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1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  

1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  

1Th 5:3 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.  

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,  

In the previous chapter, Paul was comforting those in the Thessalonian church who feared that those who are dead in Christ will not get raptured I THESSALONIANS 4:13-15. But Paul said that they will be resurrected 1 THESSALONIANS 4:16 and will precede those who are alive in Christ.

Finally those who are alive in Christ will be "CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17 "

So we can deduce from 1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-2 that Paul is talking about the Rapture. So the Rapture CAN HAPPEN AT ANY MOMENT.

 Jesus WILL COME LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. Jesus himself said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. MATTHEW 24:42" Jesus also said that no one knows the day or the hour of the Lord's coming. No man, no angel and not even the Son, Jesus Christ knows but only the Father (MARK 13:32).

Paul in 1 THESSALONIANS 5:1 didn't need to tell about date-setting; it is pointless, because the Lord will come like a thief in the night at an hour unexpected just like in the days of Noah when they were eating, drinking, partying, and SINNING (MATTHEW 24:37-38). Those people LIVED FOR TODAY but for the wrong reasons. Instead of living for God they lived for themselves and it wasn't until the rain started that they realized THEY WERE WRONG.

Paul says that we have the light which is Jesus Christ and we should always be watchful, alert, and of self-control lest we be caught unaware when that day comes.

Since I strongly believe the Rapture is PRE-TRIBULATION, it encourages Christians to lead holy lives in expectation and preparation that the Lord will COME AT ANY MOMENT!
When the church loses focus of this then it becomes carnal and spiritually dead.

Other Rapture views say that the Pre-Trib Rapture gives believers a false security BUT on the contrary; it makes believers lead rightious lives before God or else they will be LEFT BEHIND!

Live for God NOW not when you realize it is too late and you have to live during the dreadful seven year Tribulation.

John 3:2-3 says, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." This is the blessed hope which Jesus told us to "co,fort one another with"

To Be Continued...

Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. DANIEL 9:24

Gabriel spoke the 70 weeks prophecy to Daniel. Daniel was praying to God DANIEL 9:1-19 asking him what is his future plan for Israel because the 70 years of captivity of Israel by Babylon JEREMIAH 25:11-12 were drawing to an end. God sent Gabriel to reveal his plans for Israel.

Daniel 9:24 reveals that the 70 WEEKS were for ISRAEL ONLY. Look at the scripture - SEVENTY SEVENS ARE DECREED FOR YOUR PEOPLE (Daniel's people - Israel) AND YOUR HOLY CITY (Jerusalem).

Seventy sevens are 490 years on Israel's prophetic timeline. After this Israel's transgression will be finished, Israel's sin will be put to an end, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, vision and prophecy will be sealed, and the most holy (Millennial Temple) will be anointed. All this will happen after Jesus Christ comes back and the Jews will look on the one "whom they pierced. ZECHARIAH 12:10"

Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. DANIEL 9:25

The decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem is none other than the one given to Nehemiah in Nehemiah 2:1-10 by Artaxerxes. Here Nehemiah asks the Persian king if he can go to Jerusalem and rebuild it.

Sir Robert Anderson in his book THE COMING PRINCE said, "The Persian edict which restored the autonomy of Judah was issued in the Jewish month of Nisan. It may in fact have been dated the 1st of Nisan, but no other day being named, the prophetic period must be reckoned, according to a practice common with the Jews, from the Jewish New Year's Day.

The seventy weeks are therefore to be computed from the 1st of Nisan B.C. 445." Later Sir Robert Anderson computed the date to be March 14, 445 B.C. FROM THE ISSUING OF THE DECREE TO RESTORE AND REBUILD JERUSALEM UNTIL THE ANOINTED ONE, THE RULER, COMES, THERE WILL BE SEVEN 'SEVENS,' AND SIXTY-TWO 'SEVENS.' So exactly 483 prophetic years (7 X 7 = 49 years; 62 X 7 = 434 years; 49 + 434 = 483 years) the Anointed One will come.

The Messiah was of course JESUS CHRIST and the only time in his three year ministry that he was publicly proclaimed as Messiah or King was when he rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey (colt or foal of a donkey) riding alongside his mother not knowing that the one that her son is carrying is the KINGS OF KINGS AND LORDS OF LORDS.

When Jesus came into Jerusalem and people were putting palms on the floor, it fulfilled Zechariah 9:9 and Daniel 9:25 to the date (April 6, A.D. 32). Later Jesus wept because the Jews didn't recognize the time of the Messiah's visitation (70 weeks prophecy) and because of this Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 according to Jesus' prophecy in Luke 19:41-44.

After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler that is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. DANIEL 9:26

After Christ rides into Jerusalem, he is cut off or killed. He is crucified to fulfill the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. AND WILL HAVE NOTHING also reads BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF meaning that Jesus Christ will not die for himself but for the sins of the world. So after, 69 weeks or 483 years, the Messiah will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey and shortly after he will die for the sins of mankind.

THE RULER THAT IS TO COME is none other than the Antichrist and since the PEOPLE OF THE RULER destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and sanctuary (Herod's temple) in A.D. 70 are ROMAN so the Antichrist will probably be a ROMAN JEW! (an interesting fact - The E.U. was radified by the Rome Radification!) Verse 26 notes a gap between the 69 weeks and the 70th week. This is the church age even though Daniel didn't foresee it; he only saw a gap - THE END WILL COME LIKE A FLOOD: WAR WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE END, AND DESOLATIONS HAVE BEEN DECREED.

He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (DANIEL 9:27)

The Antichrist (HE) will come and CONFIRM a covenant with Israel which guarantees their protection for seven years even though he will break it in the middle of the Tribulation.
Since the 70 weeks prophecy is for Israel DANIEL 9:24 then the final week (7 year Tribulation) is for ISRAEL.

 God obviously deals with one dispensation at a time. First it was Israel, then the Church. The focus of the Tribulation will be ISRAEL. Jeremiah 30:7 says its the TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE. This obviously is proof that the 7 year Tribulation is for ISRAEL only not the CHURCH for it isn't the TIME OF THE CHURCH'S TROUBLE but JACOB'S TROUBLE referring to Israel.

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After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." REVELATION 4:1

This is probably the best evidence for the Rapture since John is the best example of the Church. The Tribulation starts in Revelation 6 with the first seal. So John's rapture is probably symbolic and prophetic of the Church's rapture. Notice how in Revelation 2 and 3 focus on the Church. The seven churches in Asia were in fact symbolic of the church age; each church were symbolic of actual church phases throughout the CHURCH AGE.

Immediately after the final letter to the Laodicea church, the scene shifts from the earth to heaven so this implies that John represented the rapture of the Church Why? Because Laodicea is the final phase of the church age and after the CHURCH DISPENSATION is finished the Rapture occurs. Earth to Heaven. The Church is on earth then IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE 1 CORINTHIANS 15:52, we are with the Lord Jesus Christ in the air 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17.


And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." REVELATION 5:9-10

THEY SANG A NEW SONG refers to the 24 elders who in verse 8 each had a harp and were holding golden bowls full of incense which were the prayers of the saints. As I look at this I can't help but remember a song I usually sing at church. Here it goes:

There's a song in my heart that the angels can't sing
Redeemed, Redeemed
Redeemed, Redeemed
I was washed with the blood of the Lamb
Redeemed, Redeemed
I was washed with the blood of the Lamb

Only human beings can ever have a praise of redemption in the vicarious death of our Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST. As you see further, the 24 elders were redeemed men. In another translation NKJV reads Revelation 5:9-10 as:
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."

The scripture says FOR YOU WERE SLAIN, AND HAVE REDEEMED US TO GOD BY YOUR BLOOD. Clearly these are redeemed men who are going to reign on the earth with Christ.

Paul says that we will judge angels 1 CORINTHIANS 6:2-3 and that we will shine like the Sun in the kingdom of the Father MATTHEW 13:43. From we see of this, the 24 elders are representative of the Church, the Judgment Seat of Christ passed because the 24 elders already have crowns, and that they are REDEEMED MEN. Since all this (Revelation 4 - 5) occurs before the Tribulation (Revelation 6) then the PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE is possible.


KEPT FROM THE HOUR OF TESTING

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. (REVELATION 3:10)

This is my favorite one of all because Jesus promises to keep his Church from the HOUR OF TESTING. As I mentioned earlier, the SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION is for ISRAEL Daniel 9:24-27. But scripture says TO TEST THOSE WHO LIVE ON THE EARTH so that includes GENTILES as well. The promise to keep believers from the hour of trial was to the Philadelphia which served as a type to the true Church which will be raptured before the Tribulation.

The HOUR OF TRIAL is the seven-year Tribulation and it is usually referred to DAY OF GOD'S VENGEANCE Isaiah 34:8, DAY OF WRATH Zephaniah 1:15, and THE DAY OF THE LORD 1 Thessalonians 5:2 as well as numerous other names and descriptions. In 1 THESSALONIANS 1:10 its called THE COMING WRATH. Paul said, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." This is another proof that the Church will be KEPT FROM THE HOUR. Jesus will rescue the Church from the coming wrath. This is evident by the events in Revelation 4 - 5 preceding the beginning of the Tribulation which occurs in Revelation 6. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, "For God did not appoint us to wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." God never appointed the Church to wrath. It is true that God has ordained suffering to befall on the common believer to purify him and purge him of his dealings with the world and lusts of the flesh and to rely on God for security Romans 8:17;  2 Timothy 2:12;  Philippians 1:29.

 BUT THE WRATH OF GOD IS RESERVED FOR UNBELIEVERS. NOT TO HIS BRIDE - THE CHURCH! Romans 5:9 says, "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" The provision for believers to be saved from God's wrath which is the 7 year Tribulation is the RAPTURE which is before the Tribulation which makes it a guaranteed BLESSED HOPE

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The Rapture is called THE BLESSED HOPE. Paul calls it this in Titus 2:13. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, "Therefore encourage each other with these words." THE BLESSED HOPE should be a comfort to us and to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Rapture can only be a blessed hope if it is before the Tribulation. If we expect the Rapture during or after the Tribulation then it would be a BLASTED HOPE!  We would expect to die from martyrdom not being translated in the TWINKLING OF AN EYE! Only the PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE has the rapture as a BLESSED HOPE. Other theories have the Church waiting for death, the 21 judgments (or some of them), and the Antichrist. The Church is waiting for JESUS CHRIST when he descends from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead and then the living are CAUGHT UP to be with JESUS in the clouds and then be with him forever and forevermore 1 THESSALONIANS 4:16-17.

To Continue...

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:3

And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth by the splendor of his coming. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:6 - 8

The SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION begins with the signing of a peace treaty by the Antichrist and Israel DANIEL 9:27. According to the above verses that there is a restrainer and until he is taken out of the way, the identity of the Antichrist will not be revealed. Right now, NO ONE KNOWS WHO THE ANTICHRIST IS. He could be a teenager right now or even be conceived by his father and mother right now as they are consummating their marriage or he could not be even a thought in his mother's mind.

Only God knows who the Antichrist is, where he is, or even when he'll even show up to deceive the world. I could only imagine how it will pain God to form this child in his mother's womb and know that when he is somewhere in his adult age that he will lead the whole world astray, proclaim himself to be God, and persecute God's chosen people, Israel and Christians (Jew and Gentile) who convert after they are Left Behind.

But the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the restrainer is removed. That restrainer in verse 7 is the Holy Spirit and the restrainer in verse 6 is the Church. It is very logical that if the Holy Spirit is removed then so does the church because the Holy Spirit indwells the Church.

The Church was founded with the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the Church will leave with the departure of the Holy Spirit. After the Rapture of the Church, the Antichrist will sign a treaty for seven years with Israel and then it would not cast any doubt on any person who studies the scripture or has been a Christian Left Behind that that man is indeed the Antichrist.

To Continue...

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. LUKE 21:36

Jesus told the people to always be on the watch. We as Christians should always be on the watch for Jesus will come like a THIEF IN THE NIGHT. Jesus also warns us WATCH AND PRAY LEST YOU ENTER INTO TEMPTATION. We as Christians should not let our guard down for when Jesus comes, we will be LEFT BEHIND.

I believe that any believer can lose his/her salvation if they backslide and continue in their sin. As Christians we have to repent and turn away from our sins so that we can be ready and blameless at the time and hour of his coming - the Rapture. As I said earlier, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture lets Christians live for God NOW in expectancy of his coming. It is not a false security but allows Christians to live Holy lives.

Luke 21:36 tells us the same thing. ALL THAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN is obviously the Seven-year Tribulation so if Christians watch and pray and continue to live holy lives then we will be able to ESCAPE ALL THAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. This is a great evidence for the Pre-Tribulation Rapture because the verse doesn't say ESCAPE FROM SOME OF WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Mid-Trib) OR EVEN NO ESCAPE FROM WHAT ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Post-Trib) BUT ALL OF THAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Pre-Trib).

THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN means that after the Rapture you will be with Christ forever. This goes according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 where we be with Christ (the Lord) in the air and be with him forever. This verse also suggests the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.

After the Rapture we will stand before the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) and will be judged according to our works. Since the 24 literal human elders are wearing crowns in Revelation 4 and singing a song of redemption in Revelation 5 and the Tribulation starts in Revelation 6 then the Rapture is Pre-Tribulation. I love Luke 21:36!


The Church is so prevalent in Revelation 2 -3. Earlier I said that the seven churches of Asia represented the seven ages of church history. The Church is mentioned 20 times from Revelation 1 - 3 but when you look at the rest of the book of Revelation, the Church is not specifically mentioned BY NAME until Revelation 22:16 but Revelation 22:7-21 occurs during Revelation 2 - 3 meaning that the warning that Jesus is Coming is TODAY for the Church and the unbeliever that is reading the Book of Revelation.

You see no trace of the Church in Revelation 6 - 18. The fact that in Revelation 4 - 5 you don't see the "word" because the 24 elders are representative of Church because they already received their crowns Revelation 4:4 which indicates that the Judgment Seat of Christ is occurring (believers who did more works probably got their crowns first) or it occurred since Revelation 4:1.

The fact that the 24 elders are singing a song of their redemption in Revelation 5:9-10 proves that the Church is in heaven. As you read the Book of Revelation, you see traces of the 24 elders from chapters 6 - 18 but ULTIMATELY THE WORD CHURCH IS NOT IN REVELATION 6 - 18 AT ALL! Why? Because the Church is in heaven because it was raptured before the Tribulation.

 Some people say that the word SAINT in Revelation 6 - 18 proves that the Church is in the Tribulation. The word SAINT occurs 13 times in the whole book and 10 times from Revelation 6 - 18. The fact is that the word SAINT can refer to anyone - Israel or the Church. The word SAINT used in Revelation 6 - 18 refers to Tribulation Saints - Jewish or Gentile believers who are saved during the Tribulation who got Left Behind. The word SAINT doesn't always refer to the Church. The absence of the Church can only suggest that they were raptured before the Tribulation started.

To Be Continued...

Jesus said in Luke 17:26-27:...

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. I believe that the story of the Flood is a perfect "type" of the Rapture.

Enoch wasn't mentioned by Jesus; he only mentioned Noah. Lets look at the story of Noah. Genesis 6:1-8 talks about the lawlessness of the Pre-Flood human population on the earth.

God gave a command for humans to populate this earth and as men were increasing in number, daughters (as well as sons but we are focusing on the daughters) were born unto them.

The sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful they married any of them they chose (the beautiful daughters had no choice in the matter) and giants were born unto them.

God saw this sinful union of angels leaving their first estate and mingling with strange flesh and said that his Spirit cannot be with man forever and so he decreed that man should not live more than 120 years.

Man continued to be wicked and so God decided to destroy mankind but then he saw Noah. Noah found favor in the eyes of God and he decided to have Noah build an ark big enough for him, his family, two of every unclean animal, and seven of every clean animal, and supplies.

You ask where does this fit in with the Pre-Tribulation Rapture? The flood is obviously the Tribulation (God's wrath). God judged the world and destroyed all the humans because they thought of evil constantly and God's Spirit couldn't contend with man. Enoch in Genesis 5:24 was translated or raptured so that served as a type of the rapture while Noah and the ark going through the flood and at the same time being protected; typified Israel when they hide in the wilderness for 1260 days.

 
Jesus said in Luke 17:28-29:

It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building . But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

The coming of the Son of Man is the same as Lot which is the same as the days of Noah. Sodom and Gomorrah (look at the story in Genesis 19) were wicked cities in the fertile plains of Jordan which Lot chose when Abraham in Genesis 13 gave him any choice of the land to go separate (both of their herdsmen were disputing with each other). Then Abraham rescued Lot, in Revelation 14 when five wicked kings formed an alliance and took captive everything in Sodom and Gomorrah including Lot.

After Abraham rescued them, the two cities went on their wicked ways until God and two angels paid a visit to Abraham in Genesis 18. God decided to destroy those two cities yet Abraham interceded and bargained with God that if he found ten righteous people in Sodom then he would spare the city.

The two angels only found four righteous - Lot, his wife, and his two daughters. The righteous were then taken out of the city away from the destruction that God would rain on Sodom and Gomorrah.
This typifies the Pre-Tribulation Rapture because the righteous were taken out and put in a place away from the destruction and judgment of the wicked cities. In the same way, God will rapture his Church where they will be in heaven while the earth and those left behind will have to face the Tribulation.

 
In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar set up an image at Dura which was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. It was an image of gold and everyone had to worship the image.

When the music sounded everyone fell down to worship the image of gold. Everyone did except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three Jewish friends were brought before the king and they told him they refused to bow down before the image of gold. For this they were thrown into the fiery furnace yet they weren't harmed because of the fourth person in the fire - Jesus Christ.

The three Jewish friends represented the faithful Jewish remnant when the image of the beast is set up. The question is - Where is Daniel? He was probably attending some political governmental business throughout the empire so he was away from the plains of Dura when they set up the image. He couldn't have been accused because of this.

 He was obviously traveling when the king ordered to have the image set up. Daniel served as a type of the rapture when God will remove His Church from the scene of the earth before the Tribulation and mid-way through the Tribulation, an image of the Antichrist will be set up and the faithful Jewish remnant will be protected from the Antichrist. So the Church like Daniel will already be far removed from the scene of the Tribulation where the Antichrist will set up an image and command all to worship and wear his mark.

 

In the chart above, I contrasted the RAPTURE from the GLORIOUS APPEARING. Many people can't see why there is a seven year interval between the Rapture and the Glorious Appearing. To them, it is contradictory and doesn't make sense. However many Jews saw only one coming of the Messiah despite the fact that there were two portraits painted in the Old Testament of the Messiah.

This time in the New Testament, there are two portraits of events painted about the SECOND COMING. The differences between these two events are identifiable and thus suggest that there are two phases in ONE SECOND COMING - Rapture and Revelation (Glorious Appearing). Just look at the chart above.

More To Come...

You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. ZECHARIAH 14:5

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against them. JUDE 14-15

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. REVELATION 19:14

Who are the holy ones? They come down with Christ at his Glorious Appearing. Zechariah 14:5 talks about people fleeing to the mountains. This is when the Antichrist performs the Abomination of Desolation and Jesus Christ instructs Jews to not get their cloak if they are in the field or if someone is on the roof not to go inside and get something Matthew 24:15-18 for they are to flee to the mountains where God will protect Israel for 1260 days Revelation 12:14.

That's what Zechariah meant by YOU WILL FLEE BY MY MOUNTAIN VALLEY. After this the Lord will come with his holy ones. The holy ones in each of these three verses refer to the Church which will be Raptured before the Tribulation.

When I first read Revelation, I thought that the armies of heaven were the angels; but in Revelation 19:8 it says that the fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints (not Tribulation saints but Church saints).

Righteousness suggests to me works which suggests the Judgment Seat of Christ which the Church would have already gone through by the time of the Glorious Appearing. Since the holy ones are coming down with Jesus then this suggests that they were already in heaven with him. So the presence of the holy ones at the Glorious Appearing indicates a previous rapture - the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.


Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. MATTHEW 13:30

Jesus sometimes taught in the form of parables to teach about many things like his second coming. He taught about the parable of the weeds.

A man (Jesus Christ) sowed good seed in his field but while everyone was sleeping, his enemy sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the wheat sprouted, the weeds also appeared. The man who sowed the wheat decided to let the wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest where the weeds will be taken first and the wheat is left behind to be gathered into the barn.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, the righteous is taken first in the Rapture in the church while the wicked are left behind. Obviously with Jesus' parable and Paul's teaching that these two events aren't the same for in one event the righteous are taken to meet Christ in the air while the other event the unrighteous are taken first while the righteous are left behind.

It is worthwhile to note that Jesus' Parable of the Weeds is describing the events in Matthew 24:21 when Jesus will send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds after he comes in the clouds with power and glory Matthew 24:30. These are two separate events - Rapture of the Church and the gathering of the Tribulation Saints after the Glorious Appearing.

To Continue...

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. MATTHEW 13:41

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. MATTHEW 24:31

Many people wrongfully assume that when the angels gather the elect from the four winds of the earth, that this is the Rapture. Now we know from 1 Corinthians 15:51 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that there is a resurrection associated with the translation of the living that will never see death.

 The gathering of the elect is not the Rapture but as we seen (prior posts) the Rapture and the gathering are two separate events. This is because (as I have posted) the holy ones are descending with Christ and after the Glorious Appearing Matthew 24:30 then the angels will gather the elect Matthew 24:31.

We also see (from previous posts) that the wicked are taken first (First collect the weeds) while the righteous are left behind. So how can the Rapture occur with the gathering of the elect if the holy ones already came down with Jesus in the Glorious Appearing Matthew 24:30; Revelation 19:14.

Therefore, the elect are the Tribulation Saints that survived the Tribulation and the Faithful Remnant of Israel in hiding in the mountains.

Finally here is the focal point of the argument of  How can the angels who are gathering the elect, resurrect the dead if this is the Rapture, when only God can do this? The angels are only gathering Tribulation Saints and the Jewish Remnant not resurrecting the dead.



And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. JOHN 14:3

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous. MATTHEW 13:49
This is another proof that the GATHERING OF THE ELECT isn't the RAPTURE. It lies in the fact that - Who is doing the gathering and what is the location?

In the Rapture of the Church, Christ takes his Church with him - after the Glorious Appearing, the angels gather the elect. This cannot be the same event because in one event Jesus is taking the righteous to be with him in heaven while in another event the angels are gathering the wicked while the righteous are left behind until gathered after the wicked.

This isn't the same event. If it was, it leaves the identity of the holy ones who come down with Christ at the Glorious Appearing unresolved.

Christ made a promise - He said I WILL TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME! If he said that he will do it then he will live by his word because he never lies. The fact that he sends angels to gather his elect, if it was the rapture, it would be breaking the promise He made. Besides - chronologically placing the Rapture with the gathering wouldn't fit, because it leaves several issues unanswered:

Who are the HOLY ONES who come down with Christ at the Glorious Appearing?

Angels can't resurrect the dead only Christ can.
 
How did the 24 elders receive their crowns which came as the result of the Judgment Seat of Christ?

Why are the angels doing the gathering when Jesus said he would take the Church to him?

Why are the wicked taken first, and then the righteous are left behind when in the Rapture, the righteous are taken?

I HAVE A GOOD ANSWER TO CLEAR THIS MESS! THE CHURCH WAS RAPTURED BEFORE THE TRIBULATION. It would solve the identity of the holy ones and the reason why the 24 elders got their crowns. It would also make Jesus' words true when he said he would take us to be with him in Heaven. ARE YOU CONVINCED? Maybe not BUT HERE ARE IS MORE EVIDENCE. :D

More To Come...

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I actually got this from Contender Ministries.

My mistake. You are correct Reba. I had this saved for quite some time, and I mixed up where I got it from.
Your post got me on a search, and you are correct.

http://www.geocities.com/stat23mj/prophecy/pretrib.html (http://www.geocities.com/stat23mj/prophecy/pretrib.html)

Were you doing some studying on the topic?