The topic of the “rapture” divides Christians in a similar way that the topic of the “resurrection of the dead” divided the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  Paul used this to his advantage one time in order to cause an uproar between the Pharisees and the Sadducees while he was on trail before the Council of priests (Acts 23:6-10).  So if a crowd of Christians start grilling you concerning your stand on abortion or marriage you could always ask them “when will the rapture of the church occur?” and then make a quick get away as they all start disagreeing with one another.

Actually, Bible Prophecy is meant to up lift and unite the body of Christ with hope for the future, not divide it and damage it.  But if Christians are divided in their understanding of what God is going to do in the future, this should not divide us as the body of Christ.  The essential doctrine of Christianity is our salvation in “Christ Alone” and the moral absolute truth taught in God’s word.  Therefore,  we have the liberty to discuss and disagree in a friendly way the topic of “eschatology” … the study of end time things.  That being said, I do believe “the rapture” will divide true believers who have a personal relationship with Jesus from those who only practice a religion of worship to Jesus.  The rapture will on day “lift up” those who by grace through faith have been born again in Jesus while everyone else is “left behind”.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15For 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore comfort one another with these words

There is much per-occupation with Christians today concerning the rapture of the church and for good reason.  I do believe we are living in the final days of the church age and that Jesus is coming for His bride very soon but this is not because of revelations from many of today’s false prophets who are more concerned about “writing for profit” than they are concerned about “discussing prophecy” and preaching the good news about salvation in Jesus Christ in order to save people from God’s coming wrath!

I do believe that certain “signs in heaven” are a prophetic time clock to warn us about major events that will occur on earth.  For instance the last of the four blood moons will appear on September, 13-14, 2015 (Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets) and this could be a possible date for the rapture of the Church since I believe the Church will be rapture on Rosh Hashanah if not this year (2015) then in 2016, 2017 or 2018 … until He comes.  However, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn in his best selling books “The Harbinger” and “The Shemitah” predict that there will be a world wide financial collapse in Sept 2015 because America has failed to observe the Old Testament laws that were given by Moses to the Jews.  Hey, guess what Rabbi Jonathan Cahn?  … we are not living under the Jewish Dispensation and the laws of Moses.  This article does a good job exposing the deception of Jonathan Cahn. http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/2014/09/19/mystery-of-the-shemitah/.

*It is now long past Sept 2015 and the financial meltdown that Jonathan Cahn said would occur has NOT come to pass.   He has proved to be a false prophet since his prophecy did not come true.  Perhaps in compliance with the Old Testament laws of Moses that he promotes in his books, he would like to be put to death?  Deuteronomy 13:5

The main point that refutes the reasoning of Jonathan Cahn is the fact that Jesus fulfilled the Jewish ceremonial laws so we no longer have to observe these laws during the Church age.  For instance, we no longer offer animal sacrifices for sin, we don’t worship on the Sabbath (which is Saturday), we don’t rest on the Sabbath, we don’t rest our fields every seventh year (The Shemitah) and we don’t declare debts forgiven every filthy year (a Sabbath x a Sabbath + 1).  Becoming debt free every 50 years seems like a great idea but if this was done by our world wide financial system today, the effects of releasing everyone from debt would be more catastrophic than the depression cause by greedy stock traders and housing loaners.  Cahn claims that America experiences an economic fall every seven years because we fail to observe the “Shemite”, however if you look at the following chart, you can see there are rises and falls to the US economy over the past 60 years and they do occur in cycles but they are not exact cycles of 7 years.  The are roughly cycles of 6 – 10 years but there is no exact formula to predict a date for the fall or else everyone would be rich from knowing when to get rich.

Of special interest on the horizon is a cosmic event that is scheduled to occur Sept 23, 2017.  At this time there will be an arrangement of the stars in heaven that will match what is prophesied to occur in Rev 12:1 “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”  According to astronomers, this event only occurs once in the life of the cosmos and many Christian commentator believe that the Rapture of the Church and the start of the seven year Tribulation period will occur around this date.  This site does a good job explaining the cosmic signs of the heaven and relating the signs to prophetic events on the near horizon, http://watchfortheday.org/1260tetrad.html.  But frankly, even if you don’t put much importance in the signs in heaven or the “profitcy” of Jonathan Cahn, you should be able to read the signs on earth and realize that because of the declining moral state of the world, God’s judgment is coming soon!  You see, God’s judgment is coming upon the whole world, not because America has failed to obey Jewish ceremonial laws and customs but because the world is ripe with sin and America is out in front leading the sin parade!

Ok, now that I got that off my chest, let’s get back to the topic of this article.  The word “rapture” is not found in the English KJV translation of scripture but the concept of the rapture of the church is taught in scripture.  The NASB translation above in verse 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the word “caught up”,  which is translated from the Greek work harpazō  which means “to seize, carry off by force” or “to snatch out or away” or “to seize and claim for one’s self eagerly”.  So you see “we”, the church, the Bride of Christ will be caught up, “raptured”, in the clouds to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ (along with those who died in Christ) when the archangel gives a “shout” and the “trump” of God is sounded.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.  This was Paul’s attitude.  He longed to be with the Lord but he knew for the sake of building up the church that it was better that he stay on earth.  Philippians 1:21 “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”  And this should be our attitude, to desire to be free from this world of sin and be in the presence of Jesus.  So is this your blessed hope …. that Jesus is coming soon?  Are you looking for Him to appear in the clouds?  Is you lamp lite for Christ, in that you are a light for Christ in this dark world of sin?  Are you ready and waiting for Jesus?

Now, back to the question of this article, is the “rapture” found in Matthew 24 and 25?  Did Jesus teach about the rapture in what is called the Olivet Discourse, the discussion that took place on the Mount of Olives.  Well, I have been on both sides of the fence concerning this question but I have finally landed on the “yes” side.  Most Christian scholars will get red faced and tongue tied if you suggest the possibility that Jesus mentioned the rapture of the church in the Olivet Discourse because they say that Jesus had to answer the questions according to what the disciples would have understood and Jesus had to stay within the rules of hermeneutics and exegesis and only address prophecy events that would have applied to the Jews, not the Church.  But the disciples didn’t seem to understand about 90% of what Jesus told them until after He was resurrected and if you think Jesus plays by the rules of men then you must be reading a different Bible than me.

To set the stage for the Oilvet Discourse, Jesus has just pronounced seven woes of judgment upon the scribes and Pharisees and as He is walking away he tells those following Him that the temple was going to be destroyed in the very near future.  The disciples came to Him privately to discuss this issue, thinking that He was speaking about the destruction that would occur when Jesus set up His Kingdom, which they thought was imminent.  Now Jesus did answer their questions but not according to what they thought was getting ready to transpire.  If Jesus wanted to answer them so they would know exactly what He was going to happen He might have said something like this:

“Look, the Romans are going to destroy the temple in 70 AD but this is not the time of Jacob’s trouble that is prophesied by Daniel and this is not the time when I am setting up my Kingdom. There is going to be a gap of almost 2,000 years called the Church age that will begin on the feast Shavuot, Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit will descends on you guys.  And by the way, I am going to be crucified on a cross in two days for the sins of the world and I will rise from the dead three days later demonstrating I have power over sin and death.  I know I have told you this before and this is the reason I came but you are fixated on ruling in a Kingdom that I am NOT setting up yet.  At the end of the Church age I am going to come and “rapture” the Church to heaven and then continue with the 7 years of discipline that remains for the Jews, this period is also called the “tribulation period” which will be recorded by John in a Revelation from Me.  After the tribulation period THEN I will come and set up my My Kingdom on earth for 1,000 years.  Capisce?”

I disagree with most Bible scholars when I contend that the Olivet discourse which begins in Matthew 24:4, is not talking about the destruction that occurred in 70 AD. Jesus does mention the 70 AD destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:2, which prompts the disciples to ask Jesus to elaborate on this issue in Matthew 24:3.  The disciples thought that when Jesus mentioned the destruction of the temple, He was talking about a destruction that would occur as a result of Jesus setting up His Kingdom on earth.  Jesus does respond to the disciples and tell them when He will come and set up His Kingdom but He does not answer them according to their understanding, He answers them according to the truth.  In other words, in the Olivet discourse Jesus was not giving instructions to the listening Jews about setting up His Kingdom on earth in their life time but Jesus was giving instructions for the Future Jews of the Tribulation Period and the Future Tribulation Saints plus Jesus was also giving instructions for the Church Age Believers, which some of them would soon become.  This is how I break it down:

Matthew 23:1-39  Jesus has just pronounced 7 woes of judgement upon the scribes and the Pharisees (the Jewish leaders) and really a judgement upon the whole generation.  These are Jesus’ last public words of ministry before He comes again after the seven year Tribulation period to set up His Kingdom on earth.  “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say,‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’  – Matthew 23:39

Matthew 24:1  Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  The disciples point to the beauty temple in an attempt to cheer Jesus up, saying, “Hey Jesus, this generation is not so bad, look at the beautiful temple we have build to God.”

Matthew 24:2  And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  Jesus, is saying to them “Do you not see that the Jewish leadership is deaf, dumb and blind towards God.  They are the blind leading the blind.  The Romans have built this temple for their own glory not God’s and they are going to destroy it and you too very soon.”

Matthew 24:3   Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”   The disciples are asking Jesus “When are You going to set up Your Kingdom?”  They are still hanging on His words from Matthew 23:39, “you shall see Me no more”, and they think His response in Matthew 24:2 concerning the destruction of the temple is what will happen when He sets up His Kingdom.  However, Jesus does not address the destruction of the temple in the Olivet discourse but He does answer their question about the sign of His “two” comings (one “for” His church and one “with” His church) and the end of the Jewish age.

Matthew 24:4-14  4And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8“But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.  9“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10“At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12“Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13“But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

This is “primarily” instructions for the Future Tribulation Jews and Saints during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period (the opening of the first 5 seals).  This period Jesus is referring too is the first 3 1/2 years of the ministry of the Antichrist on earth (just as Christ had 3 1/2 years of ministry).  This will be a time of unprecedented martyrdom, as those who are awakened to the Lord, are betrayed by their family and friends and turned into the authorities to be killed.  The earth will be under the reign of the lawless one and the love for one another will be cold, if you have have taken the mark of the Beast.  The four horse man of the Apocalypse will be loosed on the earth (seals 1-4, Revelation 6:1-7) and there will be war, famine, plague and death.  There will it will be earthquakes and strange climate issues but this is only the beginning of the birth pains of the Tribulation.  The believer who “miraculously” endures through the entire 7 year Tribulation period will be both “spiritually saved and physically saved” to enter the Millennium period on earth.

Note, this scripture does not directly apply to the “Church Age” since the Church will have already been raptured to Heaven before the Tribulation and this degree of persecution occurs.  However, as the day approaches for the rapture, the Church will see the “signs” of this developing trend of  “hate, divide and unrest“.  The phrase “For nation will rise against nation” is a reference to “ethnic and racial” unrest and division.  America put to rest the civil injustice of inequality among men in the 1960’s but this new outbreak of racism and hatred is fueled by a “demonic” influence not a rational one.  This is especially true in the inner city where the void of Christ’s love and absence of the love of man for one another has left our youth without righteous leadership.  They have turned to gangs and thugs for their worth and their means of survival.  It is sad because “Black Lives do Matter”, yet instead of doing taking responsibility for their lives they lash out in frustration fueled by the lie that they are “entitled” to some government handout because of their skin color.  This is not equality but insanity!

Matthew 24:15-20  15“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17“Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18“Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20“But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.

This is instructions for the Future Tribulation Jews and Saints during the Mid tribulation.  This is a three day period that occurs at exactly on the 3 1/2 year mark.  I think this three day period begins when the Antichrist receives a mortal wound from the two witnesses at the Temple and then he recovers, as though he is resurrected from the dead.  He then proceeds to the rebuilt Jewish Tempe and declares that he is God.  This event is known as “The Abomination of Desolation“.  After he declares that he is God, the Antichrist will slay the two prophets of God that stand before the Temple and the people will cheer.  The dead bodies of the two prophets will lie in the streets for three days and then miraculously come back to life and rise to Heaven.  As this event unfolds on earth, God opens seal number 6 of His scroll and begins to rains down His judgement upon the earth.

Matthew 24:21-35  21“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22“Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25“Behold, I have told you in advance. 26“So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.28“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.   29“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31“And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.   32“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.34“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

This is instructions for the Future Tribulation Jews and Saints during the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation (seal 7 – the great tribulation period).  The instruction for believers and Jews to stay in a safe hiding place and not come out to see Christ based on reports of His return.  For Christ’s return will be obvious, you will be able to see it for yourself in the sky as Christ returns to earth to fight the final battle of Armageddon and Jesus comes “with” His Saints in glory!

Note, when Jesus says “this generation will not pass away“, He is referring to the generation of the “Jewish Dispensational Age”, that began when the “the law” from Moses was given to the Jews.  Obviously, He wasn’t referring to the generation of people He was talking too because this generation has long ago passed away and Jesus hasn’t returned yet, as “the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory”!  During the time that Jesus walked on earth, the Jews were severing under 490 years of judgment from God for failing to repent and return to God.  Note, the 490 years of judgement for the Jews was tacked onto the 70 years of judgement they had already served in captivity in Babylon for failing to keep the laws of the Semite.  When Jesus rode into Jerusalem as king, the Jews, who had served 483 years of God’s judgment Babylon were “cut off” from God’s hand of grace just as Daniel had prophesied (Daniel 9:24-27).  When God “cut off” the ministry of the Jews, He did not remove His hedge of protection and purpose for the Jews but He has put their purpose “on hold” while He builds His Church and uses the Church as His chosen instrument to preach the gospel.  Therefore, since the Jews were “cut off” at the time Jesus spoke His final words of ministry in the Olivet discourse, I think Jesus was addressing “both” the Church Age Believers and Future Tribulation Jews and Saints in the Olivet discourse.

In summary, since “the Jews” have completed 483 of the 490 years of God’s judgment, they still have 7 years of judgment left, which will occur during the Tribulation period.  The seven years of judgment will begin when “the prince of this world – the Antichrist” shall come and make a covenant with Israel for seven years.  But before God resumes His purpose for the Jews, He will first “cut loose” from the world His bride, the Church, and rapture Her to Heaven to be with Jesus.

Matthew 24:36-51  36“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40“Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41“Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.  42“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44“For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.  45“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is instructions for the Church Age Believers to be ready serving Christ and looking for Christ to come and rapture them to heaven prior to the 7 year tribulation period.  Jesus is saying that people will be conducting business as usual on earth when he comes to rapture the Church, just like it was prior to the flood of Noah’s time.  The ones “taken” are born again Christians who are taken to Heaven to be with Jesus prior to the Tribulation period.  The ones “left behind” are unbelievers who are left behind to endure the Tribulation period.   Jesus tells us to watch for His appearing and be ready to met Him, and to faithfully serve Him until He comes so we will be rewarded by Jesus and rule with Him over the earth. 

Jesus is also indicating that there will be an evil group of unbelievers who pretend to represent Jesus Christ during the Church Age but in reality they do not belong to Jesus but instead they persecute and kill Christian.  This has been the horrific history of the Catholic Church and the early Calvinist Church during the Church Age and this will be the horrific agenda of the “Chrislam” Church during the Tribulation period.   The Chrislam Church is an abomination ecumenical mixture of so called Christians and Muslims and everyone else who wants to worship a god other than the God of the Bible.  In Matthew 24:50, Jesus is taking about evil slaves, non-believers, who because of their unbelief will one day be thrown into the Lake of Fire … to them their day of reckoning for their sin is always a surprise since they think the party will never end.

Matthew 25:1-13  1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2“Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5“Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6“But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’7“Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8“The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9“But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10“And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11“Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12“But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13“Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

This instruction is for the Church Age Believers to be ready with Holy Spirit shining for Christ.  A Christian is to be like a wise virgin with the lamp of your life full of the oil of the Holy Spirit, trimmed and burning for Jesus because He will come suddenly to raptured His Church to Heaven at “shout” of the Archangel.  The ones who are left behind are not believers of Jesus but they are ones who “played church”, Christians In Name Only (CINOs).  The foolish virgins have no relationship with Jesus (I do not know you) and therefore they do not have the Holy Spirit abiding in them and providing oil for their light and life.  Some Bible commentators think that anyone who heard the gospel of Jesus Christ prior to the rapture but was left behind as an unbeliever after the rapture will have hardened their heart beyond the point where the grace of God can reach them and save them.  And (2 Thessalonians 2.11-12) talks about a strong delusion from Satan that will flood the world after the restraining influence of the Church is removed by the rapture of the Church.  However, we know there will be many people will be saved during the Tribulation period because we are told of the many Tribulation Saints who do not take the mark of the Antichrist and they are martyred for the faith during the Tribulation (Revelation 13:7, Revelation 6:9).  God’s grace is always able to save the lost but during the Tribulation period many people will believe the lies of the Antichrist and take his mark which seals them unto eternal death in the lake of Fire.

Matthew 25:14-30  14“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15“To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16“Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17“In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18“But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.   19“Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20“The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’   22“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’  24“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’  26“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’  29“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is instructions for the Church Age Believers on how to live faithfully for Christ, being diligent to invest your time, talents and treasure building God’s Kingdom in Heaven (Matthew 6:33).  We are to be good steward of what God has given us so we will “earn eternal rewards in Heaven” for faithfully doing good works that God has prepared for us to do “after” our salvation.  The person who has hid their talent in the ground is one who never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life.  This is an unbeliever who knew of Jesus but he did not “know” and have an intimate “born again” relationship with Jesus.  I don’t think this passage is talking about the rapture of the Church but it is saying that believers who die in Christ during the Church age will be rewarded in Heaven for their good works at the Beme seat of Christ.  The last part of the passage is addressing unbelievers after their death and maybe those who had been witnessed too and what good news they hid and did not act on will be credited the believer, while the unbeliever will be judged at the White Throne of Judgment and cast in the Lake of Fire, the place of outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:31-46  31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.32“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.  34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the leastof them, you did it to Me.’  41“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  

This is instructions for the Future Tribulation Jews and Saints believers (sheep) on earth who survive the tribulation period will go forward into the Millennium Kingdom, while the unbelievers (goats) will be removed from earth before Christ establishes His Millennium Kingdom.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12  1Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Now concerning the timing of the rapture, when is it going to happen?  Well, Jesus told us in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the day or the hour except the Father in Heaven.  Some people use this statement by Jesus to say that God the Father knows more than God the Son which I don’t believe is true.  You see, the statement that “no one knows the day or the hour” is a phrase that a son would say when someone asked him when he we going to get his bride.  In the Jewish culture, the son couldn’t go get his bride and bring her home to his house until his father approved of the addition he made to his father’s house for his bride.  In the case of the church, we are the bride of Christ and Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:3) but Jesus will not come to get his bride until our place is ready!   I think Jesus knew when He would come and rapture His Church but He uses this phrase that “no one knows the day or the hour” to remind us that He is our groom and one day He will come suddenly and unexpectedly to get His bride, the  Church and take her to Heaven.  Also I figured out when Jesus is coming.  He is coming at “at night”.  And it will be at night time in some places on earth and it will be broad day light at other places on earth because Jesus will rapture His bride, the church, all at once, in the twinkle of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).  And since the church is not destined for God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9) the timing of Jesus’ coming for His church that makes the most sense is a “pre-tribuation” rapture.

The rapture will occur without warning, when people are unaware, like in days of Noah (Matthew 24:37) and they are going about business as usual.  Once the seven year peace treaty is signed, all Christians will be aware of what is going on.  This will be a major warning sign that the rapture MUST OCCUR within the seven years and the warning to “be ready” because Christ is coming when you least expect Him will not make any sense.  And if you think Christ is coming at the mid-tribulation then you can start counting off 1260 days after the signing of the peace treaty with Israel and be ready on that day.  The concept that no one knows the day or the hour will make no sense if you are a mid-tribulation or end-tribulation believer.  And if you think business as usual is going to be happening like in the days of Noah, once the Antichrist is on the scene and starts conquering nations and institutes the mark of the beast to buy and sell, and there is famine and plagues and fire coming spewing out of Moses and Elijah then you must live in a crazy business district today.  

The most compelling yet controversial reason to put the rapture prior to the tribulation period is in the reading of verse 2 Thessalonians 2:3 “…the tribulation will not come unless the “rapture” comes” first….  You see the issue of the timing of the rapture is crystal clear when you translate the word “apostasy” to “rapture”.  Apostasy is derived from the Greek word ἀποστασία, ας, ἡ  Strongs G646 which means “to leave or depart”, “to desert a position” or “a leaving, from a previous standing.”.   If you interpret apostasy to mean there is first a physical “departure” of the church that occurs before the tribulation not a departure from the truthful teaching of the church that occurs before the tribulation, then you end the debate concerning the timing of the rapture.  The reason I think Paul is talking about a physical departure instead of teaching departure is that a departure from teaching the truth of Jesus Christ was already going on while Paul was alive, in fact Paul writes several letters to churches addressing the issue of false teaching.   And Jesus warned the disciples to be on the look out for false teachers in Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.’  Moreover, false teaching concerning Christ is the corner stone of the Catholic Church, the Woman who rides the Beast.  Like I said, this is a compelling and controversial view concerning the meaning of the Greek word ἀποστασία.  If you want to dig deeper into the Greek meaning of this word you can follow these links:

http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_rapture9.php   – supports the meaning of a spatial or physical departure

http://prewrathrapture.com/does_2_thessalonians_23_mention_the_rapt/  – supports the meaning of a departure of teaching

Listen to this study by Ken Johnson concerning the word “apostacy” in the New Testament.  This world is found 16 times and 12 times it means a “physical” departure while 4 times it means a “spiritual” departure.  This study doesn’t definitely answer the question about which one Paul is referring to in 1 Thessalonians but it does shed light on the discussion.  As I’ve previously started I think Paul means a “physical” departure because a “spiritual” departure from the Christian faith has always been present. 

Another reason to believe that the Church will not be here during the tribulation period when the Antichrist is ruling is because I don’t think the Antichrist can effectively function with lying signs and wonders while the body of Christ is still on earth. I think the church, with the abiding Holy Spirit, is the “restraining” influence that is holding back the Antichrist from being revealed on the earth.  Plus I do not think we will see the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah) spew fire from their mouth and consume people, turn rivers to blood, stop rain or strike the earth with every plague.  This would be amazing to see but this method of preaching doesn’t fit with the way the church is called to preach the gospel during the Church age.

Also Jesus mentions in Matthew 24:14 that believers during the seven year tribulation will preach the “gospel of the Kingdom”  (see info in next paragraph).  However, during the church age, we as believers are called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1).  When you read the Bible from the beginning through to the end, you can see that God calls man into a relationship with Him by using different methods over a period of time.  These periods are identifiable and are called Dispensation periods.  I am not going to go into a great detail on this topic other than to say that salvation for man, always has been and always is, “by grace through faith in Jesus Christ”.  In the Old Testament people came to God by grace through faith in a Savior that had yet to come to earth while people in the New Testament came to God by grace through faith in a Savior that has come to earth and has risen from the dead!   In each Dispensation period, God reveals a little more of Himself to man, drawing man into a more intimate relationship.  During the Church age we have the Holy Spirit of God living in us which is the greatest privilege that has been bestowed on a believer on earth, thus far.  But during the tribulation period, I believe God will become even more intimate with believers on earth, giving them grace that passes understanding, so they can stand up against the persecution and hardships they will face.

In the case of Jews (the apple of His eye and His first bride) God put their Dispensation on hold while He brought into existence the Church Age Dispensation.  The Tribulation period is really the completion of the Jewish Discipline of 490 years, the last seven years or the last week of 70 weeks of discipline that Daniel prophesied (Daniel 9:25-27).  During the tribulation period believers will preach the gospel of the Kingdom which is what the disciples preached while they walked with Jesus.  The disciples thought that Jesus had come to set up His Millennium Kingdom, not die on the cross for their sin.  And if you were a Jew at the time you would have believed the same way because the Millennium Dispensation of God’s Kingdom on earth does follow the Jewish Dispensation, however there is the issue of this little 2,000 year gap called the Church Age Dispensation that was hidden from their eyes.

So, after the Church is raptured to Heaven the Antichrist will step forward, take charge and sign a seven year “peace” treaty with Israel.  The removal of the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will leave a vacuum of leadership that the deceiving spirit of the Antichrist will fill.  The Antichrist will probably convince most of the world that the Christian troublemakers were removed from earth in judgment by “Allah”, the god of Islam because they did not believe in Allah and his pedophile prophet Muhammad.   He will assure everyone that Allah will bless the world if they make him ruler over the earth.  The treaty with Israel for seven years will probably be an agreement to allow the Jews to rebuild the temple on the Mount in Jerusalem.

The signing of the treaty triggers the beginning of the the seven year tribulation period and initiates the removal of the first of seven seals of God’s judgment and wrath upon the earth (Revelation 6:1-11).  The first 5 seals are removed during the first 3 1/2 years as the stench of the Antichrist’s rule will rise to heaven.  At the mid way point, the Antichrist will proclaim that he is god in the Jewish temple.  This act of rebellion is called the “Abomination of Desolation” (Matthew 24:15).  At this point the 6th seal is removed and God causes a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair and the whole moon became like blood (Revelation 6:12-17).  When the seventh seal is removed there is silence in heaven for half hour, which is a time of reverence for the tragedy that is to befall man and planet earth.  During the last 3 1/2 years all of God’s wrath is poured out on earth.   At the end of the seven years, Christ comes “with” His saints, including the Church, in the air to fight the final battle of Armageddon.  As Christ arrives on earth, a sword from His mouth kills all remaining unbelievers (this is not a physical sword but His living word!), we saints don’t do not have a sword and do not need one, we are there with Jesus to accompany Him on the the victory march.  Do not be confused there are a lot of trumpets that sound during the tribulation period but Christ first comes “for” His saints (the Church) prior to the tribulation and “with” His saints (the Church and all believers that have physically died) at the end of the tribulation period.

I have put together a timeline for the events that occur during the Tribulation period.  It is a work in progress, just like I am a work in progress: http://die2live.worthyofpraise.org/the-144000/

After the tribulation period, Jesus sets up His Millennium Kingdom (His 1,000 year rule on earth), all the unbelievers (goats) have been removed from earth by Christ and all the believers (sheep) that have survived the tribulation period will remain to enjoy the 1,000 year period.  We Saints will rule and reign with Christ for the 1,000 years.  A new temple is built as described in Ezekiel 40 and a resurrected David sits on the throne on earth.  Most importantly Jesus is on earth and He rules with a rod of iron to immediately keep law and order at all times.

At the end of the Millennium Kingdom, there are some children that are born during the 1,000 years and some of them are unbelievers.  Satan is loosed from the bottomless pit and he gathers the unbelievers at Gog and Magog for a brief war against the saints (Revelation 20:7-10).  The end result is that all unbelievers appear before the White Throne Judgment to receive the degree of punishment they will receive in the Lake of Fire, into which they are thrown and eternally tormented.  Then all believers will be called up to heaven and God will create a new cosmos and new earth.  Then the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven, our beautiful Holy city that Jesus has been preparing for us and this will start the Ever Lasting Kingdom.

+8^) Rogersings

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