John 14: 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
The Greek word for Rapture is “harpazo.” The Bible translates it as “caught up” or “caught away.” It refers to when the Church is caught up in the air to be with Jesus. The popular term “rapture” comes from the Latin verb “rapio” and the past participle “rapt.” It’s used in the Latin Vulgate, one of the oldest Bibles.The
…deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul RAPIEMUR cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus.. See 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Titus 2:13 “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
The disciples asked Jesus about the “end of the age,” and we read it in Matthew 24. Jesus compares it with birth pains, not knowing the day and hour but knowing the child will be born.
Matthew 24:3 what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4Jesus answered…. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
The relationship between the Rapture and the second coming is much debated. So the question arises, does it happen simultaneously, or the Rapture first? Dr Charles Ryrie gives a good illustration:
As a teacher, I give exams. Suppose I announce an exam on such and such a day. Then, I promise the students who average a throughout the semester an A that I will keep them from the exam.
I could keep my promise in two ways. Either they attended, and I gave them a sheet containing all the answers. They would live through the exam but not suffer the trial. It explains post-tribulation protection while enduring.
Otherwise, they do not need to attend the exam and are exempt from being present during the trial. It explains pre-tribulation. We read about this promise here:
Revelation 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world”
The Old Testament prophecies are filled with “the day of the Lord” or “that day.” It always refers to events that occur at the age’s end. Most scholars agree it spans over seven years. God intervenes in history to accomplish His will and purpose for humanity and the world.
For thousands of years, God has stretched His hands to humanity and sent His Son to die for our sins. Judgement Day is for those who willfully refuse God’s offer of a free pardon.
The Church will be saved from God’s wrath through Him and has no business here.
Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!
The law of double jeopardy applies. Therefore, judging and punishing the same crime would be a sin. That is to say, once in the body of my substitute, Jesus Christ, and then again in my body.
Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The Church is the bride of Christ waiting for the glorious wedding banquet. The Rapture is the Church with Jesus forever, the consummation of the marriage. See more here The Ancient Jewish Wedding.
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
Jesus Christ will not beat up His bride and then marry her. No, Isaiah wrote in a prophecy about when God will hide the Church behind doors.
Isaiah 26 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
God is not done with Israel. See more here End Times, Israel
Psalm 89
30“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes
31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
32I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
33but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
At His first coming, Jesus did the work of redemption and left without ever sitting on the throne of David, as promised. God did not cancel the works of His hand; He postponed them.
Acts 1:6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
Israel rejected their Messiah 2000 years ago, but the Bible tells us of a day of reckoning, “the day of the Lord.”
Zechariah 12:10 They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Throughout the pages of the Bible, God had physically removed His own before He poured out His wrath. Here are some of those:
1.Noah, and his family, were saved from the flood.
2.Lot, and his family, were protected from brimstone at Sodom and Gomorrah.
3.Rahab, and her family, were saved when the walls of Jericho fell.
Saving His people is at the heart of God, and He has not changed.
THE END.
Sources for THE RAPTURE:
The Rapture: Christianity’s Most Preposterous Belief by Chuck Missler
The Rapture: Don’t be Deceived by Billy Crone
Can we still believe in the Rapture by Mark Hitchcock and Ed Hindson
More sources for The Rapture:
I’m Louise Krüger, an introvert who enjoys getting lost in deep things, and my go-to place for this is the Word of God. Am I a theologian? By no means, but I love to study and unearth truths with the help of the Holy Spirit and scholars who know more than me. And then to serve them in bite-size pieces for those who cannot study for hours. Faith in God is not blind; it is evidence-based. Dear online friend, I would love to inspire, encourage, and walk with you on this journey.
