Coming Rapture
26/06/20 16:44
Many believers do not believe in the rapture or ignore the rapture because they see it as the same thing as the second coming of Christ
I am a pre-tribulation rapture believer - but I am OK for you to disagree with me
Let me briefly state that pre-tribulation rapture happened before. I say this is the sense of godly people being rescued before disaster happen to all the other people.
Historical anecdotes
Examples are:
Noah and his family - told to build a prepare for a coming flood (about 120 years in advance).
At the time when GOD decided that the flood was going to happen, He also said that mankind has only 120 years left. (Genesis 6:3) and Noah was commissioned to build the ark because he and his family were found to be righteous before GOD. Exact time of flood was not told, just that he had to build and be ready
Abraham and Lot and family - all rescued and gotten away from Sodom and Gommorah before God rained fire and sulphur to destroy the cities
Snatching away was not a new thing - Enoch walked with God and then he was gone (snatched away) (Gen 5:24)
Conceptual perspectives
Christ would not let his bride be tortured/"tribulated" during the specific tribulation when GOD was going to punish the peoples of the earth. 'Peoples of the earth' is also a rather cold phrase to call humans on earth if this bunch included the body of Christ, isn't it?
Jesus alluded that actual time is not known to him and gave also the story of the 10 bridesmaids (together with the bride, which is of course the church) to be prepared for the arrival of the groom (Christ) yet that time is not known till it is about to happen.
Elsewhere, Jesus also said that there will be signs that are very obvious to indicate His imminent return. (Matthew 24:7-9)
So is His coming again a sudden unexpected one or one that is preceded by many signs?
I can only say that it is logical for Christ to snatch away (harpazo) the church (rescue His bride) first, then hammer the people of the earth, among which some will become Christians, called tribulation saints in the book of Revelation (to differentiate their physical location and time from the church which is already snatched up with Christ). The time of hammering is called the tribulation and will last 7 years. At this end of this, Christ comes down from heaven with his full army and imprison satan, antichrist and the false prophet for a 1000 years. (Rev 19:11 - 20:6)
Biblical clues that the church is absent during the tribulation 7 years
1. Angel told John, "come up here and I will show you what must happen after this"(Rev 4:1); John represents the church anecdotally and he is also known as the beloved of Christ (besides John, only the church is Christ's beloved)
The tribulation period was therefore observed by the church looking down toward the earth from above, a clue that the church has been raptured before the tribulation to be above with Christ. Note also that when John was up there observing, he saw twenty-four elders in white garments and crowns ('elders' are terms only associated with church leaders in the New Testament, not found anywhere else in the Bible; white garments and crowns are rewards for Christians) (Rev 4:1-11)
2. During the events of the tribulation, the church as an entity was never mentioned again. Try to find the word 'Church' after chapter 4 in the book of Revelation. And believers who became Christians during the revelation were referred to as tribulation saints and we also know that a lot of them were executed during this time. Calling the believers as tribulation saints was deliberate as it differentiates them from the raptured church.
God is a God of order and logic. We humans possess some of that logic. And logic says that based on all the clues pieced together, pre-tribulation rapture can only be the possible logical outcome.
Some say that a sudden rapture will cause lots of accidents and planes crashing and all manner of adverse accidents as Christians disappeared suddenly in the midst of what they do. But consider this - the covid-19 lock down could happen again due to a severe 2nd or even 3rd wave will cause the whole world to shut down - the rapture occurring at this time will be result in minimal danger to lives not raptured. God is merciful and kind and will want these unbelievers not get into a bad start of the tribulation. The Christians would have quietly disappeared from the physical surface of earth.
I am a pre-tribulation rapture believer - but I am OK for you to disagree with me
Let me briefly state that pre-tribulation rapture happened before. I say this is the sense of godly people being rescued before disaster happen to all the other people.
Historical anecdotes
Examples are:
Noah and his family - told to build a prepare for a coming flood (about 120 years in advance).
At the time when GOD decided that the flood was going to happen, He also said that mankind has only 120 years left. (Genesis 6:3) and Noah was commissioned to build the ark because he and his family were found to be righteous before GOD. Exact time of flood was not told, just that he had to build and be ready
Abraham and Lot and family - all rescued and gotten away from Sodom and Gommorah before God rained fire and sulphur to destroy the cities
Snatching away was not a new thing - Enoch walked with God and then he was gone (snatched away) (Gen 5:24)
Conceptual perspectives
Christ would not let his bride be tortured/"tribulated" during the specific tribulation when GOD was going to punish the peoples of the earth. 'Peoples of the earth' is also a rather cold phrase to call humans on earth if this bunch included the body of Christ, isn't it?
Jesus alluded that actual time is not known to him and gave also the story of the 10 bridesmaids (together with the bride, which is of course the church) to be prepared for the arrival of the groom (Christ) yet that time is not known till it is about to happen.
Elsewhere, Jesus also said that there will be signs that are very obvious to indicate His imminent return. (Matthew 24:7-9)
So is His coming again a sudden unexpected one or one that is preceded by many signs?
I can only say that it is logical for Christ to snatch away (harpazo) the church (rescue His bride) first, then hammer the people of the earth, among which some will become Christians, called tribulation saints in the book of Revelation (to differentiate their physical location and time from the church which is already snatched up with Christ). The time of hammering is called the tribulation and will last 7 years. At this end of this, Christ comes down from heaven with his full army and imprison satan, antichrist and the false prophet for a 1000 years. (Rev 19:11 - 20:6)
Biblical clues that the church is absent during the tribulation 7 years
1. Angel told John, "come up here and I will show you what must happen after this"(Rev 4:1); John represents the church anecdotally and he is also known as the beloved of Christ (besides John, only the church is Christ's beloved)
The tribulation period was therefore observed by the church looking down toward the earth from above, a clue that the church has been raptured before the tribulation to be above with Christ. Note also that when John was up there observing, he saw twenty-four elders in white garments and crowns ('elders' are terms only associated with church leaders in the New Testament, not found anywhere else in the Bible; white garments and crowns are rewards for Christians) (Rev 4:1-11)
2. During the events of the tribulation, the church as an entity was never mentioned again. Try to find the word 'Church' after chapter 4 in the book of Revelation. And believers who became Christians during the revelation were referred to as tribulation saints and we also know that a lot of them were executed during this time. Calling the believers as tribulation saints was deliberate as it differentiates them from the raptured church.
God is a God of order and logic. We humans possess some of that logic. And logic says that based on all the clues pieced together, pre-tribulation rapture can only be the possible logical outcome.
Some say that a sudden rapture will cause lots of accidents and planes crashing and all manner of adverse accidents as Christians disappeared suddenly in the midst of what they do. But consider this - the covid-19 lock down could happen again due to a severe 2nd or even 3rd wave will cause the whole world to shut down - the rapture occurring at this time will be result in minimal danger to lives not raptured. God is merciful and kind and will want these unbelievers not get into a bad start of the tribulation. The Christians would have quietly disappeared from the physical surface of earth.