3 RAPTURES
Proof of a Pre Trib Rapture,
A Post Trib and possibly a Post Millennium Rapture.
Self Published By
Michael Flipp
12/21/2020 - Edition 4
This book is dedicated to every Christian who wants to
know more truth, and to every person who is about to be one.
All scriptures cited are from the King James Version of
the Lord's Holy Bible.
Opening
Prayer
As I start to write this, let me pray. God
please reveal unto me and to anyone reading this, some truth that we have never
realized before or seen or understood in your Word specifically about the
Raptures, and Your return. God be with us, teach us, and show us Your truth. Please
bless this book and bring it into the hands of those whom You love and want to
see these things. May this book have a special place in helping grow Your
Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Thank You Father!
Day
of the Lord
Ok so let's start with the Day of the Lord.
What is the Day of the Lord?
(Isa 13:9) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the
sinners thereof out of it.
(Eze 30:3) For the day is
near, even the day of the LORD is
near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
(Amo 5:18) Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what
end is it for you? the day of
the LORD is darkness, and not
light.
(Zep 1:18) Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be
devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance
of all them that dwell in the land.
(2Pe 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.
(1Th 5:2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord
so cometh as a thief in the night.
Ok, I think we have the picture. When the
Day of the Lord happens, it will be bad news for those who are not and were not
in a right relationship with Jesus. Sinners will be punished greatly. Now
everyone sins, has sinned and probably will sin again. But there are those who
realize their faults and have asked God to forgive them. And there are those
who want nothing to do with God and would never ask to be forgiven for
anything.
Post
Millennium Rapture
The Day of the Lord happens and the sinners
will be caught off guard, like a thief in the night coming to take away their
things, this is a warning to sinners. It is a warning to sinners during the
Great Tribulation as in 1 Thess:
(1Th
5:2) For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in
the night.
(1Th
5:3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction
comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.
(1Th
5:4) But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should
overtake you like a thief.
And it is a warning to those sinners in the
millennium before everything burns up:
(2Pe 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt.
It would appear that from those 2 verses
that the Day of the Lord happens more than once. That kind of threw me a bit. In
2 Peter, at this day of the Lord, after the 1000 years, everything burns up and
melts. It's all gone, and right afterwards, a new earth and a new heaven come
down. That part makes sense then, because if 2 Peter was speaking about the
Great tribulation Day of the Lord from 1 Thess, how could everything be burned
up and melted? We still have to have a 1000 year period of time and then Satan
is loosed again for a little while before he is finally tossed into the Lake of
Fire forever.
In the 1 Thess. Day of the Lord in Ch. 5 it
describes from Ch. 4 a rapture and resurrection scene that happens at the end
of the Great Tribulation, before the 1000 years.
(1Th
4:16) For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ
shall rise first.
(1Th
4:17) Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be
with the Lord.
And you tie those in with these
(Mar
13:24) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
(Mar
13:25) and the stars of Heaven shall fall, and the powers in the heavens
shall be shaken.
(Mar
13:26) And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with
great power and glory.
(Mar
13:27) And then He shall send His angels and shall gather His elect from
the four winds, from the end of
the earth to the end of heaven.
So we see here that the thief comes upon
the sinners at the end of Tribulation because 1 Thess Ch. 4-5 align with that
timeline when Jesus returns AND again like a thief in the night after the 1000
years at the very end of time before everything burns up and melts. And in both
of those instances,
(1Th
5:4) But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake
you like a thief.
That day will not over take the brethren,
the believers. It will only overtake the unbelievers.
Now my theory for the 3rd
rapture takes place on the Day of The Lord at the end of the millennium. And
here is how that plays out.
(Rev 20:7) And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall
be loosed out of his prison,
(Rev 20:8) And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom is
as the sand of the sea.
(Rev 20:9) And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Some people say this is not valid because
we will know the day, 1000 years will be easy to count. Well yes, and no. Yes
1000 years will be easy to count for the release of Satan. But then he is
released for a little while, to deceive the nations and to gather them to
battle. How long will that take? We don't know exactly and therefore do not
know when that Day will be. And just like the Pre Trib Rapture, we will not
know when that occurs, and the Post Trib Rapture, Jesus said unless the days be
shortened, for the elects sake, no flesh would survive.
(Mar
13:20) And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be
saved. But for the elect's sake, whom He has chosen, He has shortened the days.
So here is the thought, the theory if you
will. It does not say that this is a tribulation rapture. So we don't need to
go there. Unless we want to call the period of time that Satan is loosed for
that little bit, a sort of mini tribulation? But it never mentions any Saints
being persecuted. We just know that he is getting Nations together to attack Israel
/ Jerusalem. There are in fact though, Saints hunkering down in Jerusalem who
are dealing with approaching armies who want to kill them. God then comes to
the rescue and burns them all up with fire from heaven. After that, the devil
gets tossed into the lake of fire forever in eternity, and all the dead not in
Christ are resurrected unto death and judged.
The Earth is completely gone, melted, and a
new Heaven and a new Earth is formed with no oceans, and the New City of New
Jerusalem comes down from heaven.
But it never mentions HOW those last Saints
in verse 9 ever got to heaven. There are 2 options, they were killed when the
fire came down and burned everyone up, and they were immediately with God
because they were believers who were resurrected, (I don't believe that because
of what it says about not being overtaken like a thief) OR, they were raptured
up just before the flames came down. And it was probably those same flames that
melted the entire Earth. It just does not say what happened to those very last day
Saints.
What do you think? Like I said, it's a
theory because it just does not say, but out of the 2 options, I am going to go
with that one, a 3rd rapture.
And now, what about the saints who died
during the 1000 years and are sleeping (died, but now sleep in Christ), when do
they get raised, surely not with the resurrection of the dead to be judged and
thrown into the lake of fire? They would need to go up with the ones who are
alive and remain in that 3rd rapture. Again, it just does not say,
and unless we think about them, God's Word must be true for them as it is for
us now.
What
about the wedding?
(Dan
9:27) 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.
Now in Daniel it does say 1 week,
representing a 7 year period. This period is the GREAT TRIBULATION, but we also
know that in the middle of the week, (42 months) the sacrifice and oblations
cease. No more from then on, even unto the CONSUMATION... which would happen
right after a marriage. So the marriage does happen in conjunction with the end
of the GREAT TRIBULATION.
(Rev
19:6) And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
(Rev
19:7) Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the
marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
(Rev
19:8) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,
clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
(Rev
19:9) And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the
Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
So we see a great multitude is there,
rejoice, the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife has made herself ready.
She is wearing fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the
SAINTS. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
(Rom
8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Now then, what about all the people who
have not been raised up yet? What about all those folks? Are they not a part of
the bride, a part of the church? How does this work with the people living
during the 1000 years and have died during the 1000 years?
We see that the bride is ready in Ch.19
above. So if ALL OF THE SAINTS have to be in the marriage wedding at that
point, then what about the SAINTS in Ch.20? Here is proof that after the
marriage, there are Saints, on the ground, getting ready to be attacked by
Satan in the battle of Gog and Magog.
(Rev
20:9) And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from
God out of heaven, and devoured them.
So what about these Saints? Do they not get
to be a part of the wedding? Aren't they a part of the Church as a whole? All
of the Saints who have not risen yet, all of the Saints who became Saints
during the 1000 years and all the way up to these last post tribulation Saints at
the final Day of the Lord, will all become part of the Bride. And here is
proof.
THE
NEW JERUSALEM
(Rev
21:9) And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither,
I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
(Rev
21:10) And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God,
(Rev
21:11) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal;
(Rev
21:12) And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names
written thereon, which are the names
of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
(Rev
21:13) On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south
three gates; and on the west three gates.
(Rev
21:14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
(Rev
21:15) And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
(Rev
21:16) And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the
breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The
length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
(Rev
21:17) And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according
to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
(Rev
21:18) And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was
pure gold, like unto clear glass.
(Rev
21:19) And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of
precious stones. The first foundation was
jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
(Rev
21:20) The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite;
the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh,
a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
(Rev
21:21) And the twelve gates were
twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass.
(Rev
21:22) And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are the temple of it.
(Rev
21:23) And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine
in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
(Rev
21:24) And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light
of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
(Rev
21:25) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there
shall be no night there.
(Rev
21:26) And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
(Rev
21:27) And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,
neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie: but
they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
So the Bride presents herself AFTER the
1000 years. AFTER everything is burned up, and a New heaven and a NEW earth are
made and a NEW CITY of JERUSALEM appears. The Angel says Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the
Lamb's wife.
And what does John see, a multitude of people? No. He sees a city full of
jewels, a bride adorned in her jewels and streets of gold. A great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God,
and EVERYONE, the nations of them that ARE SAVED, shall walk in it. So the
Saints of Ch.20 are in this Holy City and are a part of the Bride, but none of
them were in heaven during the wedding in Ch.19. (Now I must add this also,
here is a thought that I am adding in later after this version came out. The
wedding DAY, may last the entire 1000 years in heaven and only seem like a day
there! So that is an interesting take on "a day is like a thousand years and a
thousand years is like a day", or a wedding DAY that is. Wow huh?) Only those
who are SAVED, WRITTEN IN THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE can enter in and EVERYONE
ELSE, not allowed in the CITY, were judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire for
all of eternity.
Jesus
is Judge
But in the end, no matter what you believe,
God, who created everything, will in one way or another judge everyone. And
those who have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, who truly believe that
He is God and came down here and literally sacrificed Himself for all of us,
will be ok! And those who don't, who won't repent, who refuse to believe in the
truth, there will be no more time, no more 2nd chances, no more time
to repent and ask for forgiveness. It will be a terrible day, but a necessary
judgement day. That is what this will be about, Judgement, and it will be swift
and final.
If someone did something very terrible to
you or your family, would you want the Judge to judge them fairly, or to let
them off with a "Don't do that again, ok?" Then we need to expect that Jesus
will be a righteous judge at that time. But until that time, we have all been
given the Good News that we can repent of everything we have done, and we can
ask the Lord to forgive us, and we can become a new man, a new woman in Christ
and leave our sinful life behind. But it is our free choice. And just like we
have free will, we are free to do good, and we are free to do bad and terrible
things.
God gave us all free will. Those famous
questions of "Why would God let that happen?" "Why would a loving God ever
allow that?" And the answer is that He gave us all free will. And we want Him
to be an honest and fair Judge. He will not force anyone to do anything. He will
not force you or I to love Him. And He won't stop anyone from doing the evil
that they freely choose to do. Even Satan had a choice to rebel against God. What
kind of love would it be if it was not of your own free will? Would it be real?
I mean, He could force us to bow down and obey Him like mindless, obedient
slaves, but that would not be real love, would it?
Now even though God allows evil, how would
you ever know what good is? If it was always good, how would you know? If every
day was sunny and 77 degrees, how would you know that it was good if every day
was the same? If it was always sunny, if it was always 77, and every night was
clear and 55. All the time, and that's the way it always was. Well we can't
even fathom that. But because we experience good weather and bad weather, we
can understand and appreciate the good days.
We experience good and bad all the time. We
learn to understand what the facets are of good and bad. And God is a very good
God. He is perfectly righteous, and will be a perfect Judge. But who set the
standards of what good and bad are, of what right and wrong are? Where did the
standards of what is good come from? Well those who believe in God, know that
God set the standards. And those who don't believe in God, they set their own
standards. As a community, they will govern their actions as they see fit.
Germany was behind Hitler. The malicious and barbaric treatment of Jews was
considered acceptable and good at one time in Germany's history. And today our
community allows millions of children to be killed because the mothers have the
freedom to choose whether they want it to live or die. But God says, "Thou
shalt not kill."
Now eventually, when the timing is perfect,
and completed, God will return. But my hope is that you will realize that God
does really Love you! And everything He has done is because of that. And that
is the truth. You can bank on that being the case with God, ALL THE TIME.
So what's going to happen when Jesus
returns? Well there are a lot of things that are going to happen. Some things
will be happening to believers and different things will be happening to
non-believers. We kind of briefly talked about what will happen to
non-believers on the Day of the Lord. And this book I am writing is for hope
for both believers, and non-believers to come to know the truth, or more of it.
Some people think that Jesus would have to
return at each Rapture, and I think it is one of the reasons that hinder a Multiple
Rapture theory. As in how could Jesus return, rapture the church up, go back up
into heaven, then return again after the Tribulation and rapture the church up
again? And now you have brought up a 3rd rapture?
I will get into the specifics a bit more in
detail later in the book, but Jesus will not return during the Pre Trib
rapture, and He doesn't make an appearing in the post millennial rapture
either.
I am going to show scriptures that show
Christians in heaven, scriptures about not going through wrath, escaping the
things to come, and much more! The only way you can reconcile all of these
proofs is to have multiple raptures. One rapture, no matter where you put it,
causes disagreements in scriptures and causes many debates.
A
Little Background About Me
So here is just a little bit about me. I
was a non-believer for 36 years of my life. I kinda thought, well maybe
something created all this. It would be probably even more statistically
impossible that everything happened by chance. I doubt that chance had anything
to do with it, but as far as a God goes, a God that you can talk to, and He
will talk back? And He will have a relationship with you? That was so far out
of the realm of possibilities in my thinking. If there was a God, He was silent
and He wasn't personally making Himself known to me.
And I saw people who said they believed in
Jesus, Catholics and Lutherans etc... But I never saw any of them act like
saved Christians. And what I mean by that is, that their demeanor, their
actions and their lives didn't show me anything that was contagious, or
anything that I wanted, or anything that resembled something truly holy.
I saw the 10 commandments movie with Charlton
Heston. I didn't see anyone walking around like Moses performing miracles.
Instead I saw a bunch of the other regular people in the movie who were always
doing selfish things. They themselves didn't seem changed or different in any
way. Why would I need to go to church to be like they are, I was already
selfishly fine the way I was.
But when I was 36, I met someone who was
real, someone who walked the walk, someone who was bold and knew the word of
God. And that is how I got saved. I was working as a prison guard and a fellow
prison guard was the one who pulled out his bible from time to time and would
read it, right in front of me, which of course brought up conversation. Which
led me to reading scriptures at home online to be able to debate him, and after
about 7 months, one day I was like, Woah! This is all real! I mean it is
literally, mind blowingly real! The wording of the Bible, the way it was
written, could not have been made up. It could not have been fabricated and
passed down. It was too divinely inspired. And it just hit me.
At that point, when I knew that I knew,
that God was indeed very real and true, my whole countenance changed. I
immediately slunk down and this kind of fear came over me. I knew I had to have
a come to Jesus meeting, and I did. I knew that if He returned that very night,
and I had not made things right with the Lord, that I would be in grave danger!
And so I walked outside, and I wept, and I poured out all my sins and cried out
to God to forgive me. I actually was silly enough to try and literally list
them all. Ok, God there was this, and that, oh yeah and that one time, let's
forget that time for sure! And then I was like, ummm, God I have no possible
way to individually repent for each and every thing I have ever done, please
just forgive them all. And since that day, God has continued to literally blow
my mind. I have seen miracles, signs and wonders that have dropped my jaw. I
have had amazing dreams and now since becoming a Christian in 2003, I have
learned a great deal more.
At first I could not get enough of the Word!
I was like so on fire for God and I asked God to catch me up. I was 36 years
behind everyone else! Please Lord, I need to learn a lot and quickly! So I was
listening to 2-3 sermons a day. Most Christians get 52 sermons a year. I was
getting 52 sermons a month, easy. I learned a lot. I have even re-learned some
things. It's ok and all part of the process. You are going to learn some things
wrong at first. I am willing to be taught and willing to be told I am wrong. And
you are going to be wrong about things. Just do the best you can, and when you
make a mistake, do exactly what you did in the beginning, repent. And remember,
some of those Pastors are going to be wrong as well. And the people you run
into at church are not going to be perfect either. And that is ok too. It keeps
everyone humble. Only God is perfect, Christians are going to make mistakes.
Now the reason I am writing this book is 2
fold. It is helping me to figure some things out and I wanted to also give to
you what God has given to me, right? Do unto others as you would have done unto
you? Right? Well that actually isn't in the Bible. Well it is, it's worded just
a little bit differently.
(Luk 6:31) And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also
to them likewise.
And I learned that there
are many different versions of the Bible. For the purpose of this study, and
from what God has taught to me, I will be using the King James Version of the
Bible to quote from in this entire book. And just something to note about that:
Anyone is allowed to quote from the KJV of the Bible absolutely free of charge,
without getting any permission from anybody. And that to me sounds like
something God would approve of.
The Dream
One of the main reasons
for writing this book started because of a dream that God gave to me. I never
really dreamt when I slept. I had some nightmares as a young kid and they
happened over and over and over and one day I cried out, "I can't take this
anymore! Make them stop!" Now as a 5 year old, I had no idea about God. But He
heard me, and the nightmares stopped. In fact all my dreams stopped, until I
was 36 that is! After I got saved, I started having some dreams, like
prophetic, I am being warned kind of dreams. Watch out for this kind of dreams.
And the dreams happen in a symbolism kind of way. They don't happen straight
forward, like as things would happen in real life. I don't know why, God only
knows why He does it the way He does it, and so most dreams need
interpretation. Most dreams are warning dreams, but not all of them. Now that I
have been a Christian for 17 years, I have learned a lot about dreams. The
interesting thing is, I don't have that many dreams anymore. I have very few
dreams now compared to when I was first saved. When you have a dream from God,
you will know it. You will remember it. I remember all my dreams even from 17
years ago. Like I said, when you have a dream from God, You Know it!
So the dream I had,
happened exactly 2 years ago. I was
like WOW. I actually can't believe that, I looked it up in my sent file to my
Pastor whom I shared it with. I often get signs of 2's, so many that I have
actually written a book about them all. I hadn't had a dream in about a year or
so before that, and I have not had a dream since - as of the date I started
writing this, April 4th of 2020. (So it has now been 2 years since I
have gotten this dream from God and I have not had another one, nor had I had
one in a year or so prior to this one. So yeah, 1 dream in like 3 and a half
years is rare when I have them, but important when I do.)
This dream was the
shortest dream I have ever had; it literally lasted like 5-10 seconds. I was
outside, at the end of my driveway, it was dusk time. Suddenly, I was grabbed
by something very powerful, I didn't know what had a hold of me, and it started
taking me up in the sky! Very quickly I rose higher and higher and the whole
time I was very afraid. I couldn't figure it out, I was flat out frightened. I
tried to scream, but I couldn't. We got really high up and then a little bit of
the scream got out of me and that woke me up, END OF DREAM. Literally 5 - 10
seconds and I am now awake.
I immediately start to
pray about this dream and what it meant. I was like, God, what was that about?
I prayed about it for like 4 days. It seemed like it could have been a rapture?
Was it a rapture God? Is the rapture coming? But God, I was so afraid. Then God
put a huge thought into me. (A few times I have actually heard God's voice, but
this time was like a downloaded thought) Why were you afraid? Hmmm, ok God, I
was afraid because I did not know what was happening. I wasn't expecting a
rapture. It caught me completely off guard. I was afraid because I was not
ready for it! Oh my, Lord. Oh my!
I believe that God gave me
that dream to cause me to be ready, so that when the Rapture happens, I will be
ready and not afraid. And so this has caused me to dig deep into the
Tribulation scriptures of Revelation and the Rapture theories, and that is why
this book is being written.
That dream didn't seem to
be that long ago, I am still kinda blown away here as I even write this right
now, and then I am thinking, what in the world has taken me so long to do this?
Maybe God was wondering why as well. This whole Corona Virus, Covid 19 thing
really has a lot of people wondering what is going on. Everyone is being asked
to stay at home, distance yourself, so this thing does not spread around. Some
people think that this is a part of the N-e-w W-o-r-l-d O-r-d-e-r take over. And
this is probably what has gotten me moving on this thing that God has put in my
heart, from 2 years ago. So I hope that this helps with some things you may be
thinking about and wondering about and I hope you learn as much as I am! Praise
be to God!
Post Tribulation
OK, so I had originally believed in the Post
Tribulation Rapture theory, I still do, but I have learned some new things
also. There are really good valid arguments to put up about a Pre Tribulation
Rapture. I mean, I have heard of many people saying they are either Post Trib
or Pre Trib, and some are even Mid Trib. I
am going to try to prove to you that there will be both a Pre Trib and a Post
Trib rapture. And I already mentioned my 3rd rapture theory earlier a Post Millennial one.
Many people would immediately discount this
notion because when Jesus returns, it is done, finished. So there can't be a
Pre Trib one, and then another one after that. And then another one after that,
can there?
Are there things that we know that can give
us some clues as to how this could possibly be? Well, we have to take certain
"KNOWN FACTS" as just that, and we cannot just take that fact and discount
everything else that might go against it. I mean, if we can make it fit the
"KNOWN FACT" then great, we may have to think outside the box, like 3 raptures
is definitely outside of the box, but that's ok as well.
But to come up with something that goes
against the "KNOWN FACT", you can't throw it out, it's in God's Word, so we
have to reconcile it. But doing that is difficult, it takes some wisdom and
understanding, and that more than likely comes from God Himself. I have already
changed my position on some of the things in this book a couple of times
because I found key pieces of scripture that did not line up with the theory I
was on at the time. Like I said, I am ok with being told I am wrong. I just
needed someone, or God, to point it out to me so that I could understand it.
And once I understood it, I had to change my thinking on that certain aspect of
the teaching. Once I did that, then I had to use wisdom and understanding to
reconcile the verses. And this is what I have come up with to reconcile them.
So let's walk this out. I'll let you into
my head and I am asking you to come along with me as we study God's Word,
mostly in Revelation, but I will be bringing in many other scriptures as well.
I am always open to rethink my discussion here, and I hope you are open to
hearing and learning too.
OK, so let's start right off with a
controversy. Here is one good argument against the Pre Trib Rapture theory.
(Mat 24:6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see
that ye be not troubled: for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
(Mat 24:7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes,
in divers places.
(Mat 24:8) All these are
the beginning of sorrows.
(Mat 24:9) 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.
Yeah, that last part, they will afflict and
kill you part. Now how are those people being killed, afflicted and hated by
all nations, if they were just raptured up in a Pre Trib mystery rapture? It's
all about time. We don't know how much time has elapsed and neither do the Post
Tribbers, because it does not say. Here is what I mean by that.
I have a few options I will discuss here. Verse
6 states it is just rumors, it says the end is not yet. Verse 7 explains
a starting of things. Verse 8 - It's the beginning of sorrows. Verse 9 Then
they will deliver you up, after the beginning of sorrows starts. You could
interpret that to mean that this period here is still in the beginning sorrows
part, and the Tribulation is not quite started officially. But I am inclining my
belief that the beginning of SORROWS means the Beginning of Tribulation, so I
would go with this next option.
Or you could definitely make a case that
the Tribulation started, the official beginning of it, then nations are going
against nations (Time has elapsed) so it's moving right along into tribulation,
Pestilences (plural, more than one, more time elapsed) famines, (plural, more
time) earthquakes, (again plural, more time) all of those things were the
beginning of it, and now after these things, how much time has elapsed, it could
be many months afterwards or just a few. But we can pretty much all agree that
SOME TIME has elapsed.
So the, "THEN, they will be delivering you
up to kill you" part after the "Pre Tribulation rapture" part that had already
occurred a few months or many months back, already has a good separation. There
has to be some time of separation there and I think we can safely agree that
there is. I mean if it was like immediately it started, and then immediately
after they were killed, and no time had elapsed, then that would be a big
issue.
How many Christians do you think will be coming
to Jesus during the Tribulation? I am sure the number will be so great you
wouldn't be able to count them. I will discuss this great multitude that is
seen in heaven in a little bit.
Let's get to another issue.
(1Th 4:15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that
we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(1Th 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:
(1Th 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.
This is a very key verse that states a
timing issue of the rapture. Or should I say, "A" Rapture. And it is another
one that is used to say, see, you cannot be Pre Trib Raptured, because you
cannot go up until after the dead in Christ go up. And we know that the dead in
Christ go up immediately after the tribulation because we have to join 1 Thess
with Mark 13 and Matt 24. So let's check out these really great verses on the
subject.
(Mar
13:24) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
(Mar
13:25) And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in
heaven shall be shaken.
(Mar
13:26) And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with
great power and glory.
(Mar
13:27) And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to
the uttermost part of heaven.
Mark states that the elect are gathered
from uttermost part of the earth and uttermost part of heaven. Matthew however just
states from the four winds and from one end of heaven to the other. But they
match just fine otherwise. It's actually more viable proof that 2 different
writers penned this. So do we marry these two verses together or is one wrong?
One says from earth and from heaven, the other says just from heaven. Neither
is wrong. One gives more information. But you cannot only take the Matthew one
and throw the Mark one away. That is what I am talking about. You need to marry
them together.
(Mat
24:29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(Mat
24:30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Mat
24:31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.
I think we can agree that the dead get resurrected here along with
those who remained alive being raptured, they then get gathered together and it
happens immediately right after the Tribulation. This is solid proof of a Post
Tribulation Rapture. Unless you don't agree that the "elect" are indeed the
dead and the remaining living ones.
The argument then would be, could a
different rapture happen before this one, or after this one? And are we exactly
sure of when this one is? (Yes) Do the dead in Christ get raised? (Yes) Then would
a Pre Trib Rapture also meet the dead in the air, only to have one 7 years
later of another rapture and another resurrection? (No)
Now what threw me off for a while was the
verse in:
(Rev
20:5) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the
first resurrection.
This had me thinking that in order for the
dead to be raised in a 2nd type of resurrection, it had to be the
dead in Christ along with everyone else when they were all brought before the
throne after the Day of the Lord. And it is kind of tricky here, it just says, "the
rest of the dead..."; note that in 1 Thes 4:15 it called them the ones who are
asleep. Now technically, I did not catch that and went with the next verse 4:16:
(1Th 4:15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that
we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(1Th 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:
So here in verse 16 it calls them the dead
in Christ, not the "ones who are asleep", but I guess that God wanted no
confusion as to the different meaning here of literally those who are asleep /
but bodily dead in Christ from those who are sleeping normally and still alive.
The dead and asleep mentioned here are the same. Again, I can't just take vs 16
and leave off 15. So with all of that said, the dead in Christ are definitely
raised immediately AFTER the Tribulation. The "...rest of the dead..." then
have to be only the dead who are NOT in Christ. If it were not so, then no "dead"
could have been raised after the Tribulation either because it would have
violated this scripture (Rev. 20:5) that we just read a bit ago.
So the first Rapture, the Pre Trib Rapture
is a mystery Rapture, (I'll get to the proofs of it in a bit as well) and
therefore does not have any of the dead or sleeping Saints coming with this
group. All the Saints who are killed during the Tribulation, we know get to go
right up into heaven and are under the altar. They don't sleep like the other
dead in Christ had done.
(Rev 6:9) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
(Rev 6:10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth?
(Rev 6:11) And white robes were given unto every one of them; and
it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Well, are these all of the Saints who have
been martyred since 2000 years ago? No, these are only the Tribulation
Saints.
(Rev
7:9) After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;
(Rev
7:13) And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
(Rev
7:14) And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These
are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
(Rev
20:4) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them: and I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his mark upon their foreheads,
or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
So it explains that these tribulation Saints
were going up there as they were getting killed, they are not sleeping and
waiting for a resurrection, and they are not all in 1 group. Some are up there
in Ch.6 and some more are up there in Ch.7. And they are mentioned again in
Ch.20
This is now the entire group that has come
from the Tribulation. If the Pre Tribulation theory is correct, then they
became Christians and were killed as Christians during the Tribulation period.
And they will be greatly rewarded, because they will rule and reign with Christ
in those 1000 years and will immediately go up to heaven to be with Christ at
the altar.
I have heard one argument against this and
that is that it states that John only saw their "souls" and not their
resurrected bodies. OK, it does state it this way, but they were given white
robes to WEAR, and unless you have a body, how does John see them wearing their
white robes? They were Spirits, and their robes were like spirit robes that
only looked like robes to John, there were like ghostly translucent robes that
weren't really robes? You see what they would have to claim? I think the reason
John used the word "souls" is so that someone could not make a claim that only
their SPIRIT was in heaven, not their souls, and this clearly blows that
thought out of the water, because you know someone would have made that
argument for sure.
So what about Saints who died due to an
accident, or of natural causes during the Tribulation? So that leaves a little
bit of a side discussion. You can make an argument, that sleeping Saints rose
at the Pre Trib, because you can still make a case that there were Saints to be
resurrected that died naturally or of an accident during the Tribulation. It is
possible, so I thought I needed to mention it, but since we don't have specific
mention of the Pre Trib rapture, only many mystery clues about it, a Pre Trib
resurrection is also not valid, because I don't really see any clues about it
either, but hey it could be a mystery as well, so there is that bit of a
possibility. Like I said, I could have missed something there and I thought I
would mention it. My human side does come out from time to time. I am sticking
with a Pre Trib Rapture that occurs without a coinciding resurrection. However
like I mentioned, the possibility does exist that could fulfill both.
(Rev
10:1) And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud: and a rainbow was upon
his head, and his face was as
it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
(Rev
10:2) And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right
foot upon the sea, and his left
foot on the earth,
So here in Rev. Ch.10 we see something that
we need to know. Jesus is here, and he now has his foot on the ground and in
the water. And below in 10:6 it says it is time no longer, and 10:7 says the
mystery of God is finished.
(Rev
10:6) And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven,
and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein
are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time
no longer:
(Rev
10:7) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall
begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants the prophets.
So how is it possible then that the Lord
would come twice to facilitate 2 raptures? If when He comes, there is time no
longer as it states in 10:6? And everything is finished in 10:7? I know some
people claim that the Lord can only come once. Did the Lord have to come when
Elijah was caught up? Or Enoch? Later we will see the 2 witnesses get caught up
and the Lord did not appear there either. And Ch.10 is at the end of a timeline
of the Tribulation. So this coming has to be associated with the Post
Tribulation Rapture.
Now here were a couple of interesting
verses I had to figure out. If the verse below is mistaken for the Day of the
Lord, then it could cause an issue, but I think we are ok with Last Day meaning
last day of trib.
(Joh
11:24) Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
It turns out Martha is mistaken here and
Jesus corrects her, because Lazarus is a believer and is only sleeping. He is
not dead. If he were to be risen at the Last Day, Final Day of the Lord vs. the
End of Tribulation Day of the Lord, then he would be counted with the unbelievers.
So is the "Last Day" here most likely referring to the Last Day of the
Tribulation? If "immediately after" can include the "same day" of the last day
of trib, then, Yes it fits. Just like something can happen at 2:00 O'clock, and
then something can happen at 4:30. It's the same day, but in a timed sequence
of order.
(Joh
11:25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
(Joh
11:26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this?
So we have a rapture and a resurrection
message here, you won't die, you will either sleep and be resurrected,
resurrected immediately, or raptured, but never die spiritually. And again, no
one spiritually ever dies. Your spirit goes somewhere. There are many proofs of
people dying and where they have been dead for many hours with zero brain
activity and have recalled things being done and said in the room, which would
have been impossible because they were literally dead, but yet their spirit was
there watching, seeing, reasoning, and understanding what was happening. You
can look these up. (So where will your spirit be going?)
(Joh
5:29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.
So the resurrection of life is for
believers who sleep and are resurrected or resurrected immediately like the
Trib Saints are going to be and those who sleep in Christ immediately after the
tribulation. The resurrection of damnation is the resurrection of the dead at
the Final Day of The Lord. They all get judged and thrown into the lake of
fire. And by the way, rabbit trail here; Hell is a place where the dead wait
until they are judged. The reason they wait, is because they are still spirits,
they never die literally, just their flesh does. As they wait in hell to be
judged at the Final Day of the Lord, they are without God, there is no light or
goodness where they are waiting in hell. It is darkness and weeping and
gnashing of teeth. From many testimonies of people who were given Godly dreams
about it, they say it is hot, and there is never relief. It is horrible and
frightening. It is complete agony because they now know where they are going to
end up, in the lake of fire. There is no more hope for them. That is Hell,
Hades in Greek, and Sheol in Hebrew all mean the same thing. It is not the
forever place, it is just simply called the waiting place of the dead.
So we have talked about the dead being raised
when Jesus returns. This will happen, it's a fact. But is there any proof that
a Pre Tribulation rapture couldn't happen unless it also had a group of the
dead being raised as well? I think we covered all the bases, we know when and
how the dead are all raised. All the groups and individuals are covered. So
what I am saying here is that there certainly could be a Pre Tribulation rapture,
as long as there is ALSO a Post Tribulation one that includes the dead in
Christ being raised with them. If someone says that they ONLY believe in a Pre
Tribulation rapture, then things don't add up at all, because there has to be a
gathering of the elect immediately after the Tribulation. You cannot deny this,
and if someone would have taught this years ago, many of us would not be
wondering what does all of this mean?
Now one last thing about the Post
Tribulation Rapture before we get to the Pre Trib proofs. But this also
contains a Pre Trib proof within this Post tribulation proof.
(2Th
2:1) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him,
(2Th
2:2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand.
(2Th
2:3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
(2Th
2:4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
(2Th
2:5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
(2Th
2:6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
(2Th
2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be
taken out of the way.
(2Th
2:8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
(2Th
2:9) Even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
(2Th
2:10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
(2Th
2:11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie:
(2Th
2:12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.
Now this clearly states that the COMING of
JESUS can only happen AFTER the man of sin is revealed, and that happens to be
during the Tribulation, and is another supposed proof of Post Trib only
believers debunking the Pre Trib option. And it states that believers will be
gathered together unto Him. So we know that the people he is talking to like
1950 years ago, will be gathered unto Him at the resurrection of the Saints
immediately after the Tribulation. But he is also writing this down for our
benefit now and for when this is going to take place in the future. And so when
He returns, those living still after the man of sin is revealed, and after
tribulation will also be gathered unto Him. It is a promise that holds true
both for those who are dead in Christ and Alive in Christ. But this belief
alone does not marry the other scriptures as you will soon see, there has to be
a Pre Trib rapture also. And we will start with the above scriptures in 2 Thess
2:6-7.
(2Th
2:6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time.
(2Th
2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be
taken out of the way.
What this is speaking about is that fact
that the man of sin cannot come into his power yet and start his tribulation
because The Holy Spirit is withholding him to be revealed. And ONLY the Holy
Spirit can "letteth" this happen, and the Holy Spirit MUST be taken out of the
way FIRST before the man of sin can be revealed. So if the Holy Spirit is truly
dwelling in every TRUE believer, then how can the Holy Spirit be TAKEN OUT OF
THE WAY, and not just allowing it to happen, but literally TAKEN OUT of the WAY
if He is dwelling within us? The answer to that is, there is a rapture that
takes place sometime before that.
This could give evidence to a Mid Trib
position of a Rapture because of the timing of the Abomination of Desolation
which happens 42 months into tribulation when the man of sin proclaims he is
God. But for that to be, then that means that true saints would be here for
half of the Tribulation period and that does not marry the rest of what we are
about to look at. But it could include another mystery group, I am just not
focusing on any kind of Mid trib theory because I only see a few minor hints at
it, and no where near the proof of the 3 Raptures I am mainly talking about.
But I do throw this info in when relevant, because there may be something there
that I missed. So I will share a few things about the mid Trib theory for those
who are curious.
BELIEVE
and THE HOLY SPIRIT
Now here brings up a perfect time to talk
about those who are indeed FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT. If you want to have a
part in the Pre Tribulation Rapture, you NEED to have your lamp full of oil,
like the 7 wise virgins. A lot of people teach, if you believe, you are saved,
and you automatically get baptized with the Holy Spirit at that exact moment.
It just automatically happens. Hmmmm. Well? Kinda.
The statement BELIEVE in this context is in
a larger scope than the English language sometimes leads us. Meaning that there
is a meaning of the word believe, as in a head knowledge of something, I
believe this to be a fact because I have looked at the math and I know the
answer to be correct or not, and I believe the math I have done and therefore
have come to this conclusion. Or, I believe what happened because someone I
knew told me what happened because they were there and saw it. Those are types
of intellectual "believe" that many people confuse the biblical "believe" with.
And that is a very scary thing to misunderstand. The Biblical version of the
meaning of the word "believe" is a mindset of something that is factual or a
lie even, but that you actually take action on this belief and change who you
were because of this new information. The key here is ACTION appropriately
taken because of a truth or untruth that you were given. I believe that was not
true, so I did nothing. Or, I believe what Jesus said about this, so I actually
went and prayed for this person because I believed that the Lord would intercede
with their issue. Do you see the difference in believe with head knowledge
being of one type, and action being the other? I hope you do, it is VERY
important.
Now, if you are a person who has made a
claim that they BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus, that He was born of a virgin, that He
died on the cross and rose from the dead, there is a scripture that states you
are saved.
(Rom
10:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.
(Act 16:30)
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
(Act 16:31)
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and
thy house.
So here we are at these amazing verses.
These verses are true, they have to be. But like I have been saying, you can't
just take these and leave the rest, these have to marry the others. The reason
these get used a lot is that it seems that easy for a person to witness about
Jesus, and say do you believe in Jesus and they say Yes, I believe! And they
say ok great, Your saved! And there is no relationship or love for God, there
is no repenting, there is no change in that person, there is no obedience. Now
many will then claim, well then you are making your salvation about works, and
we would then have to "work for our salvation".
Their point is noted, but they are
incorrect in using the statement in this context because they are not marrying
other scriptures.
Everything is precept upon precept. One understanding
of a scripture is one thing, but then another scripture adds to its meaning and
understanding of it. Example: If we are automatically given the Holy Spirit
when we claim we believe, then why in Luke 11 are we told to ASK for it?
(Luk 11:13) If
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
And if you think the Holy Spirit will come
into you if you just ask, because this said so, then you need more
understanding from John 14.
(Rom
8:8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Rom
8:9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
If we don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling
inside of us, we have nothing to do with God. Wow.
(Joh 14:15)
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
(Joh 14:16)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
may abide with you for ever;
(Joh 14:17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
So we had better know a lot about what the
Bible says about the Holy Spirit. It sure looks like we need to DO some things
to PROVE our Love and Faith and Obedience. Well then that's works, they cry
out! Well I didn't write it, God did. If I have to obey things to receive the
Holy Spirit then I would boast about myself causing my own salvation!
(Act
5:32) And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God
hath given to them that obey him.
Did God actually say that? Yes. So YOU need
to MARRY ALL the verses, and not just cherry pick the one that gets you in,
because truth be told, MANY will believe that they are going to heaven. And
many will be sorely mistaken.
(Mat
7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
(Mat
7:22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works?
(Mat
7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity.
So I am trying to warn many people. For
"many" it states in this passage, will claim Lord, Lord, but they are not true
Christians, and they will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven. And that will be a
sad day, and one that I am personally trying to warn people about.
How much do you Love God? What comes out of
your mouth?
(Mat
12:34) O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?
for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
So here is one litmus test. If you LOVE
GOD, then according to the verse above, whatever is ABUNDANT in your heart you
speak about it. Do you love sports? You talk about it. Do you Love your family?
You talk about them. If your heart is full of hate, you talk about what you
hate. If God is supposed to be the MOST ABUNDANT THING in your heart, DO YOU
TALK ABOUT GOD more than anything else? Don't answer me, tell God, He already
knows the truth.
How about your giving? Do you rob God of
tithes and offerings? Should you give or is it just a suggestion? Do you
"believe" God said He would multiply your giving? Or is that verse for other
people, or is that use of "believe" just the "head knowledge" version of
believe and not the "Action" part? What does it mean to really Love God and
Love your neighbor? When you know the answer to that, you will receive the Holy
Spirit. At that point, ASK HIM! And you WILL know that it happened to you, you
won't WONDER if it happened, you will KNOW and you will be jaw dropped and
awed! And here is how I know this to be true, because it happened to me.
(Joh
14:21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him.
Now that we have cleared up some
pre-conceived notions, we can now talk about the Pre Tribulation rapture
proofs, because only those who are truly Holy Spirit filled, will be able to
experience this and as John stated, Jesus will MANIFEST Himself to you, you
won't be wondering if, or when, or how, you will KNOW because when the Almighty
God of Creation manifests Himself in you, it is one amazing experience that you
will NEVER forget.
Pre-Tribulation
Rapture
Let's now talk about the scriptures that
give us a clue as to a Pre Tribulation Rapture. Now to say that a Pre Trib
Rapture is also going to occur, would mean that a Pre Trib rapture happens and
then The GREAT TRIBULATION starts with NO TRUE CHRISTIANS left on earth? Right?
Wow, is that even possible? Well then, where do all of those great multitude of
Christians come from who are killed for their witness and beheaded during the GREAT
TRIBULATION? We kinda hinted at that earlier. But here is a scripture that
helps foretell this.
(Dan
11:35) And some of them
of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
So they were of understanding, they knew
the Word of God, but it says they fell, and it also says that they fell in
order to make them WHITE. And so it is for their good and for their ultimate
salvation. So where does this great multitude come from? I'll tell you where
they come from. For starters, many people who were really not on fire for God,
who were lukewarm, who were told that all they needed to do is believe only and
they are good to go without ever having to obey anything or have an actual
change in their heart condition, who said one prayer one time at one of those
meetings or gatherings, but never really ever sought after God, those who never
did truly repent of their sins, those who never did change, those who never
really had a relationship with Jesus, those who never really LOVED God, but
loved only the idea of a loving Savior God, those who refused to spread the
gospel, those who robbed God of their tithes, those who loved their money more
than God, and yes those will be a lot of them! Those who didn't keep God's word,
those who didn't forgive others and wanted revenge, those who just kept on
sinning and just threw the sacrifice of Jesus away with the wind. Many of these
folks will be given a 2nd chance during the Tribulation to get their
relationship with Jesus right.
And many others will be brand new converts
who are totally brand new Christians, who were finally led to seek Him, and
many who were atheists will now believe, and many agnostics too, and the Spirit
of God will still continue to lead a great many people to the Lord from all
over the world and they will be persecuted, and eventually killed by Satan and
his N-e-w W-o-r-l-d O-r-d-e-r Beast Government. And they will be given white
robes and crowns and rule and reign with Christ for the first 1000 years!
Because in the GREAT TRIBULATION, then they will be faithful, and then they
will have a true relationship with Christ and they will love and be loved by
Jesus. It will be a great multitude indeed!
It does raise a question however. If the
Holy Spirit is removed during the Pre Tribulation Rapture and which also
coincides with the part that means,
(2Th
2:6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time.
(2Th
2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be
taken out of the way.
then how can new converts be getting filled
with the Holy Spirit if He left with the Pre Trib Saints?
We know that there are Christians being
martyred during the Tribulation. That is a KNOWN FACT. We know that in order to
be a Christian, you MUST be indwelled with the Holy Spirit. That is another
KNOWN FACT. So in order to marry these scriptures, we have to reconcile that
the Holy Spirit just did a type of reset. He doesn't actually leave the Earth,
He stopped restraining the evil one so the evil one could come on scene, and He
did that at the exact same time He raptured His church. Then He started right
in again, leading others to their salvation. To me that explanation reconciles
all of the scriptures and not just some. But if you can imagine, for that brief
part of time, when the Church gets raptured and there are NO TRUE Holy Spirit
Filled Christians on the Earth for that moment in time, wow, what evil there
must be on the earth?
In the days of Noah, there was only Noah.
His wife, his 3 sons and their wives were probably not counted with Noah, but
were allowed to go with Noah or Noah would have been alone. In the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah, there was only Lot, even his wife turned back and looked
and was turned to salt. At the time of this Pre Trib Rapture however, there
will be NO ONE on earth filled with the Holy Spirit for a brief amount of
time.
But isn't it interesting that the judgement
that came upon the whole World, and to Sodom and Gomorrah was complete
devastation, but God removed the righteous, kept them safe, hid them from His
wrath on the World and from His wrath on those 2 cities. Is God going to pour
out His wrath during the Tribulation on His Righteous people who are filled
with His Holy Spirit? I do not believe He will. Obviously the new Christians
who become Christians during the Tribulation, that will be a different matter,
and those Christians during that time period who are martyred will be given a
different and immediate resurrection as well. The Lord has shown us ahead of
time that He will do those different things.
Can the argument be made then, of why would
He save the Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit before the
Tribulation began, and suffer the New Christians to go through it? My answer is
only that He told us what it was going to be like as a warning to us, and has
offered a means of salvation to those who are living through it. If you heed
His warning now, it would be really wise of you. If you don't, then you have a
2nd chance, but it will be during trouble.
So how can there possibly be a Pre Tribulation
Rapture? What is the real proof?
Pre Tribulation CASE #1 – 24 Elders
Let's look at the 24 elders in Heaven. They
appear in Rev Ch.4 first.
(Rev
4:4) And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting,
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Now these elders are in heaven, they have
their white raiment, (garment, robe) already on, and they have been given a
gold crown already. Who are these elders? When did they get there? How long
have they been there? All we know is that in Rev. Ch.4 they are there.
(Rev
5:8) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours,
which are the prayers of saints.
(Rev
5:9) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation;
It says that they (the 24 elders) were
redeemed by the blood to God, and that they came from EVERY KINDRED, and
TONGUE, and PEOPLE, and NATION. So they are Christians! But now how could every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation be just 24 people?
24 people could come out from 24 nations, 24 kindreds, 24 different dialects, and
24 peoples, but out of every one of them, does not reconcile.
This is a HUGE question and cannot be dismissed,
it must be addressed! Because if there are Saints in heaven, in Chapters 4
& 5, which is BEFORE the 7 seals are even started to be opened in Ch.6,
then we have a problem with our current thinking of who is in heaven that we
need to reconcile. Now there are Beasts in heaven and Cherubs too and we don't
know when they got there either, but these 24 elders are clearly Saints.
When you start reading Chapter 4, Jesus was
found worthy to open the 7 seals, and when the 7th seal is reached,
it starts the 7 trumpets being sounded by 7 angels. Now Ch.10 starts out with
this huge angel coming down to Earth.
(Rev
10:1) And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud: and a rainbow was upon
his head, and his face was as
it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Now who does the angel remind you of? Jesus
right? A rainbow on his head, face bright like the sun, feet like fire, right?
It's Jesus down on the ground in Ch.10, here is proof it's describing Him.
(Rev
1:14) His head and his
hairs were white like wool, as
white as snow; and his eyes were
as a flame of fire;
(Rev
1:15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace;
and his voice as the sound of many waters.
(Rev 2:18) And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
At the end of these 7 trumpets it is
finished.
(Rev
10:6) And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven,
and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein
are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time
no longer:
No more waiting, it's done. God has
revealed Himself to the World. It's like this timeline from Ch.4 through Ch.10
has ended from the start of the opening of the 1st seal in Ch.6 to
the end of the 7 trumpets of the 7th and last seal. The Great
Tribulation ends after the 7th Trumpet.
(Rev
10:7) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall
begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants the prophets.
Again, it is done, finished. It's at the
end of this particular timeline. The Mystery of God is finished. This entire timeline
of Ch.4-10 does not have a rapture mentioned or a catching up or a resurrection.
But, it does have more Saints mentioned OTHER than the ones mentioned with the
24 ELDERS, which we have mentioned already before.
(Rev
6:9) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which
they held:
(Rev
6:10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the
earth?
(Rev
6:11) And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
These GREAT TRIBULATION SAINTS have been
given their white robes, but not their crowns yet. And this Scripture then
would answer this as to why.
(Rev
11:18) And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of
the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward
unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy
name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
OK, a few things here. The dead here are
being judged by Christ when He returns to bring His wrath. This is not the
final Day of the Lord's judgement that comes in Rev. Ch.20.
The one's in Ch.11 are being judged in
God's wrath and are being killed near the end of Tribulation. The ones in Ch.20
are being judged at the very end after they have died and have been waiting in
hell and are a part of the resurrection of the damned or the 2nd
resurrection. But at the same time, the servants and prophets and saints are
being rewarded their crowns, because they have not gotten them yet. The elder
group had them already. So this explanation does answer that question if it
came up.
In Ch.4 the Elders 24 group, have their
crowns, the Tribulation Saints do not have them yet. And those who were post
trib raptured would now need their rewards as well. When the Lord comes to meet
them in the air, He says His reward is with Him.
(Rev
22:12) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
At this point, the ones who have been slain
for their witness and who were beheaded in the Tribulation have been resurrected.
They are described exactly the same way that the 24 Elders were described as to
who they are and where they came from, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.
(Rev
7:9) After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;
And if you do not separate the group with
the 24 elders, you would think that this is the only group of Christians in heaven.
Or you would assume that there are 24 elders who are special and by themselves
only, and then this large tribulation group.
So here we have a possible dilemma. I say "possible" because it is how
you look at it. If you are looking at the 24 elders as just them 24 people alone,
and not of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, then this group being looked at, are the
ONLY ones in heaven, and they came from the Great Tribulation as it mentions in
7:14. It does not mention that there are 2 groups here, a group which consisted
of the 24 elders group AND the Great Tribulation Group. But the Elders are
there because one of them is actually doing the speaking. And there is a
possibility that John was just shown only this one group at this one time, in
this one place and that there was another group up there in a different
location. It is a possible option, it just doesn't say one way or another.
There is no clarifying verse that states these were all of them and the only
ones. We can't infer that it is the entirety of heaven either. So in order to
keep in line with a Post Trib only view, you HAVE TO ADMIT AND JUSTIFY that Rev. Ch.4:4 that mentions the elders
being there, and Ch.5:9, means only 24 people, and how only 24 people could be of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, and you would have to come up with a theory that is unexplained as to
how and when those 24 elders got there. And then you have to add this verse.
(Rev
5:10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign
on the earth.
Here the 24 elders are not only saying that
they were from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, but that God has made them priests and kings to reign
on earth. Question: Is it only these 24 elders who are going to be priests and
kings on earth? Is it only them who will reign on Earth?
(Rev
1:6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen.
I am sure that there will be some crazy ideas
about this. I just do not see it in scripture. And to easily explain it away as,
it was being used as a type or a metaphor to later explain things...I don't
think holds merit. But I am trying to be reasonable. I want the truth, it's
pretty important especially in the times that we are in. We need the truth and
understanding.
Another thought that the Post Trib only
group claims is that the 24 elders cannot be a huge group of people that were
simultaneously raptured up when John went up, because the elders were already
up in heaven, and those elders have just always been up in heaven. Well,
honestly, John's going up and seeing elders can be explained.
When a door in heaven was opened, meant
that John went up in the year 95-96 AD or somewhere in that range. And the fact
that it is written in Rev 4, which is just before the Tribulation takes place
is an interesting coincidence. But John went up in his day, and when He got up
there, he was already seeing the future. It says he was seeing things which
must be hereafter. So when he saw elders in heaven and they were talking to
him, John was in the future. So that argument from Post Trib against Pre Trib
of the 24 elders already being in heaven before John arrived, is just a
misunderstanding of time, and not a valid argument.
Now also get this. Rev Ch1:1 John is
writing the book of revelation and at first it states that he is being shown
things which must shortly come to pass. He is NOT in heaven yet. Wow huh? I
never caught that either. So "when" he does go up to heaven must be
significant. Keep that in mind. And then in:
(Rev
1:19) Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter;
So now the Lord tells John, there is more
to what I am telling you, more than the shortly come to pass thing mentioned
earlier, so write this stuff down, the stuff you have seen, things that are now
and what is to come. So he writes everything Jesus says to the 7 churches. Then
he gets called UP in Ch.4. Right when he is going to start to be shown about
the Tribulation. The timing of that is really more amazing than it seems in the
natural.
Some people claim that, hey, it's not a
divisive matter. We can prepare for the worst, meaning going through The Great Tribulation
and Hoping for the Pre Trib Rapture all at the same time. And this is where I
have been with most of my Christian walk. Until the dream, I truly had never
given the Pre Trib argument a chance because of the facts about the Post Trib
rapture being so sound.
I never did see the 24 elders as being an
entire group of people of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. I just saw it as 24 people and I had no clue as to how
and when they got there and just moved on. But I don't think that way anymore,
everything has a reason. And my dream made me really serious about studying
this. When you are a new baby Christian in your faith and you read things you
don't understand, you just move on and figure it out later, maybe, or maybe
not. You're still drinking the milk, right? No steak for babies.
So another argument then would be, ok, why
then isn't the elder telling John that there are 2 groups of people there? Why
is the elder only saying these are the ones from the Great Tribulation only? He
is not mentioning the other group. My answer would be the same as Ch.5:9; why
is GOD telling us that there are only 24 elders, but very carefully implying and
showing us that they come from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues? You will have to ask God His meaning for this. Is He
sorta hiding this "mystery" and only revealing it to some?
Let's dissect Rev. Ch.4 a bit more.
(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.
A door is opened (here is a thought, was it
only opened for John? Is that the time that the 24 elders group were also let
in?) and then a trumpet like voice is heard saying – COME UP HERE, "hither" in
Old English, interesting I think. Is that a coincidence too that the Lord's
voice is likened unto a trumpet? That kinda sounds like a rapture, COME UP HERE
and "immediately" he was in the Spirit in heaven before God's throne. That
whole...
(1Co
15:52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
That's what I am picturing here with John's
Revelation, it's a symbol of what we know is coming in the Post Trib Rapture. But
it's being used in Rev 4, at the beginning of it all, or rather just
before it begins. If the instant, moment, can explain what the Post Trib rapture
will be like, I would imagine that the Pre Trib Rapture would be just like it,
immediately and in a moment, in the twinkle of an eye.
John's going up at the exact point of which
the Tribulation is about to start, symbolizing in itself a rapture, at that
exact time into the future, to me, like I mentioned before is quite the
coincidence. I do believe coincidences are signs from God. Does it come right
out and say it, no. Does it have meaning? Well yes, it all does. This is definitely
one reason why there is a controversy. But there are some really valid points
here about John's timing, and the description on the 24 elders.
Now some have asked me, well, then why is
God using the Number 24 to represent this group of people? Why only 24 elders,
why not 30, why not just 12 like the Apostles or the Disciples? Or could the 24
be adding the Apostles and Disciples together? Well this was a mystery to me
until May 18th, 2020 when a person on the Bible Forums message board
online brought it up. He agreed that the 24 elders were not just 24 people, but
he thought they were a separate group of beings, he did not want to say that
they were even real men and that they will be used by God for the judgement
council. So that was his "theory" as to who these 24 elders actually are. I
have to totally disagree with him there because it states that they were
REDEEMED by God, they wore white and had crowns and will rule with Christ on
earth as Kings and Priests. But what he did show me something that I didn't
find out yet but had still been praying about it. And that was all about the
Levites and the Priestly positions of the sons of Aaron. It was decreed by
David just before he passed away. As it turns out, there were 4 sons, and 2 of
those had sons; 18 from one and 6 from the other. And it is from this, that we
get the 24 grandsons of Aaron to carry on the duties.
(1Ch
24:1) Now these are the
divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar,
and Ithamar.
(1Ch
24:2) But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children:
therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.
(1Ch
24:3) And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and
Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.
(1Ch
24:4) And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of
the sons of Ithamar; and thus
were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the
sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.
(1Ch
24:5) Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the
governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the
sons of Ithamar.
(1Ch
24:6) And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before
the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of
Abiathar, and before the chief
of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken
for Eleazar, and one taken for
Ithamar.
(1Ch
24:7) Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
(1Ch
24:8) The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
(1Ch
24:9) The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
(1Ch
24:10) The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
(1Ch
24:11) The ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,
(1Ch
24:12) The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
(1Ch
24:13) The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
(1Ch
24:14) The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
(1Ch
24:15) The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses,
(1Ch
24:16) The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel,
(1Ch
24:17) The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul,
(1Ch
24:18) The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to
Maaziah.
(1Ch
24:19) These were the
orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD,
according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel
had commanded him.
I had been looking for that proof for a
while, and there it is.
Now we know who the 24 elders are, Saints
who were redeemed by God, wearing white and have been given crowns and now we
know why 24 is a representation of ALL Peoples, ALL Nations, ALL Kindreds and
ALL Tongues. And now we know what their purpose is. This was very cool, thank
you Jesus for the continued revelations concerning this matter.
MID
TRIB RAPTURE THEORY
Before we get to more Pre Trib scriptures,
first I want to go down a rabbit trail to just touch a little bit on the Mid
Trib Rapture theory. There is a possibility here that I will explain.
In Ch.11 The Temple gets measured but not
the outside court area, it is to be for the gentiles 42 months.
(Rev 11:2) But the court which is without the temple leave out,
and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall
they tread under foot forty and
two months.
The very next verse gives us the 2
witnesses who are given power for 1260 days.
(Rev
11:3) And I will give power
unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth.
And this period although stated differently
is again 42 months. So we have the 42 months of the 2 witnesses / temple given
to Gentiles, followed by the 42 months where the devil is at war with the
Woman's seed in Ch.12. (Except that the time is shortened, less no flesh will
survive. We will bring that up later) Well the 2 witnesses turn water to blood,
and smite with plagues as often as they want. The Beast kills them. They lie in
the street 3 and a half days, after doing what they did for 3 and a half years.
(Rev
11:12) And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come
up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies
beheld them.
This is very similar to John being called
up hither as well. They were brought to heaven after they were given life again
and stood on their feet. So in Ch.11 we have another instance of people being
called up into heaven via a rapture, not a resurrection. We also know that
Elijah and Enoch were also taken up to heaven (raptured) while they were still alive.
2 more separate raptures. And Elijah will return before the Day of the Lord,
which we learned is after the 1000 year reign.
(Mal 4:5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Therefore I believe that Elijah is one of
the 2 witnesses in the Great Tribulation. Now some people might take this COME
UP HITHER, as a rapture, and a symbol of the church going up after the first 42
months with these 2 witnesses, Mid Way into the 7 year period of the
tribulation.
(Dan 9:27) 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.
We do have these 2 people going up, we do
have them going into a cloud, yes, but other than that, is there anything else
about a multitude of people - for all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues to fit the kind of rapture
we are looking for like the 24 elders one?
The 2 witnesses actually represent the
Jewish line more and are describes as being 2 Olive Trees. Seeing this
represents original Israel, there might be a possibility of the 144,000 having
been sealed and redeemed from the earth during the Tribulation as it states,
but I could find no evidence of them being in heaven. Could they have been
redeemed and not brought up? Like filled with the Spirit and they stayed on the
ground to witness. (I may have missed something so this is why I am sharing all
of this) In Rev Ch. 14 Jesus (the Lamb) is on Mount Sion and the 144,000 are
with Him. Now the 144,000 are sealed in their foreheads in Ch. 7. So between
Ch.7 and 10 (where that timeline ended) and now the Ch.14 timeline there is no
mention of them going up. It does state that they heard harpers harping from
heaven and they were singing a new song, and only the 144,000 could learn it.
The 144,000 were on the ground with Jesus, and the song was coming from heaven.
Does it mean that they were in heaven at the same time they were with Jesus on
the ground? If that is possible, or I am missing something, they could be the
Mid Trib Rapture group. I am just not sure, but seeing as I have gone into this
study, I wanted to present all cases for you to digest.
They were redeemed as the first fruits, I
see it as the original blood line of ancient Israel grafted in that was
foretold of in prophecy that you will see in a bit here. Separated from their
country and led away, but prophesied to return.
(Rev
14:1) And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him
an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
(Rev
14:2) And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with
their harps:
(Rev
14:3) And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before
the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred
and forty and four thousand, which were
redeemed from the earth.
(Rev
14:4) These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, being
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
(Rev
5:8) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours,
which are the prayers of saints.
The Elders in Ch.5 were given harps. But
these harpers are harping in heaven before the throne, before the beasts and
the elders. So it is inferring here that even though the elders have harps,
they are hearing another group harping before them.
And now we see that the 144,000 (which if
you remember that Israel was split into 2 nations, 1 part consisted of Judah
and Benjamin, and the northern tribes of 10 consisted as the other part. They
were scattered into all nations, and those 10 tribes didn't return. Only Judah
with Benjamin and some Levites returned to their country and rebuilt. So the
other 10 tribes were mostly dispersed across the lands, and now a few thousand
years later, it would seem that to make up the 12,000 from each tribe that would
contain the 144,000 sealed) would indeed have to come from all nations,
kindreds, tongues and peoples. As being direct descendants of original Israel,
they indeed would be the first fruits spoken of in many scriptures of returning
to the Father in the latter days, when finally reunited back with Judah and
Benjamin.
(Isa
11:12) And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth.
(Jer
33:7) And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel
to return, and will build them, as at the first.
(Jer
50:4) In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of
Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping:
they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.
(On another side note, a rabbit trail
within a rabbit trail if you will) The Tribulation is said to be 7 years by
many because of the Dan 9:27 verse and the 7 year peace treaty that will be signed
with Israel and this treaty is broken half way through when the Abomination of
Desolation occurs at the Temple by the Anti-Christ. Then notice it speaks of a
consummation at the end of it which symbolizes the wedding night.
Some say that the half way part is when the
Great Tribulation really starts kicking in - Half way through. So technically
from what I read, the Great Tribulation period lasts for 2-42 month periods. Some
say there is regular tribulation during the first 42 and great tribulation during
the 2nd 42. Along that thinking path then you can make a case for
the Mid tribulation to be actually a pre Great Tribulation rapture. Some also
say that the 2nd 42 month period is the time of wrath, so those
people claim a Mid Trib / Pre Wrath Rapture. But what I am finding here, is
that if there is a Mid Trib Rapture, it is looking like one specifically for
the 144,000 sealed and redeemed by God from the 12 tribes of original Israel.
I do have one other Mid Trib scenario that
I will share.
(Joh
6:16) And when even was now
come, his disciples went down unto the sea,
Evening started the new day, always evening
and then morning make up a day. It is for them, the start of a big stormy day.
(Joh 6:17) And entered into a ship,
and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not
come to them.
Symbolizes starting their walk with Jesus, they
were heading home, and the darkness came, Tribulation had begun.
(Joh
6:18) And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
A big storm during this tribulation period,
very great. Wind, remember the 4 winds where the elect are gathered.
(Joh
6:19) So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs,
they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they
were afraid.
The Sea of Galilee was what they were
crossing and note the length actually gets depicted here, not an amount of
time, but a rough guess as to length, Why? Well 25-30 furlongs is about half
way from where they were to where they were going. Half Way = Mid Way. Now it
does say 25-30, so they could be about half way, not exactly half way.
(Joh
6:20) But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
Then Jesus Appears! All fear is gone!
(Joh
6:21) Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the
ship was at the land whither they went.
So they went through this storm, about half
way, they see Jesus, They receive Him, and IMMEDIATELY they were at the place
where they were heading, it was their home base in Capernaum. Home=Heaven.
Now I really like that possibility, that
symbolism. But I cannot dig out much more than a possibility. Maybe you can? And
you can reconcile EVERYTHING else as well? Please let me know. There is
probably something there that I am missing, and that is ok, I am willing to
learn. If there is a Mid Trib Rapture, then that would make 4! I am just not
all in on that one yet.
End of rabbit trail - back to the rest of
the Pre Trib Rapture proofs.
Pre
Tribulation CASE #2 - STARS
Now let's look at these verses in Ch.12.
Some people believe that this was depicting a set of signs in the stars, and
those signs happened partially, on Sept. 23rd, 2017. (In April 2014
– Sept 2015 there were also a set of pre warning signs to this in the sky as a
series of 4 blood moons in a row all happened coinciding with the feast days) The
constellations aligned for the 42 weeks prior to Sept. 23 and you can watch
some internet videos by a guy named Scott Clarke who documented it all. He was
so sure that this was possibly the sign of the Pre Trib rapture.
I think he was right about noticing the Rev.
Ch.12:1-2 signs. He was just wrong in thinking that it was going to happen exactly
on Sept. 23rd, 2017. It was a sign indeed, but not completely
fulfilled. But it was really good of him to let everyone know, so we can add
his work into our own as we learn and have more truths revealed. If you see
trouble coming, and you say nothing, even if it's not the event, if it could
have been and you said nothing, then you failed to warn others. Let's look at
Rev 12.
(Rev
12:1) And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars:
(Rev
12:2) And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to
be delivered.
The birthing pains coming near is a symbol
of tribulation coming. Now as for the rest of the verses there is more to
discern here that has not happened yet.
(Rev
12:3) And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
This wonder in heaven has not yet happened
as of 4/4/2020, that I am aware of, but refers to the devil coming on scene.
(Rev
12:4) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and
did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which
was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
The stars here are representing fallen
Angels who will be on the side of the devil during the Great Tribulation. And
this is also a symbol of a star pattern revealed as a sign in the sky (heaven) most
likely. The 1/3 of stars fall right at the beginning when a Pre Trib Rapture
would occur.
But now look here at Ch.8 again during the
7th seal, during the 4th Angel sounding his trumpet, we again
have a third of the stars.
(Rev
8:12) And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun
was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars;
so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a
third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev Ch.8 is not to the end of the GREAT
TRIBULATION yet, but it's in the middle of it somewhere, but these stars
mentioned here didn't fall, they were darkened, ie... doing evil in the
GREAT TRIBULATION.
Now about stars falling, here it is again right
after the Tribulation of those days.
(Mat
24:29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the
sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Let's put all of this star stuff together now.
Right around when there is supposed to be a Pre Trib Rapture, 1/3 of the stars FELL.
During The GREAT TRIBULATION, or in the
Middle of the Tribulation 1/3 of the stars were DARKENED, they did not fall, and
at the very end of Tribulation, immediately after it, ALL the STARS FALL. Wow
huh? I find that just astounding, a coincidence of a sign if you will. Raptures
and Stars have a connection. Signs in the heavens are there for a reason.
(Gen
1:14) And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and
for days, and years:
I have thought about what the deceiver will
say to the World when a bunch of people disappear. He is a liar, and there seems
to be plenty of people working for him on the earth already as of the time of
this writing. Media companies are controlled information and they are owned by
just a few people. It is easier than ever to push an agenda through the
mainstream media, and now they are infiltrating many social networks as well
and have many influencers there as well. What lies will be thrown out there to
say what happened to the people who vanished? I can think of one off hand,
Aliens. It's an educated guess of course, but makes a lot of sense. I have not
been given this from God so don't sentence me for giving you this idea, I am
just trying to say hey, if this all happens, and people do disappear, do you
think the media will say, Breaking News: Today a few million people were
believed to be raptured by Christ before the ushering in of the Great
Tribulation...? Ummm, no, that is not going to happen. But whatever lies they
say, I want you to be aware, there will be lies told to explain the truth that
they don't want you to know about.
Pre
Tribulation CASE #3 The Woman and her Seed
Let's look now at the rest of the Ch.12
verses and signs.
(Rev
12:5) And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with
a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Now these verses, up to 12:5 appear to be a
symbol of Mary, the Virgin, who gave birth to Jesus, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron, and Jesus was indeed caught up to God after He rose
from the dead and came out of the tomb. It is what a lot of websites believe
and a lot of preachers preach as to the meaning of these verses, I mean a lot
of them. And we do know this happened. And this very kind of thing in the stars
is possibly what the wise men from the east saw about the birth of the King.
But in the book of Revelation these are things in the future, right? John is
not seeing the past here of Jesus' birth, but of some story that is going to
happen in the future. So what is the story saying?
And right after this in the next verse
here, we see the woman fled into the wilderness for 3.5 years. Now that did not
happen in Jesus day, I mean Christians did flee afterwards and were being
persecuted, but it does not give any kind of specific time of reference for it
being exactly 3.5 years right after Jesus was crucified. We then go into the
book of ACTS and no mention there of 3.5 years either, so what then is all of
this referring to?
(Rev
12:6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place
prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
So if the woman's child, in Ch.12:5 is not
Jesus, then who is the child? This is in the future, around the time of
Tribulation, not 2000 years ago. I am saying that the Child that is caught up
as soon as it's born is what is being symbolized as the timing of an event. I
believe the event is the Pre Tribulation rapture. The child then is a symbol of
Christians. Then the Woman went to a safe place in the wilderness prepared by
God, which is a symbol of Israel in the past of when they were in the
wilderness being fed the manna from God when they left Egypt during the Exodus.
But what does it mean for today or rather in the tribulation?
(Rev
12:14) And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she
might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Who is this woman, what is she a symbol of?
Notice the verbage of woman here, it is not singular, as in the woman was, but
THEY were given 2 wings... I believe the Woman is the Church, others believe the
Woman represents Israel.
Now what Scott Clarke had thought was that
the sign in the heaven was the Constellation Virgo and the moon came into
position at her feet and some planets moved in and made a crown of 12 stars
over her head. 9 stars are always there from Leo. 3 stars were added as
wandering stars, other planets, Venus, Mercury and Mars I believe they were. And
another wandering star, Jupiter which is the King Star, that represents Jesus,
was in the womb area of Virgo and completed a retrograde motion within her
belly for 42 weeks and moved out of the womb giving a perfect sign of a birth.
Since this is not talking about Jesus back
2000 years ago, and that it is referring to the future of things to come, Scott
Clarke believed that the child was a symbol of Christ (Christians) being
raptured. I too believe this. But he believed that the rapture would happen
Sept, 23rd, 2017. Obviously this was not the date. And when this symbol
of the child coming out of the womb happened on 9/23/17, to also point out that
this was indeed a very significant event to see in the heavens, but also to
take note of was the fact that it happened on the Feast of Trumpets. Now that's
a BIG coincidence or rather, a sign from God.
Now he was able to take a computer program
and see this happen by advancing the days and watching what the stars would do
and when they would do it. Someone just looking up at the sky would not have
been able to see that. (For instance, I just can't look up at the sky and guess
what will be there in a week from now) And when they saw it happen, if it meant
the rapture right then and now, not many people would have been able to figure
that out, and 2nd we are not supposed to know the day or the hour.
Even though the rapture did not happen on
that date, I still believe he is on to something; this was a pretty huge deal.
But since the rest of the signs didn't happen yet, that is most likely why the
rapture hasn't happened yet. I do believe though that it is telling us, get
ready, it is getting close.
Again, what did this sign mean? I believe
it means that the Rapture will occur as was seen in the heavens around the
feast of trumpets, the harvest celebration that occurs in the fall time. Only
time will tell why this sign occurred when it occurred and exactly what all of
it means. It tells a story.
(Mini rabbit hole here, remember we talked
about the stars falling, and during the Great Tribulation, 1/3 of the stars
fall to earth, is it possible that the signs in the stars according to the rest
of Rev 12 might happen when those stars are removed? Would that change the
constellations? Yes it would. I don't know, it is just another thought is all.)
So what does the rest of the Woman story in
the heavens mean? Here is my theory. I believe that the Woman is the church.
The Woman was ready to give birth, going through some labor pains right before
the birth, and that symbolizes the coming rapture. When the Woman gives birth,
the times are getting pretty bad, (the Child) Christians are Raptured. The
Woman then is carried off for 42 months. So this symbolizes the Church is now
in the wilderness. It represents that there is no one going to any of the
regular churches at this time and the Church or current concept of Church as we
know it will change into an underground Church. And during this 42 month period
of new converts and new Saints coming to Christ through a network of wilderness
churches, this is where the Tribulation Saints come from. After 42 months, that
protection ends. Satan is loosed and tries to flush her out with a flood. But
the earth swallows up the flood. The earth symbolizes the underground. Since
the Child was raptured, and the church is hidden, Satan then makes war with the
remnant Christians which is still the seed of the Church, but a smaller portion
because that is all he can find and they are dispersed all over in smaller
pockets, ie... remnant. That is my theory. What do you think?
Pre
Tribulation CASE #4 – Revelation 3:10
Let's look back a bit at a key earlier
verse in Rev. Ch.3.
(Rev
3:10) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep
thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try
them that dwell upon the earth.
This is the verse that gives a promise to
the church of Philadelphia. Now this is a verse that points out a situation
where they are NOT going to go through tribulation, being described here as the
hour of temptation, coming upon the WHOLE World. If everyone has to go through
the Great Tribulation (If no Pre Tribulation rapture exists) before they get
raptured, explain this verse? Most Post tribbers, like I was, go ummm, I dunno,
does the hour of temptation actually MEAN tribulation? Well, what else is
coming upon the WHOLE EARTH, that God is promising to keep you from it, from
being tried?
How does a Post Tribber reconcile this
verse? Well I have heard one theory, and that was that maybe to "keep them from
the hour of temptation" means to just put them in a safe place until it passes.
Well, ok, that's a thought. We do have the Woman being brought to a safe place
for 42 months, but there was a verse that stated her child (part of the Woman) was
CAUGHT UP. And if it is only for 42 months, then she is then NOT kept from the
hour of temptation that is to try the whole world, only half of it. So that
comparison does not fit.
The only way that I can rationalize the
word to KEEP FROM within the confines of this verse does not mean to set aside,
because then it would violate THE WHOLE EARTH. In other words, to keep from,
what the WHOLE EARTH is going to experience, of those who dwell on the earth,
would have to mean, YOU ARE NOT on the earth, or dwelling in it.
Pre
Tribulation CASE #5 - Wrath
Some people think the Wrath of God is the
very end times after Rev 20:7 where everything gets all burned up and not
during the Great Tribulation. So where does it say that IT IS God's Wrath
during the Great Tribulation? The scriptures occur in the 1st
timeline between Ch.4 and Ch.10 in Ch.6 and in another timeline between Rev.
Ch.14 through Ch.19, and no mention at all of wrath in Ch.20, 21, or 22.
(Rev
6:16) And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb:
(Rev
6:17) For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be
able to stand?
So the above mentions of God's Wrath happen
AFTER the seals are opened and the Great Tribulation period is definitely in full
swing. This timeline is affected and fits the case. And below here, in Ch.14-19
in a different part of a timeline of the Great Tribulation all fit the case I
am making here.
(Rev
14:10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb:
(Rev
14:19) And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it
into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
(Rev
15:1) And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven
angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of
God.
(Rev
15:7) And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden
vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
(Rev
16:1) And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon
the earth.
(Rev
16:19) And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of
the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give
unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
(Rev
19:15) And out of his mouth goeth a sharp word, that with it he should
smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
So if the body of Christ is not appointed
to Wrath, where does it say we won't go through it? Well, right here:
(1Th
1:10) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us
from the wrath to come.
(1Th
5:9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
And now we know that the wrath is happening
during the timelines above which are during the GREAT TRIBULATION, and only a
Pre Trib Rapture could validate those claims.
We do know that new Christian converts will
be coming to Christ during the Great Tribulation, and they will be going
through this period. So the question would come up then, well, then these
Christians (those of understanding, I believe if they were TRUE Christians,
they would have been raptured, since they have gone to church and have studied
the Bible for years, they have great understanding, but have somehow failed to
put it into practice) are going to be going through His Wrath. So how is this
possible then? Well, these people of understanding are being given a 2nd
chance, right? They had a chance to be Raptured before the Tribulation, right?
They were not ready at that time. Many of them were not "ALL IN" Christians,
they fell, they were not quite ready yet and still needed to be purified and
made white and clean.
(Dan
11:35) And some of them
of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
And we know there will be a great multitude
that comes from the Tribulation, and so God has a plan for them to get into
heaven. This group becomes very on fire for God! And there are also some
Christians who are kept from the Wrath, as it also states in:
(Rev
3:10) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep
thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try
them that dwell upon the earth.
It doesn't say wrath in 3:10, it says hour
of temptation, but it is very clear in these scriptures:
(1Th
1:10) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us
from the wrath to come.
(1Th
5:9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
If everyone goes through the Great
Tribulation, how would a Post Trib only believer reconcile all of these verses
that clearly show Wrath being poured out during the Tribulation? And how would
they explain the righteous not having to experience His wrath in a Post
Tribulation only scenario? Clearly the Wrath is during Tribulation. A post
Tribulation only theory does not reconcile these scriptures as well as both a
Pre Trib and a Post Trib rapture do.
It does mention wrath only once in referring
it to the Day of the Lord, which is the end part after the 1000 years out of
about 40 scriptures. So to be fair, it is there, and one could make an argument
that the wrath scriptures are saying that Christians are only not going to
suffer the wrath of this one verse at this period of time. But look at this
verse; it is clear His wrath is for sinners, not for Christians.
(Isa
13:9) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath
and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners
thereof out of it.
So even the one time that wrath was listed
with the Day of the Lord, it is not valid, it is for sinners. Here are some
more good verses on that topic.
(Nah
1:2) God is jealous, and
the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and
he reserveth wrath for his
enemies.
(Rom
1:18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness;
(1Th
5:9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
The original Church cannot be here during
the wrath of God. It is the only way to reconcile these verses.
Pre
Tribulation CASE #6 - The 7 Festivals of Israel
Let's look at them.
Passover - In the first
month on the 14 day of the month
Unleavened
Bread
– on the 15th day – lasts 7 days
First
Fruits
– starts on the 16th day
Pentecost
– 50 days after Passover
Trumpets – 7th
Month on the 1st day of the month
Atonement (Yom Kippur) – 7th
Month on the 11th day of the month – Jubilees happens on Atonement.
Tabernacles
on
the 15th day of the 7th month and for 7 days. On the first day shall be a solemn
rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
Now the first 4 Festivals have been fulfilled by Jesus.
The Passover Feast
had to deal with the Blood of the Lamb on the doorpost, And Jesus fulfilled it
when he was crucified.
The Feast of
Unleavened Bread Jesus was dead and in the ground for the first
three days of this festival, He was raised to life in the midst of this
feast and was then was accepted as the
first fruits of God's spiritual harvest.
The
Feast of First Fruits. Christ in His
resurrection is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. He was the
first of the harvest reaped.
The
Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled
when the Spirit of The Lord, The Holy Spirit (Jesus said I will come to you in
John Ch.14) filled the believers and now dwells within them.
But
the last 3 Feasts have not yet been fulfilled, and they must be fulfilled IN
ORDER, you cannot take these feasts out of order. Let's look at these feasts a
little more in depth then.
The
Feast of Trumpets. This feast was
especially important as it marked the time of the Fall Harvest. It also marked
the soon coming of the Feast of Atonement so the Trumpets started a period of
repentance leading up to the Day of Atonement. The fulfillment here would be
Jesus harvesting the fields that are ripe.
The
Feast of Atonement. Day of Atonement
or Yom Kippur. It is said to be the most solemn of all the feasts. It was the
final days of judgment and your final days to repent before your fate was
sealed for the following year. The fulfillment of Jesus in correlation to this
feast is definitely Judgment and people's final time to repent and follow Jesus
before final judgement begins.
The
Feast of Tabernacles. Also Sukkot.
God instructed the Israelites to live in tents for 7 days. It was a reminder of
their time in the wilderness when they dwelled together with God. The
fulfillment of his feast is that during the 1000 year reign of Christ, God will
dwell and live and rule on earth with man for the 1000 years and for ever after
that.
So
what does this all mean? Well some people say that the Feast of Trumpets is
about the Trumpets blowing at the return of Christ. And it can have this dual
meaning. But Trumpets are blown in Israel for many things. The Feast of
trumpets marks a harvest and a soon coming need to repent because of the
soon coming atonement for sins. The trumpets are a warning, meaning get right
now, or you will receive judgement next year, God's wrath. The Great Tribulation
is coinciding with the Feast of Atonement and God's wrath in judgement on the
sinners who have not repented. Then the Feast of Tabernacles is when those who
came out of the Great Tribulation will rule and reign with the Lord for 1000
years. These have to go in order. You can't have the wrath first, and then the Feast
of Trumpets or call to repentance, it would not make sense to punish someone,
and then repent, which is what most people have unknowingly possibly assumed. You
make a call to repent, those that do will be rewarded, those that don't, wrath.
Otherwise it would be out of order.
So
Trumpets, Atonement, then Tabernacles. YES!
Trumpets,
Atonement, Trumpets, Tabernacles. No.
Or,
Atonement, Trumpets, Tabernacles. No.
The
festivals in order do not include a Festival for the Post Trib Rapture, because
at that exact time, Tabernacles starts.
Pre Tribulation Rapture Case #7 –
Isaiah's Prophecy
(Isa
26:20) Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation
be overpast.
(Isa
26:21) For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her
blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Again, just like above in Case 6, repent,
get rewarded, 26:20 don't repent, wrath. 26:21
This surely looks like Isaiah has
prophesied that at the time the Lord comes to punish, His people will be hidden
in their chambers. It says for a little while, as if to say, just a little bit
until this thing is completed that I need to protect you from. We clearly have
Saints in heavenly chambers waiting while the tribulation is taking place. Is
"come my people", only 24 elders? You can also look up the meaning of the word indignation
online, it means: anger aroused by something unjust.
Pre Trib CASE #8
- Hid
Now just like in Isaiah, God said come here and hide yourself,
we have another prophet of God saying something similar.
The name of the prophet Zephaniah means – Hidden of the Lord
or to Cover up and hide of the Lord. So his actual name means something and it
is no small coincidence by what he was given to share with us.
The book of Zephaniah is only 3 chapters long. In Chapter 1
we see a judgement of type.
(Zep 1:2) I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
(Zep 1:3) I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls
of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the
wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
So this is I believe a 2 part prophecy, it is prophecying to
those of that time, but also to those of the end times as well. Did all the people,
animals, fish and birds all get consumed out of Israel? No. So this is an end
time prophecy that we know will come to pass at a later date, and I believe it to
be at the very end when everything is burned up after the 1000 year millennial
reign.
(Zep 3:8) Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the
day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to
pour upon them mine indignation, even
all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my
jealousy.
So by looking at what Zephaniah means, and what he is saying
to the people, you can see he is warning them to repent, or else. It's
definitely a theme of God for people to do that. Now look at how he says this
to the people, think of the end times rapture of the church, then read this:
(Zep 2:1) Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O
nation not desired;
(Zep 2:2) Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the
LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
(Zep 2:3) Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have
wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be
hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
Look at his warning, before the Lords Anger comes upon you,
gather together, seek the Lord, and it may happen then, that you will be hid
from the anger to come, and that anger does include 3:8 above which is at the
end of the 1000 years, but could also include the Great Tribulation anger /
wrath as well.
It is a verse that was for the people back then, the people
before tribulation and the people at the end of the 1000 year reign.
So before the Tribulation begins, there will be a rapture of
people gathered together, who sought the Lord early, who were hidden from His
anger.
Some nay sayers like to state the fact that well, both Isaiah
and Zephaniah both state hide, or hid which does not mean to be removed
completely from. Couldn't you be just put in a temporary safe place and still
be going through Tribulation? I get the question, I really do, but when added
up with everything else, I would weigh it against marrying and reconciling ALL
other scriptures, and that does not add up to "hiding" while still here.
Because that would mean that the ones being martyred during
the tribulation, they didn't hide well enough, or they weren't chosen to hide
good enough because they were found. Or it means that they were only hid for
some of the Tribulation only to be found later, what kind of a promise is that
then? You see the point? God is saying, I want you to come together, before my
Anger flows out, be meek, and I will hide you. Does He mean then, He is only
going to hide some? Or only hide for some of the time? How can He keep you from
the Wrath or the Anger while hidden, if you get martyred during the Tribulation?
Remember Zephaniah's name actually means to cover and hide of
the Lord, and then his message from God is actually, seek the Lord so you can
be hid when His anger comes. Not: Seek the Lord, Then I'll hide you for a
while, and then just before my wrath and anger, I'll expose you so you can be
martyred. Does that make any sense? Hid means hidden from the world, hidden
from Anger and Wrath.
Now if you think; well then maybe hidden means that you will
be hidden from the world, and won't be martyred? Then how are you judging who
gets martyred and who gets to stay hidden? You see, it doesn't reconcile the
other scriptures. Sure it's an idea, but one that does not hold up against
other scriptures when presented.
We have not 1 but 2 prophets giving end times prophecies, of
which both state that believers will be hid or to hide while His Anger / Wrath
is being poured out.
Pre Trib CASE #9
- WATCH
Do you recall Jesus always saying Behold, I come quickly. Why
do you suppose He is saying that over and over and over?
(Rev
3:11) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man
take thy crown.
(Rev
22:7) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
(Rev
22:12) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
(Rev
22:20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
And what about all the verses that say to
WATCH?
(Mat
24:42) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
I think that if you are NOT expecting a Pre
Tribulation rapture, then there really is no SURPRISE Mystery to watch for at
this time. (And that is why my dream frightened me.) But we are to watch for
some kind of rapture based on all of the evidences I have shared with you so
far. We are expecting a Post Tribulation Rapture and we know pretty much about
when that is going to happen.
(Mat
24:44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not
the Son of man cometh.
(Mar 13:32) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
(Mar 13:33) Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is.
(Mar 13:34) For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left
his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded
the porter to watch.
(Mar 13:35) Watch ye therefore: for ye
know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at
the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
(Mar 13:36) Lest coming suddenly he find you
sleeping.
(Mar 13:37) And what I say unto you I say unto
all, Watch.
All of the Matthew 24 and the Mark 13
verses above happen in the chapters which describe the Great Tribulation. If
the Tribulation is over, those alive will be Raptured immediately. But the Pre
Trib Rapture, that one is a mystery, how are we supposed to know when that one
is going to happen? Watch for the signs? Watch for it? Expect one to happen as
you see the signs approaching. Be ready! Yes, I believe so.
(Luk
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.
Now unlike the Mark and Matthew verses that
we just read telling us to watch, it can be well assumed, that those verses are
telling people who are going through the Great Tribulation of what to watch
for. Again these people would be the 2nd chance Christians, who
weren't really all in, they would be many of the Jewish Nation who were
deceived and are now awakened to the full truth of Jesus Christ being THE
Messiah that many of them could not see and many brand new Christians who are
brand new in their faith.
But Luk 21:36 actually says to WATCH, so
that you would be accounted worthy to ESCAPE all of the things that will be
coming to pass! Now that is really interesting. This is a bit of a twist. The
other verses state, watch so you know when Jesus will return, when you see
these things happening. Meaning you are living through them, you are experiencing
them. And you need some hope because this is really going to be bad. But then
this little treasure verse is just kind of hiding in the weeds. It states to
watch and to pray, you will be accounted worthy to escape ALL OF THESE THINGS.
If you escape some of them, that is one thing. You could go through some of
them, and be killed during them. Now this to me is a verse that really tells me
that if you are truly walking with God, that if you're not just going through
the motions and you really LOVE JESUS, then you would be counted worthy. Now
the command is Watch and Pray. Why would the Lord have you or I watch and pray
that we escape ALL of these things, if it wasn't a possibility that it could
actually happen?
And to that, I would say, is a solid Pre
Tribulation case, because if you were "escaping" via a Post Trib rapture, you
really would not be escaping anything at all. Because the Tribulation is
technically over at this point and you made it. You escaped by enduring? That
does not line up. And from a Mid Trib point of view it does not add up either
because you would not be escaping all of it, only about half of it.
Now another reason to watch is referred to
as being the Watchman. If you were a watchman in the old cities that were
fortified with a wall around it, and you saw the enemy coming and did not warn
the people, their blood would be on your hands!
(Eze
33:6) But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet,
and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is
taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's
hand.
So being a watchman and to watch is a 2
fold process. 1 – To watch for the Lord so you are not overtaken as a thief in
the night. I was shown that I was overtaken in my dream, I was unaware of a
coming rapture, I had no idea what had grabbed me, I was very afraid. Instead,
had I been watching, expecting, then when the Lord sent his Angel to grab me, I
would have been joyously jubilated!
(1Th
5:4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake
you as a thief.
(1Th
5:5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness.
(1Th
5:6) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
(1Th
5:7) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night.
(1Th
5:8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
(1Th
5:9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by
our Lord Jesus Christ,
(1Th
5:10) Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him.
(1Th
5:11) Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even
as also ye do.
If you are watching, and see the times
around you, if you are not sounding an alarm to others, if you are not
preaching the gospel to others, if you are not sharing about what you know and
see, if you are not warning others, then you are definitely in danger of having
the blood of others on your hand. And that is an awful thought, isn't it?
Final Thoughts
How can I sum
this up but to say, WOW! I really want to Thank God for all that He has given
me, and I do pray that you have gleaned something of value from this and that
you see it as truth from God's Holy Word. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I
have never heard of the possibility of what I have proposed to you today. I have
not even heard of it, and dismissed it as a Nah, No way, and then have now come
back to it giving it another chance and thought. I have never heard the theory
of there being 2 Raptures, let alone the possibility of a 3rd one. It
was always, Pre Trib or Post Trib, maybe even a Mid Trib, but both? And a 3rd?
Oh C'mon!
Now I don't
think that I am the only one who has come up with this. I am sure there are
others out there. And I am sure you can do some online searches and figure this
out and maybe other writers have already mentioned this. I have just written
this down as God gave it to me. If you have found other information to add to
this, and have gotten more understanding, Praise God! Share it! Get it out
there!
Now here is a
Word of Warning to any and all who might be reading this. If you are a believer
in Christ, at the time that the Tribulation starts, according to the scriptures
we have discussed, you will be raptured. I am sure the enemy will have some
lying excuse for why some people disappeared, an Alien abduction maybe? Who
knows? You can count on a misinformation plan to be rolled out. But you should
take notice of the people who were highly regarded as Christian to be gone. If you are NOT raptured at this time and start
to go through Tribulation, DO NOT TAKE THE M A R K OF THE B E A S T. This will
be a sort of electronic tracking computerized ID that can be scanned on or in
your body somehow. Some people are claiming it could be given in conjunction
with a v a c c i n e even, or some sort of invisible electronic tattoo that
gets scanned. All will be forced to take it otherwise you will not be allowed
to buy or sell. And for not taking this Mark, you will be highly persecuted
unto death, and many will be beheaded according to the Bible. (I do believe
that there are some that live so remotely in the wilderness of jungles and
various other parts of the world where they have hidden that would not need to take
the Mark and not buy or sell anything, and they will remain to populate the
1000 years, because there had to be some left to populate the earth in the 1000
years.) There may not be many left after the Rapture and after God's wrath. But
anyone that takes the Mark will NOT be allowed into heaven and will suffer His
wrath.
(Rev
14:9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
(Rev
14:10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb:
So this Mark is
a big deal, it will separate those who believe from those who don't and flat
out won't. From those who repented, from those would not. If you want a 2nd
chance at getting into heaven, this is the time to be bold and stand up for
Christ no matter what the consequences, even unto death.
The fearful
will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(Rev
21:8) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
And again, just
saying you're a "BELIEVER" and actually not following God's commandments is
just talk without action, and this is your warning:
(Mat
7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Anyone who
heeds these warnings will be wise, very wise, and your 2nd chance is
your chance to be bold. But anyone would have to agree, that to be bold now,
before tribulation comes, that it would be very wise to repent and tell
everyone you know that you Love Jesus and Jesus loves you! Tell them why, and
start watching God do things in your life that will blow you away.
The purpose of
writing this little book is to bring glory to God, to bring people to the truth
of Him. To stop division amongst believers as far as rapture theology goes. To
help others know God. To help people understand God and cause them to seek God.
And ultimately to have other people repent, be forgiven, and have a loving
relationship with the True Creator God, Jesus Christ. And then when you know
the truth, that you share it with others, and also that you are watching and
that when you see something, or know something, that you do not keep it to
yourself.
I have always
thought, "Why did God even create everything and us in it?" And it says He did
it for His pleasure. I believe God is Love. I believe He created us to Love Him
and to be Loved by Him.
In His Love,
May God Bless You,
Michael Flipp
Thank You Jesus!
P.S. If you
would like to contact me you can email me [email protected]