Many voices confuse the believing Christian community today concerning
whether or not there will be a catching up of the church.
It is time now for
us to allow the most authoritative and truthful voice of all to speak out on
this subject: the Holy Word of God! Let us agree to accept exactly
what the scriptures say.
1st, we need to ask this: is the even
of the ‘catching up’ a biblical event?
Yes. Enoch was the 1st to be cot up
bodily and alive. (gen. 5:22; heb. 11:5) Elijah was the
2nd. (2 kinds 2:11). 3rd was none other than our Lord Jesus. (acts
1:9.) So, the catching up of live human beings is a proven ability of r
God.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
1. 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.
2. Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
3. 1 Thes. 4:16
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:
1 Thes. 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.
4. 2 Thes. 2:1
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
5. Rev. 4:1
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in
heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking
with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter.
Rev. 4:2
And immediately I was in the
spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
From these references there can b no doubt of a future catching
up. Certainly Jesus, luke, paul and john could not have been mistaken!
WHEN WILL IT BE?
The next question to arise is usually:
when will the catching up (the rapture) take place? Bible references
also establish the answer to this question.
The 1st reference is
daniel 9:26-27. Daniel 9:26-27
And after threescore and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined. [27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
These verses reveal another prince with his people, who destroyed jerusalem
and the temple in 70a.d. This event was carried out for this prince by the
roman armies. However, the prince is also to enter into an agreement with
israel for one ‘week’.
Each of daniels ‘weeks’ are 7 years in
length. Of the original 70, only 1 remains: the 70th and final week,
which is the tribulation period.
Since the other prince (satan) enters
into a 7 year agreement, which he breaks in the middle of the week, this
establishes that the agreement had to be made at the very beginning of that 7
year period.
Furthermore, we know satan (the other prince) can do
nothing of himself; he must have a human thru which to work. Thus,
the entrance of the antichrist. Now we know exactly where the antichrist
begins his satanic assignment: at the onset of the 7 year tribulation
period.
With this in mind, let us examine what must occur b4 the
antichrist can be revealed. Read carefully 2 thessalonians, chapter
2. We quickly discover that the antichrist must be revealed (v3), and that
he must be revealed ‘in his time’ (v6). However, he cannot be revealed until the
church has been taken ‘out of the way’ (v7). As verse 8 declares, then
shall that wicked be revealed.
We know the church is the ‘He’ of 2
thes 2:7, as there r no other choices. Some have attempted to teach that
the ‘He’ is the Holy Spirit, but this cannot be. The Holy Spirit is
God the Holy Ghost. As God, He is always present everywhere;
furthermore, He is the agent of salvation. Should the Holy Ghost be taken
from the earth, no one could be saved.
One must keep in mind that paul
prophesied the salvation of all israel (rom. 11:25-26), and zechariah 8:23
predicts the salvation of multitudes of gentiles at the same time that israel is
being saved. The books of ezekiel and revelation reveal that israelis are
saved during the tribulation.
So, by no stretch of the imagination can
the holy ghost b taken out of the world. That leaves the only other
choice, the church.
To learn that the church is “He” and not ‘she,’
one has only to study the writings of the apostle paul. Paul absolutely
identifies the chruch as ‘the body of christ.’
Consider these
references: 1cor. 11:29; 12:14,27; ephe. 4:16; colo.
1:18; 2:19; romans 12:5; and 1cor 10:17. Paul not only
identifies the chruch as the body of christ, he clearly declares Jesus to b the
‘head’ of the body. Therfore, the church is ‘He.’
Eph. 4:13 also
confirms this truth: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ:
Praise God, the church is He, the army of
God in the earth.
One mite also consider jesus’ words in luke 21:36.
He said that u can escape all these things that shall come to pass and……stand
before the Son of man. This is exactly the experience John describes in
rev. 4:1,2. He was in heaven before events of the future began
unfolding. His experience is also in perfect harmony with 1thes 4:16,17.
The word escape used by Jesus in luke 21:36 means ‘to flee forth
from,’ not to be hidden in, as some teach. One hiding in prison has not
escaped. Nothing in the bible indicates the church in hiding.
Until we r cot up, we continue to be:
1. the lite of the world and
the salt of the earth. Matt 5:13,14.
2. The body of christ, wearing
the whole armor of god. Eph 6:11.
3. Wielding the weapons of our
warfare. 2Cor 10:4.
4. Pulling down every stronghold. 2Cor 10:4,5.
5.
With great success. Eph. 5:27
You see we are the church, which the gates of
hell can NOT withstand. Matt 16:18.
THE ANTICHRIST REVEALED
Notice also that when jesus opens the 1st seal of
rev 6:1,2, the antichrist is released to begin his
operation.
Therefore, the antichrist can do nuttin until 2 actions take place: 1st, the
church is cot up, thereby revealing him; and 2nd, the 1st seal is opened
releasing him. When the searls r being opened, the church is already in
heaven. Rev, chapters 4 & 5 make this quite clear.
Based on the scriptures, we must
conclude:
1. The antichrist begins his assignment at the very beginning of
the 7 year time frame, which indicates the tribulation. Dan 9:26-7.
2. The
antichrist must be revealed in his time. 2 thes 2:3,6.
3. The antichrist
cannot be revealed until the glorious church has been ‘cot up’ or ‘taken out of
the way.’ Eph 5:27; 2thes 2:7,8.
4. The antichrist is released when
jesus opens the 1st seal of rev 6:1,2. At this time, the church is in
heaven as experienced by john – rev 4:1-2, and described in chapters 4&5.
WATCH AND PRAY
Let me exhort u to ‘watch and pray’ luke 21:36 and to look
for His appearing which is our blessed hope. Heb. 9:28; titus 2:13.
Consider luke 21:36 from 2 more aspects.
1st, jesus clearly states that those
watching and praying will escape all these things that shall come to pass.
These are things of the future, not of the present.
Reason with
me! Were the church not taken up until the final day of tribulation, or at
the sounding of the 7th angelic trumpet –rev11:15-19, what would we
escape? The only answer would b the millennium, the earthly reign of
Jesus. After all, that is the next event following the tribulation.
How contradictory! The scriptures clearly establish that we
shall reign here with jesus, as kings and priests for 1000 years.
Rev. 5:10; 20:4-6.
Also keep in mind that they series of events
triggered by the 7th angelic trumpet are by no means the same as the events
caused to come about by the trumpet of god – 1thes 4:16,17.
Because
the events of 1thes 4:16-17 and 1cor. 15:51-53 are identical, we know that the
last trumpet – 1cor 15_51-53, is the same as the trumpet of God 1thes.
4:16,17, the last trumpet , or trumpet of God, is associated with the
church, while the 7 angelic trumpets are certainly tribulation trumpets.
Furthermore, should the church not be cot up until the final day
of the so called tribulation, it would rise, meet jesus coming back to reign and
return with Him, or miss the millennium.
How ridiculous! If this
were the case, the church would never arrive in heaven, lol. Without the
appearance of the church in heaven, it could not participate at the wedding of
the lamb nor the marriage supper. Both occur in heaven. Rev.
19:1-10. They are not earthly events.
Praise God, we r going to
heaven! There is no doubt. Revelation 19 describes much people in
heaven b4 the wedding of the lamb. The company that john refers to
includes the church, the great multitude cot up at mid tribulation –rev. 7:9-17,
and the 144,000 jewish evangelists – rev 14:1-5.
Notice also the
experience of john revealed in rev 4:1,2. As john is describing his
experience, it harmonizes perfectly with 1thes. 4:16,17 and puts him in heaven,
at the throne of God,b4 the seals r opened – rev.6, beginning the 7 years of
tribulation
The 2nd aspect to consider in
luke 21:36 is the work watch. It means ‘to keep awake in order to protect
or guard; a close observation for a time, as to find out something; vigilant; be
alert; to look or observe; to be looking or waiting attentively.’ These
are some of the meanings taken from websters dictionary .
LOOK FOR HIM
Examine 2 more passages of scripture.
1st. heb.9:28 says, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the 2nd time without sin
unto salvation.
Focus yer attention on the phrase, them that look for
him. The work look is the key. According to websters it means ‘to
see; to direct ones attention mentally upon something; the act of looking; pay
attention; be alert; to expect; to anticipate.’
The greek word used
here is apekdechomai, wish means ‘to expect eagerly.’ This word identifies
one who is very long on expectation
We also find titus making a
statement in chapter 2:13;
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Here the greek work is from the same root and means ‘to look for with
expectation.’
We must not overlook the words of jesus in luke 21:28,
He said, And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Here the
greek word for look is anakupto which means ‘to lift oneself up by reason of
elated joyous expectation and preparation of an event.’
I’m sure that
from time to time u have heard people misquote luke 21:28. Often u hear,
‘look up with joy.’ Is that a misquote. Not really when u understand
that the greek word anakupto means ‘to lift oneself up by reason of elated
joyous expectation and preparation.’
It will b a joyous event which
will transprot the church to heaven!
So we get the same profound
message from jesus, paul, titus: ‘anticipate the even of His appearing
with joyous expectation and preparation.’
Notice also that the
salvatioin referred to by paul in heb. 9:28 is the same oas the redemption
spoken of by jesus in luke 21:28.
SEVEN RAPTURES
Look at the book of rev how it records 4
instances of ‘catching up.’ They 1st experience by john – rev 4:1,2; the
2nd described in rev. 7:9-17, of the great multitude (not the church); 3rd is
the taking up of the 144,000 jewish evangelists rev 14:1-5; and 4th is the
catching up of the 2 witnesses of rev 11:11-12.
Doesn’t it seem
rather unusual that God would catch up all these other groups, but NOT the
church? The Holy scriptures carefully position the catching up of the
church as the middle rapture.
There r a total of 7 raptures in the
scriptures. Enoch, elijah, and jesus were the 1st 3. Then will come
the rapture of the church b4 the tribulation. The last 3 raptures
are: mid-trib saints –rev 7:1-8, the 144,000 jewish evangelists –rev
14:1-5, and the 2 witnesses –rev 11:3-12. That completes gods order
of ‘catchings up.’ There are 7, gods number indicating ‘that which is
complete.’
A BLESSED HOPE
Allow no one to take away yer hope by
erroneous teachings. Let God speak to u thru His written Word.
Be a
wise vergin as spoken of by the Lord Jesus, and be taken to heaven for the
Wedding of the Lamb. – matt 25:10; rev. 19:1010.