the signal for each group of tribes to begin their journeys, and the last blast indicated the movement of the last group in the camp. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of different orders, or ranks, in the resurrection: “Every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christs at His coming.” Further, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 divides Christs own into two groups – the dead in Christ, and those who are alive and remain. So if the trumpet is the call for saints to assemble and journey to heaven, what does that mean for us? Jesus said that no one knows when the Day of the Lord will begin (Matthew 24:36), and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 describes it as coming as a thief in the night, without warning. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, we are told to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we do not know when the trumpet will sound, so we are to be always ready. While we may not know the day or hour, we have been given enough information to know it can happen at any moment. We are to be ready, putting on the armor of God, because we have been appointed to receive salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9).
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:26:36 +0000
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