Do I Believe In The Rapture?
1 Thessalonians 4, 16 says, For the Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a shout. Have you ever wondered what he will be shouting?
I believe he will be shouting our name! A good example would be when he called Lazarus forth? by name.
I believe that will be the final use of the gift of tongues in this age, one shout, and every believer dead and alive hearing only one thing...his or
her name.
You know, the gift of tongues sometimes includes a miracle of hearing as well as of speaking.
We see that in Acts chapter 2 where the 120 were speaking in unknown tongues, and each person in the crowd (a crowd that numbered in the 1000's heard) only
heard one dialect, the one they spoke.
The Bible tells us Jesus will come with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.
Why does Christ bring an archangel with him when he returns?
We get a clue in Jude 9 where we read of the archangel, Michael being associated with battle. We see that in Daniel 10:13 as well.
When the body of Moses was raised, Satan was there to oppose his resurrection.
Guess who else was there?
Michael was there.
It is to be expected that Satan will oppose the resurrection when we are raised as well.
The Bible tells us the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Paul said, Behold I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
One day Jesus will call MY NAME.
Do I believe in the Rapture? Absolutely!
You know, Jesus said by our words, we will be justified, or by our words, we will be condemned. That is a frightening thought for most of us. During the course of a lifetime we speak many words, and we do not always choose our words wisely.
The wisest choice of words we can ever make is to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is the risen Son of God. If we come to God on those terms, with a truly repentant heart, we are promised eternal life.
A broken and contrite heart, he will not despise.
Here is what it all boils down to. Our God is merciful and loving. He doesn't unnecessarily complicate things. Romans 10:9,10-13 says that if we confess
with our mouth (words), that Jesus is the Son of God, and believe in our hearts
that God raised him from the dead, then...
We,
Will,
Be,
Saved.
The study of Bible Prophecy is under attack--particularly the teaching of the rapture. We make no apologies for using the word "RAPTURE."
Rapture: Three Fascinating Discoveries!
"For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the Tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins" (On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, by Ephraem the Syrian, A.D. 373)
Post-tribulation (rapture) writers continue to attack the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine by claiming that it cannot be true because no Church writer or reformer ever taught this doctrine until approximately 170 years ago. This is patently untrue, as evidenced by Ephraem the Syrian, in A.D. 373. And there is no shortage of ancient quotes agreeing with it.
The real question for sincere students of scripture must be whether or not the Bible teaches the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the catching up of the living, which it does.
The argument that no one ever wrote of this "truth" throughout the first 1,600+ years of Church history, though untrue, has been very effective, causing many Christians to abandon their belief in the pre-Tribulation rapture.
Several fascinating manuscripts contain clear evidence of the teaching of the pre-Tribulation rapture in the Early Church.
...Those who have stated that the pre-Tribulation rapture was never taught throughout the entire history of the Church until 1820 are simply ignorant of the many Christian texts that support it.
Article References: Margaret McDonald, Grant Jeffrey, archaeological discoveries, Emmanuel Acurnza, Edward Irving, John Darby, Dave MacPherson, John Bray, Plymouth Brethren, Ephraem the Syrian, epistle of Barnabas(A.D. 110), Hippolytus (A.D. 220), Shepherd of Hermas (A.D. 110), John Gill.
The Wrath "TO COME"
>>Many Christians have experienced persecution who were taught about a pre-trib rapture, if they didn't escape persecution, why should we?<<
This reasoning, used in refuting the doctrine of a pre-tribulational rapture, is one of the most common arguments used today, but is it at all biblical?
No. It is not.
Those using this argument are failing to rightly divide the Word of God. Those using this argument do not recognize, or refuse to acknowledge, that the Bible does differentiate between persecution and wrath.
Wrath and persecution are two entirely different things.
Jesus told his followers to expect persecution. He also told them to pray that they would escape "ALL these things" that would come upon ALL who dwell on the face of the WHOLE earth. Was Jesus contradicting himself when he said these things? Of course not. John the Baptist said basically the same thing, only in reverse, when he asked the hypocritical leaders of his day who told them to "flee from (escape from) the WRATH to come?"
Both Jesus and John were referring to the same time period. The "wrath to come" that John referred to and "all these things" that Jesus referred to, are direct references to the dreadful time period called The Great Tribulation. Jeremiah called it, the Time of Jacob's Trouble.
John was subsequently beheaded. He became a martyr. But his martyrdom was not due to the "wrath" that was "to come." That had not, and has not, come yet. Those who belong to Christ have a promise that we will be kept from that horrible time. And Jesus made certain to instruct us to pray to that effect (that we would be found worthy to escape it).
John experienced persecution and martyrdom because he took an unpopular stand for the Word of God. John's arrest and martyrdom were due to persecution--not wrath. The wrath he predicted had not come yet. Jesus spoke of the things that were "coming" after John had already been martyred, and he told his followers to pray they would be counted worthy to ESCAPE all the things that were COMING.
What is coming? WRATH is coming. But to date, since the days Christ walked the earth, that wrath has not come yet. How do we know that? Because the scriptures reveal that when it does come, 75-80% of the world population will be annihilated within the short time span of only 7 years. In all the history of the world, that has never happened yet.
The Bible tells us that the entire world is currently experiencing a time of favor, and has been ever since the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given. The Time of Favor is that special time the prophet Joel foretold when men would be able to simply call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. This was an absolutely unheard of concept and an impossibility under the Law of Moses.
The time of favor [when men can simply call on the name of the Lord to be saved] will end before the Time of Jacob's Trouble--which is the Great Tribulation [when men must endure to the end to be saved]. And Jesus was specific about the fact that during the horrific time of the Great Tribulation, only those who endure to the end will be saved. Presently, during the accepted time (the time of favor) we CALL on the name of the Lord to be saved.
Calling on the name of the Lord to be saved, and enduring to the end to be saved, are not the same things.
Those who choose to follow Christ in the Great Tribulation will certainly be viciously persecuted, just as many are being persecuted today. However, the massive world death rate (75-80% of the world population before it is over) during the Time of Jacob's trouble will be attributed, not just to persecution, but to the WRATH of the Lamb as well. The Bible tells those of us who belong to Christ, that we are not appointed to wrath. But Jesus said the wrath, when it came, would come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Therefore, if Christ does not come for his Bride before the wrath of God is unleashed during the Great Tribulation, the Bride of Christ will be forced to endure that wrath. The scriptures are clear that the Bride of Christ is not appointed to wrath, will be kept from that awful hour, and people are instructed to pray they will be found worthy to escape it!
Jesus differentiated between persecution and wrath, therefore, so should we.
The fact that followers of Christ have always been persecuted and killed, does not negate the fact that a time of testing and wrath is coming that Jesus said his followers would not be here to endure. He specifically commanded men and women to pray that they would be found worthy to escape...
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Luke 21:35-36, Matthew 3:7, Revelation 3:10, Matthew 24:21-22, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Matthew 24:13, Acts 2:21, 1 Thessalonians 5:9
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Recruiting People to Evacuate the Earth...???
Brilliant Quote From Brian McLaren on preaching the gospel of salvation along with the Bible Truth about Heaven: "If we keep recruiting people to evacuate the earth, then every person who gets saved is taken out of action."
McLaren also calls The Book of Revelation genre literature .
McLaren also calls The Book of Revelation genre literature .
Enough Said....
The Blessed Hope
What is the blessed hope that is in me? What exactly is it the Bible says I should always be ready to share with anyone who asks (Titus 2:13, 1 Peter 3:15)?
Praise God, it is not only my hope of eternal life--the fact that though I may die, yet shall I live, but it is the additional hope that when this world becomes a wilderness (Isaiah 14:15-16), I will not be on this earth to experience the horrors that will accompany that process (Matthew 24:22).
I know this because when Jesus left, he made a promise to all who love him. He said he was going to prepare a place for us (in Heaven), and that he would come again and receive us to unto himself, that where he is, we may be also (John 14:1-3). I know this because Jesus explicitly promised that he would keep us from the hour of trial that was coming on all them that dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10). He also explicitly commanded us to pray that we would be counted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass (to be raised from the dead or caught up) and to stand (in Heaven at the judgment seat of Christ) before the Son of Man (Luke 21:34-36, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
If you do not have the Blessed Hope of eternal life and protection from the hour of trial that surely is coming, call on Jesus right now to save you. We have a promise that all who call on the God of Heaven and earth believing that Jesus is his risen son, shall... be... saved (Romans 10:9-10,13).
If you are reading this, and from your heart have called on God to forgive you of your sins, give you eternal life, and help you turn from your old ways to walk in his ways, email hhm@tampabay.rr.com and request a free copy of the book “REDEMPTION.” This book will help you understand more about God and his great Redemption. This book will help you to grow in your faith.
You can also visit our main website located at www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com
www.RaptureRevelation.blogspot.com
Praise God, it is not only my hope of eternal life--the fact that though I may die, yet shall I live, but it is the additional hope that when this world becomes a wilderness (Isaiah 14:15-16), I will not be on this earth to experience the horrors that will accompany that process (Matthew 24:22).
I know this because when Jesus left, he made a promise to all who love him. He said he was going to prepare a place for us (in Heaven), and that he would come again and receive us to unto himself, that where he is, we may be also (John 14:1-3). I know this because Jesus explicitly promised that he would keep us from the hour of trial that was coming on all them that dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10). He also explicitly commanded us to pray that we would be counted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass (to be raised from the dead or caught up) and to stand (in Heaven at the judgment seat of Christ) before the Son of Man (Luke 21:34-36, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
If you do not have the Blessed Hope of eternal life and protection from the hour of trial that surely is coming, call on Jesus right now to save you. We have a promise that all who call on the God of Heaven and earth believing that Jesus is his risen son, shall... be... saved (Romans 10:9-10,13).
If you are reading this, and from your heart have called on God to forgive you of your sins, give you eternal life, and help you turn from your old ways to walk in his ways, email hhm@tampabay.rr.com and request a free copy of the book “REDEMPTION.” This book will help you understand more about God and his great Redemption. This book will help you to grow in your faith.
You can also visit our main website located at www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com
www.RaptureRevelation.blogspot.com
Exposing The False Doctrine of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture
Here is what an "interesting" prophecy site that is dedicated to
“Exposing The False Doctrine of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture” says:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days...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--Matthew 24:29-31, 40-41
But we will already have been caught up by then...right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The answer to that question is "Yes!" The dead will have already been raised and those in Christ that remain on the earth will have already been caught up to meet the Lord in the air the time the above verses describe.
In Luke 21:35-36, Jesus specifically tells us to pray that we will be
counted worthy to "escape" all these things that shall come to ensnare
the inhabitants of the whole earth.
Revelation 3:10 says we will be kept from the hour of temptation which
shall come upon all the world.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 says we are not appointed to wrath (and make no
mistake about it, The Great Tribulation is a time of unprecendented wrath).
According to 2 Corinthians 6:2, we are presently living in the time of
favor. Favor and wrath are certainly not synonymous.
The reference to the two in the field and two grinding at the mill is not
a reference to the rapture.
Luke 17:34-37 sheds some light on what the passage is referring to. Those
who are taken will be taken to where ever it is that the bodies are and to
where ever it is that eagles are gathered.
Ezekiel 39:4 and Revelation 19:21 tell us that both the bodies and the
eagles/ravenous birds/fowls of the air will be gathered on the mountains
of Israel at Armageddon.
It is a common assumption that the two men in bed, the two men in the field,
the two women at the mill where one is taken and the other left are
referencing the rapture, but that is simply not so...
The Rapture, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 (and many other scriptural
evidences), is a pre-tribulational event.
http://RaptureRevelation.blogspot.com
In the Beginning Was the End by Wim Malgo
In the Beginning Was the End: And after the end there is a new beginning
I love prowling through the book sections of thrift stores and yard sales. You never know what you might find for a dime! One of my recent treasures is a book entitled "In the Beginning Was the End" by Wim Malgo. I had never heard of the man before. But I won't forget him now that I've read his little book on Bible Prophecy.
I did some research on him after reading his book, and his doctrine seems to be biblically solid.
His writing is not stuffy and boring. In fact it is quite the opposite. In addition to being very dependent on scripture as he writes about Bible prophecy, he has a knack for incorporating relevant and fascinating world events into the narrative--while being careful not to use current events for interpreting scripture but Visa Versa as it should be.
And Amazon has In the Beginning Was the End beginning at .01 cent! Can you believe that?
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