DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS OF THE
RAPTURE.
When we
consider Christ’s eschatology we would see that the things of His coming has
different descriptions which in certain ways signifies that they are different
from each other and thus has to do with different instances. Let’s make some
considerations
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: 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. 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.
Matthew 24:29-31
And they shall fall by the edge of
the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall
be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall
they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Luke 21:24-27
This particular rapture is preceded by
tribulation and many signs in the heaven and the earth, and it shall also be a
time of great fear, because of the expectation of the things that are coming
from heaven which are unknown. In certain ways, some Hollywood Sci-Fi movies
are prophesying and seeking to prepare man for a counterfeit, so that the
coming of Christ as the Rider of the Horse would be taken to be a sort of planetary
invasion by an alien force. These movies shall be subtly conditioning the
sinners of the earth in those days to believe the lie and to be joined with the
beast as they would seek to stop the so called planetary invasion which shall
have to do with the coming of the Son of man.
Considering the above description of the coming
of Christ in the two passages above, we see that it is in stark difference to
another description of the circumstances that shall surround the coming of the
Son of man.
Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the
days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not
until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the
other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,
and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth
come.
Matthew 24:24-42
We would see that in contrast to the first, the
description of this passage indicates that it shall occur in an unexpected
time. The first two passages furnishes us with many signs in the heavens, in
the earth and in the seas, so that men shall be in expectation of things to
come from heaven. While the first passages has also to do with tribulations, so
that the rapture should occur immediately after it, in the passage (Matt.
24:24-42) above, we have description of peace and normalcy. So that people
could be buying and selling, marrying, planting, building house, going about
their business and suddenly, Christ comes.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares
of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it
come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 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.
Luke 21:34-36
This is also in contrast to another description
concerning Christ’s coming that we may consider to involve a different
manifestation of the coming of the Son of man. This manifestation has to also do with the
tribulation, but we shall consider it after establishing more grounds and
premise. The first we have considered that it has to do with signs in the
heavens and in the earth, men in fearful expectation of the things that is
approaching to earth from the heaven. The second in our consideration is
described to be a time of peace and safety, where things will go as normal. So
that people will go about their business, feasting, marrying,
building/planting, trading and being grossed with the cares of this life. And
from the above passage, Christ shall come unexpectedly to many in the midst of
these things. This best fits to what Paul described by the Holy Ghost.
But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall
say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail
upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-4
The Premise of Christ’s Answers
To continue further, there is a need to consider
the questions that Christ was answering and the premise on which He answered
them, as He gave an exposition in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
And Jesus went out, and departed
from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of
the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not
be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto
him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Matthew 24:1-3
We would
see how Christ told His disciples that there shall not be left one stone upon
the other that shall not be thrown down.
And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let
them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the
midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter
thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are
written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land,
and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and
shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down
of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24
We would see that there was a measure of
fulfilment of this prophecy in the things unto the destruction of Jerusalem in
AD 70. Yet there shall be another fulfilling of this prophecy, and we must also
consider that Christ’s focus was at the end. And this end has to do with the
tribulation that Israel shall face as described also testified in Daniel.
And after threescore and two weeks
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel 9:26
The Tribulation
The
times of the Gentiles continues into the tribulation of Israel that shall precede
the resurrection which is described by Daniel. Like as the first in AD 70, the
holy city shall be surrounded by armies and there shall be great trouble until
Christ comes with the army of Heaven, even as also detailed in Zechariah’s
prophecies.
And at that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to
that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:1
For I will gather all nations
against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses
rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into
captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then
shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in
the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there
shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the
north, and half of it toward the south.
Zechariah 14:2-4
It
involves also the things of the prince that shall rise in the 70th week
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.
Daniel 9:27
It is that in which Christ comes at the end of
the tribulation that was the focus of His exposition on mount Olivet.
Nevertheless, we would see several descriptions of the events that shall
precede this coming which includes the great tribulation. With this
understanding, we would see in the discourse that He begun with the things that
surrounded the end of this age and unto the gathering of His elect. And after
this He followed with the showing of the provision and possibility of an escape
from the things of the end, even the peculiar tribulations associated with it.
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.
Luke 21:36
And so, Christ reveals how that the end shall
be surrounded with tribulation so that during this tribulation, the gospel
shall be preached unto all nation. The end starts after the gospel has being
preached and those that endures this era shall be saved.
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. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive
many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
and then shall the end come.
Matthew 24:9-14
And when we look closely at the things in the
book of Revelation, we would see that the above passage is best fitted with the
things about the two witnesses which represents a company of saints.
And when they shall have finished
their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make
war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies
shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom
and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:7-8
And so, the salvation of those that shall be
saved is connected to the resurrection and catchup of the two witnesses. For we
see that they are given to prophesy, which involves the whole world for 1260
days. It is after their testimony that they are fought against and slain. It is
after their testimony that the end begins.
When ye therefore shall see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy
place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea
flee into the mountains: Let him which
is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return
back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the
winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall
be.
Matthew 24:15-21
The
things after the gospel of the kingdom is preached and the beast from the Abyss
rises to fight against the saints can be seen in Elijah’s testimonies as
follows.
And Ahab told Jezebel all that
Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me,
and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow
about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and
came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he
himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a
juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is
enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
1 Kings 19:1-4
And so that in which Jezebel sent a messenger
who threatened Elijah’s life so that he fled into the wilderness represents the
days after the testimony of the witnesses, wherein they shall be given to fight
against the beast. And so the fight of the witnesses with the beast shall be
for 42 days after which they are overpowered and after 3 ½ days, they are
raised and caught up into heaven. Interestingly,
when we add up the 45days here with the 1290 that the abomination will persist,
we shall have the 1335 days of Daniel 12:11-12.
Then if any man shall say unto you,
Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have
told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For
as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is,
there will the eagles be gathered together.
Matthew 24:23-28
And the sixth angel poured out his
vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that
the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of
the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits
of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of
the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth
his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Revelation 16:12-15
In considering Matthew 24:23-28 above, we shall
understand that in it is another instance of the coming of CHRIST when we see
that some of the things in it can be found in Revelation 16:12-15. For the
great tribulation begins when the beast begins to reign, and this reign has to
do with the kings of the east which are the ten horns when they give their
power to him. And at the end of the testimony of the witnesses which shall also
be close to the end of the beast’s reign, there shall be that contest like as
on Mount Carmel, but unto the death of the two witnesses instead. The death of
the two witnesses and their company and that in which the whole earth shall
feast and result shall also be the reason for the destruction of the earth at
the wedding supper of the Lamb.
And the coming of Christ described as the
lightning that shines from the east to the west, and that in which where the
carcasses is the eagles shall be gathered relates with the things of the
resurrection and catch-up of the two witnesses and their companies. The shadows
of these things we see in the event before the ascension of Elijah into heaven.
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went,
and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
2 Kings 2:7
The gathering of the 50 sons of the prophets to
view is as that gathering of the eagles to the place of the carcasses. And this
carcasses has to do with the unburied bodies of the two witnesses and their
companies in those days. For part of what the sons of the prophets represents
has to do with that rejoicing and feasting of the whole world as a result of
the defeat and death of the servants of God, whose bodies shall be gazed upon.
And it came to pass, as they still
went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses
of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into
heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of
Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of
his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
2 Kings 2:11-12
The way in which the chariots of fire and
horses of fire appeared and parted Elijah and Elisha is as that coming of
Christ which shall be as the lightning that shines from the east to the west.
We will then see that after Christ described the manner and details of this
rapture or His coming, he talked about what happens immediately after the
tribulation.
For as the lightning cometh out of
the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together. 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: 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. 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.
Matthew 24:27-31
This is in a similar sense to the things seen
about the sixth and the seventh vial. For in the sixth vial, we are given
details about that coming of Christ like a thief which we have established that
it relates to the things of the catchup of the two witnesses after they are
raised from the dead. So that the details shown in the seventh vial is as that
which Christ described will occur immediately after the tribulation.
And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven,
from the throne, saying, It is done. And
there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great
earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an
earthquake, and so great. 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. And
every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon
men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and
men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof
was exceeding great.
Revelation 16:17-21
CONCLUSION
From the
above we shall see how that the days of the Son of man which shall involve His
coming and the rapture of the saints shall be in three steps. And with respect
to the tribulation there shall be a pre-tribulation rapture, a mid-tribulation
and a post-tribulation rapture.
1. Pre-Tribulation Rapture: This is the
escape for the watchful saints from the things of the tribulation that shall
come to pass. Nevertheless, there shall also be some form of testing and trial
for the saints, like the ten days mentioned in the second letter to the churches
in Revelation 1.
2. Mid-Tribulation Rapture: This has to
do with the two-witnesses which consists of the remnants of those that we
caught up into heaven at the first. These shall occur after the end of the 70th
week when they shall have finished their testimony and be fought against and
slain.
3. Post-Tribulation Rapture: This
occurs immediately at the end of the tribulation or it brings an end to the
tribulation. In this shall be a visible manifestation of the Lord in the clouds
such that He shall be seen by all.
It is
important to understand these things as there shall be very pivotal to our
watchfulness and prayerfulness. This knowledge also constitutes the extra oil
that the wise virgins had, for all shall sleep until the midnight, when the
call shall be made.
Even so
Come
LORD Jesus
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment