I want to point out few truths concerning rapture. There is a popular belief that rapture will happen and those who are left behind will be left to suffer torture unto death and come to Heaven on account of their own blood. I cannot seem to find this speculation in the Bible, Starting from the book of Daniel, to the words of Jesus in Mathew 24 and the Apostles. None of their statements show rapture twice with tribulation in-between.
I see this as a satanic doctrine to keep people at ease to say: “well, if I don’t make it on the Rapture, I will not take the mark of the Beast and so I will rather suffer, be beheaded and enter Heaven as a martyr”. Let us consider the following scriptures in the light of how Rapture will happen:
In Daniel 7: 25-26, speaking about the lawless one (the Anti-Christ),
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end
Daniel 8: 23-25 says:
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand (Daniel 8: 23-25)
Let me pick few things from Mathew 24:12-31,
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect… For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.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.
Let’s check 2 Peter 3: 10-13,
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Also in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-9, Apostle Paul addressed the issue of the second coming of Crist on the following words;
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders…
From the above quotations, let’s look into how the Rapture will happen:
THE GREAT TRIBULATION
From all the above scriptures, we see that the saints of God will go through great tribulation just as the Lord Jesus said that it will be something that has not happened before or will happen again: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (Vs. 21). Such tribulations are happening in some parts of the world now such as Syria, Iraq and other parts of the world. Many people are forced to renounce Christ or be beheaded or crucified alive. Millions continue to flee their countries because of great Christian persecution. Yet, worst is still coming with the revelation of the man of sin (the anti-Christ).
In Daniel 8 as we read above, it is written that the man of sin, the lawless man, the anti-Christ’s power
… shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
And in Daniel 7: 25-26, And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time
In his second Epistles to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote concerning this man of sin, the lawless one or son of perdition …whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. He will oppose all that is worshiped as god or God, will set himself up as God to be worshiped…but He will be slain by the brightness of Christ’s coming.
From the above quotations, he will be very arrogant and speak great words against God and His saints, he will change times and laws (bypassing the lawmakers and changing the constitution to make his own policies contrary to the way his predecessors did things and contrary to laid down constitutions). He will trample the saints of God and wear them out only for a time…the above scriptures are self-explanatory. I will not go into details here so we keep our focus on the rapture rather than the anti-Christ.
RAPTURE WILL HAPPEN AFTER GREAT TRIBULATION NOT BEFORE
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven (Vs. 29-30).
The pre-Tribulation rapture theorists divert the words of the Lord on Mathew 24 to claim that He was referring to the Jewish people (the elects), but in 1 Peter 1:2, Believers in Christ are called Elects, not just the Jewish people:
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
And Paul says in Colossians 3:12,13
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do".
Elects of God are all those God has predestined for salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that as you surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, then you become an elect of God predestined for salvation through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy (1 Peter 2: 9-10).
Having established that elects of God are all believers in Christ, then it is understandable that Christ was addressing His Church, both the Jews and the Gentile believers in Mathew 24. This will fully cancel out Pre-tribulation Rapture doctrine. Let’s continue:
RAPTURE WILL NOT HAPPEN SECRETLY
The coming of Christ is not a secret rapture. It is with great noise. According to 2 Peter 3:10, the Heaven and Earth shall pass away with great noise at His coming: …in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3: 10).
Mathew 24: 27 says:
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Every eye shall see Him at His coming and people will wail because of Him. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen (Revelation 1: 7).
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Rapture shall precede great darkness, great Earthquake and the falling of the stars of Heaven as described above. The Lord Jesus confirmed this also in Mathew 24: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Mathew 24:29).
ANTI CHRIST SHALL BE DESTROYED BY CHRIST’S APPEARANCE
The anti-Christ shall be destroyed by the brightness of His coming, and consumed by the spirit of His mouth. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2: 8). In Daniel it is written that he shall be broken without hands:
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand (Daniel 8:25).
GREAT FINAL HARVEST AND JUDGMENT
Angel will gather the elects (all those washed in the Blood of the Lamb): And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Mathew 24: 31). 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 (Mathew 24: 40-41)
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Revelation 14:14-20 (KJV)
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The anti-Christ is already smitten with the brightness of Christ coming. From the word of God, I did not see any more chance for those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ or for the lukewarm Christians to go through another great tribulation. It’s over. According to 2 Peter, everything will burn up and the heavens will pass away with great noise, and in Isaiah 34: 4, …all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree; And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places (Revelation 6:14)
Everything will be dissolved just like the days of Noah. Only the redeemed shall be safe, and the angel with the sickle will gather the chaff (those left behind) and throw them into the wrath of God.
It is important to know these things correctly because it is written that anyone who has this hope in him purifies himself even as He is pure. The hope to be raptured along with the saints and not be thrown into the Lake of fire forever, keeps one on the parts of righteousness. Let us prepare ourselves and our loved ones to escape the wrath of God. The day of rapture is the Day of the Lord: the Day of Judgment, the day of wrath, His day of vengeance for the sins of the world. Isaiah laments for this day:
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger (Isaiah 13: 6-13).
The only escape for everyone is through the Blood of His Son, our Lord and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God says in Acts 4: 12, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Remember, if you are in Christ, you are expected to bear fruit for the Kingdom, to win souls and save people from God’s anger especially your loved ones. The Lord says that He will find those who refuse to warn others concerning the Lord’s judgment guilty of manslaughter:
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand (Ezekiel 33:8).
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand (Ezekiel 3:18).
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Corinthians 5: 11)
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10: 31)
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