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Showing posts with label Rapture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rapture. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Ascension

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

I received this in a text from a friend.  He found it on the net.

When will the church be taken up to heaven in the face of great tribulation?


The Answer:


The timing of the church's ascension to heaven is one of the most controversial issues among Christians today.  There are basically three theories about this:

!.  Before the tribulation (the ascension of the church to heaven will take place before the last tribulation)

2.  In the midst of the tribulation Seeds.

 3.  After the tribulation (the ascension of the church will take place after the last tribulation).

4. The fourth doctrine is commonly known as "before the wrath" which is a slightly modified version of the second doctrine (the doctrine of the church being raised in the midst of trouble).  First of all, it is very important to know the purpose of the last trouble.  According to Daniel 9:27, there is still a period of seventy "weeks" (seven years) to come.  And Daniel's Seventy Week Prophecy (Daniel 9: 20-27) speaks entirely of Israel.  This will be the time when God will focus on Israel in particular.  In the same way, the seventy weeks, the last tribulation, must be the time when God will deal with Israel in particular.  Although this prophecy does not explicitly indicate that the church could not exist on earth at that time, it does raise the question of why the church needs to exist on earth at that time.


The most important Scriptural reference to the ascension of the church to heaven is 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18.  This passage states that all living believers and with them all believers who will be resurrected will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and will be with him forever.  God lifted his people from the earth

The term "church ascension" is used to refer to the English term rapture.  After some verses, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 "For God hath not ordained us to wrath, but to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ."  The book of Revelation, which primarily deals with the last days of the tribulation, is a prophetic message about how God will send His wrath upon the earth in the last tribulation.  It is contrary to the nature of God to promise believers that He will not fall into wrath and then leave them on earth to go through the wrath of the last tribulation.  The fact that God first promises to save Christians from wrath seems to be linked to these two events and then promises to raise His people from the earth shortly thereafter.


Another very important reference to the time of the church's resurrection is Revelation 3:10 in which Christ promises to save believers in "the hour of trial" that is to come on earth.  This could mean two things: either Christ will protect believers during trials or He will save believers from trials.  Both meanings are correct according to the Greek word translated "from".  However, it is important to know what believers are promised protection from.  And this is not just a trial, but a "time" of trial.  Christ promises to keep believers safe from the time of trials and tribulations.  The purpose of the last tribulation, the purpose of the resurrection of the church, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all clearly support the doctrine of "the resurrection of the church before the great tribulation."  If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, then the doctrine of 'before the tribulation' is more in tune with the teachings of the Bible than any other doctrine.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary


Monday, January 7, 2019

The Rapture

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

The Rapture: Pre-Tribulation Verses Post-Tribulation

             “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: 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.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”[1]  The Apostle Paul here is very certain that there will be a catching away sometime in the future.  But, we just do not know for certain when it will take place.  There are three main points of view on this subject: The Pre-Tribulation period, The Mid-Tribulation period, and the Post-Tribulation period.  Here we will discuss the Pre-Tribulation theory or the Post-Tribulation theory.
            The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is in my humble opinion the correct position.  It just makes logical since to me.  Why would Jesus Christ suffer and die on the Cross for His saints only to put them in the Tribulation period.  Why would God pour out His wrath on His Church which has already gone through such tribulation on this earth before the final judgement? But, some believe in a Post-Tribulation view.  So, as with all doctrine, let’s look at the hermeneutics to come to that conclusion.  I will prove the Post-Tribulation theory once and for all!
            “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”[2] Wow, there you go, this is great proof! Wait a minute!  The letter was written at the time when Christians were being persecuted because of their faith in Christ.  The writer’s main concern is to give his readers hope and encouragement, and to urge them to remain faithful during times of suffering.  There is a difference of “tribulation” and the “Day of the Lord.”  Throughout church history there have been many time of church persecutions. John was exiled to the isle of Patmos during one of these times.  The Roman Emperor Domitian instituted a policy of emperor worship just before this time period. Christians refused to worship him, so they were persecuted.  The elderly Apostle John was caught up in this persecution. This is what he was talking about when he mentioned “tribulation” in his letter to the brethren.  If John was referring to the Great Tribulation he would have specified such. The historical-grammatical context indicates John referring to his current tribulation.
            “…But Jesus turning unto them said, daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.  For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the pap’s which never gave suck.  Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us; and to the hills, cover us…[3]  Jesus is saying that great tribulation is coming their way.  Wow, there we go, this is great proof!  Wait a minute!  Nowhere does it say because they would experience the Great Tribulation. Jesus was talking to the crowd and their children.  Jesus was referring here to the destruction of Jerusalem twenty-seven years in the future, which most of the people in the crowd in which Jesus was talking to would witness themselves.  An event in which several million Jews were violently killed. 

            “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”[4]  Well, this pretty much sums it up. The Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians that they have been delivered from the wrath to come. They were under persecution at the time, so he was not specking in the present tense. And since Paul used the term “wrath,” which is reserved for the Great Tribulation period, that is what he meant. So, the historical-grammatical context gives the meaning of the Great Tribulation.  
“…Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake…”[5]  Wow, there we go! Real proof of the Post-Tribulation theory!  Wait a minute!  These two large blocks of verses is a general description of the difficult days leading up to the Great Tribulation?  Hundreds of Christians have recently been beheaded in the Middle East and in Asia.  Christians everywhere are being persecuted, fulfilling this prophecy.

            The Great Tribulation period is all about God pouring out His wrath and judgement upon the unbelieving world.  The believers will not be around to experience it. The saints will not be judged because we are covered by the Blood of Christ.  As God breathed on His saints to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit, God will inhale to bring His saints up to Glory.            “…Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake…”[6]  Wow, there we go! Real proof of the Post-Tribulation theory!  Wait a minute!  These two large blocks of verses is a general description of the difficult days leading up to the Great Tribulation?  Hundreds of Christians have recently been beheaded in the Middle East and in Asia.  Christians everywhere are being persecuted, fulfilling this prophecy.

            The Great Tribulation period is all about God pouring out His wrath and judgement upon the unbelieving world.  The believers will not be around to experience it. The saints will not be judged because we are covered by the Blood of Christ.  As God breathed on His saints to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit, God will inhale to bring His saints up to Glory.
            “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.”[7]  The Church is mentioned about a couple of dozen times in the first three chapter of Revelation and is not mentioned afterwards. We only read about wrath and judgements from then on.  If the Church was to be a part of the Great Tribulation, then they would probably be mentioned.





[1] Bible, KJV; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.
[2] Bible, KJV; Revelation 1:9.
[3] Bible, KJV; Luke 23:27-29.
[4] Bible, KJV; 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
[5] Bible, KJV; Matthew 24:3-14. See also Mark 13:3-23.
[6] Bible, KJV; Matthew 24:3-14. See also Mark 13:3-23.